Get Crafty

I am in the thick of summer vacation and loving it, but sometimes I get bored.  Yesterday, I made the decision to tap into my crafty side.  I've been wanting to make a wreath for months now.  First, it was a fall wreath, then spring, and now it's summer and I still have no wreath.  Well gosh darn it, I needed a wreath.  I set out to Pinterest to look for inspiration last week and came up with a vague idea of what I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to incorporate bright colors and handmade rosettes of some sort.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to do a fabric wrapped wreath or a yarn wrapped one.  I ultimately settled on yarn.  I am really thrilled with how it turned out!  I feel so accomplished when I complete a project.

Materials:
Wreath- I got a wrapped straw wreath from AC Moore for less than $3
1 Skein of Yarn
Glue Gun and sticks
Fabric or felt to make your rosettes
Ribbon to use for hanging

How to:
1. Wrap your wreath with the yarn.  It doesn't have to be perfect the first time you go around.  I went back around to cover up holes that I missed the first time.  Make sure you start by gluing the end of the yarn on the back of wreath.  Once you finish, glue the other end down as well.

2. Once your wreath is completely wrapped, begin to make your decorations.  I made fabric and felt rosettes using this Tutorial.  

3. Embelish your wreath.  I chose to put them on the lower "corner" in a cluster, but you can do it any way you want.  Pinterest has a ton of ideas.  You also want to add your ribbon to hang it by.  

4.  Voila!  You have yourself a pretty summery wreath.  

What crafts have you all been doing this summer??

 

Camp 658

This week my sister, Melissa, and I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with Project 658 as a "coach" at Camp 658.  This camp was organized and held at a local apartment complex in a low-income area of our city.  For four days we got to hang out, play with, and reach out to children from the surrounding area.  It truly was an incredible experience.  We did arts and crafts, sports, games, and of course talked a lot about Jesus.  The kids have an incredible spirit and were so full of life and joy. 

Each day we would walk to the surrounding apartment complexes and go to the doors to pick up the kids.  Some kids didn't speak English, but still wanted to come.  They were all so sweet and fun.  Many of the kids would just run up, grab your hand or crawl on your back, and be ready to go.  I can tell you I got a major workout from carry kids around all week!  Just an added bonus!  Two days of the week were dedicated to art and two were dedicated to sports and playing outside.  The kids loved it all.  They were up for anything and it was so sweet to be able to teach them new things and see their little faces light up when they accomplished something.  

I truly believe that Jesus calls each of us to serve our cities and  communities.  We are all so blessed to know Christ and need to be a light in the world.  Whether you like working with kids, adults, the elderly, or just doing something with your hands, the Lord can use your talents and skills.  Trust that you can make a difference.  Just holding a child's hand or serving someone a meal goes a lot further than we think.  So get on out there and make a difference!  You will receive just as many blessings as the people you are serving.

San Diego Part 2

So we left off on Monday at Sea World.  Here's the rest of our photo tour, enjoy!

Tuesday: We went on a trolley tour through San Diego and hit some major spots, including Balboa Park, eating our way through Little Italy, and Old Town.  To be honest, the trolley tour was not the best I've been on.  The trolleys didn't follow the time schedule and we ended up missing some of the sights, which resulted in me yelling down the street after we missed three trolleys in a row because they weren't on schedule.  Of course, Brandon made fun of me the rest of the week for it.  However, Balboa Park is stunning.  So pretty!

Wednesday: This was one of my favorite days!  We went to the zoo!!  You all know that San Diego is famous for it's zoo and it did not disappoint.  I love how natural feeling it is and how many different exhibits there were.  It was fabulous!

Thursday:  This was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time.  We went to La Jolla and kayaked the sea caves.  I love doing outdoorsy things and was excited to try sea kayaking.  The conditions weren't stable for us to actually go in the caves, but it was still a fun experience.  After kayaking, we explored La Jolla.  Their shores are beautiful.  Sea Lions and Seals are all over the place and will come right up to swimmers in the coves.  It was awesome to see all of the wildlife. 

Overall, our trip was amazing.  San Diego is a wonderful city with so many different things to do.  Where are you all traveling this summer??

You Stay Classy San Diego Part 1

Woohoo, we just got back from a week-long vacation (Praise the Lord!).  My mother-in-law was extremely gracious to provide us the opportunity to go to San Diego for a little Brown Family Vacation 2012.  Needless to say, it was amazing.  I have never been to California, at least that I can remember (went when I was a baby).  Seriously, San Diego is beautiful.  We loved it so much, we talked about moving there one day.  The weather is perfect.  We're talking 72 degrees and sunny every single day, compared to 95 degrees and humid here in good old NC.  There is so much to do and boy did we pack it all in a week.  I won't bore you with talking, but I will take you on a photo tour!  Here is part 1 (you can thank me), I didn't want to overwhelm you with photos.

Saturday:  We went to the Loew's Dog Surfing Competition!  So much fun!  Those pups absolutely loved being in the water, adorable.   There were so many different breeds and size of dog.  There was even a first-time surfer girl!

Sunday: We toured the USS Midway, a navy aircraft carrier.  It was humongous!  We also piddled around Seaport Village, a cute little shopping area.

Monday: We headed to Sea World! 

Okay, I will stop there for now, but there will be more to come :)