FEAR OF WHAT

Fear – planting a seed of fear in a person’s life 

– or my own – is like purposely sticking myself with a pin. Someday, tomorrow, one year, five years from now, that pin prick will be festering mess. How do I live from day to day when there is a constant nagging fear in the back of my brain? Am I going to die? Am I going to fail? Am I going to be in trouble? Am I? Are you? When do I stop the fear, and really start to live my life? When does the fear evaporate and I start making choices, not my fear.

Worrying about tomorrow and the fears I face is a real conundrum. It starts when we are young. What outfit should I wear? Will so and so notice me? Will I be made fun of? What if I’m not on trend? Move on. Oh how I wish I could tell the younger me that IT DOESN’T MATTER! Wouldn’t that be great? So then you get your first job. What if I’m late? What if I get lost? What if I can’t do the work assigned? You learn, you make mistakes, and again….you move on. Fast forward à marriage, kids, bills, illness, wars, deaths…fear, worry, disarray. It’s not what should rule my life.

 Pause for a minute – I am here today, me; a woman, a wife, a mother…. Fighting those mom wars that really are quite ridiculous. (hello social media!) And yes, I am guilty of judging…but I am working on that. We should be sharing advice (taken with a grain of salt), swapping hand-me-downs, creating relationships with one another, and learning from each other. Worrying about organic baby food or brand name diapers, whether I take my kid to fast food restaurants or give them leafy greens at snack time; whether my child has an electronic device or not; it really does not matter. This generation is setting the next one up for a lifetime of fear & worries. And my heart aches for that.

So along with that, the Government along with the media – ya know, the Experts – really step it up a notch and dictate what, when, where, and how we should live, play, and learn. Give it up. I know there are rules & laws to follow….and I will follow them. I am just really tired of being pushed to change everything that I believe in. My beliefs will be with me until the end of my time. I will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8). I am not perfect.

Sara Denyer

January 24, 2014 – 2:02 p.m.

Freebie Friday - Week 4 Subway Art Fun!

Hi all! Here's your Freebie Friday comin' at ya! I am an Alice in Wonderland fanatic! All A.I.W. I love love love!! :D & this quote is just one of the many that I adore! As always, right click - save & print! 

This has been a truly crazy week! And ya know what? I'm ok with that!
The craft project with the kiddos today is Marshmallow Names! (Of course, Pinterest inspired - here. ) I tried experimenting with some CHEAP Dollarama glue...ya...no...don't waste your money. Elmer's glue or Mod Podge all the way from here on out!

Have a fabulous weekend &
~happy crafting!~

What do marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate have in common?

S'MORES! I love s'mores! The word itself brings me to my favorite place on earth...the lake. Summer, camping, beach, campfire....yup....I'm dreaming of summer! 

I made these cupcakes for tonight's youth group event. They are going sledding. It's funny that they are going sledding but I am thinking of summer...hmmmm S'mores cupcakes & hot chocolate seems good to me:)

Helloo Sweetie!! Doesn't that look so yummy? Ok, so, I wanted to find an awesomely great marshmallow frosting. Not a lot out there. So I grabbed this recipe shared by Latasha M. but added the 7oz marshmallow fluff, PLUS another whole jar (198grams). There are tons of S'mores cupcakes on Pinterest, and I really like the ones that have been "roasted"....*note to self...I want a cooking blow torch!*

Enjoy! 
~happy crafting!~

Freebie Friday - Week 3 - Digital ATC

TGIF! Today I decided I would try creating a digital ATC - Artist Trading Card. These little guys are 2.5"x 3.5". I was in love with creating these last year, and thought I'd try the digital age out with these! 

I love them! I'm looking forward to playing around some more!! I have a full schedule ahead of me this weekend - daycare, sibling "sitting" I'm not sure I can actually call it that. Three 11 year olds are pretty self sufficient!! Gym & a birthday party...did I miss something? :D

Oh and and BIG HAPPY 29TH ANNIVERSARY TO MY MAMA AND DAD!!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Stay safe and warm!
~happy crafting!~

Weekend Fun & Red Velvet Yummies

Tuesday Tidbits! Hope your weekend was fabulous!
This weekend turned out to be amazing!! Friday night was supposed to be game & movie night, however, things don't always go as planned so Movie night it was! :D

Saturday was a major cleaning day for all of us! My kids actually didn't put up a fight! (It helps that I bribed the older kids with $5 if they didn't grumble at ALL!) My house got a top to bottom cleaning! YAY! 

We were all invited to a birthday party for a sweet little 4 year old. We all got out in the fresh air (I think it hit -5 Celsius which is gorgeous out!!!) So sledding and skating, then cake, hot cocoa, and Just Dance were on the agenda! 

On Sunday, we did round 2 of skating! At an indoor arena this time! 

Did I mention this is AJ & Cadee's second time on skates? So proud of these kiddos!!

TODAY....I got my brand new Bosch cookie paddle with metal drive! I was so super excited, that I just had to try it out!! 

I scoured recipe after recipe to find the perfect test run...this is what I found! 

These turned out absolutely fabulous! I did run out of vanilla a couple days ago, so in place of the vanilla I used maple extract. {I am a maple-holic!} Yumm! Also, I would've liked the red part to be more 'red' but I couldn't bring myself to add more dye. I think I will try beet juice next time! :) 
I found the recipe for Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies at Sally's Baking Addiction! New fave baking blog that's for sure!!! I made my cookie dough in 1" balls and I got 38 of these yummies out of the batch! 

Miss C is one of my best critics! {& really a pretty biased one at that, as she usually LOVES everything I bake!}

Head on over to Sally's blog and check out her fabulous creations!! 

Thanks for reading!
~happy crafting!~

Freebie Friday - Subway Art Fun week 2!

Hey there! Do you all get excited when Friday roles around? TGIF really just puts a big ol' smile on my face! :D

I am definitely ready for the weekend! Saturdays are "me" days. I spend Monday to Friday with my kiddos but also 3 other kiddos that I babysit. Some weeks seem crazier than others, this week was one of them.

But, like I said Saturdays are "me" days, and they usually involve some sort of crafty/hobby/baking/project of some such! This really makes me happy, hence -->"Art is Joy". I get to throw my creations on paper {and/or canvas!} and it is sooo freeing! :D OK, So on to Freebie Friday! 

Here it is...

"ART IS JOY" - Right click, print & throw it in a cute frame!
TA-DA!

Hope you have a marvelous weekend!
~happy crafting!~

Projects for this week....{and really stinkin' cold temps to boot!}

Good Morning to ya! I really do think Tuesdays should start off the week! Don't ya think? Anywho....temps have been insanely cold for awhile now; I think we have had 2 "nice" days in the last 2 months. Yesterday hit a low of -52* Celsius (with the windchill) Yikes! 

Today was back to school for my kiddos with temps at -46; surprisingly the buses still ran. (Yay for this mama! :D) 

This month I am back at paper crafting and sewing some wonderful projects. 

I have a customer order birthday banner for the end of the month and my nephew's quilt to make for his 2nd birthday! (Still hard to believe he is almost 2!)

I am always thrilled when I get to bring this gal out of storage!!
I am using Close to My Heart cartridge "Art Philosophy" for the
Birthday Banner! 

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE GLITTER?! It is so messy and shiny and I just love it so much! :D

I literally had glitter from face to feet {and ALL over my cloth chairs and floors!} Ok, enough with my glitter obsession! 

My older two girls came back from Gran's house on the weekend with all their goodies from Christmas vacation! DD 2 received a donut maker from Mr. Claus this year, so we ended up testing it out on Saturday afternoon! So much fun! 

I have tons of Do You Bake? product on hand from a party I had recently, {I'm a big fan of this company!} so I thought why not try out their Yummy Tummy Treats! Chocolate Donuts. EASY PEASY!

My Khy modeling her beautiful
creation! 

DONUTS!!! My taste testers jump in for the first bites! These mini donuts were a hit with all the kiddos!

Turned out pretty good I think! Next on my list of kitchen gadgets to try is the cake pop machine! {Another Christmas gift that Khy received!}

Last photo for the day!
My sweet mom-in-law made me a box FULL of beautiful crocheted pieces, including this crochet hat with a brim. I love it! I also got boot cuffs, scarves, headbands, and some slouchie hats! I might add some of her creations in future posts! She is so talented I tell ya! {& maybe I should add 'learn to crochet' to my 30x30 list!}

~happy crafting!~

Freebie Friday - Subway Art Fun

Shall we try something? Starting today, January 3, 2014, I will be throwing out one (1) free 8x10" piece of subway art! I have fallen in love with subway art! I've actually made up pieces MONTHS in advance for 3 of my sisters' birthdays! I love it!

Here is the 1st one:

All you need to do is right click & either save it or print it!

Whaddya think? Feel free to leave me some feedback as I am very new to the Subway Art Trend!

~happy crafting!~

A few of my favorite things!

It is a FROSTY one out there today! I think it hit -47 degrees today?! Yikes!

So the kiddos and I have been playing games, coloring pages, and I've managed to start a mini-Christmas Digital Scrapbook on http://www.picmonkey.com/! Yay! 

I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things! (Yes, I know they are just things...but sometimes those things can make me happy!)

STARBUCKS! It is so bad for me & not to mention so expensive, hence why I treat myself mAAAYBE twice a year! (Usually fall and Christmas!)

CHOCOLATE: pretty much any chocolate, except the gross ones in Pot of Gold that are strawberry cream filled! blech! :P

oh! M&M's=All time favorite! (Peanut!)

DIAMONDS: I don't have a lot, but I do treasure my gifts from family that are those precious rocks! 

OWLS: Owl anything & everything! These cuties in the photo are salt and pepper shakers from my friend Jess over at fresh. by jess.

Stay warm &

~happy crafting!~

Happy New Year!

HELLO 2014! 

I love fresh starts! So cheers to a new year to all of my family and friends! I love your support and encouragement all year round!

Photo Credit: www.zazzle.com

This year the one thing that stands out for me the most, is that I am on an incredible journey learning to follow what God has in store for me. Through reading my bible more (and when I remember) & praying more, I am wanting to do what God wants me to do. And by doing that I really believe that I will be a better wife and mom. 

Another adventure that took place was that I joined a community called Trim Healthy Mama. This new lifestyle has made me feel awesome! I joined in May 2013 and have lost 40 pounds! I have another 75-100lbs to go. Thank you Serene & Pearl!

I started my 2nd year of Social Work in September and let me tell you that was not easy. The first couple weeks were so full of raw emotion over the content of lectures and workload involved, I was really not sure of how I was to continue. With the help of prayers and support from my husband, my mom, and my friends I managed to finish up this semester with a 70% average! WOOT! I'll take it! 

I am really looking forward to new ventures & a lot more crafting in the upcoming months! I am praying for health and joy in the year to come!

Sara's Word of the Year - 2014

And with that...

Take care, God Bless & 

~happy crafting!~