Pink Paper Peppermints ♥ Life is Sweet ♥

Free Embroidery Pattern Series-February "12 Things God Wants You to Remember"

 

   

 The February pattern is ready! And it's still February! Yay!

This one is a little love note from God.  I wanted it to look like He carved us a note in a tree of luuuve. :) 

 

(Although if He had I think His handwriting would be way better than mine, but that's ok)

I thought a fun addition to the monthly reminders would be a song to listen to while we're stitching! 

This month's song is by Kari Jobe and is all about her discovery that God is *for her*. 

If you haven't heard it before you should take a minute and listen.  There is something supernatural about this song.  It will move you. 

February Song - "You Are For Me" by Kari Jobe

(the actual song starts at 48 seconds in if you want to skip the intro.  The song is * a. ma. zing.*)

I've also made a page dedicated to the "12 things" so we can have everything  more organized.

I put a little map of what the finished project will (hopefully) look like as well as links to all the patterns and photos and more.  If this is your first month to join us, you'll want to check it out!

12 Things Page

 

I've received lots of questions about the finished size of the project etc.so these should all be answered there.  If not, please email me or leave a comment and let me know what I can help you with.

 

And of course I had to make a button:

<a href="http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/pink_paper_peppermints/12-things-god-wants-you-to-remember-a-series-of-free-embroidery-patterns-and-encouragement.html.html" _mce_href="http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/pink_paper_peppermints/12-things-god-wants-you-to-remember-a-series-of-free-embroidery-patterns-and-encouragement.html"><img border="0" src="http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/12%20things.jpg " _mce_src="http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/12%20things.jpg "/></a>

which you can snag for your blog by copying the code in the little window above and pasting it in your blog's code.

And now for the pattern!

This month's pattern really only has two stitches to practice.(tutorials are linked in the stitch titles)

Stem Stitch -  I used the stem stitch for the tree and the heart.  I think I still need some work on this one, but I like how knubby and tree-ish it looks. 

I only used 2 strands of floss for this because the lines are so small and I didn't want it to be too bulky

 

Backstitch - I used the backstitch for the hearts, leaves and words.  I used 3 strands of floss on the larger hearts and only 2 on the small hearts and leaves.

I just took one long stitch down the middle of the leaves with a darker green floss to give it some depth.

If you wanted to you could fill in your hearts with the Satin Stitch like we learned with the Penguin pattern.

 

I only pinned my pattern on one side when I was tracing it, so you may notice some of my leaves and hearts are a little too close together, compared to the actual pattern, because it slipped without my knowing it. *ugh*  Next time I will pin both sides for sure.

Februray Free Pattern Download 

(it's a pdf so you'll need Adobe Reader installed.  Get it here for free)

I hope you have fun stitching this one!  Please send me links if you post photos, cause I would love to come visit your blog or flickr and see!

In His Love, Peace & Grace,

♥ Melissa~

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"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  -Jeremiah 29:11

and we know what to do about it

As you know I love all things forties, especially cartoons. 

This one, although a little bit cheesy (in the greatest kind of way) made me laugh and well....tear up a little bit... to be honest....

If you watch it until the end I think you'll find it eerily foreshadowing...just sayin'...

My favorite line:

"...and we know what to do about it...."

 


Grace and Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"Wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short."
-Proverbs 24:14

I used to lie and cheat and step on people's feet

Oh my goodness this is fun:

(the song starts at 59 seconds if you want to fast forward)

Off to the new church!

God's Grace & Peace friends,

♥ Melissa~
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"Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new."
-2 Corinthians 5:17

the summer sun's callin' my name

I think I'll go for a walk outside now, the summer sun's callin' my name...

summer evening

summer splashin'

summer swimmin'

summer toes

summer swingin'

summer squash

And a recipe for the summer squash:

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This is so moist & delicious!  And what better way to eat zucchini than with chocolate??  (you can replace the oil with applesauce to lower the fat content a bit too)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F

2. Grease and flour two loaf pans (bout 8"x4").

3. Sift dry ingredients (flour, salt baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon)

4. Cream wet ingredients (eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar) in a large bowl.

5. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture and beat well.

6. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips, mix gently until combined.

7. Pour into prepared pans

8. Bake for 35  to 55 minutes (depending on your oven and the size of the pans) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

9. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes and remove from pan allowing to cool an additional 10 minute before slicing.

And just in case that song is not already stuck in your head from the title of my post, play this while you're whipping up your zucchini bread it will make you smile:

Hope you're havin' some sunshine days!

Peace and Grace,

♥ Melissa
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"Oh, how sweet the light of day, and how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted.  Take delight in each light-filled hour..." -Ecc 11:7

Just Run To Him

Click Play for a beautiful reminder.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

God's Mercy, Grace and Peace,

♥ Melissa
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"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, Who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

-Romans 8:35-39

Office Supplies, Book Pages & Balloon Flowers! | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 25

 

Look Alive it's Day Twenty-five!

Hey today we have some more fabulous flower tutorial links and even a video-Woo-hoo!  Enjoy these!

How About Orange

Flowers + Fabric + Office Supplies = L-O-V-E! 

Okay, if you can only go to one of the links today it has to be this one.  Jessica is one of my very favorite bloggers *ever*! 

She is so full of fun and inspirational ideas and just visiting her blog will make you feel happy! 

Her tutorial on flowery fabric-covered office supplies really will brighten your day!

Reconstructed Shabby Chic Silk Flowers

Here you will find a really neat tutorial on taking apart a silk flower and layering it with lace & glitter & stamping to make one lovely, shabby chic flower!  (Forget what I said about only going to one link!  You can't miss this one either! heh-heh)

Book Page Flowers

Tammy has a tutorial for making gorgeous paper flowers from book pages and stamping ink!  You will love this one! (See the one link only thing will just not work)

Balloon-a-ful!

Just for fun how about learning how to make a balloon flower!  Click play below!  (It looks pretty easy if you don't have the debilitating-fear-of-the-balloon-pop-noise thing going on...heh-heh)

Find more DIY videos

Ok have fun with these this weekend and come back Monday for more 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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 "If you value Wisdom and hold tightly to her, great honors will be yours. It will be like wearing a glorious crown of beautiful flowers." 
-Proverbs 4:8-10

this will make you smile

Artists & creative types will love this.  It makes me happy.  Watch 'til the end:

Grace & Peace,

♥ M~
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"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
-TWO Corinthians FIVE:SEVENTEEN

He holds us all together

This is so neat and *so* God. 

I {heart} science and Jesus. 

Take a minute to watch it and you will be blessed!

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
      He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
  for through Him God created everything
      in the heavenly realms and on earth.

   He made the things we can see
      and the things we can’t see—
   such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
      Everything was created through Him and for Him.
  He existed before anything else,
      and He holds all creation together.

   Christ is also the head of the church,
      which is His body.
   He is the beginning,
      supreme over all who rise from the dead.
      So He is first in everything.

   For God in all his fullness
      was pleased to live in Christ,
   and through Him God reconciled
      everything to Himself.
  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
      by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

 -Colossians 1:15:20

I pray for Grace and Peace mixed with Faith for each of you reading this,

♥ M~
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"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.

He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light.

For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, Who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."

-Colossians 1: 11-14

the God-colors of one happy family

My new favorite thing to play with is Mixwit.  So fun!

This is my new favorite song! 

Loved, loved, loved The Clark Brothers on American Idol the other night.  Weren't they fabulous?

This is the same song, but a little different version.  If you want to get happy listen to this:

Or if you missed the AI performance and want to see it click play:

A photo from the Chuck E. Cheese photobooth:

We are one happy family. I am blessed.

Hope you're having a terrific weekend!

♥ M~
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Jesus said,

"You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept...Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."
-Matthew 5:14 (the message)

ten on tuesday -crafty & cakey & what can you do with old egg shells from Easter?

ten random thoughts on tuesday
(on wednesday night again - maybe I should rename it "ten on wen"... you know that would rhyme if you said it with a Texas accent...really...try it...."tin on win"...see?)

one

It's cupcake week on Martha Stewart!  Have you been watching?  So much yummy fun.  I think we should have cupcake week around here. Then I can make more of these.

two

My little guy is turning five tomorrow.  This hurts.  And also makes me feel a little crazy, because *yesterday* I was changing his diaper...yesterday people! 

And I don't really want him to stop calling me mama and kissing me every time he walks through the room and saying  "I yuv you" instead of "I love you".

But it will happen.  I know. 

So I'll just treasure every moment and take a million pictures and blog every cute thing he says and does (even if you guys get sick of it...heh-heh)...and then I'll remember...and then I'll start it all over again with grand-children! yippee!

Since his birthday always falls right around Easter we tend to combine the two and he actually *loves* having an egg hunt at his birthday party.  He calls it his "easterbirthday".  So sweet.  So here's some snaps from the party we had on Sunday:

Little O and his great uncle (my uncle).  So funny.

Chocolate cheesecake, yum (his request)!  I'll post the recipe this week.

Little O attacking the pinata.

I *love* this one.  My nephew's little feet as he runs for the pinata candy.

Nephew and Little O grabbing that pinata candy!

Egg hunting at the "easterbirthday"

Squirt gun fight broke out after present opening.

three

Remember the yummy salsa I told you about?  The unusual ingredient is watermelon!  I know it sounds gross, but I'm telling you it is soooooo good.  You have to try it!  The watermelon replaces the usual tomatoes.  Most people don't even realize this until they taste it.  Here is the recipe:

Watermelon Salsa

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped watermelon
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped jalapeño pepper (this is spicy, cut it to one if you are chicken)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl and chill for at least an hour.  The longer you let it sit in the fridge the yummier flavors taste together. 

2. Serve in the hollowed shell of the watermelon to delight and confuse your guests!

A couple of hints:

-DO NOT rub your eyes after chopping up the jalepeno...you will be sorry if you do.

-You may want to put the chopped watermelon in a colander over a bowl for a half hour or so to let it drain a little bit because otherwise your salsa can be a little too "juicy".

four

I really don't like junk mail.  It's like people mailing trash to my house that I have to then sort and make decisions about.  Like I don't have enough to do.  Junk mail...yuck.  I am going to have to think of some crafty things to do with junk mail.  Here are some ideas to start: Junk Mail Gems

five

We made a fun craft with our leftover easter egg shells today.  Super easy too!  Pictures & a tutorial in the next post. (right after this one or maybe before by the time you read this...heh-heh) EDITED: It's here!

six

I'm teaching myself embroidery!  It's so fun and it seems to go along with my new love for fabric.  I found a really fun link that has lots of free vintage embroidery patterns!  So cool! 

seven

Another fun link I wanted to share with you is this one-Free printables at Wondertime.  Fantastic fun for homeschoolers or even just preschool moms or scrapbookers or babysitters...you get the idea.

eight

Did you see my new button about subscribing to my RSS feed (over there on the right)?  I completely made that up. Just thought I should tell you. 

I *do* think you'll feel more crafty after hanging out here though.  And the best way to hang out here of course is to subscribe to my feed.

I know I've told you about bloglines before (so cool).  But just in case some of you still aren't gettin' the whole RSS feed thing, I found a great video to help explain it.  It's by the same guys who did the Twitter video I showed you earlier, Common Craft (they're geniuses).

nine

My friend Janice at Everyday Education, wrote a really wonderful article a couple of days ago.  It's geared towards homeschooling parents, but really I think if you're a parent at all you will be blessed by this article.

The two lines that spoke to me the most were these:

"Remember that children don’t remember what you do; they remember how you made them feel."

"Understand that this season of life will be over before you know it. Don’t put off doing the fun things!"

Those two lines really speak to what I want this blog to be all about.  I'm always striving to have fun with my kids, to soak up every minute of my time with them and make sweet memories with them that they can carry into adulthood and their own parenthood.  I want to teach them how good God is and I want to share with you all the ways I figure out how to do this.

I'm actually working on a pretty big project related to this and in the mean time I hope that when you come and visit here you are inspired in some way to create things and have fun and celebrate with your children or even as a child yourself .

Go read the article, it will bless you.

ten

Thanks for my three volunteers who played tag with me!  Here they are:

Quirky at Quirky is a Compliment

Alison at Barefoot in Boston

Erin at Fully Alive...Ready To Smile (Actually she hasn't done it yet, but said she would so I'm linking her in anticipation...heh-heh...)

Ok, now time to go put up the egg shell craft.  Hope ya'll are havin' a great week.

♥ M~

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"Come, children, listen closely; I'll give you a lesson in God worship."
-Psalm 34:10

tweet tweet

This is cool.  Go sign up and follow me.  It's neat.  If you don't wanna then you can just look in the lower left sidebar and read my updates there.  Silly but fun.  One line blogging. Love it.

Watch this you'll totally get it.

♥ M~
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"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
-Romans 15:13

He's Alive

"And every fear I'd ever had just melted into peace..."
                                                -He's Alive, Don Francisco


A powerful Easter video...be prepared to cry tears of joy...

                                      

Happy Easter Sweet Friends

♥ M~
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"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live."
-John 11:25

one minute of pure and simple joy

(click play...it's only a minute...)

 

"He will...fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."
-Job 6:21

"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing..."
-Proverbs 17:22 (amp)

"...the joy of the Lord is your strength."
-Nehemiah 8:10

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"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-1 Thessalonian 5:16-18