October Verse a Day Challenge: Days 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 (Yikes!)

Oh dear.  It's been a while since I posted.  I've been kinda busy with work and stuff.  I haven't been putting together the greatest outfits, since the only place I've been going is work, and I haven't finished any of my many projects that are lying around either, so I haven't had any good post material.  But enough excuses.  Here's 5 days worth of verses.  I've found the verses (mostly) on their respective days, I just didn't get around to posting them. 

Day 11: "Something close up."

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." - 1 Corinthians 12:13 (ESV) 

Now we see dimly, but then we'll see face to face, or close up.  :)

Day 12 was "On the table."

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." - Psalm 23:5 (NIV)

Self-explanatory?

Day 13 = "Landscape."  This one was hard.  Probably because I was trying to find a verse right before bed.  I don't think I ever really settled on one that day, but here's one that works.

"I lift my eyes up to the hills -- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)

I'm sure there's plenty of verses about landscapes in the Bible, but I had a hard time thinking of one that night.  :P

Day 14's theme was "Makes you laugh."  This one was hard too.  But this Bible story is a little humorous in a weird way. 

"Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number." - 2 Kings 2:23-24

It's actually kind of horrible...but it's so random, you kind of want to laugh.  I don't know...

And finally, today's theme for day 15 is "Dinnertime."  Perhaps a verse about one of the most famous dinners of all time is in order.

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” - Matthew 26:26-29 (NIV)

Well, I'll try to be more consistent this week.  :)

Niki

Do you Amigurumi?

So.....I went to the library today.  And that meant some time spent in the aisle with the craft books.  And while I was standing there, I decided I wanted to learn to crochet.  I've done a little crocheting before, but I needed a refresher.  So I got some crocheting books to learn the basics.  I also got this book.

 

 

I've been seeing these cute little crocheted animals all over the place.  Etsy has tons of them, and I've seen them on Pinterest as well.  They're so fun and impractical and cute!  So yes, I'm learning how to crochet so I can make little animals.  I watched a great tutorial here, and learned how to make a basic ball shape.  I'm kinda excited about how easy it was.  I think I'll try to tackle my first real pattern tonight.  You may be seeing some amigurumi critters around here soon.  :)

 

 

Have you ever tried making amigurumi?

 

Niki

October Verse a Day Challenge: Days 9 and 10

 

 

Day 9's theme was "Red."  The first verse I thought of was this.

 

"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord." - Acts 2:20 (NIV)

 

It doesn't actually have the word "red" in it, so I also found this one.

 

"Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." - Revelation 12:3 (NIV)

 

Then today's theme is "Emotion."  There are so many I could choose for this topic.  The Bible can be a very emotional book.  :)  The obvious choice for today's verse is the shortest verse in the Bible.

 

"Jesus wept." - John 11:35

 

Sometimes, I think we tend to portray Jesus as an un-emotional person, and we treat emotions almost like they are sin.  I've even heard people say "You know, the Bible doesn't ever say that Jesus laughed..."  I don't think they're trying to say that Jesus didn't laugh, but it came across as if they thought of Jesus as a very serious person.  I don't agree.  Laughter is a gift from God.  Of course, it can be used in the wrong way, to make others feel bad, but true, joyful laughter is beautiful.  I believe that Jesus laughed with His friends, just as much as I believe He wept for them.  We also know that Jesus got angry.  He drove money-changers out of the temple with a whip!  Jesus understands our emotions, because He experienced them too.  Interesting thought.  Well, that's it for now.  :)

 

Niki

Scrap-Eating Elephant Tutorial

This is a cute and easy little project I whipped up one day.  I had been seeing all these adorable soft animals that other people had created, so I decided to make my own.  Here's how I did it.

 

What you will need:
-scrap fabric (I used cotton, but something softer would be fabulous too)
-needle
-thread
-scissors
-embroidery floss
-sewing machine (optional)

First, I free-handed an elephant onto my fabric. I based it off of a picture of a stuffed elephant, but it is a slightly different shape, especially the ears.  You'll need to cut 2 bodies and two ears.  This is great project for using up fabric scraps.

Pin one ear piece onto one of the body pieces.  You can do a tiny hem around the edge first, like I did, or leave the edges raw. 

Sew the ear onto the body piece.  I used a zig-zag stitch in a contrasting color.  Repeat for the other ear/side.

Pin your two body pieces (with attached ear pieces) with the right sides together.  At this point, you can give the elephant a tail and/or hair made out of yarn.  Just tuck them inside so that they're on the outside after you turn it.   Sew around the edge, leaving a small section open.

Turn your paciderm friend right side out.  I left the opening in the place where a mouth would have been.  You'll see why in a second.  :)

Embroider an eye on each side. 

This is why I left the mouth open.  So I could "feed" him scraps.  ;)  I decided to stuff my elephant with fabric scraps from the sewing projects I was working on, instead of using stuffing.  So it lived on my sewing table to eat my scraps until it was full.  So eco-friendly, right?  But don't be surprised if you start sewing more, and cutting things more generously just so that you can fill up your new friend faster.  :)

Once your elephant has had his fill of fabric scraps, stitch up the opening with a needle and thread.

And he's done!  You can also fill this little fella with stuffing if you want it to be softer and more squishable.  It would be an adorable gift for a baby or younger child.  :)

I haven't decided what to name it yet.  Any suggestions?  Ellie or Ollie are the obvious choices.

Niki

October Verse a Day Challenge: Day 8

Ok, so today's theme is a lot harder than any of the others so far.  "Angle."  There was nothing in the concordance for angle, and an internet search just corrected it to "angel" which isn't what I wanted.  So I had to get creative.  I thought of two possibilities.

"as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. " - Psalm 103:12  (NIV)

 

As far as the east is from the west is an angle, right?  Sort of?  I also thought of this one.

 

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,'

declares the Lord.

'As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" - Isaiah 55:8-9

 

The heavens being higher than the earth is a math/angle thing, sort of.  Also, this verse talks about how God has a different perspective about things because He is God and we are not.  Different perspective equals different angle, more or less.

 

So there's my verses for the day.  They were kind of a stretch for the theme, but whatever.  :)

 

Niki

Dressed up for Sunday Meetin'

I felt a little old-fashioned when I dressed for church today.  I don't know why.  Maybe because my skirt is long and floral.  Maybe because not many people actually dress up for church anymore.  Maybe it was the key, watch and cameo on my necklace(s).  Who knows?  But I'm okay with it.  I've always liked old-fashioned things anyway.  Sometimes, I wish everyone still dressed up on Sunday's, hats and all.  It would be fun to have more excuses to wear pretty dresses and skirts without wondering if you look too fancy.  Not that I think this outfit was too fancy.  I'm just rambling. :)

A close-up of the pattern on my skirt.  I like the mini dots amongst the flowers. 

Do you still dress up for church every week?  And by "dress up" I guess I mean wearing a skirt or dress, or just trying to look nicer in general.  :)

Niki

Skirt: refashion.  T-shirt: Old Navy.  Cardigan: Old Navy.  Flats: thrifted.  Necklaces from various sources.

October Verse a Day Challenge: Days 6 and 7

Another two day post.  I did actually think of a verse yesterday, I just didn't get a chance to post it.  :)

The theme for yesterday was "I'm thankful for..."  There are so many verses about gratitude and thanksgiving in the Bible.  That's because it's important.  :)  And I have so much to be thankful for.  But here is the verse I chose.

"giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1:12-14 (NIV)

That's what we ought to be most thankful for all the time.  That God has qualified us to be apart of the Kingdom of his Beloved Son, and has chosen to redeem us from all of our sin.  I definitely take this for granted sometimes, when I shouldn't.

Ok.  Day 7.  "Light."  Wow.  So many choices for this one, too.  But as soon as I looked at the list today and saw that word, I immediately thought of this verse.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" - John 8:12 (NIV)

Just another thing to be thankful for.  We will never walk in darkness, because we have Jesus, the light of the world. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday!

Niki

Floral Dress to Skirt Refashion

I'm super excited to share my lastest refashion with you!  It's one of my favorites to date, and I can't wait to wear it tomorrow! 

 



 

I started out with this dress that I thrifted years ago when I needed something for a party. I wore it once, maybe twice, then it stayed at the back of the closet. Even though it fits me now, and it's a perfectly good dress, it just didn't love the way it looked on me. Empire waists aren't my most flattering look, unfortunately. However, I still loved the floral sheer fabric.

So out came the scissors. I chopped off the top of the dress under the waistband. I realized that the two layers of the dress were not the same width, which would have made it tricky to create a waistband, so I decided to fully seperate them. I had to cut around the pesky side zipper to take it out, but it all worked out in the end. :)

 

I started by making the inner lining into a sort of slip. I trimmed off the top where I had cut out the zipper.

Sheers can be tricky to work with, especially if you don't have a serger, but I just sewed a tiny hem around the top of the slip, then folded that over again  to make a casing for the elastic.  I used a thin elastic, probably 3/8" or so.  That's what I had on hand.  I threaded the elastic through the tunnel I had made, and sewed up the ends.  Then I finished sewing the casing closed.

For the overskirt, I had to close up the side seam where I had removed the zipper.

Then I repeated the same steps process as for the slip to make a casing for my elastic.  For the overskirt, I used a wider elastic.  I think it was 1" wide.  I didn't have to hem the bottom of either skirt, because I left the original hem intact.  That was nice.  :)

There you go.  A slip, a skirt and a sash all from one dress!  For the sash, I just cut the ties off the dress and sewed them together.  I can tie it in a bow in the back, on the side or even in my hair.  :)

 

I love, love, love the way this turned out!  It's floral and feminine, and the darker colors are perfect for fall!  Plus, I adore the way the sheer fabric drapes and swishes.   I think I may be a little too excited about this refashion.  I'll try to do an outfit post tomorrow when I wear it to church.  :)

Niki

October Verse a Day Challenge: Day 5

Today's theme for the Verse a Day challenge was "shadow."  I thought of 2 verses. 

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." - Psalm 91:1 (NIV)

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." - Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

I love both of these verses.  They're both about the comfort that the Lord gives us.  :)

Niki

October Verse a Day Challenge: Days 3 and 4

Day 3's theme was "This happened today."  I don't know why, but almost immediately I thought of this (I didn't think of the whole verse by memory, though):

"Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

'Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.'"  - Revelation 4:6-8 (Emphasis mine)

I was struck by how the 4 creatures never stop praising God.  They praised Him yesterday, they praised Him today.  While we went about our day, these beings were praising God.  We always talk about the things the Bible says God does, but sometimes I think I forget that He is doing those things today.  As in now.  I don't know if I can explain quite what I mean, but this thought really got my attention yesterday as I was thinking about the challenge theme.

Now for day 4.  "What you read."  Maybe this is an odd way to interpret the theme, but I thought of this story:

"So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. " - Nehemiah 8:2-3

Again, I had to look it up to get the details.  I couldn't even remember who it was that read the Law aloud...oops.  Anyway.  Everytime I read this story, I'm amazed that the people stood and listened attentively for hours!  It started a huge revival.  But I can't picture most Americans ever paying attention to anything for that long.  Maybe we need to become better listeners.  :)

Well, there's my thoughts for days 3 and 4!

Niki