The Rebirth of an Undershirt

Recently, I came into the possession of two new long-john undershirts (they were bought for my dad, but didn't fit).  First, I considered throwing them into the bag with the other clothing donations to be dropped off at the church nearby.  But then, I had an idea...a thrifty, creative idea...in part inspired by the purchase of a new sewing machine!  What if the undershirts were reborn as shoulder bags.  Slouchy, casual, fun shoulder bags made of waffle material.  What a grand idea!

I planned it all out.  The body of the shirt would make the bag, the neckline and chest would become pockets, and the sleeves could be the strap.  Even the cuffs could be put to good use as the button flap closure.  Fortunately, my mom had some scrap fabric that I was able to use for the lining, because the waffle fabric was much too stretchy to be adequate on its own.

I embelished the outside pocket with some leafy stitching in a few shades of green, topped off with colorful buttons like little flowers.  Here it is in the works...

...And here it is completed.  YAY!  I do love this little bag.  I would love to keep it for me, but I made it with Sherri in mind...with some of her favorite colors, too.  It was to be a Valentine's gift, but 4 weeks of the flu put me behind.  So it is a "here is something to cheer you up and take your mind off the gray weather" gift instead!!  :)

There is one pocket on the outside of the bag and one on the inside.  Isn't that checkered pink lining fabric fun?!

So now that Sherri's bag is complete, it's time to make one for me with the remaining shirt.  I'm nearly done with it, in fact, and will be happy to show it to you once it is complete...

And hopefully it will be done soon, especially since I see Sherri carrying her bag and really want one of my own!

Have a happy, creative day!  xxxxx

Faith [fayth] n.

1.  A strong belief.  2.  Loyalty, belief and complete trust in God's will.  3.  Devotion.  4.  The acceptance of what we cannot see but feel deep within our hearts.

I received this frame as a Christmas present this year and immediately knew that I could not just fill it with snapshots...random pictures that I would want to change every year or so when they became outdated.  No, I knew that this frame was special, and that the pictures in it would need to tell a special story.  And for me, one of the most powerful expressions of my faith journey has been that of living through the last four years of this uncertain adventure called Hodgkin's.  The story that needed to be conveyed in this Faith frame had to be one that reminded me of God's promises to me, the fulfillment of those promises, and how He carried me through it.  And so I chose four pictures, from four significant milestones, with four significant people who walked my faith journey with me.

The picture on top is the most recent, taken with my mom this past Christmas.  Now that my stem cell transplant has been completed, and I am in the follow-up phase of that, it is my mom who weekly (and sometimes semi-weekly) drives me to Hillman Cancer Center for my check-ups and bloodwork.

The bottom picture is from 2009, from my Europe back-packing trip.  Here, Sherri and I are standing on the Zugspitze, the highest peak in the Alps in Germany.  This is where I looked out over the railing to a view that was completely obscured in clouds.  I prayed a little prayer, asking God to show me the view...and the clouds parted to reveal an incredible blue lake far below.  I stood there, enjoying the view and listening to "You Raise Me Up" on a friend's ipod, while it seemed that noone else around me even noticed the parting of the clouds.  It was just a special time with God and me.  And, when the song ended, the clouds rolled back in.  The entire trip was really such a journey of faith for me...

The picture on the right is next, from 2008.  This is just before I went into the hospital for my Auto Stem Cell Transplant, and that is my sister Erika kissing my bald head.  :)

And the picture on the left is from nearly the beginning, 2007.  I was losing my hair from the chemo and decided to throw a "buzz-cut party" with my friends.  It was great fun!  Everyone took their turn with the clippers, and in the process of buzzing my hair gave me some pretty interesting hair styles!  Peggy, who is in the picture with me, has been such a wonderful friend and support through this journey.  She also is the one who gave me the neon pink wig!  (And this frame too!)

And there it is, all put together...

...and hanging on the wall!  Doesn't it look great hanging there.  I love the combination of the blue frame and the green wall.  I already had the metal "faith" word sitting on the windowsill of my window seat, so I think the two go well together.  And speaking of the windowseat, I just love the fabric on the cushion!  It's so bright and colorful and happy!  The blue fabric on the edge actually matches the frame nearly perfectly... yay for unplanned coordination!  I made the cushion this past spring - my first experiment with cushion making.  I still have yet to finish covers for all the pillows, but I'll get there, eventually!  :)

Valentine's Bliss

Last week I was blissfully engaged in creating crafty, colorful, love-filled joy to spread around...and I wanted to share it with you, since sadly, Valentine's day is behind us now.  (But at least I have my birthday to look forward to!!!)

The kitchen table was covered in colored paper galore, bits of scraps, markers and pens while my best friend / roommate, Sherri and I handcrafted cards for our friends.  For Sherri, I strung shapes together and hung them from the ceiling fan in her bedroom for a festive Valentine's inspired mobile!  I also scattered red swedish fish all over her bed.  :)

Now, I received some fun Vday surprises too!  Yummy and beautiful heart-shaped cookies from Pam.  Chocolates and other such treats from Mom.  And these fun flowers from Peggy.  What makes these flowers so special is that they are solar powered, and when the sun hits them, the flowers happily wave back and forth while the leaves bob up and down.  It's quite a cheerful little show that they put on, and they make me smile.  :)

The red one is Sherri's and it lives in the living room, and the pink one is (of course) mine and it lives at the window above the kitchen sink so that I can enjoy it while doing the dishes...which I need to be doing.  :(

And finally, the Valentine's treats shared between my friends at the Stem Cell Clinic and me.

Happy Friday my friends!  Have a wonderful, colorful weekend!