New Beginnings

 

This last week we had New Beginnings with our Young Women.  Our theme was going to be based on everything is Black and White.  Meaning that in order to do the things we should be doing we don't want to find ourselves in those gray areas.  You know  we all have little gray areas in our lives, where we really aren't doing something bad, but are we really doing anything good?  We wanted to stress that in order to be where we want to be, that we should avoid those gray areas.  I needed to make some things that would just be black and white to get my point across.  So, I went to my favorite store, the DI, (Divine Inspiration), really it is a thrift store.  I found these vases and plates.

 

and knew if I put them together they would be perfect for what I needed.

 

I also found this mirror and frames which were also just what I needed.

 

This frame had a beautiful shape but I really didn't need what was in the middle.

 

Someone had gone to a lot of work on this, but I really just needed the frame.  Since they both cost $2.00 a piece I thought they would be perfect.

 

This is the theme for this year and here is the frame that I just spray painted white. I did the theme in black and white to get our Black and White theme across.

 

Can you see where those vases are?

 

This was the second frame that I spray painted white, added the black and white fabric, and then used a second frame that I  put in the middle, attached with Velcro.. We have been asked to do these 4 things every day, Pray, Read, Smile, Obey, 100% everyday!  I made the words in Photo shop and just made it in... you've got it,  Black and White!

 

There is a little hook on the bottom of the frame, so I made a tag that has 100% on it.  If we are 100% we will leave it turned around to the front, if we are not we will turn the tag over.

 

I added a black and white picture of Christ, in a frame that I spray painted black.

 

Can you spot the vase pedestals now?

 

I spray painted them white and added some tulle and black and white ribbon. The large flower ball I made from a Styrofoam ball and tissue paper.  I punched out a bunch of scalloped circles and attached them to the Styrofoam with straight pins.

 

These were some candle pedestals I had, that I just spray painted black and added the tulle, beads, flower and ribbons too.

 

I thought these turned out great and for about $2.00 for each pedestal I thought they were perfect!

 

These were perfect too!

 

I'm kind of liking this black and white theme.

 

I added the white lights under some sheer white fabric to give a little pizazz to the table  and give it some shine!

 

These blocks are what we have made for each young women to be given on their birthday.

 

We handed out these little favors at the end of the night.  The light bulbs were found at Hobby Lobby and we filled them with white six lets and attached the theme for the year.

 

The night was great and we will be caring this black and white theme through the yea,r and then for our Night of Excellence we will bring in all of the value colors to show that if we stay out of the gray areas that we have in our life we will really be able to shine in our values!

More of Girl's Camp

 

 I'm back, and I am a little sleep deprived. Back from what? you say, that would be Girl's Camp! I would like to share some of the things we made at camp.  The first thing isn't really something that we made but I want to share how cool it was. See this burning log up above, my friend's husband made this out of a log. She said , that it is made with a chain saw.  He started out by making a triangle wedge down the center of the log, you don't want to go through the bottom.

 

This is already burning but you can kind of see how it is cut down the center.

  

You then need to make a vent hole near the bottom, so it is kind of like a chimney.

Then pour a little charcoal lighter fluid in the hole at the top of the log and throw in a match and you will have an eternal flame.(well it really doesn't burn forever but depending on the log it does burn about 6-8 hours.)

 It is really interesting because  even though the inside is burning the outside remains cool and you can even pick it up and move it if you want.  The girls loved it and it is kind of mesmerizing to watch.

This would be great for a family reunion or even a party in your back yard, this is so fun!

 

We also made these fun rings, made from buttons and wire.  You use a 24 gauge silver wire cut a length about 1 yard long. Then find the middle of the wire and wrap it around the finger that you want to make it on,(make it a little larger than your finger) wrap it three times with the one end of the wire and three times with the other end of the wire, so that you have six strands of wire. Then take the two ends of the wire and make a little twisty tie,(like you do when you are closing a bread bag with wire.) at the top of your loop. Thread the bigger button on first by threading each hole with one end of each wire. Then thread the smaller button in the same way.  Make a little twisty tie at the top of the smaller button and then make a swirl of wire for the center. Then take each end of the wire over the edge of the button and start wrapping the wire around the six strands that will be around your finger.

 

Bring the wire down under the button and start wrapping.

 

See how it holds the wires together. Then cut the wire ends and crimp it with some needled nose pliers so that the end of the wire will be smooth.

 

Here are some different variations that the girls made.

 

Aren't they so cute! The girls' loved making these and could have sat there for hours making all sorts of creations.

 

We also made these magnet boards. We had some 12x12 pieces of wood and painted the edges white. Then use mod podge to adhere the paper. Paint on the mod podge on the board and attach a 12x12 piece scrapbook paper.  Then attach an 8x8 piece of metal with some strong glue, like amazing goop, and then put whatever embellishments on that you want.

 

I used some paper flowers and buttons on mine, I think I will make some button magnets to put on the board.

Now, you have a place to display all of your cute camp pictures.

 

We had a great time hiking, swimming, and crafting and even though it was a blast, I am so ready for a nap!

Girl's Camp

 

This week is a busy week and I will be a little out of touch because I will be in a place where you can get no cell phone service and that means no internet! I am spending the week with the young girls in our church at Girl's Camp!!  I have been trying to think of some things to do for a little gift for the girls each day. I have come across many inspirational sayings  and then I ran across  a picture that gave me some inspiration for one of the gifts for the day.

 

So, I wrote the messages on these stones. I am going to bring some Sharpie fine tip markers because we will be by a stream with some river rocks and then they can make some more of their own.

 

I also found some notebooks and found this quote and thought it would b e perfect to put on the front of the spiral notebooks that we could give to the girls on one of the days while we are there.

 

This is the picture that gave me the inspiration,  from  www.artrocks.ca  I love it!

 

I think I should make some for myself because they are so cute!

 

I also decided that we would probably need something to hang in the trees at our camp, so I made these pennant banners to brighten up our camp.

 

Of course they are in the Value colors! They were easy to make, I just cut them from fabric and sewed them to a long length of ribbon.

 

We also made some little treat bags with Laffy Taffy and Star bursts with the saying," A smile is a Laugh that Bursts!" It was one of the sayings on the rocks but doesn't it go well with the candy we chose! Sorry I don't have  a picture of the treat bags but we put them in little cellophane bags with ribbon and the saying attached.

We also bought some colored pencils and attached the saying,"Stay true to your Values".

 

I used my embroidery machine to write "Young Women" and if you look close you can also see the letters of our ward on some of the pennants. It was hard to get a picture because their is only one letter per pennant.

So, wish us luck with 21 girls this week at camp, it should be a blast!!!