What you think on will drop into your heart, and eventually come out of your mouth

What you think and meditate on will drop into your heart, and what is in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth

What you think and meditate on will drop into your heart, and what is in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth.

Words carry power and once said can’t be unsaid and once heard can’t be unheard.

There is forgiveness for the hurt we cause by the terrible things we say. That said I would much rather build others up than break them down. If I have hurt anyone by my words and by extension my actions, please forgive me.

I have made a decision to think on those things which are pure and lovely. I have made a decision to think thoughts of love about myself and others and pray that God will graciously help me every day. Would the world not be a much better place if we saw and thought about others as God sees and thinks about them?

Painted wooden Rusk / biscuit box

I painted this Rusk box. It is the perfect size to hide the (ugly) rusk box. Admittedly I bought the box at a craft store and just painted it to suit my own personal style.

I used a gift tag to size and trace a contact paper sized tag which I then cut out and placed on the box. I also used my punch to punch holes in the scrap pieces of contact paper and used the circle confetti parts to stick on the box as the “ribbon” of the tag. 

I stained the box with a rosewood colored wood stain and waited the appropriate amount of time for it to dry. I then pulled off the contact paper tags and “ribbon”.

I then sized and traced a smaller tag onto contact paper and cut out the inside of it to form a stencil. I placed the contact paper on the box, making sure the cut out sections fit nicely into the wooden tag parts already there. Any areas not covered with contact paper I covered up with masking tape.

On the one side of the box and on one of the tags I then placed stickers to read “rusks” as I would use the box most often for those. I placed the stickers within the area not covered by the contact paper.  I left the other tag free of stickers so that when I was done painting I could write the flavor of the rusks on it. The other side of the box I left free from stickers for when I used the box for anything other than rusks.

Once all that was done, and I was sure that all the areas of the box that I did not want painted with chalkboard paint was covered, I spray painted the box with chalkboard paint. I gave it two coats but it’s probably best to read the instructions of your spray-paint if you are going to give this project a try.

When I was done painting but before the paint completely dried I pulled off the contact paper and stickers. The nice chalkboard tags were left behind with one of them already labelled rusks.

I left this box to completely dry and then waited a few more days to make sure that the paint smell was gone. I did not paint the inside of the box but I wanted to make sure that I would have not the ugly paint fumes seeping through to my rusks. Now I just place my favourite store bought rusk box into my nicely painted box and keep it on the kitchen counter; right next to the kettle for easy and pretty access for when I want coffee and biscuits. 

Remote control box naturally stained

Materials:
Vinegar
Steel wool
Coffee
Rubber gloves
Old coffee tin
Painting tray

Method:
Mix vinegar, steel wool and coffee
Let sit for few days
Pour into a painting tray
Use rubber gloves and left over steel wool to paint box
Paint a second coat
Deco podge the box with any decoration. I used these laser cut cardboard Jesus crosses that I found at a craft store

DIY personalized pillows

I have noticed quite a number of interesting DIY projects all over the net using material transfer sheets and so when I finally saw some in a stationary store I grabbed them up. They were a little pricey so I am pleased as punch that my first trial run turned out so well. I gave them to my boyfriend and he loves them too. Yay! The packet of sheets didn’t come with instructions though so after a bit of research this is the process I used...

Materials needed:

1. An image, quote or design you want printed on your material.

2. Pre-washed and dried material.

3. Dark material inkjet transfer paper.

4. An inkjet printer.

5. Iron.

Transferring your image:

1. using an inkjet printer, print your image, quote or chosen design. Print on the side without the line. It is not necessary to print the image in mirror image, even if there is text.

2. Allow the image to dry completely, preferably overnight.

3.  Cut away any paper that you do not want to transfer.

4. Transfer your image onto your material using an iron. To do this put the material on your work surface. I placed an old bath sheet (towel) on my ironing board and used that as my work surface. Iron the material to get rid of any moisture that may be present (we were having a couple of days of rainy weather) and to take away wrinkles. I had my iron set on the highest setting. Set the material aside until it has completely cooled. Once the material is cooled down, carefully remove the backer film; the side with the printed line. Position the image etc on the material at the position where you want it. Place the ironing sheet, which came with the transfer sheets, over the surface of the transfer. Iron on the transfer, continually moving the iron up and down, for about 2 minutes. Ensure to give extra attention to the edges.

And that is that. A perfect personalised DIY gift!

Ribbon bookmark

Making a bookmark with a piece of ribbon and an earring is a fun and easy way to use the remaining earring of a pretty set if you have lost one. 

You will need:

• Ribbon 
• Ribbon Clamp End Crimps (2 per bookmark)
• jump rings
• flat nose pliers
• round nose pliers
• ruler
• earrings from old jewelry

Here’s how to make them :

1. Measure ribbon and cut into the length you want. About 25 cm.
2. Place ribbon clamp on one end of the ribbon. Press down on ribbon clamp until it’s secure using flat nose pliers. Make sure the end cap is the right size for the ribbon.
3. If you want you can thread a buckle onto the ribbon. Make sure the buckle is the right size for the ribbon. If it's not the right size then it just looks silly.
4. Repeat the end clamping process on other end of ribbon. Using your pliers, carefully open a jump ring and attach earring.
5. Attach this to the clamp end.

Alternatively:

If your end clasps do not have loops on them to attach the jump ring to then you can use a D ring instead. Place a D ring at one of the ribbon ends. Make sure the D ring is the right size for the ribbon. Turn the ribbon over and apply a drop of fabric safe glue onto the tip of the ribbon. Fold the end over the ring and press closed for a few seconds. Leave to dry. Using your pliers, carefully open a jump ring and attach earring. Attach this to the D ring.

You can also add an earring to other side of ribbon.

Tips : 

Instead of earring's you can also use charms or pendants. I tried one with a pendant but it seemed way to heavy for the ribbon though. 

personalized coffee mug

As an avid coffee drinker, I thought it would be a good idea to blog about a decorated mug that I did for my mom. Although not intricate or detailed, I love this project and have dubbed it my unofficial mug. It also holds a special sentimental place in my heart as the quote comes from a song I remember her playing on record when I was younger; it brings back childhood memories.

Hope you enjoy the tutorial

What You'll Need:

• Ceramic pen (I found permanent markers and paint pens are not actually permanent for this type of project)
• Ceramic mug
• Carbon paper
• Printer

Instructions:

1. Wash your mug with soap and water, and let it dry thoroughly. Preferably overnight as this will make the transfer step easier.
2. Print out the text. I measured the height and desired width I wanted the text to take up on the mug and inserted a text box in Microsoft word of that size. I then inserted the quote and played around with different fonts and sizes until I was happy with the result and printed that out.
3. Using the carbon paper transfer the text to the mug.
4. Sometimes the transferred text comes out a little light so go over it with a permanent marker. I don't think this step is necessary but I thought rather safe than sorry. I didn't want my hand accidentally rubbing the transfer off.
5. Go over the permanent marker with the ceramic pen.
6. (If at any point you make a mistake erase it with an alcohol swab and restart)
7. Let the mug stand and air dry for 24 hours.
8. Place your mug in a cold oven and set the heat to 180 degrees (Celsius).
9. When the oven is done preheating set the timer for 40 minutes and bake your mug. After 40 minutes turn the oven off, leaving the mug inside the oven to cool down with the oven.
10. Once the oven and mug have completely cooled down remove the mug.
11. Wash the mug, make a cup of coffee and enjoy your latest successful DIY project.