Baby Quilt for Farley Girl

Hello- I'M BACK...

It has been almost 2 years since my last post but I've decided to use my blog again but only for my crafts.  I like having a place to 'record' them in case I ever want to revisit them again.

I'm in the process of making all the bedding for little girl Farley due in April.  (Not ours... Matt's brother's)  Here's the quilt and all the dimensions in case you'd ever want to make one.  It's VERY easy.  I stole the pattern from an etsy quilt and figured out all the dimensions for it.

Get all your supplies and cut strips accordingly

Sew strips together with 5/8" seams and them place on top of batting and backing.  Cut the batting to fit the top layer in size but leave 1 1/2" of backing on each edge to use as bias tape (finishing the edges)

Pin all 3 layers together with LOTS of pins

Sew layers together. I sewed a 1/2 inch below each "Strip Seam".

Backing after layers are sewn together

Make sure you get some help from your nephew since you are making his sister's blanket.  

COMPLETED QUILT!
I folded over the backing and used that in stead of bias tape for the edges.

Time estimate: 6 hours

Birthday Post for Angela

This is all for my cousin Angela... enjoy.

BIRTHDAY POST #1 (more coming)

6:40- Matt wakes me up with birthday pancakes.  He had made a heart and a 22.  It was so cute.
7:05- Left for school
7:40- Got to school
7:50- Started teaching... a few little "Happy Birthdays" here and there.  In one class I was sang Happy Birthday in Egyptian and Italian (2 foreign exchange students).  And in another class the students YELLED the Happy Birthday song at the top of their lungs.  Quite funny.
12:30- Lunch...I had 8 texts and 7 missed calls...I felt so loved by everyone!
1:15- Left school early
1:30- Went to the doctors.  I've had a cough for 4 weeks (that's for another post...which probably won't happen knowing me) and so I decided it was time to take things seriously.
2:30- Got my hair cut.
3:30- Visited my mom at a career fair she was at in Cedar Rapids.  It was great to be able to see her and Cindy Shearer on my birthday.  They are blessings in my life.
4:30- Met with 2 lovely girls from UNI who came down just to have coffee with me.
5:45- Left and drove home
6:15- Got home and Nephew Ben had  a BEAUTIFUL hand and foot painting which said happy birthday waiting for me.  And Lianne had made a wonderful supper and fantastic cupcakes.  I love where we live.  :)
6:30- Care Group Begins at our house.
9:00- Care Group Ends and Matt gives me his present for me.  He got me this bowl which matches our dishes set.  I love it.  I got a lot of the 'extras' for our dishes set for this birthday...2 big serving bowls, salt and pepper shakers, and a gravy bowl.  The set is kinda expensive so it is nice to be getting them as presents.  :)  I am so excited to have the whole set. 
9:30- The nightly coughing began...sad face... meaning I slept on the couch.  I can't wait to get to sleep in our bed again.   Hopefully my new medicine will kill the cough. 

And that is what happened on my 22nd birthday.  We are going on a date this weekend so I'll let you know all about it after it happens.  And maybe I'll stick some pictures in as well.

to say...

No clever anything here. Basically I'm on here to say...

1. MY SISTER IS HAVING A BABY SOON!

This weekend we are celebrating her soon coming baby boy and (maybe) I'll get pictures up here after it happens. It has been so much fun planning for this little boy and his parents!

2. WE ARE MOVING IN WITH MY PARENTS (for 3 weeks)

Matt has a rotation in Ames starting May 14th so we are moving in with Mom, Dad, Nicole, Chris, and wee-one for 3 weeks. Crammed but so much fun!

3. I'M MAKING MY SISTER'S BABY BEDDING

...and it's stinking cute. She designed it all and I'm SOOO excited for it to be all put together. (Maybe) Pictures will be up about that soon as well.

4. I'M TEACHING HIGH SCHOOLERS

I am not student teaching at Jefferson High, love it, and have realized how much attitude those stinking 15-18 year old kids have. Why can't you just stand up when I ask you to and do so without fighting/complaining about it? :)

5. I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND EVER

Sometimes I am just amazed by him and all he does. He is going strong in his schooling and still makes time for the Lord, me and others. What an incredible guy!

6. I LOVE DOWNTON ABBEY

I know there's a lot of fuss about this show but ultimately it rocks.

7. WE SERVE AN INCREDIBLE GOD!

This one needs no explanation. He shows his power and might daily and that is more than my words could ever do.

-'til next time.

Quotes

So I am now officially an elementary school teacher (at least for the past 3 days and future week). I am in complete control of the whole day during student teaching. And I am really loving it. Here's a few quotes from the process

QUOTE 1:
M "Mrs. Farley, Mrs. Farley...." (continues excitingly screaming)
Me: "M... you need to sit down."
M: "No (in a very persistent tone) I need to introduce myself. (voice changes to a sweet caring sound) I'm M, and I'm very glad to meet you."

QUOTE 2:
T: (raising his hand and my cooperating teacher [CT] calls on him) "She's cute" (points to me)

QUOTE 3:
T: (he's a very naughty kid and after one class I got down to his level and gave him a little talk about how he needs to act in class) "Ok Mrs. Farley" (promptly turns to his friends) "She tried to kiss me."

QUOTE 4:
W: (Native American boy...comes up to me almost in tears) "TN called me an idiot." (I go over to TN)
Me: "TN did you call W an idiot?"
TN: "No I called him an Indian"
(Well good... because we shouldn't be calling people idiots but what were you doing calling him an Indian?)

QUOTE 5: (all in one recess time)
N: (runs up after recess) "C hit me in the face,"
Me: Ok...where is he?
N: I don't know
S: (girl who comes running up) "C is stuck in the snow"
Me: oh no... well let's go get him. (we go get him where his leg is stuck in a snow drift)
Me: (to C) "Did you hit N?"
C: Well yeah... but he hit me too! (OH BOY!!!)

MEANWHILE...
S: Mrs. Farley, H called me a stupid mean girl.
Me: Well let's go find her. (Not another one)
Me: (to H) "Did you call S a stupid mean girl?"
H: "She called me dumb."
(OH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIGHTS!)

QUOTE 6: (this happens almost daily)
E: "Mrs. Farley...come watch what I can do with the jump rope."
Me: "Ok E."
E: (proceeds to simply jump rope, maybe throwing in a cross of the arms once in awhile...and jumps for about 3 minutes before she allows me to walk away.)

QUOTE 7:
Me: "Let's find the F word in the music room that coordinates with what we are talking about."
(maybe next time I should switch up the wording of that sentence)

QUOTE 8:
Me: (after talking about skips and steps and singing a song with the word skippity in it) "Ok here's the next example to figure out... this one's trickity."

QUOTE 9:
Me: (to a Kindergarten class) "What do your valentine's look like this year?"
K1: "My family went to a restaurant last night."
Me: "Oh that's very cool K1." (turning to K2) "What do yours look like?"
K2: "My dog and I like running in the park with my dad. Sometimes we walk down there and play."
Me: "How exciting." (turning to K3) "What do your valentines look like?"
K3: "I like to color pictures of horses and sometimes my brother colors with me."
(Good thing we are getting somewhere now.)

QUOTE 10:
Me: (singing a song about decorating a valentine...I asked them what they would use to decorate it. So far we have sung about paints, stickers, glitter, glue, paper...) "What else can we use?"
F: "PUPPIES!"


That should do for now... I'll try to be better at updating this as I go along with any other fun quotes. I have 3 weeks left here and then off to high school. I'm loving it here and my CT is AMAZING!!! So long for now!

Year Goals...

I finally did it. I made some 'goals' for this year. I am NOT a person who normally sets goals and although these may be more of guidelines for how I want to live, I am still calling them goals. So here they are!


So the first 2 categories are self explanatory and set for all year long. The last category is one that I will change as I progress. I am setting 3 projects as my short term goals which I am keeping my mind set around. Here's an explanation of my current 3...

1. Shutterfly- I am putting together our 2011 photo book and have it about 1/2 done. So 2 pages a day takes about 10-15 minutes... Doable... yes.

2. Prayer Cards- I heard about a prayer card system here awhile ago and have wanted to put one together. This will take some time but definitely worth it.

3. Baby Bedding- I am making a quilt, fitted sheet, bumpers, crib skirt, pillow, and perhaps a few other things for my sister's baby coming in May. This is my big sewing project right now. Updates will follow.

Shutterfly

Shutterfly has become one of my friends these last few weeks. I began our wedding album right when we got our pictures back in June but only finished it about a week ago due to not having all our honeymoon pictures ready to put in.


But now I am going crazy and trying to put together our 2011 book. I would like to make a book for every year from now on (but I can't figure out if this is a realistic goal.)

It is becoming easier and I'm excited for when I am caught up and can just whip up a page here and there as events happen. Hopefully I can get caught up soon.

Here's to the memories!

Emily!

Emily is a girl that I have been meeting with for the past 2 years. She has been such a wonderful blessing in my life and has helped me grow in so many ways. Many people say that when you disciple someone, you end up changing/learning more than you teach them. Well I think this is probably the case.


Today was our last official meeting and so I have been thinking back about the last few years this morning. Seeing where Emily has come from is amazing. She is no where close to where she was a few years ago. The Lord has used her in GREAT ways. She is now a member of a sorority and living every day to expand God's Kingdom. It is amazing. I am so proud of her!


I will definitely miss her but I know that she will continue to grow and impact others' lives. Can't wait to see where she goes!

Easy Christmas Gift

For those of you who don't know, I sell Mary Kay here and there. Once in awhile I'll do a facial, party, etc. and when there's a sweet deal I'll let you know. :)

Well... there's a SWEET deal right now!

This pedicure set is only $11 right now (normally $22). It includes:

• a relaxing foot soak
• soothing foot balm
• pedicure brush/pumice stone
• and the zippered bag.

So if you are frantically searching around for a gift for that person who is impossible to buy for (or simply someone who LOVES pedicures)... here you go!

If you would like to purchase one simply let me know by:
commenting on this blog,
emailing me at amy.farley4@gmail.com,
or calling me at (515) 520-1683

Let me know if you would like to purchase any other Mary Kay gifts for this Christmas season!

**Shipping is free**

Student or Teacher?

So I will be beginning my student teaching on January 9th. I am very excited about it and have already been talking with my cooperating teachers.

I will spend my first 8 weeks at Coolidge Elementary in Cedar Rapids. I have talked on the phone with this teacher and I am VERY excited to spend these weeks with her. I will have 18 classes a week and have grades K-6. One of my college professors is also very good friends with her and cannot stop saying wonderful things about her. I will get to meet her in about a week.

My second 8 weeks will be at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. My cooperating teacher goes to church with a few of my good friends from Cedar Rapids so I am very excited about that connection as well. Jefferson is a Big school in comparison to Roland Story so this will be a new and exciting change. They will be putting on Thoroughly Modern Millie for their musical this spring which I will help with. I am very excited about this since I was in this musical during my high school years.

I will keep the updates coming once everything begins. Can't wait for this chance to learn and teach at the same time!!!

4 letter word everyone seems to hate...

S.N.O.W.

The forecast for tonight is 1-4 inches of beautiful, unique, incredible white fluff. Whenever I have heard someone talk about this today or have mentioned it to people their first response is "really?" in a monotone, annoyed tone.

Now I'll be the first to say that scraping snow off my car and trying to stomp through feet of snow when late or dressed up are not my favorite things. There are aspects of winter and snow which I could do without HOWEVER...

I can choose to live in Iowa or Texas.
I can choose to be annoyed or excited.
I can choose how I respond to this forecast.

So for the past 4ish years I have chosen to LOVE winter. To embrace everything about it. Why complain?!? We live in Iowa... God has given us 9 months to prepare for snow and since you've experienced it say 20 times before, you know what's coming.

So let's all choose to LOVE winter and when there's a -30 degree windchill and you are outside scraping 2-inch-thick ice off your car which was covered with 2 feet of snow... SMILE because you are experiencing an incredible creation of God in an extremely intimate and interactive way. :)

Blessed.

We are blessed.

Over the past month I have been bombarded with stories about people who have a much harder life than I have. Here are a few examples:

-Watched "Hotel Rwanda" and saw all the lives of those people being torn apart.
-21 year old boy: mother and brother were shot in his presence when he was 5.
-21 year old girl: had a gun stuck in her mouth at the age of 4 and threatened to be shot.
-21 year old girl: husband of 1 year is filing for separation and kicking her out.
-Started reading Kate's Kisses which explains the lives of children in Uganda and the trials of living there.
-Read my cousin's blog about living in Africa and the daily struggles that brings.

And those are just a few examples. Yet I continue to complain at times. God has blessed me in so many ways. I have never seen anyone be killed, I have never been abused, I have never been 'hungry', I have never had to worry about money or where I was going to sleep at night. I have a WONDERFUL life.

Yet... I am distracted in this world of "comfort" and "easy". In Kate's Kisses the author talks about how going through all the trials without any 'comforts' caused her to fall on her knees before the Lord. It MADE her depend on Him. In this world where I have a 'wonderful' life I am never MADE to fall down. I am never without help from a worldly thing.

So yes I am blessed, yet at times I see those 6 year old children in Uganda as more blessed than me. They understand what it means to fully drop before the Lord and praise Him for ALL that He is since they have nothing else in their lives.

Burlap Wall Hanging

Burlap Wall Hanging
(just inspired)

I was going to do another craft from Pinterest which required a frame so I bought a cheap one from good will. I ended up getting inspired in another way and that original craft never happened. Maybe another day. But here is what came out instead!

Bought a cheap frame, felt, burlap, and wooden letters to spell whatever I wished, in this case...Family.

Painted the letters red (to match the felt) and the frame brown.

Lined the backing of the frame with burlap.
(I had never thought of burlap before as an option for decorating but am starting to love it more lately... and it's decently cheap!)

Made some more felt roses which you can see a tutorial on my previous post.

Hot glued everything on! DONE!

Twine Letters

Twine Letters

(inspired by Pinterest)

This craft was a bit time consuming but ended up really cute! I am very excited about it.

I started by outlining the letter with twine.

Then I wrapped the letter completely, hot gluing the twine on the back as I went.
It was kind of hard determining which was the twine should go and how to get it there.

The finished wrapped up letter.

Next... felt roses. Here's a quick tutorial.

Cut a 'wiggly' circle like below.
(I had started the next step when I took this picture)

Cut around the edge going towards the center so it becomes one long 'snake'.
Leave the end as a little circle. (See below)

Start rolling up the fabric starting at the end you started cutting.
You can change the look of the flower depending on how tightly you roll it.
Hot glue the bottom of the flower to hold it all in place.
Take the circle piece at the end and glue it to the bottom to make a finished look.

I made 2 flowers for this. The size of the flowers depends on the size of the original circle.

Then I cut a strip of the fleece and glued it on the back. SIMPLE!

FINISHED PRODUCT:

Reusable Makeup Removers

Reusable Makeup Removers

(inspired by LisaGrace Alsbury)

-----------------------------------------------------
Craft #3-- If you didn't see the other two crafts I've posted look below. There's one more to come as well...
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I go through around 1 tube of cotton rounds a month. They are about $2.00 a tube ($24.00 a year) and I just throw them away... not a way to save the planet!

So I saw this on another blog and decided to try it out! Nothing crazy and they aren't well made (because I made them so fast) but they will work.

Bought a 1/4 yard of FLANNEL.
Sewed right sides together into a long strip.

Turned it right side out.
Cut into small squares.

Did a quick seam down each side of the square and viola!

A completed square (don't judge me by the horrible side seams/cuts... I am a bit embarrassed by them)

I am simply putting them in a 'delicates' bag when I wash them. Hopefully these work.

Total cost: $0.68 for 30 pieces
Saved: $23.32 and a bit of the world :)

Easy Canvas Design

Canvas Design

(inspired by Pinterest)

I simply put drywall mud into a plastic bag, snipped the end off and squeezed it onto the canvas. Then once it dried I painted it all.


I did draw out the design before so I knew where to put the mud. It was also hard getting the mud to come out evenly so I may experiment with new types of pastes or something. The people I got the idea from said elmer's glue but I tried this and it did not work out.

The Reliability of the Bible

Steve Riggs, a doctor in the Cedar Falls area came and talked at Navigators the other night. He spoke about the reliability of the Bible and how we can trust that what we have today is what was originally written in the Bible. Here are a few things he stated.

Do Christians REALLY believe the Bible is the Word of God?

82% said "God helps those who help themselves" is the most widely quoted verse in America (NOT EVEN A VERSE)

42% of the congregation read the Bible less than 5 minutes a day

58% could not name more than 5 of the 10 commandments.

63% could not Name the Four Gospels.

DEUTERONOMY 32:47- "They are not just idle words for you- they are your life."

New Testament Manuscript Evidence

I hope you can read this... Ultimately the Bible has less time between when it was written and the earliest copy we have than plenty of other books we call 'fact' or study intensely. It also has thousands more copies than any of the other books on the list.

These copies are 98.33-99.5% pure and without doubt as to textual accuracy.

Because of the small amount of years between the original writing the date of the copy we have today, there is no time for a legend to have occurred.

Old Testament Manuscript Evidence

The Old Testament was completed around 400 BC and we have copies dating from 100-200 BC. (Dead Sea Scrolls). All of the copies of the Old Testament are 95% accurate in comparison to each other. The other 5% of variate are basically made up of obvious slips of the pen and variations of spelling.

We have a LIVING GOD who spoke these words into being... and we have a RELIABLE source from which we can learn about this Incredible God!

Thoughts (and a little extra fun)

Ok so I have always said that I am not very good at expressing my thoughts in words, but today I started thinking as I "read another blog/tried to comment on it in a meaningful way" about why I say this.  It is something I don't like about myself and I have always wished that I could be 'better' at it.

So... why don't I work at changing this?  Why don't I 'study' other people and how they 'express their thoughts through words' and learn from them?

Why do I just go to saying that I'm not good at it?  I think ultimately this is because I don't want to be seen as 'awkward' when I speak or because I just down right compare myself to others.  Who cares if this person can express their feelings in a more fluid and clear way... I can't (as of now) and so I'm just going to stumble through my thoughts and work at it. 

Another thing... Why do I say that I'm 'shy' or 'quiet'?  Yes I am, but ultimately I have been voted one of the loudest people in my family... and that means I'm loud...NOT SHY or QUIET.  So why do I hide behind this?  It simply hinders me from stepping out, getting to know people, having meaningful relationships, and on top of it all... SHARING THE GOSPEL.

So... I'm gonna work at it.  That's it.

And just because it's fall.... 

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Ingredients 

2 packages (14-1/2 ounces each) gingerbread cake mix

 1 package (4.6 ounces) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix 

3 cups 2% milk 

1 can (29 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin 

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, dividedPumpkin Gingerbread Trifle Recipe 40 Directions 

       Prepare and bake gingerbread according to package directions, using two greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

       Meanwhile, for pudding, in a large saucepan, combine pudding mix and milk; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Combine pumpkin and brown sugar; stir into pudding.

       In a 4-qt. glass serving bowl, crumble one gingerbread cake; gently press down. Top with half of pudding mixture and whipped topping. Repeat layers. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Yield: 25 servings (1 cup each).

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Crafts...

I have been doing some fun crafts lately to take up my time.  Here are 2 of them.

Craft #1- Wall decoration.

Made out of 3 pre-finished shelves from Lowes.  I simply added picture hangers on the backs. Total cost: $16.00. 

Craft #2- This is inspired by Pinterest!  It's a key holder.

The supplies.

Painting the frame and the "F" (sorry it's sideways)

Adding the paper.

I just used elmers to glue the "F" on.

Without the hooks

Hooks added.

Finished product.  Total cost: $8.00

Easy-smeasy.  I have another craft that I'll blog about soon too.  I am getting hooked on Pinterest and loving all the fun craft ideas!

I want to learn how to...

...use knives properly.

...decorate cakes.

...dance well.

...take pictures.

These are the four ares where I want to improve.  I would love to take classes in all of these areas. I am not someone who loves taking 'classes' normally but I have been thinking about these areas a lot.  So if you have any ideas about how/where to start let me know!

I think I may start by taking a cake decorating class next semester (since this semester is crazy) at Hobby Lobby or HyVee.  That's as far as I've gotten!

What do you want to learn how to do?

The Unlikely Shmo

The Unlikely Shmo is someone like you and me.
Someone who is average. Someone like...

Gideon
David
Mary
Peter
Esther
Rahab
Noah
Abraham
Moses
Paul
Joseph
...

But all these people have something in common...
BOLD FAITH.

God called each one of them to TRUST HIS STRENGTH rather than their own and 'go for it.'

Gideon tore down his dad's altar to Baal and fought a huge army with only 300 men.
Esther went before Xerxes with the possibility of dying to save her people.
Moses went to his brother and requested for the Israelites to be set free.
Peter was unschooled but had the courage to preach God's word to all.

In every situation these people were blessed and rewarded for stepping out in BOLD FAITH.

Why?

God's Miraculous Power

so...

The Unlikely Shmo + Bold Faith =
God's Power

That is what we are called to do as Christ followers.


So what if we don't...What's the opposite???

"I'm the man" ideology + Self-Reliance =
God's opposition


I think I choose the first!!!

(from Mark Arant's sermon on 8/28/11)