So I had this little wooden sign I decided to make functional...I thought it turned out pretty cute! I have to decide if I'm going to keep it on my front door or sell it now...

Upcycled Lego Crayons!

This is such a fun project! Something very satisfying about making all those little pieces of crayons in to sharp rectangles...not to mention peeling off the paper and sorting the colors! It's my Type A side I normally keep hidden!

This was perfect for Jackson & I to do on a sick day (we've had lots of those between the 6 of us in the last couple months!) He had so much fun. Step 1 was to sort the crayons and peel off LOTS of paper. I have since wised up and plan to use my exacto knife to speed up that process!

Thanks and credit here to my youngest 2 for the abundant broken crayon stash :x they completely destroyed a whole box of big brother's Crayolas... for fun apparently...what is wrong with my kids??

Then we filled the tray with similarly colored groupings of crayon bits. You have to use more than you think to make the finished crayons thick enough, they really melt down! I was so pleased to find this off brand silicone tray on ebay, the Lego brand ice cube tray can only be heated to like 130 degrees, this one can handle the 400 needed. And the finished "legos" are bigger than the lego brand.

Bake @ 400 for 10 minutes (almost exactly in my oven) And let them cool for longer than you think. You don't want them to snap when prying them out. (Besides, it gave me more time to peel another batch of crayons! Oi Vay.) I found it easiest to pull each crayon loose from the sides then peel back the silicone to remove. It peels right off!

Voila! Love our fun and funky crayons! (and no, they do not actually click together as one poor man-child complained about on his website! LOL) But they do color and look pretty cool. Can't wait to find some different shaped molds to try!

Corys 1st xmas

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Born Again

I'm taking a detour to share about a recent change in my life.

If you could let me ramble here, I wanted to share my experience being recently Born Again!

I'm from Ohio, we went to a Methodist church back home. Being "born again" wasn't really talked about a lot, I never knew much about it except the story of Nicodemus

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3&version=NIV

and that I was a believer in Christ. As a girl, I knew I wanted Jesus to "be in my heart" as my parents taught me. But it wasn't until I made my own decision as a young adult to follow Him.

Well, I've experienced something new, 15+ years after choosing a relationship with God. It's been weeks since it happened, I wanted to be sure it wasn't just an event that came and went, like so many Sunday mornings. In my life, I've known the Holy Spirit, felt Him move in my soul many times. I have talked with God and felt His answer in my heart, what a blessing! I've been in a group of 100+ people and felt the burden of their despair all at once, it is too much. That's another story, but I believe it was God moving. I had seen a glimpse of Heaven once and it was almost too much to bear, just that glimpse!

But a few weeks ago, we had a speaker at our church. And this isn't about him at all, it's just that he's the one who God used to change me. I've never understood why I had so much pain and agony in my heart from abuse suffered as a child. Why I couldn't find joy even though I desperately longed for it. WHY I couldn't just find peace in my kids and husband instead of being angry & bitter for no reason! I prayed, I cried out, I turned my heart cold to God many times when He wouldn't answer me. I tried everything and surrendered to a life of misery, that's just who I am, I thought.

But God spoke to me one morning through this kid (I say kid, he's in his 20's) and God filled me for a moment and I was completely frozen. I couldn't do anything or think anything except GOD. That was the moment, I don't remember anything else much from that day!

Since then, I have found joy even when dealing with tragedies around me. I feel bad, being joyful. But I know God has given me this gift of joy! I have found it essential to my soul to take care of people who have noone, nothing, give what I have away. I've donated toys, coats and bedding to others in the last few weeks. We have less now than we did, but then, we are rich compared to so many others! I don't have money to give, but we have so much excess stuff it's shameful.

This song, Born Again by Third Day, says it all. I know it's on the radio all the time, and they're a popular Christian band. But the truth and description of being "born again" is all new to me, and I'm there. It is so amazing. Please watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHnIJWUGQ-4&feature=related

Thanks for letting me share

Merry Christmas 2010

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Wish List

Here are some tools I think I need...NEED Right?
I love refinishing furniture, but don't really have the space to work with potentially bad-for-kids products. Like sanding and painting...bad. Staple guns that use air compressors and electric sanders...bad. Crowded garage we can't even park in...bad!
BUT if I could, here's what I would wish for....