Let There Be Thankfulness to God

Let there be thankfulness to God.


That's what the runner says, draped across the table, bringing a smile and reminding me not to rush too quickly toward the fast celebration of Christmas, but linger awhile, in a place of gratitude.

Thanksgiving is next week and the holiday, this year, for us, will be full of family and wonderful food but will also be just another day on our calendar.  Work days for us both, right in the middle of our work week, we'll squeeze turkey and football and laughter in on lunch breaks and celebrate a breakfast meal and a postponed dessert.  I think it's what I need this year, though.  A break from the fanfare to realize the simple truth that Thanksgiving is not a day but a state of being, that gathering around the table and the knowledge that expressing thankfulness to God can be an every day reality and not just a once-a-year hooplah.

It's one of the reasons why I love the entire Ever Grateful collection at Dayspring.  It reminds us, in runners and on aprons, on desert plates and cake plates and coffee mugs, that it's all gift and we are wise to thank Him for it all, every day, every meal, every cup of hot, steamy, life-giving, deliciously chocolatey coffee.

This month is a lean one for our family.  The entire year is, really.  And yet, I've got more to be grateful for than ever. It is not about celebrating what you have, I am learning, as much as it is celebrating who you have, and whose you are.

And if, like me, you happen to be temporarily without a dining table of your own, the table runner also makes a great end-of-bed runner, to carry the concept of thankfulness right into your bedroom, as well.  It's on sale right now for $17.49 (!!!).  I loved it so much that I ordered the matching apron, too (adorable and also on sale, for $12.49).

Follow my affiliate links in this post to DaySpring and check out the great prices they have on the Ever Grateful collection, among other things.  This month, they are offering 30% off all wall canvases (awesome) and buy 1, get 1 tote bags (hello Christmas gifts!).  Swoon.  I just love DaySpring.



   


15% off on all gift purchases. Coupon code: 15OFFGIFTS

Get $10 off orders of $60 or more from DaySpring with promo code: 10off60

S-E-W Cute!

I started my self-challenge (see previous post) off on a good note, by making these wall letters to hang in my laundry/sewing room.  I wanted the individual letters but they were too spendy since my laundry room is supposed to be a $0 makeover.

Super easy project, which could have been even easier.  I just used some thin canvas boards that I had on hand, (which I think you can buy for under $1 a piece) and printed the letters out on regular paper.  I then used an X-acto knife to cut out the letters, trace them onto the boards, then filled them in with Sharpie and freehanded the "stitching" around the letters with a yellow-orange permanent marker.  It would have been even easier using the Cricut for the stencils or even using vinyl (which I plan to do for a matching set that says "WASH" for the laundry area, just to speed it up a tad).  Then I stuck some sticky tabs to the back to hang, and voila!  Cute!

Wall Hanging for a Buck

The first promise I make and I already break it -- go figure. Forgive me for not sharing sooner. Come have a seat on the patio with me. This is one of my favorite spots.


Anyway, as it often does, life happened, and while I had intended to get right to work creating something fabulous to kick off my blog blabber, that just didn't quite happen. While I do have bigger and better projects I hope to get to soon, we just found out the house we're living in is being put on the market, which means some serious cleaning and home staging has taken priority, at least for this week.

I do have some photos to share, but accept my apologies for their quality. I recently got a new camera that is turning out to be terrible, and I need to mess with some settings and see if I can figure out how to improve things, as its guaranteed to be operator error.

Here's something I whipped up on the cheap with just a few minutes and the help of the Cricut.

Before: Plain dollar-store plaque.

I painted it with gesso and then dry-brushed on some aqua craft paint (I cheated and didn't even take the ribbon that came with it off first -- that's lazy!).


Cut some vinyl in the font I chose (using Make The Cut software, along with the Cricut)


And transferred the image to the plaque using clear contact paper as transfer tape. It needed a little something, so I added the bird graphic with a rubber stamp... and... voila! Cute little wall hanging in a jiffy, and for barely more than a buck.

Hope it's been a beautiful weekend for you all, and welcome to my new visitors. Thanks for stopping by!

Edit: I was SO excited to discover that this week's CSI challenge was a dollar-store theme. I really wanted to participate in the Martha Stewart challenge last week but once again, life got ahead of me, so without further ado, I'm linking up to my first official link exchange and entering into my first challenge with this super-thrifty lil' darling. Check out the CSI Project page and enter your own dollar-store treasure!



Have fun and Get Smitten!