Door Lift

After using the same wreaths on my front doors for almost two years I’m kind of tired of them.  My doors need a lift.  So would that be called a door lift?  Anyway . . . if you’ve priced wreaths lately they can be pricey.  Through all the blogs I follow I’ve seen about a hundred tutorials for wreaths.  But for some reason none of them motivated me to actually make one.  But when I saw my mom’s cute homemade UK rag wreath I made my own the next day

All you need is,

1. wire wreath frame
2. scrap material
3. scissors

I have collected an overflowing pile of scrap material that I pick up when it's in the scrap bin at craft store or even at yard sales.  There was more than enough material in my pile to make two wreaths.  I picked up the wire wreath frames at Michael's for under $5.  So these two wreaths didn't cost me more than $10!

If you don't have scrap material you can buy one yard of fabric (per wreath).  Remember if you want a variety of colors you don't want to purchase one pattern of fabric but mix it up.  Make a template from a piece of cardboard or some type of sturdy material so the pieces will all be the same size.  The template should be about one inch wide by 10 inches long. 

You will need a lot of material pieces.  The wreath frame I purchased is divided into nine sections with four rows.  However, I included two rows together and tied 10 pieces for each section.  That means you will need approximately 270 strips.  Yes, I seriously calculated how many pieces.  I didn’t actually count while I was cutting but I thought for some of you that might actually make this you would want to know.  So, you’re welcome.  

After the pieces were cut I started tying them.  Let me clarify I didn’t actually tie each piece with a knot.  I looped them (see picture above).  

Okay, so I feel like I just made this project sound extremely hard.  Honestly, you can’t mess it up.  It doesn’t matter if you tie or loop and it doesn’t matter how many material pieces are on each section.  Just jump in and make it the way you like.  I didn’t originally put as many pieces on each section but then when I put it on the door I went back and added some to make it fuller.


The fun thing is there are so many variations.  You can use certain colors for holidays, team colors, or just mix your favorites.  Also note this is a great project while watching TV.  

A New Tradition

Happy Easter!  

I don't think I"ll even try to express in my words what this day represents.  I'm going to lean on Noel Piper (John Piper’s wife) and her explanation of this special day.

“Easter is not a one-day thing-not a 24-hour event.  Easter is our reawakening to the ever living Jesus.  The celebration is our springtime springboard into the whole year of THE LORD IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

B and I started a new tradition for our family today.  Since we started the adoption process I have been praying for our child.  Each morning I pray for his caretakers, preparation for the transition when he comes home to us, his birth mother, and most importantly his salvation.  With each prayer that flows from my lips I grow to love him more, long for him more, and feel an urgency to pray even more for him.  Recently I came across this quote by Octavius Winslow on the Desiring God blog which was fueled the desire to lift my child up to his maker!

“Christian mothers, your child may be far away from the sheltering home, voyaging on the stormy sea, or dwelling in some distant climate beyond your voice. But he is still within the reach of the mightiest power a mother can wield – the power of prayer! And although you cannot throw around him your maternal arms to shield him from the evil of the world, you can invest him with your wrestling believing petitions, and secure on his behalf the Arm which encircles the globe, and is mighty to save. Oh that the Church of God may be filled with such praying mothers!”

Maybe I’m technically not yet a mother, but I believe God has a child chosen just for our family and even though I haven’t wrapped my arms around him God knows exactly where he is.    

Our tradition started with three eggs.  In each egg was a verse.  One specifically chosen for each of us.  This verse we will pray for one another throughout the year.  Next year we will choose new verses for one another and hopefully by then we will have our sweet baby in our arms.  We want this to be a traditional for years to come in our family.  We believe as Winslow says a mighty power can be found in the power of prayer!

Make Your Own . . . Firepit

In the fall B and I traveled to Elijay, Georgia for a weekend getaway of Glamping at The Martyn House.  From this trip I developed a short list of projects for our house.  I am pleased to announce that one of those projects can officially have a check mark next to it!

As you can see from the Glamping post, we spent time around the fire every night before bed.  After our first night I added this to my project list and informed B that I knew just the place for a firepit.  Recently, B was reading where Mark Driscoll had said he enjoyed time reading and studying by a firepit.  This must have fueled B's fire (pun intended) because just a short time later he hooked up the trailer and took off to pick up the stone. Fortunately, Brooke and Scotty had stone left from building their porch.  So we snagged a few pieces, picked up a bag of cement, added water, and ta-dah, our very own firepit.

Basically, our plan was that . . . we really didn’t have a plan.  We laid all the stones out so we could see them clearly.  We thought it would help to see all our stones when we were stacking.  B put the concrete on the stone then I would spread it.  Next, we both worked to place stones layer by layer.  Really, it was like putting together a puzzle.  If it looked like a piece didn’t fit or was too thick and started leaning we would try another until we found what worked best.  

I included this picture so you could see kind of where we put the firepit.  It's right off our back porch.  

Now, I must confess this project didn’t really go as smoothly as it sounds.  We originally bought quickrete which is apparently different than cement.  (I must confess this was my fault, not B’s but he was very gracious to me for this mistake.)  Apparently, quickrete is not necessarily made to “glue”, so . . . we had to tear down the pit and redo it using cement.  But honestly, if we would have used the cement first we could have completed this project easily in an hour or two.  I don’t know why we haven’t done it sooner.  


We have thoroughly enjoyed several nights of coziness around the fire!  Whether it's bundled up enjoying a good read or even taking a Sunday afternoon nap we definitely are enjoying the fruit of our labor.   

Knox (and his dirty face) enjoyed the fire, and he especially liked throwing sticks in.  

For those of you who are inspired to build your own firepit, Lowe's carries stone that is similar to what we used.   You could also substitute the stone for pavers, bricks, or other such material.  The cement we used can also be found at Lowe's for $10-$15 a bag.  As far as mixing the cement, we just followed the instructions on the bag.