So Sew Organized

In the few weeks leading up to Christmas, let’s take a step back from the decorating, shopping, and commercialism, and focus on the true meaning of Christmas - the Bethlehem story. One person at a time, we’ll go through the story in a character-study format, and try to put ourselves in the shoes of those individuals that were there on that first Christmas. Want to do some study for yourself? Here is the schedule: November 29: Joseph December 4: Mary December 6: Gabriel December 11: Shepherds December 13: Wise men December 19: Herod December 24: Jesus Today's character: King Herod - and how this story relates to us today photo credit When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a city in Judea, Herod the Great sat on the throne as king. He was a descendant of Esau, twin brother of Jacob, the father of the Israelite nation. Herod was a wicked, Godless king, who had erected heathen temples in Palestine for the worship of idols. It was to this political environment that the Saviour of...

I did a couple of Christmas projects recently that actually deviated from my red-and-white-at-Christmas obsession. Unbelievable, right? {wink!} They were both just small projects, but hopefully they will get your creative juices flowing and be a help to you. When you stop and think about it, snow has nothing to do with Christmas. Other than Christmas is in the winter, but that still doesn't associate it with snow. Lots of people live in places where it doesn't snow at all, yet we still often think of snowmen and such as "Christmas decor." I guess it is ok, since Christmas Day is the only day I allow it to snow. {wink!} Anyhow, these two projects involved snowflakes and a blue color scheme. Here's to being different! The first was our church's bulletin board. You saw how I fixed it up for Fall/Thanksgiving, but it was high time for the leaves to come down and something Christmasy to go up. I chose a design with a whole lot less cutting this time, lol! We had...

Happy Monday!! After a super, super busy week last week, I am seriously cracking down on a big long list of things that have to get done this week. Mostly for our church's Christmas program on Friday night, but I also need to finish up for Christmas as well. Anyone else feeling the crunch?? This last week was the week for Christmas parties. I was involved with 3!! That makes for a pretty busy week when you factor in the prep, baked goodies, and such. But they were all so much fun. I am so blessed to be part of the churches I am involved with! I showed you what I took to these parties for gifts - wanna see what I came home with?? This metal candle stand was one gift... I stole it from a lady in my dad's church during our gift exchange. {I mean stole in the nicest way, of course...it is part of the game (wink!)} I love the ORB type finish on the metal. It will be super fun to decorate with after the Christmas decor comes down! I don't have a pillar candle for it yet, but her...

I'm sharing a segment of my series on the people in the Christmas story over on Kraven today. Here is an excerpt from the post: "I know what you are thinking. Genealogy?? Are you for real? It is Christmas, and you want to talk about Genealogies ?? ‘Fraid so. ;) But this isn’t just any genealogy. It is the genealogy of Christ. And He is the One this season is centered around, right? Over the last few weeks I’ve been taking a look into the details of various characters from the Christmas story . And I nearly forgot to include the lives of 5 of the most unique characters that are included in this story. And that is where the genealogy comes in. " Read the rest of the post here.

The winner of the girls hat is... {drumroll, please} Rita! whose #4 comment was chosen by random.org. Congrats! Please either contact me or contact Kati directly with your mailing address.  The rest of you, head on over to Kraven to see who won the other prize! Thanks to everyone who entered for making this a fun giveaway!

I’m calling this tote, “Birds of a Feather” I was asked to make this as a Christmas present for a local lady, but I’m pretty sure she’s not reading here, so I thought I’d share it with you. Because I absolutely lurve it. Which is odd, because I’m not that into roosters, chickens, or partridges, and this bag has ‘em all. Hence the title of this post. And the turquoise….oh the turquoise. Purple has always been my favourite color. But since turquoise is basically the new black, I’ve been enjoying using it more and more in different areas. Whoever designed this rooster/chicken material was brilliant to include such a rich turquoise color!! I had a blast matching it to line the inside and provide a pleasing pop of color to the outside. This tote is an example of how fun it can be to take a certain theme that you adore, such as roosters, and tie it into a fun, stylish handbag that you can carry everywhere! I've done a similar idea with horses , and loved the result then, too. And even th...

There is so much to love about this time of year - the decor, the sweets, the carols, and the fun times with family and friends. With those fun times, however, comes an event that I have a love/hate relationship with - gift swaps . I have 4 different ones this year, people. It is hard enough to think of one gift for this kind of game, let alone 4 !! Thankfully, 2 of them are quite easy to buy for. The other 2 have to be more specific, important gifts. I thought I'd share the things I purchased for these gifts, and hopefully it will spark some ideas for you, too! I've very picky about the Christmas gifts I buy. I put a ton of thought into every one. Yes, that usually means I'm scrambling at the last minute to get everything done {cough} but I would rather take my time and come out with a meaningful gift that the recipient will truly be able to enjoy. The same goes for these gift swap gifts. I don't just want to get a generic Christmas tin and fill it with chocolate - al...

In the few weeks leading up to Christmas, let’s take a step back from the decorating, shopping, and commercialism, and focus on the true meaning of Christmas - the Bethlehem story. One person at a time, we’ll go through the story in a character-study format, and try to put ourselves in the shoes of those individuals that were there on that first Christmas. Want to do some study for yourself? Here is the schedule: November 29: Joseph December 4: Mary December 6: Gabriel December 11: Shepherds December 13: Wise men December 19: Herod December 24: Jesus Today's character: the Wise Men that followed the star For some reason, the story of the Wise Men has gotten terribly messed up over the years. I can’t figure it out. The shepherds story stays the same. Most people can get the rest of the nativity story right. But the wise men? Their story gets maaaaajorly messed up! Sometimes I feel like, lets not talk about the wise men, because everybody’s version of the story is so wro...

I  may or may not have mentioned my new opportunity this fall to assist with a Bible study at our local nursing home. Did I talk about this before? No? I assist a lady with a Bible study each week at our local nursing home. There, now I've mentioned it! :) Yesterday was our last meeting until after the new year, and we threw a Christmas party for the residents! I took my two younger sisters to help out and provide some music, and a great time was had by all! You may remember us helping out with this same party last year. It is such a privilege to be able to help out with this meeting, and meet and befriend these dear folks. Many of them have sharp minds and quick wits, and it is truly fun to be with them for an hour or so each week! It has been a blessing to see this group grow, and the excitement of each one as they come out. It is such a privilege to serve the Lord, isn't it? Here are some pictures of our Christmas party this year: Isn't that a great group of people? I al...

Need a last minute Christmas gift? Thursday, December 13 is the last day for orders from my shop that need to arrive by Christmas...so to help you get 'er done on time, here is an unexpected Christmas sale for you! Here are a few of the goodies still available.... Retro Ruby Medium tote Geometric Large tote Various decorative pillowcases, including this Sunny Day set Planning printables, of course! There is a bunch of other items as well, so pop on over and take a look! A few shop announcements: I can no longer take custom orders to be shipped by Christmas. All sales must be what is currently available in my shop.  From Christmas through the first 3 weeks of January, my shop will be taking a hiatus. I have big plans for shop updates early in 2013, and I'm going to be slipping behind the scenes to get things ready!! Digital files will still be available, but totes and pillowcases will be MIA for a few weeks. I'll keep you posted on my progress, and you will want to kee...

***Update: this giveaway is now closed. Click here to see who won!*** My real-life and blogging BFF Kati and I have a lot in common... ...we grew up best friends ...our parents are friends ...our grandparents were friends ...we both blog ...we both run Etsy shops ...we are giving you a Christmas present!!!!! If you haven't yet visited Kraven , Kati's new blog, then you are in for a treat! She is hosting the 25 Days of Christmas right now, and as part of the fun, she has offered to give away 2 items from her shop - one on her blog, and one on mine. What fun! The first item is a toddler size girl's hat.  This beanie is crocheted from warm, soft yarn in white, teal, and gray.  It features a contrasting band with a flower applique. So cute, right? The second item is a teen/woman's size ear warmer headband.  This item is also crocheted from warm, soft yarn in clear blue.  The headband features a colonial blue flower.  It is approximately 4-5 inches wide and ma...

In the few weeks leading up to Christmas, let’s take a step back from the decorating, shopping, and commercialism, and focus on the true meaning of Christmas - the Bethlehem story. One person at a time, we’ll go through the story in a character-study format, and try to put ourselves in the shoes of those individuals that were there on that first Christmas. Want to do some study for yourself? Here is the schedule: November 29: Joseph December 4: Mary December 6: Gabriel December 11: Shepherds December 13: Wise men December 19: Herod December 24: Jesus Today's character: the Shepherds, who received the first Baby announcement ;) The Shepherds that were sent the news of Jesus’ birth pretty much only appear one time in the Bible, in Luke 2:8-20. No other account is given that marks them as an important part of the story. In fact, with just a surface reading, there’s is not a very important detail of the Christmas story. Yet I believe there is much we can learn from these humble ...

Well, this week was kinda a big one in our family...        Judah is standing(ish) and thinking about walking(ish). We all cheer whenever he stands up, so he has decided it is really fun to be cute and get lots of attention, {wink!} and started standing up on his own. So, of course, he now has 6 other people in his face 24/7 saying "Can you stand up? Can you walk to me? MOM, HE JUST TOOK A STEP! Can you stand up? Can you walk?"...you get the picture. =)        The kids were exposed to chicken pox. Which is a good thing in our house. Rachel, Carrie or Judah has never had them, and we just like to get it over as soon as possible so they can go on with life. We'll see if they actually get them or not! (I believe Rachel has been exposed to them before and has never gotten them, so maybe she is not allergic? We'll see!) Here are the blessings I added to my 1,000 Gifts list this week: 494. Gingerbread candle 495. Provision and answer...

I am always excited to be able to add new items to my Etsy shop ! Today I have for you a revised and updated Daily Planner package just for 2013! Here is what this package contains: Year-long calendar Personal life goals Family goals Yearly goals Monthly goal sheet Master to do list Daily to do lists Important household info Babysitter’s guide Finance record Monthly bills to pay Account Log-ins You already saw the 2013 calender, but just to jog your memory: I have re-worked a few other printables to make them easier to use, more practical, and larger open spaces for doodling planning and writing! This last year I used this printable for my monthly and weekly goals (which you see every Monday in my goals update posts): It worked, but I found it did not work well. I kept it in a plastic sleeve, so I could write on it with a Sharpie and erase it each week. That became a little tiresome, and as the year wore on I found I was using it less and less simply because I didn't take time to...