Thursday, January 26, 2012

Pinterest Inspired Doggie Bed for Daisy

I am so in love with Pinterest!  It has such wonderful ideas for cooking, crafts, homemaking....you name it.  If it can be done, it has been pinned.   

One thing that quickly got my attention on Pinterest was the many ideas of things to make from wooden pallets.  There are so many neat ideas that I had to make a board just for that!   Lucky for me my brother-in-law gets tons of pallets with his business and he is saving a bunch for me.  He has already sent me some nice slabs of wood.

One of the ideas of "things to do with wooden pallets" was to make a dog bed.  Well, if you know me you know how much I love my sweet dog Daisy and since it is too cold to make some of the outdoor wood pallet ideas I decided to start with an indoor project.  So I took two of the boards and cut 2 pieces 2 feet long and 2 pieces 18 inches long.   I used a table saw, but I'm sure you could use a regular saw. 

Next I painted the wood black.  I had some black spray paint already so that was perfect!

I had seen a really cute idea on pinterest where you take your dogs paw and dip it in paint and then make a paw print.  The pin I saw was a framed puppy print, but I decided to use the idea for the bed.  Here's what I did:

I put her paw print down the two side boards and the back board.   Daisy was not too fond of this process and was very glad when it was over.  ;)

I knew on the front board I wanted Daisy's name with a daisy (the flower) on each side.  I am not good at free style painting, but guess what???  I found this great tutorial on........wait for it.......PINTEREST that shows how to paint stencil-like letters on wood.  It is so easy!  I loved it so much I want to do more.  I'm seeing wooden signs in my future.

After that was finished all I had to do was put it together.  Tools needed:  hammer and nails.  :):)  




For the bedding I used a couple pillows that were already designated for Daisy use and covered them with black fleece and voila....






Daisy LOVES it!!  
So that's it!  I took 3 different pins I seen, mushed them together in my own way and created the cutest little doggie bed ever!  Well, at least in my own opinion. ;)

If after reading this you are pinspired you can head right over to Pinterest and check out all my boards by clicking here.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mountain Rose Herbs Giveway

Love Herbs?

Love Green Living?

Love free stuff?

If you answered yes, then good news!  Mountain Rose Herbs is having a Green Spring Clean Giveaway and it's a good one.  Oh how I would love to win!!  You can go check it out here and see how you can enter to win too!  Be sure to have a pencil and paper handy because you are sure to want to write down the handy dandy spring cleaning recipes to replace your store bought cleaning products.  Hurry! Time to enter runs out tonight!

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Sisters of the Quilt Series Book Review

I previously was able to read and review the first and last book of the Sisters of the Quilt Series and was super excited when the chance to review the whole trilogy became available to me.  The book includes:  When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes and When the Soul Mends all in one volume.  If you have never read any books by Cindy Woodsmall you are in for a treat and I am certain you will love her style of writing!

The only negative thing I can say about this series is that you are sure to lose some sleep because you will not be able to stop reading. This is the best series I have ever read. EVER. It is so good. It keeps your interest from start to finish and each book starts where the last one ended so there is no time lapse of wondering what happened. As the book comes to a conclusion all questions in your mind are answered and nothing is left unsettled. It truly is a great book of love, forgiveness and redemption. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!



Book Descriptions:

When the Heart Cries


Her life among her Amish community brutally interrupted, seventeen-year-old Hannah Lapp faces questions neither family, nor fiance, nor even faith can easily answer. The first book in the Sisters of the Quilt series, When the Heart Cries will ignite a broader understanding of others’ beliefs and a God-given strength to deal with pain we all experience.
When the Morning Comes

Rejected by those she loves, Hannah Lapp leaves her Amish community and seeks refuge in the world outside, leaving her family and friends to wrestle with the painful truths that emerge in the wake of her disappearance. As she struggles to find her place in the confusing Englischer world, her community deals with the turbulent aftermath of her departure.

When the Soul Mends

Hoping to help her sister, Hannah Lapp reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community she fled in disgrace more than two years earlier. When hidden truths are revealed about her former fiance, she must choose whether to return to the Plain life or to the Englischer man who adores her in this captivating conclusion to the Sisters of the Quilt series.
 
Now what are you waiting for??  Get the book!   You can buy it here through Amazon. :):):)
 
***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Healing is a Choice - Book Review

Healing Is a Choice: 10 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life and 10 Lies That Can Prevent You From Making Them.  By Steve Arterburn.

I received this book from the publisher through booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Everyone, at some level, needs healing. In this book, Stephen Arterburn outlines ten choices crucial to receiving healing and ten lies that can prevent us from making them.  It includes workbook type questions at the end of each chapter.

When I chose this book I was very anxious to dig into it in hopes of finding a book rich in the word and spiritual direction.  I was disappointed.  As soon as I read the preface red flags began to go up.  I was instantly concerned about the author and his beliefs.  He talks of his divorce, but through out the book he tends to lay the blame on his wife and paint her in a negative light. 

Right from the beginning of chapter one I knew that this was not the book I had hoped for.  The author stresses over and over again that in order to get the healing you need you HAVE to connect with other people, to tell them about your problems, to get help from friends, family etc.  This I disagree with.  There is no biblical foundation for this.  If you have a support system of friends and family that is great, but not everyone has that.  There are some people that have no one.  Our trust, whether we have people to connect with or not needs to be in God.  He is all you need to receive your healing.  He has done it for me many times. God does hold back healing or give healing based on our relying on others.  We must rely on Him.

I did not feel as if the author gave much help or good advice at all for the healing process.  He includes lot of stories of other peoples problems and like I said before a lot concerning his divorce, but no real direction.  I would not recommend this book to anyone.