A Blessing A Day {Day 11}

What a lazy Saturday we have had. Mostly we stayed home and were busy around the house. I had a chance to work on some projects in my craft room, so the post today is rather long...

Here are some Valentine pencils I made for the girls in Christina's Sunday School class.

I also have a Stampin' friend who celebrated her birthday today so I made this card for her.

And finally, I have some ladies who ordered some new stampin' toys that were delivered yesterday. I made some 3X3 cards to thank them for their support.

My friend Toni ordered a Big Shot so I created a special card with a little gift to add to her goodies. :)

I am blessed to have so many wonderful people to encourage today. Hope the Lord is blessing you with the same!

A Blessing A Day...Day 10

I had a couple of opportunities to bless my family members today. Today was Andrew's voice instructor's birthday. He already had a gift for her, but needed something to put it in at the last minute. I found this cute little purse in my craft room and created a birthday tag to attach. It was the perfect size for the pin he had purchased.

Today was also Christina's winter formal for her college. We really didn't think ahead on this one and had to do hair and makeup ourselves. Makeup is no big deal because she does so much of that with the drama productions she is in. Hair, however, is a big deal because neither one of us is creative at all in that area. I watched a couple of videos on youtube today and got some ideas. Here's a pic of her before she left... (Notice that I still haven't deactivated the time stamp on my camera...ugh)

A Blessing A Day...Day 9

Today one of my dear friends welcomed her first grandchild into this world. Is there anything sweeter than a brand new tiny baby?! We had the opportunity to visit this little angel in the hospital tonight...along with her very blessed family. Here are some pics of Olivia Brooke Wesley. (Ignore the time stamp on the pics. I didn't realize that was turned on & my camera was charged today for the first time in a while. She really was born today and not at

Christmas.)

This was obviously a perfect opportunity to get busy in my craft room. So after the details were passed on to me I got busy and made a little gift for Olivia and her family. Here's what I came up with...

I know baby Olivia's picture is just going to be precious in this frame. The blessing challenge continues tomorrow. Hope you will join me in being intentional about loving on those around you!

A Blessing A Day {Day 7}

Today was a double blessing. One for me and one for someone else. I had decided in the morning that I would fix spaghetti for dinner. We had some homemade sauce in the freezer so it was an easy meal to prepare...thaw/heat sauce, cook noodles. Andrew had commented that he was glad we were having spaghetti, but it was sad for Christina (since its her favorite and she would have to eat dorm food that night). Well, guess who showed up at dinner time? It almost never happens, so I was very surprised that she was home for dinner in the middle of the week. I guess my choice to fix her favorite was probably a divine whisper from God, because He knew she would be there to share it with us.

Since I don't have a picture of our meal, or of us eating it, I am just going to post a typical happening at the Graham house. This is Kai, one of our many four legged family members.

Even our dogs enjoy crafts! Hope you are blessed today :)

A Blessing a Day {Day 6}

I got to celebrate another special friend's birthday today. This one is my Stampin' buddy and I made a creativity journal for her gift.

And a matching card....

She also got a paper with ideas of what to do in her journal. I am excited about starting my own. Here are some of the activities to include...

1. In your journal, write the phrase "I am creative" 25 times. Make it look different each time you write it.
2. Fill a page in your journal defining the "Fun" by using only images---no words.
3. Find a magazine photo of somebody famous that you admire. Cut it out and paste it in your journal. Add a speech bubble that compliments you on your amazing creativity.
4. Part of being creative is learning to appreciate differences and not compare yourself to others. Go outside and collect five different but beautiful leaves. Place them in your journal and list 10 ways they are different.

These are just some of the fun ideas that are listed. If you would like a copy of the complete list, let me know and I will get it to you. :) Hope you are blessed today!

A Blessing A Day...Day 5

What a crazy weekend! We made a quick trip to the other side of the state to see our boy compete in a gym meet. Then drove back so this same son could help lead worship at church on Sunday. And finally, hosted our small group's Super Bowl Party that evening. Instead of the televised half time show we had a birthday party for our friend Jo who celebrated her 50th...we just couldn't ignore that.

Here's the card I made for her. We gave it to her with a box filled with 50 Lifesavers candies.

She IS the sweetest lady and I am so happy we got to celebrate with her. :)

I got to stamp with friends during the game. Finished up some cards I needed for a swap tonight at our demonstrators meeting. Should be fun. And I have another sweet friend celebrating her birthday today, but those details will have to wait for the next post...

Encourage someone today with a kind word or gesture!

A Blessing A Day....Day 2

Today has been a busy, but productive day. Began the morning at Camp Hope for Bible Study. This is my choice for the blessing today, even though I believe that it is as much or more of a blessing for me than it is for my friends who live there. We discussed contentment and how to teach it to our kids. It was a good time of discussion and sharing.

Most of the rest of today was devoted to crafting. :) I worked on several different projects. Here is one of the ones I completed. It is a card box from Stampin' Up that I decorated with some really pretty paper (also from Stampin' Up). If you agree with me that it is pretty, then ask me how you can get a pack of this 12X12 paper for FREE!

Sorry the first picture is so dark. My phone was plugged in, but it still informed me that the camera flash was unavailable because of the low battery...ugh.

The crafting continued this evening with a card class and some friends. It is always more fun to stamp with friends!

My journey continues tomorrow and I hope it includes mailing a fun card to someone I love :) I challenge you to join me in looking for ways to bless others daily. May the Lord be glorified in it all!

A Blessing A Day...

February has finally arrived! I am excited about looking for ways to bless others this month. Today has been kind of a weird day. I have had very little time in my craft room. I did find time to make this card....

I don't know yet what I'm going to do with it. I just thought it looked fun and wanted to try it. And I am very pleased with the cuteness of the end product. :)

As for my blessing today, it was an act of service for my family...and my country. I spent the entire morning making final adjustments and filing my 2011 federal tax return. Tax preparation is enough trouble, but since my dear hubby's identity was stolen a few years back it is even more trouble now. I spent about 30 minutes on hold with the IRS who referred me to TurboTax to get my problem resolved. TurboTax does not want to talk with you. I couldn't find any contact number on the site. I did, however, eventually find the information that told me where to enter the Identity Protection Pin that was mailed to us. It was lunch time before I finally efiled successfully...Praise the Lord!

I know it's not a very exciting act for the first day of my month long challenge, but that leaves plenty of room for improvement as the month goes on. Praying you were a blessing to someone today too!