Fear Not

Vintage Filler Tutorial

This last weekend, my Mom and I went to the Ruffles and Rust antique show. Tons of great vendors were there with some of the best in vintage glam. Although I LOVED what they were selling, my pocket book did not like how much they were selling for, so my thing at these events is to soak up all the inspiration I can for fun DIY projects and such. I picked up an old beat up vintage book for just such a project:


Vintage filler is as easy as 1,2,3. First you'll need 1 shredder, 1 vintage book (or any paper of your choice) and start shredding; it's that simple!

This fun filler can be made out of old books, old sheet music or anything really! If you have old papers or books that aren't old and you want that vintage look, try tea dying the paper. Once you have your shredded paper filler, you are ready to use it in decorating around the house or in gift bags for presents. Whatever you end up using the filler for, I know you'll love it!

Our Daily Bread {a tutorial & recipe}

"And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water" -Exodus 23:25a

God has blessed us and placed us into a great church with an amazing church family. Our pastor, Pastor Paul, is very knowledgeable and one of those teachers who will tell you about biblical concept over and over again in church. Although at the time you wonder why he keeps explaining the same things, you finally get it when it sticks with you and you can see it in your daily life. That's what he is trying to do; get His word into our hearts so that we can be fed by His word each and every day.

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." -John 6:35

October is pastor appreciation month and in honor of that, Jeremy and I gave our pastor some yummy pumpkin bread along with a 5 minute pillowcase bread bag (inspired by this 5 minute bag). It is just a small token of our appreciation for him and how he speaks the Lord's truth into our hearts each week!

{Tutorial Time:}


Find a cute pillow case to use for your bread bag and cut 18 inches down the length of the pillow case.


Then cut 11 inches along the width of the pillow case. Turn the pillow case inside with the right sides facing each other.


Finally, sew along the side and bottom (I used a zig-zag stitch) and then place the wrapped loaf of bread into the bag and close with a ribbon. Enjoy!

His Grace

We serve an amazing God and boy do I feel so blessed right now. I've recently dived into the book "The 66 Love Letters" by Dr. Larry Crabb and it is changing every way I've ever thought about God before (in a good way of course). Jesus is slowly growing me and teaching me more and more about Himself. At times it is a painful process because I am seeing ugly things about myself. But it is also glorious because I get to see His goodness.

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." -Titus 3:3

The main lesson I've learned in the book is pretty basic stuff that anyone who reads the bible can see; we are all fallen people with a sin nature. The only thing is, sometimes I think we forget that. We live our lives like we aren't 'that bad' and then go ahead judging other people in their lives. I'm not saying we can't distinguish between good and bad behavior, but I think it is a heck of a lot easier to see the sin in others than it is in ourselves. But the truth is, we are all desperately wicked and in need of His mercy and grace.

"How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!" -Psalms 78:40

Because of this renewed understanding, I read the bible differently now. For example, have you ever read your bible and come across a story or two that really surprised you? Like when Jonah threw a temper tantrum with God, or even when Peter denied Christ 3 times, or when David had Uriah killed in order to get his wife. These are all stories we've heard before but to be able to really examine them has taught me that God's prophets, apostles and even a man after His own heart are not perfect. Although they helped His kingdom in numerous ways, they still desperately needed His grace and salvation. And so do I. I am in need of a Savior. There is no way around it. From the beginning of time, man has lived a life in rebellion of God, and that doesn't stop at me. My desire is for Him to increase in me and for me to decrease. This isn't about me, it's ALL about Him and I need to try and remember that everyday! Praise be to God for His mercy, His love, His grace and His patience with me as I learn to be the woman He wants me to be!

Drum Roll Please

The one and only Halloween story shared was by my friend Devon and she wins the 'Open if you Dare' Meri Meri cupcake package. Congrats Devon, not only on winning this most prestigious prize :) but for your new marriage. Hope you and the new hubby are having fun in Mexico!

Hidden in my Heart

I love to think of His words being hidden in my heart. There it serves to encourage me, teach me & empower me to do what is right. I know the times when I have a verse fall right off my tongue, are the times when God has used it for His glory to bless someone.


The verses don't just come like magic though, you have to study and meditate on His precious word for it to saturate your thinking. That is why I am so smitten with this new project. Not only is it adorable but it is so handy to hold all my index cards full of verses in.

Open if you Dare! a halloween giveaway

I can hardly believe it is October already! Is it just me or did it come quickly!? This month I have a wedding, my hubby's birthday and my Mom's 50th birthday on Halloween. Lots to plan and celebrate!

I'm sending out the invites for my Mom's bday today and they turned out really cute. I LOVE Picnik! I have been using that program in conjunction with the paint app to make the invites, food labels, etc. I'm addicted to it!

The theme for my Mom's bday party is 'A Haunted Mansion' based off of the ride at Disneyland. She wanted to go there for her birthday but our funds are not allowing that so we'll bring Disneyland to her!

While looking for decorations for the party I stumbled upon these adorable cupcake holders and toppers from Meri Meri. I love their little party packs. They make throwing a party easy, extra cute AND it all comes in a handy little box ready to go. I picked up an extra "Open if you Dare" party packs and I am giving it away to one special person who shares their favorite Halloween memory or any tips/tricks they've learned while using picnik.com. The deadline ends on Friday, October 8th at 9:00am. I can't wait to see your answers; see you on Friday!

P.S. On a side note, although I know Halloween originated in pagans worshipping the god of the dead, and is actually a pretty scary glamorization of evil (think murderers, severed heads, and all those super revealing women's halloween costumes) I am taking a break from my halloween hating to celebrate my Mom's special day. Our party will only be PG rated I promise! ;)