Follow Your Arrow – DIY Arrow Ornaments

 

I’m a firm believer in handmade gifts. There’s something so special about receiving something that was made just for you by the hands of someone you love. Likewise, it feels really rewarding to make something for someone that they will not only love but that will also have a special meaning to them.

That was the idea behind the gift I made for my sister Cecily this past Christmas. In all honesty, I had been planning this gift for months…. but being the world class procrastinator that I am (le sigh) I didn’t finish it till after Christmas. I know, major Christmas gift fail. But I swear Christmas comes faster every year and we all know just how very slyly it sneaks up on us. But I did finally finish it (yay me!) … and thanks to me, my sister got to open one more Christmas gift in January lol.

These cute little arrow ornaments were actually a last minute addition to her gift. I came across this tutorial by the lovely Jess Gatlyn of Boho Baby Bump and knew I had to make one for my sister. One of her favorite songs lately is “Follow Your Arrow” by country singer, Kacey Musgraves. I hadn’t heard the song until she put it on a mix cd for me some months ago. I’m not a huge fan (and that might an understatement lol) of country music but this one isn’t too bad, I guess (in other words, it’s listenable). Because of the message of the song she had mentioned that an arrow had kind of become a special symbol to her. So naturally I thought of her when I saw this craft.

I was going to use it as an accent on top of the wrapped gift in place of a bow but that didn’t end up working out. So instead I just tucked it into the case of the mix cd I made for her (we recently started sending each other mix cds in the mail).

They were so easy and fun to make that I made about 5 of them for myself. I posted the video of Jess making them below and I’ll also link to her blog. But basically all you do is paint wooden skewers, cut the arrowheads out of scrapbook paper & hot glue them on, glue on feathers and a string to hang it and cover that with a strip of washi tape, and voilà! There was something really relaxing about painting the skewers in different colors and patterns. Just a really fun & cute craft!

Now this baby, this butterfly dream catcher/wall hang was the real gift… the one that took me a while to start and to finish lol. 

She and I had found this cute & hippy looking butterfly doily when we took a day trip to Austin last summer. We went shopping on South Congress for the first time ever and saw it lying on a shelf in what became one of our favorite shops, New Bohemia. I believe she said “If I buy this will you make it into a dream catcher for me?”. That was in July… so needless to say, she wasn’t expecting it lol. I had been making myself dream catchers out of doilies for a while just as a fun and decorative diy to hang in my bedroom.  This one was a lot of fun to make and I was really happy that she loved it!

This was how I used my arrow ornaments, to decorate a Valentines tree! I’ve been seeing cute little Valentines trees all over Pinterest and wanted to try it! Loved the way it looked with the arrows! It made for some cute and quirky Valentines décor, I think!

Some more Valentines décor in the kitchen, just because I believe in being festive! :)

Hope you guys spend an afternoon making a few of these lovelies for yourself or someone you love!

For Jess’s written tutorial , click here.

My Phrase for 2015… His Plan is Better

I know, I know, we’re already a couple months into 2015 but I’m somewhat behind on blogging here, so bear with me as I race to catch up.

It’s a pretty common practice among us bloggers to choose a word for the New Year. A word that will set the tone so to speak and inspire the direction we hope our year takes. If you’ve been a part of the blogosphere as a writer or even just as a reader then I’m sure you know this. I’ve done this for the past few years now and I love the idea of it. It always made me feel hopeful for the new year, for a new start when maybe I was having a hard time doing that. But I have to be honest, this year… I could not even go there. I just couldn’t. I was totally and completely over it. Every pretty, inspiring, fluffy word felt fake and phony to me.

You see, the thing is, I was really dreading the clock striking 12 and the year changing into 2015. All that it meant to me was a list, a long list of all the things I didn’t accomplish in 2014. All the things I hoped and dreamed for it to be that it just wasn’t. It meant so much of what I planned that just didn’t happen. It meant that I had to face all the ways I didn’t change and didn’t grow. It was swallowing some hard truths… and it hurt. And I was a mere minute from falling apart at the thought of midnight on New Years Eve. And I hate that because I love celebrating that holiday with my family. But that’s where my heart was.

Somehow I made it through New Years Eve without any tears… this I believe is due in part to the yummy cheese fondue that we ate that night lol. But a few nights later, I was thinking about my plans that didn’t happen last year as I was scrolling through pictures of people who were doing that very thing. Needless to say, that sort of broke me. In tears at that point I started praying and asking God why weren’t these things happening for me? Why does it seem impossible for me to get to where I’ve been trying to go for what feels like forever?

Now, trust me, I’m not one to over spiritualize things and I try to be very very careful about saying the words “God told me” or “God spoke to me”… but at that moment I really did feel Him place these words into my heart: My plan is better.

(Source)

That was it. No bells or whistles. Just four words… a reminder that His plan is better.  Was it God? I hope so. I think so. All I know is that it was a huge comfort to me and it’s something I’ve been repeating to myself since then. His plan is better. Everytime I start to worry, stress, or get antsy… His plan is better. Everytime I start to look back in regret and frustration or look forward in fear and confusion…. His plan is better. Everytime I get tempted to ignore His voice and go my own way… His plan is better.

So this year, I don’t have a word… I have a whole phrase. His plan is better.