Showing posts with label May Arts. Show all posts

Chocolate Covered Pretzels Thank you Gift

March 4, 2017

Happy Saturday sweet friends! I hope that you are having a lovely weekend!

Today I am so excited to share with y'all about a little thank you gift that I created (with my mom's help!) last weekend to give to some very precious people at the hospital where I am treated at every week.

Last week on IG I said, "Every serious illness journey is filled with hundreds of people who play such important and key roles in it. Words could never describe the gratitude I continue to have for each of you that are walking this difficult road with me" and it is so true. I know that the illness journey often seems long and lonely and in many ways it is.

But recently I have been thinking that it the illness journey is actually very full. Full of people who are constantly giving their time, their energy, their best to help me in this critical time in my life. When I consider this I don't feel lonely, in fact, I feel overwhelmed with the way that love is full in my life.

My life is particularly full every single Monday when I spend a lot of time in the hospital as #courtneytheportney is specifically cared for and I am treated with extreme compassion. From the moment we arrive we are greeted with workers who park the car for us and always greet us with a smile and ask how things are going. I check in and I am embraced by the three receptionists who not only know my name and my story, but always have an encouraging word for this little heart of mine. When we need to make new appointments or change things around, the schedulers work so hard to help us, making us feel like we are the only patients that they deal with.

And as #courtneytheportney is cleaned, watched and monitored and dealt with and accessed I am met with compassion. Compassion in listening to me tell "just one more story" from teaching days, of listening to me share about longings for a husband and kiddos, and support for the journey that I am walking. Even as I write this I have tears of gratitude running down my cheeks. Every single word of encouragement, smile, and laughter we have shared has been a precious gift to me on this journey. Every time that I have had a concern it has been met with wisdom and knowledge. No complaint or concern of mine has been dismissed lightly. These nurses and medical assistants have been in the trenches with me, helping me through.

I am not exactly sure how you thank people who have had such an incredible impact on your life. Quietly and every single day they have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help me and so many others in some of the most difficult situations in life. I can honestly say that I have never heard one cross word come out of their mouths to any patient and have only exuded calmness and respect for everyone. In many hospitals and situations I hear of people being treated like they are just "one more sick person" but that has never been the case here. I don't actually feel like a sick person in there, instead I feel like I am given the gift to dream beyond the walls and situation and the story to a future.

So last weekend my mom and I spent some of Sunday afternoon having fun making these chocolate covered pretzels with spring colors. (We are still in the midst of winter here in the north so we are dreaming of spring days *smiles*) It was so fun and we loved the final results and we were so excited that every person we gave these goodies too saw our overwhelmed hearts of love and gratitude in this small present.

It was so much fun and it was very easy to do. Here are the supplies that we used for those who might be interested:

2 bags of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips

1 bag of Snyders "Old Tyme" pretzels

1 bag of Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels (these are the mini looking pretzels you see in the pictures)

May Arts Ribbon

Disposable Trays, Cellophane, and Cupcake Holders from Michaels in Spring Design

Wilton Sprinkles (Purchased from Michaels)

To make these adorable pretzels simply:

(1) Heat the bags of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips, mixing until the chocolate is completely melted (some people add 1 tablespoon of oil to help thin out the chocolate but we did not do this)

(2) Simply dip the pretzels into the chocolate and sprinkle on your sprinkles while the chocolate is still warm

(3) Let the mixture dry for approximately 1 hour

(4) We put the big pretzels directly on the tray and then put the gluten free pretzels in cupcake wrappers to keep them separated.

(5) Enjoy!

A huge thank you again to all of the nurses and medical staff that work so hard to help me in my journey and to those who are working tirelessly around the world to help patients. You are treasured!!

Happy Saturday again friends! I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend!

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Chocolate Covered Pretzels Thank you Gift

Emily and Kenneth's Engagement Party

August 14, 2016

Several weeks ago we had the joy of gathering with dear friends, loved ones, and family to celebrate the engagement of my sister, Emily, and her fiance' Kenneth. Despite the call for rain and thunderstorms, we prayed that the Lord would keep those away until after the party and He did. Due to the heat we were so grateful to have the opportunity to gather outside with everyone.

I had a delightful time creating this "sheet backdrop" for Emily. Y'all may remember that a couple of years ago I created a different "sheet backdrop" for a company that I worked for as a design team member. At the time Emily had mentioned that she would love a "sheet backdrop" of her own and this seemed like the perfect occasion to create one. For this "sheet backdrop" I purchased a brand new Queen sized sheet and started by painting Kenneth and Emily's names on the sheet. The next step was to sketch out different flowers and using a variety of specialized ribbon, twine, and thread I hand-stitched over the flower sketches. Finally I wrote out parts of "the vow" vows, traditional marriage vows, and I Corinthians 13 as "background". I was so thrilled that Emily loved the final product!

I had a delightful time using some of my favorite blue ribbons from May Arts for the ribbon bunting above the sheet and tying around the vintage vases and glass jars that held flowers.

If you haven't already guessed, blue is Emily's favorite color so there was lots of different blues surrounding this party! Even the happy couple dressed in shades of blue! *smiles*

We had a lovely time visiting with dear friends that we count as family and loved ones. It was such a joy and honor that so many people traveled quite a distance to come to the party.

What a beautiful evening celebrating Emily and Kenneth's engagement!

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Emily and Kenneth's Engagement Party

Altered Planner 2016

April 16, 2016

Hi y'all! I hope that you are having a wonderful day! On Tuesday I had the opportunity to be over on the May Arts blog sharing with y'all my altered planner that I created for the 2016 year. (You may remember by Altered Planner for 2015, which you can see HERE.)

I have always loved making things pretty, especially my planner that I use everyday. This year I was wanting to create an elegant, beautiful, and pretty altered planner and love the final results! I love all of the different options that the Ribbon Resource online shop offers!

To alter the planner I first cut my strips of ribbon pieces that I was going to use into 3 inch strips for the silk ribbons and 4 inch strips for the flower ribbons. I set these strips of ribbon to the side and then laid them out in a pattern to use in the planner.

I used these 3 inch strips to attach throughout the planner. Keeping in mind with my goal of wanting to create an elegant, beautiful, and pretty altered planner, I choose several silk ribbons.

I love the way that the silk ribbons create an elegant and soft feel. The beautiful ribbon from the Ribbon Resource online shop make each creation so lovely.