A Tile Transformed

Here's a quick, easy and inexpensive project that would make a wonderful Christmas (or anytime) gift. Go to Lowes, Home Depot, or any home improvement store and buy some ceramic tiles. I chose the 6 x 6 size for this project. They come in several different textures and colors. I chose the Rialto White. It's really more of an off white color and this particular tile has a lot of texture which I love. I can't remember the exact cost of these tiles, but I believe there were around eighty cents each. Definitely less than a dollar!!



Next, I gathered together the rest of my supplies. I used scrapbooking stickers. I found some really nice scripture verses which have a clear back ground. Perfect for this project. I also used some black swirly stickers with a touch of silver "bling" to accent my verses. Then I found some old jewelry charms, some black ribbon for trim, and I also used some black felt to cover the back of my tile. You don't have to use the felt, but I feel it gives the piece a more professional, finished look.







Now comes the fun part! Using your imagination, place your stickers how you want them on your tile, then using ribbon and a hot glue gun, attach your charms. To finish off your piece, glue some black ribbon all around the edge of your tile and glue a piece of black felt, cut to fit, on the back. That's it!! A beautiful, elegant piece of art for mere pennies!! Although I chose to go with a religious theme for most of my pieces, the possiblitlies are endless. And with the wide range of scrapbook stickers available, you can make yours look however you want them to. I also purchased a nice scroll look easel at Wal Mart for around four dollars to display mine on. So for less than ten dollars, you have the perfect Christmas gift that didn't break the bank! Gotta love that! Here's a few of my finished pieces:




I'll be sharing this idea with some of the linky parties listed at the bottom of my blog. Please be sure to visit these wonderful blogs to get endless inspiration!

Until next time. . .

Things Are Looking Better!

A quick update to my last post. First, I want to thank each one of you who commented on my last post. Your words, prayers, and well wishes mean so much more to me than I could ever express. Y'all are the greatest!

Since my last post, I have secured a job! Yay, me!!! I am now employed as a legal assistant for a small firm in my home town. It is only about a ten minute drive from my home and I am making more money on the hour than I did at my last job! So far, I am really liking it, although I am a bit overwhelmed as it is so much to learn and everything is very new to me since I've never worked in the legal field before! But I can and will learn it and I think I am going to like working there very much.

Scott and I went to Duke for his consultation with the surgeon regarding the CT scan he had done here that showed some suspicious spots on his brain. We drove four hours to sit in the doctor's office for five minutes! Ggggrrr!!! The surgeon was very nice, although he talked so fast and because he is from South Africa, he had quite an accent and it was very hard to understand some of what he was saying! He said the scan did show something although he said it was not definitive enough for a diagnosis. So he wants Scott to come back to Duke for some follow up testing. His office is supposed to be contacting us to set this up, but Monday will be two weeks since the initial appointment and we still haven't heard anything from them. On a good note, Scott has not had a single migraine since the Monday we went to Duke! Praise God for that!! I think it was mostly stress related, with me being unemployed and our finances dwindling, his truck being broken down, and just general life issues. Thank you all again for your prayers for him ~ obviously, they have been working!!!

The truck is still broken down but we are working on getting the stuff needed to get it fixed. Many moons ago, Scott worked as a mechanic for a local trucking company, so we are blessed that he can usually fix stuff on our vehicles when they break. Right now, I am having to get up at 4 a.m. to drive him an hour to work, then drive an hour back home and get ready so I can be at my job at 8 a.m. and then when I get off work at 5 p.m., I drive the hour back to his work to get him if he isn't lucky enough to be able to catch a ride with someone from work who is traveling thru our area. Whew! It's been rough, but we do what we have to do, right??!! The good news on this front, Scott got called for an interview with a company that is located close to home, about a five minute drive from our house, and word has it, they really liked him and he will probably get a call back for a second interview. We are really excited about this because it's also more money than he is making now. So God is really moving in our lives right now, and I am so thankful!!! We still have a ways to go to get outta the woods, but we are getting there!!

I just want to say thank you again to all my wonderful friends here in blogland. Who knew that people you may never get a chance to meet in "real life" could become such close and wonderful friends. I love you all and appreciate all your prayers. Please keep them coming!!

Until next time. . .

Taking a break -- REALLY need your prayers!

Just wanted to post a quick note to the two or three people who actually read my blog to let you know that I will be taking a blog break for a while. As some of you know, Scott has been experiencing extremely bad migraines for a while now and a CT scan he had done a couple of weeks ago is showing some suspicious spots on his brain. We traveled down to Duke University Medical Center yesterday to see a neurosurgeon. This is a four hour drive one way for us and yesterday was just a consultation at which we were told he is going to have to undergo further testing to determine what is going on. Which means, of course, more long trips to Duke in our future. This is going to be extremely difficult for us due to our financial situation at the moment. I have not worked since August and ours is definitely a two income household just to make ends meet. I am desperately trying to find a job, but so far have had no luck as jobs in my field are few and far between in our small town and surrounding area. We are really struggling to keep our faith during this trying time. Of course I want my husband to be healthy and we will do whatever we have to do to make sure he gets whatever treatment he needs. Thankfully, we do have good health insurance thru his employer. The main issue is that he doesn't have any vacation time left this year or sick leave so that means for every trip to Duke, he has to take a day off without pay, which really hurts us. But it could be worse.

I am really scared, friends. I am not strong. I cry. A lot. I'm not sure I'm ready for this journey that we are being forced to take. But I don't have a choice. I love him so much and I will be there for him. No matter what. He needs me and I need him more. We will face this together, which means a lot of shared pain. But it could be worse.

As if this isn't enough to deal with, we are down to one vehicle due to the fact that his old truck broke down on us last week (fuel pump went out) and we just can't justify spending the money to fix it right now. I guess the saying "when it rains, it pours" really fits us right now! We are thankful to have one vehicle that is in good working condition, it just requires some juggling of schedules to have to get up at 4 a.m. to take him to work if I need the car. But it could be worse.

Anyways, I just wanted to let y'all know a little bit about what is going on here. There are some other issues we have that I won't get into on here. I just wanted to ask that y'all remember us in your thoughts and prayers as we trudge along on this unknown journey. Scott is my world and I don't know what I would do without him.

Until next time. . .