Vintage Postcards And A Kind Friend

This week I received a delightful package in the mail from a precious lady.

We just recently met one another through our blogs

and I hope our friendship continues to grow and blossom :)

Abby from Little Birdie Blessings

sent me some vintage postcards.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I opened the package
and saw all of these wonderful cards.

My first thought was, 

"I wonder what the people were like who sent and received these in the past?

What is their history?"

 Many are dated from the early 1900's.

There are messages written on the back of most of them

and I enjoyed reading these dear words penned by family and friends.

I loved the stamps! Not all of the postcards had stamps on them,

but the ones that did were only 1 cent stamps.

Did you know it now costs 33 cents to send a postcard?!

I am excited to make something special with these beautiful vintage postcards.

I'm not yet sure what I will do, maybe a collage?

Do you have any ideas?

Sweet Abby also sent me this adorable card.

And she enclosed some blessed scripture and a dear friendship quote.

I am sure Abby would love a visit from you.

Her blog is beautiful and completely centered on the Lord.

Her blog name is perfect because you will be blessed after visiting her.

Little Birdie Blessings

Birthday Blessings To A Special Lady

Today is the birthday of an amazing woman. . .

  

She is someone I have known all my life,

I have called her my best friend since the day I could talk. 

I have admired her inward and outward beauty,

I have been challenged by her walk with the Lord.

I have always been comforted by her love and understanding,

I have laughed and cried with her through the good times and bad.

I have shared with her my dreams and hopes for the future,

I have rejoiced with her over victories won.

That woman who I so greatly admire is my beloved Mom.

You are beautiful, Mom.

Your face shines with loveliness from your love for Jesus Christ.

Your heart of gold is so very pure

and you are always there to lend a hand or word of encouragement

to your friends and family.

I am so blessed to be able to call you my Mother.

I thank the Lord for allowing me to have someone to look up to,

to go to for spiritual counsel, and to laugh with over silly things in life.

I hope your day is filled with special blessings and precious memories.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I dearly love you!

DIY - Vintage Lace Jewelry

I love vintage, I love lace, I love beads

so I put all three together and came up with some pretty jewelry :)

And it's easy to make!

Items needed:

decorative lace trim

beads

matching thread

button snap

scissors

needle

measuring tape

sewing machine

Okey dokey, here is what you will do...

Figure out the length you want for your necklace or bracelet.

You will want to cut a little extra.

Fold your lace in half according to the size of your beads

and sew together.

Place the beads in the sewn tube of lace

and find the middle of the lace with your tape measure.

Cut two pieces of thread and tie next the to bead.

Knot three times and keep the thread tight!

Do this until you have the amount of beads you desire for your necklace/bracelet.

The end result should look like this.

Now fold the ends in and trim so that it's straight.

Hand-sew the button snap onto the ends and you're finished.

~ Tip ~

If you make a necklace you can skip the button snap

and just tie the ends around your neck.

It looks cute either way :)

Everytime I have worn this necklace out in public

I have gotten many compliments.

I was at Hobby Lobby talking with the cashier and a customer

and they were asking how to make their own :)

It's a very eye-catching piece of jewelry.

Have fun!

Linking up with:
Make It Pretty Monday, Pink Hippo Party, Creative Corner Hop, Making Your Home Sing Monday
A New Creation, Motivate Me Monday, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Take-A-Look Tuesday
Think Tank

Surrender All To God

"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me,

is not worthy of me.

He that findeth his life shall lose it:

and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

~ Matthew 10:38-39 ~

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost

which is in you, which ye have of God,

and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price:

therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,

which are God's."

~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ~

O Lord, grant that I may desire Thee,

and desiring Thee, seek Thee,

and seeking Thee, find Thee,

and finding Thee, be satisfied with Thee forever.

~ Augustine ~

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Cookie Dough Truffles

Do you remember the cookie dough truffles from my Valentine's tea?
Well here is the recipe :)

When I was younger, 

I would always sneak into the cookie dough when my mom made cookies.

I loved and still love anything with cookie dough!

How about you, do you have a hard time resisting cookie dough?

So when I came across this recipe from love & olive oil I was thrilled!

And it's prefect for eating since it doesn't have any raw eggs in the mixture.

Here is what you will need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk or cream (soy or almond works too)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

(I didn't have mini chips on hand so I chopped up regular sized chips)

14 oz chocolate candy coating.

Next time I make these truffles I am going to make them without the chocolate chips.

My nephews even said they would be delicious without them.

Anyway......

Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer on medium speed

until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and milk.

Stir in flour and salt and mix until incorporates.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for an hour.

When the dough is firm enough to handle, 

form into 1" balls and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.

Place the sheet in the freezer and chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating according to the directions on the package.

Stick a toothpick into the top of the ball and dip into the chocolate.

Use another toothpick to gently push the ball onto

waxed paper-lined sheets.

Chill until set.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Enjoy :)

Linking up with:

Bouquet Of Talent, The Weekly Creative, Make It Pretty Monday, Pink Hippo Party

Creative Corner Hop, Motivate Me Monday, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Take-A-Look Tuesday

Valentine's Tea With My Son

The little guy and I had a sweet little tea lunch for Valentine's.

I must say it was quite a delight sitting there with my son

enjoying tea, sandwiches and sugary treats.

He makes a very nice tea time companion :)

We of course had to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the shape of hearts.

Carrots and pickles were on the menu since my son and I love our sweet pickles :)

And for dessert we enjoyed some strawberry cake cookie lollipops,

donuts and cookie dough truffles

(the recipe for the truffles will be posted on the blog soon - they are addicting!)

And we had strawberry fruit passion tea.

My thoughtful son made our place mats with card stock.

He drew hearts and wrote "LOVE" on them - so sweet!

Then we baked a cake for dessert on Valentine's Day.

We made a strawberry and white 3-layered cake.

Enjoy your Monday, dear friends!

I will be linking up with these lovely ladies:
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Tea Time Tuesday
A Return To Loveliness
Tea Cup Tuesday

You Are Wonderful!

I just want to write and say how wonderful I think all of you are.

You, my dear friends and followers,

 are a precious gift to me

and I am amazed by your graciousness and thoughtfulness

that you showed Lady Linda.

I am truly blessed by your kindness and love!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to go visit Lady Linda

and for leaving her comments and even following her.

Yes, you are all SO WONDERFUL! :)

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all of you!

And thank you for all of your sweet comments to me.

Your words always bring a smile to my face

and joy to my heart.
Your friendship is a blessing to me!

Blessings, love and hugs to you.

Richly Blessed

Lady Linda had her first giveaway on her blog

and I was the blessed winner!

I couldn't believe all of the wonderful goodies Lady Linda was giving away.

When I opened the package I felt like it was 

Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one day.

Since the gifts are so lovely,

I thought I would share them with you :)

But before I show you everything,

I want to just say that Lady Linda has a beautiful blog

and if you have never visited her, now would be a great time to stop by.

She loves the Lord and her posts are always delightful.

I know she would love to hear from you.

Just click on her name and it will take you to her blog.

And now for a close-up of what I won.....

Beautiful note cards and a sweet candle holder.

The candle smells heavenly!

Pretty ribbon and lace trim,

Valentine candies that my whole family will enjoy,

rose pencils and rose gift tags.

I will lovingly use each item :)

A gorgeous tea cup!

I absolutely love my new tea cup 

and will enjoy drinking the Cocoa Deluxe tea in it :)

I don't have a tea cup like this so I was very excited to add it to my collection - she is a beauty!

I hope you stop by Lady Linda's and visit for a while

Tell her I sent you over :)

Have a splendid weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends!

 Charity suffereth long, and is kind;

charity envieth not;

charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly,

seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity,

but rejoiceth in truth;

Beareth all things,

believeth all things,

hopeth all things,

endureth all things.

Charity never faileth...

1 Corinthians 13:4 - 8a

I hope all of you have a lovely Valentine's Day with your loved ones.

Do you have any special plans?

My wonderful husband brought home these beautiful red roses.

And he and my son gave me some Ghirardelli chocolate squares.

Roses and  Ghirardelli chocolates - my 2 weaknesses! :)

I am enjoying the sweetness from the guys in my life

and I will be enjoying the sweetness of my gifts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Beloved, if God so loved us,

we ought to love one another."

1 John 4:11

Strawberry Cookie Lollipop's

A pretty and festive cookie that is perfect for Valentine's Day :)

These cookies are yummy and EASY.

Ingredients:

1 package strawberry cake mix

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 cups confectioners' sugar 

sprinkles (optional)

You will also need Popsicle sticks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry cake mix, egg and whipped topping.

Stir until well combined.

Place confectioners' sugar in a shallow dish

and place sprinkles (if using) in another shallow dish.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into sugar; turn to coat.

The dough will be sticky, but once you roll it in the sugar it won't be sticky.

After rolling in the confectioners' sugar, roll in sprinkles.

Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Gently push a Popsicle stick into the cookie.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes

or until lightly browned around the edges.

Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy :)

 If you don't want to make lollipop cookies then skip the Popsicle sticks.

Linking up with:

I Love Fridays