Sewing a Miniature Doll Bed

Hello everyone! Don't you just love miniature size stuff? Well, I absolutely love doll sized things, which is why I made this little bed! Read on to find out how I made it.

Three ways to use watercolor brush pens

When I got these fun watercolor brush pens and fine-tipped paintbrushes from Crafts & Colors, I immediately thought of my upcoming wedding this summer. See, I'm a real DIYer, and for my friends making a long trip just to be my bridesmaids, or for my closest friends from high school in my wedding, or for my roommates who played Dutch Blitz with me just about every day ... generic, store-bought thank you cards simply won't do.

Considering the fact I'm gonna have eight bridesmaids and numerous others helping pull this thing off, it was time for me to get busy.

Brush lettering: Fake it till you make it

The first five days after a weekend are always the hardest. But it's finally here – Friday! You finally get to sit down and try that hand lettering you've been putting off ever since you read my last post.

But what if you want to get the hand lettered look without buying yet another pen? Or what if you did get brush pens, but you're struggling to use them? Or what if you went home for Easter break and realized you had brought back four huge containers of extra stuff from your dorm, but still managed to forget all your brush pens? (Not that I would happen to know anything about that...)

You could frame this piece for your walls or use the design on a chalkboard.

Three reasons hand lettering isn't that hard

Have you ever gotten a hand lettered card in the mail and wished you could send someone one like it? Well, guess what? You can!

I used to think hand lettered pieces looked way too complicated to do myself, but when I started with it last fall, I quickly found out that hand lettering is only made up of some basic lines and loops. I think anyone can hand letter something, whether or not you think you're creative! Today, we're going to look at three reasons why hand lettering isn't that hard.

Whenever I receive a gift from someone really close to me, I always try to make a hand lettered card just for them.

Hand lettering vs. calligraphy: What's the difference?

I've always loved drawing. Doodling, sketching, coloring it all in, and – my current love – Sharpies. The more colors the better! So when I got a set of brush pens for my birthday last fall, I was thrilled.

I'd never quite gotten into brush lettering before, because it seemed just a little intimidating. I mean, there's some really good stuff out there. But my birthday present inspired me to start teaching myself, and so, armed with my new pens and a fresh sketchbook, I took to Pinterest.

Combining hand lettering with some doodles can make your pieces more interesting. I used a brush pen to letter the word "autumn."

How to draw a flower wreath

Today, I'm going to show you how to draw this flower wreath! The thing I love about this is that even though it looks complex, it's really only made up of smaller shapes. This would also make a beautiful greeting card if you did some hand lettering in the middle!

How to draw a monarch butterfly

I love drawing nature. There are so many beautiful things to choose from, and it can be so relaxing. But I think it can sometimes be overwhelming too - picking a subject that isn't too difficult, making sure the colors look right, deciding which medium it would look best in...goodness, it's enough to discourage anyone from picking up that pencil! So I thought I'd show you how to draw something nice and simple today. Let's get started!

Five Tips for Taking Stunning Photos

I love photography! Although I don't always get to take photos as often as I'd like, I love the times I do get to photograph beautiful things. It can be a very rewarding hobby, and with a few simple tips, you can probably get started with it fairly easily, no matter what kind of camera you have!

How to Sew a Pillowcase

Hello, lovely crafters! Today, I want to share with you a simple design for making your own pillowcase. I love making pillowcases because they're pretty simple to make, and they make thoughtful gifts for loved ones....or look beautiful on your own bed! If you can sew, you can make one of these pillowcases.

Our Christmastime and a Simple Christmas Card Design

Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year, with parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow...I think might be a song in there somewhere. I also wanted to share a special Christmas card design I've been using this year!

Five Things Every Liberty Student Can Relate to

Whether you're a student at Liberty University or have only heard of the school, there are a few things that most students here understand all too well. Read on to learn a few of them.

1. Waking up to the glorious sounds of construction 
You don't need to set an alarm before your 8:15 class. You already have an alarm system, thanks to ear-splitting dump trucks, thunderous bulldozers, and other lovely equipment beginning at o'dark hundred every morning.

On a related note, it's important to never expect to own any light-color shoes while on campus. Instead, a shoe color I highly recommend is an elegant Red Mud Brown. As an added benefit, shoes in this color will always stay the same color, no matter how rainy and muddy it may be outside. You always want your shoes to help you put your best foot forward.

7 Things Your Lifeguard Wants You to Know

With summer in full-swing now, most of you have probably been swimming at your local pool to cool off! After lifeguarding at a large water park for two years and working as a lead staff member this third season, I've learned a few things along the way that I think every responsible (and especially irresponsible) swimmer should know this summer.


1.) Not all lifeguards just sit around all day doing nothing. The water park I work at keeps us on our feet all day. We're required to walk back and forth at most of the lifeguard stands rather than sitting so we can properly see the water. This meant I sometimes walked over 13 miles in one day during a twelve or thirteen hour shift!

Adventures in Fabric

The great thing about being home from college for almost a month is that I've finally had time to get some quilting done without homework, deadlines, and other things getting in the way. I've been working on a full-size quilt for my bed, and now, after nearly six and a half years, I'm thrilled to announce.... I'm still working on it. There's nothing quite like sitting under a quilt on a cold day with a hot cup of tea, while your cat pounces on your feet and anything else underneath the quilt. But that's for another blog post...

I made this quilted bag recently as a Christmas present
for a friend. Quilted bags are a great way to use up all those old fabric scraps you might have sitting around from other projects. They're also a fun way to practice or learn how to hand quilt, if you don't already know how. Here

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree: Christmas 2016

Inspecting gifts. We determined this one was soap.

Today is the best day of the entire year -- Christmas Day!! Well, maybe it's not still Christmas in Australia or someplace like that, but that's beside the point.

I love everything about Christmas, and seeing as how today is pretty much my favorite holiday of the year, I feel obligated to write a blog post about the greatness of this day.

My family and I always open presents from friends on Christmas Eve after dinner. There were all sorts of fun gifts last night, such as candy, a 1,000 piece puzzle, and wrapping paper. There was also bubble gum for Esther...a rather hazardous combination, considering the type of bubble gum eater she is.

A Special Birthday Post

Photo credits: Diane Van Tuyl

So...today is my baby sister's 15th birthday, and in honor of the special day, I've dedicated this blog post to Esther ...a person who knows better than Santa Claus whether I've been good or bad.

My younger sister does a wonderful job as a guinea pig for all my brilliant inventions and for sending down the stairs in a laundry basket first. (Coincidentally, her trip down the stairs also taught me never to do the same.)

Thanks for teaching me valuable life lessons, Esther, like...

The Twelve Days of Christmas (College Edition)

Hello and welcome back to my blog! As some of you may have noticed, I haven't posted on my blog in some time. Hopefully this post will help explain why...Without further ado, allow me to present you with my College Edition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Delray Beach pt 3

We had enough decent weather for Esther and I to film our latest movie from Van Tuyl Productions, "The Hunt". (For other movies from Van Tuyl Productions, click here).

6/9/16

We had a few days where it was lovely weather for ducks, and whaddya know but one did show up and start swimming around the pool. At first, it looked like he only had one leg, but it turned out he actually had the usual two.

Fun and Games at the Beach

Hello, folks! This is the second post about our recent trip to Delray Beach (first post here). I'm shore you'll want to sea some pictures of the ocean, so here you go (goodness, wasn't this pun-ishing to read?).

6/2/16

Things That Go on in a Thousand Mile Car Trip

     Greetings, fellow Earth-dwellers. You've probably been wondering what I've been up to since my last post (was it really back in November that I last posted...?). Well, one thing my family and I did recently was to take a vacation to Delray Beach, Florida! 

     Our new minivan was much easier to pack than our old car had been. (I had a lot more stuff than you see here when my parents picked me up from college earlier this month though.)

Yes, that's a lot of stuff... 5/31/16

Adventures (and bruises) on Ice

After the skating. All photo credits: my mom ('cause I was too busy falling down to take pictures)

Yesterday, I went ice skating for the first time ever, and I am left wondering... How in the world do figure skaters manage to go around on one ice skate all the time? I certainly had enough trouble staying up on my two feet. At least I don't have a peg leg like a pirate. I can't imagine what peg-legged pirates do when they go ice skating.