Moving On...Again. Big changes ahead.

So, here we go again.  Weeks before I delivered little girl #3 (still thinking of a good blog name for her) a potential move was discussed.  Nothing was set or decided, but the idea was tossed around.  Moving to Tennessee from Texas was heart-wrenching to say the least.  I had said we would never move, but God had other plans for our family.  Tennessee, even though I didn't see it at the time, has been an amazing God-given blessing for our family.  We have met so many incredible people, built an amazing home, started homeschooling, had the opportunity to be a part of an awesome church,  Bumble accepted Christ and was baptized, and we have had the blessing of just experiencing this beautiful state and all it has to offer.  Not to mention, we had our sweet little one here just nine weeks ago!  We have had friends and family visit that we have only drawn closer to through concentrated, longer visits together.  I never thought those relationships would lessen, but I honestly didn't think they would thrive and grow either.  God had his hand in it all.  Through our transition from Texas to Tennessee we all have grown closer together, but ultimately we have drawn nearer to God.  I have seen our faith grow and our trust in him thrive, despite circumstances.  Loneliness.  The unknown.  Anxiety.  You name it.  God was there and He continually revealed His presence in numerous ways.

Fast forward to now.  The hubs has received an amazing career opportunity in Ohio.  It's an opportunity that could only be thrown together through the hands of God.  My heart, my emotions, and even my physical body (headaches, nausea, etc.) has fought it, but I also know the feeling when God is asking me to step outside of my comfort zone.  He has reminded me that he doesn't call us to be comfortable.  He calls us to sometimes get a little uncomfortable for Him.  We get it wrong so much of the time, thinking it's about our desires and our comforts when God is trying to continually point us toward Him and His glory.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

This is where God keeps bringing me.  All of these transitions and changes, while they seem crazy and scary on the outside, are working toward good.  HIS ultimate good.  And if I am truly seeking Him and His will then it is for our good as well.  In this, I have JOY.

One night, I woke up, pondering thoughts of sadness and confusion.  We had just spent wonderful time with friends and family back home and my heart yearned to just stay, be with them, and forget all of this mess.  God stilled my heart and said, "Amber, this is just for a blink.  Fortunately, the majority of your loved ones will be with you in Heaven for eternity.  You will spend eternity with them.  While on this Earth, go.  Do as I say.  Be a witness to others.  Love.  Touch lives and let others minister to you as well.  That is your job while you are here.  Thank me for the blessing of your family and friends and rejoice in the fact that you have those relationships, but do not covet them above me.  Serve me here and now, in this present moment, not looking back, but pressing toward the goal in which I am calling you (Philippians 3:14)."

It snapped things into perspective for me.  We get so caught up in the here and now that we often forget our purpose.  Our purpose is not about us.  It's about Him.  

Since then I have been practicing focusing on Him more and me less.  I have been thanking him for the relationships I have.  I have been thanking him for the blessing of experiences.  Rich, beautiful experiences that I would have never experienced if I had not stepped out in faith.  God has shown me how to release my death grip on the past, wanting certain things to be the way they "used to be", and instead find excitement in the things to come because He is ALREADY in it, waiting to bless us there too.

All of this being said, there are still a lot of ups and downs emotionally.  We returned home from Texas after Christmas and instead of feeling that overwhelming, "we're home" relief you usually feel after a long drive, I had mixed feelings.  My "home" didn't quite feel like home.  I knew we would be selling it.  I knew we would be having our family Christmas and I would be packing it all up immediately after to get ready for showings.  As a Mom (specifically a stay at home Mom), our house is my office.  It is my job.  I am continually thinking of ways to make it feel like a home.  I stare at hallways and blank walls as possibilities and often times in utter frustration, trying to figure out the perfect decor to tie it all together.  Our office, turned homeschool room, is finally the way I want it.  My heart and soul is poured into this house.  Before our home was complete we wrote scripture on all of the beams, dedicating our home to the Lord, wanting it to be used to serve Him.  We have been blessed to be able to lead a life group in our home.  We have been blessed to have family and friends stay here.  We have been blessed with neighbors that are like family.  We have been blessed to have dinners, get togethers, fire pit time, roasting marshmallows, camping in the backyard, refinishing furniture in the garage, and mostly just incredible bonding time between the  five of us (plus Denali and Chewy...our furry family members).  

Before Christmas we made a trip to Ohio and as we parked at the hotel to check-in a man walked in with an old school Dallas Cowboys jacket.  Then, the lady checking us in starts talking to Adam and lets us know that she literally lived one exit down from where we lived in Texas.  Then, as we leave Ohio and are getting on the highway there is a Texas flag standing tall, flying right beside us in front of a building there.  It felt like God was sending us little comforts.  He did the same thing when we came to Tennessee.  Then, this last weekend we went to Nashville during showings on our house.  A man stopped and asked if we wanted a picture of all five of us.  As he took the picture he asked where we were from.  We told him that we currently lived here, but were moving to Ohio.  Turns out he had just moved from Ohio three months prior!  Then, we decided to take a carriage ride through the city with the girls (something we have been meaning to do this whole time).  As we talked to the man driving the carriage he said his horse's name was Ben and that they just got him a few months prior from Dayton, Ohio.  Seriously, God does this for us.  It's like he leaves little love notes, strategically placed along the way, giving us comfort and reassurance as we go.

It seems as of yesterday we have an offer on our house after being on the market for four days.  I cried when I heard.  Very bittersweet for sure.  If it all plays out the way it seems we will be living in Ohio beginning of March.  Crazy how fast things can move.  

Our sweet girls when we were building the house.  They were so little!

The day we signed to close on our lot.

Here are some of the pictures of our house from the listing:

 

I will miss our home, this town, and everyone we have met deeply.  This town and the people will hold a special place in my heart.  Maybe God will lead us back here some day.  However, I am open to wherever He leads because I know that His will is far better than anything I could create for myself.  

Fear or Faith: What Do You Practice?

I am now within a week, days, or minutes of meeting miss little girl #3.  While I am filled with excited anticipation of holding her and just seeing her, I have moments.  

Moments of questioning.  

How will three be?  Will the dynamic with my other two girls change? How will it be when my Mom leaves?  I have become so accustomed to her being here since I have been on bed rest for the past eight weeks.  I already miss her.

Moments of fear.

What if the delivery doesn’t go as planned?  What if she isn’t okay?  What if I’m not okay?  What about the girls?  What about Adam?  The responsibility and love weighs heavy in my heart.

Moments of just feeling flat overwhelmed.

How will potentially moving after having a newborn and a c-section recovery be?  (Did I mention we may be moving again?!...and not local either)  Ya, that’s on the table too.

As a really really pregnant lady I wake up multiple times a night to use the restroom.  As I plop back into the bed, trying to reposition myself, I eventually just lay there, and my mind starts running wild.  The questions start pouring in and where do I usually turn in those times of questioning?  Yes, sometimes the Bible and prayer, but often times my phone, wondering what others experienced, which is often times just a dangerous thing.  Many times, it’s worst case scenario, and once you read those scary stories the “good” ones just don’t stick as well.  By doing that, I have now filled my mind with fear instead of faith.

However, God is not a God of fear.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect loves drives out fear...”

1 John 4:18

He doesn’t operate that way, even though our emotions and feelings often times do.

Last night, as I laid in bed, and I started hearing the slew of questions and fear settling in, I prayed.  I prayed for clarity and perspective.  As I did, God reminded me of all of my blessings and as I said them aloud and back to him, in thankfulness, my soul felt uplifted.    He said, “You feared childbirth even before you were physically able to carry a child.  Didn’t I take care of you, even through the scary moments of your first delivery?  Wasn’t I there?  When you flooded yourself with tears as you moved away from family didn’t I provide you with hope, peace, and joy despite your circumstance?  With each moment of anxiety or panic you have endured aren’t I always there the moment you just say my name?  Always.  100% of the time.  When you moved schools, numerous times throughout high school and college and had relationships that tested you, wasn’t I always there when you called?  I will never leave you nor forsake you.  I am already there.”

I came across a devotional in Jesus Calling a few days ago that nailed it perfectly.  Sarah Young said this, “However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future.  You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times.  What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn’t include Me.  Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My Presence will be with you at all times.”

When I am letting those questions run rampant in my mind I am not able to project God into those questions and scenarios because they are full of fear and doubt.  God has not given me the strength in those situations because I am not actually in  those situations.  I can only be in the present that He is giving me right now, not a second ahead, and not a second behind.

So, as I laid there last night, praying, turning my doubtful thoughts into faithful ones, God reminded me of the Israelites.  Literally, out loud, I whispered, “I will not be an Israelite.”  To give a little background, we read many times throughout the Bible where God provided for his people, the people were happy (for a time), and then they grumbled, complained, and were filled with doubt.  God was patient with them.

The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  As he led them out of Egypt, “by day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people” (Exodus 13:21-22).  God provided a way and never left their side.  YET...as Pharoah approached them, “the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them.  They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.  They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?  What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?  Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’?  It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’”(Exodus 14:10-12).  They had a habit of doing this.  At the first sign of distress, they would abandon ship, and turn on Moses, but ultimately God.  

So did God give up on them?  Nope.

“Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them.  The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel” (Exodus 14:19-20)

Despite their doubt and fear, God was still God, and covered his people with His protection.  He gave Moses the power to part the Red Sea, the Israelites passed through, and the Egyptians drowned.  The Israelites then feared the Lord once again and put their trust in Him, singing songs of praise.

Don’t blink though, because when they are given another obstacle, the doubt and fear come flooding back in.

“In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!  There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death’” (Exodus 16:2-3)

God’s response:

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.  Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread.’  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 16:11-12).

Later on we see a time when Moses went to the Mount Sinai and received the ten commandments and instruction from God for his people.  He spent 40 days and 40 nights there and the Israelites became impatient.  They bail and jump right back into their old ways.

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will be go before us.  As for this fellow Moses who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him” (Exodus 32:1)

From this, we see that their trust was placed more within a man instead of God and all that he had provided for them and promised thus far.

This type of thing happened all throughout the Bible.  God provides.  His people celebrate.  Troubles come.  People are filled with fear, doubt, and complaints.

In Matthew we see Peter, having enough faith to step out of his boat, and walking out onto the water to meet Jesus.  However, “when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord save me!’  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:30-31)

Even after the disciples had seen countless miracles, they still struggled with their faith.  One evening the disciples travelled in a boat with Jesus.  A storm came and the waves crashed over their boat.  All the while, Jesus slept.  The disciples panicked.  “‘Teacher don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet!  Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?’  They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:38-41)

Last night I refused to allow the fearful thoughts to create holes in my faith and instead thanked God for his blessings in my life.  Through doing this, the Lord reminded me, “Haven’t you been acting like my people, the Israelites as they doubted me and disobeyed?  What about the doubt and faithlessness my disciples displayed even after I provided for them time and time again?  Amber, I have provided for you time and time again, yet you forget when the storms come, and let fear, the tool of the devil, to seep in.  Live in this present moment, knowing that I will be there in your future, just as I have been in your past.”

I know in my soul that God allowed these instances to be in His word to show us that we all struggle and fall short.  Even his most trusted, beloved people, were often times filled with doubt and fear.  Thank the Lord that His providence and blessings are not contingent on my emotional stability or what I “deserve”.  His providence is based on HIS love, it never fails, and covers all.

So, this morning I am stepping out in faith, remembering his promises.  There is a lot of power in the name of Jesus and just by saying His name I can feel my faith being redirected to His word and thankfulness, not the what-if, circumstantial issues of this world. 

SaveSave

Oh Death, Where is Your Sting?

Over the last several years I have dreaded the very thought of losing someone close to me.  I would always fall back on my faith, but some days the anticipation of losing a loved one was beyond my comprehension.  Over the past four months I have seen my extremely healthy, very independent Oma (grandmother), decline due to lung cancer.  She was honestly one of the last family members I thought would pass away any time soon.  She was just so “healthy” and always seemed 20 years younger than her age.

Last Tuesday, on Hoot's birthday, my Oma passed away.   My Oma was my grandmother, but also a very dear friend who I confided in and learned from.  She was a joy to our family. She was a great-grandmother to my girls and they were enamored with her.  

Leading up to the time of her passing, I was able to do something that I normally can never do.  For the most part, I could pray about the situation and then leave it, instead of analyzing and dwelling. This, being completely against my own nature, was completely God.  He was already moving in my heart.  At night, through tears, I would think of my Oma, but God would bring a new hope and clarity of Him as well.  I thought about Adam and Eve and how even after their betrayal God still gave us another chance through his forgiveness and mercy.  Words that I knew to be true for much of my life started to take on a new color, becoming more vivid and real.

As I booked our flight to Texas and made her funeral program I was surrounded with memories, pictures, and words filled with my Oma.  I had moments of tears, but they were short.  The reality of Heaven had become more real than ever and my perspective of the stuff on this Earth had shifted.  I felt peace and joy welling up within me.  I prayed, “God, I know what is coming when we land in Texas.  Grieving family, her home where every piece of decor tells her story, and I will be standing in the place where so many memories have been shared.  Lord, please prepare me” and IMMEDIATELY He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.  I am already IN the moment where you land in Texas, I am already IN the moment where you walk through her home, and I am already IN the moment of the funeral.  Have I EVER not been there?”  So, in that moment of prayer, I decided to trust.  I said, “Okay, God, either I trust you or I don’t.  It is really simple.”

As I drove to her home, spent a morning going through her belongings and her favorite jewelry, and attended her funeral, I felt and KNEW that God was already there.  The reaction we have all felt is nothing short of a miracle from God.  We have had moments of tears, but SO many more moments of laughter and pure joy.  I thought again about the Garden of Eden and how in that moment Satan must have felt victory.  His ultimate goal is to divide us from God and he will do whatever it takes to make it happen.  However, through God's grace and forgiveness, we have been given another chance at an eternal bond that can never be broken.  EVER.  So, no matter what we face in this temporal life…death, addiction, fear, betrayal, etc…NOTHING can separate those who place their trust in Jesus Christ from eternity in Heaven.  Death makes these truths more vivid.  It makes the words from scripture LEAP off the pages.

As my Mom said, "Mother is not dead, she is, in fact, more alive than she has ever been.  For all the pleasures we tend to live for, or try to create, here on earth, she is experiencing far more than these. She is experiencing inexpressible Love, Joy and beauty beyond anything we can comprehend.  She is complete and whole and is eagerly awaiting our arrival, so that we can enjoy all that God has for us together.  We can be sad now and miss her presence here, but never be sad that she is gone, because she isn’t.  From the moment Mother heard that she had cancer, she was at peace.  She told everyone, 'I'm not afraid,' 'I'm not in control, God is, and whatever happens is fine - either way.' Mother also repeatedly said on the way to doctor visits that she had joy in her heart.  She said, 'It's not me, it's God,' 'I'm not happy or sad, but feel joy.'  This joy is the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that God gives in any circumstance through Christ.  Mother is with Jesus today.  She is absolutely whole and complete.  The reality of her Being is greater and more secure than anything we have here on this earth.  She knew this from the very start and this was, and IS, her strength today.”

This is the JOY we have had in our hearts this last week.  We have laughed a great deal.  During the funeral, we did not cry, and that was not because we do not miss her terribly, but because we know where she is is SO much better than where we are today.  Ultimately, it is because God was ALREADY there in that moment, preparing the way, preparing our hearts, and loving us through it all.  When we surrender our “control” to God and just BELIEVE in his word and truths, it is absolutely AMAZING the work He can do in our hearts.  I feel hope and joy in the depths of my soul knowing that whatever lies ahead, the Lord is already there, and will bring comfort into my heart that I cannot possibly imagine.

I absolutely dreaded telling Bumble.  As we told her, and the words sunk in, she said, “So Oma knows Raelee now?” Raelee was the precious son of our sweet friends who passed away in December.  We said, “Yes, she does.”  Then, she started sobbing.  My husband held her for probably five minutes and she abruptly said, “I need to draw.  Mom, where is my Bible?  Where is your Heaven book?”  So at 11:30 p.m., as we prepared for our flight the next morning, she left for 15 minutes and came back with the picture below.  As my Dad talked about during my Oma’s eulogy, this is the child-like faith that we all need to have.  We make things so incredibly complicated when they just do not need to be at all.  Bumble just believed.  She has faith and joy in Oma being in Heaven with the Father she tells us she loves more than us.  That quick reaction was such a witness to all of us.

We believe in Him not because of circumstance or feeling, but because we know His truth is victorious and the ONLY truth that matters.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps My Word, He will never see death.”

John 8:51

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 

1 Corinthians 15:55

Are you being attacked?

You ever feel like you are being attacked?  Things are pulling you down and tempting you to be negative and downtrodden.  Others in your life are dealing with illness, anxiety, depression, marriage struggles, temptations, etc. etc. etc.  Life can be hard.  

The other night, while laying in bed, I was thinking and praying.  I said to my husband, "Life is just hard."  He quietly said, "Yes, it is" and then followed it up by a loud snore.  It was 1 a.m. when I decided to start this deep conversation so I gave him a pass.  It's just lately I have had those close to me share some hard, gut-wrenching struggles they are having in their lives.  All of these people are fellow believers in Christ and I can see them fighting against the temptation to just be negative and give up.  However, they are fighters.  The struggle is real though.  Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

This is where they find their peace and HOPE.  It is true, that even as a believer, we will have troubles that may come in the form of finances, depression, marital and relationship issues, anxiety, and illness. However, despite these hardships and how daunting they can sometimes feel, HE has already won.  HE has overcome the world and its ways.  With his strength (Philippians 4:13) you and I can overcome these worldly struggles.

Before our Life Group met last night, I felt shaken due to some recent struggles.  In tears I hugged a friend and the words out of her mouth stuck with me.  She said, "I will rebuke him until I don't have a voice left.  We must be doing something good".  It reminded me of something Joyce Meyer said in a sermon.  She said, "God is up to something or the devil wouldn't be fighting you this hard."  Each struggle is just an opportunity to grow in your relationship with Christ.

Last night, God spoke Genesis 50:20 to me where Joseph says, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."  If you are not familiar with Joseph's story it was a rough one.  He experienced the ultimate betrayal of his brothers selling him into slavery.  His brothers killed a goat, dipped Joseph's robe (which was gifted by his father) in the blood, and led their father to believe Joseph was killed.  He found favor while working in the house of Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials.  Of course, everything blew up when Potiphar's wife accused Joseph of wanting to sleep with her.  Her pride was so hurt that when Joseph rejected her advances she turned it around on Joseph and started accusing him instead.  Pharaoh, "burning with anger", threw him in prison.  Can you imagine how misunderstood and rejected Joseph felt?  I personally hate feeling misunderstood and want it all out there and here you have Joseph whose life thus far has been a HUGE misunderstanding, at least from a near-sighted worldly view.  However, God had a different plan.  "But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden" (Genesis 40:21).  Joseph was never alone and never forgotten.  God was with him at all times.  While in prison, the cupbearer and chief baker upset Pharaoh and they ended up in prison with Joseph.  They each had a dream and after interpreting the dream of the chief cupbearer Joseph said, "But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison" (Genesis 40:14).  Of course, going along with the path of Joseph's life so far, "The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him" (Genesis 40:23).  It wasn't until TWO years later, when Pharaoh had a dream, that the cupbearer remembered the man in prison that interpreted his dream.  Pharaoh called on Joseph to interpret his dream and afterward said, "Since God made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.  You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders.  Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you" (Genesis 41:39-40).  Fast forward now to a famine that struck the lands.  Jacob, learning about grains in Egypt, sent his sons to get some so they wouldn't die.  They came to Joseph, who was in charge of distributing the grains.  After Joseph eventually revealed who he was to his brothers, who originally didn't recognize them, he ended up reassuring them and taking care of them.  "Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed.  Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children" (Genesis 47:11-12).  Joseph not only forgave his brothers, but gave back to them tenfold.  That brings us back to when Joseph says, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done..."  Joseph's faith and hope was in God and His plan and not in the plan of his brothers that had caused him so much hurt.  His eyes were on God, not on this world.

It is absolutely amazing how God can take something that is intended to harm us and bring so much goodness and GLORY through it.  I am having the opportunity to see this in the lives of others right now along with my own.  Even though it may hurt in the moment, I know that through God so much good can be done.  We just have to be open to Him and allow his peace and gift of forgiveness to flow through us, realizing this great truth:

I will admit when I first saw this last week, after a friend posted it, my mind was saying "He...arrow...I...He...points to...I...I don't get it".  It sometimes takes me a second. :)  Then, it clicked.  HE is GREATER than I am.  The company is based off of the Bible verse John 3:30 where it says, "He must increase, but I must decrease".  So, in the midst of my mini-meltdown before Life Group last night that same friend gave me a journal with "HE>i" and it was just perfect timing.  Don't you just love when God works through your friends like that and allows things to happen at just the perfect time?  

Jesus is greater than I am.  His plan is greater than I am.  When I face adversity, it's okay because I know that God is always with me, like he was always with Joseph.  I know that he can and will bring good out of what was intended for harm.  Such an amazing promise that brings such eternal hope and crazy ridiculous peace that goes above and beyond anything I can comprehend.

Painting Letters: Projectors, Cricuts, and Silhouettes OH MY!

Years ago I found an old warehouse on Craigslist.  I was on the search for one of the original overhead projectors that were used in the classroom with transparencies.  I was pretty pumped as I walked out of that place with my "new" $20 projector.  Oh the crafty stuff I could do!

Remember these guys?

I spent time designing through Pages (yes I'm a Mac kind of girl), printing on transparencies (hoping they were sized right), and then plopping that big machine on my dining room table often times only to find out that it wasn't sized right to the canvas and I would need to start over again.  However, through some trial and error I would get it right and really for $20 how can you go wrong?  I used it mostly for letter work and while the edges aren't always perfectly crisp I also kind of liked it that way too!

As the years passed I heard rumors of a machine called the Cricut.  I found a way, despite the price tag, and made it happen.  I used it a little at first, but then I got pregnant and honestly just didn't have the money.  The original Cricut that I had required multiple cartridges for designs and fonts.  This newly "retired" teacher and stay at home Mom was not exactly in the place to buy dozens of cartridges.  So, the Cricut sat lonely, upstairs, in an office that was rarely used.  When Bumble was one we had a garage sale and I sold the Cricut, which was hard!  It was one of those items that in my head I would always get back to, but in reality I knew I never would.

In between the Cricut and Silhouette I tried this method of painting letters onto canvas.  It's a nice way to transfer them over.  Just be sure to reverse (mirror) your letters before trying out this one.

Fast forward to now and hearing about the Silhouette Cameo.  The main thing that stood out to me with both the new Cricut and Silhouette is that you could hook it up to your computer, no cartridges needed, and use all of the fonts and designs you already had!  This was HUGE and my brain was spinning with what I could dream up.  Christmas rolled around and I used my Christmas money to buy this bundle on Amazon.  

I am by no means a pro with this thing yet, but I am really enjoying it!  There is so much you can do with it and it makes designing and painting letters way easier.  I wanted to try out a few things when I first received it so I have used the regular vinyl, glitter heat transfer vinyl, and just the vinyl as a stencil to paint letters and images.  The Silhouette software is super user friendly and makes the process a breeze.

So far here are 3 of my top tips (from figuring it out the hard way):

1.  All of the settings in the guide may not be just perfect for your particular Silhouette.  I always do a test cut first to make sure it is cutting appropriately.  I messed up a lot of expensive vinyl by not doing this in the beginning!

2.  Speaking of expensive vinyl, if you are just using the vinyl as a stencil that you will just pull off your project and throw away may I suggest buying a cheap roll of contact paper from Wal-Mart?  It works wonderfully for that.  I have had issues pulling it off because it's not quite as sticky as the vinyl, but if you have patience it's a much cheaper option.

3.  When it comes to painting the letters on, make sure that your vinyl or contact paper is firmly in place.  The paint WILL bleed underneath and it is such a bummer when you pull it off only to reveal runny letters.  A solution to letters bleeding that I found while searching is to use Mod Podge!  Here is a tutorial on how to use it when doing your letters from Laura at The Turquoise Home.  Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff has a similar tutorial as well.  Most tutorials say to use only matte Mod Podge.  I used glossy (because that's all I had) and it turned out great.

For Valentine's Day I wanted to make something special for the hubs.  We both love the song "A Sunday Kind of Love" by Etta James.  If you don't know it you should.  So I went to Lowe's, picked out my board, brought it home to my miter saw, and made my cuts.  As my stain dried I made my design with the Silhouette software.

Once I was ready I sent my project to be cut.  After weeding out what I didn't want to use I placed the transfer paper on top of my vinyl.

Then, I carefully removed the back of the vinyl, placed it on my piece of wood (as straight as possible), and then carefully removed the front piece of transfer paper.  This leaves just the vinyl remaining on the wood board.

From here (sorry no pictures) I painted my modge podge on each letter to prevent the paint from bleeding.  The only issue I had once I lifted the vinyl was with some of the fonts I chose.  They were soooooo thin that when I lifted the vinyl it lifted the paint with it!  Oops!  I was able to touch it up by hand so problem solved.

I was super happy with the way it all turned out.

Here are a few more Silhouette projects that I have done so far:

Until next time...happy painting!

Linking up with: Coastal Charm A Stroll Thru Life Nap Time Creations Ladybug Blessings The Turquoise Home Whimsy Wednesdays