My life lately

{clause: I wrote this yesterday, Wednesday, but just got around to posting today :)}

Happy Wednesday! So far my day has consisted of doing floors (woohoo) and breaking a mop in the process O_O some cleaning, devotions, and crocheting. Blogging seemed to be a good next step ;)

It's been a while since I've shared with you about what's going on in my everyday life (other than the birthday post) so I'd like to share with you some things that I've shared on IG :)

{All pictures number from top left around clockwise}

1. A delicious fruit smoothie that I made for a snack on Monday - frozen blueberries and strawberries, raspberry yogurt, and cranberry/raspberry juice mixed into yumminess!

2. This past Sunday, Hayden & Jaquelyn, Sarah & Shiloh (my younger sister and Hayden's younger brother just started courting officially!), and Nathan & I went on a fun triple date!

3. The date included going to see the new Spider-Man. I have very mixed emotions about it :) Not sure if I love it =) afterward we went to Applebee's, yum!

4. After church and before our date, we had crocheting at church - read about that here.

1. This past week out AC broke =\ not fun in FL 80+ degree weather. So dad sent Katheryn and I to chick-fil-a for a "cool" dinner.

2. Also because of our broken AC mom had me get Popsicles, of course I had to get the marvel ones ;) (thankfully our air has been fixed since!)

3. Thanks to my fiancé and sister, I'm going to Hope Spoken next year! I am super excited and cannot wait!

4. Baked up some chocolate chip muffins for breakfast last week.

1. Finally got around to transplanting out sunflowers. Sadly, they didn't survive the move... :(

2. Nathan and I attended a friends wedding with Jaquelyn and Graham on April 26th. It was fun! And my guy looked extremely handsome!

3. Still working my way through the Valley of Vision, so good!

4. And finally, I'm continuing to work on some more posts in my "preparing to say 'I Do' " mini-series. I excited about the upcoming one!

My life has been pretty good lately as you can see :) definitely not perfect! (Mostly because I'm not perfect by any means...) but I'm thankful for what each of these pictures represent :)

Until next time...

"One Square at a time..." A crochet ministry!

A few months (I think?) ago, I started following a lady on IG who did a lot with crocheted Granny Squares. She had a neat ministry going on where she made Granny Squares or people sent them to her, and she sewed them together into blankets to give to the homeless. The blankets came out so beautiful and people from all over the world, literally, sent squares to her. I toyed with the idea of making some to send, but she lives in the UK and I wasn't sure I had the funds to get them there. As I thought more about it, the idea started to form in my head that we should start something similar in my church family. Several of my friends already knew how to crochet and I was certain that between us we could teach people who didn't. Then we would meet up occasionally to work together and also be able to crochet at home. After getting the green light from the elders in our church, "One Square at a Time..." or simply "One Square" was born! 

Right now we have been meeting for a few months. In the beginning we met every Sunday so that those that didn't know how would be able to learn and be able to start making their own at home - now we meet about every three weeks or once a month and have the goal of making 3 or more squares a week at home. We have 8 ladies (including myself) and 4 younger girls! I loved that it was something almost any age group cold be a part of and its great having the three generations (older woman, younger woman, and children) working together. Our plan is to start off by making blankets for our local pregnancy center (won't have to be as big) and then maybe go from there to making adult sized blankets for the homeless. We are also going to donate a few blankets to our All Children's Hospital NICU on behalf of my cute nephew who spent a week there.

Our first "Elmer the Elephant" Blanket is almost completed! (if you're confused by the title, click here - I loved this book as a little girl!) And I am hoping on using it to update our church family on what's going on and also as encouragement for others to donate gift cards for us to buy yarn. Another thing I loved about the idea, because even if you don't want to crochet, you can still be a part of each blanket. We will see!

Nathan isn't usually a part of our group ;) But he came up for the day =D

We were missing some sweet ladies this past week - but it was still a great time!

Until next time...

A giveaway winner!

Traci's giveaway is officially over - thanks to all of you who entered to win! It was a blast! 

And of course, congratulations to Sadie who is the winner. =D So excited for you!

Remember the coupon code on Traci's blog is still good until October 22nd; don't miss out!

Sadie's choice was a Lion Zoottle, whoohoo! Getting his mane =)

Haircut time! Gotta look good for his new home ;)

Next stop: Post office and on his way to Idaho! {That other package is a Penguin Zoottle headed to Kansas. It was won in the adoption auction I was a part of!}

{All these pictures are from my IG account @oodlesofzoottles I'd love for you to check it out!}

Until next time...

Drum roll please! (And a coupon code)

I am so pleased to announce...

This is so exciting for me! It was this spring when I started to dream of owning my own Etsy shop. I've worked so hard putting together patterns, learning about blogs and shops; I've done so many Google searches, been inspired by so many other Etsy owners, and crocheted my fingers off! I have no clue where God is going to take this, but I'm praying whatever happens will bring Him glory and be for my best. And guess what?? I am assured that that will happen!

For those of you who are new to my little space and have no clue what a Zoottle is, they are handmade crocheted baby rattles, fit for the city zoo! Each one was designed and made by yours truly with love and safety in mind. A bell tucked inside creates a soft jingle, perfect for entertaining your little ones. Plus, they double as fun toys that have endless possibilities! You could line them up two by two for Noah's ark, or build enclosures for them with blocks to create a zoo. You could play catch with them or simply let your baby snuggle up with one.

So, stop on by! You can click the gidget on the left or go to {oodlesofzoottles.etsy.com}

Zoottles are perfect for any baby you have in your life and I know they would make an adorable gift. I love making them and most importantly I love that my work can be a blessing to others.

And in celebration of my grand opening, enter ZOOTTLE10 at checkout to get 10% off of your entire purchase!

Happy shopping!
Until next time...

Simpler, slower, better

The past 9 years of my life have been... Busy. I've "done" a lot of things. Serving with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) throughout the summer and also some through the fall. Being on the Music Ministry at my church. Teaching the kids at my church, etc. etc. etc.

This past spring and summer was especially busy because I served as the Summer Ministries Coordinator for my CEF chapter. I will admit that at times I was completely overwhelmed, stressed, and felt like giving up. If it wasn't for my God and my love, I probably would have. Through His grace and lots of encouragement, I made it through the Summer. That experience made me realize something. I was so busy "doing" things, I had forgotten to work on my relationship with Jesus. I knew that I had to slow down or I would burn out. 

Part of this new lifestyle for me is being able to create. That's the main reason I am starting up Oodles of Zoottles. To be able to express myself and have an outlet to do so, hopefully blessing others along the way. This blog is also a way for me to express myself. 

I was so excited to be able to order Business cards and postcards for my little shop! {Front}

{Back}

Most importantly, a part of my new way of doing things, is to make spending time with Jesus the #1 priority. Yesterday, "Jesus calling" by Sarah Young, talked about making sure to rest in God's presence. And even if the world looks at you and sees you doing "nothing" to know that you are really doing the most important thing in the world. That is soooo true! My days are always better if I start them resting with the Lord. 

Now, I've also had time to do other fun things!

I got Nathan to start Couch to 5K with me this week! {Read here}

Re-doing an old mirror, DIY coming soon! ;)

As I said last time, I get to do a craft fair soon! Something I would have never been able to do; no time!

The nice thing about crocheting is that I can take it pretty much anywhere! 

What my work station usual looks like ;)

So, this coming "year" (Fall, Spring, Summer) my goal is to live simpler and slower, be more of a homebody and work on being "quiet before my God". I'm still figuring out exactly how that looks and of course I still want to serve in ministry; we'll see where God leads. 

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear them!

Until next time...

I just might become a runner!

Well, folks, I have started! Started "couch to 5K" that is. Today was the 1st day and it went pretty well. :)

Let me catch you up on some history here: my younger sister, Jennifer is a runner. Has been for quite a while. And boy she runs a bunch! I don't even what to think about how many miles she runs in a week =P T
his past year my Dad decided to try and become a runner too. Before he would always bike, but his one complaint was that you had to go farther to get a lot of exercise which takes time. He figured if he ran, he could go less distance and still get the same amount. He downloaded a podcast c25K and started. He finished and now he's working on running a 10K! Well, time goes on and my second to youngest sister, Sarah, decides to jump on the bandwagon. 

Now, I will tell you that I have never been a runner. Never wanted to be and told myself I would never be one. One reason is because I have bad ankles and knees. (Even though I'm only 20 :( ) I broke both my ankles quite a bit when I was younger, (the left 5 times and the right.. Hmmm.. I forget! maybe 3 or 4?) and the doctor said my knees were bad because I grew too fast and my knees couldn't keep up. (Usually that's a boy problem.) And I'm only 5'2"! Another reason is, I had absolutely no desire to! And if you are going to run, I feel at least a little desire has to be there.

Well, fast forward to last week. I finally broke down and decided to start the c25K. I know that I need to exercise more to keep healthy, and who knows, maybe this will help strengthen my poor knees and ankles. =) I knew it would be pointless to try this on my own, one of my biggest weaknesses is that I am horrible at self-motivation! So, I recruited the love of my life to do it with me. Woohoo! 

The podcast we're using; you should check it out!

We decided to do it in the mornings and do it every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We would do it at the same time so neither of us had any excuses to skip. Sneaky, sneaky! =P Today was our first day, and at least for me, it wasn't beautiful, but I am so excited to have it under my belt! I was so anxious to start I woke up at 5 this morning, whoa! 

Here we go! Nathan wants to make sure you know his shorts are red ;)

Nathan does live an hour and a half away from me, so we're more doing it together in spirit =) Which is still good!

Yay for us! Look at that handsome man =D so cute!

I'm going to try and blog about it at least once every week. Update on how we're doing and have it as another motivation to keep it up. If you follow me on IG (everymoment7911) then you'll see pictures there too. =)

And in other news... My sister Jaquelyn and I are doing a craft fair at the end of this month. My first ever and I am soooo excited and nervous! Only 18 days!

Eeeeeek!

I am crocheting my fingers off! =)

Are any of you runners?? or have you done the c25K? Any craft fair experts out there? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time...

The art of Amigurumi and how I fell in love with it.

When I was 9 "ish" an elderly woman from my church introduced me to the art of crocheting. Her name was Ms. Bette and since then she has gone to be with the Lord. Every week my mom would take us girls up to church for "crochet class". Several other families came and it was great. I will never forget her and the fun she made crocheting. She is definitely where my love for it began.  

Most of my early projects consisted of washcloths, washcloths, and… More washcloths! Oh, and I also attempted a few Single Crochet blankets. Those were horrible... Plus lots of yarn pompoms to throw at my sisters! Over time, my crocheting days began to fade. After all, there are only so many washcloths you can make. I picked it back up off and on and tried my hand at various 2D patterns. 

But then, Nathan's birthday was coming up. This was before we were together and I really wanted to do something he would love! I knew that he really liked penguins, so I started searching. And I found the cutest Amigurumi Penguin pattern ever! It was perfect. I had never really learned how to read a pattern and I had no clue what Amigurumi was, but I tried. Google and YouTube are the best teachers ever. ;) (If you haven't noticed, Google is my friend. =) ) It worked, because Nathan loved it!

Nathan's penguin =) Looking back I can tell I have improved ;)

I haven’t looked back since. I have fallen in love with all of the cute creatures Amigurumi produces. Many have become presents for young children and some have even been more presents for Nathan, like a cute Thor! 

Isn't he handsome ;)

Through online resources (again, Google ;) ), a few home-school co-op classes, and a great book, I have completed dozens of patterns. Finally, I felt that I had enough experience to try my hand at creating an Amigurumi pattern. And Zoottles were born. Writing the patterns have been quite an undertaking, but also one of the biggest thrills of my life! I'll have to go into that another time =)

Until next time...

Crochet Hook Roll Tutorial

I have never claimed to be an expert sewer. I'm not the best at following patterns and my lines aren't always straight. BUT... I love to sew. Something about all the cutting and ironing, seaming, etc. makes me happy. So, occasionally some of my sewing adventures may end up here. ;)

For the longest time I have been using a lovely pouch to hold my crochet hooks. Once though, my sister made a colored pencil roll and I loved the concept; perfect for crochet hooks! And that is how this tutorial was born. Enjoy! 

You will need:

Sewing machine

Sewing pins

Measuring Tape

1/2 yard of 44" wide fabric (I used quilters cotton from my local Joann Fabrics)

Matching All-Purpose thread

Small roll of 1/2" ribbon

Wash and iron your fabric.

Cut:

2 pieces, 16 1/2" x 10" (These will be for the outer and inner pieces)

1 piece, 16 1/2" x 6 1/2" (This will be for the pocket that holds the hooks)

I chose to leave the biased edge on, but feel free to cut it off. =)

Next, you will want to hem the pocket piece on the long edge. Fold over 1/4" and press. Then fold over again about an inch and press. Pin in place. 

After threading the sewing machine and bobbin with your thread, change the dial to a zigzag stitch. Sew along the pinned hem (Unless specified, use an 1/8" seam allowance).

After hemming, line up pocket piece with inner piece (Both right sides should be facing you; so the wrong side of the pocket will be on the right side of the inner piece). Pin in place. Put your sewing machine back to a normal straight stitch and sew along the outer three edges. This creates a pocket. 

Sadly, my picture of this was lost, so I made a fancy diagram ;)

Now to create the little pockets that will hold each individual crochet hook. Beginning at the far left edge, measure out 3/4" increments and mark each one with a pin.

Do this all the way across. Then just take it to the sewing machine and sew from the top of the pocket to the bottom, using your pins to know when each should go. Try your best to sew a straight line; I pretty much eyeballed it and it was fine. =) (Optional - leave about 3 - 3 1/2" pocket at the end to put stitch markers, yarn needles, pens, or other needed items. Scissors, unless tiny, may cause the roll not to "roll" correctly, so keep that in mind.)

Pardon my purse in the background... ;)

It should turn out like this! 

     Left: With matching thread   Right: I drew over the stitches so that you could see them

Next, pin this piece to the outer piece, right sides together. It may not match exactly, but as long as you sew straight, you can trim it. =) Pin in place. 

Sew around all 4 edges, leaving a small opening in the side for turning.

Trim the edges...

Turn right side out (you can use a crochet hook to push out the corners). 

Press all around - Fold edges of opening in and press - Cut ribbon into about two 10" strips - Slide into opening at the bottom - If ribbon is one sided, put one facing down and one facing up - pin in place.

You can either use a straight stitch or zigzag to close, make sure to catch the ribbons.

Last step, the flap: Fold over top so that it bends right above where the ribbons are attached. Press and pin.

Straight stitch along the very edge.

And voila! Time to put in your crochet hooks, odds and ends, and roll away! Roll starting on the end without the ribbons and roll toward them so you can tie it off.

I would love to know if you tried this out!

Until next time...