The Carpenter's Wife

No, this isn't the name of the newest chick flick. It's just me. I am a carpenter's wife. And, along with a carpenter, comes plenty of scrap pieces of wood. This has my wheels constantly turning. I am always thinking of ways I can turn that wood into fabulous pieces of art. My newest idea is wood-burning. Not piling it all in the backyard for a bonfire (which would be illegal right now, since there is a burn ban in effect), but using a wood-burning tool. My husband bought me a wood-burning tool awhile back to use on ribbon crafts. Sounds weird, but you can use it to cut the ribbon and seal the edges in one easy step. Make sure you keep it well out of baby's reach, though. It gets hot!

Anyway, I have a fabulous project in mind, but I have never actually done any wood-burning. So, I thought today was the perfect time to get some practice. I waited until my girls went down for naps (of course) and got started. First, I stenciled some designs onto my wood. Then, I outlined them with the wood-burning tool. It is definitely more difficult than it seems (especially those curved lines!), but it really is a simple technique. And, I love the idea that it is totally custom. No two projects will ever look the same! I have a bit of practicing left to do before I move onto my actual project, but I do like the non-uniform look. Although, luckily, I will not be putting words on the "real thing." I have terrible handwriting with a pencil, so it's definitely worse with a tool!

5-Minute Craft

Who doesn't love a 5-minute craft? You don't even have to wait until nap time to do this one! Good thing, too, because we have plumbers here today and the crawl space to under the house is in my girls' closet. So, they might or might not get a nap today : /

Anyway, I saw this in a friend's Facebook post and just had to do it. Y'all, it literally took me 5 minutes or less.

Here's what you need: a picture frame with glass (I picked a rimless one that I had laying around), cute scrapbook paper sized to fit in the frame you choose (I used a scrap from a 12x12 sheet), and a dry erase marker

Pretty self-explanatory, but just cut the paper to fit in the frame and you're done!

Because of those pesky plumbers, this list ain't getting done today, so I thought I'd make mine a bit more inspirational and hang it over my kitchen sink.

The beauty of it is you can change it anytime!

Learning to Sew

For years, I have wanted to learn to sew. How cool would it be if I could make clothing, etc. out of fabric? In 2009, I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas and got it. I would finally be able to cross 'learn to sew' off my bucket list! Well, fast forward to November 2010...

 At this time, a dear friend of mine, who has nursed 4 children, saw my nursing cover and mentioned that she has never had one. She said, "I'm going to get one of those...you know, if I ever breastfeed another baby." About 2 hours later, she told me she was pregnant. I mentioned the whole exchange to Matt later and he came up with a great idea. He said, "Since she wants a nursing cover and you STILL haven't learned to use that sewing machine of yours, why don't you make her one? That way, she'll get the cover she wants and you'll have a deadline for learning how to sew!" Brilliant. That gave me 7 months to learn to sew (or find a nice cover online and rip the tags out...). Fast forward to May 2011...

I decided, with less than a month until Baby's due date, that it was finally time! I Googled, "How to make a nursing cover" and related phrases until I found a great, easy-to-understand You Tube video that told me everything I needed to know about making nursing covers. This girl made like 5 in one afternoon! This must be a piece of cake!

It probably would be a piece of cake for someone who knew how to operate their machine (you know, without reading 3 pages of instructions between each step) and sew a straight line (you know, without having an anxiety attack before stepping on the foot pedal).

So, I had to practice making straight lines. I'm still not perfect by any means, but I've improved a lot! I got an old bedsheet and cut the right size pieces out of it (like the video told me to). It just about took an act of Congress to cut the fabric. Who knew you needed special fabric scissors?

Here are some pics of my rough draft

 If you look closely, you can see a little zig-zag....

 Look at that corner...yikes!

Well, making the first draft made me see what I needed to change. I got most of my kinks worked out and I think I did pretty well on the real thing! I'll post it once it has been gifted. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

The Envelope System

Doesn't it seem like cash is so old-fashioned these days? Everything is charged, financed, or, at best, paid for with a debit card. Well, I am here to tell you that paying cash (like, actual dollar bills) for things will greatly decrease your spending habits and help you get control of your money.

Used to, my husband and I used debit for everything. This made it terrifically difficult to control how much money we were actually spending. We just swiped the card and checked our balance every once in awhile. When we switched to cash, we saw a HUGE decrease in the amount we spent. Because, as Dave Ramsey says, paying cash registers as pain in your brain. It's hard to watch those envelopes get smaller as the month goes on. So, you spend less so they stay fat!

Today's post is a financial lesson and craft project all in one. My first objective is to encourage you to start paying cash for certain purchases so that you can better control your spending.

Here are the categories we use cash for:
groceries
restaurants
clothing
gifts
discretionary ("blow" money)-my husband and I each get our own envelope for this

Since we already use the envelope system, I spent today's challenge making my own, custom envelope system. And, I'm going to show you how I did it!

First, I found an envelope that was big enough to fit cash in. It was from some sort of junk mail item. I carefully pulled apart all of the seams and laid it out flat. I found some cute scrapbook paper (12X12 sheets) that I had leftover from a previous project. You can also use plain cardstock and stamps for a more custom look. I traced the taken apart envelope onto the back of the scrapbook paper and cut it out.

Then, I just folded it the way the original envelope was folded. I used a glue stick, but double sided tape probably works better.

I labeled each envelope with a Sharpie.

I used the scraps to make "ledger" sheets to put inside each envelope. That way, we can write down what we spend so we know where our money is going!

How God Used Dave Ramsey To Completely Change Our Lives

Bear with me, as this testimony may get a bit lengthy :)

Back in 2008, several people we knew took the Financial Peace University course at our church. We saw it advertised quite a bit, but decided it wasn't for us. We made good money and had no credit cards, so we thought we were doing quite well. That August, we found out we were expecting our first child. And, it seemed like everyone was talking about FPU. We decided to try it out, you know, just in case we ever found ourselves in financial difficulty.

As soon as the class started, we made our budget and really started sticking to it. We prioritized our spending and made LOTS of cutbacks. We went from eating out about 5-6 times a week to twice a month. Matt started listening to Dave's radio show in the afternoons. One day, Dave mentioned that if you have a large expense coming up (like the birth of a child), you should stop the debt snowball and start saving as much as you can. Once the big event is passed and paid for, then throw what is left of that money toward your debt. We did this and over the next few months, we were able to save over $10,000.

In November, I got the opportunity to go back to my old job (I was in nursing school and not working at this time). I accepted because extra money is always great! The same week that I started, Matt got laid off from his job. What timing. That began 2 years of financial turmoil in the life of our family. Due to the recession, construction jobs, even corporate ones like Matt had, were virtually impossible to come by. He applied for everything he could think of. We even had to move out of our apartment and in with friends during this time. What was meant to be a "few weeks" turned into 5 months living in a spare bedroom. And, yes, that included not having a place of our own to bring our newborn baby home to. As a first time mom, it's devastating to not be able to decorate a nursery and prepare for baby in your own space. But, how blessed we were to have those friends!

Because of gracious friends, my small, part-time income, and Matt's unemployment benefits, we were able to save even during this time. Then, 3 weeks after the birth of our daughter, Matt's dad passed away. He had owned his own business doing custom home building and remodeling. Within a few weeks, several of his clients were calling Matt to come finish what Roger had been working on. After a couple weeks of commuting, we felt that God was leading us to move for Matt to take over the business full-time. So, we packed up our stuff (which was already packed, in storage) and headed out here. We were blessed with the opportunity to live in Matt's granddad's house for just the cost of bills.

Soon, however, those jobs were complete and it proved tough to get much more work. Around the time I finished nursing school in December of 2009, our savings ran out. And, to add to that, I was unable to find a job. The nursing field was hit by the recession, as well. The answer I got from everyone was "we just don't have the money to train a new nurse right now." Even more, in January, we found out we were expecting another little one.

The next 7 months were some of the most stressful and horrible of my life, although they were filled with so much joy. Does that make sense? The stress and horror came from not knowing if we'd be able to keep the lights on day to day. The joy came from our marriage partnership, our sweet baby girl, and the growing baby inside me.

Even through all the uncertainty, God was good. Somehow, all of our bills got paid every month, even though we weren't quite sure where the money was coming from. My daughter and I both got on Medicaid and we applied for food stamps. For the applications, I had to document our income and provide verification of it. I could document how much money we deposited into our account, but didn't really know how to verify where it came from. All I can say is that God worked miracles during those times. Money literally came from Heaven.

Around the time that our second daughter was born, Matt started getting some work again. Not super steady, but work nonetheless. Life was still very tough and by the end of the year we were relying on Christmas and birthday money.

Then, the next miracle. The week before Christmas (2010) I applied for a job at a psych hospital. I didn't really want to work psych, but it was a new posting I hadn't seen before, so I thought I might as well apply. The same week, Matt's uncle asked if he could start doing some work over there after Christmas. A couple days before Christmas, the Director of Nursing at the psych hospital called me and asked me to come in and visit with him. I went the next week and he hired me on the spot. I applied for this job on a whim, but ended up loving it! And, Matt has been overly busy with work since the beginning of the year. All of a sudden, when 2011 hit, we had more work than we could handle! Praise the Lord.

Because of Dave Ramsey and FPU, we made it through these past 2 years without adding a single penny to our debt. We worked hard and relied on God and He provided. And, no, I don't believe that God EVER uses debt as a way to provide for His children.

Proverbs 22:7-The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

Romans 13:8-Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Because we didn't dig our hole any deeper with new debt, we were basically able to pick up where we left off. We did have to redo Baby Step 1 and we have a few "catch-up" purchases to make (eye exams and glasses, things for the kids, etc.) but we are no worse off than when we started this journey.

The joy I felt when we transferred the last of our $1,000 into the savings account was amazing. Such a burden lifted off. Making our budget has become a fun time because we can actually put stuff on it besides electricity, water, gas, and food.

Had we not learned to live off less than we make and not learned what budget items are actually priorities, we would have come out of this trial with loads of debt and our 2 year emergency would have become a lifetime of financial devastation.

This is why I am so passionate about Dave Ramsey and Biblical finance. It changed our family tree and I hope and pray you will let it change yours.

By the way, when we moved and found a new church, Matt began the process of starting an FPU class before we actually joined. We are now in the 3rd semester of teaching it and we are so blessed to see it change other people's lives like it did ours!

~The Pantry~

Y'all, this is my most embarrassing "before" so far. But, it is also my favorite transformation so far! Since we don't have an official pantry in our house, I use a bank of cabinets near the refrigerator. It was such a mess and hardly organized at all, that whenever I would put groceries away, I would just get frustrated. Lots of stuff would just end up staying on the countertop because I just didn't know what to do with it (or we just wouldn't put it back when we were done). Okay, I'm nervous about revealing these photos, but here goes.

Before:

Before I took everything out of the cabinets and off the counter in front, I picked through it all and removed anything that could (or should) go somewhere else, so that I could limit this cabinet to food only. This included baby bottles, breast milk bags, pitchers, a blender, etc. I put all of these things in their rightful place.

Then, I stopped to think about how I should arrange things to make it most functional. Which leads me to my tip.

Tip of the Day: Function is the most important thing to remember when organizing. If your organizational method, no matter how good it looks, is not functional to you and your lifestyle, then it is NEVER going to work. Prioritize your space. Easy-to-get-to cabinets and shelves house things that you use often. Out-of-reach places house items you only need once in awhile. Items that you don't use have no place in an organized home. Donate them or have a garage sale!

I ended up changing up almost everything about my pantry with the hopes of making it more functional.

After:

I got this idea from another blogger. Instead of taking up space with all those bulky cereal boxes, just put the bags in a cute basket. I got this at Pier 1.

Yes, this is a hospital tub. I got it when my first daughter was born. They work very well for washing bottles and pump parts. Turns out, they also work well for holding pasta! Not the prettiest, but it will do until I can afford nicer containers.

After purging my pantry of any expired food and unnecessary packaging, I had plenty of room to store most of the items that had been cluttering up the counter top. I really love these white canisters, but I've had them for years and am getting tired of seeing them all the time, you know? They are still filled with sugar and flour, just hidden away now :) You can't see it too well, but in the corner is a black tin (like one that comes filled with popcorn). I used it to house partial bags of flour, sugar, and brown sugar that are just not fun to look at.

We don't use a lot of canned goods, but now they are all within easy reach.

Containers purged from your Tupperware cabinet make great ones for organizing, as well! These hold drink mixes.

I have a confession. I buy the more expensive, single serving vegetable cups so that my daughter can have vegetables at every meal even if I don't. However, they are super hard to stack in the pantry. I got these chip bowls at Target for $1 each. One holds veggies and the other holds various other food items my daughter likes.

Taking all of the various types of crackers out of their boxes and putting them in a basket saves so much room!

I got these cute little Ball jars at a garage sale several years ago. Seriously, I got 28 of them for $2. I didn't really have much use for them at the time, but I just *knew* they would come in handy some day!

Well, I know this was a long post, but this was quite a long process for me! I hope you are as happy with your pantry revamp as I am with mine!

Under the Kitchen Sink

It hasn't been too long since I have cleaned under our kitchen sink, so this one didn't take too long.

When we moved into our house, there was vinyl down in this cabinet. Instead of taking it out, I just gave it a good scrubbing. I decided I needed a change, though, so I laid shelf paper over it.

Tip of the day: Containers. They are great, even essential, for organizing. But, don't rush out and buy tons of them. Look around and see what you already have and buy them as you go. And, don't forget to think about containers around the house you can repurpose (refer to the breast milk bottles from Day 2). For instance, notice the dishwasher soap container with the pink, flip-top lid. Once it is empty, I plan on using it to hold plastic grocery sacks. That way, they will be contained and once it's full, I don't need to keep any more.