Wedding Anniversary DIY

This is a DIY gift I made for the PIL's wedding anniversary.

I think a family tree is a perfect gift to celebrate their 40th.

I started by gathering photos... because I love photos.

I decided to use wedding photos for the parents and siblings.

I used birth announcements for each grandkids.

I used foam dots to give the pictures that 3D effect

I use white marker to write names, wedding dates and birthdates.

I wrote a Bible Verse to complete the design.

I placed it in a black 9"x9" shadow box I got from Michael's for 1/2 the price.

I love how this turned out and planning to create one for my side of the family.

Wishlist 2018

More than a yearly tradition and keeping log,
this wishlists reminds me of how blessed I am in so many ways.
So grateful for all wishes granted.

For this year wishlist, it's a mix of needs and wants.

Clockwise:

Fossil Emma RFID Flap Clutch

Got as a present for myself

Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable

Got as a Grab bag gift from work

Black+Decker Cordless Lithium Hand Vacuum

Got an inexpensive version from Five Below

The Northface Women's Half Dome Pullover Hoodie

Got as a exchange gift from family

I'm still wishing the sunglasses and boots from 2015,
the boots from 2016
and all items in my 2017 wishlists.

2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017

Thanksgiving Dinner Table 2018

This year set-up two tables to accommodate the growing Austria family.

For the grown-ups table I used the following:

* Table Cloth, Off-white

* Table Runner, Tan

* Faux Fall Leaves

* Mason Jars with handle, decorative stones and tea candles

I originally plan to DIY a thanksgiving tree for the centerpiece

but I saw this one from Target Dollar Spot which is ready-to-use, pretty and inexpensive.

I ended up assembling it in a pot to build some height.

For the kiddos table I used the following:

* Kraft Paper

* Sharpies

* A little creativity

I wrapped my boy's activity table with kraft paper

then trace plates and fall leaves on each side and corner to decorate.

Trick or Treat DIY

Like a yearly tradition, I prepared these DIY Trick or Treat goodies

for the nieces, nephew and my boy.

This one is very simple, I used white paper bags, googly eyes and sharpie.

I wish I was able to draw the lips a little more scary.

Inspiration from PBS Parents

ACTS

As a work-at-home mom I struggled a lot making time for a lot of things, sometimes even time to pee is nowhere to be found and I know it's only by God's grace that I finished reading this book. Life is hard and let's be honest Christian life is harder. It's full of suffering. Through our study I learned that suffering is an inherent identity of Christ which means as a follower of Christ, suffering is a way of life. But it's not all about suffering... Christ did suffer AND (with emphasis in the AND) rise from the dead. Sometimes it's so easy to dwell on the suffering and forget the "AND" part... Jesus' resurrection. Acts 1:3 says, after his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proof that he was alive. Which means we have hope of having our sins forgiven, being made right in God's sight, and having eternal life through Christ. Few verse after, Jesus asked them to wait for the gift his Father has promised. How gracious the Father is? After giving His one and only Son to suffer and die for our sins, now He promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit is not an ordinary gift, it comes with power to perform miracles signs and wonders. I still can't fully grasp the power that comes with this gift but the book of Acts tells me to expect it and not be surprised. I always associate repentance with forgiveness but Acts taught me that it also preludes the receipt of the Holy Spirit.

One thing that really stick to me in our study of Acts is consistency. Apostle Paul knows that we must go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God as he mentioned in Acts 14:22. still he consistently preach the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. His behavior towards sharing the gospel is not dependent if people are welcoming or not, if people receives or rejects his message, if his in prison or out of prison, if he travels near or far or his life is safe or is in danger... he continually explained and declared the kingdom of God. He's consistent with the Lord's command to bring salvations to the ends of the earth. Consistency is a little easier when everything is well but with suffering involve I think it's a whole different story but God is telling me through the life of Paul that consistency is possible.

My prayer is to be consistent in my walk of faith, like Apostle Paul. I pray that my Bible reading won't be dependent on how tired I am on certain days or my prayer life won't be dependent on the mood I have for the day or my Tuesday Meeting attendance won't be dependent on my weekly stress level or my engagement won't be dependent on how much effort I need to put in. I pray that every time suffering/hardship comes, that my first response will always be to look up to God in prayer instead of complaining. I pray to be confident of the power of the Holy Spirit to fill my inadequacy in sharing the Gospel.

Praise you Jesus for you are holy and righteous. Praise you for you're suffering to save us from our sins and thank God that you understand.

A testimony based on the book of Acts

by Abigail Austria

Granparents Statement Onesie and Shirt

Oh my love for statement onesie! When I saw these “I love grandma and grandpa” onesie, I can't pass. I got them from Children’s Place for a very good deal.



These "Granpda loves me" shirts, I got from Old Navy for my niece and nephew.

Kid's Table and Chair Restoration

After looking for a decent set of table and chair for our boy’s room, I decided to do my first ever furniture restoration. I got a pre-love Ikea set online for $8, which I think is a pretty good deal.

I started by taking everything apart. Then I gave each piece a good wipe. Since one of the chair is missing the back support, I thought of replacing the plastic plank with some dowel rods. The 1/4” rod fit perfectly through the original holes. I used Elmer's Wood Filler in Natural to fill the gap on the top and drill holes matching the ones at the bottom. Then I started painting. My research told me to use chalk paint which doesn’t require a lot of prep work. It’s also forgiving, when you make mistakes just need to sand and repaint again. I originally thought of doing the chairs in espresso and the table in white but ended painting the whole thing in white. I used about 4 cans of Restoleum Chalked Ultra Matte Spray Paint in Linen White, which was sale in Home Depot at that time. I finished the project with Varathane Finishing Wax in Natural for extra protection. It took a week for this busy mom to finish everything but it was all worth it.

First Birthday DIY: Buntings

I helped a friend DIY these buntings for her son’s first birthday.

The triangles were bought from Party City.

I used royal blue cardstock from Michaels for the letters.

I used gold cardstock to outline the birthday boy’s name.

For Baby Benjamin

This is another diaper cake I made for one of our churchmate.

I'm loving this simple style and getting better each time.

Ingredients:

100ct Pamper Diaper Swaddlers Size 1

4pk Cloud Island Flannel Blanket Two by two

1pc Olia Design Elephant Flush Toy

Click here for more

Wreath DIY: Summer

After a success with my first wreathe DIY, I gave it another try.

This time a wreath for summer time..

For this, I used willow wreath in natural instead of the dark one

to complement the bright artificial sunflower and darker ferns.

Materials: Willow Wreath, Artificial flowers, Artificial ferns

Father's Day DIY 2018

We did more DIYng for this year's father's day than last years.

We created the Dad's Stache bags for grandpa and uncles.

I created the coupons for hubby.

And I helped the little one to create the card for his dad.

Clockwise: Dad's Stache, Father's Day Coupons, Handprint Father's Day Card

Birthday Card DIY

One great way to show "extra" love are DIY gifts.

So for hubby's gift this year little one and I did some DIY-ng.

I helped the LO to make this hand print birthday card.

Materials: Cardstock, Acrylic Paint, Colored Marker

Inspiration from Pinterest

And I made this ATM Birthday Card.

Here's another creative way of gifting money.
Watch the video below for hubby's reaction.

Materials: Bills, Cardstock, Foam Stickers

Inspiration from RobbyGurl's Creations

Easter DIY

This is more of assembly than DIY.

I love when I see wind-up toys from Dollar Tree.

No question, I want to get this bunny for my boy.

And then I saw this extra large plastic egg.

I used some blue and green gift tissue paper to decorate

and put it on a mini galvanize pale we got for his dedication.

Wreath DIY: Spring

This is the first wreath I ever made.

I got my Fall and Winter (Christmas) ones as a gift.

After watching few Dollar Tree hauls in YouTube,

I got inspired to make one myself.

Of course, materials are from Dollar Tree.

I used brown willow wreath, artificial daisies and green berries.

Materials: Willow Wreath, Artificial Flowers

Fiftieth Birthday DIY

We had a surprise birthday party for our dear friend Roxana.

You got to understand, she's used to organizing parties

so we need to make sure hers will be awesome.

Clockwise: Centerpiece, Happy 50th bunting, Favor tags

Click items for inspirations

For the centerpiece, I used these cylindrical vases from Dollar Tree.

The gold beaded ribbon was extra from my Aunt's 50th birthday few years back.

I got the flowers for $6.99 per dozen from a local market.

For the bunting, I used spearhead pattern which I found more elegant.

I used glittered cardstock for the letters on black cardstock.

I also both a 12x12 gold striped cardstock for accent.

And it looks amazing!

I created the favor tags using Photo Grid.

I had her black and white photo as background,

"thank you!" in white and her birthdate in black.

I finished it with shading the "thank you" with gold ink pen.

First Day of School DIY: Calix

Last weekend I made this first day of school loot bag
for hubby's nephew Calix.

I used black bag and white marker this time.

I drew a school bus and a boy with his name.

And I think it looks really cool.

And here are the items included in the loot:

Clockwise: Scribble Pad, Construction Paper, Manuscript Tablet,

Glue Sticks, Crayons, Markers, Colored Pencils,

Scissors, Sharpener, Erasers and Pencils

more here

First Birthday DIYs

Last month, this Mama's on DIY mode for the little one's first birthday.

I went bunting galore.
I used cardstocks I got from dollar tree and Michaels.
I used balloon ribbon in place of jute twines.
I used straws as poles for the cake topper miniature bunting.
It's a first for me to use Cricut machine for the letters.
It's also a first for me to make photo bunting.
I used monthly photos of the little ones.

Clockwise: Happy birthday bunting, Cake Topper,

Photo bunting, High chair bunting

A month before the big day we did a home photoshoot,

print the photos in black and white

and frame them with white inexpensive ones I got from Dollar Tree.

These were used as decoration for the desert table and doubled as favors too.

These momentos are my favorite, both I created using Photo Grid.
The left is a chalkboard with LOs first year milestones.
And the one on the right is a time capsule.
The metal box was recycled Bath and Body Works gift box.

L-R: Chalkboard, Time Capsule

The last one is this centerpiece.
I made the rosette fan from scratch.
Follow this easy tutorial to create one yourself.
And the rest were created using Cricut machine.

First Birthday Onesie

These are “My First Birthday” onesie from Carter's.

It comes in boy and girl colors, so I got one for my boy and his cousin.

Aren't they cute?