To be really honest, these last few days have not been very fun.

To make a long story short, I found out about a week ago that a spot had opened up in a program at my school that I'd been on the waiting list for. This program would cut off 8 months of my time in nursing school, and I would finish in April 2012 instead of December 2012. I immediately replied with, "YES! Please consider me! Please please please!!" or something to that effect. :)

One other student was interested in the spot, so it's down to the two of us for the final decision. We were supposed to know on Tuesday afternoon. Then it became Wednesday morning. And now, on Thursday, we still don't know. It's very obvious to me that the Lord is teaching me to wait. On Tuesday afternoon, there was even a bomb threat at my school which caused everyone to evacuate, prolonging the decision. As if that happens every day!

In the meantime, I've been busying myself with anything and everything:
cleaning the house,
cooking soup,
sewing purses,
returning emails,
running errands,
pulling weeds,
all the while, checking my email on my phone about every 10 minutes to see if there's news. Each time I do, my heart starts to race, just hoping for an answer. Hoping for the answer I want.

Sadly, as I've been waiting, one of my favorite distractions broke: my sewing machine. I guess I had asked a lot of a $27 machine, but it still made me so sad as I had planned to make lots of bags to be ready for the re-opening of my shop. I guess that wasn't part of His plan. I'll still have several to list, so not to worry, but it's all just so obvious to me that He is in control and I am not.

I know God has me in a place where He wants to teach me patience. (I don't know if I'm doing well on that one.) He's teaching me hope. Perseverance. Faith. He's teaching me how to pray. I'm praying boldly for patience today. I'm also praying boldly that I'm the one to be chosen for this spot. It would mean so much to me to be able to work as a nurse 8 months sooner, for Shawn's parents to be in the States when I graduate, and to continue my studies over the summer instead of just working and waiting for school to start in the Fall. So please join me in prayer if you would! I'll keep you updated.

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope."

- Psalm 130:5

DIY: Turn your old jeans into skinny capris

You guys are gonna love this.
If you can sew a straight line and have access to a sewing machine, you can totally do this.

Find an old pair of jeans that you want to change up a bit.
Mine are my "paint jeans" that I wear to work with little bits of acrylic paint here and there. They're boot cut and pretty wide at the bottom.

Before we begin, feel free to slap my hand for not getting a true "before" picture. I'm terrible at those. Here's the best "before" picture I've got: my jeans turned inside out. (Which happens to be your first step.)

Next, lay a pair of skinny jeans on top, making sure the crotch lines up, and also the inside of the legs line up. (Not sure how else to say it.) :) As you can see below, I had quite a bit to trim off.

Then, using a ruler, draw a straight line just on the outside of your skinny jeans all the way down. You don't have to make them capris pants at this point - you could just draw the line all the way down to the ankles. In my case, I also drew a line across the bottom for where I wanted to cut the bottoms off.

Next, take it to your sewing machine and sew right on top of your marker line down the sides. Do this before you cut off the excess fabric. I'd recommend using a special sewing machine needle for denim, but depending on how thick your jeans are, you may not need it.

Once you've sewn that line, you can try them on inside-out to see how they fit and make any adjustments you need to.

Next, when you're happy with the sewing, trim off the excess fabric.

The next step is optional - I decided to also make my jeans capris pants, so I went ahead and cut off the bottoms and hemmed them all the way around.

And that's it!

This only took about 20 minutes, and I am no pro sewer.
Happy jean-making!

Study break.

A friend sent me this video and I cannot get over the cuteness...

Not only are they really good guitar players, but their smiling, bobbing little heads are to die for.

Any favorite YouTube videos you want to share?

DIY: Fabric labels

Ok, guys. This is so easy you won't believe it.

Here's what you need:
Freezer paper (I bought Reynold's brand from Walmart)
Cotton fabric
Inkjet printer

First, iron your fabric really well. I used a stiffer cotton because I didn't want super thin labels. Make sure your fabric is larger than 8.5 x 11". Next, iron a sheet of freezer paper onto the fabric, following the instructions on the package. Make sure this is also larger than 8.5 x 11".

Next, measure and cut your fabric/freezer paper sheet into exactly 8.5 x 11" (or whatever printer paper size you use in your printer). I used a rotary mat and cutter to be very precise.

Finally, design your labels (I used Photoshop, but you could easy just use a word processor) and send your fabric through your printer!

These were designed for some napkins I'm making, but obviously, you could use your shop name, your name, or whatever you like!

I was amazed with how this worked. And after it dried really well, I ironed it to heat set it, then washed it in a cold cycle and nothing even blurred or faded.

So there you have it - easy, cheap fabric labels. I hope you try it!

Brighter Day.

As you may know, I used to have an Etsy shop where I sold jewelry, accessories, and all kinds of pretty little things. Because of the craziness of school, I closed it up for a while.

But I've decided that as soon as I finish school for the semester, it's time for Brighter Day to reopen!
So on Monday, May 16th,I'll open up shop again, this time with a new line of handbags. They're the perfect size to keep your wallet, keys, cell phone, and other necessities without the bulk of a huge purse.

I've been a busy bee with my sewing machine. Here's a sneak peek:






And as always, 10% of all proceeds will go to IJM to help fight human trafficking and slavery.
I hope you'll check it out!