DIY Plate Decoration Project: Matthew 6:22

It's time for another fun DIY project! So there's a little story behind this plate! As I've said before, I'm tackling my To-DIY list one project at a time and I pinned a similar project on Pinterest where coffee mugs were used. My heritage is West-Indian (Grenadian, to be exact) so it's in my blood to love tea! :) I literally drink tea all year round and was looking forward to creating a personalized mug. I will still do one and post the results. 

When I went to the dollar store to pick up a coffee mug, I could not find one single plain white mug. They had every other design under the sun but there were no white mugs. I was kind of bummed about it since I was really looking forward to it and I've seen plain white mugs at the dollar store before. I decided not to sweat it too much and DIY a plate instead. I figured it would be great practice for when I found my perfect mugs.  So I found a nice ceramic plate and a sharpie and decided I'd get creative. When I got home, I really couldn't think of anything I'd want to put on a plate. I thought of pretty pictures, different prints, polka dots, etc but nothing was sitting with me right. 

Then, I looked up and saw a scripture from this post that I did a few years ago. I don't know why my screen was on that page. I know it's listed in the popular posts section but I don't remember clicking that link. Anyway, as I read the scripture, I realized that I really liked it and I wanted it on the plate. As I started to write the scripture, the ideas flowed and the pictures started to form. Don't laugh! I'm not the best artist, I know! Despite my lack of artistic prowess, I still love what I created a lot! 

Here's a hint: I quickly learned that nail polish remover is a fantastic eraser if you mess up and want to try again! I used quite a bit and I had a blast doing it. 

I think it's a running joke among Christians that the Message translation is the most random translation ever. Sometimes you'll read a scripture from the Message and then from the KJV and wonder how the two are one and the same. I love this verse though. It's very poetic and incredibly true. Now, once you finish creating your design, you can bake it for 10 minutes at 350F to seal it in. As my hand gets steadier, I'll try this with a set of mugs. This project could make a great "thinking of you" gift. It's always nice to surprise your friends with random cute knick-knacks. 

The plate ended up turning into a really sweet space to hold all my toiletries when I'm getting ready in the moning. All the regulars are in one place and they can't get lost because I'm happy to put them back in their rightful spot! :)

"Your eyes are windows into your body. 

If you open your eyes in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light." 

- Matthew 6:22

The Message Translation

(of course!!!)

DIY Project: Vase Design

So as I have begun to get back into the swing of blogging for the past couple weeks, I've included some  of the projects that explore my creative side. After all, the blog is all about exploring both Christ and my creative side! :) So it's time for some creativity!!! Yay!!! 

Maybe I'm not the only one but I have a TON of projects that I've bookmarked. It's easy to bookmark, pin on pinterest, or screenshot pictures with the intent to one day reproduce the idea with your own spin to it. Yeah...I'm super bad at that! I really want to do better. So, I need you all to hold me to it! I first saw this idea on one of my favorite DIY blogs, Creature Comforts. I loved that it was such a simple project and straight to the point. I actually did the project from start to finish while I was on the phone with one of my best friends. It wasn't messy at all and for those of you who need instant gratification, this is an excellent project to do!

Step 1- Purchase a glass vase. You can get soooo many different sizes for $1 at the Dollar Store. Seriously, the pen was more than the vases themselves! I actually went to WalMart (because that's where I got the pen) and purchased each glass vase for  $0.97. I used this Elmer's painter pen.  I would be careful not to use regular acrylic paint. It might come out a little funny unless you get a paint can be used specifically on glass. Not everything looks as pretty as you might think! Trust me! I learned that lesson the hard way with some crazy looking acrylic paint! 

Step 2- Decide what you want to create BEFORE you actually paint. It's ALWAYS best to have a blueprint of what you want before you make it. If you mess up, just simply take a damp tissue and clean  off the paint. But, I'd highly suggest making a rough draft on paper before doing it on the vase. The more confident you are in your design, the better it will look! 

Step 3- Add water and a pretty flower!!! Super easy, right?
Step 4- Put your new arrangement in a place where you can really admire it!!! I spend a lot of time at my computer so I placed one of the flower arrangements there! As you can see below, I made three vases so I'll place the others in different spots! I LOVE flowers so I knew that I'd want small flower arrangements all over!

Flowers really are sooo beautiful! I'll never get over how beautiful God's creation is. He put such details and it's mainly for aesthetic purposes! God loves beauty and we should appreciate it! It also helps if you can have fun vases to place beautiful flowers in! Let me know if you decide to do this project! I'd love to see how you do it!

Thanks for reading!