For craft night this month we are making note cards for a local senior home. A simple text or email may be sent, which is great and can mean a lot but there is something about getting a tangible thing to hold with someone's own handwriting that makes it all the more special. So much can burst out of a word or two. Or more.

In college, I wrote a small thank you to a professor telling her thanks for all of the work she had put in one of the classes I had taken from her. It was so much work and so much to learn and so much for her to teach and  to grade. When I transferred schools I had to retake the class. Same book. Same amount to learn but hardly any teaching occurred that came close the my previous professor's. I felt sorry for the other students in the class who were trying to figure it all out and had no idea what to do. This was where my note was born and sent it out to my teacher in full thankfulness for her efforts.

Later, a friend mentioned that my professor was really encouraged by it and placed it on her desktop as a reminder while she was going through the daily grind. I had no idea the impact that it would make for her and did not think she would remember me.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

   sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

    Proverbs 16:24

Writing is like the essence of life in word form. God spoke the whole word in to motion and then wrote it down for us. Words are powerful and I do not think I will ever understand the power of them. They hold gifts of encouragement and wisdom and thanksgiving. They bring out smiles and tears and comfort. They bring up memories of past days spent and let us to peer in to lives of fictional people who will never walk in ours. 

Praying that you would not look at words the same but would be transformed by their context and arrangement. Praying that you would hear the truth and build each other up with them, as they are meant to do. Praying that you would find time this week to send a note to someone the Lord has placed on your heart. 

Here is a little packaging tag if you would like to give them away. They fit perfectly around an A2 invitation envelope. Click image to download. 

And of course, if you are in the area and would like to join us, we would love to have you!

Here's to notes and words and encouragement. 

Read more about what Pocket Blessings is all about here. 

You are loved. You. Are. Loved. YOU ARE LOVED. Do you believe it? God loves you so much that he sent his son to pay for your sins. Anything that you have ever done has been covered by the blood of Jesus. He has made you perfectly in his image and beautiful. You are loved. No matter how ugly you think whatever you have done is. No matter what you did in the past. No matter what you have going on in the present time. You are loved.

You are more than what the world says that you are. You are more than the car you drive. More than the address on your bank statement. More than the words described by those around you. You are beautiful. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

One of my favorite verses about God's love is Jeremiah 31:3:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

    I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

God loves you with an everlasting love. Everlasting. My bible dictionary defines everlasting as perpetual or enduring through all time and to also reference eternal. This is a forever and ever kind of deal. Not the romance love until-death-do-us-part-if-we-make-it-past-the-first-few-years-of-marriage kind of thing. This is an all time thing. This is the message that we want to convey to the recipients of these handmade valentines. And to you.

There is something so freeing and comforting knowing you are loved. So please, make sure you know it and can feel it and can breathe it in and take it with you wherever you go and share it with others.

Praying you embrace the truth in love and not just in a feeling because feelings fade but truth never changes.

We are attaching this printable to the backs of the Valentines and embellishing the actual cards to our little hearts desires. There is four to a page. Click to download.

If you are in the area, we would love to have you! If not, pray about setting up a Pocket Blessings craft night wherever you reside. Someone needs to know how much she is loved and perhaps you are just the person to tell her.

Here's to all the pretty things that are popping out in the stores and the everlasting kind of love. 

For more info on what Pocket Blessings is all about here.

Hope you will be crafting along with Pocket Blessings this month, as we make these sweet tree ornaments. The message behind them can be found here. We are doing both fabric ornaments and ones made out of sticks. There is a tutorial on how to make the stick one here. Since I could not find one on how to make the fabric ones, here is a quick step by step.

Over  year and a half ago, as I was reading through 1 Peter 4:10 and God really challenged me with it: 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Craftiness runs in my blood. I thoroughly enjoy making almost anything that involves fabric or glue. It is something that has always been easy for me and something God has gifted me with to use for his purposes. I felt him nudging me to do a craft ministry that makes items to give to others in the community. I had no idea what this would look like or what it would entail and leading it seemed daunting. I have hardly any expertise in leading. I prayed about it for a few months before I mentioned it to anyone. This is where Pocket Blessings was born.

It just so happened that God had moved Juli and her husband, Scott, to our area a few years before and we had met in Sunday school. She is the craftiest person I know. Naturally, God directed me to ask her what she thought.  It never ceases to amaze me how God gifts us in certain areas and calls  us to use them for his glory. And how he brings people beside you to help you and show you the ropes.

The neighborhood we live in is referred to as the pocket and our focus is on small things because it is the small things that make up the moments, that turn into years, which form memories - hence the name was born of Juli and her husband, Scott.  

The goal for Pocket Blessings is to make an impact in our community for Christ one handmade blessing at a time. Each item comes with a verse attached and is covered in prayers, both for the person who made it and the one receiving it.

It such a rewarding time for both the people involved and the people crafting. The community comes together and God brings the people he wants to be there and the people he wants to receive them. It is a win - win.  

Praying God will give you guidance and direction if you feel him leading you to participate or put in to action something he has placed in your heart.Praying that you would embrace your gifts and that God would show you how he wants you to use them in your current season of life, whether in big or small ways. Praying that if you find yourself wondering what your gifts are that the Lord would you reveal them to you and you would accept them as the present that they are,

Interested in starting a Pocket Blessings craft night in your community / church / area?

Here are some tips to get you started:

Choose how often: we do once a month on the 3rd Saturday at our church but you can do it whenever works for you.

Who: we like to open it up to not only our church but community, too, so we leave fliers throughout town (i.e. coffee shops, library) but the choice is yours. You can do it by yourself or with a few close friends. Do not let numbers stop you from making a difference or crafting abilities. We do a demonstration for each craft before we start and help through the night.

Craft: varies, we like to incorporate upcoming holidays (we make it the month before, so delivery can be arranged by the month of the holiday). Each month I will post what we will doing, along with any resources (i,e, printable tags) that we are using. 

Who to give to: we pray about which organization / place (i.e. local nursing home, hospital units, rehabilitation homes) God wants us to give to leading up to craft night - he has not let us down yet. So pray and do not be intimated to ask around. Perhaps a friend is the perfect recipient or knows someone who is.

Supplies:  use what you have and/or ask for donations - people love to give and most have some supplies they need to get rid of, especially for a good cause. Freecycle is an awesome resource for free crafting supplies.  

Message: we start out with a prayer and teeny message explaining what we are making and a pull it together with a verse

Share: If you are  interested crafting along, be sure to tag on instagram @ingracealways or #pocketblessings

I will share more about the craft we are doing for November in the coming weeks and how you can prep for it. And of course, if you are in the Sacramento area, we would love to have you attend.

I have had a love affair with anything DIY since I can remember, yet my constant future career was always a solid: a teacher and a writer. My elementary school years were littered with homemade books with topics ranging from flowers to adventure and of course my personal journal; all the while playing school with my siblings. I even gave homework. Somewhere God intertwined this desire in my soul from my birth and writing has always been my decompressor, if you will. My constant place to go when the going gets tough or something needs to be articulated better than I can verbalize.

At the start of high school, one of my best friends was told by our English teacher that she should join the journalism class. She also liked to write and really is amazing at it, too. Little me had no idea there was such a thing and was bummed that I was not asked. Oh little me. Did I mention how shy and naive and insecure I was back then? I will spare you but trust me. Looking back, this was my pivot point, where I started going after more creative projects and ended up perusing fashion design and merchandising in college. I loved designing though. And still love it now. But. But. But. But this is point where God calls me back to His purpose for me. Back to my other love.  Back to my roots. Back to writing.

For the last year and half, God has been whispering and telling and calling me to write. I wrote a little for myself but really did not pay that much attention to it. Why not? I am not sure, really. I like to think I am usually obedient to His calling but for some reason I hesitated this time. Not that I did not want to write. It just did not seem that important and all of those fun DIY projects on Pinterest luring me to make them did not help. It was not until this past week that I finally started listening. Finally started writing more. Sometimes I really need a flashing sign with DO THIS written on it for confirmation or maybe just a sermon entitled "The Next Step," with a guest speaker who says he also did not listen to God's call for a year. Isn't God funny that way?

Recently I came across a post about taking pictures of daily life and how it made the mundane beautiful. While I totally agree and pictures are of high value and importance to me, the first thing that came to mind was writing. For me, writing takes out some of the mundane and adds sprinkles of character and light. The right word changes the entire situation. Not to take away from the smiles and laughter only caught in the perfect moment of a photograph. Writing on the other hand adds elements that a picture can only take so far. It adds emotion where there once may not have been. It provides a back story and possibly a hope for the future. It adds more time than a picture possibly ever could.

There is almost something sacred in the stringing together of words to form the memories of moments past and still to come. They are owned by the writer. No one can take that from them or add to it. Anyone can take a picture of someone posing with a birthday cake but no one will have the same thoughts or feeling about that moment captured in time. They belong to the writer. The inventor of that moment as it played out in their head as the final candle was blown out. That is beauty. That is the gift of daily life. That is God's gift of words.

I have no idea what this writing thing looks like or what God wants to do with it. It is out of my comfort zone, which seems to be a constant in my relationship with God; He's pretty funny that way, too. It is easy to write down words that make sense to me but to write them and allow others to read them, well that is another story. I know God will continue to give me things to share. Things He wants me to share. This week alone has been filled with random tidbits and pieces already. So this is the part where my stomach ties itself in knots and extra prayers are prayed and God and I go out on another adventure together. I wonder what it will look like this time around.

This past weekend I had the privilege to host my husband’s graduation party, which just happened to coincide with his birthday weekend. I cannot tell you how grateful and thankful I am that he has been able to finish his Bachelors. He has worked SO hard working full time and going to school full time. It has been a challenging adventure but now we have been able to celebrate.

I have seen these burlap banners everywhere and could not resist making one myself

my first attempt at cake bunting, next time I will use thicker paper and remove once candles are lit

cupcake liners and toppers designed with my silhouette cameo, yay cameo!

some sweets

Ricardo on display :)

I set up a table with pictures of Ricardo, from the time he was a wee one until now, for people to leave him a little message on the banner above. You may find this little printable handy if you are hosting a grad party. Just click on the picture to download. It is a 5 X 7.

I also tried my first photobooth but as you can tell, the lighting was a little too much. I cannot complain though. I love the sun! After our six month stint in hardly-any-sun Washington state, I am very grateful for each sun ray! Next time I will try a corner in the shade.

And of course, no party is complete without some thank you cards. This is another postcard; I cannot help it. Postcards are so much funner than the standard card. I always wonder if the mailman gets entertainment out of reading them. I know I would. I like to think they brighten his day a litte. Click to download your own.

Thankful for celebrations. Now off to plan our little one's first birthday, which is in less than three weeks!

It seems that April was the month to get married this year. I have not had so many weddings going on in just one month! Anywho, just in case you end up with less than two weeks to plan a bridal shower, which I do not recommend – especially if you have a teething baby at home and decide to cook and bake everything but the cupcakes, which the bride's sister makes – here are a few printables I designed for the impromptu shower I threw a few weeks ago for one of my besties. I had a hard time finding a decent design for bride bingo and good questions, so hope this helps you, too.

Here is a little peek at the bridal shower sweets table:




yummy desserts

more desserts!

and more =)

me and the bride to be





Happy planning =)

On the fourth, I officially hit the quarter of a century mark. God has blessed me more than I can even fathom and I am thankful for each moment he has given me thus far. I must admit though, this birthday left me feeling extremely spoiled. I am not really one for gifts but this year it was really fun opening them. Maybe it was due to the fact Ricardo actually kept it a surprise (he is the worst at surprises). Or maybe it was the beautiful weather getting to my head. Who knows, anywho, I relished each moment of my day. It started with Ricardo surprising me by taking the day off from work for an impromptu beach day in Santa Cruz. Did I mention I LOVE the beach? I was unsure of how our little one would fair the 2.5 hour drive but she did amazing! We walked along the shore, browsed some thrift stores and enjoyed downtown. 

yes, he did the 90s jacket 

We had a blast, as you can tell and I am grateful for another year. I had to wait until the next day to open the rest of of my gifts from him and my mom but it was well worth the wait. 

To say thanks to all those who showered me with presents, (Ricardo also planned a birthday dinner with friends the Saturday prior) I designed this little post card. It measures 5.5" long by  4" high. Doesn't everyone like getting more than junk mail in their mailbox and more personal than a Facebook message? 

Show your gratitude to some one today. To download the thank you postcards, click here

Each year our church does a People Hunt, in lieu of an East Egg Hunt, which entails children going in search of church members, all of whom are armed with some sort of gift or candy. This is will be my first year, so I am not sure exactly what to expect but it sounds like fun and children are always entertaining. The trickiest part so far has been trying to figure out what to arm myself with, besides the usual chocolate bunny. While rummaging through Google in search of the perfect Easter treat that does not account for too much sugar, yet still meaningful, I stumbled on the family online website. If you are looking for a way to teach your children about Easter, I would definitely check out it out.

The site boasts a recipe for cookies that takes you through the resurrection of Christ, with the intentions of making them with children the night before Easter. How cool is that? Obviously, I cannot take random children to my house and bake with them but I still wanted to incorporate this idea of telling the resurrection through cookies, which lead me to designing this little printable. Like the site suggests, it states the ingredients of the cookies with its correlation to Easter, all in a pretty little to go package.

Here is my abridged version of the ingredient meanings:

Nuts, Beaten like Jesus by the Roman soldiers, John 19:1-3

Vinegar, Jesus’ final drink, John 19:28-30

Egg whites, Pure like Jesus without sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Salt: Tears shed by Jesus’ followers, Luke 23:27

Sugar: Sweetest part of the story: Jesus DIED because he LOVES us! John 3:16

Go ahead, take a bite. Missing something? (The cookie has a hollow center, so fun!) Surprise! Jesus’ followers were, too! The tomb was empty! Jesus is alive! Matthew 28:1-9

To find the recipe and complete instructions, click here. I have not yet made these cookies, as I do still have a FEW days before Easter, so hopefully they will turn out yummy.

To download packaging, click here. There is 1/4" on each side to cut and 1/2" from the top. They measure 4" X 2" once folded in half. To get an idea of using the packaging, click here. 

HAPPY EASTER!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

I recently read Nicole Johnson’s book, Fresh – Brewed Life, which made me realize that I needed to get control of my schedule. How you spend your time becomes the essence of who you let yourself become. You may be missing out on blessings that God wants to give you when you allow yourselves to get too busy to call a friend or say hi to a neighbor. Johnson goes on to talk about what you would want to be remembered for after you pass. What would be your epitaph? She states:

An epitaph is very ‘big picture.’ It seeks to capture the most important aspects of you're life. Since these words are not etched until after your dead, they are usually written by someone else, someone who looks at your life from the outside, all they have to go by many times is what you ‘did’ and how you spent your time, this is why it is so critical to get control of your schedule - to let who you are come out in what you do. People may look at your calendar of activities and completely miss what you would want them to see.

This inspired me to design a planner. One that would be best suited for my life now. One that would be fun; not like any other planner that I have had in the past. I have had a planner since middle school. My middle school gave a planner to every student on the first day. Those were quite fun actually. They included random facts and fun quotes. My favorite was from hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, you miss 100% of the shot you never take. I still remember it. After that, planners became basic but functional, which is why I opted out of buying another one. I needed one that would keep me focused on more than just what needs to get done. I needed one that would help me “fight to focus on Jesus,” as guest speaker, Pastor Ryan Stevenson said during his sermon on Sunday. (If you are interested in hearing the amazing message, you can listen to it via Podcast here)

This led me to the overall theme. The root of our existence is love. I can see this more so as I have become a mother, wife, sister, and friend. We are only capable of truly loving when we fully entrust ourselves to Jesus. Therefore, I have entwined verses pertaining to love throughout the pages as a reminder to myself to LOVE others because He loved me first. I cannot love on my own. True love can only come through Him. 

Monthly Calendar, starting with March through December

I also opted to make it colorful for a change. I have a tendency to keep things black and white, literally. If you have ever stepped in to my living room or guest bathroom, you may have noticed. Black and white is a classic combination. Not to mention, it goes with anything, except brown. It is easy to change accent colors but  also gets boring and predictable. It does not scream “take a chance” or “live a little” but rather a sort of complacent hum dum “been there, done that.” So, with all this in mind, my “Change the World with Love Planner” was born.

Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to download all or some of it by clicking the links below, for personal use only. 

Meal Planner with Shopping List

Weekly Pages, six colors total

Notes & Inspiration

Important Dates

Contacts 



Oh, Valentine’s day. Such a silly day really. The decorations get me though. I am a sucker for heart prints and the word love in general. The pretty pink hues are perfectly fitting, too.  In elementary school it really was all about the candy attached to the silly cards that mattered. Junior high left me questioning what those silly cards meant. Was he really bananas for me? In high school no one even bothered with the cards. My friends and I tended to be boyfriendless and did our own awesome Valentine exchange. Although, reading through countless teen magazines and watching chick flicks always left me wanting my own Valentine.

As with all holidays, it is overly commercialized with red heart shaped boxes of chocolates on every shelf for that special someone and roses to boot. Do not get to wrong, I love a yummy box of dark chocolate goodness but I would much rather it come on any other day than this. It is too man dated for me.

So, this Valentine’s day I wanted to do something different and send a message to the girls in my Awana group about true love. I wanted to let them know that they are beautiful and are loved by the One who is greater than any boy who may ever attract their precious attention. I wanted to let them to know that Jesus loves them. My wish for them is to be able to set their hopes and security in Him and not the boy in gym class. This is the part where I have to say if I only knew then what I know now, ah. Love and feeling valued comes from no one else but God but you have to accept and know that in order to live it out. Thankfully, these girls get the privilege to learn about his love each week.

I made up some Valentine-ish packaging and baked some yumminess for them to remember this little lesson. I made an extra set for each girl to let someone else know that Jesus loves them, too.



Whole wheat sugar cookies and chocolate cookies topped with ganache, ready for packaging







A small mountain of love <3





If you would like to share the love, download the template here.

Each design is 4” wide by 3” tall. I do not like marking the cutting edges on templates (they get in the way!), so cutting ½” off the left margin and then 4” across will give you the correct cut. Cut down 3", fold in half and you have the perfect package measurements :)

Thank you Jesus for loving me so much!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV)

I cannot believe it is nearly the end of January. This year has launched with a running start and the last ended the same. I finished reading the bible in 88 days. The coolest, most invigorating thing I did all year besides giving birth of course. God has continued to surprise and bless me in more ways than I can fathom.

Between all of my little projects and taking care of my now seven month old and life, it has been nearly impossible to update. This Christmas I managed to find time to do nearly all of the homemade gifts that my little heart desired. Yay! So I thought I would post some of the awesome items I found from some amazing blogs, mostly via Tipnut (one of my favorites), and some I made up that I gifted and shared this Christmas.

Starting from the left:

-Head bands to entice the girls in my Awana group to come prepared with verses ready
-Of course some for my little one
-Yummy almond cookies with chocolate drizzle for my married's bible study group
-Cupcakes celebrating jesus’ birthday for the Awana girls with toppers designed by yours truly
-A tea wreath inspired by Kojo Designs
-Cloth napkins with mitered corners, thank you to Heather Bailey for the easy tutorial!
-Candle covers and a felt bouquet made with flowers from the Purl Bee's  template for her beautiful wreath
-Cupcake carrier patterned by yours truely out of paper bags

I conjured up a bunch of other items – a Christmas dress for the little one, mustache mugs for the gentlemen in my family thanks to The Tortoise and the Hare, and reusable sandwich bags and more. There is nothing like a homemade gift to give.

Now that the holidays have settled, I am finally getting things situated around the house. The little one is getting pretty mobile these days. Baby proofing is almost complete but I am sure there will be more to go as she moves about.

Here is to a new year and new blessings to unfold.