Modge Podge, rather Hodge Podge

Mog Podge, rather Hodge Podge 

See what I did there? Using Mog Podge can be a great way to update almost anything. It's simple to do and can be a great way to save a few bucks. After finishing more summer school than should be allowed, I have been able to work on some DIY projects. The plan is to put them in my dorm room when I move back to school.

The first project I did was the transformation of this tray. It was a Goodwill find, in good shape, and only cost $2 or $3. 

I took scrapbook paper and arranged it how I wanted it. 

It's best to glue the paper down to the tray before adding Mod Podge to the top. 

Take Mod Podge, the orange label kind, and cover the top of the paper. The more the better. 

After letting it dry, this was the final project. 

The next Mod Podge project I tackled was a mason jar. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I had to cover both sides of the paper in Mod Podge and then get it into the jar. To position the paper I used a pencil with an eraser. 

This is the final project. It took awhile to completely dry, but turned out pretty cool. A candle or small flashlight could be cute put inside of the jar. 

The third project I tackled was an old jewelry box. The mirror had fallen out of the lid of the box so I decided to give it a new look. 

The process was similar to the previous. The challenge was fitting the paper into the small spaces. 

It also took more time to complete because I had to wait for the Mod a Podge to dry in certain places before moving on.

It looks a lot better than it did before and was pretty easy to do. Mod Podgeing is an easy and cheap fix for items than need updating. 

Your Favorite Redhead

Mountains Green, Sparkling Streams

Mountains Green, Sparkling Streams

Recently I have found myself reflecting over past events, classes, and such. I had a realization a few days ago while sitting at closing campfire at Camp Blue Haven that I was growing up and this new reflection process was a sign of this. It was kind of a turning point moment in a sense because I hadn’t realized how much I have grown and learned this past year.

This year was my first time to be on the opposite side of Blue Haven: post camper. When we left for New Mexico Saturday to take my brother to camp it was the first time in the 19 years of going up to camp and the mountain cabin that I was slightly sad about the trip. Sunday was not any easier. Although I was not going to be up at camp for the week, I had butterflies in my stomach just being there. Leaving that day was the hardest part. I felt like I should have been heading to my cabin to start my week at camp and instead I was in the car driving home. Throughout the week I spent some time reflecting on my overall Blue Haven experience. It was hard in a sense because I knew how much fun my friends that were campers were having. It also didn’t help that everyday Timehop had Blue Haven pictures on it. While I could have spent time wallowing in the fact that I wasn’t at camp, I chose to reflect on my experience.

In 5th grade I was signed up for Camp Blue Haven for the first time. My grandparents were thrilled because they absolutely loved spending time at their cabin on Blue Haven property every summer. I never could have imagined how it would have impacted my life 10 years later. From meeting my freshmen roommate who was my bunk buddy in my very first cabin ever, to winning master camper twice, to challenging myself on the ropes course. Camp Blue Haven is where I have met some of my best friends that I will always treasure. I absolutely love this place and I am more than blessed that God led me to 5th session. I hope and pray that my time at Blue Haven is not over and that one day I might have the opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much over the years. Blue Haven has also been an opportunity to keep my grandparent’s legacy alive. Granny and Papa loved their mountain cabin. All of their friends would spends the summers up there with each other. Papa especially absolutely loved being at the cabin and fixing it up. After they died CBH became even more special to me because of them.

When mom and I walked up to closing campfire Friday evening I felt like I was a camper again. I was so excited for mom to experience her first true Blue Haven event. As a watched my brother win master camper for the second time and listened to the singing, I realized just how much I loved this place. Camp Blue Haven is more than a camp placed in a beautiful setting. It is a place designed to be a refugee from the dark world. It is a place to “assemble on the mountain” and “[have a] mountain to climb on / a quiet place to go and know [He’s] there.” More than the people and the community built, it is a place to draw near to God and be reminded of his glory.

I could talk about my love of Camp Blue Haven on end. This past week I came to the conclusion that I could not have ask for a better Blue Haven experience. I would relive my entire 9 year camp experience if I could. Blue Haven is a beautiful place and while I am not a camper anymore, I am thrilled that there are kids just like me that will be able to have their experience. My prayer is that they are able to soak in the opportunity and take full advantage of everything CBH has to offer.

Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights that does not change like the shifting shadows James 1:17

 I am very thankful for this good and perfect gift. Bless Blue Haven Forever.

Your Favorite Redhead

Just Like a Sailboat

Just Like a Sailboat

It’s the age old question: “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I have been asked this question over and over again throughout the years. Especially being a college student I feel like people ask me about what I want be when I grow up almost on a daily basis. Unlike most, I have never had an answer for the question. Even an unrealistic answer like accidental Italian pop princess, although I would thoroughly enjoy that. The truth is I don’t have an answer.

Ben Rector has a song called Sailboat, shout out to a fellow Oklahoman. At the beginning of the song it says: “I feel just like a sailboat / don’t know where I’m headed.” To be honest where I am right now, I feel just like a sailboat and I don’t know where I headed. Now let me explain that a little more. See I do have a major and I am a college student, so I do have a broad direction of where I am headed, but things get complicated when people ask questions. I have a lot of interest and a lot of ideas as to what I am interested in, but only time will tell where I end up.

In the movie Titanic, Jack Dawson can be quoted saying “Life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it.” I believe there is a lot of truth in these words. Life itself is a good and perfect gift and should not be wasted. It kills me when people live there life in a way to “check off the boxes” or by a strict “five year plan.” Why spend extensive time planning out your life when God can do immeasurable more than you could imagine? Live life and love where you are placed because it is for a reason.

So towards the end of the song Sailboat it says: “the only change I see / lost or found, let’s see / the only difference is believing I’ll make it in.” Sailboats are directed by a combination of the wind and the person in control of the boat, there is faith that the boat will make it back. When I say “I feel just like a sailboat,” I mean that I don’t know what is in store for me and I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I have faith in God’s plan and what he can do.  

It is easy to become consumed with and obsess over the future and its possibilities, but that is pointless. Why bother when you can live life now and enjoy where you currently are. Although I do not have a solid answer for what I want to be when I grow up, I have given it some thought and at this point in time, I feel just like a sailboat.

Your Favorite Redhead