I have really been enjoying a fire in our fireplace lately. It is so warm and so very cozy feeling. There seems to be something calm and relaxing about enjoying a fire with the family around. I am not an outdoorsy kinda girl, so I have never really much enjoyed the campfire, but for some it is just as nice I am sure. The crackle of the wood burning, the orange glowing of the embers, so very nice isn't it? I do not like the cold, with my health problems, it can make me hurt so much, but a good fire and the warmth from it takes that all away. Thank you Lord for a good fire!
Now, all that being said... I hate the mess that goes along with the work of a fire in the fireplace. The chips of the wood as they are carried in, leaving a trail from the door the the hearth. Oh all the ashes that seems to dust everywhere, aren't those nice? (insert a sarcastic tone here) I feel as if I am constantly sweeping, dusting and vaccuming during the season of winter. Grrr, the work that goes with the joy!
But aren't most things in our life this type of trade? Kids are great, the joy they bring and the love they give but it all begins with late nights of no sleep Oh the sweet smell of a baby's breathe on your face, but how about that first diaper?? I remember the terrible twos with the cutest smiles you have ever seen and the tantrums. AND on it goes. How about that first date? Oh the thrill of feeling you have meet 'the one' that turns into the same person that leaves dirty socks on the floor.
Can we not just ignore the bad and keep the good? I saw a quote recently that I really did not like at first, "May today we love each other less than tomorrow." Really the love each other less got to me, can less ever be good? Maybe it should have read, 'May we love each other more tomorrow than today.' In the re-reading, I found today may be wood chips but tomorrow may be the warm and cozy. Today may be crying babies and tomorrow may be a sweet "Ma ma".
There is always good with the bad, but we do have the good. Sometimes it seems like the bad far outweighs any good. We get burdened and life is so heavy and sometimes it is hard to lift our heads from the pillow each morning to even continue a new day. Take a minute to count those blessings, struggle through the negative to find the positive, and never, never say NEVER!
Please never think I am 'preaching' to you dear friend. Everything I say here is what is on my heart. Why is it on my heart? Because it is what I am struggling with. There is the school of thought that if we share our burdens they get lighter. Thank you for lightening my load!
CRAFTING:
Many of you have asked how I made my fake cupcakes.
NOT A YUMMY FOR THE TUMMY!
So here goes, my first tutorial..Part One!
I will not insult your intelligence by thinking you do not know how to place cupcake liners into a cupcake pan, but there is step one.
Second, get out your handy dandy can of gap filler. Here is the one I used..
Now there are all types of warnings on this can. Read them, do not take them lightly! If you do not take care with this it gets messy and destructive quick. Just ask the hubs!
Begin to fill the cupcake liners half full with the gap filler. It will seem like not enough. Trust me it expands quite a bit.
Allow this to expand and harden. This took less time the first time I did it, compared with this time. So the weather must have something to do with the variations.
They will look something like this...
Once the filler has set, take to painting on the flavors of your cupcakes. Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry.. you decide. I just used acrylic craft paint and painted on the chosen flavor's colors. I did get more detailed on the vanilla and painted yellow, brown and some cream in variations. For the strawberry, I varied pink with red and yellow and brown. The chocolate is the most time intensive. It took me three coats of brown to get the correct color. It looks great, but I am not too patient! :)
Mine looked like this...
Now, since this blog post seems to be getting too long...I will continue with our tutorial tomorrow to give you the secret for icing your delicious cupcakes!
See you tomorrow!
May you have a blessed Monday!!
Yay for cupcakes! I've always seem them made with joint compound. This seems much better. Plus, you're right about taking the good with the bad. Makes the good that much sweeter. Keep crafting my friend.
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