It all Starts with a Thought

Lately, I've been being asked how I come up with the bulletin boards I've created. As with anything "creative", it all comes from a momentary thought or idea. Some boards are based on a preset idea or theme but the majority that have been made are without direction. Of course, seasons may dictate the direction in which my mind wanders. The most recent bulletin board I did was spring themed. Above is the sketch that was produced while talking out the concept with my creative sidekick, Deborah Cabrera, who is also very creative and talented. To make some of the elements, I will sometimes look at photos or clip art images to accurately reproduce them. Here is the end result from the above sketch.

One thing I've learned is that when an idea comes to mind I must get it down on paper in some form. Recently, while in church, I had two ideas come to mind.  One has to do with being on a journey and the other came from a statement made by my Pastor regarding broken vessels. I quickly sketched these ideas on my sermon notes paper. 

Most of the time these small sketches are enough to start the creative wheels turning and ultimately the idea morphs into something more than the original sketch. There are times though when I do have to do a more detailed sketch of the idea to make sure that it will be able to work the way it is planned. Also, I do this to keep from wasting product while making the finished board. Right now, I'm working on a board that is suppose to look like stained glass and I found it necessary to detail sketch it so to avoid any paper waste and additional frustration on my part. I still need to color in the tiles according the color tones of the paper I have decided to use. This will keep me from having the same color being next to each other. 

When it comes down to it though, my ability to create these boards are a result from the gift God has bestowed on me. When I was a teenager, I remember drawing up floor plans and making room scapes with the intention of being an interior decorator. Then, in college, I chose to pursue communications and enjoyed writing.  While married, I got into stamping and creating cards and with the birth of my children came scrapbooking. Then, I settled in to doing crafts for my home and friends. All along God was showing me my abilities. 

In August of 2010, I got asked to help with the creating of a few bulletin boards at my church and since then God has been blessing me with ideas and honing my talents to take the bulletin boards to a new level. Here is one of the first boards that I helped create.  

I consider these boards my offering to God. He has blessed me with this gift and He gives me great joy in creating these. My prayer is that these boards minister to those who see them - a tool that will help them draw nearer to God. In the past year, I've been praying (along with my dear friend) that God would take this creative effort to where ever He wants it to go. My desire is to be in His will bringing glory to Him. God has blessed me with another church that I'm creating boards for along with the opportunity to make a few for my children's school.  

Another way that God has blessed me is with the viewing of these boards via this blog and also on Pinterest. It gives me personal joy to be able to share these boards and have others desire to create them and spread the message they have. 

God is truly showing me that this is the path He has for me at this time and I want to be wholly in His will so that He can use me as He desires. 

What's on the Wessel Weekly Menu

About two weeks ago, I planned out a month's worth of meals. The first week went really well but we needed to take the following week "off" from the schedule in order to use up the leftovers created. I also decided to use that time to once again "eat the shelves in the pantry, the fridge and the freezer". Basically, we only ate leftovers or meals made from items on hand. The fridge and freezer are down to just the main condiments, staples on hand (eggs, luncheon meat, fruit, etc.) and beverages we drink.  

The shopping list has been made and here is the menu for the week to come:

Greek Steak Pitas with Dill Sauce 

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Sweet & Spicy Greek Meatballs

Creamy Tortellini Soup

 (Made this before 4 thumbs up family rating)

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups 

(also a 4 thumbs up rating)

Hungarian Beef Goulash

Bacon, Tomato & White Bean Soup

Sesame Orange Shrimp

For dessert:

No Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert

As always, the family will give each recipe the "thumbs" rating and those that pass I'll share with you. The menu starts Monday. 

Slow Cooker Creamy Spaghetti - YUMMY!!

A few Sunday's ago, I decided to make a meal in the crock pot I could serve for lunch after our morning at church.

I decided to try this Creamy Spaghetti dish I found on the blog Six Sisters. Hopefully the link will lead you directly to the recipe but if not, go to the "recipe index" and look under "Main Dish" for "Slow Cooker Creamy Spaghetti".

I did make two modifications to the original recipe. Instead of using a pound of spaghetti, I used Barilla Plus which is 14.75 oz.  Also, it says after 3 hours of cooking to add a can of chicken broth and an additional jar of pasta sauce, I only used the chicken broth. It recommend cooking for another hour, I only cooked it until I knew it was heated through. 

This was absolutely yummy! It reminded me a lot of the creaminess your find in a vodka sauce, minus the vodka. In my opinion, it is good enough to feed to company and makes plenty.  

As you can see, Matt and his face loved it.  This dish got a 4 thumbs up rating from the family.

Mr. Jingle - Just One of the Family

After our short, sad experience with Strawberry the Guinea pig, I was apprehensive about getting another pet. The kids, of course, had no apprehension whatsoever about getting a new pet.

Its now a little over 2 months since Mr. Jingle joined our family and I have to say I can't imagine life without him. 

Each week he gets more and more friendly and loves being with the family. This week his newest feat has been coming up on the couch and joining us while we are watching TV in the evening. Jingle is more characteristic of a cat or dog that a bunny.

The picture above was taken about 2 weeks ago. I love how he blends in with the table and looks like a statue. Up until this day, the only furniture Mr. Jingle had hopped up on has been the kids beds.  

Dave took this picture of Jingle when he was downstairs playing with the kids. There was no coffee in the cup but we are encouraging him to understand the importance of coffee to his adult family members.

Mr. Jingle was sulking in the corner after we took him to the pet store to have his nails clipped. He pouted for about a half hour. 

Hiding again! The kids and I searched the house for Mr. Jingle. It took us quite a while before we found him hiding behind the "welcome" plate.

I love this picture of Jingle. To me it is the epitome of him being like a little puppy laying by the side of the couch relaxing.  

As I type this post, Mr. Jingle is sitting next to Dave on the couch as we watch a movie.  Like I said this is no ordinary bunny and we love him even more because of it.  

Spring Garden "Grow" Bulletin Board

Last week, I worked on the "fishers of men" bulletin board and this week a spring themed board for my church. Monday I created the first two elements - a watering can and shovel. Both are made of foam board.  I saved some time by purchasing a silver covered board. To enhance the watering can, I added copper accents and sponge painted metallic paint to give the pail a galvanized look. For the shovel, I made use of the remnants from the silver foam board to make the bottom and top handle. I used a piece of left over balsa wood to make the shaft of the shovel.  

Another major element for this board was creating the look of soil for the garden. I repurposed a painters tarp I had used last summer for a beach themed board. I repainted it with a darker stone spray paint making it a deeper "soil" color. In the midst of putting these elements together, I realized there was the a need of something more for the garden theme I had in mind. Picket fences were the first thing that popped in my head. Most gardens have some kind decorative border around them so small pickets seemed an appropriate application. The pickets were cut from white foam board.   

This morning I took down the previous board and put this board in its place. 

I tried to make it so that the soil looked like it was dug to accept flower seeds and bulbs. I also put up the verse which was cut by my Cricut from the Lyrical Letters cartridge out of a metallic navy blue card stock. The verse is "But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 3:18". My goal with the verse was to make it look like it is a visual of wind flowing in the air above the garden. I used a roll of moss to imitate a grassy area (an area not disturbed for planting) where the gardening elements created were placed. Of course, who would garden without gloves and not mark the flowers that have been planted.

I think what really adds to this board is that I took morning glory, sunflower and marigold seeds along with halved gladiolus bulbs and adhered them to the "soil". 

This board is a three month transitional board. This is the first "look". Next month, rain drops and a trellis at the far left will be added. The final month, the flowers will have bloomed and the sun will be shining..... you'll have to come back to see how that is accomplished.