New Vinyl Project Preview

I just did this quote on a Michigan map that I had.  It was super easy.  More to come...

Beautiful Places: Medjugorje

Medjugorje is a town located in Western Bosnia.  Since 1981, the Virgin Mary has been appearing to a group of six people on a daily basis.

This location has been a pilgrimage location for people around the world who are hoping to enhance their faith and become closer to God.  Around 1997, my parents were fortunate enough to get to visit this place. While they were there, they took many photos documenting their trip.

Here is a photo of my parents.

In 1997, pretty much the only photography option was 35mm film and you couldn't view your photos until after you dropped them off at the 1 hour photo developer.  When my mom went to pick up her vacation photos, the developer asked if she could have a copy of one.  My mom, confused, asked if she knew someone in her family or knew someone in one of the photos.  The girl said no, but noticed something in one of the photos and wanted to give a copy to her mother.

Here is the photo she wanted.

This is a photo of my grandmother, a friend and my dad.  

The girl who developed the photos didn't know my family, didn't know the location where these photos were taken, and didn't know the story and history of Medjugorje, but she believed that she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in this photo.  Do you see her?

Had the developer not pointed this out, we may have over looked this apparition.  Other than within my family, this photo has never been shared publicly,  I have circled where we believe we see the face of the mother of Jesus watching over us.

Of course, people may be skeptical and doubt, but I believe that is the nature of faith.  It is uncertain and the importance and the power comes from the belief.  

Personalized Floor Rug

I recently used my Cricut to make a personalized floor rug for my fiance in Afghanistan.  He sent me some pictures of his room and I saw that he had a bath towel duct taped to the floor...  I guess it worked. 

My original plan was to cut out a phase from contact paper and dab the rug with bleach to make my design.  When I got my contact paper onto the rug, I didn't think that it created a tight enough seal and I was worried that the bleach would bleed and I'd just end up with a fuzzy bleached blob. 

So, I used a sponge paint brush to dab white paint over my stencil.  It took a couple of coats.  He just got it in the mail and LOVED it!

Monogram Binder

I recently updated an old three ring binder for my pro bono materials.  I used my Cricut Winter Wonderland font and dollar store contact paper.

I hope my pro bono work is as impressive as my new binder!