Monday, August 29, 2011

♥ Ta-dah!


I've found my inner DIY diva. She's fabulous. Her house is amazing and her projects are all to die for. This shall be her first post. There may be others, it just depends on what she finds.


First, I must give due credit to another crafty blogger from whom I borrowed this idea. Check out My So Call Green Life for inspiration and tutorials galore. You can thank me later.

For this project, you will need:

* a t-shirt. size medium or large works best so you have enough to make it shorter if you want. i've heard this doesn't work with 100% cotton shirts, so make sure you find a stretchy blend.

* rotisserie cutter (you can find them at wal-mart for about $12)

* cutting surface- you don't want to ruin any other surface because the cutter is sharp

* 10-12 beads with holes big enough for the fabric to fit through

* safety-pin (this is optional, it depends on the size of your beads)

To begin, I cut off the torso at the arms. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of this part because I didn't think to blog it until after. Anyway. Imagine drawing a line, horizontally, from one armpit to the other and that is where I cut.

Stopping just short of the seam, cut the whole section of cloth into 1/4" to 1/2" strips. Make sure you don't cut through the seam.


Take each end of the material in your hand and pull gently (you can do this in small section, too). Each piece will curl into itself.


Gather each attached end of the cloth and wrap them with strips from the shirt. I cut the sleeves, horizontally, to make the strips.



Cut one strip of cloth in the middle and string your beads with a knot in between each one. The holes in my beads were too small to simply string, so I used the safety-pin to poke the material into and through the other end. Tie the remaining ends together to complete the fancy, beaded, part of the scarf.


Wha-la! You've made yourself a chic, upcycled scarf for the fall! Send us pictures and we'll post them! Nomzaran@yahoo.com.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

♥365 Days of Change


Nomz wrote all about what has happened to her this year. Holy cats, it's been a crazy year hasn't it? Feels almost like the stuff she accomplished should've taken longer. But, no, that's my Naomi. She crams all the learning and growing things into 365 days of change.

I'd say the same amount of craziness has happened in my life, too. If you take Sazaran from summer of 2010 and hold her up to Sazaran of 2011 you probably would think they're two different people; the former being sort of a gray-scale version of the latter. However, I'm not going to blog about what has happened to me; instead, I'm going to blog about what has happened in me. Because we all know that what happens to you does not necessarily reflect what happens inside of you.

- First and foremost, I've learned (am learning) what true love is. I'm being brought back to the basics: love, grace, mercy, time with Jesus. The main character of this life lesson? My husband, Bruce. Didn't see THAT coming, did ya?! He's been a prime example, from day one of the climb towards that sacrificial love that always endures. I'm so happy that I get to do life with him, I wouldn't want to be tethered to anyone else.



-I've learned to laugh, even when the most logical emotion is the opposite.

- Just like Nomz, (gosh we're so much alike) I branched out with my writing and honed in on that voice speaking inside of me. I took on the challenge of my frequent writer's block and just wrote... a lot. Not even in the blog, but everywhere. Yes, if you're wondering, I'm still offending people with my words. Not intentionally, though. It just happens. I've learned that that part of me might never change. As long as I use it for good and not for evil I don't think I'll employ censor tape.

- I've learned to discern which bridges need to be burned and which need to be rebuilt.

- I've been shown the difference between loving people just as they are and knowing that love calls us from victory to victory. Love doesn't allow us to wallow in our old ways, but it challenges us to be new and improved. Still, that love that says, "I'll stick with you and love you for YOU" is an important lesson.

- I've learned to not forget about my dreams and to pursue them.

- I'm learning about suffering. And death. And love. And how they all blend to make the most beautiful life-tapestry. I'm learning that the hard way doesn't always have to be seen as the worst way. See? Fireflight knows:

The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
And the difference makes it worth it

- Life comes in full circle, ya know? All the things I never thought I'd personally have to deal with are right back in my life. God's sneaky like that.

- I've learned about friendship. What it looks like, what it doesn't look like. Where I need to improve and where I've done a good job. I've learned to let go and/or to cling to, all the while finally realizing that friendship is not a source of "what can I get from this?" but "how can I be your friend, first?" That's a tricky one, let me tell you.


- I'm being called to something higher; to something that scares the crap out of me. And I think this might be the next lesson that I learn: I can do nothing on my own. God shows His funny sense of humor when He uses the foolish things to confound the wise. He calls the weakest people to tackle the biggest tasks. He chooses the most unexpected ways to fulfill His will. I'm part of that unexpected pick, I think. Not even I would have chosen me for what He has planned. And I need to learn to let go and trust. <---- biggest lesson, right there.

- I've learned that the lessons will never stop presenting themselves. And the choice of when to learn the lesson is up to me.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

♫ A Dose of Nomz

Truth me told, Sazaran and I have slacked on this blog. This last year has created HUGE changes in not only this blog, our friendship, but our personal lives as well. We haven't deleted it because our ever faithful readers still check in on us (awwww, you guys! <3), and we have plans to revive this thing...as it comes to us. Before we can do that, I think we both owe you some updates. I'll start, and then I'll bug Sazaran, and maybe it'll kick off the possible best future blog you could ever fathom. We love writing for you, we adore that you've stuck around waiting for us, and we can't WAIT to turn the lights back on in this place.

In the last year, Nomz has:

-Moved from Wyoming to Colorado
-Continued to raise two bouncing baby girls, who are about to enter school (gaspSOB)
-Changed jobs, from Social Marketing Specialist, to Social Marketing Specialist working at an Accounting Firm
-Lost a friend
-Gained 100 friends
-Started another blog: http://ruggedgrace.wordpress.com/
-Joined a non-profit organization called "Colorado Young Farmers"
-Might Possibly have joined the board of directors at another non-profit, it's unapproved and unofficial
-Fell further in love with Brandon, the girls, life...
-Traveled to Boston and Las Vegas, two new places for this girl
-Was in one of my best friends' wedding
-Watched my girls be Flower Girls in said wedding, their first public appearance in tutus!
-Fit BACK into my size 4/6 jeans
-Ran a 5K
-Walked a 5K
-Read over 100 books

....

I'm sure there's more. It's been a long year, long day, and my baby starts kindergarten tomorrow, so lemme alone.

Sazaran and I have changed monumentally this year, as you'll see, but our passion for writing continues and we'll continue to pop in and surprise you with gorgeous words as often as you'll let us.

While we're waiting for her to jump in on this bandwagon, ...what's the top ten things you've done while we've been gone?

Yours Truly,
Nomz

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