Oprah's Life Class The Tour

Tonight starts the 2nd season of Oprah's Life Class. After watching season 1, I felt like I had gone to through the best of the best counseling sessions and I received so much insight into myself. I felt emotional healing and a new freedom in my heart. I recorded every episode on my DVR and any time a friend would come over I would share part or all of an episode.

Since I can't watch this program with everyone and I don't think I should, I want to share some of the truths and healing I gained in hopes that others would be impressed upon to watch this season.

There are some episodes that are best watched with friends and/or loved ones and some episodes where I needed to be alone so I could cry and cry a LOT! I know that crying helps you feel better, and you can read this article if you need proof.

I won't go into every episode here, because I can point you back to her website, but I'll share a few of her topics and how they impacted me. Once again, these were topics from season 1.

Lesson 1: The false power of ego

I was impacted by this in many ways. One way was that Oprah talked about having to accept and identify that she had an ego and that it could become a problem if she allowed herself to believe that she was better or deserved better treatment than anyone else. I look up to Oprah so much and she has about 9 gazillion dollars in the bank--if anyone should have an ego, it's her. But she realized that there was no room for her to have a big ego and if it weren't for the grace of God, who knows where she would be.

I applied this to myself as well because I have felt many times in my heart that "I deserve better" or if I'm going on a vacation "I deserve it." But the truth is many people who have much deserve less and many people who have less deserve more.

We all need to tone down our egos. We're all here together so let's work it out together. Stop comparing and get rid of feelings of entitlement. Only good things can come when we let go of the wrong ways of thinking. Which leads to the next lesson...

Lesson 2: Letting go of Anger

Anger, resentment and bitterness only hurts the person holding the anger, resentment and bitterness. The other person/parties involved in hurting you go on living their lives while you sit trapped in the prison of your mind and bad thoughts. Learning to let go of the anger and forgiving the person who wronged you not only frees yourself but makes you open to the good you can receive from those around you.

I have experienced this type of anger. The kind that you want to keep. That anger is a defense mechanism. It's a sign that you have been hurt. There is a saying that "Hurt people hurt people." The bitterness ensures that you won't get hurt again. But the sad truth of this type of defense is that it doesn't let the good through. Anger puts up a wall so that bad and ugly doesn't get through to you but neither does the good. And you end up hurting others around you.

It's one thing to learn from past mistakes, but don't let the past hold you back from your present and your future. Oprah encouraged all of us to find the places of unforgiveness in our hearts and to let the anger go.  Forgiveness is not an open door inviting pain in, but it is a healing release to embrace the things we need in life, like love, joy, and peace.

To view the other 23 topics, go to Oprah's website here: 

Oprahs Lifeclass Lessons Season 1

I assure you from the experience I felt in season 1, that you will also feel blessed. Please watch, and open your heart, mind, soul and spirit. You won't be disappointed!

Lady Bug In Florida

I stopped to smell the blooms on this bush near 

my apartment today. 

Once I got closer I saw the little lady bug!

So cute and petite!

Then I was reminded that sometimes we just have to take a second

out of our lives to stop and enjoy the little things.

Click on the pic to view a larger image...

Nevermore

This is my blingy spin on the bleak and dreary poem "The Raven," in honor of Mr. Poe's birthday (January 19).

I'm a rather positive person and always look for the good in every situation, but learning the poem in middle school made an impression on me and I always felt a connection. To honor his memory, I made a little sign.

The word "Nevermore" is written in silver and is the raven's perch. The bird has a little bling for his eye. There are three black roses which tie in to the theme in a way you may or may not have not heard of before. For over 60 years a gentleman has gone to his gravesite and placed 3 roses and a bottle of cognac in his memory. The roses are for the 3 people that are buried at his gravestone (he, his wife and cousin). The roses are made of black material and have blingy embellishments.

The sign measures 7 inches wide by 5 inches tall and has a saw tooth picture hanger on the back.

Check out my Etsy page if you would like to purchase or request something similar.

Handpainted Snowmen Ornaments

These were very simple to make:

1. Follow steps to adhere glitter to inside of a glass ornament using floor wax.

2. Use paint markers to paint design on glass ball.

3. Attach ribbon/bow to top of ball.

4. Voila!

Newest Deco Mesh Wreath

The Argyle themed Christmas ornaments have been calling to me, since the first day I saw them in Hobby Lobby. The only thing is that I have nothing in my house that's pink and green. Therefore this wreath is really just for fun.

My Christmas Corner

I live in a decent size apartment, however it's still not big enough for the "mammoth" Christmas Tree my mom gave me a few years ago. So it sits in storage, lonely and wishing to be on display! :( 

As I was going to sleep recently I envisioned how I would set up my Christmas decor this year and here are some pics to show what I came up with.

I wish I could better capture how cute it is but I can say it looks better than I even hoped (in person at least). A few pictures....

The inspiration for my design theme and colors!

My dad drew this pic of The Grinch!

Framing and matting from Dollar Tree! $2 for this project!

Framed Quote from Dr. Suess' The Grinch!

Here's a "Grinchy" view of the center tree. It's a 4' White Tree with some really cute ornaments I've been collecting over the years.

Grinch Hat Tree Topper is from Universal Studios Grinchmas.

Red, Green & White circle garland (top of wall) is from after Christmas sale at Cracker Barrel.

Adorable snowman closeup....

On each side of the white tree is a vase with Christmas balls, a shiny tree and these awesome lighted globes!

Hope your Christmas is blessed and

full of love this year!

Linking up to this party:
The Inspired Room



I love making Mesh Ribbon Wreaths!

Latest Creations

Two Color Scemes:

Lime Green & Turquoise

Peacock Accents

Blue & White

Snowman Accent

Contact me if you'd like me to make one for you. I am happy to ship (U.S. only), email me at angiemusic@hotmail.com if you are interested. I accept payments via paypal.

Thanks!

Angie

Deco Mesh Ribbon Wreath

I have begun a new endeavor with making Christmas Wreaths. If you would like one, I can do an array of colors. Contact me at angiemusic78@gmail.com if you would like to special order one.

Wreath Details:

This wreath measures 20" wide and is made using Deco Mesh Ribbon. The cost will depend on the materials needed. An average cost for one similar to this will be $70 plus shipping. The order will be shipped within 3 days after money has been received via paypal.

Cowboy sign for my daddy!

So, funny story....my dad almost burned down my parents kitchen/house by leaving something on the stove burner, left room and forgot and they ended up having to replace quite a bit in their kitchen. Thank God it was not a total loss and it gave my mom the excuse to upgrade a few things, like a new stove!

My mom then made my dad agree to not cook inside anymore. And he agreed to her request, BUT he did not agree to stop cooking. He invested in a new gas grill outside and paired with his charcoal smoker, he built his own little outdoor kitchen!

So I made him a kitchen warming present! And here it is!

Here are a few pics of my process and if you're interested how I got the letters on here, check out this blog for my inspiration:

Signs made with chalk outline

This is what the sign looked like after I had the chalk outline traced onto the sign.

 Final project again. I used a paint pen to outline the cowboy silouhette and I hand painted the white letters (which was the longest part of this project).

Stenciled Chandeliers

I have a stencil project that I am planning

for an upcoming birthday present.

So instead of just wingin' it, 

I decided to practice last night.

I've been wanting some chandelier art

and I found a stencil for a cute chandelier.

Here's the finished project with 

an up close look at the cuteness!  

Cute little table...

For today's blog, I was inspired by another craft blog called

 Sisters of The Wild West.

Here is their table that inspired my table.

This gave me an idea for my table that I had

hidden in a back room that was given to me for free!

Here's my before....

And here is my after

I am extremely happy with how it turned out and

anyone that sees it loves it almost as much as I do! :)

just. keep. swimming.

I was inspired by this wood block

from this Etsy Shop: bubblewrappd

And referred to by one of the blogs I'm obsessed with, but now I can't even remember who it was! :(

So, the reason this stood out to me so much is because I'm going through some personal struggles, but no matter what, I've decided I will just keep swimming! I wanted to make something that I would see everyday and remind me of this simple but powerful encouragement!

So here's my creation...

It was very simple to make this.

Here are my steps:

1. Spray painted a 16 x 20 canvas with gray

spray paint (Krylon Brand).

2. Asked my bf that works at Staples to make a copy of my words on a transparency sheet (downloaded a font from one of those free font websites).

3. Using my school projector, 

I penciled the words on the canvas.

FYI, this was the hardest part because a regular pencil is gray, on top of gray paint...guess I didn't think that thru very well).

4. Then I painted the letters with white acrylic paint.

5. Made some cloth rolled flowers. I used scrap material I bought in the left over bins from Joann's and Hobby Lobby and some cloth ribbon.

6. Glued 'em on and Bam, my creation was finally finished!

This project would've taken a "normal" person a few hours to make, but it took me a couple weeks because I'm pretty lazy and/or I get distracted easily and have a hard time finishing my projects!

Glittery Cookie Banner

I'm new to writing/making a crafty blog, but I've been reading blogs for many years and I'm absolutely obsessed with crafty homemaking blogs!

I finally decided to try my hand at blogging when I saw a contest for glittery projects!

Last Halloween (2010) my church hosted a Costume Carnival with food, games and costume contests. I was in charge of setting up the decor for our music group's cookie booth. Since we represented the music group, our theme was inspired by the "music of the night." Our colors were black and white and I made this pretty awesome Cookie Banner out of glittery/sparkly foam I got from Hobby Lobby.

Since I wasn't planning to make a tutorial or even considering writing a blog last fall, these won't be the best pics, but you will get the gist! :)

Here is a pic of the finished project:

Here are close ups so you can see the glittery goodness!

"Eye" see you!! :)

Here's the tab at the top:

This is the banner after assembly.

(Please forgive poor pic quality)