Soiree Day-Halloween Printables Roundup

Are you all ready for final Halloween festivities?  

Here's a round up of some party printables if you're needing anything last minute!

{Click on title to download directly from site!}

Halloween Freebie by Print Your Party

Halloween Party Printables by Sweet Rose Studio

Halloween Owl Cupcake Toppers by Printable Party Kits

Owl Printables by Whisker Graphics

Enjoy!

Happy Soiree Day!

Vintage Gwen Chapel-Battling with Power

A movie I could watch over and over is Gladiator.

It has some pretty great quotes that can be applied to life now. 

I got to watch part of it on Friday night and one of my favorite parts is where Maximus turns his back on the Emperor and then dramatically shows his face and announces who he is.  

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

He first gives his title and where his loyalty lies.  Then more personal titles about who he is and what's been done to him. And finally a declaration of what is to happen to his enemy.

What would happen for us if we alerted our enemy the same way Maximus did?

"My name Jennifer Wheeler, daughter of the Most High King, loyal servant to the one and only Christ.  Woman of God who you try and come against.  The end has been written from the beginning, vengeance is the Lord's!"

How about that for some powerful words?! Why don't we battle this way every time? If we did, then wouldn't our battles get shorter and shorter? I would think so!

I'm going to challenge myself to remember this the next time I have my enemy breathing down my neck!

How about you?

Romans 12:19
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 

Be blessed!

Soiree Day-Free Breast Cancer Awareness Notecards

As October is quickly winding down I didn't want to let the fact that it is Breast Cancer Awareness month go by. Last year I shared some free printable note cards that I used to start a tradition with my survivor mother in law.  Just a simple note in the mail means more than one can imagine, trust me!  And this year it's been in my mind to not forget what I started. To go along with my card I made her a simple pink chevron hot pad for the kitchen.  I decided to just make my own note card so here's what I came up with!

Chevron graphic courtesy of SHYbyDesign.

Please use these for yourself! Just right click and save! 

{Note: I am out of ink so I wasn't able to test how these printed out! It should print on half a regular sized piece of copy paper, then fold in half.}

Can't wait to get one sent off to my mother in law!

Happy Soiree Day!

{See my Link Parties Page for where I might share at!}

Vintage Gwen Chapel-Saturday Song

Thanks to Lauren of Mercy Ink I have been singing and singing and singing this beautiful song.  

And I've cried too. I've not been the best me this week and this song has been so very comforting to me. 

Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Be blessed!

October Birchbox

I wasn't sure what to expect with this month's Birchbox. I opted in for the Goop box. I thought I'd try it to see how or if it would be any different.  Not sure if really there's any difference at all.  I am excited to try a mascara and I've had the Luna bar before so it will be a nice treat.

After taking the group photo I realized the little lip gloss was messed up. Kinda cute packaging for that once it went where it was supposed to go! Ha!

Here's what's what:

Chantecaille Faux Cils Mascara

DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer

EVE LOM Cleanser and Muslin Cloth

per-fekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel

LUNA LemonZest

Did you get the Goop box? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Sometimes I don't  use everything in the box but looking at the list I'll be sampling everything this time so we'll see how they all turn out!

To find out more about Birchbox go HERE.

Happy Friday!

Owl Onesie

Yep I've been making baby things again. It just never gets old!  

This time I created an applique! I usually just do an initial or shape but wanted to make an owl. 

So I googled 'free owl applique pattern' and found this...

Owl Pattern by Duckling Pond

I had to enlarge a couple of times to get the size I needed.  I didn't take photos of how I did this but it's so very easy!  All you need really is scraps. I cut everything out then starting with the eyes I sewed the inner eye to the outer eye. Next I sewed the eyes to the face and beak. Then sewed that piece and the wings to the body. Now it's one piece! To keep things simple I leave all edges raw. I use Pellon Wonder-Under to apply shapes/initials to any size onesie. 

The result is cute custom creations!

I have more to make too! I'm getting a new nephew in about 2 1/2 months!

Happy Thursday!!

{See my Link Parties Page for the link ups!}

Soiree Day-Vintage Owl Baby Shower

Last Saturday I got to do one of my favorite things. Help with a party! One of my beautiful best friends is welcoming her 3rd grand baby in about 2 months.  I didn't do really a whole lot, I made the banner and loaned out some of my stuff.  Yes I have party worthy stuff! I bet you do too if you think about it!

Owls, vintage books, fall flowers and leaves were used to create a lovely atmosphere. 

It was a very nice shower!

The soon to be daddy's mom provided yummy, yummy food that I didn't get a picture of, these were all taken before guests arrived. The sweets were yummy too...spiced pecans and carrot cake balls were the best!

Simple but lovely! The best kind!

Congrats to the new parents!

Happy Soiree Day!

I Coffee Mug Swapped!

Ok so I gotta admit something....I'm loving swaps!! (or exchanges.) I've done four now.  A Christmas ornament, blog journal, nail polish and finally a coffee mug! And they have all been so fun!

Heather of Heatherly Loves invited me to join her swap and well, why say no? 

And I have actually been thinking of doing one myself! So we'll see!

{If you think that's a grand idea then let me know!}

I'm not sure how much research Heather did but she paired me with a wonderful gal, Kristina of The Streeters Unlimited! We have a few things in common. We both love handmade items, love our faith, and we both are mommas to November babies.  Well, she is going to be, how exciting! And then there's that whole blogging thing too! Great things to have in common! We were advised to stalk each other's Pinterest boards and blogs to get inspiration and I'm still smiling about the coffee mug she sent me!

Isn't it beautiful? I love, love it! It's pink, vintagey, modern!!

It's a ceramic double walled mug and I wasted no time in testing it out yesterday morning...

Yes it was yum!!

Is it weird this just might be my new prized possession?  

Right after Lil' Hunkie, of course!

Thanks again Kristina!!

  ♥♥♥

Happy Thursday!!

Soiree Day-October Printable

Well it's finally feeling like fall here in Oklahoma! 

 I like days where you start off needing a jacket but by the end of the day you don't. 

And I love how October is a 'kick off month'.  You know, a kick off to all the Holiday fun! I like to think of October as a way to celebrate and welcome fall, providing a smooth transition into November where we count our blessings and 'thankfuls' and then onto Christmas!! All those blessings and thankfuls in one small, mighty package, Jesus! Can ya tell I'm ready?

Well I wanted to create a printable in honor of the 'kick off month' and found a lovely quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Just right click and save to your computer! Enjoy! 

Happy October!

{See my Link Parties Page for where I might be at!}

Vintage Gwen Chapel-Finding Joy

I have been in denial. And I hope this post today starts my journey out of denial.  

I shared in my recap of our ladies retreat about how God used a simple thing like a nail polish swap to move mightily among us.  I used the fruits of the spirit and other good spiritual words to match ladies up.  Well the word I got was joy.  Honestly, I was so focused on what God was doing for everyone else that it didn't dawn me till probably a week after getting home that  I got the word joy for a reason. 

I simply don't have any.  And it's been about a month since the retreat and I'm just now addressing it. 

Yep, denial. 

When I say I don't have any, well I mean the joy of the Lord joy.  Because I laugh and smile on a daily basis so I'm not unhappy. To me having the joy of the Lord means that I take great pleasure in knowing He's Lord, that I have victory in any circumstance, that He's great, mighty, and good. And I could gone on and on and on about of the goodness of God!  But what has happened is I've let my unhappiness of how particular things are in my life snuff out the joy of the Lord.  For example, I've been struggling with feeling like I'm inadequate as a mom and a wife.  I'm ready to have one more baby so my son can experience a sibling and not be alone in this world if something happened to me and my husband.  Well because it's challenging to have a toddler my husband is not ready.  {And that's putting it in a nutshell!} And so because I've let those things overshadow my spirit there's no sense of joy. Makes sense?

So what to do?

Pray more.

Trust more.

Read the word more.

Correct my focus.

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 19:8
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Psalm 21:6
Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 86:4
Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

Reading these have already made me feel better!

So yes, God wants us to have His joy no matter what. Sometimes it's a struggle, sometimes not. 

Either way aren't you glad it exists?

I sure am!

How do you keep the joy of the Lord?

Be blessed!

October Hoop Art

Back in June I went to a college friend's wedding in Perry, Ok.  I met up with some other friends in Stillwater and had a nice day of hanging out. We had lunch and then went to a little antique store in Perry before the wedding.  I of course found some goodies!

Among them was a bundle of embroidery hoops.  Which I had in my mind to jump on the bandwagon and was excited to find an oval one!  When I created my Halloween Mantel I went through my supplies on hand and grabbed the oval. Then I went shopping for what I needed.  Well I wanted to use some black burlap and should have know that both Walmart & Hobby Lobby would be out given the time of year! So back to what I had on hand I went.  I have some plain burlap scraps but they weren't big enough.  Then I came across a piece of muslin which lead to me thinking about the cute cabochon flowers I had from Pick Your Plum. And here's how it all came together!

This was so easy!

Supplies:

Embroidery Hoop

Muslin

Sharpie

Cabochon flowers

hot glue

double stick tape

How to:

I printed out 'October' in a font and size I liked.

Then I took the Sharpie and outlined the letters.... 

....and then filled in the letters. 

Then I put the muslin in the hoop, arranging 'October' a little to the left.  I trimmed the edges so there wouldn't be too much excess and then simply used double stick tape and taped to the hoop underneath.

That way I can change it out if I want!

Finally hot glued on the flowers. 

Fast and easy! With pretty results!

Pretty good for my first hoop art! How have you used an embroidery hoop?

 ♦♦♦

Have you seen my current giveaway?

Go HERE to enter!!

Happy Thursday!!

{See my Link Parties Page for where I'll be at!}