"Laura and Mary and Carrie walked slowly along...

on the green shore by the rippling silver-blue water, toward the wild Big Slough. 

The grasses were warm and soft to their feet. 

The wind blew their flapping skirts tight against their bare legs and ruffled Laura's hair. 

Mary's sunbonnet and Carrie's were tied firmly under their chins, but Laura swung hers by its strings. "

-Laura Ingalls Wilder, "By the Shores of Silver Lake"

A long time ago, (actually, more like last summer) I made this Prairie Bonnet with my Grandma who teaches me to sew. I thought you might enjoy seeing the pictures!

 

 Dressing up like historical characters is something I really enjoy, especially when I have hand made the costume. Since the first time I read Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series, at around 5,  I've wanted to make myself a bonnet, just like the ones so frequently mentioned in Laura's books. When we finally got around to making this, I was so excited! 

I made it on a sewing machine, (except when I sewed by hand the brim) and it was not exceptionally easy due to the ruffles on the top, which are difficult to aline to the brim. Anyways, it is a very useful costume piece to have. Have a blessed day,

the hope maiden

Shear Fun...

My little sister had a birthday recently, and we had a Shaun the Sheep
birthday party for her.

I made her this purse with some felt I that I had. She uses it every day! :) 

   An idea on Pinterest inspired me to make these adorable cupcakes for the her party. They are really yummy and easy!

I also saw a idea to make these fun sheep ears... my little sister wore them with her sheep costume for her "Baa-day" celebration. :) 

Using a repurposed Christmas headband to start with,  I made some ears with some old pieces of felt and attached them, folding slightly to achieve a curved, "sheepish" look. 

Then I dug madly in my drawer for cotton balls... when I found them there was just enough! 

I was excited that I had made a headband without going to the store, or even ordering online. ;) Have some fun trying to make something out-of-the-ordinary with things you have in your home... you just might be surprised at what you can do! the hope maiden

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I will sing unto the Lord...

because He hath dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6

I created this bouquet of roses using some flowers blooming in my neighbors yard. Don't worry, I asked first ;) I gave it to my cousin for her birthday today, along with a verse to encourage her. My mom had the vase I used, and then I tied it up with a piece of vintage bias tape. It was completely free and so fun to create!  Have some fun trying to make an arrangement with some flowers in your yard. (Or your neighbor's) :)
 Ellie Hope

Useful Jewelry Hanger!

Here is my jewelry hanger in my room! 

 I'm already using it a lot. I put my mirror above it so I can use them together.

First Post! "Handmaid" Jewelry Hanger

Today I'm going to show you how 

I made this beautiful jewelry hanger. 

First, I want to say why I began this project. I love necklaces, and I had received a few more for Christmas, but they always get tangled in my drawer. I looked at jewelry hangers online and they were expensive and not my style.Then, my dad said he would help me make a homemade one!

                                 

He had a piece of walnut wood he saved from our neighborhood library when they were remodeling the cabinets. It was routered on two of the sides and was finished with sealer. 

 marked in pencil the length I wanted the hanger.

 

My dad cut the wood with his saw...

 Then we sanded it on his belt sander to remove the sealer so we could paint it later.

After that we routered the other two sides to match. We also drilled two holes part-way into the back of the board to use later when we hang it on the wall.

I marked with a pencil on the wood where I wanted my hooks 

(I decided to use 15),

and then drilled holes in those places.

Using a can of white spray paint we already had, we painted the wood. I ran a piece of sandpaper over the edges to give it a more "distressed" look.

I bought two boxes of nickel-colored "teacup hooks" for about $ 4.00, and screwed them into the holes we already had made.  Here is the finished hanger!

The hanger is done:) The great part is, it only cost $ 4.00 plus a little time (and some "found" wood). If I had to buy the spray paint new, it would cost a little more. Paint+primer is the best kind of paint to get for this project. I will post a picture later when I hang it on the wall. I hope you enjoy! Blessings,
 the hope maiden

Big thanks to my dad for his help and to my sister for taking some pictures