Guest Post w/ Mary from Finding Healthy Hope

Hello Hello!

I haven't fallen off the computer, well not entirely.

I was away in the land of no Internet service for awhile and it was kind of a nice break actually.

But I'm back and refreshed, ready to BLOG.

I had my girl Mary set up this sweet post for me to have going while I was out, but the previously mentioned lack of Internet service squashed that.

So, alas, here is her post.

But be prepared, you will fall in love with her instantly.

And once you check out her blog and see her love for God, cute style and mouth watering recipes, you will know why I love her too! ;)

Enjoy!

*hi, there, friends!
my name is mary, and i blog over at findinghealthyhope.blogspot.com.
this is my first guest post, so if i seem a little shaky, forgive me.   :)

i haven't been blogging for too long, but i am constantly amazed at how the Lord has brought so many special people into my life through this crazy social network already.
He sure has been good to me, and i am so thankful for each and every person that He has brought my way.
rachel is one of them, and i am so thankful for her!
she is a kindred spirit, for sure, and she has blessed my socks off in the short amount of time i have known her.
thanks for inviting me over, girl!

so many days, i have felt alone, or like i am the only one who gets overwhelmed, down, or just plain old crabby, but through this wonderful outlet, i have been so encouraged to know that we are all in the same boat.
no one's life is perfect, no one has it all together, and we all struggle with the same daily issues of being a wife, mother or just a girl.   :)


so, let me tell you a little bit about me.
most importantly, i am a daughter of the King. 
Jesus swooped down and saved me from my sin when i was around seven years old.
all i had to do was acknowledge my sin problem and trust in Him as my Savior...accept His free gift of salvation that He so painfully paid for on the Cross. 
He changed my life, and although i've failed Him many times, He has NEVER failed or left me.  He is my Hero, my Redeemer, my Savior and Friend.



secondly, i am married to nathan, a very loving and adoring husband. 
we are going on 15 years of marriage in january.  FIFTEEN years!
that's big, people.   :)

we have four children ranging in age from 6 to 13.
life is flying by, and they are growing up so quickly!
some days i fear if i blink, they will be gone.
in fact, three of the four are headed off to camp this coming week.  for a WEEK!!!
i seriously don't know what i'm going to do with myself.  ***nsert panicky tears***

i like to talk(you noticed?), so let me tell you about one of my favorite things to do, besides hang out with my family.


i love, love, love antiquing and/or flea marketing.
salvaging old cast off treasures and giving them new life is so fun!
i also like to create.
it's sort of like oxygen for me...it's therapeutic and keeps me sane.
i also really, really like to decorate, or 'fluff', as some like to say.
i believe that this is a God given instinct to most women.
as the mom and wife, it is my job to take care of the household in so many different ways.
some of those include cooking, cleaning, teaching my children, respecting my husband, and creating a peaceful and loving atmosphere for my family.
let me tell you, i am NOT very good at that last one, but He's still workin' on me, that's for sure.


i like pretty things, and today i'd like to show you one of my latest treasures.
i don't know about you, but i love vintage and antique maps.
while perusing a local antique shop, i spotted a 1955 wisconsin road map that was 75% off it's price of around $15.
BINGO!
since i live in WI, and love vintage maps, i paid the $3 and went on my merry little way immediately dreaming up how i could use it in my home.


here's what i did...


because of the size, i couldn't find a frame to fit it(it was too big), and i didn't want to pay for custom framing, so i went to our local lumber yard and had them cut a piece of 1/2 inch plywood for me.
i had them cut it 3 inches bigger on each side than i would need for the map for a sort of frame look.
they are getting quite used to my wacky requests at the lumber yard.  ;)

next, we stretched the canvas drop cloth(from any hardware store) over the wood and stapled it taut(my sweet hubby helped me with this because the staple gun was misbehaving).

i cut off the excess drop cloth and had my space ready to pin the map onto.
all i did next, was take some aluminum push pins i found a t hobby lobby, and placed them in the top and bottom corners of the map.
(because i didn't want to compromise the condition of the map with lots of holes or permanent glue)
this girl likes to change things up!

then i spray painted some chipboard letters that i found at hobby lobby at 50% off, and hot glued them to twine to spell 'home sweet home'.
you could use lots of fun different sayings, though.

my crafty thirteen year old then stitched red thread around the edges of a piece of cardboard that i cut from a box in our garage.
i gently taped it to the spot on the map where we live.
i also simply duct taped the 'home sweet home' banner to the back of the plywood.
the back isn't pretty, but no one will see it, right?   :)

and of course, i had to post an instagram photo, too.
did i mention how much i love instagram? 
well, i do!

 and there you have it.
a custom(ish), totally changeable piece of unique wall art for very little money.

here's the price breakdown:


map:::$3
plywood:::$10
canvas:::$10
chipboard letters:::$2(for what i used)
pushpins:::$3 for box(i used 6 pins total, so there's plenty to spare)


my hubby even hung it up for me today(sunday), but the lighting in our home is terrible and i don't have a fancy camera, but i think you get the idea!


thank you for having me over today, rachel.   this was super fun!
i am SO thankful for your friendship...you are a blessing to me!


xo,
mary

Mary, 

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for posting this. You are the true inspiration to me and I only wish that we could locked in Ikea together and have to eat our way thru the meatballs, laughing the whole time! :)

This crafty creation is AH-mazing and you can bet your sweet smile that I WILL be stealing this idea.

I've already got the spot picked out:)