a shameless plug

It's my blog so I can post what I want to...post what I want to...ooooh.

Okay, so this is bit out of my normal subject matter, but I'm allowed a shameless plug for my super talented friends every once in a while. And today is that day! 

Meet....Kevan Chandler! (Come on down, Kevan)
Writer, adventurer, intellectual spelunker, and my friend.

His latest book is "Hargood and the End" and if you like zombies and wit (though it may be thin on witty zombies, come to think), you'll probably love it. The description on Amazon reads:

It's the end of an age, and just in time for the end of everything else too. In suburban South Florida, Warnie Hargood is walking his mail route for the last time before retirement when his customers suddenly start trying to eat him. With nothing to lose, the 85 year old mailman decides retirement can wait. He has a calling, a duty that will go unfulfilled if it's not done by him. At the end of the world as we know it, there is still mail to be delivered, and Warnie swore long ago that nothing would stay him...ever.

So check it out now on Amazon, available in print or for your kindle (boo e-readers). But yaaaayy for Kevan! So click here to check it out now!


*Disclaimer: Full disclosure compels me to let you know that due to my heart-palpating fear of zombies, Kevan is in full awareness that I will not actually be reading this book. However, I fully recommend him as a writer. Also, I'm not getting paid for this post. (hint hint Kevan!)*

project hexagon pillow...complete!

That's right, my first foray into English Paper Piecing is finally complete! After a ridiculous amount of microscopic stitches and a few months of being too busy to work on it at all...Project Hexagon Pillow is finally done!

I originally mentioned this project way back in February. The original picture used in that post was lost so I don't have the beginning bits to show you again here. If you're dying to see if, you can get a glimpse in the original post. 

I'd been seeing a lot about paper piecing and "cute hexies" on the sewing blogs I follow and I decided this would be a nice challenge to expand my needlework skill set. To get started, I googled "paper piecing hexagons tutorial" or something of the like and read about a million different takes all explaining very subtle differences of how to do basically the same thing. Instead of failing to accurately explain it myself, I'll refer you to these awesome tutorials for your viewing pleasure:
          Jay Bird Quilts hexagon tutorial
          Amy Gunson extensive hexagon tutorial
          FaveQuilts paper piecing tutorial

Sew (buh dum pssh)...after an inordinate amount of whip stitching to get all the little buggers together, my finished pillowcase front ended up being 9 rows by 10 columns (90 hexagons total). I decided on the fit by laying the ever-growing hexagon group across a 12" x 15" pillow form - just make sure to leave enough room for seam allowances and such...even if it means sewing an entire extra row of hexagons you know will mostly get cut off. Ugh!

Next, I chose a calmer grey polka dot cotton for the backing to balance all the crazy colors on the front. Add a zipper (another recently acquired skill you can see from the picture that I've yet to perfect), trim the excess - even though I was so sad to cut into all those hard-earned hexagons, flip it inside out, and call it a day!

Yay for finished projects! And yay for this colorful little pillow I use it during my reading-before-bed time. 

bridesmaid boxes

Helllooooo! Wedding planning is going very well and with unemployment comes lots of other projects to keep me busy (though hopefully the unemployed bit will be very short lived). I have fun pics from a few projects but today I wanted to share a project I actually completed quite a while ago -- my "Be My Bridesmaid? Boxes". I've seen this idea floating around the crafty internet space for a while, but since I decided to put my own spin on it, I figured I'd share. Plus, now that the girls have all received them, I can finally post without spoiling anything.

The main Pinterest ideas I saw were either boxes with all the wedding info (their dresses, colors, etc.) or more alcohol/time-for-the-girls-to-party based. Since I didn't have much of the wedding info at the time and since the latter is not my style, I decided to just create fun boxes with little treats for all the girls. Naturally, the first stop was a trip to Hobby Lobby!

I used inexpensive pulp board boxes as my base (less than $2 each). Then, I hand painted each box green with a soft white lid. With 2 pieces of scrapbook paper (the handwritten looking one and the pink circle - 10c ea), a little photoshop magic, and modge podge, I finished the lids with each girl's monogram. Add some hot glued lace ribbon and a blue finishing ribbon ($5) and you've got a great outside!

Next was the super fun part - the gift itself! First, I used a label from The Graphics Fairy and a little photoshop to create the inner lid label, more modge podge to seal it on. (For the record, only my sister's box said "Maid of Honor", the rest said "Bridesmaid".) Box goodies include:

     #1. small nail polish (confession...dollar store)
     #2. two teas (from my collection)
     #3. mason jar sewing kit: I had the jars already, got the kits for $3 at Hobby Lobby, and 
     used this tutorial to refinish the jar lids into pincushions with fabric from my stash
     #4. a heart-shaped cookie cutter from Hobby Lobby (50c ea) with a small green bow tied to it
     #5. a candle (dollar store) with a bit of leftover lace from the box lid hot glued to dress it up

Add a little sprig of silk flowers from a wreath I made last spring and a bit of tissue paper, tie it all up, and it's ready to go! The girls really seemed to like them (or lied cause they love me haha) and truthfully, each box cost less than $8 to make. It was a fun way to ask them to join the bridal party and a great way to start off my handmade wedding!

I hope you like them too and feel free to comment with questions if you want tips or ideas on making your own! Plus, do you remember all those crazy hexagons I was sewing when I wrote this post back in February?! Well, I finally finished that project and will be posting the results of my paper-piecing hard work later this week. Whooo! 

let the planning commence

Wow! Planning a wedding has so many moving pieces I never imagined before...and we're at the very beginning. 

I promise I won't just be posting about the wedding details in the months to come (got to keep some stuff a surprise for the guests!), but let me say...pinterest is awesome. And though I've been submitting job applications every day and hoping for something to turn up, I am enjoying looking through pages of wedding ideas in the meantime.

The major perk to all this craziness? --- It's super fun and ends with you marrying the person you love!!

the night I said yes!

So here's the full story of the best night ever...the night my best friend asked to spend the rest of our lives together!

There are a few things to know before we actually get to that night. First, in 7th grade my mom gave me a promise ring...a symbol of my promise to hold my heart for my future husband and I've worn that ring on my right hand for the last 13 years--a literal placeholder for my future. Secondly, Strider and I started working through a pre-engagement counseling sheet (provided by a dear friend pastor at our church) about a year ago...however, we never answered the last question and Strider has said for months that he wanted to wait for the right moment to finish the sheet. 

Okay, now for the good stuff!
After going to see a movie with a mutual friend Saturday night, Strider and I were sitting in the car in the theater parking lot discussing our post-movie plans. I thought we were going to dinner, but he was rambling and frustrated about how the rain was messing up his plans. Not knowing why he was upset, I said, "Who cares...let's do your plans anyway, whatever they are, and we'll just get wet." He smiled and asked me if I remembered the pier where we went on our second date to watch a meteor shower. Naturally I did and he suggested we go there again. Of course, I was immediately suspicious - I mean, who goes to a pier at night in the rain for no reason? My heart started racing as I gave him directions and we drove across town. He was unusually quiet and awkward in the car, which of course make me get all weird and start making dumb jokes.

Finally, we arrived at the spot, parked the car, snuck under the "No Trespassing After Dark" sign and walked out to the water. Despite the drizzle and serenading by nearby frogs, we stood on the creaky wooden dock and looked out across the lake. We smiled and talked idly for a few minutes before he took a deep breath and said, "So I think this is a good time for us to finish our question sheet." I agreed and he pulled a well creased piece of paper out of his back pocket. As the rain started smudging the type, he read the last set of questions aloud and we answered them. Questions about communication, cooperating, and loyalty in marriage. We stood there in silence for a few seconds that felt like a lifetime before he said, "Well...I do have one other question for you." 

I couldn't breathe as he went down on one knee, pulled a small ring box from his back pocket, and said, "Sarah S----, will you marry me?" Though I barely remember this, I apparently clasped my hands to my face and said, "Really?!" He laughed and nodded and I cried, "Of course!" while hugging him and laughing. I put on the ring (totally gorgeous!) and we spent a few minutes just hugging and smiling, both barely believing it was real. Then, with his arms around me, I asked him to pray over us. He did, thanking God for me and for us, for our time together so far, and for us getting to spend the rest of our lives together. We both began to cry and laugh. 

Then I took my promise ring out of my pocket (where I put it when I put on the real ring) and said, "Well, guess I won't be needing this anymore!" He stared at me and said, "What are you gonna do, throw it in the lake?" A short toss, a moment of silence, and a little "plunk" into the water and we both started laughing. "I guess we can head home now?" I asked and he agreed. Then it dawned on me..."They're all waiting for us at the house, aren't they?" And he smiled and nodded.

Back in the car, he played this special song "just for me" that he had been apparently waiting to do so for a year. We drove to my mom's house smiling the whole way and spent the next hour with my family, calling his mom, texting friends, and looking at my gorgeous ring. A sparkling cider toast and lots of smiles later, I kissed my fiance(!!) good night and went home to barely sleep all night.

It was a simple and perfect night and a wonderful beginning to our life. I am so so excited! 

Thanks for letting me share this incredible memory with you.

the future mrs b!

That's right...this past Saturday...May 11, 2013...
Strider proposed and
I SAID YES!!!

Full story to come soon. So excited!

woah - woah

As you can see, my last post was way back in February, and boy have I learned a lot since then. I hope to be getting back to regular posting and recognize that in the blogging world, 4 months of silence is enough to kill many blogs. However, I still enjoy this little bit of space and reading things other bloggers have to say, so don't give up on A Song for the Birds just yet! :)

Instead of a long update post, here's some quick events/lessons learned of my recent life:

• It's very easy to over-commit...especially if you're a perfectionist and there is an Easter production at your church.
• My sister moved back home in March and us living together is still aww-sommee!!
• Though I love kids, a major lesson learned is that no matter how fun, I cannot physically or emotionally handle an 11-hr a day job. And God isn't disappointed when us humans have to call it quits sometimes.
• STRIDER GRADUATED! I cried. Could I love that guy any more? Gah!
• My sis' boyfriend is visiting and with Strider still in town, we're having a blast getting to know him (her bf...not Strider). 

So that's basically it. I've thought of lots of great post ideas over the past few months, but I had zero time to actually post anything, let alone do any of the fun homemade projects/baking that I enjoy. But...all that is changed now!

All in all...Strider and I are just chilling now, both looking for jobs, and trusting God to provide.
Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you keep coming back for more fun posts soon! 
(and pie....great recipes to share soon)