SWITCH Students and Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day! …We’ll come back to that later…

But first, on an unrelated note, I want to introduce you guys to a really good reference for, basically, life. My church has this fabulous youth group called SWITCH Students, and something new they’re doing this year is a blog to post all the sermons. And the lessons are GREAT! I’m not sure how often they update it (the most recent post is from February but we meet every week), but the posts that are on there now are, in my opinion, super important for teens (and everyone!) in this modern day to read!

You know what the best reference is? Yeah? The Bible. UMM YES! I know, it’s challenging (but totally worth it), so look at the SWITCH page for some awesome ways to implement the Bible in your life!

Now I’d like to show you the bracelet I made for a little green accessory 😉 It’s kind of like a charm bracelet, so I think I’ll just make new charms for each holiday!
You just need: jewelry wire, fabric paint, and metal file (optional)

If you want to read more awesome and easy DIYs and craftsy stuff, be sure to follow the blog and subscribe! PLUS, when you subscribe you get a free password organizer, and a free font each month! Whoo!

What’s your favorite holiday craft?

5 Crafting Materials You NEED to Have

I don’t know about you, but for me, starting a new project is always daunting if I’m not sure what I need to make it. So if you’re a beginning crafter and just starting your craft-tool-hoarding (trust me, it’ll happen), here are 5 basic crafting tools that you absolutely must have!

1. Paper- Get yourself a variety of scrapbook paper! I recommend watching the clearance at Hobby Lobby and Joann (I don’t know about Michaels’) because sometimes there are awesome paper deals.

2. Scissors- You absolutely must have a good pair of scissors! If you’ll be sewing a lot, invest in good fabric scissors as well.

3. Mod Podge- This is my favorite adhesive and sealer because it dries flexible, but try to build up an arsenal of adhesives like glue sticks, glue dots, hot glue, super glue, etc.

4. Ruler- Get a good, sturdy metal or clear plastic ruler with both inches and centimeters so you can switch between the two and use it for straight edges.

5. Markers, Pens, & Pencils- Collect a variety of writing utensils: some for sketches (pencils), some for outlining and colored details (felt-tipped pens), and some for blocked and permanent colors (Sharpie or similar).

Honestly, you probably have a lot of these on hand, so that means you’re ready to start basic crafting! I do want to tell you that a lot of craft tutorials have fancy-schmancy materials listed, but you can usually substitute them for other things you have on hand. I’ve been looking at lots of tutorials that use die-cutting machines. I can adapt to cut different shapes out myself, although it will take a little longer. Other materials are harder to substitute, like glass etching cream…

I hope this post has given you the confidence to start crafting, because there are literally so many things out there to make!
And don’t forget to subscribe to the monthly newsletter and follow the blog, as it truly helps!

On Being A Student Athlete

Hello! As a happy Tuesday post, naturally I’m going to talk about school. Hooray. Okay, but seriously, for any of you readers out there who are full time students PLUS athletes, I think this post will be very helpful. Actually, I think this post will have good tips for anyone looking to be more productive, set up in a nice DO and DON’T list plus more thoughts below!

DO- Put priority on your education. Please, if you really have to choose, your education is so much more important than athletics!

DON’T- Miss too many assignments. Your grades will seriously suffer if you never turn in any work, no matter how brilliant you are. If you’re behind, it’s okay to skip practice once in a while to catch up! Especially in high school, your coaches will understand, because if you fail your classes, you won’t be able to participate in your sport anyway.

DO- Take pride in good performance. You work hard to earn good grades and good athletic results (be it scores, points, etc), so enjoy the rewards you’ve rightfully earned!

DON’T- Beat yourself up about mistakes. You’re only human. Mistakes happen. The best thing you can do is to shake it off and move on. Mistakes are excellent learning opportunities, though, so try to learn!
As an example, I’m a swimmer, and this past season I missed my event! It was at a big invitational, and because I didn’t swim my individual event, technically I wasn’t allowed to swim in my relays! I was devastated- I never once thought that I would ever miss my event, and I felt awful for letting my team down in the relays. Thankfully, other girls had been missing their events at this meet too, and the officials let everyone swim. Even though I swam in the rest of the meet, I still remember how crushed I was when I thought I had let my team down, and I know that I’ll pay much more attention in future meets!

More thoughts…

-Having an after school activity really cuts down on procrastination. It’s true that the task will take up as much time as you have, so if you have a small time frame, your task will be done quickly.

-Set deadlines for yourself. This goes with the thought above, because you will need to stick to your deadlines to complete your tasks.

-Use a planner. And use it often! Write down your schedules, all your assignments, other tasks, and whatever else you need to keep on top of things; then, look at it a couple times a day to keep yourself on track!

-It’s so great doing an after school sport or other activity. Sports really do lower your stress and help you stay focused overall. Even if you’re not a sporty person, join a club you like such as Drama, Art, Band, Choir, etc. to do something fun, social, and mentally relaxing! Having something other than schoolwork to focus on gives you a much-needed break from all the school stress.

-Doing activities makes you a well-rounded person, which helps you to learn more and get out into the world. Opportunities expand as you do! Plus, it’s always fun to be involved with something you love!

It is challenging juggling academics and athletics, but it truly is worth the effort! I hope that today’s post has given you ideas and tips that you can apply to your life!

Be sure to follow the blog and subscribe to the newsletter!