just what I needed to hear

original photo from here, quote added by me

friday favorites

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

—   Desmond Tutu

some favorites from this week...

*got to see Desmond Tutu speak tonight! so inspiring. he is the cutest little man I have ever seen!

*these beautiful collages by _cassia_

*turning in the honors humanities paper that had been hanging over my head and making my life miserable for the past week. and now it’s over!

*the sun was out today and it was wonderful. it is amazing how everyone seems to be in a good mood the moment the sun comes out!

*“day at the park” at my school…a sign that summer is almost here!

instant photo love: china

1. forbidden city
2. ocean park; hong kong
3. view of hong kong
4. temple of heaven

Taken on my fuji instax mini camera on my trip to China

to my mama,

Happy Mother's Day!

I wouldn't be who I am today without you. Literally.

Thanks for all that you do for me. Someday I hope to be as good of a mom to my kids as you are to me. 

Love, Megan

friday favorites

It's Friday again! Holy cow.
I saw this pencil sharpener on Pinterest (addicted yet?) and I fell in love! Isn't it just the cutest? It would be the perfect gift for a photographer! This is definitely going on my Christmas wish list. (*cough cough*)

photo from here

Some favorites from this week:

*the incredible gorgeous SUNNY day we had on Wednesday. There is hope!

*Future of Forestry. This band is awesome! I have been listening to them on YouTube all week. (the song Hills of Indigo Blue is my favorite!)

*catching up with friends at Starbucks

*making plans for the summer

I hope you had a fabulous week! Happy Friday!

cupcakes (friday photo fun)

Here is my photo for:

 

My sister's friend, Kelsey, has a weekly feature on her blog called "friday photo fun" where every week has a different theme and people can enter their pictures and vote for which one is the best! Such a fun idea.

thoughts on: creativity

photo found here

‎"Make no mistake about it: There is a deep and divine connection between a God who is Creator and you who are Creative. It is written in between the lines of God’s fingerprint on your life. Your creativity is not your own. It has a source separate from you, a source much greater than you. It is a gift that has been entrusted to you. Your Creator created you to Create, or rather, to “Co-Create” with Him."

source

This ebook was mentioned on Promise Tangeman's blog the other day and I decided to check it out. Within the first couple of pages I read this quote (above) and was taken back by the idea. As someone who belongs to the Creator Himself and likes to think of herself as creative, I was surprised that I hadn't thought about this concept much before. It makes complete sense, though, doesn't it?! We serve the most creative and artistic God who created us in His likeness... of course He created us to be creative! (phew I used "create" a lot! I'm almost done!) 

In the busyness of life I think it is easy to let the "creative side of ourselves" slip to the wayside as more "pressing" matters come up (which they always do). After reading this quote, though, I realized the important role creativity was meant to play in our lives. I think God wants us to use our creativity to bring praise to Him. While I often think of serving or glorifying God as reading my Bible or remembering to thank Him for the many blessings I've been given, or going on mission trips- that kind of thing, I realized that the simple act of being creative and exploring new ways to use that energy is another way God desires us to bring glory to Him. 

You can download the ebook (don't worry...it's free!) here. I'd love to hear what you think!

Pinterest

I'm in love with

(image from here)

Have you discovered Pinterest yet? (Let me warn you, though: it is highly addicting.) Pinterest is a site that allows you to create "boards" to which you can "pin" a wide variety of inspiring images. You can look at all the images that have been recently pinned or type in a subject in the search bar and look through images that match whatever criteria you want. It is truly an inspiration overload! I have spend waayy to many hours on it (when I should have been doing my homework) but I have found tons of new craft ideas, graphic design inspiration, and even yummy recipes!
“Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.” -the Pinterest site


You can also follow people's boards to see what is inspiring them!
My board is: http://pinterest.com/meganwalter/

in the kitchen: yummy spinach salad

My friend introduced me to this spinach salad a couple weeks ago and I have been obsessed ever since! I don't normally even like spinach very much but this stuff is beyond delicious!
For my salad I like to use:
spinach
cucumber chunks
red pepper slices
dried craisins
feta
raw or salted almonds
chicken or turkey
(the chicken is especially good grilled with Trader Joe's soyaki sauce or Yoshidas)
Dressing: (soo simple)
1/3 parts olive oil
2/3 parts balsamic vinegar

Ta da! You have just made yourself the most delicious salad ever. (Not to mention healthy...so you can pat yourself on the back twice!) This makes the best lunch and is super easy to throw together!

How-To: Make Fabric Flowers

*for the fabric: I bought the 99 cent quilting squares from JoAnns for the fabric and also an old pair of khaki pants that had a hole in them. These flowers can be made with almost any kind of fabric...so just use what you have lying around!

 1. (left image) Cut a strip of fabric in a 1x20 inch strip (approx). This can change depending on how big you want your flowers.

2. (right image) Cut a piece of felt. Mine was about 3x9 inches, but then again this could change depending on the arrangement of your flowers.

3. Fold the fabric in half. place one dot of hot glue on the felt and attach the end of the fabric. 

4. In one motion, twist the folded fabric a few times and twist to form a circle. It's all in the wrist. ;)

5. When finished, tuck the end of the fabric underneath and glue down any loose pieces. 

6. Repeat until you have three flowers in a row (or however many flowers you want). You can also glue them in a triangle shape and vary the size of the flowers, too!

7. Cut the felt around the flowers and trim off any excess. 

8. Draw one line of hot glue on the back of the felt. Stretch out the headband slightly, and then place along the line of hot glue. Make sure it is glued on tightly enough!

And...that's it! These are a super fun and easy way to turn up extra scraps of fabric into something you can wear! They also make great gifts.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to shoot me an email at ciaomiabella[at]hotmail.com. Happy crafting!

sketchbook sunday (v.2)

Sometimes I don't always feel like sketching- sometimes a collage can say things better.

playlist for a sunny sunday

I can't believe it is already Sunday. Dang the weekends are going by too quickly. Here is a playlist for this sunny afternoon!