.WELCOME.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday afternoon! Life got a bit stressful here at the Miller home for a moment this afternoon with a pup up to no good, two very tired toddlers, a messy M E S S Y house, and finding out a certain household is out of dishwashing detergent. Luckily, all three children (yes, counting pup too) went down for afternoon naps--BEST EVER. This left me time, alone time, to finish up chores around the house and even allowed for some time to be creative and to just sit and think and remember what things in life I am thankful for.


As my mind wandered, I quickly began thinking about the mountains and how much Adam and I LOVE the Adirondacks. Everything about the area--smell, feel, wildlife, and the incredible views! Adam worked for many summers at an all boys Christian backpacking camp called Deerfoot Lodge. The time he spent there molded his heart and made him the amazing man of God he is today. I am forever grateful for the ministry at Deerfoot and for the difference it makes in not only the staff, but the campers. Adam introduced me to Tapawingo, an all girls Christian backpacking camp! I was instantly hooked and knew we would spend out first "dating" summer together writing letters back and forth from our camps. The Lord played such a vital role in our lives and in our relationship that summer. One of these days, we hope to work together at Deerfoot serving and (even more exciting) send our kids to Deerfoot and to Tapawingo some day!


All of that to simply say we love bringing the outdoors in our home and enjoy anything rustic! (Just take a look at our wedding details and where we honeymooned!) 


Here is the most recent DIY Craft I completed:

This WELCOME sign was made with birch bark Adam and I collected on our honeymoon and our time at Deerfoot Lodge. The outer most layer of the bark, the pretty white part, was rather beat up after a year and a half so I simply peeled it back and tada--birch bark is filled with beautiful layers! I hot glued the birch bark onto extra cardboard I had from this project and used twigs to create the outline and letters. 

In lieu of freezing outside searching for pinecones (which I believe we do not have in our area of VA), I purchased a small bundle of pine and pinecones at Michaels for $4.00. There are plenty of leftovers I hope to use soon in more crafts. 

To spruce up the WELCOME sign for Christmas, I simply added a few red berries and VOILA--it's decked out for the holiday season :)

Since Adam was at work when I completed this, I had to figure out how to hang it all by myself. I broke off the pins on two thumbtacks and glued the flat part onto the cardboard, leaving two little knobs on each corner. Then I made two knots out of twine leaving a little loop on each end and when you put it together--it hangs! :)

I hope you enjoyed the Adirondack inspired 

WELCOME sign!