Let Your Light Shine

The events of the past few weeks have been gut wrenching. As a a young teacher I had vivid dreams of school shootings. As I became seasoned those dreams have faded, but sadly they seem to becoming a reality. I choose to focus on living life to the fullest. I tell my students we can't live in fear, but should always be prepared. I try each day to find beauty in the things around me. Simple things make me happy. I have kept a candle lit for those who passed on Friday in the school shootings.


I have been in love with jute binding for some time. I especially liked the red I found on blogs. One day while shopping at JoAnne's I found a yard shoved between fabric rolls. I couldn't find the roll it came off of and left without it. I had an idea to make some decorative using it.

These candles were purchased for $1.09 at Winco in the Hispanic Food Aisle. They are simple, cheap  and easy to work with. I had a tough time finding red jute webbing though. My local ENORMOUS fabric store had none and wasn't willing to special order it for me (boo). I searched online. Bingo. I decided to buy 12 yards of it. The price was .59 a yard so the total was $7.08, plus shipping. HOLY SHIP. Shipping was $17. Are you kidding? This meant it was now $2.00 a yard. I remembered JoAnne's and called them to see if they still carried it. They did. With my 40% off coupon it ended up being $4.00 for 10 yards. Lesson learned: The price isn't always what it appears to be.

These candles cost me about $1.50 when everything was said and done. I love the way they add a subtle hint of red into a room. The other bonus is they can be used after Christmas as well for Valentine's Day.

I have a ton left and decided to make this little number.

I spotted one like it on Pintrest. It looks great next to my red door.