A day in the life of Amelia Magazine!

Have you ever wondered how an Amelia Magazine is put together? We thought you might like a little look at what goes on at Amelia Magazine! Sometimes it can be interesting to see 'behind the scenes'. There is a lot to do to get a magazine ready for you lovely girls to read.

As editor, a fair bit of my work can be done at night time, but there are some parts that have to be done during the day. So, between being a mum to three kids, and a teacher, I set aside a good bit of a couple of days a week (or try to anyway, when I'm not running kids to appointments, picking up Grandmas from plane trips - just ask your mum - she'd be able to tell you all the sorts of things she has to juggle things around!).

Are you ready to spend a day with me? Here we go!

I start off every day with reading my Bible and special prayer time. I ask God to show me what He wants me to get done with my day, to guide me with all that I do, and to give me wisdom in all things (as well as other things I pray for, of course. What are some things you pray for each morning?).

Then there are the usual things with getting my kids ready to go to school! I often don't do anything during this time except get the kids ready!

8.00 am - While juggling those last minute rushes to get the kids out the door to the bus, I send an email to our graphic designer. I had an edited article to send through to her, to put in our second edition of our first issue

8.15 am - Yeah! Kids are off to school, hubby has gone to work, now to more of my typical 'mother' things - unpack tents from camping, etc

9.00 am - Drop the cat off at the vet's

9.30 am - Washing, give the kitchen a clean - you know, more typical 'mother' things!

9.45 am - Aahh! At last . . . I'm able to work on Amelia! On the plan for today - a number of photo shoots, and a play with a new craft! 

So, to start with I need to prepare for the first photo shoot of the day - dolls for an article. I need to find the dolls I would like to use, make sure they're as clean as possible (they are much loved and some are quite old - one is over 30 years old!), and collect all the other bits and pieces I think I might use. Then, take it all out into my backyard near the veggie patch to take photos.

10.40 am - Well, that's done! (just need to put some washing on the line!). Go upstairs to check the photos and make notes of any new or different photos I want to take, and then I head back outside to take a few more photos!

Time to pack it all away now! It's always a good habit to get into putting things away as soon as you've finished with them - saves things getting messy and un-organised!

11.15 am - Have a look at those extra photos, while having my 'recess' (morning tea!)

11.20 am - That was a quick break! More photos - this time of silver cleaning!

11.45 am - Doily colouring photo shoot!

12.05 am - It's getting quite cold - stop and have a hot cuppa!

12.10 am - Time to play! Having a play with an upcycle craft possibly for a future issue of Amelia!

2.00 pm - Well, back to being a mum! Time to go for a walk and then do all of the after-school things like music practices, homework, but most of all, catching up with my beautiful children and spending the afternoon with them!

Amelia is so much fun, and as much as it is hard work at times, I love spending time on the magazine and all the other bits that go along with it! Maybe another time, I'll share with you a day when we do something different here at Amelia Magazine!

Be brave!

Did you know you have been called to be brave? courageous? strong? firm? They can be pretty hard to do, right? It can seem like a really big thing and that can be overwhelming.

My daughter has started a new school this year. Have you ever started at a new school? Was it hard to settle in? Don't get me wrong, she loves the school. But, it is difficult to make new friends. You can (and probably want to!) keep your friends from your old school but it is nice to have friends at the school you go to, as well. There is plenty of love in the world to share!

Well, her teacher from last year reminded her of a verse in the Bible that calls us to be brave. Not only does it all us to be brave, but loving and sensible, too. You know, anything is possible with God living in your heart. Wow!! Think of what you could do if you were bold, loving, and sensible! You could make a real difference in the world around you. And it would make a real difference in YOU as well.

Give it a try! Pray to God that He will help you to be BOLD, LOVING and SENSIBLE! You can print of this free printable poster and hang it in your room, the hallway (or even in the bathroom!) so that every time you see it, you will remember that God will help you to be brave! 

Click here to download your free printable!

The beauty of history!

I have this lovely, old, silver-coated tray that I picked up at an op-shop nearly 20 years ago! While I was re-arranging and setting up the studio, I found it again, sitting on top of a cupboard.

As I held it, I wondered if I should actually complete it's journey with me and send it back to an op-shop (or even throw it out!)! It was covered with rust spots coming through, some other odd marks and was rather tarnished. You could imagine where a vase or cup might have sat for a long time. I certainly couldn't use it if I was having a tea party - maybe, I could get away with it for a vintage one at a pinch.

Having seen on pinterest the idea of using a tray as a magnetic board hung on the wall, it occurred to me that it could be rather handy, like that, but would need to be pained to cover up its 'oddities'! But it is also beautiful being 'silver'! Cleaning it up might remove enough rust and tarnish to make it serviceable, so I tried that.

It was amazing how shiny parts of it turned out to be! I could actually use it as a mirror - a marked, scratchy mirror in spots, but shiny enough all the same. I would be a shame to paint over something so beautifully shiny! There was a beauty about it even with all its spots that showed it age!

My mind turned to ageing (something you young girls are probably not thinking of yet, but your mum might be!). I'm a mum and I'm starting to see wrinkles on my face, which I'm of two minds about. I don't want to start looking old, but as I get older, I realise that I'm not super young anymore anyway!

You know, our wrinkles, freckles, scars, tell a story of our history, just like the scratches and rust spots on my tray do. They show the laughter, the smiles, the squinting . . . that has been on that face. And there is a beauty in that - seeing someone's life on their face.

What would someone see about your life on your face? Would they see the dimples of your joyful face, perhaps a chicken-pox scar, or freckles coming out from a summer spent outside? Would they see eyes wide with wonder and full of love?

Next time you see an older person, rather than think of their wrinkles, how about you try to see their history in their face. What a wonderful God-given gift to be able to see!

Upcycle a silver tray!

If you'd like to have a go at turning an old tray into something that you can still use, have a go at this! This is the magnetic board made from an old silver tray I didn't have the heart to cover up completely!

To make this, you'll need:

• Bi-carb Soda
• Vinegar
• Cleaning cloth
• Tailor's chalk or temporary fabric marker
• Fabric to cover the tray
• Pinking shears
• Double-sided tape
• Ribbon

Cleaning the tray to remove dirt and tarnish is the first step. 

• Place a few spoonfuls of bi-carb soda on the tray, along with a little vinegar. 
• Rub the cleaning cloth into the bi-carb soda and vinegar and then rub the tray. 
• Get into all the little grooves, and rub hard in the stubborn spots.
• Rinse the tray under running water and dry it thoroughly.

To make the fabric cover, first choose a fabric that will not be too distracting to the intricacy of the tray.

• Make sure your fabric is well ironed. 
• Place it on top of the tray and mark a line around the edges where the base of the tray begins to be flat.

• Cut the fabric out, along the marked line, with pinking shears. 
• Turn the fabric piece over, and lay down lines of double-sided tissue tape, close to the edges, as well as lines through the middle.

• Peel off the back of the double-sided tape, and very carefully stick to the base of the tray.

Now your tray is cleaned up, shiny and covered, it's ready to hang!

• Thread some ribbon through a handle and tie the ends together in a bow.
• Hang your new magnetic board from a hook, at a height that will be easy to get to!
• I've used some fairly strong magnets (which I purchased from 'kikki' - aren't they cute?!).

And whenever you look at your board, remember how our faces can tell part of our history, and they reflect something of our character. Does your face reflect Jesus in your heart, like the shiny parts of your tray reflect light?

Beautiful as a snowflake

Aren't snowflakes just one of the most beautiful things created?! So delicate, so intricately designed. And how amazing is it, that each one is uniquely different!

Did you know that each one of you was uniquely created, with a delicate, intricate design? You might be similar to someone else, but there is not another one of 'you' around or ever has been, or ever will be!

God created 'you' to be your special, beautiful, unique self, at this time in earth's history!

How does that make you feel? Hope it makes you feel gorgeous just the way you are, special and loved!

Get crafting! . . . a beautiful Christmas snowflake t-shirt!

This is our inaugural post for our blog, so we have a special Christmas craft for you. It celebrates the uniqueness of snowflakes, as well as making a great gift for someone else! 

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year, and here in Australia, it is the end of the school year as well, so long holidays just add to the festive season! It means we have time to do craft and think of how we can be a blessing to others, in a special, Christmas-sy way! This is a fun craft to do with mum. Try upcycling an old t-shirt (which is what we did!) for a special friend as a Christmas gift, or wear it to get into the Christmas feel!

We've seem a number of similar t-shirts on the internet, but here's how we did ours!

It's so much easier to do a craft when you have everything with you, so take the time to collect all the bits and pieces you will need first. You'll need:

• a plain t-shirt
• paper doilies
• scissors
• paint (and textile medium)
• paintbrush
• pieces of material, ribbon, lace, crocheted doilies, buttons

The first thing you will need to make is snowflakes out of paper doilies.

• Snowflakes look best when they have six points, so fold the doily in half, then in half again (just to mark the centre of the first fold). Then fold it into three, using the centre point to keep the folds even. Shape the points of the snowflake by cutting out a piece or two. 
• Paper doilies are a bit plain in the middle of them, so cut out some half circles, diamonds or squares along both folds, to make the middle more 'lacey'. 
• Use different sized and patterned paper doilies for variety.

Mix your paint on the one plate, so you can have a few shades to work with easily. We used regular acrylic paint, and mixed it with a textile medium (according to the manufacturer's directions) so that it will be permanent on the t-shirt. Mix the textile medium in before you start mixing colours.

Place some newspaper inside the t-shirt to protect the back of the t-shirt and the table. Lay out the doilies in the pattern you want. Overlap some of them to keep the pattern more dense. If there is a part of the t-shirt you don't want to accidentally print, cover it with paper (we didn't want to print on the neckband, so we covered that up).

You can make your prints using a roller, but we found it just as easy to use a thick, round brush to 'dab' over the holes of the paper snowflakes. 

• Vary the shades of paint you use, by picking slightly different shades for each snowflake, and adding highlights on each snowflake, using your lightest shade. 
• You might find you need to lift a snowflake to print one that is partly underneath - just be careful that you lift it carefully so it doesn't smudge paint. 
• You could even add a little bit of glitter paint in some spots for a bit of extra sparkle!

Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours then give it an iron or set according to instructions on your paint. 

To add some more dimension and texture to your design, make a selection from your bits and pieces you gathered. Think of balancing your design, incorporating the same colours and shades. Play around with what you would like it to look like. You could even take a photo of this, so you can refer back to it as you sew it on.

We used simple stitches - mostly running stitch - to sew each piece on. 

• The crocheted doily has running stitch around its edges, while the ribbons were both attached on the inside of the t-shirt, and one was stitched right down the centre of it with running stitch.

You could even make a fancy little addition, like this little frilled button.

• Take a piece of lace and, starting with a knot at the end of your thread, stitch a small running stitch along the edge. 
• Pull it tight to gather it up, overlap the edges and anchor it to the t-shirt as you stitch a button in the middle.

 Add some buttons and ribbons . . .

And look at what you've made! Take a moment to appreciate your work, and give yourself a pat on the back! If you're making it as a gift, have a little thought about how the person you are giving it to, may feel when they open up their present (it's exciting, isn't it!). Maybe even take a minute to say a little prayer for them - that's a special gift, too!