Gretta's feelin' crafty!

This has been a busy week in the craft world

So this week's crafting spree was inspired by some coming events. My wonderful boyfriend Kyle is taking me to a wedding in a couple of weeks, and I don't have a dress that still fits me that is appropriate to wear to a wedding, so since I'm living at home now, I thought, "Hey, I have dress patterns, I have lots of material, I'll just make a dress."

Find the pattern here! I made Dress A out of black satin and pink embroidered satin. The bottom of the skirt was an add-on! 

And I sure did make a dress! I made that dress in three days! Now, if you're just getting in to sewing, or if you're rusty (like me), I don't recommend using satin, like this dress. 

I have this new joke which goes, "Satin starts with an S, which stands for 'Slippery fabric.'" And my seam rippers were well loved with this dress, because I made sooo many mistakes from trying to get the satin not to slip around! But it turned out pretty well, and for the record, that little shrug that goes over it is super easy to make.

Speaking of super easy to make...

I decided that after making that complicated dress for the wedding, I could use some practice making something a little more... straightforward, aka: easy. So I found this tutorial on, "The Thinking Closet," blog and gave it a go! I think it turned out pretty well!

My new favorite skirt! Give it a try, I promise you'll be pleased.

The next big project (besides making a couple more of these awesome, and super comfy, skirts) is to make a denim skirt with an eyelet lace pop-out of the bottom. Stay tuned for more in the weeks to come. 

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country, 

Gretta Patrick <3

What do you like to make? Sound off in the comments below.

Bible Verse of the day. Phillipians 4:13

For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. Phillipians 4:13

This is my favorite bible verse ever. I even found some car air fresheners with this verse written on them, and they serve as a daily reminder that with Christ, I'm completely unstoppable.

It also lets me know that although I can do some things on my own, in order to be the best person I can be, I have to ask Jesus for help.

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country,
Gretta Patrick <3

21 Uses for Vaseline

Vaseline is a staple in your beauty box that cannot be replaced. 

Dear Reader,

I have a slight obsession with saving money. Any day I can find a new way to save money is a good day in my book. One big way to save money is to get a tub of vaseline. I prefer to get the Vaseline you find in the baby section. I love the smell of babies, which is weird but I am so not ashamed of being weird.

Vaseline is my miracle product. If I'm getting low on vaseline, then I make sure to head straight to the Paris Wal Mart to get more!

Vaseline has so many uses. A few of the most common uses for it in a beauty regimen are: 

1. Eye Makeup Remover
2. Chapstick (I even refill lipgloss pots with vaseline to put in my purse)
3. Intensive moisturizer
4. Cuticle softener
5. Acne clearer-upper
6. Foot cream
7. Massage oil
8. Gets a stuck ring off your finger
9. Poison ivy/oak/sumac soother
10. Stops eczema itch (As an eczema sufferer, I can say this works)
11. Mix old lotion with vaseline to make it like new
12. Protects hands from acetone
13. Use over your blush to highlight cheekbones
14. Protect your nose from kleenexes when you have a cold
15. Prevents chafing (If you have a thigh gap, then disregard this)
16. Soothes chafed skin after long runs or jogs
17. Helps open a sealed shut bottle of nail polish
18. Wrinkle preventer for under eyes
19. Adds a shine to your eyeshadow (Or use as a substitute if you're in a hurry)
20. Soothes and heals razor burn
21. Tan intensifier

There are way, way more uses than what I have listed above. For a list of 50 uses (That's right, 50!) click this link.

Some of the products Vaseline makes that I have in my own bathroom 

There are also lots of different lotions and gels and things that Vaseline makes. And the best part about it is that you don't have to go to a fancy makeup store to get it! It's in Wal-Marts, K-Marts, Targets, Walgreens, etc. It's just an all-around fantastic product!

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Did I miss any uses for Vaseline? Comment below!

Bible verse of the day. 2 Chronicles 19:6

Always think carefully before pronouncing judgment. Remember that you do not judge to please people but to please the Lord. 2 Chronicles 19:6 

This verse can seem very strange, since people aren't supposed to judge each other, but in the context of this verse, a king is talking to judges he just appointed. Oh, now it makes sense: Judges have the job of judging, so they can judge.

But then you start to think of this verse in the context of every occupation. Wouldn't it be so much better if you thought of your job as pleasing to God? I think that, as Mary Kay Ash said, you need to put God first, family second, and career third, and then everything will work itself out.

All of us need to make sure that our work is in the name of the Lord. Then everything else will work itself out.

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country.
Gretta Patrick <3

P.S. I made a new year's resolution to read the entire bible cover to cover this year. So I realize for a while, most of these bible verses are going to come from the Old Testament. I'm reading the bible slowly, to take it all in, so just bear with me through this.

Les Bobos: The red wine for those who hate red wine.

Les Bobos is a really good red wine, if you're just getting into drinking wine.

Let's wine about it

Here's the thing, I love wine. That's no secret... I mean, I grew up on a winery so it would be weird if I didn't love wine. But I digress. Although I love wine, I just cannot get into drinking red wine.

Red wine is sophisticated. It's what you drink when you go out to dinner and order a steak. It's supposed to be rich, and velvety, and blah blah wine terms blahhhhh.

Unfortunately, every time I pop the cork off a cabernet, I pour myself a glass, take a sip, and think, "Where's the Pinot Grigio? I really want Pinot Grigio."

And that's how my red wine experiences went. That is... until I found Pinot Noir. How did I find it, you ask? I told my dad one night when we were ordering wine, that I didn't like red wine. For those of you who know my dad, you'll find this next part funny.

He looked at me and said, "I didn't either until I bought a bottle and felt like I had to finish it."

Anyway, I told him that red wine was just too... dry. He suggested a Pinot Noir. I loved it. And the rest is history. I've been drinking Pinot Noir ever since.

Then I signed up for Club W

Which I do not recommend. We'll get to that in a later post.

Anyway, I was getting bottle after bottle of dryish, heavyish, blah blah blah wine terms-ish, red wines. Then I cracked open a bottle of Les Bobos at a french themed party. I figured, what the heck? I'll try this. Also, in the back of my mind was my dad saying, "I didn't [like red wine] either until I bought a bottle and felt like I had to finish it," so I unscrewed the bottle and poured myself a glass.

What did I think?

As an amateur wine drinker, I'm not going to slip any wine blah blah blah in your face, because honestly, I'm not sure what any of it means (in case you couldn't already tell that). Instead, I'll just tell you that it wasn't heavy, like most reds I've drank. It wasn't really all that thick like most reds. It was kind of sweet, but not La Passione sweet. I tend to like wines that are fruity, so maybe it was just fruitier than most. I really can't tell you. All I can say is that I loved it!

The simple verdict: if you're new to the red wine scene, and you're dying to be that sophisticated person who orders red wine, try a bottle of this stuff. It's real good!

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Bible verse of the day. Leviticus 19:10

"Don't strip every last piece of fruit from the vines, and don't pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and for those traveling through." Leviticus 19:10

For those of you who don't know, I made a new year's resolution to read the entire bible cover to cover this year. So I realize for a while, most of these bible verses are going to come from the Old
Testament. I'm reading the bible slowly, to take it all in, so just bear with me through this.

This verse kind of spoke to me because it mainly tells us that we should live simply and leave all we don't need for the less fortunate. Don't be greedy. There are others out there in more need than you. That which you don't need, don't take, because someone else could need it.

I wrote before about how I want to simplify things, and this bible verse is a good testament that living a godly life involves simple living. I still need to work on that, but nobody is perfect, especially not me. That's why I read the bible.

Keep it Classy, Keep it Country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Coffee Time with Gretta No. 2 "How to be a Robertson in a Kardashian World"

Should we be the type of woman who shows everything or the type that shows our inner beauty?

Courtesy of qpolitical.com

This is the second video in the Coffee Time with Gretta vlog series. This week's topic is, "How to be a Robertson in a Kardashian World"

Trashy vs. Sexy
We're inundated with certain ideals of how women should be, and we, as women, have the choice of being trashy or being sexy. Do those two adjectives sound like synonyms? Well, the thing is, we're not. I was recently inspired by this article to look at the differences between what's sexy and what's trashy.There's a big difference, so should we be more of a Kylie Jenner, or a  Sadie Robertson?



What makes a woman sexy?
I personally think that a smile is the sexiest thing a woman can wear, and it's a shame that many young women feel they need to wear less and less clothing in order to feel sexy. I feel my sexiest when I'm in my favorite skirt, my shirt that covers, and I'm not worried about wardrobe malfunctions happening. I think if more young women got into this mindset, the world would be a better place.

This is the dress I feel most sexy in. Not revealing, just cute!

When do you feel sexiest? Sound off in the comments below!

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country,
Gretta Patrick <3