Monthly Archives: July 2012

Consider the Birds

by on July 30, 2012, 8 comments

The birds and lilies either oil or spin, yet both are fed and clothed and receive their daily portion without being anxious for them. They need earthly goods only for their daily sustenance, and they do not lay up a store for the future. This is the way they glorify their Creator, not by their industry, toil or care, but by a daily unquestioning acceptance of his gifts.

-Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship)


I picked up this Blue Jay feather the other day. You can ask my husband, I regularly pick up random things that I find beautiful on walks and outings and put them in equally random places. Unfortunately my “treasures” often get quite mistaken for trash – so this find I carefully tucked away on my art desk with the ideal of doing something special with it.

So I decided to give it center stage in a $1 wooden frame I found at a thrift store. Using a single stitch to hold the feather on a piece of watercolor paper, it was complete. I painted with acrylic paint over the photo/canvas that rested within the vintage frame and I have a reminder of God’s perfect provision. I love that the Lord uses nature and beauty to give us glimpses of His character. And I also love that some of my favorite things around my home, are the simplest.

Summer Giveaway

by on July 17, 2012, 16 comments

Hey there! As promised, here is a little summer giveaway for you. Thank you to my sponsors for this giveaway, Freja Moon from Bulgaria and Mark and Zoe from Scotland.

Freja is a hand knitter/crocheter who makes beautiful fiber jewelry and wearables. This mustard yellow necklace can also work as a headband or bracelet. Mark and Zoe are the founders of YOKE. A fun and vibrant duo making illustrations and prints that are perfect for summer.

TO ENTER: All you have to do to enter is leave a comment sharing one memorable trip, event, sunset, whatever – from this summer. Comments will close next Tuesday and a winner will be updated on this post the following day. Can’t wait to hear what you say!

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Update: Our winner, picked randomly, was comment #8 – Astrid! Congratulations! I will be in touch to get you your goodies. Thank you to all who entered and shared your wonderful summer moments!

My Lately

by on July 16, 2012, 3 comments

I can’t believe it, the summer is almost over. I have a lot to share with you – things I’ve been thinking, and things I’ve been working on.

I’ve been painting some rooms in our house. That has been time consuming, but rewarding in it’s completion. We love our 80 year old house in midtown, but beige walls were everywhere when we moved in, and well, I like color. So now the living room is midnight blue, the laundry room is a cool mint, the dining room is a grey-white. It makes such a difference.

I’ve been doing some art experiments on balsa wood. It’s nice to try out a different element for a canvas.  It’s super absorbent, so it lends an interesting effect.

I also made a few of the earrings I create to sell in a local boutique and used balsa wood and 3-d paint for the packaging. Did you know you can cut balsa wood with scissors? Fun stuff.

I’ve unplugged more from social media – I feel like it’s such a time suck and really cuts down on my own productivity. It’s nice to have less noise and clutter.

Trying new projects like this small clay vessel imprinted with a lace pattern. I’m loving creating little vignettes in my home that offer bits of beauty and serenity – away from the legos, cars and nerf guns that proliferate on the floors.

I’m prepping for my conference talk that is happening in just a few short months. I’m excited, but I’m also nervous and have lots of doubts that this SAHM has anything worthwhile to say.

But mostly, I’m reading. I’m waiting. I’m pondering things about faith, church and art. Reading books like the Tangible Kingdom and learning about incarnational community and being missional and realizing that I need to be completely immersed in God to pull anything like that off. Bonhoeffer’s works, and Tozer that completely mess me up – in a good way. Interesting reads, like A.J. Jacobs A Year of Living Biblically. They challenge my thinking and cause me to ask questions.

So there ya go, and those are all reasons this blog has been a bit quiet lately. :) Not to mention enjoying my summer with the two best little boys around. But I hope to be writing more about things…in the meantime, I will be hosting a summer giveaway tomorrow – so stay tuned!