They Say Presentation is Everything

On May 23 we attended our second craft show.  It was at a convention center with 50 other vendors. It was really cool to experience. There were fun vendors like Damsel in Distress, Wrap It, Wreath Designs, Pampered Chef, and so many more.  There were only 3 vendors that were there selling hand crafted products.  We were one of those three hand crafted vendors.  It was so fun!  Each time we do a craft show we find better ways to brand our better.  My new favorite items for our booth: beach chairs for Gabby's ear cuffs, our wooden sunglasses "sale" signs, and our fun new fabric garland.  

We both feel like these new items help make our booth more inviting.  

full set up

close up of our jewelry boxes

our stash of paintings

our framed  paintings

Our active wear $5 earrings

Earring cuffs, and our stretchy bracelets

Necklaces

Bracelets

Our magical $8 earrings

What do you think makes craft show booths more inviting? What do you like to see in a craft show booth? Do you like hand crafted art pieces?  Do you like variety of colors and styles or each color and style separated?

Glass Bottle Parable

Life can seem like a glass bottle carelessly discarded on the beach. As the waters push and pull, grabbing at this bottle, it is swallowed up in the waves of life to bob and float, fill up and roll about trying to keep itself together, but after much time straining and crying for help it gives up fighting confining itself to the depths of the ocean, to be forgotten, lost, and hidden away under the sand.

The tides do not leave the little lost bottle alone under the ocean. It sways here and there as the tides roll about. It gets a scratch here from the coral, or a chip there as it is rubbed against the rocks.  Tipping and rolling it fills with sand, fills with water, and sinks to a solitary shadow on the floor of the ocean.

 

 

After a while, one day, the waters turn dark, the waves grow big and the tides become angry raging chaos. And that lost, forgotten little bottle finds its resting spot gone, once again rolling and tossing, floating in the storm.  Once again the little bottle is trying to keep itself together but after much time straining and crying for help and scared, a hand grabs the bottle and tosses it out of the churning angry sea.  The bottle sings with joy to be free, just to realize too late that it was tossed out of the drowning chaos of life, just to be dashed on the rocky shores of life.  With heart worn down, tired and helpless, the bottle shatters into pieces.  Some pieces are small and some big.

 

Crying out to that hand who saved the bottle from the ocean " Why didn't you save me from the rocks?" "Why didn't you protect me?" "Why did I have to break?"  A gentle voice answers "I did protect you, I did what was best for you.  For as a whole bottle your time was well spent, but another purpose have I given thee. As broken shattered glass I see the small pieces becoming grains of sand tossed and collected to help beautify this beach for others to enjoy.  As large pieces of glass I see refinement coming soon, and once you are perfected, you will become sea glass, beautiful, smooth, shiny, frosted, charished, and loved by the one who picks up that piece of you and carries it home.

As sea glass you will bring beauty, creativity, inspiration and joy to those who see what is made of you. Those who use your pieces as art will share their love, creativity, and motivation with others. This is a very important job, and I have chosen you a simple glass bottle. 

 

The broken bottle whispers through it's tear, "Why Lord  why must this be?" "Why would you choose me? I was lost and forgotten, sunken by life's burdens."

 

"Because my little one, I gave my son to be bruised and broken for my love.  But love must not only be heard, or felt, or taught, but it must be seen with the eyes. This is your potential, this is why I have chosen you for this job. Because you will spread my love to those who need to see it.  I have not forgotten you, you were never lost from me, I was testing you, and trying you, and refining you helping you achieve your true potential. "

 

May we all find sea glass, may we all share our sea glass with others just as God has shared his Son, Jesus Christ with us.

Its Raining and Pouring

Do you like the rain?  Or do you prefer the sunny warm skies?  Do you live in a place where there is a lot of rain?  Seasons of rain?  Or just a lot of rain lacking days?

I have lived in many different climates, sunny and warm, dry and cold, wet and misty, and even places with all 4 seasons.  But I have to be honest, I haven't been a fan of rain the majority of my life.  Its wet, gets everything else wet, can create mud, and puddles, bring out the frogs, and all kinds of wet loving bugs.  So I'm more happy when its sunny.  But just this year my husband and I have been teaching our kids how to learn to love rain.  We have been letting them dance in the rain, sit on the screened porch during lightning storms with us, walk out side right before the rain comes so they can see and hear and feel the wind that comes with rain.  And let me tell you its helped me gain a better appreciation for rain.

Lightning and thunder make rain more exciting and fun for me, but I no longer complain when it rains.

Well then recently at church I heard a quote that had to do with rain and umbrellas.  I love that quote, here is what it says: "“His commandments are the loving instructions and the divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the shower of heavenly blessings.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

With this thought about rain drops being blessings, and the umbrella being the thing that blocks those blessings from God, I knew I needed to paint something that spoke the feelings of my heart.

It took 2 paintings to truly have all my feelings come to life, and I absolutely love them both.

Painting one is a woman in a heavy rain storm.  She put her open umbrella on the ground to catch the rain, and allow her heart to sing with joy as the Blessings from God come to her.  I debated on whether she should stand on the word Blessings, or keep it as is.  And after a week I ended up repainting this, with her standing on Blessings.  It looks great!  What do you think?

 The second painting is a stormy sky with a woman dancing in the rain, receiving her Blessings from God with open arms.  The blessings are raining down on her.  Her face is up turned to allow her gratitude to reach Heaven.  And her umbrella is closed allowing her to feel the love of God through the rain drop Blessings.  I love the rainbow drops and the different sizes, because that's just how Blessings come to us.  No two blessings are the same, received the same, given the same, and some blessings seem bigger to us than others at the time we recognize them.  Lastly, I had to texturize this woman because she is in the middle of dancing, she is moving, the textures I chose represent her movement.