mellow yellow.

so, we are revamping the office/art studio this weekend. putting shelves up all along the walls so as to get things off the floor. yay!!!! and, painting the room a happy yellow. below are the ones that we chose from. unfortunately the pic doesn't look anything like the paint chips do in real life . . . . . .


and the winner is . . . . . . .


the pic is supposed to show a paint chip that is a lovely golden, warm yellow. {insert frownie face here.} oh well. beach umbrella will brighten the room considerably and make it a happy happy place to work/create. :)

what is today's date?

so, i finally cleaned off my desk.

guess what i found at the bottom?

probably should keep it a little cleaner from now on, huh?

quote of the day

so, ab and i were talking polyester today.
i know, weird subject.
just go with me on this.
and brett pipes in.
"i bet polyester was named by 2 old women."
"polly and esther."
that's my man.

what's your fruit?

had a convo with a friend today regarding something that someone said to her. someone who was trying to "teach" her. instead of teaching my friend though, it offended her. it got me started thinking. about the words that come out of our mouths and the way we deliver those words. made me think of a passage in 2 Peter 1:5-9.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindess; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."

notice Peter didn't say add to your knowledge, all-knowing. or to your self-control, reprimand. or to godliness, self-righteousness. how often do we approach others with an assumption. or a judgment. and then we try to "teach" them? it says in this scripture that if we possess these qualities in increasing measure that they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of Christ. i don't know about you, but i don't want to be that. i want to know Christ. how often do we say things with an attitude of judgment or self-righteousness. that can only lead to being ineffective and unproductive. reminds me of Galatians 5:22, 23.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

goes hand in hand with 2 Peter.

so, the question is . . . what kind of fruit are your words going to produce?

friday nite recap

friday nite with nellie bellie.
good food from the Q.
frozen yogurt from orange leaf.
lots and lots of laughing. oh my goodness. lots.

lots of creating.




a little mixed media project i wanted to try doing on a canvas. here's some closer pics.

silly mustache pics. love them.

AND, drum roll please..................

we've decided to open an etsy shop together!!!!

hootie hoo!!!

haven't decided on a name just yet.

goal of opening in november or sooner.

more details to come.

so excited. really really excited.

hello friend.

where you wanna go?

pearly whites + stress not a good combo platter

ever woke up and your jaw feels tight or hurts?

not good, my friend.

you are a clencher or grinder.

when stressed i clench my teeth while i sleep.

i've known this for quite a while.

didn't think anything about it.

believe me.

go and get a mouthguard for sleeping.

now.

run.

don't walk.

seriously, run!

you will thank me later.

what is your purpose?

came across this quote today and thought i would share.......

"You are only as strong as your purpose, therefore let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal."
--Barry Munro

makes me stop.

and think.

what is my purpose?

my first answer is to be a light to a dark and dying world, but am i choosing reasons to act that out? am i consciously looking for and choosing ways to be Christ to the lost?

so, take a moment and self-evaluate.

what is your purpose?

a biRthDaY sHoutOut

just wanted to send a haPpY biRthDaY to my precious friend nellie!!! hope you are having a wonderful day and i wish you an amazing year!!! love you!!!

the winds of change are a blowin' . . . . .

first of all, let me apologize for the lengthiness of this post. i know it's really looooooooooong. but it couldn't be helped. after all i haven't posted since february. wow. lots has happened and definitely changed since then. i have to start this post with giving God glory and praise. He has been working in the lives of my family in so many ways that it would take several posts to even begin to touch on how. let me just say that He has touched our hearts immeasurably and we are all growing spiritually and deeper in our faith. love watching His plan unfold and His perfect timing for everything. love. love. love.

so, with all of these awesome changes in our lives, i felt the need for changes in my home and have felt my creative spirit return. i've been craving color. so, i have spent some time painting old items new colors. pops of color to be exact. and, i painted 3 canvases. yes, 3. can you believe it???? i've finally started painting. and i love it!!!! it is so much fun!!! and forgiving. :) i have so many things i want to do creatively that it's hard to know where to start! i wish i had so many more hours in the day. and energy.

so, anyways. here are pics of what i've been up to lately.

painting old things new colors......


the frame gets a coat of turquoise paint and the 3 becomes yellow..........


the round frame becomes yellow and the wooden star plaque robin's egg blue........


the wire picture hanger on the wall a new coat of red and i'm going to put black & white pics of my man and me all over it ...........

this box used to be a very dark, muted gold and looks so fun and different a bright shade of turquoise..........

next, i moved things around and hung some things i've been collecting for a while.......

always wanted our initials in our bedroom :)


love this little vintage pic. love a small pic right above the bed. think i want 1 more to put beside it.


i have been collecting o's forever.......finally felt like i had enough for the look i wanted. i love them!!! they make me smile big.

next, i got new lamp shades for my birthday from my man. love them!!


this one mysteriously came with a new lamp base, hmmmm..........


love love love this one. hand embroidered flowers all around..........


who doesn't love a pop of red????

next, some new additions.........


this little guy painted by abbey. made out of something recycled. bet you can't guess what! {thanks ali for the cool idea.}


finally completing this project!!! yayyyyyyyyyy!!!!

and, finally, my first canvases!!!!


this canvas for my bedroom............

i wish you could see the texture in these pics. i layered papers on the canvas first and then painted over them.

this canvas for abbey's room because she is beautiful in so many ways.............

and, last but not least, my version of a canvas that i saw done by someone else. it makes me smile.

well, that's it for now. feeling the need to create again . . . . .

no search parties necessary.......

really. i'm alive and well. for the most part. alot happening in my world the last couple of months. some good. some not so good. my heart and mind are trying to keep up and just listen to God's Spirit. allowing Him to have everything and then wait for His perfect timing. i must admit i'm not the most patient person so this is somewhat of a challenge for me. but what keeps me going is knowing for certain that God is bigger than anything i face. love that. so i will keep my focus on trusting that. hopefully i will be back later in the week with pics of something fun. :) enjoy today! find something that makes you smile big . . . . . . . .

leaving on a jet plane.......

that's right, folks. tomorrow i'm leaving on a jet plane headed for atlanta for some much needed girl time with my bestie e. cannot wait. miss her bad.

so, i will leave you with some inspiration from one of my fave paper artists. she uses alot of reclaimed materials and that makes me very happy indeed. heart her stuff alot alot alot. i want to be her when i grow up........

catch a clue

hello my lovelies. no, i haven't be drug away by zombies or anything like that. just busy. very busy. i'm gearing up for the holidays. christmas presents to be exact. below you will find some clues of what i'm working on for christmas. have fun trying to figure out what they are for........

a time for everything

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

i have always loved this scripture.
it soothes my soul that God makes everything beautiful in its time.
right now, i'm in a time of renewal.
a time of hungering for the word and a deeper relationship with my Father.
my spirit is thirsting for God.
i can't remember the last time i felt this way.
i truly feel that God is guiding me and working around me.
my heart is listening more.
my eyes are seeing more and more of His love being revealed to me.

so, i will leave you with this quote that really spoke to me this week:

"God did not create you for time; He created you for eternity. Time -your lifetime on earth - provides the opportunity for you to become acquainted with Him. It provides occasions for Him to develop your character in His likeness. Then eternity will hold its fullest dimensions for you. If you live only for time - the here and now - you will miss the ultimate purpose of creation. If you live for time, you will allow your past to shape your life today. Your life as a child of God ought to be shaped by the future - what you will be one day. God uses your present experiences to mold you for future usefulness here on earth and in eternity." -- Henry Blackaby

it's time for me to allow God to shape me and mold me for His purpose today and every day................

fabulous friday.

hola my friends. it is friday. love fridays. they just make me go ahhhhhhhh. so, in celebration of friday i decided i would share some things that i love right now.

this new toy. cannot wait to really learn and play with my new baby.



this boy. he ALWAYS can make me laugh. whether he's playing a foam guitar or making pirate faces...........love him so much!

how incredibly creative and artistic my man really is. he rocks!

completion!!! love completing fun little albums.

so loving my sweet daughter's heart and how deep she thinks. love her beyond words.

the anticipation of fall and the change of colors, smells, sights and sounds. (and of course, temperatures!)

jeans. i look so much better in jeans.

a surge of creative juices flowing again. ready to get busy! christmas is right around the corner. yikes!

packages in the mail containing sweet surprises from china.

boots. so ready to start wearing boots.

homemade vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. mmmmmmmmm.

watching hummingbirds fight for the feeder.

amazing friends that share their wisdom and love with me daily. truly could not survive without any of you.

most of all, i'm loving God and his infinite wisdom. how he brings the right people into our lives at just the right moment. how he knows exactly when to open and close doors. how he has such an amazing plan for my life that i can't even imagine where it will lead me. how he can forgive me of so much and forget that ANY of it ever happened. how he loves me so much and is waiting for me ALWAYS.........love that.