Be Merry and Bright

Welcome Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas will soon follow.  I hope this season will be one you can embrace with an open heart.  There is so much vying for attention throughout the holidays.  I tend to get caught up everything celebratory and all things that homey.  

But I know for so many the holidays are a reminder of what is not peaceful and gratitude is hard to come by.

Last week there was a picture in my local paper of scores of people lined up around the building of the Community Action House waiting for food. They have a food bank and many people utilize it on a monthly basis.  (The Community Action House is an organization that was formed decades ago to help fight poverty in the West Michigan area. Throughout the years it has joined forces with local churches, Hope College and the Center for Faithful Leadership to maximize their impact for the good. Click on the link to learn more about Community Action House and all the many ways they assist people.)

Trouble is no stranger in my home.  We've faced uncertain times before and needed the encouragement and help from others.  Every story is different but experiencing need is something many people live with every day.

This year I have created a new Christmas card design.  The inspiration is from the song White Christmas.  There is a lyric in the song that says, "May your days be merry and bright."

I started to think "What would being merry and bright look like?" 

Helping replentish the shelves at the Community Action House with food and personal items would qualify for  being merry and bright, right?  I have given to the food bank before and will continue to do so.  

But I had a crazy idea...what if you did it with me?

With every purchase of a set of 10 cards I will donate 2 items for the food pantry at the Community Action House.  My goal is to fill as many grocery bags as possible.  What a lot of people may not know is that a large percentage of children in the area use the free and reduced lunch programs at their school.  Their parents depend on them getting fed while during the school day.  When there is no school, there often is no breakfast or lunch for these kids.  That's why the holidays can be very difficult for many families and why I want to try to help keep the shelves full so families in need can care for their children.

This opportunity is obviously time sensitive so as many of you who would like to order a set of 10 cards (notecard size) with envelops I will gather 2 items to fill a grocery bag for the food bank.  If you place an order from today through December 6th I will be able to get your cards to you in time for them to be used prior to Christmas day.

A set of 10 cards is $15

Sharing your holiday wishes to those you love and helping people in need is a great way to be merry and bright. At the end of this initiative I will let you know just how much we were able to gather together.

Let me know if you would like to order a set!

May you be MERRY and BRIGHT!

Blessings
Randi

A Little Bit of Sparkle

I love taking something that perhaps has been discarded or in an unusable state and create something new.

That's why I'm excited to share this next treasure with you.

Vintage silverware is paired with old rhinestones to create this sparkly necklace charm.  It's about an inch long.  I have a limited amount of this style available so if you'd like one let me know.  The charms are $12 each.  If you want a chain to go along with it the cost will be $20!

I'd love to send one to you if you're looking for something unique and special!

....tis the season...on the way....

Ok so I'm kind of breaking my own rule by talking about Christmas before Halloween....I'm not by passing November but I am thinking December.

Here are some fun Christmas Tree Shakers that make a fun addition to your holiday decorations or even a special gift for a treasured friend!

The vintage salt and pepper shakers are mixed with bottle cleaner Christmas Trees and adorned with rhinestones taken off of antique jewelry.

Each Tree is $10

Ideas are dancing in my head!!

Merry Merry to you today.

Summer Musings!

I've tried a few new things this summer!  

I like to experiment and see what comes of it.

Here are some photographs that I took.  I added some peculiar effects to them and found that I liked what came out of it!

Each one of these pictures has been modified but you can still the original imprint of the photo.  This reminds me so much of each one of us....we modify as we grow older but our own unique imprint given to us before we were born remains deep within!

I also tried my hand at free-hand sketching.  I enjoy drawing things and resting in the quirky results.

This drawing was my attempt to capture my love of all things ocean/beachy! 

Keeping reminders of life's greatest earthly blessings makes me feel warm all year!

Angels All Around

Lately I've had fun trying to capture the mysterious and understated way that life meets God.  He created all living things and angels are among these things.  Angels are mysterious but the are not God. They exist in ways that we don't and yet experience life.  God has given angels certain roles and responsibilities as the Bible teaches.  

One of my favorite pictures of angels comes from Psalm 34:7

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him

  

I've created these mysteriously formed angels to remind me of this.  I have mine right by a doorway where I can regularly see and remember.

They are small, around 8"x 4" on rough stained wood.  The paint is acrylic with some textured additions covered in resin.  

I am opening up the studio this summer and would love for you to have one too! I'd be happy to make one for you. 

Hopefully there will be more creations this summer so stay tuned!

Blessings
Randi


P.S.
Here are other verses from the Bible pertaining to the life of Angels.  This is just a small sampling of Scripture passages...there is so much more but I thought I'd leave a little something for those of you who are interested in angels.

"...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" Job 38:8
"For He will command His angels concerning you to guard in all your ways;" Psalm 91:11
"Praise Him all His angels; praise Him all His heavenly hosts."  Psalm 148:2
"The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous."  Matthew 13:49
"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

Painted Pieces

I have a growing love for painting old pieces of furniture.  

I especially like to choose off beat colors to give it a playful look.

Recently I painting this old corner cabinet a deep red.  I used chalk paint with age darkening wax over the top.  It was much easier than I thought it would be and it gave it a whole new look.

This is one of my favorites. I found it for $1.99 at a resale shop.  It is a 1950's T.V. table.  I used a fun sea foam green color and voila!

I think I like this!  

Sea Breeze Painting

I am a big fan of recycling things!  Give something useless a little attention and you have something new to decorate your home with or give as a gift.

For the past few years I have been fortunate enough to vacation at an oceanside location.  This year I didn't get to go leaving me to crave the warm sun, ocean breeze, and sandy toes.

Creativity is therapy to me!  So in my lament I repurposed an old inexpensive resale shop picture into an oil painting.

This was one of those old cardboard prints of a painting. They are easy to find in a resale shop.  You can usually get one for under $5.  With a simple aging technique applied to the frame and bright oil paints I was able to transform this old unwanted piece into a fun, quirky painting for pre-summer decorating.

Loving to try new things!

You should try something new too!