Showing posts with label Scrapbooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scrapbooking. Show all posts
Happy Friday y'all! I hope that you are having a wonderful day!
Today I am so excited to share with y'all this blog hop that is going on! Y'all know how much I love May Arts because it is talked about so much here on the blog and all of the time on my instagram! Well today I am so excited to be apart of this blog hop that showcases both May Arts and Graphic 45 Paper!
I honestly love all of the ribbon from May Arts (and the amazing Ribbon Resource store)! There are so many different textures, styles, colors, and products that you will quickly fall in love with!
For today's blog hop we are showcasing our creations with both the May Arts Ribbon and the Graphic 45 items that we received.
We received items from the Graphic 45 company and from the "children's hour" line.
One of the things that I loved that we received was the cardboard easel that you could use to set up your project like a flip calendar.
I love the way that the ribbon brings everything together! I love all of the different ribbon that May Arts has to offer there is truly a wide range of availability and all different options.
Let's be real. I am dreaming of summer constantly (especially with the snow that we are still receiving) so I immediately knew that I wanted to create a summer memories calendar.
I loved the colors and the "vintage feel" of the paper that I felt coincided so well with the ribbon from May Arts.
The combination and the final product has me dreaming of summer even more!
The following is a list of the ribbon that I chose (and the approximate amount of each):
2.5 Inch Ivory Sheer Frayed Flower Ribbon - 1 flower
1/4 Ivory Silk Ribbon- 3 feet
1/4 Pink Silk Ribbon- 2 feet
Pink Burlap String - 6 feet
Interested in buying some of these ribbons that I have mentioned? S0me of them are on sale right now so stop on by to check that out by going to the Ribbon Resource online shop!
Happy Friday y'all!
Blessings,
Happy Saturday friends! Today I am excited to share with y'all my personal altered planner for this upcoming year. It was so much fun to create, pray through the upcoming year, and be excited for all that God has in store! I hope that you have had a wonderful first few days of this new year and that you have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the pictures!
Albums come embellished with ribbon, twine, tabs, pretty scrapbook paper, glitter and cuteness that you will quickly fall in love with. Simply insert your pictures and write your precious memories to remember the wonder and precious memories of the season for you to enjoy for years to come. I love the colors and the "feel" of this classic Christmas Album!
This could be an excellent and stress free way for you to document and remember the joy of the holiday season or to give as a gift for Christmas! (AND the more albums you purchase the more savings you receive!)
Stay tuned in the next few weeks as I continue to daily stock more Christmas items and more items in general in the shop! In the mean time click HERE to go directly to the shop to place your order! *smiles*
Happy Monday friends!
Happy Monday friends!
(Thank you so much for all of your prayers for a safe trip yesterday. I arrived safely early yesterday evening, and although I am very tired, I am excited to hear what my medical team has to say today. Thank you so much for all of your prayers for today and for wisdom and for my trip home tomorrow! I look forward to updating all of y'all in the coming days & weeks.)
I love the opportunity to create and I am so thankful for the orders that I receive. One of those that I received a couple of weeks ago was from a dear friend who wanted to have me create an altered journal for her friend's birthday. I was so delighted to do this! Thank you so much Zoey for the opportunity to create this for you! It is also so fun to receive feedback (and pictures!) that y'all are happy with your purchases! Thank you so much for the text message Zoey!! I am so glad that she loved it!!
Thank you again Zoey!! If you are interested in a custom order feel free to check out my shop or email me for details!
Happy Monday y'all!!
Ever since I was a young girl I have loved to create things. I have always enjoyed using the things that others might not find as "pretty" or see as a "mistake" to create something new and beautiful. As time continued, as a high school teacher and a college professor both told me that I couldn't make it as an artist, as life got busier and busier with teaching responsibilities, and I half attempted to sell my creations on Etsy I started to believe that maybe those professors were correct.
And then my health started to completely decline. At thirty-three I ended up leaving the career I loved, lost my independence as I had to move back into my parents house, saw my dreams of further education wan, had to use a wheelchair to walk, couldn't get out of bed without help or do the most ordinary things without lots of assistance from my parents, spent almost every waking hour in extreme pain, and traveled across the country (literally) to find answers.
I was diagnosed with numerous conditions and still continued to deteriorate. Life looked incredibly dark with absolutely no joy or color.
I saw over 273 specialists and doctors (many who told me it was "all in my head" or that I was "exaggerating my symptoms to gain attention") and was finally correctly diagnosed in March 2013 (on my birthday) with Advanced Late Stage Lyme Disease.
Six weeks later I was diagnosed with Cancer along with the Advanced Late Stage Lyme Disease.
I was heartbroken that it taken so long to find a correct diagnosis, that my concerns over a mole had been ignored (despite being seen at some of the best hospitals in the United States), and found myself walking a long dark hallway with little light and little joy.
Lyme Disease was a maze of confusion and everything I read told me that I was just beginning a journey that would last a long time.
In the fourteen months since these diagnosis' I have traveled the roller coaster of emotions of moving a couple of steps forward only to take a few giant leaps backwards. I have learned through prayer and my love for the Lord how to answer the question of who I am outside of a job or profession. I have learned that I am stronger then I ever though I was and that with the Lord I can truly face any battle. I have faced the hurt of friends abandoning me in this journey and the extreme loneliness that comes with any disease. I have experienced the joy that comes with learning that there are a precious few that will walk with you not only through the good times but the incredible dark valleys. These people show the light of Christ in the most unthinkable and unimaginable bad days that come with illness. And beyond personally, this has affected my artwork in numerous ways. I am reminded through these people that the smallest gift can be the greatest and so I treasure using tons of small details in my pieces. I have also learned the valuable lesson of delighting in the beauty of ordinary.
I have learned that there truly is light in the dark and that the Lord's light shines despite incredibly difficult circumstances and loss.
And I have learned that despite incredibly painful days there is always joy and color if we look for it- whether that is from a bed (where I spend most of my time right now) or from a corner office doing a job that you love.
And that is the mission and motto of my Etsy shop, December Caravan.
December Caravan creates unique & beautiful scrapbooks, cards, artwork, memory pieces, and family treasures out of everyday materials to inspire joy and hope in every part of your life through handmade creations.
For a tiny bit of time I was convinced to change my shop name (that I chose in the beginning) from December Caravan to The Paper Sonnet. I followed this advice for a little bit of time and while I loved it I realized that I didn't like "limiting" my creations to just "paper" but love using a variety of different unique items to create. I spoke with Etsy and after explaining how I picked the name "December Caravan" they graciously allowed me to change back. I haven't looked back since.
The name fits my journey of creating- walking through the "cold month" of December and creating beauty on our "caravan" or "journey" artistically and also was picked because it uses all of the letters of my first and last name (minus the "k") which I also love. The symbolism in the name of seeing joy and something unique beyond first impressions is perfect.
But the name, December Caravan, and the journey of owning my Etsy Shop is not just one for right now. I see the way that the Lord has beautifully scripted this life lesson amidst pain and confusion- of finding joy and contentment no matter the circumstances. And I see a deeper lesson that I think all artists learn in their artistic journey. It is about falling your calling and your God given dreams and abilities. As I pray and marvel at the incredible talent that I see in other shops, on other blogs, and on pinterest I find joy not competition. My high school art teacher and college professor were wrong. NOT because I think that I am better than everything that I see (OH MY WORD so many people are SO talented!!) but because anyone can be an artist- it is simply an expression of who you are. My encouragement to you if you have been told that you can't do something artistically is to pray alot and step forward where the Lord leads. I see that so many people are inspired by others artwork and so am I! This artistic community is so supportive! My best advice is to not compare yourself or listen to what others say- just follow the Lord
As I continue to heal I don't know what lies ahead or what the future holds.
BUT I do know that no matter what the future holds I will always create and remember to inspire joy and hope through art. I have learned that God can encourage the most wounded heart through art. Due to this I give a portion of all of my proceeds to charity and will continue to do so for as long as I create. AND I am so excited to share a new project in the next few weeks that will be starting! Stay tuned y'all! It is exciting to see what God has been doing!!
Thanks so much for reading the story and the journey behind December Caravan! I hope that y'all have a wonderful weekend!!
Want to check out the shop? Click HERE!
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