Thank you for all of your awesome comments about my recent discovery for the love of carving rubber stamps! I am really trying to work on some type of class/video/workshop to reach all of you and have come up with an idea, at least for today.
These were done yesterday after I bought Target out of erasers. When I finish carving something, it looks awesome (at least I think it does) and I don't mean, my work is awesome, I mean the look of the carving looks awesome..
Now, in order to sell them to you, unless I add a stamp of ink onto them, I won't know if they are just right. Here is an example of the "love" stamp :After I finish carving, I really need to ink the stamp up to see what needs to be trimmed & cleaned up a little. (I added little arrows so that you can see what I am talking about
)Without trimming, this is what it looks like stamped, which is not that bad, but could use a little love (no pun intended)
So here is the issue, or better, the question I keep asking myself. Is someone going to want to buy a stamp that is stamped once or would they rather buy one that has lots of slight imperfections? I can't please everyone and so my answer is, I would rather stamp it once and make sure it is just right in its own hand carved way then take a chance of someone buying a stamp, getting it home, stamping it and finding that the tiny heart in the middle of the letter "o" looks more like a piece of oatmeal than a heart!
Last night I carved a special stamp to create 100 cards for special girls that need to know that they are loved and they matter
and it gave me an idea:
ERASE HUMAN TRAFFICKING
no pun intended.
I am going to carve eraser stamps that measure 2 1/2 x 1 and sell them for $20.00. $10.00 of each stamp will be donated to the organizations that I am raising money for. There are 4 choices.
love
faith
home
flower
There will be a limited amount so that I can make sure to get each one done and sent off to you, and they will be stamped once to make sure that your stamp is just right. In addition, that one stamp will be hand colored and sent with your stamp!
Please remember that each one of these stamps is hand carved, so there will be slight difference in every single one of them.
Let's raise money together and help the rescued girls erase the life they had before...so that they live the life they were created for!
SOLD OUT {FOR NOW}...as soon as orders have been carved, stamped and sent then more will be available! THANK YOU all for your help!
Lose focus, realize it and re-adjust. It is something I do alot but know I am not the only one. I am taking a few days to get back in line with my plans and will be back soon...
Quite honestly, the grossest looking green drink that actually tastes really good. (just don't look at it while you are drinking it.) What is it? Spinach, blueberries, Chia Seeds, 3 Strawberries, Protein Powder and water.
Earlier in the the morning, I finished designing, scanning, carving, stamping and coloring with several shades of green
and turquoise, blue, well, and red, gold, tangerine...but that doesn't go with my theme.
Now I am headed to church with my new camo green backpack. I am a backpack girl and I kinda love this...
Have a great Sunday!
I have to constantly remind myself NOT to let the "what if's" and the " I don't know how's" get in my way..YOU SHOULD DO IT TOO.
Just like in everyday life, I will not let _________________ (good or bad) define me. I need to get up and take a stand for what I believe in, which in this case, is my artwork. YOU SHOULD DO IT TOO.
Just like in everyday life, I will take a risk and move against my fears of the "what if's" and will move against my "self inflicted" limitations of "I don't know how's"... YOU SHOULD DO IT TOO.
Just like in everyday life, I will walk and live by faith because I know what God can do, I know what he has done and I know what he promises to do....YOU SHOULD DO IT TOO.
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT telling you what to do, I am suggesting that YOU SHOULD DO IT TOO because when we do things together, we can support each other.
Today, get up, stand tall, take a stand, move ahead (sounds like a DEVO song!) and have faith.
Every once in awhile I am going to do a little round up and tell you about what is going on in my creative world, things I am working on, things I am loving and things that you can do. I will be also including these things in a newsletter, so don't feel like you are having a de'j'vu (or however you spell that!)
Creative Junk
Still carving away thoughts, ideas and plans to either teach in store, online or just sell these one of a kind stamps. Probably do a little of each..maybe.
Carved this little one last night and I like how it turned out. It does remind me of the stamps I have done with Purple Onion but the difference is, I made it. That is the best part. Not that "I" made it, but that it is handmade. You know what I mean. After carving one, well, I carved another and them stamped them on a hanging tag and played with a few more colors that I do not usually use. I like it..don't love it, but did not throw it away.
Speaking of throwing away, I have a winner from the "my out-of-the-trash stamp" on Monday! The winner is....
#1 or #3 I live in a rural area so #2 is not an option!I love Bon Jovi too!
Congrats Ann! Please email me your mailing address and I will get the stamp off to you..and thank you for loving Bon Jovi, too!
and speaking of Bon Jovi..if you watch American Idol next week, I believe it is the 14th, they perform on the show.
Classes
I am scheduling some classes near and far. Continue to watch here for more details. Coming soon is my "A Whole New Doodle Class" from last year that was previously found over on the Scrapbook News and Reviews site. An email will go out about that and the upcoming classes I am working on!
Do Something
As you know, I am passionate about "doing something" and I encourage you to look into doing something yourself!
This past Tuesday, the high school swim teams held a NEGU meet against the local rival school and it was awesome to see 100's of NEGU swimmers all come together for some friendly competition and gather toys and donations for Joy Jars.
Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer and the NEGU National spokesperson, Kaitlin Sandeno, Tina & I worked the booth, shared Jessie's story, talked about the Joy Squad and sold sweatshirts because it was FREEZING!!!
All of the swimmers showed great spirit and overall it was an awesome event! Thank you Trabuco and Mission swimmers....(and p.s"Way to go Blue!" we won the meet...whoot whoot)
To join the Joy Squad, click here and help spread JOY to a child every month of the year. Your contribution of $20.00 a month send a jar of joy once a month to children fighting cancer. During the month of March, every contribution will be matched! Double the joy!
Be sure to go to www.negu.org the check out all of the ways you can help, from donating toys to stuffing jars! There is alot that needs to be done!
Brave Girls/Dahlia House/She's Worth It
oh my, this is a big one, more that you are going to hear me speak about alot. Human Trafficking. bad bad bad, wrong, wrong, wrong, just plain disgusting.
BUT...
I am helping change that by joining in with an amazing group to help encourage, restore, empower and heal those sweet girls that have been rescued. One sweet brave girl at a time...and you can too, in fact we all can and we are.
Please consider a donation. Donate $10.00, 20..whatever you can to help buy a house. a HOUSE!?! a house that will provide safety, security and growth. Please consider donating. I am fund-raising myself for another worthy recovery program, but right now, I am asking you to maybe watch Mel, see what is going on and consider making a difference. Once the funds have been raised and the house is purchased, I am saying out-loud, right now, that I am going to go paint on that wall with Melody and crew and would LOVE to paint your name on a petal..watch the video..
okay, that is all for now..I am sure I could go on, but I will stop and let you enjoy your day!
I have said it just as many times as you, "I'll believe it when I see it" but that is not the way we should be saying it, duh. This is a reminder for me, but I am thinking you might want too: In other news, I carved a new stamp last night, trying to spread my wings a bit, and while I don't "hate it" I really dislike it and tossed it in the trash.
but then I thought of you...and just because I don't like it doesn't mean you won't, so I took it out of the little trash can and I am going to give it away. and all you have to do is tell me a few things...and really, all you have to do it put #1, #2 or #3 in your comment.
Would you rather buy a hand carved stamp that is a little more pricey (because of the time it takes to carve)
Would you rather take an on-line workshop on how to carve the stamps and get the supplies yourself?
Would you rather take a slightly higher priced on-line class and have the supplies included?
Just leave me a comment and or suggestion and I will pick a winner (ew) on Thursday.
Thoughts from yesterdays message at Church..
I, we, you, me, us, them...at some point in our lives, all of us are going to be given impossible tasks, are going to have to deal with major changes, suffer senseless tragedies and live with prolonged pain.
uggh.
Part of life here on earth.
Thanks alot, Adam!
Each one of those things above is a test and if you study, believe and trust, you will be strong & ready for when things happen. You may not understand them, it may seem unsolvable, it may seem like relief will never come, but it will. Don't look for why...explanations don't comfort, God does.
It is a promise.
So believe, trust, study and confidently look forward.
It's called faith, duh.
I am back from my whirlwind trip to Scrapbook Island in San Jose! What a long creative crazy filled day! Thanks you to Laurie and staff at Scrapbook Island for hosting and creating such a warm and welcoming environment for all us crazy ladies to create in!
We had a very successful day of togetherness and it got me thinking on the trip home late last night...Maybe you want to take a live class but you don't have a store close to
you or maybe you have been thinking about having friends over, or maybe
instead of a traditional "shower" or party, you want to do something a
little different, you are just not sure...
Well, do you have 10, 15 or 20 friends that love to get together to create? Do you have a clubhouse, basement, big diningroom table, community center or basically just a large place to create?
How about a Create@Home Workshop with my new 52 Pickup Class!?! Whether it is at your home, community center, retreat or club house, I
show up with all the supplies, you invite your friends, bring out some
snacks and drinks and we all enjoy a time together to laugh, create and
make a big ol' inky mess!
Date: Your Date Here Time: 3-4 Hours (or more!) Cost: $50.00 per person
Class Information: All supplies (except heat gun/tool) will be supplied to use during class (colors and sizes may vary)
This class combines techniques using
Distress inks, paint, paper, adhesives, stamps, tissue tapes, old paper
and embellishments with quotes, verses and positive affirmations to
create the beginning of what will be 52 cards of encouragement and
reminders of the things we already know, just sometimes forget to
remember.
To book a class, please contact me by sending an email to homegrown1(at)att(dot)net.
Wait...are you out of town? Don't hesitate to contact me, maybe we can figure something out!
I read and then highlighted the phrase "push back the darkness" in the book, Say Yes To God by Kay Warren. I am re-reading this book and am absorbing things differently then a couple of years ago and that phrase jumped off the page at me.
In my experiences, as I started to infuse and share my faith more and more through this blog, in my work and basically in my daily walk (although I stumble alot) I bet you will agree that when you do the right thing even when it is difficult, do what is best for others regardless of what you may feel or do what is counter culture to the worlds beliefs, things get ugly, conflicted and complicated. Sad by true, which makes no sense, because at the end of the day, don't we all want peace, a little comfort and a whole lotta joy?
Seriously, ya do something good and someone or something is always going to be standing by to shoot an arrow at you, try to squash you like a bug or just down right spit on you...gross, BUT here is the thing,
WE, me, you, us, them...are stronger than that (go ahead, sing the Kelly Clarkson song)
Here is what it takes..
Love...love one another - sometimes very easy, sometimes very hard but we all need to work together
Brave...because we are going to be worried, fearful and unsure..
Faith...because with HIM, everything is possible.
duh.
Here is what is going to happen:
When it is the right
combination, when things just fall into place, when things feel right,
when we are all on the same page and a little negativity rears its ugly
head..you know you are going in the right direction. It is not about Religion..it is about Relationship with God and with others. When you mix love, brave and faith, it is a blend and a bond strong enough to defeat and push back the darkness.
yay.
Makes you want flex your muscles and scream "bring it on" and sorry if you sing that Kelly Clarkson song all day long.
I made a new stamp last night when it was really time to go to bed..and I stayed up way to late coloring
and thinking about the words I was coloring
then I went to bed.
Then I got up way too early after going to bed way to late because I had an idea. I cut a "Project Life" sized
piece of paper, stamped the new stamp on the card, colored the card, picked up the new
stamp to move it and then picked up the colored card to take a picture of it
and left my thumb print right in the middle of the "project life" sized
card that had the new stamp on it.
aw, dang!
