Homegrown Hospitality

Seeing the bigger picture...

WARNING.....this is going to be the longest post in blog history...but please read it....please, or print it out..and read it.

About a month ago at bible study we had a conversation...(we are so good at talking) ...about GOD speaking to us.  I was so attentive to what the girls were saying because I was not sure I had ever heard him "speak" to me...I have had a few times where I had been at total peace during some rather un-peaceful times which I definitely felt GODS presence...but really, I had never heard him "speak"....(and not in that echo-ish loud deep GOD voice like you are thinking about right now)

but Saturday..I heard HIM..loud and clear.

 Really, I did and NO, I was not dreaming....I was taking a shower and you know how things sounds really good in the shower...and now, I am excited to share it with you.  PLEASE PLEASE, even if you are not "interested" in hearing my GOD talk, I ask that you to keep reading...

before I go on with what GOD talked to me about & for those who are newer to my blog...here is some more background on me...

it goes waaayyyyyyy back a few years, to tables like these...

where Deena & I were actually scrap booking...gasp....and we talked & dreamed about the "big girls" in the scrap booking world....

"Big Girls" to us means like Tony Hawk to skateboarders...Bubba Stewart & Travis Pastrana to MotoX...Hanna Montana to little girls....get it? so...as us just "regular girls" we always just admired and dreamed from the sideline..from afar...just chit chat and recaps of the who's who's in the scrap booking world...via magazines & blogs...except things changed & I credit it all to GOD & his plan, because in just a whirlwind few years...we found ourselves BOTH doing what we LOVE...for a living...and working in and around the "big girls"

all I can say, even as I type this... is YIKES, because if you know me, I am kinda.....

dorky.

no, I am super dorky...but as I have aged, like I have said before, I am okay with it.  I look at it as a skill and truthfully, I have become comfortable in my own skin...BUT still, I would NEVER approach those "Big Girls"...because, well, they are the big girls....

so back to GOD talking to me...

if you have been reading the past few days, then you know that I have committed to the Avon 3 day 39.3 mile walk.. Now, you know that I do not work well with PINk..and you know that I need to raise $$$ for our team ....and when it comes to something like this....I can work with PINK...so, I created this cover from the Prima DD Line and I sent the photo over to one of those "big girls" because I used some of her product on the cover. I wanted her to see how beautiful it turned out and she happens to a very dear friend of mine (yikes again...but that is another entire blog post for later this week)...

anyways...

She emailed back and told me that she would do something to help, for the cause...I thanked her and just asked that she "contribute" to my book because I knew that her plate was full and I did not want to add anything extra to her long list of things....

insert screeching breaks....and GODS voice...

WE are all busy...WE all have FULL plates...but WE are also all capable of using of talents and gifts to help make a difference....and right there, on Saturday, in the shower...GOD told me to ask for help, he gave me a long list of who to ask and what to ask for....

and

EARLY Sunday morning,with an absurd amount of extreme confidence that only GOD could have filled me with, I sat down, shared my story, the story about Stacey and simply asked for their help & support through their own gifts, talents & creativity...

I felt totally empowered and faithful and full of confidence to ask these people, of which most of them do not know me...yes, they may know my cookies..but not lil ol me...at least I thought...

so I do not know how to explain it any better than this...

on Saturday I heard GOD tell me what to do...in the shower...

and on Sunday...I was able to FEEL my PURPOSE...

and SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE

regular ol' me...

GODS creative crash test dummy,

the regular girl,

the boy mom,

the girl that got to marry the first boy that she fell in love with 23 years later...

the girl that had a magazine,

the girl that gets to create for a living,

the girl that wishes, hopes and dreams,

the girl that relys 100% on FAITH,

the girl that prefers flip flops over heels,

the girl tha SIMPLY COMPLICATES her life..for the better

(I could go on...but I think you get it)

BUT

let me just tell you to get you ready for the auction of a lifetime...all to support Breast Cancer & Awareness and my commitment to the Avon 39.3 three dy walk...

this lil ol' creative girl (me) got the most wonderful, inspiring,warm and just amazing emails from Teresa Collins, Tim Holtz, Janna Wilson, Suzy Plantamura, Ali Edwards, Jennifer Stewart,  Melody Ross, Celine Navarro, Jenni Bowlin, Margie Romney-Anslett, Tia Bennett,Melissa Phillips, CD Muckosky, The crew at Pink Paislee, Teresa McFayden, Donna Downey, Candice Carpender....and the list goes on...

and they all said ABSOLUTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and they are all going to create a cover....

I wish that I could see them all right now because I would NOT admire from afar.  The thing is,as I told them in my email, we all came into this world the same way and we will all go out the same way...

it is what we do in the middle that makes a difference...

so TOGETHER

putting everything else aside...

WE are all the same and TOGETHER (yikes, because it includes me with them)...WE will all use our time, talents, gifts and skills to make a difference...

for Stacey and for millions who are fighting...or have fought.

for as much as I just wrote....I have no more words...

my heart is full.

 

click on the doodle to access my Avon 39.3 page

 

Girl Fight!

the title probably needs a doodle, but can't right this minute...because I am starting a girl fight!

wanted to THANK YOU so much for your love, prayers and financial support for this...

and in honor of the whole darn 39.3 miles I need to train for (come on, do it with me!)...I thought I start my workout with a little pink, a little Donna Downey/Prima and a little Teresa Collins...and a little Jenni bowlin...welp, and a little of me...

shoot after my post the other day, then watching Grey's and than Farrah's Story....I am depleted of tears and full of strength, faith and vigor....to make a dang difference....and this book, pictured above,  is going to be a work in progress, of which I will show you as it evolves...and it is going to go up for auction...BUT..there are lots of things that need to be added....

how bout you? 

wanna join my girl fight?

It feels really really good to fight for someone that needs to have someone fight for them...ew...girl fight...watch out....us creative souls can create a fight like no other...in fact, I have some "other creative girls " that are going to help me fight....and help me add to this book....

so stay tuned...

as for right now..I am now off to the football field for game #1 of the playoffs....

thank you all for being you....together..we all can make a difference...or maybe BE the difference...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

click on the doodle to link to my Avon 39.3 page

 

Heartstrings...and PINK

sit down. 

this is gonna be a long one...

for those who are new to my blog...you must know that I do not work well with pink...(no, not the singer, cause I love her) but in creating with pink...as in paper...ribbon...fabric, etc...I have tried and tried and honestly, keep trying...except when it comes to a certain kind of pink...and when it comes to this certain type of pink..well...

a little background history...

My neighbors & I have done the Susan G Komen "Race for the Cure" for many  years...because we can, because we want to and because it is the least we can...

unfortunately, way to many of us have been touched by cancer in one way or another.  I shared with you last year that it was those same neighbors that I called over immediatealty after finding my "lump"... 

fast forward to a benign biopsy for me, a scare of a lifetime, a re-evaluation of life and a trip for me to South Africa in the name of paper where we raised money for this awful thing called cancer....

I don't know if it is my age...40...gulp...or the statistics...but it seems like cancer is creeping in all over and it does not seem to be getting any better.  Just recently, I found out that a friend & his wife, both of whom I graduated (whooowhoo class of 87!!) are battling and fighting the battle and it has again, completely hit home. 

She is just like me...

a wife,

a mom of boys...

a friend,

a neighbor...

a daughter, a sister...

and I put myself in her shoes immediately. 

It could be me....and it could be you...& just makes me so sad, and frustrated and at the same time I find myself empowered and full of GODS strength to help...and regardless of whether you know someone or not, if I was in her shoes, I would pray for the support of others. .because that is what makes the difference.

I have committed to the Avon 30 day 39.3 mile walk in support of Stacey & her family this coming September and I am shouting out to all of you to help me...with your support..whether it be financial or spiritual.  Prayers are needed for Stacey, for her husband..for their boys, their families as well as all of the millions that are fighting Breast Cancer...and prayers are needed for this team that has joined together in support of Stacey.

here is a link to my support page and anything that you can do is a blessing...to so many.

please pray.

I love....

some people think I am a little on the dorky side...it is okay, I do to...I used to fight it, but happily accept it as I continue to grow....anyways...I LOVE "LOVE"...have my very own really good LOVE story & I seem to LOVE Grey's Anatomy, more than I realized.  I caught up on it last night....ughhh....I know it is just a show...but I really love it.   It is the only thing I watch besides General Hospital, but I don't love that show...I just put it on during my "rest and restore" hour during the day.

anyways...

I love to create to.  I think you realize that already, but I am just reminding you, in case you forgot.

Here are a few things I made yesterday as I attempt to start overhauling the Shead-Teau...and for those who have asked what a "shead-Teau" is...it is my creative space....in our backyard...Valentine referred to it as a shead as he was building it...gasp!!!!!!!!!! IT is NOT a shead....I called it my chateau...but compromised on "Shead-Teau"...anyways...I am only showing you the outside...THOU SHALL NOT see the inside right now....it is an amazing disaster...

but from inside that amazing disaster came two of who knows how many things....

I have been using my MacGuyver Paper skills to take Teresa Collins, Jenni Bowlin and a little Prima bling..add it to my LOVE for KRAFT colors and Creamy Brown Ink, oh and FELT...duh...and I am liking it. 

I am working on classes for Palm Springs, San Diego and Arizona so keep on the watch for new dates & classes coming soon....

also, if you signed up for the Doodle Online class....I send out a mass email to everyone on Tuesday..IF YOU DID NOT get the email and have signed up for the class, please email me at homegrownhospitality@cox.net please!

have a super day!!!!!

p.s...yep, I am still "Reflecting & Inspired"....and would just like to suggest that you save your $$$ for these two events for 2010...watch for those dates as well!!!

still feeling it...

 Inspired, that is.  I think I am caught up on sleep and jet lag although I must say, I was surprised to be so tired..I can not imagine what Donna feels like...ughhh, but back to "caught up, sleep is the ONLY thing I am caught up on and just typing the words "caught up" makes me laugh...outloud.  I have not even finished unpacking yet...from REFLECTIONS..which was two weeks ago! do not get all grossed out on me, I mean I have not unpacked my supplies and such...all my clothes are unpacked, washed, etc...but the supplies....I have to be able to get all of my supplies back into the "Shead-Teau" to even unpack..which I must say, is a bit better this morning than yesterday morning...and speaking of the Shead-teau....our neighbors down the street ordered thier very own shead-teau after seeing mine....well, after seeing the outside of mine...the inside....ughh...another groan.  Once I get back into the swing of things, I am going to start over in there....and plant some new flowers in the flower boxes...

I am rambling too much...so I will get to the doodle I did for today....and I want to suggest that YOU think about what inspires you...and maybe jot it down...journal about it, create something from it...the purpose is to STOP and think about it.....It is worth it...

 

I seem to be over using the word...

 INSPIRED

but I am

can't help it

and I am not going to fight it.

places like this

INSPIRE me

and

make my heart skip a beat

for reals!

 

 

 

 

 

 

but

I wont

be moving to

North Carolina

because I LOVE my little house...

but am inspired now to make it "feel" like my heart feels when I look at homes like these....

I won't have a porch to sit and watch the kids play,

but I do have this to look out at

 

and I want to know how I can INSPIRE you to buy it...

because you know your heart will be complete

 with it parked in front of your home sweet home...

COME ON...

help a girl out!

 

 

I think I am living the surreal life....

Hello Monday and welcome back to the real world!  My eyes are having a hard time opening today, my brain seems to be mis-firing but my heart is full.

Honesty is the best policy so I share pretty much everything to let you know that I am a normal girl living a Creative Surreal Life...you see, never have I taught at two events consecutively and never have I been 100% prepared for both way before, which meant that I had quite a bit of "down time" to wait..

which for me...

is not so good...I am a better busy girl than a un-busy girl. See, Reflections was right here in my back yard, not my actual back yard, but like 25 minutes away, so I could come and go....teach, enjoy the day, meet & cherish lots of creative women..and then go back to my comfort zone at night....

North Carolina, not as far out of my box as South Africa...

but might as well have been...

as I cried all the way to the airport on Tuesday and had a very brief "turn around" let's go home" moment.  Don't get me wrong...once I get to my destination, I am pretty okay. kinda....but leaving home for me, leaving my husband and kids...is really hard.

I LOVE what I get to do for a living and GOD has blessed me with the opportunities to travel near and far and meet wonderful women from all over the world so I pray A LOT, I think more than the average bear, just to get me through...like when I am in a Wendy's bathroom on the back roads of North Carolina with my mom, and it is drizzly, and we are kind unsure where we are...or heck...where we are going....and I HAVE TO GO #1...so we have to stop....and my gosh, I start to cry...ugh!  JUST GET ME BACK TO THE HOTEL...or when I am siting in the hotel, just minding my own business, wrapping up cookies in cute ribbon, watching a little General Hospital and a storm blows in like a tornado....and sure enough General Hospital gets interrupted to cut to the SEVERE WEATHER TORNADO WARNING WATCH, blah blah blah...

I have realized and will be better accepting that GOD puts these situations into my life to keep me remind that I am just a regular girl...getting to live the creative life..all for a purpose...to teach, to remind and to create...because once I am in my classroom....i am dorky, silly, sassy, sarcastic and full of love for what I get to do...not scared, weepy, afraid or nervous.  I am at CREATIVE PEACE.

okay, enough of that...here are some photos...and let me just say...I am INSPIRED..by so many things that I experienced this past week.  Because I was going 10000 miles an hour from the moment we arrived until yesterday, it has not all set in, but the moments & memories are starting to settle and now, I am missing those moments.....

okay..here we go...

um, yes, I KNOW that Donna Downey is just a girl, like me and you, but she is such so much more. She has a vision, she has ideas, she wants to Inspire people, she has a desire that you can almost see & physically feel and she has an amazing team that helps her to pull it all off!  I have to be honest, this was one of the surreal moments where I just stood and thought, I am in Donna Downey's Studio (which means, yes, I was at her house..yikes!), the one where she video blogs from, and that is her dog  Tango, and those are her stamps, the ones I see in photos....maybe you had to be there, but I was, so I am experiencing it for all of us, because it was pretty amazing to look around and see how she creates...

and here is just  little of her amazing team...the "I-Crew"

 

and guess who traveled with my mom & I...Flat Stanley.....yes, he did!

and he was living the surreal life too..with Jennifer Stewart, Carol Wingert, Cathy Z and Paulette Insall

alright, I hate to leave you because I have LOTS to share, but mom duties call and my boys are still in bed and need to GET UP....add to this later this morning..

have a super day...and create something....inspiring!

reflected..inspired...and tired...

 

Have a wonderful today!

Nervous Anxious Creative Energy...

I am at the point of "come on already" my bags are packed...cookies are baked...boys are packed and off at school and now I have time to sit & wonder if I have everything I need and if there is possibly anything I can shove into the last moments before I go...

I will try my darnedest to post from Inspired although I am leaving the ol' laptop at home...I am sure that someone there will have access....

okay...think good thoughts.....have a wonderful rest of your week....

xoxo

s.

NSD, Beautiful People and Jolly Rancher Colors

Another wacky title but it gets your attention...

so, yes, I am still tired from my Nascar speed Creative Life..but my faith keeps me fueled...kinda. I need more that just faith.  There are many ingredients that keep us running and that includes good memories and good friends.  Here is another shot I got from this past weekends event. 

This is Susan, Elena & Cheryl.  Susan was one of the two minds behind the whole reflection event who I shared laughs and tears with during this event.  I must say BRAVO again to her & Karen for the stamina, strength, vision and the care they put into this event!  Well done! and my silly sassy friend Elena,  founder & Head Fairy for Scrapbook Royalty, who works her apron wearing, wing flappin self to the bone..all in the name of charity...CHEERS to you my friend! 

and Cheryl...Cheryl is one of those people that EVERYONE should have in their lives.  She is without a doubt, one of the most kind, generous, soft spoken, GOD loving, do gooding people you will EVER meet...and I know MANY people that would agree with me.  I am luck to be able to call Cheryl a close friend!

Thank you all again...mentioned and unmentioned, for a wonderful weekend..I wonder if we will meet again next year?????

and to continue on with wonderful people, I am headed to North Carolina tomorrow....which means LOTS more beautiful people, many more memories, many more new friends...and LOTS of "Dream Sharing"  NSD...NO Small Dreams.  I will share more about that in the coming weeks...

and Jolly Rancher colors...at least that is what I think of when I look at this picture. It may sound weird to you, but this is how I relaxed yesterday...I made these...

Three Cheers for Shrinky Dinks!  Okay...I gotta go...Lots of baking to do TODAY!!!!!  If you have photos from Reflections, will you PLEASE send them to me??  My email is homegrownhospitality@cox.net

Happy Monday!

P.S..still dreaming that one day, I will have a Madeline Bag.....hey. a girl can dream....If you want one of these beauties...go on over for a dose ofArtistic Bliss....DREAMY I tell you!..