Homegrown Hospitality

Advent 2014

Along with many of you, I am going to be doodling, documenting and illustrating through Christmas and TODAY the first day of Advent.  

I am going to be reading and reflecting on the Advent Devotional and art from Jess Connelly  (NapTime Diaries) and am going to be documenting through December in the last pages of my 2014 Documented Life Journal as well as in my Journaling Bible with Shanna Noel and Heather Greenwood.  

If you want to following along, you can check back here each Thursday up until Christmas as well as following along via Instagram under the hashtag #NTDadvent

Day one reminds us that through the business of the holiday season, HOPE is on the way.  I journaled some of the things that jumped out at me as I read through day one in my Advent Devotional

and then added a little to the margin of my bible No matter what, hope is on the way.

It is a promise.

Black Friday Sales

I thought Black Friday was at places like Target, Wal-Mart and Kohl's but when I woke up this morning and saw the Black Friday Ad in my inbox, I couldn't not tell you that Sizzix is having a huge Black Friday Sale and my stuff is included...

No lines, no threat of someone punching you in the face or running you down with a shopping cart.  You can stay in your jammies, drink your coffee and eat a left over piece of pie while you shop.

Shoot, sounds like a plan to me, all you have to do is click below.  

Happy shopping and crafting!

Thankful

I am trying to practice having an attitude of gratitude each day, not just on Thanksgiving or in the Fall. I am thankful for so much including the junk, ick, trials and troubles that come with life because without all of it, I would not be where I am today. I don't know where I am going but I am thankful that I am headed in the right direction.  

I am also very thankful that I know I can not do this life on my own.

If at this moment, you are in the midst of ick, please try to remember that it is temporary. I know that when the trials and troubles surround you, the last thing you want to hear is someone telling you to just get up and " make lemonade" but sometimes, that is exactly what needs to be done.

Gratitude and being thankful gets us through the tought stuff.

I am thankful for you, for being given a gift and that I was finally able to recognize it (even if took me 33+ plus years to figure it out.) I am thankful that I am able to do what I love for a living and that I can share my trials and troubles with others as a reminder, a testimony and an encouragement.  I am thankful for your forgiveness when I do or say something without thinking and I am thankful for your friendship whether we see each other every other day or once a year. 

 

This, That and The Other

TODAY I am headed to Florida today and so is the Polar Vortex.  Actually, the cold is already there and while I thought I would be packing my flip flops, I have packed my tights, socks and boots. We have a TON of fun things planned at WhimSoDoodle and there are a few spots still open if you want to join us. Come on, it will be fun!

TODAY at NOON (central time) Unity Stamp Co. kicks off their biggest sale of the year and also will be releasing new stamps which includes BRAND NEW stamps from me!

EEK!

 I cant wait to use them in my Bible and in the Documented Faith planner. Here is a little peek:

TODAY I am giving you a closer look into how I am going to be journaling, reading, studying and illustrating through Advent with Shanna, Heather and Nap Time Diaries.

When I am reading and studying something, I find it helpful to rewrite it.  Several things jumped out at me as I read the first day in the Advent devotional and decided to re-write it right on the page in the devotional. First I penciled it all in to make sure that I could get everything in that I wanted to write:Once I had the wording in, I went over my pencil lines with a Uniball Signo Micro 207: Once we get into Advent, I will share more about what it means to me and how I finished up the page.  TODAY is the last day that you can order your Advent Calendar & Devotional and if you place an order, dont forget to use this 15% discount code: ILLUSTRATEDADVENT  

Lastly, TODAY I am sharing a few fun downloads that I posted last year for you to print out as we get ready for Thanksgiving.

Thankful

Happy & Grateful

Attitude of Gratitude

 

Think about it, this time next week is Thanksgiving which means that Christmas is in sight and it is time to get it into gear. 

Have a great TODAY!

Documented Faith Update & One Last Trip

I am so excited that you are ready to jump into Documented Faith 2015 with me.  Several of you have registered and have not received a "confirmation" from Constant Contact (the program I use for my newsletter/registration) and are patiently waiting for something from me.

Houston, they have a problem.  Not NASA, not me, but Constant Constant and I am not sure who or how many of you have or have not received the info that I sent out. 

ugh.

To remedy this I am going to post the Documented Faith info that I sent out last week below and then figure something out in a few days because as I type, I am unpacking from Boston and repacking to head to Florida so when I get back, after I decompress and take a nap or two, I will let you what the next step is.  Don't you worry, EVERY single last one of you is invited to join along and I am blown away at the fact that over 770 of you have already signed up.  I really should not be blown away because GOD is in charge.

#DUH and whew.

I am not going to fret over this little Constant Contact snafuu because this project I am working on is about faith and whenever you step out in, share or invite people to do something faith based there is the possibility of fiery darts,  Luckily I know this and have LOTS of practice with situations like this and I have on my invisible wonder womanish bracelets on to deflect the darts.

In the meantime, as I mentioned I am making one last cross country trip for 2014 to WhimSoDoodle not only to teach three classes

but to share all about Bible Journaling

and spend some good ol' girl time with my amazing friend Jill.  If you are in the St. Pete area and would like to join us for some or all of the events scheduled for the weekend, please call WhimSoDoodle at (727)827-4911. There are a few spots left and there lots of creative fun and surprises up my sleeve.

Okay, here is the Documented Faith Info:

WELCOME to Documented Faith.  

I am looking forward to getting to know you better, excited to be able to share  how my faith and creativity have collided and ready to encourage you spiritually, relationally, creatively and even physically.

 

Once the new year begins, you will receive a word that will be the focus for the month.  It will be similar to the weekly words that I sent out to my 52 Pick Up class. You can print out the picture and adhere it to your journal page or simply reflect on it.   Typically I printed out a "wallet sized" photo of the word and taped it onto a page (example: CLIMB in photo below)

Once a week an email will be sent to you with a quote or verse that pertains to the monthly word.  Again, you can print it out and use it on your page or however you wish.  

 

Facebook Group 

There is a closed Facebook Group that I have set up where we can have conversations, share our work and encourage one another.  The reason it is closed is simply to keep out the crud (spammers).  All you have to do is request to be added.  Some of you have already been added so please check your "groups" list on your Facebook Page.  The name of our group is "Documented Faith"  

Please feel free to introduce yourself and get to know one another.  Always keep in mind that there are general rules for the group. We are all in this together BUT we are all at different places in our walk and we are here to encourage and support. Any comments that are found to be unkind, inconsiderate or negative will be removed. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me at homegrown1@att.net

 Getting Ready

With that out of the way, it is time to get ready for the new year and I have put together a little tutorial of how I prepared my Moleskine Journal.  Click here to get the info.

 

I encourage you to invite others.  We are building a community and we are all better together. If you have friends that would like to join us, please direct them tothis blog post to make sure that they get onto the list to receive the monthly and weekly words and encouragements.

 

Again, I am so excited to be on this journey with you and look forward to an amazing 2015. 

Related articles

Documented Faith

Bible Journaling on a Tuesday

Documented Faith 2015

Advent 2014

"Set Free From Me"

 

Framelits, Part Two

Thanks so much for all of your compliments and comments on the "What is a Framelit?" post from the other day.  I have several more photos of the way I have been using them and thought I would share today.

This is the In Bloom set.  
It is an entire alphabet recreated in my writing and as mentioned before, it not only cuts paper, I use them as a tool to doodle.

I also used some of my painted paper (that had been run through a Xyron) and cut out the alphabet 
and used them on Project Life cards to document our family trip to Maui

Here is another look at using the alphabet and painted paper to cut out letters.  I adhered these to a page in my Documented Life Moleskine Journal.  I used a White Pigment Ink pen to doodle on the letters after I had adhered them to the page.

Advent 2014

I have teamed up with Heather Greenwood, Shanna Noel of Illustrated Faith & Naptime Diaries to document and celebrate the Advent season and I would love to invite you to join us.

My plan is to combine my bible journaling in with the beautifully created Advent devotional & calendar from Naptime Diaries.  The great news is that you can order your own Advent set but only through November 21st and even better is that if you use the code illustratedadvent then you will receive a 15% discount.

Each Thursday until Christmas (um, that is only 6 weeks by the way) I will be sharing how I am combining the Advent devotional with the art prints and my bible Journaling.  I cant wait to share with you!  If you plan to join in, consider sharing on Instagram by using the hastags #illustratedfaith #journalingbible #NTDadvent #illustratedADVENT so that I can see how you are being inspired by the reason for the season...

Why I Call Framelits "Doodle Tools"

What is a Framelit you ask?

Simply put, it is a wafer thin die in shapes and designs created to cut paper.  They work with a magnetic platform to keep them in place so that if you are cutting something specific they wont move. You can go here to read all about them.  

I  have a few sets of Framelits that were released from Sizzix this past summer and have used them for the above mentioned purposes.  

My Flowers #6  set includes a stamp.  It is super easy to stamp the image, add color, cut it out with the die and then use it on a project.

I used these on a few blank Project Life cards, added some quotes I wanted to remember and adhered them into my Documented Life journal. 

Here is also an example and close up of how the Framelit fits nicely right around the image

After it was cut, I ran it through a Xyron to make it a sticker. AWESOME, right!!??

Okay, so anyways I also use Framelits with the help of the magnetic base to doodle.  I often refer to Framelits as "doodle tools"

Place your magnetic base down on a flat surface and place a plain piece of paper over it. Because I planned on using markers for  this project I used a piece of white cardstock.

Simply place a Framelit shape down on your paper.

Using a Sharpie Liner, I traced around the shape and then removed the die: Then I placed a "flower center" die into the center of my flower and using the same pen, traced around that and then removed it: Using the same pen, simply double up all of the lines that you have traced.  Just go over the lines loosely.  Look at the photo below.  It is NOT perfect.  The lines are wobbly and crooked and that is just fine:Place a few of the leaf dies into place around your flower and trace those, remove the dies and again, double up those lines:

Now it is time to add a little detail.  Take a look at the photo below.  I added some "veins" to the leaves, I added a smaller circle to the inside of the flower center and a little detail to each petal.

Before I added color, I drew an outline around the flower and leaves just to add a little something,  You do not have to do this step, but wanted to include it as an idea:

Time to add color.  I am using Prismacolor Markers for this example.  You can click here to see some of my favorite colors.

So now what?

Well, you could grab a pair of scissors, cut it out and attach it to a tag, a card, use it as an embellishment on a scrapbook page or heck, just look at it and smile!

I do not want to overwhelm you with more so I will just give you a few visuals of how I used a pencil, some watercolor paper and inexpensive watercolors to create a little piece of art suitable for framing.

oh, okay and one more..the In Bloom Alphabet (kinda my fav!) 

I hope that I have not overwhelmed you with all of this but inspired you to try something new! See you soon with more overstimulating and overwhelming ideas!

Just kidding..

sorta.

Welcome, Random Stephanie Facts and Hope for the Holidays

Get some coffee and get comfortable, this is a long one.

I want to welcome those of you who are new readers and welcome back those who have been with me for a while or since the beginning. January will be my 9th year of blogging and how time has flown.

I wrote this back in 2011 as an introduction to me and it still applies with a few changes here and there.  Nothing major, except for my hair.  It grows out, I cut it.  I let it grow out again and then cut it short again. Besides that and the fact that it is much more grey, things remain the same. (well and that my boys are more like men)

As you may know or not know, I love to make things. Things from batter, dough, fabric, felt, paper, fabric and wood.  That is the best way to put it.  I also like to doodle, color, write and paint, usually on the surfaces I mentioned above.  Oh, and I love to stitch.  

I am so blessed to have my own fabric design here and a line of products from Sizzix here to help me create, teach and inspire.

As you also may know or not know, my faith in God is the base and foundation for my art.  My purpose is to inspire, remind, teach and encourage through the creative arts.  I give all the glory to God for He is the one who gifted me with an overflowing brain of ideas and a passion to make things {art}. I could not do the things I do with Him and without the faith I have. 

Being brave is another story and although I am a fraddy cat about random things, I do not let it stop me. I have said it over and over that when fear starts to rear its ugly head, I may buckle for a moment but then know without a doubt that it means I am supposed to do what I am doing.  If I am streteched and uncomfortable, I am going to the right direction. 

I refer to myself as a few things:

Simply Complicated because I am very simple and more times than not, I complicate them. Sometimes is a good way, sometimes not in a good way. I also call myself one of Gods creative crash test dummies.  What that means is that I will be the one to try things, sometimes in the wrong way, taking a short cut or even heck, the hard way and then I will let you know how and why it may or may not work. Many times I call this "a bus throwing exercise" which means I will throw myself under the bus and admit something (even though I know I am not the only one)

I also refer to myself as a manufacture's worst nightmare.  I will be the first one to say USE WHAT YOU HAVE FIRST.  We all have too much stuff and we really could survive on a deserted craft island and never need another supply,

Right???  Never feel that you need to use exactly what I am using when I am creating/teaching or even demoing.  Chances are you have something very similar.  Use it up and then go out and buy the new stuff.  Either that or go through and get rid of some of your junk.  Donate it to a teacher /school program or to someone who needs a little creative goodness.  Use your junk for good. (oh and I use the word "junk" alot, in a good way)

Alright, so with that out of the way, I am excited and amazed at how many of you are ready to document/journal and illustrate with me and my friends through 2015!  It is going to be an amazing, stretched, uncomfortable and creative year! Wow, that sounds a little scary but it will be awesome. To get more info on Documented Faith 2015, click here.

Lastly, THANK you for those who have already chosen to give a little Ho Ho Hope this holiday season. There are 40 "something" days to get your shopping done and what better way to shop than online and with a purpose.

As you may or may not know, my husband and I are partners in this new company, Hope Products International.  I am excited to share with you how together we are able to use our gifts and talents to help teach and serve women and children in marginalized areas of the world.  If you have not had a look at our short vision video, please take a look here. 

As I type this, the fabric, Sari Infinity scarves ,tote bags and the newest products that I was blessed to help design are shipping all over the US right in time for stuffing stockings but even better is that 20% of all purchases are being tithed back to the women, children and missionaries in Bangalore, India at Daughters of Hope. THAT is what I am calling giving Ho Ho Hope for the Holidays.

 

Purpose

Today's post is a re-post of a post I posted (say that 10 times fast!) a few years ago and also what I sent out to the 52 PickMeUppers this week.  I just reread it and decided that I wanted to share it with you, too.

We all have a specific purpose and several years ago when I not only heard that but took it SERIOUSLY did I get it (no, not "my purpose" but the entire scope of what it means)  I was excited to know what my purpose was because I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up besides a wife, a mom and a PTA member.

Insert screeching breaks....

It is not about what I wanted to be but about what I already was.

#duh.

NOPE.

Our individual purpose is "what we were created to be" and up until a handful of years ago did I REALLY get it and I had to grow through what I had to go through to understand it all.

Now I get it. 

I mean, I got it, my purpose, that is and here is the thing, everyone else around you may be able to see it and know it and even tell you what "it" (your purpose) is but until you REALLY get it, you don't...

Oh I hope I have not lost you because here it is. I am starting to feel, think and see things differently than I really ever have before and with that, I have to say...

It's not about scrapbooking...(duh)

or doodling.. (eek!)

or making things from paper..(drat!)

or baking things from dough and batter..(whatttt????)

or stitching things from felt...(gulp!)

or painting, stamping or really anything thing else. 

MY PURPOSE is about inspiring, influencing, teaching, reminding and loving all of the above and creating a community around it. 

Insert falling confetti, letting colorful balloons fly, blowing party horns, clicking heels like a leprechaun, lighting fireworks..

Thank YOU for being part of my PURPOSE!

amen.