A quote for you.

"There is only one you. God wanted you to be you. Don't you dare change just because you're outnumbered!" - Charles Swindoll

This quote reminds me of how lucky I am to be the mother of my great kids. I learn something from them every day. I have two girls who are teenagers. They are so cool! I wish I had been more like them when I was young. They are goofy, silly and unafraid to look foolish. They care more about their friends and living a Christian life, than being popular. They're not afraid to talk to the "weird" kid in class and stand up for him when he's getting picked on. They're not afraid to say drinking and sex before marriage are wrong. They love life and are passionate about the activities they choose to do. They don't care if everyone else is on the volleyball team - they'll go out for soccer because they love it. Although they're too young to have boyfriends, they "like" boys not based on what they look like, but what they're like on the inside.

It took me so much longer to learn to be happy just being myself. They have some tough years coming up in jr.high and high school. I pray that they can hold onto who they really are and who God has created them to be. To be true to themselves. I pray they don't lose that and take 20 years to find it again.

I pray this too, for whoever may be reading this.

Evangeline Art Doll

I am now working on Cat's doll Evangeline. She is so Sweet! I added a quails egg, text from the 1866 paperback "Evangeline" by Henry Longfellow, a tag, hand dyed rose and cream silk ribbon, a cross charm, antique buttons, vintage pink glass glitter for earrings and antiqued brass wings. This doll round robbin is sooooooo much fun!

Paula's StellaBella leaves Ohio today

The art doll I have been working on for the Paper whimsy art doll RR will be leaving for New Hampshire. I had to add just a few more touches before sending her off. I can't wait to see how she looks when she is all finished! 3 more artists will still work on her before she's done.

Farewell Stellabella!

Shabby Pink Party Hat!

Sally Smith won this custom party hat for her participation in an Art in the Word weekly inspirational prompt. She requested her hat be in pink, rose and cream, so I really let the pink explode! Materials used: paper mache cone, pink acrylics, vintage pink satin ribbon, vintage crotcheted roses, paper scrap, silver glitter and old buttons. This may also be turned upside down and used as a cone for goodies!

If you would like to join a small group of Christian artists from all mediums and of all abilities, with swaps, RR and fun prizes then click on the Yahoo Groups button to join today! We're just getting started so be a member of our inaugural group!

Vintage Paper Dress Swap

http://www.speckled-egg.com/ is one of my favorite online shops for ephemera and unique collage items. They are hosting a vintage paper dress swap. We will get back a garland of 5 handmade paper dresses. How Fun!!! These are the ones I made. THis brought out my shabby chic pink side!

Art in the Word Inspirational Prompt

Week 5 Art in the Word Yahoo! Group Inspirational Prompt
Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is one of my favorite verses as I know it is for others. How reassuring to know that God has plans for little ole me! This verse assures us that He didn’t just create the Earth and everything in it and then just sit back and see what happens. He has plans for each and every one of us. AND His desire is to prosper us and do us no harm, to give us hope and a future in Heaven!

Many people forget the verse just before Jer.29:11. “This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.

When I am wondering if God has heard my prayers or am desperate to see some sign of prosperity or hope, I remember Jer:29:10. It took 70 YEARS for the people of Jerusalem to be able to return from exile in Babylon to their beloved homeland of Jerusalem. I must trust that God is working out His plans for me in His own time and in His own way. I often pray that God will not let me get in the way of His plans for me by substituting my own plans for His!

School Days!

Do you hear that??? I'ts QUIET! After 3 months of having 4 kids at home, SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION!!!!( me doing the happy dance!). Even the dog seems more relaxed. I felt the need to create something in honor of this glorious day!

Art doll RR

I'm participating in my first ( but hopefully not last!) art doll round robbin. I was the first artist to get to work on Paula Dion's great doll, Stellabella. I added the wings and stars and will send it on to the next artist to work on. StellaBella will be a Christmas treetopper!

Zne Design Team Challenge

My butterly tag plain and embellished.

ZNE Design Team Challenge

The ZNE design team challenge was to create two tags with stars and butterflies to be made into collage sheets and then embellish them or incorporate them into a piece of art. I've done the stars, the butterflies will come soon. Right now, I like simple designs without much visual clutter. This could change tomorrow, of course! That's what's great about the artistic journey. I'm always learning, growing, changing and I know what I'm doing today will be different than what I'm doing next year.

As for me and my house...

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Week 4 Joshua 24:15

In this chapter of Joshua, The people had to decide whether they would obey the Lord, who had proven his trustworthiness, or obey the local gods, which were only man-made idols. It’s easy to slip into a quiet rebellion – going about life in our own way. But the time comes when you have to choose who or what will control you. The choice is yours. Will it be God, your own limited personality, or another imperfect substitute? Once you have chosen to be controlled by God’s Spirit, reaffirm your choice every day. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to serving God.

Home is a recurrent theme in my art. In the safety of these four walls, my family is nurtured, grow in their walk with the Lord, enjoy each other’s company, share tears and laughter, and are free to be themselves. The theme for Art and Soul in Portland this Fall is at Home with art and soul. Many swaps have been formed around the theme of home causing many people to explore what home means to them, different types of homes and the place of home in our society. God has not left us to define how our homes should look and operate. In His Word are many verses concerning this important concept.

What does this verse mean to you? Is your home different from nonbelievers? How? When you have a visitor can they tell your home is a Christian home? Do your relationships in your home reflect Christ’s love? How has the faith (or lack of faith) of your ancestors affected your home life?

This piece was created for a fat page book.

A Celebration Feast!

My Yahoo group, Art in the Word, has Isaiah 25 as the inspirational prompt this week.

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-the best of meats and finest of wines.

7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces, he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

If you are interested in joining like minded Christian artists in expressing your faith artistically in the community of other Christian artists, than click on the Yahoo!Groups link to the left and check out our group today!

Lennea

The stuff of nightmares

Another antique from my mom's collection. Did I mention I have a slight clown phobia???

Oh, you beautiful Doll!

My parents have the greatest stuff at their house. My mom's a packrat and loves antiques. I decided to post some of the fun stuff around the house this week while I'm visiting. Are these doll great or what?

Art in the Word prompt #2

This weeks inspirational prompt for Art in the Word is "Saved by Grace"

Romans 3:23-25 (New International Version)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

Grace. Such an amazing concept. In most other religions, you only receive your eternal reward for the works you have done. This is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. God gave us His son to be the perfect sacrifice of atonement for our sins. All we have to do to receive God’s mercy and grace is to repent of our sins, accept Jesus’ sacrifice as our own and ask Jesus to be our Lord and to come into our hearts . Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are marked as one of His own and have the privilege of spending all of eternity in His presence in Heaven!!!

Dictionary definition of grace:
8.
Theology.
a.
the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.

b.
the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

c.
a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.

d.
Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

New Yahoo! Group for Christian Artists!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artintheword/. I have started a new Yahoo! group for Christian visual artists of all mediums and experience. We will have a weekly challenge using a bible verse or Christian theme for our muse. Drawings for Prizes! The first challenge starts July 25th! Join Today!

Lennea