Be Jolly!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Celebrate Jesus!
And be sure to toss some fa-la-la-la-la's up into the air and see where they land!

It's Never Too Late

For those of you who couldn't make it on Saturday to our local open house, or for those of you who were there but "are sad you didn't buy something" (as one person put it,) it's not too late! Contact us at paperprayers@hotmail.com and describe what you were interested in, (if it's in an earlier blog post, refer to the date) and we'll try to work something out!

Oh, What A Day It Was!

We had lots of help from our very own art fairy who helped us set up for our open house. See how helpful she is? Ten ornaments on one branch is totally the way to go. More signs of an art fairy at work:Here's our area -

Deb's table (the square and tree paintings in the front are Shadley's):

(That tree was LOADED with handmade ornaments! Made by me, my mom and sister.)

Shadley's work:

Diana and Marissa's jewelry:
Treats with a lovely handmade centerpiece by Laura:
It was a fun day! Lots of laughing, lots of good friends, lots of new faces, lots of treats, and good weather besides. It was totally the happenin' place to be on Saturday. ;) We're already kickin' around the idea of a spring open house.

Holiday Art Event!

Iowa City Open House

A Unique Shopping Experience

This Saturday, December 6th, 10am-5pm

gifts with uplifting messages

stuff that will make you smile

art that will feed your soul

treats and hot cider that will fill your tummy

*New artist friends join us this year*:

Girls' Intuition Jewelry by mother/daughter Diana and Marissa

The Artwork of Shadley

And a new last minute addition: Art by Deb

Plus all your usual favorites:

Creative Works by Connie

Paper Prayers by Jill

Green Girl Designs by Laura

email us at paperprayers@hotmail.com for directions

bring a friend!

*check back for last-minute postponement due to inclement weather*

New Favorites!

Hope whispers

Flower girl

Wondrous Beauty

Hinged Flower Girl

These new pieces were so fun to make and will be on sale at our Art open house on December 6th.

p.s. If they made these in a size 10, I would TOTALLY buy them...

Beaverdale Holiday Boutique

Saturday November 15th

8am-3pm

Holy Trinity Catholic School

2926 Beaver Ave

Des Moines, Iowa

That's where we'll be! If you've never been, you're in for a real treat. Holy Trinity's annual fundraiser provides a unique shopping experience with over 100 upscale artists, a fabulous lunch, and extra touches that make your day fun. It's one of our favorite shows!

ART is FUN!!!

Just look at these two faces. When these two come over to my art table, they make my day. They are so sweet and so much fun. They are convinced I am the greatest artist in the whole world and who am I to burst their bubble??? This is where I spend my mornings - showing them art and the love of Jesus. Grace is on the left and Molly on the right.

I'm posting this in honor of our day today. We've had flurries all day. I love the snow. Too bad nothing's sticking, but it sure is pretty coming down.

p.s. I have several snowman like this for sale, if anyone's interested!

A Few New Things.

Sneak Peak

On Saturday we are excited to be returning to Ankeny for the North Pole Village Craft Sale! It is hosted by the Ankeny Art Center and is their premier fundraiser. The show has three locations: Ankeny High School, Northview Middle School and Parkview Middle School. We will be at Parkview Middle School, space #507 in the East Gym. This show has been going on for almost 30 years and draws huge crowds. We've been attending for the last few years and have had a great time there! The hours are 9-5, November 1st. Admission is $4. For 5o cents you can ride the shuttle which will take you between all 3 locations all day.

Here is a sneak peek of some of what we'll be selling:

If You Cannot Teach Me To Fly...

...teach me to sing.

????????????

They are really quite friendly! In fact they have moments of crazy silliness!!! I just don't know what to call them.

Wear Love

So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense...And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3
Someone emailed me awhile back, I forget who now, wanting a similar one of these that I had already sold. I decided to make some more anyways and these are a bit different, but if you're out there and you're intersted in one of these, let me know.

Bad Handbags Gone Girl!

Yes, it's true! We use to be bad handbags - now we're girls.
We are trying to smile and make the best of it.
But what if we're still just bad handbags but now we got stuffing and a head? yikes.

I'm so "Deep"

I love creating things that have depth, texture and dimension. Some of the texture just "happens" as a by-product of using recycled materials. Sometimes the more beat up something is, the finer it looks when I'm done with my techniques. I love to redo a good Goodwill find - did you get that?! For instance this "hope" piece has lots of neat brushstroke texture because I gessoed right over the existing frame and painting and made my own. Goodbye butt-ugly landscape, hello hopeful lady! Some might say I've gone "green" by reusing old materials. But I know the truth: I'm extremely cheap! I love to find a good bargain. I have ridiculously low standards when it comes to rummaging. If it's over a price I've got set in my head, I won't buy it. Even if we're just talking about a few dollars. Oh, what am I saying?! There's no such thing as just "a few dollars" in my world. I love seeing the possibility in something others might find ugly and then fixing it up.

I also love creating depth and dimension. Although it's hard to tell, the arrow sign stands out from the background in this shadow box: I added "gemstones" to this gal's crown and it was just what she needed!

Birds

Is anyone getting tired of birds? I thought I might be, but then I had these wooden pieces that looked like bird cages to me, and I just HAD to make some.

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along.
Even the flowers raise their hands to praise and worship the King. There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: one is roots. The other is wings.