Psalm 91

I was recently commissioned to create a piece for my friend Cindy, using Psalm 91. I am flattered to be doing this project for her, because although we once lived in the same neighborhood, she's since moved to Wisconsin, yet she thought to call me to create this piece for a gift for one of her friends who still lives here in town. The only stipulations I've been given are some size guidelines, to use the entire psalm, and that the person's favorite color is orange. So far I've spent some time sizing and resizing the fonts - I'm going to use an old typewriter font and century gothic to highlight some of the words - to get it all to fit. Psalm 91 is long, compared to many of the quotes I use, so this is a challenge! Here's what I'm thinking for some of my materials:
Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Because this psalm has been in front of me alot the last few days, I've been meditating on it quite a bit. It's been good. It's such a clear picture of trading in my fears for faith in Him. Am I willing to rest and trust in him daily? Some days I do better than others. I'm so thankful that His faithfulness never wavers. I'm also constantly singing the song "On Eagle's Wings" that we used to sing in grade school based on it. :)

Two New Pieces

These two new pieces went in my etsy shop tonight! Check it out!

Wow.

So, I went to my Etsy this morning to just check, to be absolutely sure I have continued to have ZERO sales in my pathetic existence of a shop. Yes, that was definitely my attitude. Bad. Real bad. We're talking a bit of a 'pity party', if you will, where you doubt your abilities, if you can even call it abilities! I opened up my account and had 4 messages, which was strange. All of them being from people that I didn't know and were absolutely encouraging. I know it was from God. I have no doubt. Apparently one of my things was advertised on the front page, unbeknownst to me. I missed it! It was so what I needed to hear today. And it was great conviction to my nasty, ungrateful heart. And I am so glad it was encouragement from others with still not a single sale...because I know I need to change my heart's attitude about that. And I need to be reminded of the reason I'm even doing this in the first place. Thank you, Jesus! You provide everything I need, even if its a hard pill to swallow. It's all good.

We love mystele

I just want to give a shout out to our blog friend mystele and thank her for her sweet sweet prayers for us. I am not ashamed to say it: She ROCKS!!!! She loves Jesus as much as we do and it shows in her artwork, because it is amazing!!! Check out her blog soon!!!!!!

New In My Etsy Store.

Just added these new guys to my Etsy...check 'em out. I think they were inspired by my sister's visit. Lots and lots of love and laughter were happening!

Some Special Christmas Gifts

This is the piece Laura made for me and Don for Christmas. It hangs in our living room and it is absolutely wonderful, but it is not for sale.....just wanted to show it off!
Jill made me this altered book. It's very special cause it mentions family names of ancestors. It's so sweet. Again, not for sale, just showing off!!! Sorry my photography stinks, because it doesn't show off each piece's character completely. Both pieces are treasures.

NEW!

I worked on these guys yesterday and am putting the finishing touches on them. Will show you more soon, but thought I'd give a little peek!

Every Day is a Journey...

Every day is a journey and the journey itself is home.
16x16 inches
This piece uses paint, paper, and vintage dictionary pages. The woman is an image I altered from a 1960's pattern book. The frame is one of a kind! Click on the image to see more texture and details.
$65

An Artsy Christmas

Christmas isn't Christmas without handmade gifts from my family. This year was no exception. They are always my favorite gifts - unique, made from their hearts, and speaking straight to mine.
From my mom:Yep, that's me!

She found these big, cool clocks that she painted to match our decor. Laura's is, what else, green.
A very fun charm bracelet, perfect for wearing to art shows, but not too practical the rest of my life! But since when am I ever practical?!
From Laura - a wonderful tree - with one of our family's anthem verses.
My mom makes an ornament for each of the grandkids every year. Here is this year's:
Oh, and everyone received Paper Prayer gifts from me this year too, but I forgot to take pictures of them beforehand. Oh well. Maybe if you ask Laura nicely she'll post some pictures of what she got.

Here's how my dining room looks now that I have the new pieces hung up. Very nice!

Emmy.

I made this for my sister. She loves to sing and she loves the Lord.

Here is the latest thing I just finished. I think I'm going to have a hard time selling this one...I have the perfect spot for it. It's big 1' X 2'. I will have a smaller one in my Etsy shop, but if anyone is interested in this bigger one, let me know!

Just thought I'd share with you a special order that I did for a lady that is giving this piece to her husband as an anniversary gift. She was at our open house and saw something similar that I have hanging in my kitchen and commissioned me to make one for her. At the time I had jokingly commented that "everything in my house is for sale...for the right price!"

AND THE WINNER IS..........................

..............JENN! And to avoid any confusion, since there were several Jenn's, Jen's, Jenny's, etc. This would be the amazing, funky Jenn that lives next door to my sister! I have to admit my first thought was, "Ooh! I hope ZUZU likes it!" Congratulations, Jenn! I will get it to you soon!

Last Call To Enter The Drawing!

I'll draw the name at 9 PM(ish) so hurry and put your name in. Check back to see who won!

GIVEAWAY!!!!

In honor of 'all the excitement' of opening my Etsy shop, I'm giving this away to one lucky person! It might help with the Spring Fever that's starting to creep in :) If you want a chance at winning it, please leave me a comment and I will enter your name in a drawing. I will announce a winner Sunday night! Anyone can enter...friends, family, blog stalkers are all welcome!

New Year.

So, my goal for this new year is to get my art shop open online through Etsy.com. It is a very cool website where you can sell your artwork all over the world. I've bought a few things for myself, like a cool print from an artist in Australia. I could spend hours and hours browsing there. Anyway, I'm a little scared of the outcome. I'm not sure what the worst case scenario is, but I'm scared of what that might be! Maybe nobody will buy anything? Maybe someone will post a note saying my art is the most 'butt-ugly' thing they've ever seen? OK. Maybe I'm overreacting. It's a self-confidence thing...or lack thereof! I DO feel like God is calling me to do this, so I better listen and just go with it. I think my sister is working on opening up her online shop as well, so maybe we can drag each other through the process. (Mom? Are you feeling brave??) Things aren't so scary when you've got a friend to go with you! I'll keep you updated and let everyone know when it's official. If you think of it, say a little prayer for me.