Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Congrats to our Giveaway Winners!


Big-humongous-out-of-this-world thank-yous to all of you who came to our holiday open house this past weekend!  We had a great time and hope you did too.  The addition of Friday hours was a great success!  Here are our giveaway winners:
Jacqueline Charlier won the Things With Wings sunshiny owl.
Tracy Mathews won the TTW heart hook.
Mary Lovetinsky won the TWW "welcome" sign.
Marylu Hoefer won the Icing on the Cake mittens.
Rae Mosier won the Girls' Intuition jewelry.
Congrats to all! Your artist should be contacting you soon, if they haven't already. 


Here are some highlights from our weekend:

Fa La La!

entryway- a quick 'Relax' was added to the back of this bench for customers because Green Girl had nothing else to do:-)

Model Andrea from itti biti! Our favorite apron from itti biti has owls on it of course. 

Lots of beautiful jewelry from Girls' Intuition.

Headbands with fabric flowers by Marnie of Icing on the Cake Accessories

Original paintings by Shadley Grimes on old windows.  2 out of 3 TWWers came home with a new one!

the cutest cake pops by Penny Pops

a BIG custom order created by Green Girl was delivered to a special soon-to-be mother.  There were lots of happy tears!

the happy mother-to-be with Laura

A Things With Wings village on the mantle!

Next time we'll show you pictures of the Things With Wings set-up for the open house!

Austin Stone Live

Hey Things With Wings people!

I don't ever post on the blog, but I'm the youngest sister of this family. Every once in awhile I'll get on here and post something...it usually has nothing to do with painting or crafting or any kind of artsy thing that my mom and my sisters do. I DID NOT get any of that talent! :)

BUT I am thankful that God gave me a different kind of talent and I wanted to share with you all some exciting news.  The church that I lead worship for in Austin, Texas is releasing our first ever LIVE worship album!!!!
We are SO excited about this.

It is available on iTunes NOW!! GO GET IT!!
These are songs that we sing on Sundays and we are so excited that these songs will go outside the doors of our church and into the doors of homes across the world! For HIS glory!

One more exciting bit of news...
We are having a CD Release/worship night tonight, Tuesday, December 6th at 7:00pm CT. If you are in Austin come join us at The For the City Center OR... if you are not in Austin we will be streaming the night LIVE!! Go to our website, www.austinstoneworship.com to watch.

Another fun thing about our website is that it has a ton of resources. We have instructional videos for the songs, chord charts, the theology and story behind the song ... all kinds of things. So check that out too!

So thankful to be a part of this and to see Jesus be lifted up! He is so good.
For more information and updates you can check out my blog at www.emilywardmusic.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Last 3 Open House Giveaways are from Us!

We can't believe that the Things With Wings holiday open house is almost here!  We have 3 more giveaways to announce at the end of this post, and they're all from us!  I don't think introductions are necessary...You've met us before.  And you probably already know more about us than you ever wanted to. :-)

But first, here are a few details about our open house Friday and Saturday:
-TWW will be selling all kinds of original, one of a kind, handmade pieces.  NO one else in the whole, wide world will have another one like it!  As much as we love it, will not be selling any of the pieces from "This Thing Called Family" but we can tell you all about how and where to find them! 
-We wanted YOU to have the first look at the new 2012 pieces for "This Thing Called Family" because we love you so much!  We will have a small display set up for you to get a peek at these items that are not available yet to the public!

-NEW this year, with the acquisition of a Square device for our smart phones, we will be accepting credit cards!  Checks and cash still work too! :-) 
-As much as we LOVE your children, it's going to be very crowded - we are expecting our biggest turnout ever!  They would have a ton more fun at home than at our ol' open house!
-We won't be available during the day tomorrow (Friday) because we have some visitors coming from Demdaco that we will be meeting with!  Very excited to have them come!
 - Don't forget to sign up for the open house giveaways by putting your name in the bowl at the giveaway table!  Our friends have been very generous this year - go back through the last few posts to see what all you could win!

And now on to the last 3 open house giveaways!


Mamma Winger Connie is giving away this Love plaque with a handy hook.  Hang your necklaces on it, or whatever you want!



Green Girl Laura is giving away this sunshiny owl - doesn't he just look like he has a sunshiny disposition?!


And me - Jill - I'm giving away this Welcome sign.  Hang it on your front door or in your entryway for a colorful and cheerful way to greet visitors!



We hope you are as excited as we are and that you can sleep tonight.  ;-)  Let's all try to get a good nights sleep so we'll be ready for each other! 

We can't wait to see you Friday and Saturday!

Friday Dec 2, 4pm-8pm
Saturday Dec 3, 10am-5pm

More details here!

Meet Andrea, Vanessa and Norma of itti biti!

New to our open house this year!



itti biti - all things baby and more!

Andrea and Vanessa are friends who started itti biti when they began looking for unique baby products for their own babies, but couldn't find what they were looking for.  Using their creative skills and Andrea's mom Norma's sewing skills, they put together an original collection of fun and funky baby essentials.  The key to their success is handmade quality combined with stylish fabric choices which gives "itti biti" its original look.

itti bitti products include blankies, burp cloths, travel caddies, hats, aprons and more!
Andrea, Vanessa and Norma are generously giving away one of their caddies at our open house!  A caddi is just the right size for diaper changing on the go.  It holds travel wipes on one side and 2-3 diapers on the other. Throw it in your purse or diaper bag for the ultimate in style and convenience. Tuck one of their burp cloths in for a handy changing pad.  



Thanks, itti biti gals, for joining us this year!

 If you want more info about our Things With Wings Holiday Open House this Friday and Saturday in Iowa City, email us at paperprayers@hotmail.com and we'll send you an invite!

Be sure to look back at all of the other great artists who are joining us and stay tuned for the TWW giveaways, yet to be announced! 

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Meet Marnie!

"My name is Marnie Saeugling. I have been a teacher for over 30 years. I am the mother of 3 grown children. I have always been a crafter and a few years ago I decided to start a business, Icing on the Cake Accessories. It started with flower headbands and it has grown into all kinds of accessories, mostly made from fabrics and recycled wool sweaters. I love all fabrics but my favorites are the batiks. I enjoy coming up with new ideas for products and trying them out. I always welcome custom orders, that way I know people are getting exactly what they want. For winter I am again featuring my ultra warm recycled wool mittens, lined with super soft minky. Stop by the open house and try them on."



Marnie is generously giving away this pair at our open house!  Don't they look warm and cozy?!

You can reach Marnie at icingonthecakeaccessories@gmail.com or on her facebook page.

More giveaways to be announced yet!

Meet Diana and Marissa of Girls' Intuition!

Diana and Marissa will be joining again this year at our open house!

It's all in the family! The girls behind Girls' Intuition also happen to be mother and daughter and awesome friends! How did they get started? They have always been crafty and jewelry has evolved into something that the two of them enjoy doing together.  One day, Diana's husband commented that their jewelry looked just like what he was seeing in the catalogs (for a pretty price).  They started thinking about how fun it would be to make unique, creative jewelry for those who want to express their style without spending a fortune. (like them!)

Why "Girls' Intuition?" The more excited they got about the prospect of this business venture, they started thinking that this could be a good opportunity for Marissa to play a part in helping earn money to put aside for her college tuition. Thus the name, Girls' InTUITION!

Here are some examples of their jewelry:



Diana and Marissa have generously offered to give away this necklace at our open house!

  They will have a wide variety of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and sets for sale at our open house!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Meet Shadley!

 The next artist we'd like you to meet is Shadley Grimes, who will be joining us at our open house again this year with her original paintings.  She's a great artist - and both Laura and I have special pieces of hers hanging in our own homes!

Shadley Grimes studied art at the University of Iowa where her work was called, "drawings with paint."  Over the years her work has evolved into large "doodles" on upcycled windows.  Painted with tempera, India ink, and other paint, these windows come ready to hang and sealed with a protective finish.  Shadley loves creating interesting shapes and new color combinations.  She lives in North Liberty with her husband Dan, daughters Eden and Elly, and son Esias.

Here's the painting I have in our bedroom:



*UPDATED!
We're really excited to show you pictures of a few of the new paintings that Shadley will have for sale this weekend:




We can't wait to spend the day with her - she's like an honorary sister and we always have a blast! 

If you'd like to learn and see more of Shadley's past works, visit her website:  http://shadleygrimes.com or contact her at grimesfam@gmail.com

If you're interested in learning more about our holiday open house this weekend in Iowa City, visit this facebook event and/or email us at paperprayers@hotmail.com for an invite!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Meet Penny of Penny Pops - New to Our Open House!

This week we'll be introducing you to the artists and crafty people who will be joining for THIS weekend's open house in Iowa City!  (Can you believe it's almost here?!)

Friday Dec 2, 4pm-8pm
Saturday Dec 3, 10am-5pm

The first person who we'd like you to meet is new this year to our open house!  Her name is Penny Podhajsky and she will be selling her delicious cake pops:

Aren't they cute?!

Penny Podhajsky is the creator and baker of Penny Pops. Penny was awarded "Craft Master" in 2004 by the Recker-Noel Foundation. During the week Penny is the lunch lady at Weber School.  Nobody sports a hairnet quite like Penny!  Or you may have seen Penny zipping around on her red scooter delivering Penny Pops, or chauffeuring her four kids around Iowa City. 

If you have never had a cake pop, you are in for a treat!  Penny Pops are tasty, moist cake bites of various flavors, set on a lollipop stick and then hand crafted into various designs or characters like Santa hats, penguins, owls and snowmen.  Make your next party extra special by serving Penny Pops!
If you're interested in learning more about what she does, you can contact Penny by emailing her at itspennypod@msn.com.    

Welcome Penny!  We're so glad you're joining us this year!  

***********************************************

Stay tuned - we'll be bringing you more open house sneak peeks and introductions all week long.  Later this week we'll be announcing some giveaways that you can enter when you come to the open house!

If you did not receive a postcard in the mail but want to get an invite, email us at paperprayers@hotmail.com.  It's not too late!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Some Good News to Celebrate "Together"

Here's something to be SUPER thankful for this Thanksgiving!!!  We just received the most wonderful update from Emily, the "Be Brave" owner from this earlier post.



She had her lung and heart transplant on Sunday, Nov 6!!!  Her expected 6 month wait turned into only 2 1/2 months!  Yes, she's been in the hospital since our last post, waiting for 2 1/2 months -which seems plenty long to me! 

She said that the pain of such a significant transplant was unbelievable.  (I can't even imagine.)  Although she was discharged this past Sunday night, she continues to recover at a Gift of Life transplant house - as she is required to stay in the area for the next 3 months.

She says it will just be her and her husband for Thanksgiving: "kind of a downer for the Holidays but this too shall pass.... I have a long ways to go, still using a wheelchair for any distance because I am so weak but I just have to do the work."  

We are so amazed by God's goodness!!!  We are praising God tonight and pray that Emily continue to be brave in her time of healing and resting and strengthening.  We are so thankful that we have a God of healing and for our own health that we so easily take for granted.  There is so much to be thankful for! 

*****
So I thought of a great way for all of us to celebrate Thanksgiving "together!"  Those of you who have been following her story, or are just now getting caught up, would you leave a note of encouragement for Emily here in our comments?  She's come such a long ways, and still has so much work to do.  I'm sure she'd love to hear from you guys!  I'll make sure she sees them!  

This year we are especially thankful for all of you!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Culver's Garden- Holiday Open House


Last weekend we returned to Culver's Garden Center and Greenhouse in Marion, Iowa for their annual holiday open house!  This was our second visit, so it was fun to see how much their store had changed with the addition of Christmas decorations and merchandise!

Special thanks to Claire, the new marketing expert at Culver's who even sent out press releases!  How crazy is that?!
TTCF plays well with others!  Here, TTCF and Natural Life are displayed together very nicely.

We had a fun time visiting with some very special customers, one of whom told us some great stories of how God is at work in her life and how she plans on using various pieces from our collection to remind her and others of this!  Big Praise!

It was quite a kick to see this beautiful tree, decorated and dedicated to our winged plaques!




Thanks again, Culver's, for selling "This Thing Called Family" and for a great afternoon!

They sent us home with these giant mums, pie pumpkins, and a great idea for a Thanksgiving centerpiece.  We'll be sure to show you how they turned out!



We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving, and hope you can spend some time reflecting on all God has done over the last year. 

We are super grateful this year for all of YOU!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Should We Be Concerned?

We're starting to notice a new theme emerging in Mamma Winger's work.  What do you think it all means?!

See for yourself:


Monday, November 14, 2011

Beaverdale Holiday Boutique 2011

Another Beaverdale year has come and gone - and once again it was a blast!  We've come to know so many familiar faces at Holy Trinity school in Des Moines - and we still can't get over the hospitality of this community!  Everyone is super helpful and it's so much fun to see the teamwork of entire families working together to do their parts to make the event run smoothly.  It is no small task to pull this show off- they empty all of their classrooms, help vendors load and unload, put together a raffle, humongous bake sale that takes over their school library, coat and bag checkers, and delicious homemade lunch options.  You can see why this is one of our favorite events of the year!

We set up Friday afternoon, to be open for a couple of hours Friday night.  People were lined up at the door and around the side of the building, waiting to get in!  We were in our usual spot: a kindergarten classroom that was transformed into "North Pole room 1"  :-)  Here's some pics of our spot:





We love this spot, because we can use the back of this giant bookcase as extra hanging space!



here are some new favs of Green Girl's:






And here are a few new ones of Mamma Winger's:





Here's sort of an overview of the room we were in.  These shoppers were looking at the pieces we had hanging on the back of the bookshelf I mentioned earlier.   Some of you may know our friend Heather Pentico?  Well that gal in the red jacket and hat is her college roommate!  We actually met her for the first time at last year's show and she looked and looked at buying a family rules piece, but did not buy one.  She said she'd immediately regretted it, and has been waiting all year to come back and get one this year!!!  We're glad to say she walked away this year a happy customer!



Since most of these pieces sold, we're going to be hard at work for the next couple of weeks, getting ready for our own show: the annual Things With Wings Holiday Open House, Dec 2 + 3!   New this year, we've added Friday evening hours! All the details - hours, special features, the RSVP and how you can receive your own invitation are here on this facebook event page.  We'll be adding more details about each of the artist friends who are joining us for the weekend, along with a sneak peek at the item that they are giving away in our drawings!  There's going to be a prize from each of us!  PLUS, those of you who attend will get the first look at new Demdaco items that are not available to the public yet!  These pieces will be joining our "This Thing Called Family" collection in January, but we wanted YOU to be the first ones to see them up close in person!  So this year promises to be even bigger and better than last year!  Can't wait!  Gather some girlfriends and start planning a road trip to come visit us!

Friday, November 4, 2011

TWO Open Houses Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we have the joy of spending our day at two fine retailers who are selling "This Thing Called Family!"  They've invited us to be a part of their Holiday Open Houses - a sort of "meet the artists" type of thing - and so we're going to be hanging around and visiting with folks!

From 10am-1pm we'll be at The Treasure House in Ankeny, Iowa for their Christmas Open House!



Then, we'll travel to Melcher-Dallas to City Floral for another Holiday Open House!!!  We'll be there from 2pm-5pm! 

We'd love to visit, so if you're in the area, come out and say hello!!!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

TWO Winners!

*UPDATED 11-2-11!

We have two winners to announce from our flower accessory giveaway!  They get to choose what kind they like from this post, and I'll make them one of their very own!

The two winners are Kathy of Why Ducks and Aimee of Artsyville!

Congrats girls!


*11-2-11
Because Aimee is in the midst of a big move and so much is up in the air, she ask that we choose a new winner to insure the prize arrives safe and sound!

The new winner is Lori Leissner of Leissner Art!

congrats Lori!

email me at paperprayers@hotmail.com with your preference and your mailing address!