Anniversary Bliss

It is officially the 10 year anniversary of Inspirations by Faith! In celebration, I am offering ALL repeat customer who have supported me over the years (including those who have done business with me through private art commissions), 50% off any one item in my Etsy store.  Just message me with the item you would like to purchase, and I will create a custom listing just for you.  All customers, in the month of September will receive a special anniversary gift valued at $5. There will also be a tons of great items going on sale throughout the month, so make sure to check it out and check back regularly!  This is the perfect time to buy for the holidays...and if you participate in the design challenge and/or Riddle Me treasury, you can get an even bigger discount!

There is something very unique in how we all view anniversaries.  They have a way of making us look back and conjure up the special, often life-altering, moments we connect to a particular date and time.  Some can be joyous occasions. Some are, well, not.  But our minds have a way of letting us lose ourselves in those moments...such an incredible gift!  We can take those re-connections and learn, grow, heal, and even find ourselves inspired into action. 

The one custom order this last month that touched me the most deeply, was a husband's first wedding anniversary request.  It is a very rare occasion for a man to grace the virtual doorstep of my online store.  And even more surprising, he contacted me from overseas on military deployment, inquiring about my Paintbrush Bouquets.  Spending his anniversary away from his wife, he wanted to send her a paper flower bouquet in the time-honored tradition of giving paper on the first anniversary. Now I am an imaginative, and creative person, but it had never crossed my mind how great this item is as a first anniversary gift, and I just love the idea! (Not to mention that "Awwww...how sweet" moment.)  He had me add a very special message, and he picked the custom colors he knew she would love. We waited to ship so she could receive it just before her anniversary with the message on the box for her to not open it until that date.  The romantic in me can just imagine her surprise, and total adoration knowing he put so much effort and thought into making the day special and gifting something so unique.  He later messaged me to confirm the bouquet had arrived safely....and the coup de gras, he shared that it may have inspired her to start painting again.  That just makes my soul dance.

As the years have gone by, I have created many things to commemorate anniversaries of various types.  This one certainly has reminded me the incredible value of having a life partner that supports not just the everyday, but also your dreams and aspirations.  When someone supports the part of you that is inspired, creative, even a little frivolous and unconventional because they know it feeds your soul...you know you have someone in life that is of incredible value.  I know I am blessed to have that in my life {love you, Marc}, and I feel very honored to have been a part of the story this wonderful couple has begun to write.  Happy Anniversary!

The custom paintbrush bouquet :)

I need to share a few important announcements before I go eat the carrot cake my husband just handed me :)

The winner of the Riddle Me Treasury goes to *drum roll* Angela. Congratulations! She will be receiving a wonderful collection of goodies and 40% off her next order! She is a fellow seller on Etsy, and I hope you check out all her pretty wares. The answer, as many of you know, was Anne of Green Gables.  Everyone who guessed should have received a response from me earlier today with your discount coupon. If for some reason you didn't receive it, please drop me a line. If you didn't get a chance to participate, I still encourage you to click the treasury link to get a giggle, and see how the riddle treasury works just in case you want to participate in the next one.

The September design challenge is still in effect, so make sure to join in the fun.  I will announce October's challenge in a couple weeks.

So on that note, I bid you all a happy holiday weekend, and hope you all stay deeply, madly, passionately, inspired by life!

Faith

Paper Posey How-To

I wanted to start out this year of blogging with one of my most popular items right now- paper posies. I use them to embellish several different types of items, including cards, wreathes, topiaries, scrapbook pages, and more.

Here is a list of items you will need:

Large flower or scallop punch or die cut (avoid ones with skinny petals)

Inspirations by Faith Color
Wash in Aquamarine

Paper piercer

Small container of warm water

Cotton swab

Protected surface

For this project, I am going to use an old Chinese newspaper as my paper base, but any paper will work well. You can use other types of color washes also. If you would like to purchase from my stock of specially formulated color washes, vintage papers, and Chinese papers, click here. You will note that I am not using protective gloves in the pictures. This is because I do not handle the flower during the dying process, but I highly suggest that protective hand wear be used to prevent staining whenever you are using color washes.

First, punch out your flowers for the project.

 For this posey, I have punched five, but any number, more or less, can be used.

 Pierce a whole in the center and insert your brad. 

 Dip posey in water, face down into the water. Hold there for about 3 seconds.  

 Starting with center flower, begin crumpling petals gently towards the center.  

 Repeat this with each layer until you have a crumpled wad of
layers.

 Gently unfold each layer from last to first, making sure not to flatten the posey or over release. You should be able to see the center brad.  

Spray color wash to create desired effect.

Clean center gently with cotton swab to remove excess color wash.

Let dry, making sure not to touch it during this process.

Here is a picture of the final product. I can’t help but smile whenever I see these sweet little flowers. I hope you enjoy making your own as well!

New Blog for a New Era

Not terribly fond of re-inventing the wheel, I sit here annoyed that I have not been able to pick this blogspot thing up right away. Seems simple enough, but my dependency on the ease of using MySpace left me defiant.  So here I am. Finally.

I had so many wonderful intentions about this year of blogging...and still do.  But the death of my grandmother has definitely rocked my world. My business has been increasing significantly, and I had forgotten all the little quirks about living as balanced as possible despite the need to continually run a business for which you are the sole provider of its content.  I am not complaining, just explaining.  And well, rejoicing in suffering a bit.

I find myself curious as to what will become of me and this blog.   Will it become just another one of my unfinished pieces, or will I see this one to completion.  Will I become dissatisfied with the product, or simply abandon it all together.  I sincerely hope I will stick it out which in turn leads me to the hope that some how some day I will look back and see others who have gleaned a little inspiration from it as well.  So there you go- I dare to hope.

Let's see where that dare gets me...