Happy 2012!

Starting today, Pride and Prejudice ornaments in sets of 3 are on sale for 10% off!  This is a great time to buy for next year, especially if you have them in mind for gifts, or wanted a few more for your own tree.  Other items will be added to the sale for the month of January. Just click over to my sale section in my store.

As I am working on my new studio, I am getting little bits of revived inspiration, and I look forward to sharing how the studio is progressing.  I also have been having fun on pinterest for studio design inspiration...if you have ideas too, I would LOVE to see them!  I have to keep this short today, but more to follow tomorrow :) 

Happy New Year!

Faith

A Family Production

Today's entry needs to be dedicated to my amazing husband and children.  I could not have survived this holiday season without them.  To bring everyone up to speed, I was given the rare and wonderful opportunity to have one of my Pride and Prejudice novel ornaments featured in the National Post.  It created a whirlwind of business that no one expected and I desperately needed the help of my family to fulfill orders and stay on top of all the holiday shopping madness going on in my online shop.  My vintage novel ornaments and french script candles were an incredible hit this year, and I am immensely grateful and humbled.  A few of the ornaments are still available at Paint Creek Center for the Arts locally in an exclusive large glass bulb with opalescent finish that I don't yet sell online (as well as some of my frames, french script candles, cupcake gift boxes, and covered wood boxes.) If you would like to grab a few ornaments at a discount, my shop will be selling the Sets of 3 10% off in the month of January.  I will re-announce the sale in my next blog and on facebook.

The infamous Pride and Prejudice novel ornament.

I finally decided to join twitter.  I am still getting used to the idea of trying to remember to "tweet" things, and find the balance between not enough/boring and over the top/obnoxious.  I lean to the former out of fear of the latter.  The whole concept of putting something out there in cyberspace that I may never be able to take back makes me a tad nervous...oh wait...this is a blog, right? haha

Thanks to the lovely invitation by an long-time friend, Christine Martinez, creator of Miles to Style, I am now on Pinterest as well. (Thank you, Christine!) This is a sloooooow process since I am still juggling home/work/construction/holidays, but I think I am getting the hang of pinning much more quickly than tweeting.  Afterall, I am skimming through the pages of Etsy and the net all day looking for beautiful things to feature, buy, and inspire me. Being able to pin them into a virtual book totally rocks!  No more word docs of links in barely organized categories (yes, I actually have been doing that for over 5 years).  I really enjoy looking at the pins of my friends as well.  You all have great taste!

Well that's my update in a big flowery basket of newsy goodness.  Looking forward to chatting into the New Year...

Have an inspired day!

Faith

Holiday Push

The last couple of months have flown by, and with construction still going on and business booming, a bit of my world has been turned on it's ear.  I keep telling myself, and it's true, that this is comparatively minimal sacrifice for much greater gain. I may feel like tearing my hair out now...but it will be worth it in the end (even if that means having to invest in a few wigs).

A lot of cool things have been happening, and one of them is being contacted by a great local gallery in Rochester, Michigan called Paint Creek Center for the Arts, which will be featuring some of my items in their annual gift gallery.  I feel honored to be chosen as one of their artists and am looking forward to the opening on the 19th.  My items will be displayed through to the end of the year, so if you are in the area, please stop by and check it out.  Make sure to keep up on all the happenings via my facebook page.

I am very careful to avoid topics such as religion and politics in my blog, but mentioning the gallery brings me to the idea of buying local.  In the atmosphere of unrest in the economy and people world wide asking for, even demanding, answers and accountability, I want to really encourage all of you to consider doing a significant amount of your holiday shopping supporting small businesses and local establishments that are not owned by big corporations.  I know it is a tough thing to do in this current economy, but it will help bring the money back to where it can actually benefit immediately in the lives of the people who live in your community and country during this holiday season.  I have a large international customer base, so I am not specifying only US.  It really is a world-wide dilemma.   

I have been really thinking about how I can make a direct impact as well.  As many of you know from previous blogs, we have significant storm damage to our home, and are in the process of repair/restoration.  I will be posting more about my boy's bedroom very soon.  We have had a lot of fun deciding how to design the space.  One thing I have tried very hard to do is make sure that all the artwork is either mine or purchased direct from the artist on Etsy.  As I blog about the process, I hope you will follow the links and get to know this talented group as well.  It really pushed me to start looking at what I was buying, and to re-think what each imprint of each item I buy on our economy and on our environment.  I love to recycle and upcycle, and while I did break down and visit IKEA, Target, and Walmart for other items, simply because of our budget, I made a huge effort to make sure each purchase was very consciously done.  I have decided to apply that to the Christmas purchases this year.  I look forward to sharing with you the process of rebuilding, not just my house, but my purchasing mindset. 

Have a WONDERFUL week!  

Faith

Recipe: Potato Leek Soup

Okay, so if you have never used leeks before, you must try them...and this is the perfect way to lose your leek virginity. (Yes, I know that sounds wrong, but it made me giggle, so it stays. ;P)

One quick mention is that preparing leeks is easy, but you might be surprised by finding the pockets with sand and soil among the layers if it is your first time using them, so I am going to give you a link to help with prep: How to prep leeks. Now I do use more of the greens than is shown in the video, but that is just preference. Also, as much as I think lavender adds a beautiful flavor to this, it can be left out- especially if you don't live close enough to steal some from my herb garden.

Now to the fun part:

Ingredients 

2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chopped fresh lavender
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
2 leeks, sliced
7 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
Gorgonzola cheese for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a soup pot, melt butter, add leeks, salt, peppers, and lavender, then saute for 10-15 minutes at medium to low heat.  some light browning from the butter is fine, but do not brown the leeks or caramelize, just let them become soft and tender.    Add white wine and stir, releasing any browning from the bottom. let cook down for about 5 minutes.  During this time, add the cornstarch to the stock and stir. Add stock and potatoes to the leeks, and bring to a boil.  Turn down stove to low heat and add milk and cream.  Let simmer for 30 minutes. When you are ready to serve, you can leave as is, or blend half in the blender and re-add to create a thicker, more velvety soup.  Garnish with Gorgonzola cheese if desired.

It tastes incredible, and is even better the second day...the perfect comfort food on these cold dreary days :)

Enjoy!

My German-style Split Pea Soup

Another Family Favorite we can't live without that goes perfectly with cold, gloomy weather. I usually make a double batch to freeze because it is so popular with the kidlets. While it does take about an hour and a half cook time, total prep time is actually about 15 minutes, so is a very easy recipe. Usually I serve it with a loaf of pumpernickel bread or hearty multi-grain on the side. And if you have the inclination to make homemade butter to spread, I added the instructions after the soup recipe :) Cheers!

Ingredients:
1 Hamhock
1 bag of Dry Split Peas
6 Slices of Bacon chopped
Water
5 carrots, sliced in coins
1 red onion Chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
2 Tbsp. Sea Salt
1 Tsp. freshly gound Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme Leaves
1 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 cup White wine


First, in a large pot/dutch oven, Place hamhock, pour in split peas, salt, and half of the pepper, and cover with water. Bring to Boil at high heat on a back burner then turn down heat to medium to allow for a rolling boil. With a large skillet, brown bacon until crisp, then add chopped onion, carrots, and celery and the remaining pepper. Let brown and caramelize over medium heat, then deglaze with wine. Once all of the browning has lifted from the bottom (you can help it along with stirring), pour the contents of the pan into the pot of boiling lentils. Add 4 cups of water, cover and and turn down heat until at a nice simmer. Let simmer for 1-11/2 hours, or until peas have fully softened. Stir occasionally to make sure there is nothing sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add a little water as needed to make sure all ingredients are covered with liquid. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add lemon juice and thyme.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Fresh butter

Ingredients:
1 pint Heavy cream
1/4 tsp. sea salt (optional)

In a mixer, whip cream and salt until it forms a pale yellow creamy butter. Great way to show the kids where butter comes from...well besides taking them to a farm to milk a cow, etc. ;)

Curating Treasuries

Lately I have been pulling together treasuries as a form of training my eye...like an artistic brain teaser.  I also find it a little therapeutic when I am getting stumped on a project and need a little break that still feels productive.  Here are some of the treasuries I have curated recently.  

The Red Line

You are my sunshine...

Colors that inspire me

You can subscribe to see my treasuries as I create them by clicking "add to circle" on the treasury page. (And if you haven't yet joined Etsy, I highly recommend signing up. It's truly a wonderful place to find beauty, inspiration, and creativity.)

Have an inspired day!

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