SHINE BRIGHT

“The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” Proverbs 4:18

This proverb was the inspiration behind our sunflower artwork and with the sun shining bright in Atlanta today, it’s a promise that is warming our hearts.

We had originally used a translation of this proverb with the expression of living life in a brighter and brighter manner, because of our right standing, our connection with God, made available all because of His Son, Jesus. Today, when we read the Message translation, we glowed with a new illuminated insight. We felt like little lightning bugs pulsing with the presence of God within us.

Warm little lights glowing brighter and brighter and shining the longer they live. That’s God’s description of how our lives should be. Wow, it’s enough to give you a hot flash even if you’re not a woman.

We hope you feel the warmth in our new, slightly revised sunflower. We’re only able to give you a peek, to protect our original work. For a fuller view visit http://www.paintedplanetlicensing.com/velvet-lime-girls.html

Shine bright today,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Snow and Sunny Expectations

It’s snowing in Atlanta this morning! As Southern girls, we can’t believe it’s snowing (actually more of a light dusting) and find ourselves peeking out of our windows every five minutes, just to make sure it’s still falling. J Normally, we’d be outside letting the snowflakes fall on our faces, but today is a special day for the Velvet Lime Girls… more about that in a moment. This surprise dusting of snow this morning has made Laura recall one of her favorite songs of all time, “Somewhere It’s Snowing” by David Stearman. A beautiful soft, snowy sort of song, that she and her husband, James, first heard sung by David himself in the early ‘70’s, while they were all college students together. James & Laura say the words still embrace their hearts like they did years ago and we’d like to share it with you today as the snowflakes fall in Atlanta. http://www.davidstearmanministries.org/getmusic.html

We hope you take a moment to pause and let the words carry their message to your heart.

Now, back to our special day today. Do you remember being a kid and trying to go to sleep the night before something really fun and exciting? Maybe it was anticipating a birthday, a favorite relative’s visit, summer vacation, Christmas, or the circus coming to town. Whatever it may have been, it kept you fully alive and charged … ready for the big day to arrive.

That’s how we feel right now. We’ve been kind of quiet about it lately, but, our art collection will be making a debut this weekend at the Atlanta Mart. We’ll be on display at the Painted Planet booth on the License & Design floor. They were kind enough to even feature us in an ad that is pictured above.

Our new little home on the License & Design floor features art and design for license or sale to a variety of industries including: apparel, linens, decorative textiles, needlework, wall & floor coverings, tabletop, giftware, home decor, greeting cards, gift wrap, stationery, scrapbooking and much more.

We feel like kindergarteners with our pack of crayons, standing next to some Michelangelo type of artists. Really. The creativity that surrounds us is amazing and we have deep respect for these experienced artists. And still, we know, that our artistic message of inspiration and encouragement is unique. There’s no one who expresses it quite like we do. And we are thrilled to see the designs we’ve worked on in our studio for several months placed on display this week in Atlanta.

It’s like being all dressed up for a first date.

We’ll be showing glimpses of our work this week on our blog. To see the entire portfolio, register with Painted Planet Licensing Group, or stop by the booth this week at AmericasMart, Building 2, 774WW.

Thanks to all of you who have supported us and encouraged us. Our hope is that our artwork will draw people like a magnet to the inspiration and encouragement that comes from God… and the “good grace”, mentioned in the song above.

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. Sun is coming out and the last of the feathery snowflakes just blew out of here!

If you have a little time, here are the words to the snowy song:

“Somewhere it's Snowing”
by Stephanie Boosahda & David Stearman


I once read in a poem
When snow covers the earth
That it hides the world's scars and
Gives nature new birth.
And they say when a man turns
From sin to the Lord
That forgiveness like snow
covers him evermore.

(chorus)
And somewhere it's snowing,
See the soft drifting down
As the snowflakes surrender
To the hardening ground.
Like the good grace of Jesus
That now covers our sin
In the kingdom of heaven
it's snowing again.

And it's told that the angels lift
Their hearts and rejoice
When one traveler turns homeward
From his way to the Lord's.
If somewhere someone's turning,
He's giving his all,
Then God's grace like the snow,
Is beginning to fall.

(chorus)
And somewhere it's snowing,
See the soft drifting down
As the snowflakes surrender
To the hardening ground.
Like the good grace of Jesus
That now covers our sin
In the kingdom of heaven
it's snowing again.

Joy

“There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and leaving it behind them when they go.” Frederick William Faber

Ditto

These little joy bundles are Laura’s granddaughters, Sophia, Lilly and Alexa. They’re often the source of inspiration around here, along with Marybeth’s daughters, Madison and Katie. The effervescent joy they all seem to have bubbling inside is not only contagious,it lingers, long after they’ve buzzed off to brighten a new landscape.

We love it when they are around the studio and their little positive ions recharge the entire spectrum of our lives.

We’re transformed into joy bundles ourselves.

Sunbeams lifting the fog of any day.

All because of a few sparks of joy.

We hope you’ll look for the little joys in life today. Yours may not be the simple pleasure of a swing on a new swingset, or a smile at the first snowfall, but joys are out there, just waiting to turn your plain ordinary, tap water day into a sparkling, effervescent day of seltzer smiles.

The Velvet Lime Girls

New Doors

Doors. They serve as entries and exits. Beginnings and endings. These old doors, along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, have a little history and Laura’s Dad, Clarence Skinner, tells their story best in his own words and photographs:

“These old garage pictures are representative samples that still remain along the old beach road in parts of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. The garages were built very close to the road and used wooden ramps to connect the garage to the road. Beach houses were located closer to the ocean, often over three hundred feet behind the garage. Autos of that era, 30’s and 40’s, were two wheel drive and did not do well in sand, without skilled drivers and some preparation, like reducing tire pressure. Normal operation was to avoid getting your car in the sand, thus the wooden pallet type driveways and the garages close to the road. City folks also did not want their cars left exposed to the salt air. Of course, this meant that everything that was taken down by auto had to be hand carried from the garage to the beach house, through loose sand.”

These rough, beaten down, barely standing garage doors, have a rustic, nostalgic beauty about them. Like the tough times and challenges that many people have weathered this past year, these old relics are still standing. And the old doors with their rusty, salt-crusted hinges almost make you think they can still swing open. But, they don’t have to anymore. A new day has come. A better way of doing things. And although the old ways have been put aside for new ways, they have not been put aside.

They stand.

Salty reminders of silent strength.

So, if you’ve weathered a “north-eastern” storm of sorts this year, take a good look at these old structures. They stood when times were tough. And they lived to see better days. Days when doors opened to a better way.

“I see what you've done. Now see what I've done. I've opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don't have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn't deny me when times were rough.” Revelation 3:8

The Velvet Lime Girls

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas from the Velvet Lime Girls!

Here's Marybeth and family...
And here's the photo that didn't make the card, but is our favorite :-)

Here's Rebecca and family:
And here's Laura and family (she's the one in the back, behind all the children & grandchildren!)

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

A Tranquil Spot

We discovered a creative company with a kindred spirit. It’s called pure gratitude and carries this tagline, “because everyone has something to be thankful for”. We love expressions of gratitude and we were moved by the way this artist expressed gratitude, love, peace, hope and encouragement through her hand-stamped silver jewelry. Each handcrafted piece, embellished at times with pearl, gemstones, leather or natural elements, seems to tell a story. The website alone is a tranquil spot to visit. Lovely quotes float around the site such as, “i would maintain that thanks is the greatest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” gk chesterton

And with descriptions of selected pieces sounding more like an excerpt from a favorite book, you’ll find yourself reading about each delicate creation.

Here’s a favorite description that accompanies the piece in the photo above:

“He calls you His beloved. He laid down everything, His very life because He loved you first. this Christmas be assured of His unending, deep affection for you. through the ages this has never changed, you are still cherished, treasured and greatly loved by a God that is so much larger than life.”

Zephaniah 3:17
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

We think we like the description as much as the necklace.

Thoughtful shoppers have discovered the site and buzzed in like bees finding a patch of unknown clover in a meadow, so a delivery before Christmas may be slim. The site is, however, a resource filled with ideas for year-round gift giving. So, we wanted to share, even if it was just for the pure pleasure of reading the sentiments.

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. The artist at pure gratitude is Michelle Harpur, a dear friend of Laura's. www.puregratitude.net

Christmas has come.

Yesterday afternoon we all received this message from Marybeth. “Well, Katie & I have accomplished one thing for Christmas!” Attached was this photo of their Nativity scene. It was, as if, regardless of whether anything else was accomplished, the most important thing about Christmas in their family had been done. The manger scene that tells the story of Christmas was up. Christmas had arrived in their home. And in the hearts of us who received her message.

Earlier in the day, as we had all worked in the studio on our new collection for 2012 we had laughed at how none of us had really prepared our homes for Christmas yet. Well, Rebecca, had decorated a bit, but Christmas cards were not done. Marybeth & I (Laura) had mailed Christmas cards, but there wasn’t even a speck of tinsel or sprig of greenery in either of our homes yet. These comments came from girls who normally have everything up the day after Thanksgiving J.

In the absolute joy of creating a new collection of artwork for Velvet Lime Girls ((it debuts in January at the Atlanta Mart) and working at our regular jobs, we’ve all looked up in pleasant surprise and realized… it’s almost Christmas.

And yet, when we all received this text and photo from Marybeth, we realized how simple it is to allow Christmas to arrive in our homes. A single nativity set, placed on a mantle, brought a pause and stillness to our hearts. Each piece gently placed on the ledge now retold the story of Christmas and calmed our hearts.

The Christmas trees will be put up, the lights hung, the presents wrapped … eventually. But, after the nativity photo came, a new sense of calm came. It caused us to reflect and remember the real story of Christmas … to remind ourselves what this wonderful celebration is really all about. The birth of Jesus Christ.

So, for all of you, like us, who have yet to complete your lists for Christmas, we hope you will pause and enjoy the simple scene in the photo above that tells the real story of Christmas. And let Christmas arrive in your heart.

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. The stocking in the photo with the “B” is for Biscuit, the guinea pig. Marybeth's daughter, Katie, was afraid no one would get him anything for Christmas and she asked for a stocking. Slightly lower, but not pictured, is Maggie Waggie Wydock's stocking, which belongs to their dog. And there may be more! A stocking request from Madison, her other daughter, has recently been presented ... for her fish "Spa".