ROYAL SEATING

Seating affects everything. Have you ever sat in a large arena or stadium near the top? Although you can be very involved in the event, the activities played out below you are distant and removed. You are far above them. It’s as if you are seated in another realm… and yet you are there. Your perspective from that altitude changes and you become constantly aware that there is a bigger picture beyond what is being played out below. Your vision broadens when you’re seated higher.

Being seated in a higher place is the red carpet thought being rolled out in this artwork. We took that noble thought and draped it in royal colors. Anchored it with aristocratic seating. Sprinkled it with a phrase and stars from a divine scepter. A phrase that lifts us from living below our destiny. “ He seats us in heavenly places.” What a lofty thought for everyday life.

Reigning. Majestic. Elevated. That’s the kind of seating we’ve been given. It broadens your vision and makes you realize there is a bigger picture being played out beyond everyday life. You are seated in another realm… far above.

Take a seat in our chair today. Rest for a moment in the luxury of this divine sentiment. May you begin to reign in life today from the place that has been reserved for you… a heavenly place.

Take your seat please.

The Velvet Lime Girls

Enjoy the Journey

Enjoy the journey. It’s a phrase that has traveled around the world and now has journeyed its way into one of our upcoming pieces of artwork. It’s such a refreshing thought …. to pause, embrace and enjoy the passing moments within each day.

This phrase was the flashing yellow light thought on the highway we traveled today. It eventually slowed us down and eased us off our trip to a site we’ve passed numerous times …Bellingrath Gardens in Alabama. How many times have responsibilities, schedules and commitments kept you from pausing a moment to enjoy something you’ve always wanted to do? Always thinking, “Oh, I’ll do that next time.” Today, on a trip to check on my dear father-in-law, we paused … and for one hour experienced that out of this world feeling that comes from entering a place of beauty in nature and taking a moment to enjoy the journey.

James snapped a few photos in the gardens today and we hope they inspire you to take a moment to pause. To do that something you’ve always wanted to do.

Enjoy your journey.

The Velvet Lime girls

Laura & James pictured in middle photo (wishing for Rebecca & Marybeth)

Sunflower Smiles

Sunflowers make us smile. Every time. Their perky little faces bright with noonday sun just sunbathe you in happiness. When they first uncover their little faces, releasing their solar flare, the whole world lights up. They stand there in the rain, wind, heat and neglect … sunshine spears, unmoved by circumstances. Then, something amazing happens … they sink their roots down deep into their source and grow. They grow tall … I mean really tall. A towering presence in the flower garden, they become lighthouse beacons shooting down every melancholy thought with their shafts of light. They become bigger and bigger everyday … better and better.

We can be like them. An ancient writing of prose says, “our paths will be brighter and brighter” (Proverbs 4: 18). It means better and better. Like sunflowers, we can begin to tower over circumstances and challenges as we let our roots sink down deep into our source, our God. No matter how challenging a day may have been, we can pull from our source and become a shaft of towering sunshine in our own little world.

We hope our sunflowers make you smile today ... and shine. J

The Velvet Lime girls

The Giant Oak Inside of You

Acorns. They’ve been a tiny participant in our design studio for several years. They first arrived a couple years ago following a walk . Acorns with their little “hats” were scattered under all the trees. I picked up one of these tiny little seeds and looked up at the massive tree canopy above, amazed that this would be the destiny of this tiny creation. James & I gathered several of these “message carriers” and he placed them on Marybeth’s desk. They sparked a creative force inside of her that was first seen in our photographic acorn series and now revealed in this fresh graphic artwork.

An acorn still amazes all of us. This tiny seed becomes a giant oak. By faith it “sees” its potential. Its future is always on its mind …looming over it while it is at its smallest point. It just sinks its tender roots down deeper into the soil when times are tough … it knows its destiny. It’s a destiny that is always clearly visible. No matter how small the acorn may begin, it knows it will become a majestic oak.

We hope you are encouraged to have faith to see beyond the things that may be sleeping in your life. Things that have the power and potential to change when fueled by faith. Faith does see the giant oak in the sleeping acorn.

Let the giant oak within you awaken today.

Laura

HOPE

Weave HOPE into your heart today. Hope – an earnest expectation, an anticipation, a belief or a trust. It’s more than a word. It’s a force that undergirds you and carries you forward with a strength that is beyond yourself. Hope is the silent strength that supports your dreams. When it’s woven into your heart it enables you to soar above any obstacle. Let this new artwork send you soaring with new hope today.

"Hope does not disappoint us ..." Romans 5:5

Laura

HAPPY Winner!

HAPPY! That's how we hope the winner of our Bloom necklace will feel tonight. We've had a full day of creating designs for our new collection in the studio today and the drawing occurred a little after 8:00 tonight. Thank-you to those of you who took the time to friend us, comment to us or like us. We also appreciated the emails and phone calls.

We'd like to announce that the winner is ... Lynn Weatherly Davis!

Congratulations Lynn! We hope you enjoy wearing our necklace as much as we enjoyed creating it and that it always reminds you to "Bloom where you are planted".

We LOVED doing this giveaway and are already planning another one for next month!

Marybeth, Laura and Rebecca - The Velvet Lime Girls

A Give-Away!

Our first ever Velvet Lime Designs give-away begins today. There really are some things in life that are free and this is one of them. Here’s a photo of our give-away, a “seed-thought” necklace featuring one of our favorite new designs, BLOOM. It’s a nice reminder to “bloom where you are planted”.

Our friend, K & M Originals, will handcraft our BLOOM artwork onto the surface of a Scrabble piece. You can even pick the letter that appears on the back!

Here are the details and how you enter. The give-away begins today and will last one week, (August 9-16^th). Just make a comment here on our Velvet Lime Designs blog http://velvetlimedesign.blogspot.com and you are automatically entered. One entry per person please.

The winner will be selected from a random drawing in our studio next Tuesday, August 16th. Our “seed thought” necklace with the BLOOM design will be mailed to the winner after the drawing.

So, make a comment and enter our contest … and while you’re there, “like” us, become a friend and share us with your friends! Thanks!

Someone Cares

This feathery branch transcended all of its garden neighbors on Roanoke Island. The garden was filled with proud roses, boisterous bougainvillias and flowers everywhere who were absolutely misbehaving in an out -of -control explosion of color. This one though, softly spoke louder than all of them. Each tiny branch thread, covered with short strands of hair whispered a message of calm. It knew it was a creation that had been fashioned tenderly with great attention to detail. It was loved and cared for … someone had taken the time to dress it in countless wisps of smoky color.

It reminded me of us. Regardless of what is going on around us, we are loved and cared for. We’ve been tenderly fashioned with great attention to detail. I like the way a doctor named Luke said it years ago, “the very hairs of your head are all numbered, don’t be afraid” Luke 12:7

With the noise in our world today, it’s comforting to remind ourselves that there really is someone who cares for us. Someone who watches over every detail of our life … down to the number of hairs on our head.

Laura

P.S. Our landscape architect friend, Alex Brunson, believes our photo is of a Royal Purple Smokebrush. www.brunsonandco.com

Thank-you.

Thank-you.

It’s a word straight from the language of the heart.

When it’s expressed through the creativity of two young girls, it’s as refreshing as a bright open-faced sunflower. Marybeth’s daughters, Madison & Katie, gave me these hand-crafted cards yesterday and I was thrilled! (The girls have been a secret source of inspiration at Velvet Lime Designs on several occasions). As they handed me the cards with a giant bouquet of sunflowers, I was touched by the detail in the cards. The hand drawn letters became a canvas for their tiny drawings of grapes, tomatoes, flowers, and stars. And their color combinations were absolutely spontaneous and inspiring.

We love it when our inspiration comes from places like this … no need for a fancy inspiration conference, expensive get-away, or luxurious vacation (although we would graciously accept any of these) J … our inspiration was carried to us by two little sets of hands.

Inspiration really is everywhere. We hope you find yours in the small things today.

Laura

Beach Trip

Some thoughts just refresh you. This one floats over the most relaxing place we know … a slouchy, comfortable chair on the beach. Just sit in it for a minute. You can feel the tension seep out through your toes as they sink in soft sand, every care melting away in a caress of sunlight.

A beach rest is a ripple compared to the overpowering wave of deep rest God offers. It envelopes our cares and pulls them out to sea with a strong rip-tide…. leaving us refreshed and restored.

We’re sparkling sea glass lying on the beach.

Washed. Fresh. Clean. Reflections of peace.

So, sit down in our beach chair today and wrap yourself up in the big thirsty blanket of thought conveyed in our art image … a thought about real rest. We like the way The Message says it:

“Are you tired and worn out? Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me … Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” Matthew 11:28 & 29

Laura

What I’ve Learned...

Life has seemed a little complicated and overwhelming the past few weeks. I’ve struggled with how to put it into words here. I really can’t so I gave up trying and pushed it away. Today, I came across this Maya Angelou quote posted on the Kind Over Matter blog (a very inspirational blog and I highly recommend them!). And I love what it says. I’ve seen it before. It seems fitting right now. So I am reposting.

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I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

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Ah, my inspiration for the day. And now back to dreaming about and making art.

~Marybeth

THRIVE

Thrive … it’s such an encouraging word. It just makes you want to pull yourself up and reach for the stars again … like this little passion flower growing in my garden. She’s growing in a forlorn section of my garden, an area overlooked and covered with weeds. Who would ever think that such beauty could come out of this mess? But here she is, with her perky little head adorned with enthusiasm, dressed and ready to go, as if she’s strolling into a grand gala.

Wow, what an entrance she makes! She barely notices the desolation around her and instead brightens her entire surroundings.

We’re encouraged to live this way. And we can, when our strength finds its roots in the nourishment that comes from connecting with God. Years ago, a psalmist said it this way ... You’re a tree planted by streams of water… your leaf does not wither…whatever you do prospers. Psalms 1:3

So, no matter what surroundings or circumstances you find yourself in, sink your roots down deep, nourish yourself in connection with God... and begin to flourish and thrive again.

Laura