Velvet Lime Girls Studio in Winter SD 480p 2

Stopping by Studio on A Snowy Day

Brrr.  It's cold outside today, so come on in! Our studio is warm and filled with flowers.

Step inside a moment and leave the chill of winter behind.

Velvet Lime Girls Studio in Winter SD 480p 2

JOY at LOWE'S

Our JOY flags are at LOWE'S!  We just spotted the first one on a casual trip to our local Lowe's store.  Imagine our surprise. It was like seeing your child or grandchild in a school play or sports event!!!  You know that kind of moment, when you find yourself yelling, "That's my kid!  Right there, right there! Look, look, look!!!  Lowe's should appreciate us for all the enthusiasm we can bring to their store on an ordinary day. We could boost sales everyday just by seeing one of our flags there. 
Actually, we behaved ourselves quite properly at Lowe's, but our hearts were flooded with joy when we saw our little garden flag hanging in the store. Knowing that it's now available in over 1,700 Lowe's stores across the nation, just kind of brings us to our knees in gratitude.  For the first time, we actually have more than one store to direct you all to for a product with our artwork.  Hallelujah!

We always like the "rest of the story" on any piece of artwork.  What was the inspiration? What was the artwork hoping to convey? What message did it long to impart? The answer is pretty straightforward on this piece. JOY!   That wonderful gift that fills up your heart like a hot air balloon and sets you sailing over mountains, rough terrain, or dreary days,  It's real.  It's powerful. It's a gift. And it can turn your life around.
God must have known we'd need it to live the life He planned for us, so He left some pretty clear guidelines for obtaining joy.  They're simple, just like our artwork.  We thought we'd pass on a few of them, in case you need a little of that hot-air balloon joy-lift in your life today.  

"You will fill me with joy in your presence..."  Psalm 16:11
Just being with God, spending time with Him, listening to Him...fills us with joy.

"But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace..." Galatians 5:22
You don't have to try and produce joy...it's a gift. It's like fruit in an orchard, as we join our lives to Him.

"The deepest pains may linger through the night, but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning." Psalm 30:5
When you're in deep pain, deep hurt, deep loss... joy, the joy that comes from God, lifts you and carries you through. 


So, joy is much more than a simple three-letter word.  It's a powerful force, a gift from God that will carry us through good times as well as challenging times, growing stronger as we connect our lives with Him. 

We hope our JOY artwork reminds you to pause and spend time with God, our sure source and supply of joy.

With hot-air balloon hearts of joy,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Our JOY artwork is also available on these Divinity products. Order @ Christianbook.com

Diamonds in the Trees

The trees are wearing diamonds in Atlanta today.  Sparkling, brilliant, dazzling diamonds. They slipped on the frosty facets overnight, draping them, ever so elegantly, around their slender necks, branchy arms and twiggy, little fingers.  

And this morning...

   the whole tree-world glistens with these shimmering ice-jewels that catch the light and reflect a twinkle straight from the eyes of God.

                                   

Strands of liquid crystal necklaces adorn the branches wearing hints of spring.

And raindrops, captured in free-fall freeze, are mounted in settings of hydrangea whispers and garden lace.

 Oh, the master jeweler of creation has suspended the world in a luminescent splendor, an iridescent, enameled guilloché of sorts, far more magnificent than any House of Fabergé treasure.  And it's all on exhibit in this limited-time showing for you.  Just for you.  A gilded, embellished, lavish expression of God's creativity on full display for you.  

"God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon."   Psalm 19:1 - The Message

Enjoying the exhibit on display today,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Valentine's Day is Coming!

Valentine's Day will be here in just a couple of days. It's often a day filled with romantic sentiments, expressions of love, and chocolate! Yum.

For one of the Velvet Lime Girls, Valentine's Day always brings back sweet memories of a dear Grandmother.  She always remembered each of her nine grandchildren with a Valentine's Day card. When times were lean, the card came, when her health was challenged, the card came, and when time was precious, the card still came. Each card carried the feeling of being so very loved, so very remembered on Valentine's Day.  The cards, now treasured in boxes, and soft places of the heart, still release their message of love from the Grandmother. After a full life this Grandmother moved to Heaven with a joy that comes from a life well-lived. Hers was a life well-lived because it was a life well-loved. It was a life patterned after the Love chapter of the Bible, found in 1 Corinthians 13.  We referenced this passage in our artwork for the glass plate pictured above and we'd like to share the full text with you right here. 

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Now that's real love. It never gives up, looks for the best and keeps going to the end!

We hope you find someone to shower with love this Valentine's Day.  And don't forget the chocolates!

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. The LOVE glass plates we designed for Enesco/GreggGift, pictured above, can be ordered through Sweet Spirit-Parable Christian Store
We're thrilled to finally have a local store to direct you all to in the Georgia area. They also have a lovely online store that you can visit.

YOU- A Sparkling Jewel!

With all the love-shaped sentiments swirling this week, as Valentine's Day approaches, our hearts were drawn to a favorite "love-expression" from the One who loves us the most. 

"Oh, afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.  I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels and all your walls of precious stones."  Isaiah 54:11-12

Wow.  Now that's real love.  A promise to each of us that even when we're feeling a bit "storm-tossed", "not-comforted", or "afflicted", we will be made established, firm and as rock-solid as a precious stone.

We've always been a bit intrigued by that word "antimony" mentioned in the first part of this expression. What exactly is it? We were pretty sure it meant something good.  Today we discovered that this substance has a very, unique characteristic.  It's "resistant to fire".  Yeah, it's actually used as a "fire-retardant". So, the promise above took on some new meaning for us today, a deeper expression of love and care actually.  It's as if God is not only letting us know He'll shape us up into a precious jewel, He's saying, no matter how hot the "fires" or challenges may burn in our lives, He's wrapping a fire-resistant shield around us. He's "setting our stones", our lives, in antimony. It's fire-resistant. It's real love.

So, today, if you're facing a few "fires" in life, or feeling as rough-cut as these raw stones above, remember you have a real lover of your soul who is waiting to "set" your life into antimony... into a fire-resistant, firm foundation. A settled place, a beautiful place, a loved place.  A place where you will become a sparkling jewel, a battlement of rubies, a wall of precious stones.  Oh, you are so strong wrapped in His love.

The Velvet Lime Girls