The Color of Light

Lighthouses are slipping into our studio each week.  It's true.  A fresh new one seems to have appeared weekly over the last month.  They've been bringing a little color and light into our studio as we prepare our portfolios for the Surtex show in New York.  These lighthouses, created by Laura's husband, James Rhodes, are quite different from our whimsical, inspiration artwork, and they just seem to fuel our creativity.  We thought we'd share a little of this color and light surrounding us today. So, step into the studio and take a look around with us!

All the lighthouses began with strokes of pigment from Sennelier soft pastels that lie in casual piles along the edges of our studio. Chalky containers holding color, light and life.

At first glance, one might think these simple sticks of earthy substance were just stubby chunks of color. Nice to look at, but not much potential for anything beyond lying in rows.

But in the right hands, these chalky, earthen vessels are transformed into beautiful works of art. 

The soft pastels are quiet reminders of how beautiful our lives can become when we place them into the hands of God.  The master creator will pick us up, regardless of how ordinary we may look lying on the sidelines of life, and transform us into beautiful works of art. His strokes shape us into little earthen vessels that carry His light into the world and spill reflections of His color and life on to everyone around us.

Oh, you can be so beautiful in the right hands.

"Get away with me and you’ll recover your life... Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30

Grateful for the colors surrounding us today,
The Velvet Lime Girls

First Day of Spring!

It's the first day of spring!  Really.  So, no matter what the weather is doing in your area today, rest assured, spring IS coming.  Flowers will bloom. Sunshine will brighten your days. Winter will leave.
When it's been cold and dreary, one can almost begin to doubt that spring will ever come.  But, it does.  Every time.

We'd like to send you a bouquet of flowers on this first day of spring.  A sunny, bright, cheerful bouquet of sunflowers!  We created these happy little blooms for our new Inspire mini-book.  A petite, encouraging, little  collection of words from the heart that is manufactured by Divinity. 

So find a little space in your heart today in which you can  plunge this bouquet of encouragement. And let it brighten your world on this first day of spring.

Shining bright inside,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Diamond Girl

We love real people. People who are brave enough to say yes when God directs them to do things far beyond themselves.  Lysa TerKeurst is one such person.  And her yes has inspired us lately.  We call her the diamond girl around here... because her life just kind of sparkles,  really sparkles, especially when you hear her story.

They say a diamond is formed in some of the darkest, deepest places on earth. Places that are hot, filled with pressure and so far below the surface they can't even be reached. It takes a "very deep-seated volcanic eruption" to even bring them to the surface. Only then, can they be gathered and shaped into brilliant, dazzling, multi-faceted jewels that bring a sparkle to our lives.

Lysa's life story reads just like a diamond's journey.  A beginning that certainly had a few dark and deep places, a lot of heat and pressure along the way, and a shame that kept her so far below the surface,  it was a miracle that she was even able to come up and live again. Her life also had more than a few deep-seated eruptions and, as one Velvet Lime Girl observed, (with eyes puddled in tears, watching Lysa tell her story recently),
all one sees now is a brilliant, shining, beautiful, diamond girl... "catching the light" of God and letting it sparkle all over the audience.  Yeah, whole rooms just hush and fill with a sparkly sheen when she speaks, as her story reflects facets of God grace and puts God's love on full display... in the life of a woman who just said "yes" to God.

If your life happens to be in a rough, dark, or desperate place today, reach through any little crack you can find and pull some hope into your life from Lysa's website and blog.  It's a healing place.  It's a little multi-faceted jewel filled with all kinds of freebies, fresh-faced honesty and a story that will touch your heart.  Go ahead. You're worth it.  You're that valuable. Treat yourself to a little treasure for your soul today @ Lysa TerKeurst.  If you want to load up a bit more, dip into another treasure chest @Proverbs 31 Ministries



Feeling quite sparkly today,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Laura Rhodes, Kelsey Rhodes, Lysa TerKeurst, Judy Benson

One of the Velvet Lime Girls had a chance to meet Lysa TerKeurst recently.
Pictured above,  l to r: A Velvet Lime Girl- Laura, with daughter-in-law- Kelsey Rhodes,
 "diamond-girl"- Lysa TerKeurst, and Kelsey's Mom- Judy Benson, @ A Beacon of Hope Gala
We talked about this event last week @ Velvet Lime Girls

Gala Favors

Enesco/Gregg Gift  is one of the great manufacturing companies that we are privileged to create artwork for on inspired gift collections.  They recently donated 250 ceramic crosses with Velvet Lime Girls artwork to a charity that is close to our hearts… A Beacon of Hope.  The crosses were given as favors to each couple who attended the annual fundraising Gala.  This event raises funds for the Beacon of Hope’s women’s center, a facility that provides education, counseling, support and medical care to women facing an unplanned pregnancy. Today we’d like to send out a heartfelt shout of thanks to Enesco/Gregg Gift for their generous donation.  These crosses echo the hope that many women find at A Beacon of Hope.  Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

The guest speaker at A Beacon of Hope Gala was Lysa TerKeurst, an honest, funny, transparent, strong, beautiful woman whose life is a brilliant display of God’s amazing grace.  We will devote an entire blog to her soon, because a treasure like this woman, (a diamond), needs much more room for display. Look for more on this amazing woman, who releases HOPE and HEALING through her life story, later on our blog.  If you're in need of a little hope, healing or humor in your life today, visit her site @ Lysa TerKeurst

Grateful Hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. A very special thank-you to Judy Benson for hand-crafting the burlap gift bags that held each ceramic cross.  A gift wrap of love and creativity!