Safe Harbor

A safe harbor.  Sometimes that's all you need.  A place to restore, revive and renew yourself.  As we launch into Breast Cancer Awareness Month this month, we'll be identifying some life-lines, buoys and safe harbor suggestions for those  who are navigating the rough waters of a breast cancer diagnosis.  Pass this on to anyone you know facing breast cancer.  It's rough seas out there for many of them, but they can ease into calmer waters with the right compass and buoys. We'll be talking about some of these buoys this month and we look forward to you coming aboard with us.

We know what it's like to be tossed into the overwhelming, tumultuous, open seas of a breast cancer diagnosis.  One of the Velvet Lime Girls, Laura, faced this diagnosis in June of 2015 and everything changed here in our little studio.  The seas were just-pretty-darn-rough for awhile, with our anchor in God holding us down and averting a major shipwreck.  There's just SO much to process with a diagnosis of breast cancer.  Do you go the conventional route? Alternative route? A combination route? What DO you do???  One thing is for sure ... you can't ignore it.  You're in a storm and you need some direction.  You need buoys that will guide you into a safe harbor.  We found some! And when you find buoys that help, you just want to yell out at the top of your lungs, over the crashing waves, to everyone out there adrift in the sea, "We found help!  Here are some buoys to safe harbor!"
So, that's what we're going to do.  We're going to yell out and point you in the direction of a few buoys we've found helpful along the way.  

Our first beautiful buoy is a site called Breast Cancer Conqueror.  
Whether you choose a conventional, alternative or a combination route to overcome breast cancer,  you'll find a treasure of resources, support and compassion here.  It's a great place to start if you just don't even know where to begin.  As their site says,  you'll learn to "Never Fear Breast Cancer Again."  The founder, Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, healed her own breast cancer naturally and documented the journey in her book, Heal Breast Cancer Naturally.  Along the way she left a trail of research-backed medical studies and resources that make this book a big, bright buoy, helping women on their healing journeys and guiding women who want to prevent getting breast cancer.  Go get the book today for yourself and then get one for your daughters, your mothers, and the friends you love.  It's been the biggest buoy out there for Laura and we know it will help guide you into safe waters.  Check out the heart of the healing program right here in this video: 7 Essentials Program. 

We'll be sharing several other buoys during this Breast Cancer Awareness month and we would like to hear your stories of the lifelines and guiding systems you have used to navigate your course through the rough seas of a breast cancer diagnosis.  Remember, you have a voice and you can use your story to help someone else who may be in distress.  So use your voice and help us tell others about the
buoys that can lead to safe harbor.

"My help and glory are in God - granite-strength and safe-harbor God." Psalms 62:7 

Smooth sailing ahead,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Change of Season

Well, we're still enjoying the beautiful wrap-up of summer here in Georgia, with light breezes, warm temperatures and sunny skies.  Thoughts of fall are not even on our horizon, but today that changed with the arrival of our Hello Fall doormat sample!  Oh, we were just thrilled to receive this beautiful sample from the great team we've worked with at Evergreen Enterprises! Thank-you Evergreen!
Apparently these doormats with our artwork are available at many locations that carry Evergreen doormats and we even found an online Groupon offer for the decorative doormat!  Here's a couple sightings we've had of the Hello Fall doormat.  Let us know if you see one in your area!

Amazon - Happy Fall Doormat

Groupon - Happy Fall Doormat


Happy Labor Day week-end to everyone,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

Hello May!

Hello May 1st!  We're so glad you're here.
You're the month that slips in with armfuls of spring flowers, refreshing rains, weddings, graduations, and thoughts of the the long summer exhale that is just around the corner.
We're going to enjoy every moment you bring to us this month.  All 31 days of you.
We're going to smell those fragrant, first blooms in the garden, gaze at the deepening shades of green in the grass, inhale the scent of fresh rain on our face and let our spirits soar carefree again like the sparrows that speckle morning skies with light-winged twirls and pirouettes. With our refreshed countenances, we'll celebrate graduations with grateful hearts and joy for the future, witness soft vows at May weddings that awaken our hearts with romance and cause us fall in love again, not only with others, but with ourselves.
We'll make sure to inhale grace and exhale praise for the beautiful days you'll bring us this month and we won't let one moment of your beauty be overshadowed by the even more glorious days of the summer ahead.
Oh, we're going to enjoy you month of May.

Dancing around the Maypole,
The Velvet Lime Girls
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it..."  Psalm 24:1
   

FUN Grad Card at Trader Joe's!

Do you have a fun-loving grad in your family or circle of friends?   We've created the perfect light-hearted graduation card for them and you can find it at your local Trader Joe's store! Yeah, that's right!  Just look for it in the card section!

The inspiration for this cute little card is easy to find. Marybeth, one of the Velvet Lime Girls, used to zip around in a cute little yellow bug just like this for a few years, and it's bright yellow color always brought a little sunshine into every place it travelled!   And now, with the upcoming high school graduation of Marybeth's daughter, Madison, this fun-loving card will always hold a special place in her heart and ours. Yes, there will be so many wonderful adventures ahead for Madison and for all those other wonderful graduates out there about to begin a new season of life.  

God bless each one of you!
The Velvet Lime Girls

REVIVE

The walking lilies in our studio garden are sending out shoots from the mother plant and sprouting up new life all over our flowerbeds.  The mother plant, the genesis of all this new life, is absolutely beautiful, so full of vibrant color, energy and life!  When it births one of its many slender shoots, they stretch-out, sink into the soil, and a whole new life is birthed in the garden. A whole new life that reflects the beauty and grace of the genesis plant....the creator.

It's a constant reminder to us of the new life that God gives us, when we give our lives to Him... when we let His Spirit dwell inside of us. It's an energizing, revitalizing, new life that will actually change our physical bodies, because HIS SPIRIT has taken-up residence inside of us.  

We're revived. 
We're refreshed. 
We're renewed.

"And if the same Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives (dwells) in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you."  
Romans 8:11

Living revived, refreshed, renewed,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Chive-Talking

A tousled-head of garden chive caught our eye this morning. It's spiky, feathery, petal tips, still tossing around drops of dew, were just beginning to stretch in the morning light and awake to the joy of today.  What an inspiration!

Chives aren't used to being seen so up-close and personal, and they're kind of just known for those slender, savory stems that infuse our food with flavor. Mmm, your tastebuds should be humming right now at the thought of a few minced wisps of chives.  A tiny sliver can change the whole palate. And this slender chive strand changed the whole palate in our garden today, as it stood up and overflowed with hope in the morning light.  If a little chive can do that, we can too.  We can choose to lift our tousled heads and let hope overflow in our lives. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

Overflowing with hope,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Summer in our Hearts

last late sunflower bloom

Do you just hang on to every bit of summer that you can, even when it's full-blown fall time?  We do!  A few weeks ago, we walked through the sunny side of our studio garden and captured the last remnants of sunshine days. We thought we'd share a few with you today! Perhaps these final flourishes of the season will brighten up your day like they do ours.  Its amazing how a thing of beauty, held in your heart, can make even a rainy, cold day seem like a day at the beach. 

last petite bloom of the salmon colored hibiscus

It reminds us of the thing of beauty we hold inside of us, the treasure we carry around inside of us while on this earth.  The Voice translation describes it quite beautifully like this:

"But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us." 
2 Corinthians 4:7

purple coneflower fading with grace

We hope our little snippets from the garden remind you to look for the the beautiful bouquet of treasure contained inside each of you.

Holding the beauty of summer and the treasure of God in our hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

birth of a late blooming sunflower

spiderwort buds

last burst of color from purple coneflower

                            

No Worries

"It's wonderful what happens when Christ replaces worry at the center of your life."  

Phil. 4:7 The Message 

The center of our life is a pretty important place to guard.

Wow, it is so easy to let it fill up with worries.

In fact, for some of us, it actually seems like the responsible thing to do.

You know, to make sure that everything's thought of that could possibly go wrong and then worry about it.

It's what responsible people do, right?

Actually, wrong.

There's a much better way to live and for all you 

professional worriers out there,

here's a little nudge in a more peaceful direction. We can offer this advice because we were highly experienced, professional worries at one time.  Yeah, we all came from long-lines of worriers.

Then, one day we really let this quote sink into our hearts:

"Don't worry about your life.."

Matthew 6:25

It wasn't a suggestion.

It was more like a loving command meant to protect.

And when we did it, stopped worrying, we had some amazing side-effects.Things like: 

PEACE

CALM

SERENITY

RESTORATION

JOY

Yep, trading worry for all these was the best thing we ever did.

Today's graphic kind of sums it all up for us around here.

It's kind of how we did it.  It's called prayer.

We thought we'd share it with you all today.

Our hope is that, like us, you'll just once-and-for-all, toss all those worries out the window.

Then open-wide the doors of your heart and pray, 

letting God replace all those worries as the center of your life.

 "Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Philippians 4:6-7

No worries,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. We hope you'll pass along some of your favorite worry-busting verses, quotes or thoughts.  We just may weave them into a new graphic or art collection to share with others. Thanks!

Little Bird, Big Song

This cute little bird fluttered into our studio this morning with a BIG song in it's heart.  
It was a song so big for such a little body that it just had to come out! 
When your soul really sings, that's what happens.  
You get so big on the inside, that a song of praise just has to come out!

Singing in the studio,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Royal Blood

  

Hi girls!  This one's just for you today.  A little reminder of the royal lineage you step into when God becomes your heavenly Father.  It's a regal bloodline and you've been invited to become a part of this family. It's a family that backs you all the way and loves you like no one else.

The Message translation says it this way:

“I’ll live in them, move into them;
    I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people...

I’ll be a Father to you;
    you’ll be sons and daughters to me.”

2 Corinthians 6:18

So let this amazing truth sink into your heart today.  You have a heavenly Father who promises to be with you and go before you as you walk through this life.  That brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "have no fear".  You've have God with you! 

For all you guys out there, this promise holds true for you too. Just replace the word daughter with son on the graphic above, and then run out and play with the rest of the kids! 

The sons and daughters of The King.

Grateful to be in the family,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Rainy Day Promise

We've thought about just "singing in the rain" lately to brighten things up a bit, since it's been raining for over a week here in Georgia.  Then we remembered this refreshing little promise that always showers us with joy. It's a perfect rainy day thought for you and we couldn't resist turning it into a graphic to share. 
So, as this new week begins, go pull out the brightest umbrella you can find, sing in the rain a little bit, and let each tiny raindrop splash fresh new joys into your heart.

Playing in the puddles,
The Velvet Lime Girls

LAUGH

We've had this uplifting graphic hanging in our studio for a couple weeks and we wanted to share it with you today. 

The idea of laughing without fear of the future is absolutely liberating.  A really-good-laugh, that spontaneous sound that rises from the heart, spills out through a smile and fills up your whole being with a carefree, uplifting, lightheartedness, is so, so good for your soul.

When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh?

You know, those kind that little children always seem to have just under the surface of their cute, flushed cheeks. 
The kind that are barely contained and about to spill-out into endless episodes of non-stop, hearty gales of laughter. 

Oh, a deep, heart-felt laugh is so good for your soul.
And so good for your future.

What a refreshing way to look at things in the future. 
          To laugh, rather than fear.  
          To smile, rather than worry.
          To rejoice, rather than dread.
When you're clothed with the strength and dignity that God offers...you can do this.  You can laugh without fear of the future.

With love & laughter,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Trust Him

We had a tiny thunderstorm sweep through our area of Georgia last night. Those majestic slices of lightening and the reverberating thunder-bells in the distance were a beautiful sight.  
We can enjoy this display now as adults, sitting in the safety of a home, because experience has taught us that as ominous-sounding as those thunder-bells may be...we're going to be okay.  
For little ones though, it still takes some reassurance that a big, loud sound is not going to hurt them. One of the little grandchildren who often pitter-patter around our studio recently blurted out, with a fresh-faced honesty, "I'm afraid when I hear thunder."  
After some tender, heartfelt discussion and reassurance, this little one was given an ANCHOR to hold onto and to SAY OUT LOUD over circumstances that try to make her be afraid.  It was this powerful passage from the Bible.

"When I am afraid, I will TRUST in you."

We thought we'd pass this little anchor on to you all today.  We dressed it up in a cantaloupe-colored, patterned background.  You may be all over the fear of thunder, but still find yourself facing a lightening storm of sorts in your life.  God's Word is just as powerful for you, just as reassuring for you, as it is for a little granddaughter.  It's because these words are living and active.  These words change things. But you're going to have to SAY them to activate them in your life.

So, print out this little art expression and hang it up somewhere today, so you can use it to speak to your storms, or your challenges. You're going to love the way TRUST drowns out fear.

Trusting,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Healer

Sometimes a name says it all. With God though, one name simply can't encompass all of His nature, His attributes, and the many ways He loves us.  The early writers of the Bible had several names they used to describe God and the many facets of his nature. You may have heard of a few like Jehovah-Jireh, which means the Lord will Provide, or Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord is our Peace.
There are many more and you can read about them at sites like this - Names of God.
One of the names of God we've been drawn to lately is Jehovah-Rapha.  Just listen to a few of its meanings:

I Am the God who heals you.
Great Physician.
The God who heals.
The Great Physician who heals the physical and emotional needs of His people.

The word Rapha actually means to restore, or make healthful, become fresh, completely healed, purified, repaired.  Amazing.  And this is just one of the many descriptive names of God.  Oh, how He loves us.
We wanted to capture the essence of this name of God and hang it in our studio, so, we filled our brushes with a crimson-fuchsia watercolor wash, swept them across some grainy paper and then layered a couple meanings of Jehovah-Rapha on the top. What a beautiful facet of God to reflect on throughout the day.
Here's a copy of our simple expression for you to print out, tape up somewhere, or pass along to a friend.  It's the last in our series of 7 faith-seeds we wanted to plant into your life this past week. A perfect ending to 7 days of celebrating the One who loves us the most. Our God. Our Great Physician.

The Velvet Lime Girls

Love Note for You.

Here's a little love note for you today.  A heart shaped sentiment brushed in cantaloupe

colored swashes and a blush background.  It's a perfect setting for God's favorite name for you...Beloved.

Just say it over and over today... to remind yourself of just how much YOU are loved.

The 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!

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

Light-Bearers

Light.  

It’s a word that often comes to mind this time of year.

Christmas tree lights, shopping mall lights, houses lined in lights, and candlelight. All in celebration of the real light... the one who called himself, “the Light of the World.”

We like the way The Voice translation conveys the meaning of this expression, the light of the world:

 "Jesus: I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with me, you will thrive in nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.”  John 8:12

Amazing.  We can thrive in nourishing light.  
In light that gives life.  Just by walking with Him.

That’s all he invites us to do here … to walk with Him.  
The Light of the World.

This walking with the Light of the World will transform us….really make us into something quite different…a new creation, a new species of being, a child of the Light…with His light shining bright out of our ordinary, everyday lives.  

Jesus knew this kind of luminous transformation would occur within us, as we began to walk with Him. He talked about it with his closest friends, and said words like this, to all who would reach out, take His hand, and walk with Him:

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.  God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.  If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you?  I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand---shine!  Keep open house; be generous with your lives.  By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14

So, go ahead, light up all the lights in the house this Christmas.  And as they twinkle and sparkle, may they remind you to walk with the Light of the World, and become the light-bearers He so wants us to be in this world.  Light-bearers who bring out beautiful God-colors as they shine on the hill.

Letting our light shine,

The Velvet Lime Girls 

P.S. Thank-you James, for the inspiration you bring to us with your soft pastel artwork that lights up our studio with light-bearing, beautiful God-colors.

Fragrant Gifts

A season of giving is about to be ushered in as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Immanuel, our "God with us". We've been thinking a lot about giving and gifts in the Velvet Lime Girls studio. Quite often, the most memorable and treasured gifts are the ones given fully from the heart. Gifts like the one Mary Magdalene gave Jesus, a pint of pure nard in an alabaster jar. Nard was an expensive, lavish, aromatic perfume and many scholars believe this may have actually been an essence of lavender. The Bible records it would have taken a year's salary to pay for the amount of precious ointment given by Mary to Jesus. It was an extravagant gift, poured straight from her heart, filling the senses of all those present, and continuing to touch people today, whenever the story is retold. We've wondered if this gift came from a field of lavender as vast, as beautiful, as costly as the one pictured here, a never-ending field of fragrance. The heady aroma from this lavender field seems to waft off the paper and into our hearts, reminding us of just how beautiful a gift is when it is given from the heart.

We'd like to thank James, our "Platinum Advisor", for bringing this inspiration to us. He picked up his crayons again after 40+ years, and with soft pastels created this fragrant work of art, and we've just been inhaling the inspiration it brings to our souls. The artwork sits on an easel in our studio, it is a work still in progress, but we wanted to share its fragrance, it's reminder to all of us in this season.. that gifts given from the heart last forever.

"Then Mary took about a pint of nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."  John 12:3

Learning to give from our hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls