Giving Roses

Bushels of roses spill all over our studio garden this time of year.   We plunge them into vases, pass bouquets on to those stopping by to visit, and share them with just about everyone.

They just keep blooming.
Blooming, blooming, blooming...an endless tangle of flushed petals, drenched with the scent of heaven.









The more we give them away, the more they come.
We just can't out-give the roses.



It's as if the giving triggers an unseen force inside their tiny ruffled faces and they explode in pink profusion at the very site of the last cutting...the last giving place.

They seem to whisper one of our favorite quotes, by 
Saint Francis of Assisi, in every scattered petal...
"It is in giving that you receive."


The little roses know a hidden truth. 
Life is enriched, fulfilled, multiplied ... as we give.
Giving doesn't take away from us ... it releases us to be more than we could ever imagine.

Giving, real giving, scatters self-focus to the wind and showers the world around you with grace, beauty and the very fragrance of heaven.

Oh, you are so beautiful when you give.  

When you pour yourself out for others.  

When you live your life to be a blessing.

Inspired to embrace a life of giving more,

The Velvet Lime Girls

"Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” 

Luke 6:38 - The Message

Dragonfly Inn

  

It was the blue shells. 

The simple wooden bowl of blue shells, glistening in shades of sand-washed, sea-glass colors, that began to slowly pull me out to a sea of summer calm.  I had just stepped into the spa-like, never-never land, of the Dragonfly Inn, nestled in Corolla, North Carolina, and already, that deep soul-exhale one has when they’ve found a place to really relax, was beginning to softly ripple in.

Who would take the time to search for a thousand shells in shades of blue, to simply match the colors of ocean, sky and sand that grace this beachfront inn? Only two gentle souls, schooled in the fine art of hospitality, and gifted with an eye for design, luxury, and comfort ... the Dragonfly Inn innkeepers, Dan and Lori Evans. These two creatives have fashioned a sand-castle getaway on a secluded strip of beach in the very remote Outer Banks of North Carolina. 

Pause a moment and take a beach stroll with me, through photos, as I sift through memories of a recent stay here, with my husband, where we slumbered on silky bamboo sheets, counted stars on the edge of the ocean, awakened to gourmet breakfasts, and lived like pampered beach royals for 3 days.

Roses, roses, roses...everywhere! 

Greeting us upon our arrival, gracing our bedside and breakfast table, and filling the entire beachfront inn with floral notes mixed with salty air.

Sunlight dancing off sparkling details, draped on a hand-forged iron chandelier, and suspended above the expansive breakfast table. A tiny detail...just for delight.

Breakfast splendor every morning! 

Five shining orbs, instead of a single light fixture, illuminating a circular staircase, nestled in the center of the inn.

Colors of calm everywhere.

Beach views wrapping themselves around us everyday.

And a lovely wooden bowl filled with a thousand blue shells
that seem to whisper this old adage,
"Offer hospitality to one another."  1 Peter 4:9 

Finding bliss at the beach,

A Velvet Lime Girl

post scriptum

Pictured above is a casual gift of randomly collected beach glass given to us from Ellie, the innkeepers beautiful daughter. Hospitality just runs in this family and it's on full display in the next generation.

For those of you still planning a vacation, please visit the site of this recent inspiration that slipped into our studio today @
The Dragonfly Inn

Poppies!

A poppy burst open this morning in our studio garden. 
It's been said that one can actually hear the sound of a poppy opening...a subtle little "pop!" 
One thing's for sure, they do make a grand entrance!
A poppy opens up with such bright faced joy, and summer surprise in its petals, that we've wondered if it silently plans the explosive, celebratory debut for weeks ahead, inside its fuzzy little head?  

That little head must swirl around with thoughts of celebration, joy and gratitude...and it's probably because the poppy has its mind set on right things, on good things, on the beauty that is to come in its life.

This poppy unfolded a few thoughts in us today. Thoughts about the same joy, the same celebration, that we can hold in our hearts, as we, like the poppy, set-our-minds-on-good things, good thoughts and promises spoken directly to our hearts by God.
 
We know that when we let our thoughts, inspired by God, swirl around in our heads and hearts, we too, like this fresh-faced poppy, will be able to lift our heads and be filled with a joy, a gratitude, that simply overflows and kind of "pops" out into our own worlds.

So today, we'll be looking at the poppy party going on and letting our hearts join in with lovely thoughts like this...
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of The Lord rises upon you."
Isaiah 60:1

Enjoying the party in the garden and in our hearts,
The Velvet Lime Girls

HOPE

Hope is sunshine for the soul. ©

With the Memorial Day weekend about to begin, our thoughts are already bobbing out to sea with images of the beach, and the sand-salt-and-sunny-serenity about to roll in with summer.  Actually, it's not technically summer yet, but here in
the south, summer begins on Memorial Day, as we slip into white shorts, sip on sweet tea and inhale the first breezes of summer. Life just lightens up with the very thought of summer!


Summery thoughts are a bit like hope.  
That beautiful gift from God that lifts our hearts up to a puffy, white cloud level. Carrying the expectation, the anticipation, the belief, that God will really come along to be with us, help us, and never leave us.  When God gives you hope, it's as if He breathes His powerful-life-giving-breath into the very chambers of your heart ... fully inflating you to live again. Life just lightens up with the very thought of hope!

Hope was the inspiration for this artwork recently created in our studio. We are thrilled that Divinity selected it to grace the cover of their upcoming catalog. For those of you who are retailers, please visit their website below.  
http://www.divinitywholesale.com/Scripts/PublicSite/


We hope you'll slip into this weekend with hope shining bright in your heart,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Details

Pause for just a minute today as the weekend begins and soak up a little inspiration from our studio garden. 
                                                         
Columbine hats dancing in the breeze.                 
   
       
Geranium buds lifting their heads with gratitude.
                       
Stamens shouting praise. 
                   
And pansy faces glowing bright with hope.

The details spinning around us in the garden are enough to make us dizzy!  Details, details, details ... everywhere!
                       
Reminders of the delight God finds in the details of our lives. How amazing...the creator of this magnificent garden actually delights in us.  
                                        
Just listen to the way it's expressed in this ancient sentiment: 
"...God delights in every detail of our lives"  Psalm 37:23
 New Living Translation

Living in His delight,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

Inhale Grace, Exhale Praise

A phrase from a song captured our hearts recently and when we glanced at this dogwood blossom with it's "heart" open wide, breathing in grace, and exhaling a "praise" of sorts with its outstretched petals, we just had to share it with you all! 

It beautifully captured the essence of what we hope our lives will be...beautiful displays of our Heavenly Father, living our lives with hearts open to Him, breathing in all of the Grace He gives and then pouring out a life of continual praise to Him through everything we do!

Inhale Grace, Exhale Praise,
The Velvet Lime Girls

"He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, 
a praise-song to our God."  
Psalm 40:3  

A Creative Life

"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

We've loved this beautiful quote ever since it rippled softly into our hearts a few years ago.  We even used it in a previous blog to describe three tiny loved ones:
http://velvetlimedesign.blogspot.com/2012/01/joy.html     

Today, the quote resurfaced as we recalled a random meeting of a very gifted artist named Debbie Saenz.
https://www.facebook.com/ACreativeLife

We were touched by her as much as we were her lovely art,  and because we believe beautiful things are meant to be shared, we had planned to do an artist spotlight on her in the future. And then we let time slip this lovely idea away from us. It kind of bobbed out to sea. Out, out, out, into the busy ocean of life, and it almost sailed away.  But creatives like this, just never leave you. Their art comes ebbing back onto your shores, like a treasured message in a bottle.

So today, let us uncork some of the art treasures created by this amazing artist.  The piece below caught our eyes immediately with Valentine's Day just around the corner. It'd be great for an upcoming wedding or anyone touched by LOVE. It just makes us smile:-)

We also have been inspired by these works of art that would be perfect for a wedding gift or a special couple.

And this petite art on a necklace reminds us who we are.

There's just so much to show in this artist's portfolio, but we'll close with this fresh as a breeze painting, reminding us that the windows of spring will open again soon.

Inspired by another creative,
The Velvet Lime Girls

You can see more of Debbie's creations in her Etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DebbieSaenz?ref=l2-shopheader-name