July 2011
July 13, 2011
July 12, 2011
Come on, Slowpoke!
“Yes, I understand that turning back or waiting for others
slows you down, but only at first.The deliberate extension of goodness, generosity, and wisdom always wins out in the end.”~~ Lisa Bevere, “Lioness Arising: Wake Up and Change Your World”
When I was a little girl, riding my bike was one of the endless activities that filled my summer days. We lived by a lake, and our road was a dead-end, so most of the cars that drove by our house were either people who lived there or perhaps strangers who were lost. In any event, hardly anyone ever drove down that road fast . . . because there was a huge tree at the end of the road and you had to drive around that tree to turn around and go right back out the way you came in.
The other really great thing about "Our Road" was that there was a little hill just beyond our house (it seemed quite enormous to me at the time!) We would race down that hill to the bottom, and come screaming to a stop just before we would crash into an enormous Weeping Willow tree at the edge of a swampy area. Now THAT was a great way to spend a summer afternoon!
One day I was racing my bike with my BFF, and as we came zooming down that hill with the summer breeze whipping our hair into our eyes, we were laughing and yelling at one another to "Go faster! Go faster!." Suddenly I looked over and saw that she was RIGHT THERE and we slammed into each other. Of course, that knocked us both off of our bikes, right there in the middle of "Our Road," and there was blood everywhere. We both had skinned up our knees and our hands, knocked heads somewhere along the way, and we probably both had a fat lip. Fortunately, nothing was broken except our momentary dreams of being world-class bike racers, but it did put us out of commission for a few days. Not long, though!
Soon we were both back to the business of all the adventures that little girls would have on a summer day, playing in the woods, spying on the other neighborhood kids through the branches of that Weeping Willow tree, and racing our bikes down the hill again right there on "Our Road." That's the way life usually presents itself to us, both as children and as adults. One minute we are flying down the road of Life with our hair flying in the breeze, laughing as we go. And then, suddenly, we are confronted with "The Hill" of adversity, and frequently we crash and burn before we get back up and travel on.
So what happens when we have to "slow down" for someone else along the way? Sometimes my girls go for a bike ride here on "Our Road" by our house that is also near a lake with a woods in our backyard. But one of our girls can't go as fast as the other, because she has Cerebral Palsy. It is easy for her sister to get exasperated when they can't zoom down the road as fast as she would like . . . . so here's what we do: "How about you go as fast as you can until you get to the sign at the curve, and then come zooming back to catch up with your sister?" That way we all get to go for a bike ride, together, while one gets to experience the thrill of the wind-whipped hair in the eyes and mouth, while the other one gets the opportunity to learn how to make the bike pedals go around and not tip over, all at the same time!
Yes, it can slow us down when we have to wait for someone we love to catch up. But what's really important here? Convenience or compassion? The thrill of the speed or the joy of the relationship? In other areas of life, the question is the same: Do we value the relationship with our loved ones, or do we just want them to "hurry up" and do it our way? I think about how often God patiently waits for me to "get it," to understand, and to figure out that His way is always the only way on my life journey.
Do not be discouraged if you are waiting for a loved one - sometimes those moments of slowing down, taking a deep breath, and saying a little prayer is the task that is before you TODAY. No, you may not be setting the world on fire with the newest, greatest, and most incredible discovery, but you are giving a gift that is truly a treasure to those whom God has put in your pathway along the journey of Life, wherever you live on "Your Road."
If you would like to participate this week with "In Other Words," please leave a link here to your post on this quote so we can come visit you. We would love to read your thoughts on this topic! Also, you can find more information at Loni's blog, Writing Canvas, and join us in future weeks for "In Other Words."
July 08, 2011
What fun! Updating all of my online shops and filling them up with so many beautiful vintage, reconstructed, and hand-embellished garments, shoes, and accessories. Stop by Gossamer Wings Studio!
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/GossamerWingsStudio
Come on over and join the NEW BOOK CLUB at Katherine's Corner!
Here is a message from our Sweet Katie:
Most of you know how much I enjoy reading. Not just your blogs, but books too. Every month I post a new book list. I started thinking last night ( while reading a book) about how much I used to enjoy Oprah’s book club. I miss her show. I do watch several programs on her OWN network though….. So, today I am announcing Katherines Corner Book Club!
I realize a good book club takes time to build. But it can evolve into something wonderful.
A good book club needs : Members- You,
A good book- We’ll choose one together ( choices are listed below),
A meeting place- Here
A meeting time- Just once a month we’ll choose the book and you can leave comments on the book club page throughout the month.
It’s basically a no obligation book club. It’s sharing your thoughts through comments on the book club page throughout the month. What do you think?
We already have a common connection through Katherines Corner through our bloggy friendship so we’re off to a good start.
Leave your book choice ( from the selection below) in the comments section on this post and then just Join the book club members list on the book club page.
The book with the most votes is the book we will use for our first book club book. Starting next week! You can purchase your book through my book shop Click HERE Or just go to the book list page here at Katherines Corner or from your local book seller when all the votes are in.
One Summer by David Baldacci -
Terminally ill Jack is determined to get his fractured family back together.
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan -
Three generations of women explore the complicated and often contradictory aspects of friendship.
Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson
A daughter's “smart” doll knows to much. The world technology has evolved in this science fiction novel.
Lets Take The Long Way Home By Gail Caldwell -
A celebration of life and friendship.
Lets keep inviting people. You can post the book club button on your sidebar, or blog about it, etc. This is the button code
<a href=”http://katherinescorner.com/book-list/book-club-at-katherines-corner” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i51.tinypic.com/v8ipnn.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Katherines Corner book club”></a>
Hopefully we will always have a core group, and together we will make the Katherines Corner book club a fun and interesting experience.
July 07, 2011
Paper Doll Party with Vintage Image Craft
Creative Challenge from Vintage Image Craft
Paper Doll Party
July, 2011
Can you create a PAPER DOLL inspired craft?? Bring your paper doll idea to life using vintage images from VIC. Submit your craft photo, and you may win a new copy of "Artful Paper Dolls" by the renowned designer and author, Terry Taylor! FREE Victorian vintage images are posted on VIC's Facebook for you to download between June 14 and July 5. Or you can purchase ready-to-print Image Books from our VIC Store. Cut up those images and craft something cute, kitchy or expressive.
Through July 22, you can submit your paper doll vintage-inspired craft photo to Vintage Image Craft -- and the Challenge is On!! The top three winners will share adulation, international acclaim, and PRIZES!
SUBMISSIONS
Your project can be a card, ornament, decoration, tag, ATC, altered book, scrapbook page, jewelry, box or any other craft. Use a VIC vintage image, free on Facebook or purchased from Vintage Image Craft for your "paper doll" parts. Incorporate any techniques, including collage, assemblage, altered art, stamping and/or distressing. Digital artwork is welcome.
Submit your entry by July 22, 2011 by sending photos or scans of your artwork (up to four) a full description of the techniques, materials and products you used. Winners will be announced by July 29, 2011.
JUDGING: Entries will be judged on creative use of vintage images, design, color, materials and textures, embellishment, techniques, and pure whimsy. The judges are Scott Henderson and Martin Bray.
PRIZES: First Prize is a copy of Terry Taylor's remarkable book, artful paper dolls from Lark Books. Terry takes paper dolls in a dozen new directions. Here are paper dolls re-interpreted through imaginative materials, craft technologies, and mixed-media. They include paper dolls as symbols, social commentary, fashion decoration, and yes, even toys. But as the book cover states, "These are not the paper dolls of your childhood!" The book is a $14.95 value (donated by Lark Books!).
And a prize beyond value: The winning craft and artist will be displayed on the VintageImageCraft Home Page! Second Prize is ONE download of a VintageImageCraft Card Book of your choice, an $8.99 value. Third Prize is ONE download of a VintageImageCraft Image Book of your choice, a $4.99 value. VintageImageCraft invites you to submit your "Paper Doll Craft" by July 22, 2011! Submit Your Entry Photo and Description Dress Up Your Paper Doll - and you could win a prize and fame!
July 01, 2011
I Don't Know About You . . . .
If you’ve ever traveled to other countries, I’m sure it has occurred to you just how fortunate we are to live in America. Now, that is not a statement of arrogance or false pride . . . it is simply an observation. I have only traveled to a few other countries, and as a “country girl,” haven’t even traveled to very many of the larger metropolitan areas of our own country.
It is not difficult, however, at least to be aware of all of the poverty, despair, hopelessness, and violence that abound all around the world, even here in America. In an age of instant information, we are so frequently bombarded with images of violence and tragedy, that it is easy to become complacent.
Having witnessed first-hand a bit of the devastation and despair that is a daily part of life for many people around the world, it certainly seems to me that, of all the places I could possibly live, America is by far the best place of all!
In America, we at least have opportunities to create our own destiny. Having grown up in a small, rural community in mid-Michigan, it never occurred to me that we were “poor.” I didn’t realize just how little we really had in the way of material possessions until I went away to college and met other students from wealthy families. It was overwhelming, at times, to realize what it must have been like to grow up having a huge, gorgeous house, beautiful clothing, and parents who drove expensive cars. That was a lesson in economics!
My observations about America do not come from a position of wealth and privilege. I worked for a few years for our country court system where I was the Education Director for a program for people who had been incarcerated to complete their education. During those years I worked with students who were third-generation drug addicts; I worked with a young couple who had lost their children as a result of an explosion in their little hovel of a home while they were cooking Meth.
Some of my students were in their mid-forties and fifties, and all they had known was a life of hopelessness and violence. One of my students eventually took his own life because of the abuse he was experiencing, and he didn’t tell anyone about it until it was too late.
For me, there is no wistful, unrealistic vision of America as a place that is perfect and everyone is happy, healthy, and safe. This is a country filled with ordinary people, but because of our history, we have opportunities to accomplish extraordinary things. I pray that we do not lose those opportunities because we choose to look the other way, or because we only focus on the imperfections we see all around us.
I don’t know about you . . . . but I believe America is still the best country on earth. God has blessed this country, in spite of our failures and mistakes, because our foundation is built on God's truth. This Independence Day, I choose to thank God for the opportunity to live in a country where I am free to live my life according to the beliefs that I hold.
God bless America!
Nina Newton
Artsy mama who sews, quilts, writes eBook patterns, and loves to go thrift shopping!
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