From the Hope Farm - Entries from June 2010

I routinely check the mail.  Today I found a most original piece of art. The referenced art came in the form of a wedding invitation. In my opinion, it was the neatest invite I have ever received. This announcement will not be thrown out after event - not a chance. This wedding invite will become part of my interior décor. You see this piece of art disguised as an invitation combines some of my favorite elements of antiquity.
    I have always had a soft spot for things weathered, aged or appearing that way.

Coffee: The yellowing, brownish, aging look achieved with coffee (or tea) is magnificent. You can tint lace, material, paper and most anything with these stains. The fun part? The coffee or tea can be made differing degrees of strength- producing many shades of yellow- brown. I once used coffee to stain a piece of furniture hubby made and it smelled coffee-like for a while. One fav use for coffee is hardwood floors. It works wonder on my old floors, filling in the scratches.

Fire: using flames to create a burned, torn look is one of my preferred aging tricks.

Old English looking font creates a true vintage look.

This wedding invitation has a side note at the bottom of the RSVP card that reads:
 These invitations were hand dyed in coffee and singed over open flame for your viewing benefit.

So, you can see why this invite rocks my creative side.  Let me not forget one monumental detail: said invitation is for my little bro! Here is a pic of my handsome brother and his gorgeous wife-to-be for your viewing benefits!

             Photo taken by Pope Saint Victor

These pics were taken a few weeks before their first shower held on Saint Simons Island. Since I am really into homemade gifts (my budget is really into it too!) I made an engagement gift for brother using prints of these pics. This project allows some resourcefulness! This is a great way to use your lids. Here I have a wheat germ lid, two tomato sauce lids and one alfredo sauce lid. Simply glue magnets on the back side. 

On the inside you glue the print then mix resin and catalyst. This mixture really lets off some fumes. It seriously takes about a week to dry.

The next time I will not mix in as much catalyst as the catalyst discolored one of the pics. There were three good ones and one "runt" in the bunch. I had to move the box they were drying in several times due to fumes. This movement caused some bubbling in the resin mixture. I think it makes this batch of magnets pretty neat! The mixture forms a hard glass look, making some interesting fridge magnets.

I close with this thought. Always look for inspiration and art. Let resourcefulness guide you into creating!

Memories of  learning to swim hit me this week as we completed a two week swimming session. You know those sounds of a new swimmer continually under water, doing tricks and only coming up for a quick breath and back under. My oldest is really taking to swimming. From the textbook definition- he is a swimmer. At night he has goggle marks around his eyes and is constantly counting the tricks he can do. Excitement is an understatement when I describe how I feel about him learning to swim. Watching your offspring gather new skills is often bittersweet. I remember going to the ocean or pools with Kenimer in his first 3 years. He was terrified, clinging to me with everything in him. I remember walking further into the ocean just so he would squeeze tighter. These were special times. He held onto me like I was his savior. I guess at the moment I was the only thing between him and the roaring waters. But today? He is conquering those waters like a champ. No Fear. He does’nt need me to hold him anymore.

 

      But Tucker, on the other hand: he is scared - especially in deep water. He digs his nails into my arms and squeezes tighter and tighter. I uncurl his grasp to force him to do the exercise. But truth be told, I only made him swim enough to please the teacher and it was back to cuddles. I told him how much I loved him and he whimperingly said “I love you mama, back to steps, no swim". Bottom line is I don’t care if he’s really swimming today or not. I know he’ll get it. But the cuddles, hugs, kisses, and I love you’s I got each day when he was scared? Lemme tell ya…I wouldn't trade those for a million olympic swimmers!

"I  love Rap music, I always have and I always will there aint no other kind of music in the world that makes me feel quite as chill."

Ahh... these words bring back memories: memories of my introduction to DC Talk. My friend's dad bought this tape at Walmart in the Christian section. I was 12, sitting on my friends four post bed - our attention centered on a black boom box. We rewound and listened to "I love Rap Music" over and over. Since I was only allowed to listen to Christian music, this band fit the bill. I listened to everything they released. 

Fast forward to fall 2008 when my brother began to do production work for Reach Records, a hip hop record label. The first artist I was captivated by was LeCrae, then on to Sho Barach and Trip Lee. I clearly remember running to the beat of LeCrae's "Don't waste your Life" while thinking "why am I not a die-hard rap fan?" I could listen to it all day long. It gets in your bones and seems to resonate with the beat of your heart. 

I began to research popular rap artists and soon realized why I did'nt know more rap material - simply put, the genre is not usually lyrically wholesome.

This brings us up to Winter 2008 when we met Matt. He was dating my friend, Jordy, who I hadn't seen face-to-face in quite some time. She called and asked if we could get together. Frankly, Shannon and I didn't feel like 'hanging'. We were discouraged, and dealing with a bit of depression. We pushed through, arranged childcare and had dinner with said friends. The dinner conversation took an interesting turn when we began to learn about Matt's past. Matt is from Nashville and was a popular rap artist writing and performing under the name Cadence. He was on the Horizon of a very promising future. He has a redemption story that dug into the depths of Shannon and I's hearts. He told us how he left everything - everything meaning "career, appoval, success, money" - to follow Jesus.  This change of lifestyle caused quite a stir in his world.  His questions directed torward my husband were quite thought inducing thoughtful and sincere, and very deep.

Matt, being a fairly new believer found common ground with my husband, who had fallen in love with Jesus after being an atheist for many years. Once in the car, Shannon conveyed bits of the conversation. He solemnly said, "I feel challenged and sad. I've let my spark and love for Jesus get dull." He began to talk, & I talked. Our thoughts were beautiful and moving as they were voiced. Paper and pen - hands scribbled - as I wrote and wrote. Sitting in our living room on December 21, 2008 we wrote Wandering Heart. This song is a bittersweet journey of hard times and a plea for revival in calloused hearts. That evening, the floodgates opened, we wrote one complete song, & finished three others before bed.

This post is not meant to be about our songs but rather the impact our spiritual paths can have on others. Meeting Matt definitely influenced our song writing. The next day we had a knock on the door from Matt and Jordy. They wanted to give us Matt's latest project at that time, entitled Another Robot Sunset. This EP is nothing short of brilliant. Its a collection of songs from the perspective of a robot who's outlived all of his human loves. My first listen had me emotional twisted up inside and yet I wanted to pinch myself and say, "Come on, this song is about a robot!"

A few days ago I received a lovely package with a C.D. in it. Shannon and I COULD NOT WAIT TO LISTEN! I  loved the title of this project: RIP Cadence.  At first listen, I was committed. These choruses got in my bones. Stay tuned for a more in depth album review.

Our whole family climbed onto the golf cart, and were soon transported to the blueberry patch by 'the farmer', as Kenimer laughingly called him - rows and rows of tall bushes packed full of berries. This was my idea for a fun family outing, a little anxious about how it might rate in the 'Lewis Activity Fun' scale.  Their comments quickly overrode any apprehensions I had entertained.

Here are some of the first words out of their mouth:
"Good Idea, Mama! Praise Jesus - look at these delicious blueberries!" - Shannon
"I LOVE you, Mama!" - Kenimer

Those of you who know Kenimer are familiar with his animation and drama. If you do not know him:  imagine a high pitched sing-songy voice saying this:
"You put one berry in the bucket and one berry in your mouth, you put one berry in your bucket and one berry in your mouth."  Over and over he would sing.

I think I scored a 10 on this one!
"Please, maam eat all you can - the birds are gonna eat the rest of the berries since it's the end of the season", said the Farmer.  Kenimer and Tucker were asking permission to eat berries at first but I explained they could eat all the berries their tummies could hold. They were happy and ate a lot - their buckets were proof: empty!

Our friends Brent and Sarah, joined us at the berry farm! If you want to experience the berry delicious images  through her pro lens... hop on over... I promise you'll want to eat the pics! Here is a teaser :