RedLetterWords

The Hymn Collection - Behind the Design

Hymns.  Where do I start?

this collection has been such a blessing for me to create.  I've been researching them, learning the story behind who, when and why they were written, singing them, my husband will come up to see what I've been working on and he's been signing them -

insert loud deep voice . . It is welllllllll with my soulllll

my 6 yo daughter has been sounding out and reading them  - i need to record that - sweetest this ever!

I love them all - most were written several hundred years ago and the truth in the lyrics is timeless and unchanging.  here's a little bit more about some of them . . .

here's my heart - my favorite line from Come Thou Fount

In Christ Alone - really the one that started this whole collection.  I love this newer hymn

Amazing Grace - designed as single prints or as a set of 2.

my all time favorite.  The first 2 lines are beautiful . . .  Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound

but its the last 2 lines where the story is for me . .

how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

I need to back up now and tell you about the hour I first believed.  December 5, 1997 we were married 41/2 years with a 5 month old baby.  Both my husband and I had grown up in church but as we got to be older teenagers with jobs and drivers licenses!  we had slowly stopped going.  We were very good Creasters though (church on Christmas and Easter for sure) but didn't see the importance the rest of the year.  We were extremely busy having parties.  We both knew that something was missing but didn't know what exactly to do about it.  So we decided it must be the weather. Surely warm sunny weather would make us happy.  We sold everything we owned and made plans to head west to San Diego with half baked plans to start a photography studio once we arrived. 

We had lots of goodbye parties.  But one of them was different than the rest.  Our friends Jeff and Michelle came over for dinner and said wow we are going to miss you and we are real excited for you and all but we just can't let you leave without sharing this with you.  Poured out the love of Christ with the gospel and right then and there holding hands around our little kitchen table we turned away from our old ways and asked Jesus into our hearts.  That was the moment we knew that  no matter what that everything was going to be ok.  That's all we knew.

How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

that was also the moment we knew that the timing was off for our move.  Both of us were too scared to say anything to each other.  It was all planned out.  The house was sold.  The moving truck was in the driveway.  We didn't know what to do.  So we went.   the rest of the story is quite loooong but since it wasn't the right time for us to be there, it's no surprise that things didn't go as planned.  We moved back to Michigan 3 months later.  We have been blessed ever since.  There have been some rocky patches, and some huge storms of course, but my husband started an extremely successful photography studio (which we later sold) but I still think he's the best that ever was:) that led him into his current printing business wwww.colorincprolab.com.  God's got some other things working behind the scenes right now - including us being in of all places - Southern California for this semester (more on that later when I tell you about my word of the year- I know it.  I can feel it.  I don't know what though and that's ok.

I think on that hour I first believed quite often.  God never fails to bring a smile to my face or a tear to my eye -  usually both at the same time.  That is why you will see me with streaky mascara and a big smile whenever I hear this song- just in case you were wondering.  

What about you?  do you think about the hour you first believed?  I would love to hear your story.   

 

Behind the Design - Esther Card + Giveaway

So remember the part when Mordecai was talking to Esther about going to the King to beg for mercy and plead for her people?

and Esther reminded him that she hasn't been summoned to go before the King and that anyone who went before the King without being summoned would be put to death?

and Mordecai asked the question Who knows? - maybe you are the queen right now for such a time as this?

and Esther decided she would go to the King and ask for her people to be spared.  And they were.

Our circumstances are not Queen Esthers.  But we were all placed by God right now for such a time as this.

I find myself remembering Mordecai's question sometimes if I ever have a thought like. . .

I wonder if raising children was somehow easier in the 80's or the 50's or

time seems to go so much faster now or

the world is a much scarier, darker place than it was 50 or 75 or 100 years ago

and I know that I am a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, cousin, aunt right now for such a time as this.

Today we are giving away 5 sets of 5 notecards - She Knew that she was here for such a time as this -

The back of the card says . . . Thank you for being there for me. 

All you need to do to be in the running to win  . .

is leave a comment about how you know that someone was there for you or spoke exactly the words that you needed to hear at that time -

I'll start - one morning a couple of months ago I was feeling down, busy, tired, wondering if I was doing the right thing and my BFF IRL Julie called me and just started talking to me, speaking the Word - we hadn't talked in about a week so she didn't know how I was feeling before she called.  And I knew that God had put that Word in her mouth that morning for me and laid on her heart to call me at that time. 

When I told her how I had been feeling - I knew that She Knew that she was here for such a time as this

Or you can just say - I never win blog giveaways!!  I would love to win these! 

For extra entries you can follow RedLetterWords on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway.  Return here and leave an additional comment that you tweeted.

Become a fan of RedLetterWords on Facebook and post a link to this giveaway on your facebook page.  Return here and leave an additional comment that you Facebooked!

The Giveaway is open until Sunday the 3rd at midnight and the winner will be announced on the 4th!  

Giveaway is open to US residents only*

Reasons I Love Being Swedish

#1  my Grandma.  here she was teaching me how to make swedish biscuit.  She was very picky about the weather on biscuit day.  It could not be too humid or no biscuit.  I loved it when she told her stories about Sweden - she called it the "old country" and she prayed for me in Swedish.

#2  the pancakes - they are super thin and crepe like.  I like mine rolled up with blueberries and powdered sugar the best but the rest of the fam rolls a piece of bacon and a little sryup into a breakfast burrito.  We make them most Saturdays at our house, but my Uncle Morrie makes them the best. 

#3  the meatballs.  and nobody made them better than Grandma.  I wish I had a picture!  oh wait will this work?  You can eat them here now for $5.99.  Really really good but not like Grandmas.

#4 the ligonberry jam.  so so good on Swedish biscuit and pancakes.

and just so its not all about the food . . . (but really, it might be:)

#5 the dala horses.  Here is me and my sister on our Christmas card - 1974ish.  My parents always made a point to stop at any type of Swedish store or restaurant when we were traveling. 

#6  This Swedish Proverb in denimn.

 
And in red . .

 
I like to give this print to my swedish relatives for wedding and anniversary presents!

What do you love best about your heritage?

Coffee and Sushi

Yes please!  LOVE coffee and sushi.  But not together.  That would be disgusting.  Here is a little story for you on a Friday about me, coffee and sushi.  

I didn't always love coffee.  Tim has.  He always was saying "please just try it, it has carmel in it."  I tried it but just couldn't acquire a taste for it.  This went on forever.  Except for one day, I liked it. I don't remember what it was exactly - most likely something carmely, milky, sugary and just plain yummy.  Ever since, we have enjoyed our morning coffee together.  I now consider myself relatively coffee savvy - like I can order at the coffee shop without being embarrased or self conscious of the line forming behind clueless me and I usually know exactly what I would like.  Just sayin. . cuz it wasn't always that way:)

Here is our new Coffee Print 12x12 cafe mount

and how cute is this summery little space Kelly put together?  Perfect for reading your book, doing your bible study, planning your day  - all with your cup of coffee of course:)

Macchiato Break! by Dee Kasberger featuring beach bags

And sushi?  well my first experience with sushi went like this.  I was in California in the late 80's with my college girlfriends.   I thought that I should do as the Californians do and have sushi for lunch.  They were smart and went to McDonalds.  I took one bite of my sushi and immediately found myself in line at McDonalds.  It was a very expensive Big Mac for a college girl on a budget that day.  But fast forward 15 years and once again my taste buds changed.  I have always loved fish but then I met Ahi Tuna - really rare, served almost cold.  So I started to try sashimi.  Loved it.  Sushi was next.  Here are my favorites . . . Sushi 12x12 cafe mount

And doesn't this look like a fun place to have lunch?  Assuming you love sushi of course:)

Spicy Tuna by Dee Kasberger featuring black shoes

Have your taste buds ever changed?  Do Tell . . .

Thanks for reading my silly coffee and sushi story :)

Oh and here is a shopping code for 15% off!!  SUSHI15.  Valid till Sunday the 27th at midnight! 

Good on everything except custom prints and print of the month:)

My Beloved, Me and a Blank Wall

So I have never placed anything permanently above our bed.  I love this space. The walls in the rest of the house are full of family photos but I wanted something meaningful and specific to my husband and I in this spot.   It has been great to photograph different prints like . . Hope is an Anchor to the Soul

or Two are Better than One Set of 2

But this past fall when we had photos taken for Christmas cards we also had some taken of just Tim and I.  Love, Love LoVE how they turned out and knew right away these would go in the space above the bed.  But how?  and since I love to display scripture  . . an idea began to form in my mind. . .

I "shopped the house" best advice ever from the Nester and remembered how much I loved this empty frame that has been sitting in the basement junk room for 6 years.

Designed a new print around Song of Solomon 5:16 My Beloved My Friend in 12x12 gallery wrap canvas.  I  thought about I am my Beloved's but decided that My Beloved My Friend fit better with these particular photos:)

Chose 2 favorite images from our session with 2 of the most amazing photographers ever - Ben and Mindy from Studio 6-23

Had them printed at Color Inc - simply the BEST online photo lab!  The sizes I got were 18x24 and 11x14 both mounted on stand-out (which is what RedLetterWords uses for their Cafe Mount Art Prints!)

My dad stopped over quite conveniently and just looked like he needed a project:)  So he hung up the empty frame for me and helped me space out the rest.  Thanks Dad!!

 

I LOVE THIS!!  It's almost done . . .

I am thinking of adding something in the space between the scripture print and the vertical far away print - maybe a red heart on a longish string hanging from a cute little vintagey hook??

I totally hope this inspired you to think of what scripture you would like on your wall!!  What do you think?

Behind the Design - Entertaining Angels

My Grandma on my mom's side lived on a lake.  Growing up, we spent ALOT of time at her house with cousins, friends, neighbors.  Anyone and everyone was welcome, there was always enough food, and I never saw my Grandma stressed about any of it.  She enjoyed every minute of her family, her friends and her home.  I LOVED going to her house and spending the week fishing, picking berries and going to the library.

Hebrews 13:2.  This scripture is sooo my Grandma.  It totally reminds me of her. 
that is her rooster pitcher.  She collected pitchers and her collection was something she gave to me before she passed away several years ago.

Here are a few pics of her kitchen that my mom found for me . . .

So cute right?

oh that rack of spices!!

When she was young . . .

And one of the last photos I have of her from Christmas 2006.  Grandma, me, my mom and my daughter:)

Do you have a scripture that just reminds you of somebody?? 

What is it?

Behind the Design - Two are Better than One

We were in Paris, yes, Paris France with grand plans for the week.  We were overseas for the London  photographers trade show for Color Inc.  We always like to see what the European photographers are doing.  And we decided as long as we were that close - couldn't we just spend a couple extra days in Paris as well?  We were going to eat at yummy french restaurants, see the Eiffel Tower,  Notre Dame, and the Louvre,  drink coffee at cute little cafes, sit around and eat fabulous pastries at 3:00 on a weekday afternoon. 

We got checked in to our hotel and proceeded out on our first adventure.  We ate the best omelettes and saw Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.  Shopped a little.  We had fun, but there was an underlying feeling through the whole day that something was off.  Wasnt quite right and we didn't know what it was. 

We went to bed and almost immediately said to each other - do you have a wierd feeling?  Like we shouldn't be here?  Both of us answered yes.  We sat up and said  - let's go.   Home?   Yes home - we need to get home.  I called my mom - to see if everything was ok there.  Tim called the airline.  Everything was fine, kids were great.  No worries.  So long story short we left in the middle of the night and took the next flight out in the morning because of an overwhelming and unexplained feeling we were not in the right place. 

We had no idea what God was trying to tell us.  We still don't.  All we did was obey that feeling, that nudge, that voice in your spirit that said Go Home.  This is not the right time for you to be here.

We were in Paris for a total of 12 hours.

That's the short story - it would be crazy to tell you all the details of the red flags we set off at the airport the next morning by leaving in the middle of the night, but they involved a team of French airport police not taking their eyes off of us, bomb sniffing dogs waiting when we got off the plane - oh wait maybe they just wanted the salami and french cheese stuffed in our suitcase that we didn't have a chance to eat.

What does all this have to do with Behind the Design of Two are Better than One??

I sketched Two are Better than One on the plane ride home. 

 

Our plans for the day was to gallivant around Paris eating at Laduree and shopping, shopping, shopping.  A fabulous plan right?  However as He always does - God had a better plan. 

I was in the middle of a bible study and that verse jumped right out at me.  I immediately sketched it out and then thought wouldn't that be soo cute with 2 birds on the print?  Two are Better than One has been one of the most popular prints at RedLetterWords.  It now comes in black, brown, gray and cream in a huge variety of bird colors.

We still have no idea exactly why we needed to get home.  We may never and that's ok.  And God may very well have given me the inspiration to create Two are Better than One at another time.  But I do know that day had I followed my own plan, I would not have had 9 hours of uninterrupted time to study the Word and sketch out designs and Two are Better than One would not have been so divinely inspired.

And that is the story Behind the Design of Two are Better than One. 

What about you?  Have you ever had that feeling, that nudging that you were in the wrong place?

And now for the winners of the 2nd Urban Soul Giveaway . . .  

We have 3 winners!!  How exciting.. the Urban Soul line by Demdaco line is fabulous and these 3 ladies have one of these new items!!!  

Here is the winner of the  - As for me and my House picture frame - 16x16 size for 5x7 picture - Charcoal Collection

#80 Jill said...

I can think of the perfect place in my house for all 3! Just came across your sight today; it ROCKS!!!

Here is the winner of the Prosper Wall Art - Set of 3 - 6x6 -Charcoal Collection

#182 Sabrina said...

I would love to win the Jeremiah 29:11. I was diagnosed with cancer on Jan. 6th and I have repeated this verse over and over! Plans to give me HOPE and a FUTURE! Praise God

Here is the winner of the Where you Go Wall Art - Set of 2 - 8x8 - Chocolate Collection

#177 Rene said...

I LOVE all 3 of these and would be grateful to win any one of them, but I have to say my favorite is Jeremiah 29:11. Nice work!!

Congratulations to all of the winners!  please email Kelly@redletterwords with your mailing address and we will get your Urban Soul item sent to you!!

 

Behind the Design - Jeremiah 29:11

Behind the Design is a new series of blog posts I will be working on this winter.  There are some reasons why I chose certain scriptures to make into prints.  There are stories that need to be told.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you Hope and a Future.

The creation of the Jeremiah 29:11 print started with a plastic hippo in 2008.

After Bible Study on Tuesdays we didn't have time to go home for lunch before afternoon kindergarten so we had been frequenting McDonalds. We amassed quite a collection of these toys from Madagascar 2. They didn't usually make it into the house. So one night I dropped ALL :) the kids off at a friends house so we could go to parent teacher conferences and then out to dinner, I was just driving along spending some time talking with the Lord about how thankful I was for everything - health, family, business, and then I started thinking about some of the plans that I had for my life when I was younger -

very different plans -my college major was political science/pre-law

I am not sure it gets much farther away than that - Pre-Law to Wife, Mom of 4 and now Artist?? 

So I starting speaking out loud how I was so very thankful that the Lord had a different and better plan for me and then at that exact moment, in perfect timing, the hippo called out from somewhere in the back of the car "I know thats right" in her Gloria the Hippo voice and I laughed the whole way home. I just love the Lord's sense of humor!

Fast forward to Spring 2009 - RedLetterWords on Etsy is up and running and I had not yet made Jeremiah 29:11 into a print yet.  I really wanted this verse in my house somewhere - but since it was a longer verse I was hesitating because I wasn't sure how to do it.

I was talking to my friend Laura one day and she said oh why don't you do a panel, split it up somehow, you can do that right?

Why yes, I do believe I can do that!  Jeremiah 29:11 12x12 Cafe Mount Prints

I love this verse so much - full of hope and promise, and for me Thankfulness once I got ahold of the truth that God's plan is ALWAYS better than my own.

Is Jeremiah 29:11 special to you too?  Why?  I would LoVe to know!!