Elves... where are you?

This would have been a great week to have a few extra little helpers around. I think that I am officially ready to retire the paint brushes until 2009. I do love to paint and use my creativity, but I am SOOOO ready for a break. My daughter has been begging to decorate her gingerbread house....today is her lucky day!
Here are just a FEW of the items that I have been working on. I would have taken pictures of the rest, but it was way past my bedtime each night when I would finally put the paint away, and grabbing my camera was not my top priority.

Merry Christmas to you all, and I'll see you in the New Year! Here are a few pictures for the grandparents to see!

Kids at Santa brunch

Little Drummer Boy Reed

Campbell at Tea with Mrs. Claus

SANTA!!

Still need to post pictures from other things we have been into, but alonf with posting pictures comes journaling about them. Today, I don't have much time. So for now.... here are some pictures from a visit with Santa!

How about a little more Christmas?

I bet you are wondering why I said I would post pictures from our trip to SC but never did it, huh? Well, I have been having some trouble downloading my pictures on the computer, and I finally got my problem solved today. I don't have time to edit those photos and get them on here today, but promise to this weekend. So..... for now, here are some more pictures of Christmas around our house!

Painted sign for a friend

New pillow design

Fancy Tree

Candlestick napkins

Enjoy!
Amy

A little here... a little there...

I decided not to go overboard with Christmas at our house this year. Normally, every nook and cranny is decorated, glittered, or has a bow on it.
Well... I decided to simplify (a little). I have put Christmas in groups... categories if you will. Items are displayed by subject, color, or theme. Does it sound organized? IT IS SO NOT!!!
So, I decided that I would take you on a short journey of a few areas in our house that Christmas decided to just "show up".

Tomorrow I will post pictures from our wonderful trip to South Carolina.

Enjoy!
Amy

This is in my daughter's room above her window

In the living room

This is a close up of the silhouette. I have bought one two years in a row now from the talented Kijsa Housman. You can get one too by clicking here.



I just love my little dome. It is one of my favorite things to decorate. Here I have put some moss, a mercury ball, and a vintage gift tag all inside.

on the window sill

South Carolina... Here We Come!

We are headed south in the morning. The Richey four are piling in the car and won't stop until we reach South Carolina! Well... okay.... we may make a few pit stops along the way, we do have two little ones.

We are going to visit our sweet friends the Horns for a few days. My husband is going to run in a mini-marathon in Kiawah Island this Saturday, which is a bit past Charleston. We couldn't help but want to stop in Columbia and visit our friends and catch Coach Darrin Horn in action at a basketball game. We haven't seen them since they left Bowling Green this summer so we have a lot to catch up on! Then, after the race, we are going to stay in Charleston for a few days and take in a little Christmas in the south.

Here is a pillow that I made for my friend Carla to give to some ladies in Columbia. Notice the feathers... I was pretty confident that I could not paint a Gamecock, so I decided to add a little detail that would be representative of one... FEATHERS!

See ya in a couple days!
Amy

Holiday Fun

When you have kids as young as I do, your decorating style for the holidays tends to be a little more bright, fun, and exciting. Here are a couple of shots of the tree and mantle where we spend the most time as a family. The kiddos are much more enthusiastic about this tree than the one I will show you later in the week. How are you coming with your holiday decorating??

Enjoy!

Amy

The Princess Turns 5!

Tis true... our little princess turned 5 yesterday! Wow, where did that time go?? After all of the excitement, she turned to her dad and I and exclaimed that she had the BEST PARTY EVER!

Her theme?? Well.... let's just say that she tied lots of things together in one. She wanted it at The Paint'n Place, a local pottery painting store, she wanted all the little girls to wear their princess dresses, and she wanted a lady to paint their faces (like Disney World, not the local fair). She started off the morning with a dance from her prince, daddy, and ended it with eating her favorite "Chippy Dippy" (thanks Carla) at Pepper's.

Here are a few pictures of the special day. WE LOVE YOU CAMPBELL!!

Here she is!

By her sign

The cake

Painting Princesses

Brother painting

singing Happy Birthday

getting her face painted

finished product

putting her hand on the wall

showing us 5 fingers

painting the wands

prince daddy

tiger boy

most of the princesses

Change for the GOOD

Dear Friends,
When we started this blog almost a year ago, we had NO idea what we were getting into or what we were doing. I convinced my "artisitic partner in crime" to join me on this journey of making our private creativity public, and so we started to post!

It was with true intentions that we hoped to post regularly and offer you great ideas. Our real purpose behind the blog was to become a community board for many of you to showcase your creativity too! Well... some, but most of that didn't happen.

While Rachel and I talk about creative things on a daily basis, we also have a deeper relationship that is grounded in Christ Jesus. Lately, our conversations have become more intentional about making sure that things in our lives are purposeful and that time spent with Him comes FIRST in our lives. We both still have little ones around the house that consume our time and blogging has just not been a priority. Mutually, we decided that keeping up with this site was becoming something that wasn't a priority, or something that was of utmost importance to us.

SO..... as of today, Rachel and I will no longer be blogging together. We ARE BREAKING UP THE BOY BAND! She is painting quite a bit, so who knows, she may suprise us with a site of her own down the road. I am still going to keep this site open for my painting projects because I have received some really good feedback from so many of you! THANKS!

If you are willing to "hang in there" with just me (Amy), come back often... not everyday! I will have some neat Christmas things to share with you this month.

CHANGE IS GOOD! Especially when it is out of obedience God... the one who gave us our gifts and abilities.

Blessings!
Amy & Rachel

Pillows Everywhere!

We are in the process of re-doing my son's room, and he chose a vintage baseball theme. I was having trouble finding cute throw pillow for his bed, and then it hit me... I'll paint some! Here is what I came up with.

7 X 7

Many of you have followed a sweet blog called BRING THE RAIN and the author Angie Smith for quite some time now. Well...she has done it again. She is challenging us to pray for our precious children 7 times a day, 7 days a week. I have felt my heart leading me in this direction for a long time. I do pray for my children everyday, but not in the way that I should. I am more concerned with teaching their hearts than how much info I can cram in their little heads.
Here is what Angie wrote on her blog about how she is implementing the 7X7. Enjoy the read and I will be praying for you that you will follow through with this very important commitment.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Seven Prayers A Day

*** In answer to some of your questions, I wanted to let you know that I do pray these out loud. This morning, I kept my hand on Kate's head while I read, and she smiled the whole time...and sat still!!!!!!! Praise God for small miracles....:) OH, and also thank you to the sweet reader who noticed I had written Ephesians instead of Philippians on the last one!!! I was tired last night:) It's corrected now!!!! Thanks!!!***
I don't really care that much about whether or not my kids are book smart.
Let me explain.
I do care, I just don't care as much as I care about other things. I don't sit around and pray that my girls will learn to read today, or that they will understand a foreign language by the time they are 6, or that they will know their times table by next week. I do spend a lot of time asking God to give them "undivided hearts (Psalm 86:11), " and praying "that they will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel when they open their mouths (Ephesians 6:19)." I pray that God will help them to be good stewards of their time, their money, their words. I pray for their character, their faith, their decisions, their husbands. I want them to be wise, Godly women who chase after the Lord.
I'm thinking that instead of getting a "My kid is on the honor roll" bumper sticker, I may create a "My kid has an undivided heart" one. And then people will make ones that say "My kid kicked your 'undivided heart' kid's butt" stickers.
Maybe not.
But, the point is that one of the most important things I am privileged to do as a mother is to pray for my children every day.
The other day I came across a verse that God used to prompt me to write this post. If you are a mom (or have someone else you want to pray for specifically), I hope you will join me as I do this for the next 7 days. It struck me that I need reminders during the day to be praying over my girls, and I decided to choose 7 events in a day that would remind me to do so. Then, I chose verses that had to do with that time of the day (for example: as my kids are getting dressed in the morning) and then I put them on notecards.

Here are the events and verses I chose:
1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

I feel like God has been reminding me more and more lately that I need to live my life in prayer. For my children, husband, family, friends, country, those in need, etc., etc. As a mother, it has been so pivotal for my children to hear me praying out loud over them, and I want to commit to do this every day (seven times a day!) for the next week. If you care to join me, just copy these verses onto index cards (or, if you came here from Jessica's blog, feel free to print them on pretty scrapbook paper and embellish your little heart out....:))
Let me know if you decide to join me, and please keep me posted (either by comments or emails) if God reveals anything to you/your children this week.
Have a great (and prayer-filled!) week. And may God bless you and your babies richly.
Angie

Decorating Bookshelves

For most of us, the thought of decorating shelf after shelf on our built-ins or bookcase seems exhausting. Where do I even begin, you may wonder? We all know that bookshelves aren't just for books anymore. Look at them as an opportunity to display artwork, photos, or any knick-knacks. Your bookshelves, done the right way, can be an instant warm up for any room. Let's get started...

When looking through your home or if you are out shopping remember it is good to repeat color, texture, and/or theme in your bookshelf. This helps maintain a complimentary "flow". Not all shelves have to have a cluster of things...some accessories are bold enough to stand on their own. Clusters are good, however. Layers create dimension so don't be afraid to overlap art work or photos. Collectibles are good in a cluster as well. Don't overdo the cluster because you will want to keep an "airy" feel about the shelf.

Definitely use your books...that is if you have any. If you don't, you can always buy some at your local flea market. When using your books, mix up your storage. Stack them horizontally and use as bookends, alternate with standing them up or casually lean them against a neat stack. I like to even stack photos on top of books that are stacked horizontal to add height. Be sure you get a balance throughout the shelves when using books.

Just be creative in your accessory decor. Tip something over for a great bookend, tilt your bowls or fill them up. Mix old with new and shiny with dull. Don't forget you can change the accessories with the seasons, occasions, or just on a whim!
Go for it!

The First Gift of Christmas!

Okay... I totally took the title from the movie The Polar Express, but that is exactly what crossed my mind last night when I was painting this. I am giving it to a friend today. It truly is the first thing I have made for Christmas.

I will have many more Christmas pillows to share in the coming weeks. I have some GREAT ideas in my head! If anyone needs these as a gift or wants one for their own, I will be taking orders until Thanksgiving. Let me know!

Amy

**** UPDATE *****
Here is one in RED!!!

Presto Change-OH!

This is what I did yesterday...

I finally took down the last of the "smiling" jack-o-lanterns and replaced them with plain pumpkins. I took down the bright colored orange decorations and set out items that had deeper orange hues. The leaves started falling around inside and landed wherever they pleased. The glitter has been wiped off the tables and Fall berries have now taken center-stage. Since orange is one of my favorite colors, I love to keep it around as long as possible.

As we turn our focus from a commercial holiday to a time of being "thankful" I like to decorate my house with things that represent beauty, change, family and thankful hearts. I will be posting more soon but here is the start to the change!
Enjoy!

I had an old mantle outside so I spray painted it brown, added a stencil and propped it up against my brick fireplace inside. No long term commitment there!

Here is where some of the leaves fell.

The rest landed here!