Now you can WEAR thingsthataremade's photos!!

Somehow I stumbled upon Mark & Emi's (amazing!) photos at F2Images. They had a link to their blog. On their blog, they had a post about a giveaway they were having on another blog, oh, hello friend. I love giveaways, so I of course I checked it out! Not only have I come to totally adore "oh, hello friend," but I was fascinated by the giveaway! It was a collaboration between F2 and a jewelry maker named Cat, of Polarity. She had the absolutely genius idea to make lockets out of a recycled CAR PART!! I LOVE it! So I emailed her. And she ever-so-graciously agreed to use some of my photos on her lockets too! We've been talking for a few weeks now, and she has designed this amazing locket with my coffee photos:


Cat explains the locket:

"This adorable, industrial little locket is created from a recycled steel auto part to which I have silver soldered a little eyehook. The locket has FOUR magnetic interchangeable lids - 3 with gorgeous Things That Are Made photographs and one with the definition of MORNING - this can also be changed to refresh, brew or any other word just leave me a note in the comments to seller section of your order! Your locket comes on an adjustable length 30" 2mm nickel plated brass ballchain. Locket is 1 1/4". "


Here's the photos up close :)



What a blessing this is! Praise the Lord!

"Spotlight on Photographers" By Simply Hue

Vicki over at Simply Hue is doing 2-weeks of daily features on photographers! I am SO blessed to be featured on Day ONE!! (Thank you so much, Vicki!) Click here to see her feature of Things That Are Made. There are some great photographers out there, so check back every day for the next couple weeks to see all the amazing photos that are yet to come!
Today's featured photographers:

Things That Are Made

A Yummy Life:
Orange Sparrow:

Misty "Spraybow"

These vibrant hues weren't found in the rain, but in the spray coming off of Nevada Falls in Yosemite! We spent Mother's Day weekend with my husband's family in Yosemite this year. It was PERFECT. The weather was warm & sunny and perfect for hiking! When we arrived at the top, we looked down and this is what we saw!
I just put cards and prints in my shop of this lovely rainbow in the waterfall's mist.

My good friend, Flo Paris, has a new album out!

4th of July

It was a busy weekend, the 4th of July. Some friends came over to swim on Friday evening, and to play with our pup. On Saturday morning, the wheat harvesters arrived from Kansas and began to give the fields a buzz-cut. I have never seen such machinery! They are a little more efficient than I was with my machete!

That evening we visited some friends and tried to be creative with the little fireworks. My husband tried to write "John 3:16" with sparklers:
He succeeded in writing "Love" with the camera, and the full moon as his pen! (It's totally a challenge, you have to write backwards & upside down. I couldn't do it!)

Fireworks!

I just LOVE fireworks! Don't you?
My husband & I went to Chicago last summer, and their weekly fireworks display (over Lake Michigan) is far more amazing than any 4th of July fireworks I've ever seen! These images are from that trip, and I adore them! I love the fantastic lines, the vivid colors, and the contrast against the night sky! They're obviously not typical fireworks photos; they were taken with the camera in motion-and what fun that turned out to be!
Fireworks most often are a celebration, a rejoicing, in our country's independence and freedom. Our founding fathers wanted a place where we could be free to worship God, where no one would tell us we couldn't! Likewise, we were once ruled by sin. When Jesus died & rose again, He conquered sin's grip on us, and has given us the chance to be FREE! We're now free to do what's right in God's eyes. Romans 6:22 says, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life." We're free now to depend on Jesus! How sweet is that!
On another note, we may not always be so free to worship Jesus in this country. Enjoy it while you can (dont' take it for granted!), and pray for the joy (which is our strength) when persecution comes (Matthew 5:11-12)

Daddy

Father's Day always seems to get left behind...Mother's Day gets all the attention, and all poor Dad gets is another tie. My dad won't even wear a tie. Ever.

So, in honor of my daddy, I've created a special treasury just for him--full of some of his favorite things! Check it out here! (Here's a sample of it)
...and I've made a special section in my shop for cards especially for Dad.

I've learned so much about my Heavenly Father from my dad. Every time I get myself into messes, it's always my Dad who's been there to help me out of them. Like the time my friend and I accidentally ripped the door off my car...and dad left the friends' house he and my mom were at to come rescue us...He is always serving and giving, and he never complains. He has such a soft spot for his kids! Not to mention his little grandson! You should see him!

One of my favorite things about my dad is that he's willing to admit when he's wrong and say he's sorry. Because of his example, it's so much easier for me to do so too.

I'm also thankful that he kept us in line. Hebrews 12:6-7, 10-11 says,
"'My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.'
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?...

For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

How good it is when the Lord disciplines us! His heart is to see us partake in His holiness and yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness!

Ephesians 1:3-6 says,
"Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."

Praise God, the Father who loves us with perfect, complete love, even better than our human dads can!