things that are made

Wildflowers

2010-04-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

"Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come."
-Song of Solomon 2:11-12a

Now you can WEAR thingsthataremade's photos!!

2009-08-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

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"

2009-07-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-21T13:11:00.001-07:00

4th of July

2009-07-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

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!

Flickr, Finally!

2009-06-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

I now have a Flickr account! And it's full of photos you'll find in my shop, and ones you don't see in my shop anymore, and maybe even a few new ones! They're organized by sets off to the right side to make your search more logical :) I can make prints and cards from any of the images you'll find here. Just contact me (or leave a comment here)! Check it out!

Featured!

2009-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

How fun is this! I've made two new (Christian!) Etsy friends recently, and both have featured "Things That Are Made" on their blogs! How fun is that! Praise the Lord for the body of Christ :)
I've included a picture of a snippet of each; click on the photo to read the whole article! They have Etsy shops too, check them out!

The first is "Christian Stewardship," by Brittany:
Her Etsy shop is zosai.etsy.com

And the second is "Pruitt Handcrafts" by Linda:
Her shop is pruitthandcrafts.etsy.com

Santa Margarita Lake

2009-05-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

My husband wanted to go camping last year for his birthday, so we tried Santa Margarita Lake. I have lived on the Central Coast of California for about half my life. All that time I had no idea that this lovely place sat nestled among the hills only 15 miles away! What a remarkably stunning spot!
Fishing on the lake:
The view from our tent at sunrise:
Along the hiking trail:
Cards in my shop made from Santa Margarita Lake images:

Rusty Wheels

2009-05-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I know that not everyone will appreciate these the way I do...but humor me and look for a moment anyway :) It was a foggy morning on the farm, and I had noticed this old trailer with a flat tire, retired along the orchard. Each of its four wheels had been painted and repainted numerous time, and strangely enough they all looked completely different! The colors fascinated me, and these photos are almost abstract. In short, I am SO thankful that God created color, and for the way colors compliment and contrast each other. Now do they appeal a little more?
I've just posted two new sets of notecards featuring these very images! Click--here--to see!

Promontoire de Cafe

2009-05-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

The smell of fresh coffee brewing makes me stop and stand still for a minute and just breathe in the scent. I love these images because they bring you up close, out into the fresh air, and wanting to share with a friend!

The Little Hills Rejoice!

2009-05-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Photography Treasury

2009-05-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

I often think about what constitutes a photographer. What makes anyone more than just another joe with a fancy camera? I think some people have a gift--a a natural eye for composition, color, and expression. Others learn it. Your comments and thoughts are welcome. In the meantime, I have found some incredible images on Etsy that I've compiled into a treasury! I think these images help define good photography. Click to go to the treasury and enjoy!

Delightful Tulips!

2009-04-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to present my three newest sets of tulip notecards!

"Sunlit Tulips"

"Pink & White Tulip Bundle"
"Stunning Tulips"

Learning Through the Lens

2009-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed at the way the Lord seems to parallel life lessons with whatever stage I'm in photographically!
It started with the first black & white film classes I took; what struck me then was the CONTRAST. I loved to push my film so the blacks and whites were stark and clear. Shortly after this, I started Bible College and began to learn so much from God's Word! As I studied, I found that God is holy, set apart, and requires holiness from us (Leviticus 20:26, I Peter 1:16). Right and wrong became stark contrasts, and I was forced to sort through things in my own heart and life. I loved that (after a few open-ended philosophy classes) there is ABSOLUTE TRUTH, and I talked about it, and defended it. I also hurt some friends in the process.
I came to understand why it is so necessary to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), and how gentle our heavenly Father is when He teaches, disciplines, and directs His children (Hebrews 12:5-7 , 11 and Revelation 3:19). At this same time (though I didn't put it together until later), I had begun to appreciate the different tones of black and white, which give an image depth and detail. Don't mistake me; these tones don't subtract from the blackest of blacks or the whitest of whites, just as speaking the truth in love doesn't make the truth any less absolute.
An intermission in Bible College gave me the opportunity to live out what I'd been learning in class. God took my lessons beyond mere words and academia to life! It was at this point that I began to explore COLOR photography; it was really the first time I'd even been able to see in any way but black and white, so trained was my eye. I found the color truly made my images come to life! This is when I started to see the parallels between God's lessons and my photographic studies.
I put my camera down for awhile, and have only taken it up again this past year. And with it, comes another lesson, maybe less technical and more artistic: My husband and I moved recently from the gorgeous California coast for life in the dusty, flat, often smoggy valley. With this move, God has given me a desire to search for the beauty here, amidst that which is commonly considered not beautiful (I've even heard it likened to armpits and hell!).
I realized--and this part is much more difficult--that I must find the beauty and rejoice in my circumstances, and in every trial I face! (I Peter 1:6-9) Because the beauty is there, the Lord promises it is! (Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose.")

Here is a bit of the beauty I've found around my new home, and I pray it stokes you like it stoked me:

The almond groves in full blossom:

Rusty wheels on an old trailer:

Tulips from a friend:

The peach orchard in bloom:

Curtain Contest Design Winners

2009-04-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

You know who you are!
And the rest of the world will have to wait to see the finished product. :)
Thank you again for all your hard work and generous creativity!

Win a FREE item from my Shop!!

2009-02-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

What: I made these curtains for my mother-in-law's dining/piano room. They're a little on the rustic side, and they need some embellishment. I'm thinking I'd like to embroider something up the right side (maybe silhouettes of birds, or flowers or just a design?), and maybe add some buttons? I'm not really sure what to do, and am looking for some ideas! I'm offering a free item from my shop to the person whose design my mother-in-law ends up choosing for her curtains!

When: You have until March 15th to submit all design ideas, suggestions, and patterns. We will make a decision by March 20th.

How: Go to my website, http://thingsthataremade.etsy.com and contact me there. (You will have to create an account) This way, if I know you, I won't recognize your username, and I can choose fairly between designs, rather than between friends!
Look on the right side of the page for "contact thingsthataremade." Click there and attach a jpeg of your design or pattern idea. Feel free to contact me or leave comment on my blog with any questions!

Thank you SO much! I can't wait to see what you come up with! Have fun!

Here are some pictures of the curtains, and a close-up of the fabric. It's almost like burlap, with flecks of browns and blues in it. Keep in mind that these curtains abide in a house on a farm :)

Bent Tree of the California Pinnacles

2009-02-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

From the Pinnacles of California! My husband and I went for a hike there last June hoping to be able to explore their famous caves. We got there a week after the wildflowers were in bloom, and a week after they closed the caves for the bats' "pupping season." There's a whole "maternal colony" in the Bear Gulch Cave. Seriously! That's what it says on the Pinnacles Website. Anyway, we still enjoyed the hike, and I came away with this image, which I love. It seems to me this tree is bowing before its Master:

Etsy Treasury--Umbrellas & Parasols

2009-02-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

Etsy has a feature called "Treasury". Each treasury is a member-curated art gallery! It's difficult to procure a spot, but praise the Lord, I did! Basically how it works is that I got a spot and picked items from OTHER people's shops to display! Sometimes these treasuries get put on Etsy's front page. My treasury has expired now (they last only 1-3 days) but check out the current treasuries on Etsy.

winter through the almond trees

2009-02-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

More proof that there is loveliness to be found in the valley! I went for a walk late one chilly winter afternoon (Me and four dogs), through the almond groves. You can see the buds, signs of hope for spring! (They are actually beginning to blossom now--photos of them soon!)

What is Love?

2009-02-05T10:24:00.001-08:00

I am saddened by Valentine’s Day kitsch. It’s heartbreaking how our culture associates it with love. People throw the word “love” around like they’re playing catch with a baseball!
I hope to point out what God intended love to mean, and how very much He loves us:

LOVE COVERS ALL SINS ~Proverbs 10:12

BEHOLD what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! ~I John 3:1a

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ DIED FOR US. ~Romans 5:8

Greater love has no man than this: that he LAY DOWN HIS LIFE for his friends. ~I John 15:13

There is no fear in love; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because HE FIRST LOVED US. ~I John 4:18-19

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ~I John 3:16

Doesn’t sound too romantic does it? But how sweet it is to be so loved! My plea is that you consider then, His love for you, how you “love,” and what you mean when you say it.

My little children, let us not LOVE in word or in tongue, but IN DEED AND IN TRUTH. ~I John 3:18

Love suffers long (is patient)
Love is kind
Love does not envy
Love does not parade itself
Love is not puffed up
Love does not behave rudely
Love does not seek its own
Love is not provoked
Love thinks no evil
Love does not rejoice in iniquity
Love rejoices in the truth
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. (From I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Hearts Coming Soon!

2009-01-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

A small sampling of the note cards to come--just in time for Valentine's Day! Keep an eye out on my Etsy site!

Last Leaves

2009-01-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

As it turns out, my husband and I are moving for a season. We are moving to the dusty land of Wasco. Everyone cringes when I tell them. But truly, with all my heart, I believe that is exactly where God wants us right now, for some very good reasons we just aren't aware of quite yet! So I have a peace about it. And I have made it my ambition to find the beauty in that place. Morning and evening definitely help matters with their soft orange light :)
So to begin, I present my "Last Leaves," taken just a week before the frost made the tree go bald:

Surfer's Reflection

2009-01-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

This is a recently recovered image that I took several years ago. There was something about that Autumn's sunsets that had me out on the beach every night waiting to see how the sky would light up. I've never seen another sunset quite like this one since.

Central Coast Waves

2008-12-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

I LOVE living by the ocean. I never tire of watching the waves crash in! There's something calming and exciting about them all at the same time! I always think of what the Lord told Job,

"...I said [to the sea], 'This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!' (Job 38:11)

Sunrise in North Morro Bay:Winter waves crashing over he jetty by the Rock:
Sunset at Montana de oro. My husband took this photo. :)

Still Waters

2008-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Just added to my shop!
From Psalm 23:2, "...My Shepherd leads me beside still waters..."

Shaver Lake in February. We went up to the snow for my birthday. The lake was still, wintry, and lovely at sunset!
Boats by the Bay. Many an early morning after I've risen to make my husband lunch for work, I'll walk down by the bay and enjoy the quiet. I love this line up of little boats, with their fog-cover just beginning to be pulled back!
Early morning in Morro Bay at low tide. The reflections and the rocks are stunning!

Cheery Tulips

2008-12-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

By far my most popular set to date!

Maybe it’s because my ancestors hail from Holland, but I think tulips are my favorite flower! They just ask to be photographed. I wanted tulips in my wedding bouquet, and was told they were out of season. The day before my wedding, there was a big bucket of white tulips on the counter at Trader Joe's!! I was thrilled! I bought them, took them to my florist, and she put them in at the very last minute. Gorgeous!

These particular buds were growing in a yard down the street from me. Early one morning I passed by and out of about 20 shots, this one is the only one I kept.
My husband gave me these for my birthday :)

...I never guessed they'd look so good in black and white!

The opening of my Etsy shop!

2008-12-09T21:59:00.000-08:00

For years, friends & family have encouraged me to begin selling note cards with my photos online. I'm not very internet or computer savvy, so it just...never happened. my It was obviously just not the Lord's timing. Last year for my birthday, my husband bought me a Canon 40D (which I would never have bought myself!) so I've been taking photos like crazy for the past 10 months. Recently my friend mentioned this great website where you can sell your own handmade stuff, called etsy.com! And then, as the Lord would have it, I lost my job! So suddenly I had lots of time, an open door, and plenty of photos from the past year of using my new camera. As I prayed about what to call my shop, I thought of Romans 1:20 which my husband gave me with the camera:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

That phrase, "things that are made" is the Greek word "poiema" (from which we get our word "poem"). The only other place in the Bible where this word is used is Ephesians 2:10:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

And the light went on--This is one of the good things the Lord prepared for me to walk in--capturing aspects of His creation to proclaim His character! It's my heart and prayer that all who see these images would glorify Him who Created all things.

I'm starting by selling blank note cards featuring my images. Enlargements of all images are also available by request. Custom orders are more than welcome.

So please, check it out! thingsthataremade.etsy.com