Hi there, come on in!

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​I bet you thought this page would just open right up to Etsy.

What good is this shop owner if she doesn’t open the door for you herself and say “Welcome!"

As you walk inside, the light is gently filtering in through the windows. The friendly scent of fresh flowers floats past your nose. And calming music (thank you Alexa) is playing in the background.

Welcome to my studio, my shop, and my home.

If you’re feeling ready to shop or in a bit of a rush, please go right on ahead and explore the Etsy store.

​​I’m here if you need anything at all!

BUT...

If you're able to relax for a few extra minutes, I have a story I just HAVE to tell you!

Ah, I was hoping you might want to linger a bit!


Here, toss your bags on the loveseat! Better yet, plop yourself down for a few. I’ve got some freshly baked scones (my mom's recipe!) in the kitchen…would you like one? How about some stickers for your little one? I’ve got kids, too! Of course, they can totally eat those goldfish crackers in here! And please don't worry about the crumbs!

Now...where were we? Oh, yes, right! The STORY!
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It was a Tuesday evening at the end of March.

 

I stood in my living room and looked at the mess around me.

(Mess is probably being generous.) 

A half-built or maybe it was a half-deconstructed fort made with a mix of Moana and Paw Patrol bedding. The remnants of what I can only guess was homemade confetti celebrating said fort resting like an unexpected spring snowfall across the floor. Goldfish cracker crumbs ground into the area rug. One dirty sock proudly resting on top of the unorganized library book basket. The embarrassingly thick layer of dust on the mantle. Someone may have even drawn a little happy face in it. The stack of utility bills waiting to be paid on a side table. The shoes scattered like a garden stepping stone path from the front door to the couch. 

Hardly the look of Pinterest perfection.

I took a breath.

The laundry wasn’t finished. Dinner wasn’t finished. And I heard someone yelling for me for an art project that,..you guessed it...wasn’t finished because sharing the bottles of glitter glue had become an epic tragedy. I can only imagine if the likes of Shakespeare had had access to this kind of inspiration back in the day. 

I found myself in a state of wanting to either yell with frustration, cry with fatigue, or laugh because of the ridiculousness of it all. 

​As I looked around the room, I wasn't sure what to do.

Or where on earth the other dirty sock might be hiding.

So...

That night I pulled out my pens and paper and my iPad. I sat crossed legged on the couch between a well-worn copy of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and a neon pink leaky sippy cup.

I create to love. And I needed to love on my family after that particularly hard day.

I knew exactly the words that we each needed to read and hear on repeat in our little home. I felt them in the the depths of my soul as I hand lettered them. I had heard them before and I knew they needed to find their way home...to our home.

When I finished, I asked my husband, Greg, if he was okay with me ordering a large custom canvas for our living room. I showed him what I had designed and he said "Yes!"
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A click of a button and a couple of weeks later I stood in front of the canvas that now served as our very own super sized sticky note.

If you're anything like me, you use the Reminder App on your phone AND you jot it down on the calendar on the fridge AND you write it on a sticky note to be placed on your laptop.

I don't just need reminders for when the library books are due or when the next dentist appointments are.

I also need reminders to choose Love. And on the daily.

To choose Love in the mess and the chaos and the joy and the frustration and the discipline and the honesty and the growing up and the growing together.

To choose Love in the moments of too much and the feelings of not enough.

To choose Love in the momentum of daily life when I need forgiveness and hope and encouragement.

I’ve looked at this canvas a million times in the past and I still love it as much as the day it showed up on my doorstep. The truth-filled hope it offers guided our family through a pandemic, through heart-wrenching news, through incredible new adventures, and through the simple ups and downs of everyday life.

Your heart deserves to know and experience this Grace-filled hope, too.

As I sit here creating at my little kitchen table studio, I glance up at the wall above our pink tiled fireplace and thank God for the reminder.

We choose Love.

No matter what needs bring you to my Shop, I’ll think you’ll find just what you're looking for.

And I’m not talking about your gifting needs or your decor needs or your stationery needs.



Sure, you'll be able to find an art print for your friend who’s turning 40 this year.

You'll be able to find the cutest shirt to send your daughter who is a freshman in college 1,000 miles away and is feeling like a little fish in a big pond.

You'll be able to find a stationery set for your favorite aunt who still loves sending snail mail.

But...

I’m also talking about the needs of your heart and soul.

The longing you have for a home that reflects the warmth you want your loved ones to feel?

The desire you have to let a friend know how much you truly care?

The yearning you have to be reminded again and again of the beauty you already possess inside the very person you are, the very person God so lovingly created?

​Let those deep needs be met here, too.

I create to love, and I create so that you are able to love yourself and others the way God does.

Beautifully and without abandon.

​Take a look around the Shop, you might not find Pinterest perfection but you will find truthful encouragement, gentle beauty, bountiful Grace…and maybe even a dusting of Goldfish cracker crumbs on the floor.