Welcome to AMEN, the world where old scraps are made into treasures. This is where we dream and create, and work throughout the night to make something special and magical for someone out there to love. Everything we have is made by hand, one of a kind, unique, original. Most of what we have is made from salvaged materials that might otherwise have been wasted. We hope that while visiting this little world, you will find inspiration in something that you personally connect with, and find encouragement to cherish the wonder of everyday life. Please explore, and please enjoy.
I just wanted to write for the record… to say that I am so excited that we have decided to go on this little adventure called amen. Eva and I have such a great time together in the wee hours… (including a couple all-nighters that prove we are still young!) …and it is really a cool thing that we get to do more with the things we do for fun. It is like icing on the cake. We get to create, have fun…. laugh and cry… pray and dream.
And then we get to do this whole OTHER thing. We get to set up our own little store… We get to meet tons of new people… We get to find the kindred spirits… And we get to sell our stuff to people who love it… To people who get it. I can’t believe how much this little adventure has opened us up. To more. And we are doing it.
And so, with warm wishes… to many new crafting adventures… and to the new.
This weekend has been a whirlwind of excitement, fun, and learning. We have done two craft shows in the last two days, and really enjoyed making our booth beautiful, meeting kindred spirits and crafty characters, and sharing our creations with people who love and appreciate them. Here are some photos of the cuteness.
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Also, you can now purchase our products on Etsy! The link is on the left hand sidebar, and also here: our etsy store. Happy shopping!
White Horse
(Words and Music: Detweiler)Bring me a white horse for Christmas
We’ll ride him through the town
Out into the snowy woods
Where we will both lie downUnderneath white birches
Our faces toward the sky
We will make snow angels
With our white horse standing byHush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the skyBring me a white horse for Christmas
We’ll ride him through the snow
All the way to Bethlehem
2000 years agoI wanna speak with the angel
Who said do not be afraid
I wanna kneel where the oxen knelt
Where the little child was laidHush now baby
One day you’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Your white horse through the skyNo bridle will he be wearing
His unshod hoofs they will fly
Keep a watch out this Christmas
For that white horse in the skyHush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the skyHush now baby
Let every angel sing
Hush now baby
One day we’ll ride again
“Why is she posting a Christmas song at the end of September?” you might wonder… except that Eva gave you a little glimpse with her post a couple of days ago. I thought I’d add a little something from here. So, as for Christmas songs making beautiful melodies in my house this past weekend, let me explain.
Number one, this song is from Snow Angels, which is pretty much my favorite album ever… and I listen to it almost any time of the year. Secondly, the songs on this album, including the one displayed above, are full of poetic lyrics sure to inspire the creativity in any one. And lastly, we have officially started our Christmas Craft Fair preparations!! …with much divine inspiration and this song! (which, incidentally has been playing in my head all day- especially the verse that says “I wanna speak with the angel who said “Do not be afraid”. I wanna kneel where the oxen knelt, where the little child was laid”) …Isn’t it beautiful? I love Over the Rhine. And they are coming to Cali in December! So exciting!
Anyway, as far as our Christmas projects go, this was our first. With many more to come, and some fun ideas on the way, I say, ‘Welcome, Christmas!!’ (Please don’t hate us like you might hate Target for already having Christmas Cards next to their Halloween stuff…. it takes us much longer to make our wares!!)
“Oh my gosh! It smells like a Christmas tree!” That’s what Ann said when she opened up an old notebook, and we started to look through all the cute phrases and Christmas poems we wrote about a year ago. There were pine needles from last year’s tree accidentally stuck between the pages, the scent of which filled us with anticipation for the coming months. The months when the crafter can work feverishly, and the cold of fall, and then winter, awakens the inspiration that has been hibernating all summer. We are once again inspired, and just beginning to make a new batch of fun handmade items, which will hopefully be sold at some upcoming local Christmas craft faires. We will be peddlers, selling a wide variety of things – gift tags for example. Can you feel the cuteness? Updates will be forthcoming!
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all”
– Emily Dickinson
Several rainy days in a row gave me time to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I made a stamp and printed a little bit of my own fabric. It had to be birdies. Hopefully, this is the first of many fun custom fabric ideas.
A good friend recently tipped me off about a great website – www.kiddierecords.com. It is amazing! It’s basically an archive of music and story records from “The Golden Age of Storytelling.” If you think back to the 70s when kids had little 45 record players and listened to story records on them (at least I did), you may remember characters like Bozo the clown, Uncle Remus, etc, who never really made it to the age of DVDs. Well, you can download them, with the beautiful vintage cover art, for free! There are about three years worth of weekly stories archived on the site, and you can have them all. They go back much further than the 70s. I think most of them are from the 20s and 30s (so don’t expect them to be politically correct for 2008).
I remember having story time at the daycare I went to as a kid, and everyone crowding around the record player and getting mad if they couldn’t see it even though it didn’t matter as long as you could hear it. Maybe that is something I will bring into my son’s life as a quiet time tradition. A little more imagination-engaging than TV, but sure to keep them, and you, entertained on a rainy day.
Those of you who have kids know how much energy it takes out of you. And, the more kids you have, the more demands are made on your time, energy, patience, etc. So, the other night while scrapbooking and discussing the business of life (she has 4 kids now!), I said to Ann, “I don’t even know how you can find the energy to craft.” Her apt reply was, “How could I not craft?” She is perfectly right. Sometimes we forget that taking time to express ourselves creatively, or do whatever it is that helps you feel complete and competent — this gives to our lives more than it takes. I know sometimes you just can’t bear to think about getting out supplies and starting a project, but there have actually been times when I stayed up the whole night in a wild frenzy of creative anointing (as we like to call it), and was still so excited, fulfilled, and passionate about it the next day that I didn’t even feel tired.
I would like to take this moment to encourage all the moms who have put their art on a shelf to take care of babies. If you think you are done with art for the rest of your life, think again. The next time you are feeling brave, take out your painting supplies, paper crafts, sewing machine, or whatever. Take it off the shelf and try it out. You may be surprised to find a bunch of little pieces of you heart floating around in there, that you didn’t even realize you had left behind. 
wide eyde owl
fly through my window
“In the field of opportunity, it’s plowin’ time again” — Neil Young
I’ve had that line stuck in my head for the last few days, and didn’t know who sang it until a moment ago. It’s a fitting description all around, I think. It’s autumn, harvest time, but not just because of the time of year. It seems that every where we turn, ideas, inspirations, projects, things are ripening. All of a sudden, what felt like so much work becomes pure freedom. Burdensome tasks are filling up with creativity and joy. Here’s a picture of my harvest; the sunflowers that were a lush green jungle in my back yard throughout the summer. Though they are wilted and falling over, they leave me with a parting gift. A feast for birds, a cooking-experiment-to-be for me, and thousands of seeds for spring planting …. with plenty to share with friends! This is a reminder to me that the most treasured things come with sacrifice, and that for the most part, every sacrifice leads to renewal and restoration. I feel so thankful for this abundant season of life.
