get ready...

So here is some of the most exciting news to date regarding Project 8256...

The following little gems are all available for purchase at Blue 7 in Oklahoma City. I am so entirely overwhelmed by their generosity that I don't think I can really do it justice in this little blog. It's important to know that they are not making a profit of any kind from this, but are instead giving us exposure in an incredible, exciting boutique as a way to help us generate more support. So nice. So here's what you can find:




Framed originals of "Completely" and "I Liked John" as well as the original of "Take Wing". The other four are all new pieces. The majority of the prints in the Etsy shop will be available at Blue 7 as well.

So, should you live in the okc metroplex, be sure to go by Blue 7 (5028 N. May Ave.) and check it out. But, should you not live within driving or short-road-trip distance, then don't fret because the Etsy shop will still be around.

I'm feeling such a range of emotions right now. I'm, of course, really excited and hopeful, but I also still feel so new at all of this that I'm a little nervous, a little anxious. But mostly, overwhelmingly, I'm just extremely touched and just so, so thankful.

xo,
Amy

I still hate titles...

A three-day weekend? Yes, I believe so. Hope yours was well. Even if you had to work, as I know many of you did. Mine looked a little like this:




1. We had a little family party to celebrate the belated and upcoming birthdays of my grandmother and sister, respectively. So, so nice to see everyone and get to spend some quality time together. This is the cake Michael decorated. On his first try. Ever. I know. I, of course, was the only one who was, admittedly, rude enough to point out that he forgot to cross the "t". But it was delicious, and I raved and raved so that, maybe, makes up for a little bit?

2. A new little something. I'm still unsure about this one. Extremely, actually. It's a little, um, cheery perhaps? I don't know.

3. It rained on Sunday. Poured. Good thing I had my little galoshes with me because I had to do a wee bit of wading--to be able to get out of my car.

4. Another new lovely. I'm a sucker for houndstooth. I'm just saying.

5. More of the birthday celebration. Delicious. Seriously delicious.

6. Just finished this one a little bit ago.

So, all in all, not too bad. Hopefully the coming week will be equally fulfilling. For you included. There are a couple of new prints in the shop as well. So you can check that out, if you'd like.

xo.
amy

A Hope For Children

The children of AHOPE have really been on my heart lately. I think that a little of this comes from the desire to have the ability to donate as much as possible to this organization. There are certainly moments when I feel like I am up against the impossible, that I am never going to make it, that it will never be enough. But I think of my sister and brother-in-law--they are going to be such wonderful parents. And I think of the children of Ethiopia--they need so much. And that certainly keeps me motivated. I was reading a little about AHOPE and thought I would share it with you. You can read more about them on their website, but I really love how Keep a Child Alive describes the AHOPE orphanage. Instead of paraphrasing, I thought I would just include the entire thing:

"The money that KCA has provided not only buys ARVs, but also provides psycho-social and educational support to these children. This care is facilitated by additions to AHOPE's staff. Specifically, an additional physician, nurse, and administrative assistant have been hired to support treatment and care for the children in the orphanage. Educational support is provided by two additional teachers: one to help children with learning disabilities and the other to teach dance, music and art. KCA's money is also being used to pay a psychologist to evaluate the children and counsel those in need. Finally, a community outreach coordinator has been hired in order to identify existing family members of the orphans and assist with reintegration of orphans with their families.

The health and economic figures for Ethiopia are devastating. According to the UNDP (HDR 2005), the life expectancy is 47.6 years old, only 22% of the population has access to clean drinking water, and 80% lives on less than $2/day. But this orphanage in Addis Ababa is bringing hope, light, joy, art, music and love to sick children, a Keep A Child Alive mission."

Both paragraphs were found here. How can you not get behind an organization whose mission is to bring "hope, light, joy, art, music and love"? So beautiful. When choosing the charity or organization that we would be donating to, Katie and I talked about supporting larger organizations, such as Keep a Child Alive. We decided, though, that while KCA is undoubtedly incredible, and does give financial support to AHOPE, we liked the idea of having a specific focus, and so decided to give directly to AHOPE.

A year ago, even six months ago, I never would have thought that this would be my focus, that this project would be so much of my daily routine, my thoughts. But while, at times, it has been so exhausting, and sometimes so disheartening, I have seen such good come out of this--more than I could have imagined. It is so humbling to see that goodness come out of something that was once so sad. It makes it well worth the challenge.

I hope you are all well. And I certainly hope that you can find the blessings in your own life.

xo,
Amy

more! more!

A busy weekend. Hope yours was lovely. I do feel as though I didn't accomplish all that I had hoped to do, but I was able to put the finishing touches on a few pieces, and create a few new ones as well. Here's a little bit of my weekend:



I do love a silhouette.

More to come.

xo,
amy

oh goodness...

So toady: a few little errands were checked off the list, and then an abundant amount of music was listened to as I worked on these...



They are all in various stages, none are finished just yet. But I'm getting there. And these are actually not going to be available on Etsy, but somewhere equally fabulous in the okc metroplex...

Not much else to share. Except, how beautiful was today?! I hope the weather is just as gorgeous where you are.

xo,
amy

Amazed...

It has been a fairly crazy, fairly amazing couple of days. I'm not really going to go into too many details, but I will say that God is amazing. And that I hope that you have moments in your life, or in your day, when you can experience that as well.

There are a couple of new items in the shop. The first is this little one:



This is a smaller print that is based on an old photograph of my sister and me--from a time when my mother loved to dress me in little sailor outfits. Her favorite color is yellow, so I guess this is sort of a tribute to her. And then this:



This is another in the quilt series. Black and white. More to come tomorrow, perhaps.

xo,
Amy

And another...

This just listed in the shop. And appropriately titled, I think. Because I feel like I am growing--creatively, personally and so on.

I had the day off today. So nice. So besides running a few errands--Target, post office, art store (the usual routine)--my day was essentially spent doing the above. Which was lovely, actually. It took a while, but I had some great music to accompany me. I'm loving a little Amy Winehouse right now (so sassy) and the new Feist. But I must admit that when you feel like you must have looked at every shade of green in the entire world, it's Mates of State that guides you through.

I am planning one more "quilt", but it will probably not be accomplished until Tuesday. So look forward to that. And I will be listing the "Growing" original as well.

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo,
Amy

In Flight

True to my word, I was able to work in some "creative time" -- and so this lovely is now available in the shop. I must say, tedious though it was (and it was), I really did enjoy making this one. And I am quite pleased with the results. I think I might actually hang a print of it on my own wall.

I will be selling the original of this one, but will not list it until tomorrow.

We are having a bit of a thunderstorm, and are under a tornado watch, so I think I should move towards turning my computer off.

Sweet (safe) dreams,
Amy

(insert something incredibly clever)

What a weekend. Michael, (of Katie-and-Michael, my sister and brother-in-law) graduated from college this weekend. So, naturally, much planning and preparations went into a celebratory dinner. I thought the night went off quite well, but the memories will just have to remain in my head as I once again failed to take any photographs. So no record of the 8 dozen cupcakes that were baked for the festivities. No photos of the admittedly clever, and rather cute, centerpieces. No documentation of how lovely my sister and I looked in our dinner party outfits. Nothing. I did manage, though, to take a picture of this:



Yes, that's right. A turkey. A wild one. I saw something walking on the deck on the back of our house and fully expected it to be our neighbor's cat. But no, it was a turkey. Which actually walked fairly quickly and made more of a squeaking noise instead of a "gobbling" noise that I expected. Other lessons I learned this week, besides the mph of a turkey:

1. Cooking. When cooking, it is very important to follow the recipe exactly until you, oh, know something at all about how to cook. It is also important to use the ingredients listed and properly look up the correct conversions for others until you, oh, know anything at all about cooking. I'm just saying.

2. Gratitude. When we started Project 8256 I did not really think about the affect that it would have on me personally. That wasn't really the point. But a mother of two adopted sons emailed me, saying that she had purchased two prints to give to her sons' birthmothers for Mother's Day. I cannot really explain how touched--how honored--I am by that. I am so thrilled to be a part of that in some small way, and am really so, so thankful that she chose to share that with me. Sometimes it feels like we will never sell enough to make this work, but then something like that will happen and it reminds that it is worthwhile, and keeps me motivated and encouraged.

That's really it, I suppose. I am planning on locking myself away on Tuesday in hopes of creating a few new prints and perhaps some originals. We'll see.

xo,
Amy

EDIT: So, my father just read this post and informed me that this isn't actually a turkey. It's some other bird, of which I've already forgotten the name. Apparently that's why it didn't "gobble". So much for being a wilderness girl. And I planted flowers on Earth Day and everything...