Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Say What Is In Your Heart






Have you ever wanted to expess the feeling of your heart to someone, yet you did not really have the words to express with your mouth? It is so hard for some of us to say what we really mean at times, so we just give a gift. That happens to many people, but did you know that the choice of color of the gift you give someone can give them that special hidden message of your heart?



We think of flowers this time of year as our gardens are now blooming so beautifully. Many of us will choose flowers as our gift to give to others. I think the rose is the flower people give to loved ones the most. They have captivated so many hearts over the generations. Even with the thorns that come with them, most of us choose to never even see them, but just enjoy the beauty of the bloom.


There are so many beautiful colors of roses. Yet there is a message with every color of rose or any flower whether you receive the gift or give it. So we can say it with your heart with the colors too.

Even your favorite color, or the color of flowers you plant in your gardens can express something about your personality.


Here is just a few of the colors and their meanings:

Red: Love & affection, Romantic & Abiding Love, True Love, I Love You, Desire, Courage & Passion, Congratulations, Job Well Done, Respect & Appreciation, Honest Beauty, Courage & Passion, Bliss to Marriage

Dark Red: Deep passion, Readiness for a commitment, Unconscious beauty, Dying love

Light Pink: Gentleness, Joy & Grace, Admiration, Sympathy & Gentleness, Harmony & Warmth

Pink: Grace & Elegance, Admiration for beauty and refinement, Sweetness

Bright pink: Appreciation & Recognition, "Thank You", Gratitude, Admiration

White: Purity & Innocence, Reverence & Humility, Heavenly & Honor, Everlasting love, Marriages and New Beginnings, I am worthy of you, Beauty & Youthfulness, Remembrance

Yellow: Friendship and "I care", Unbridled joy, Promise of a new beginning, Gladness, Delight, Warmth, Good Luck, Welcome Back, Remember Me, Dying Love

Peach: Modesty, Closing of a new deal, Great cheer, Sincerity & Genuineness, Sympathy, Gratitude and Thankfulness

Blue:. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven

Purple: combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence.


So the next time you give a gift take the time to choose carefully, and give them a message from your heart just by choosing a special color.


Monday, May 10, 2010

The Rose!















The rose is such a beautiful flower. It is no wonder that women get so excited every time they receive even a single one or a bouquet for a gift for a special occasion, or just because they are special.


I am not sure when I was really captivated by roses. I just know that I love them so much. Every time I see them, I feel so good and they make me so happy. That is one reason that I named my website Shabby Denim Rose.


I never remember my mother having roses in our yard when I lived at home as a child. She was a real garden person and really loved the yard work. She stayed outside all day long on weekends when she wasn’t working a job. Let’s say she had the green thumb. Everything that she touched in the yard was beautiful.


I wasn’t ever fond of working in the yard at all when I was young, so from the time that I was 11 years old until I married at 17 years old, I stayed inside and did most of her houswork while she and later my step-dad took care of the yard and flower beds. Never do I remember seeing roses in the garden though. She might have had some when I was very little but I don’t remember. I didn’t even go outside much at all to notice.


Later in years, she and my step-dad retired to a little country community and had 4 beautiful lots full of trees to care for. I know she thought she was in heaven having that much yard to care for. Some how she made that place look like a National Park. Even with so much shade around she still could manage to find flowers and plants that would grow so pretty. But still no rose bushes. Now that I am older and study so much about flowers and plants, I see that roses need lots of sunshine, so that might be why she had no roses there.


I was blessed to inherit her property after my step-father passed away in 2004. My mama passed away in 1998 and sadly, my Dad let the property go undone some, so the yard was nothing like she had it. No real beautiful flower beds anywhere. There was evidence of them being there, but over the 6 years that my Dad was alone, he did not bother with the beds that she loved. They used to always work in the gardens together and I am sure that brought so much heartache to him.

Needless to say that I was thrilled the first Spring my husband and I lived here on this property and saw the beautiful azeleas and dogwoods blooming!! We both shouted! But of course those only last through Spring. So after those beautiful blooms were gone, there was not much color here but the beautiful green trees and grass.


After living here for 5 years, we have managed to get us a few little flower beds going. Of course we had to just try and see what would grow since we knew very little. My husband and I had lived most our married life in apartments so we had very few chances at flower beds. It was times like these that I had wished that I had watched Mama in the garden or at least asked her some questions.


This year we had to cut 2 huge trees down due to some problems with them. Of course that made me sad because I love trees so much, but then we realized something one day. We now have sunshine in a place where we have never had sunshine before!


At that moment I could just vision some roses growing there. I pictured in my mind a cute little garden, so we started a mission to see it done. At our age, it took my husband and I three weeks to prepare the ground and do what we wanted to make it look nice. I was so thrilled when it was done. We really did not know what it would look like until we finished because we just created it as we went along. Finally before the hot weather set in, we completely our dream garden area.


Then I found 3 climbing rose bushes to put near a fence where the most sun shines all day, so we planted them with love. I wanted pink and white roses, but I could only find 2 yellow climbing, and 1 red climbing rose bushes. Since I love roses so much, I settled for that.


At this moment in my life, I am patiently waiting for them to grow. I read that in a year they will climb 6 -7 feet tall. I go outside every morning and look at them, pray, and thank God for allowing me this opportunity. I am trying to do all I have learned to do for roses, so the rest is up to Him.


My husband always brings me bouquets of roses sometimes for no occasion at all. I never know what color of roses he will come home with next. One day, I am looking forward to the day that he can go to the yard and bring me in a bouquet. My favorite are pink which is funny because red used to be my favorite when I was young. Maybe there is a meaning to that!



Saturday, May 8, 2010

Donated items






















I am a member of the Shabby Lane Shops and have a store there named
Shabby Denim Rose where I sell a few of my unique handmade items. I love sewing and making items and have been sewing since I was 12 years old. I think the sewing machine is great therapy for me. But the greatest therapy is the joy that I feel when I have given something to someone instead of sold it.

Here are just a few pictures of things that I have donated to organizations like the Pink Slipper Project, & the Enchanted makeovers. I take such joy in doing that. Hopefully soon, I will have the quilt made for Quilts for Kids so you can see it.

The heart beat of my life is to give and not to receive. I guess that is why the scripture says "It is more blessed to give than to receive". You get more joy out of it.

I even made this sweet baby girls quilt shown above and donated it to the Military Hospital to be given to a baby of a wounded soldier.

I have also donated items to the Shabby Lane Shops Treasure boxes on a regular basis, and also to the Shabby Shops in a Box which I will be sending donations monthly.

My first really big gift was to a soldier in Iraq. I made him a quilt to keep him warm through winter and mailed it to him there. That was years ago. He still has it and we still talk to each other through letters etc, and I have never even personally met him. I don't have a picture of that quilt. I forgot to take one because I was in such a hurry to get it mailed to him.
He is getting married in November in Georgia, and invited my husband and I to the wedding, but it is so far away and I am not sure I will be able to make it since my husband won't fly.

Later while I was writing many soldiers, I had one to write me back, and ask if I would make a quilt for his unborn baby in the States. He said his son would be born and he would still be in Iraq, so I made this one in the picture here along with a couple bibs and pillow. I mailed it to his wife in the states as a gift from his Dad for Christmas. I never heard from them again but I do trust they got it and it blessed them.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Going with my heart!



Here recently, I went through a time for 6 weeks where I could not do anything but recline or stay in bed due to pain or injury of some type in my back and later the pain went to my foot. When I walked it was on a walker! I could not see myself cripple so I talked quite a bit to God.
None of it made any sense, and even after MRI was done 8 weeks later, nothing much showed at all. But now, I am fine and have even been working in my yard for 3 weeks helping my husband plant a garden, and we even designed another flower garden area.


During those weeks of my down time, I had lots of quiet time to spend in prayer with God, so no time was lost even though I missed my sewing projects desperately. I didn't even go into my sewing room because I knew that I would cry if I saw it. He spoke to me about many things and the direction of my heart.

After I started creating the "Say it with the Heart" pillows a while back, it moved me to think about what really makes my heart beat. I knew something was missing in my life and I got off track some.

The Lord spoke to me and said "Are you really following your heart?"

I knew then that my heart's joy was not in making things to sell. It was in doing for others, spending time sewing to give to others, and donate to charities. So at that moment, I surrendered to get back to what really makes my heart beat. My heart desires to beat in tune with the heart of God!
It is the heart of giving! After all the Bible says "For God so loved the World that He GAVE his only begotten son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life"'John 3:16

He put on my heart to make kids quilts for the Quilts for Kids project
I am working on a quilt for that now between the garden and other ministry things.