All Paper Arts

Have you ever known or met someone that just really has an inspiring nature? Someone who you might not even know very well but you enjoy seeing them because they just seem to always have a happy glow to them? My friend Angie (on the right side of the pic) is somebody like that. She is just one of those people you feel deserves all the happiness she has in her life. Actually, her entire family is like that from her “heck of a great guy” husband to her very clever and funny two boys. Although most of Angie and mine encounters are church related, I find her such an inspiration to my everyday life. She is one of those people that just makes you want to be a better person, friend, wife, and mother to those in your lives.

This past winter Angie and I had shared a table together at a craft show. We also had another friend of mine Mecca sharing that table with us who was not pictured because she had already sold out of what she had made. I had different paper arts mostly stocking stuffers like snowman soup and reindeer noses.

Angie had the beautiful pillows she makes and that are on the table in the picture above. I call them door pillows because they have ribbon to be hung by. Also, the one I have is on the door to my husband and mines bedroom. These pillows are so beautiful you really want to display them where everyone can see them. They make wonderful gifts. Each of them is handmade by Angie and has an inspirational phrase or word embroidered on them.

You don’t have to ask Angie where she gets the inspiration to make these beautiful pieces of art because the answer is obvious. She gets the inspiration from her strength which would be her husband, her boys, and most important her personal relationship with God.

Each pillow that Angie makes has not only her time and talent in them but also that happiest I mentioned. She obviously does sale her pillows but she does not produce them in a fast fashion. If she does not feel she has the time to put her all into a pillow while still having time for her family life then she will be completely honest about it. Refreshing isn’t it? Isn’t that how we should all be with our art?

When I do any of my paper arts for my clients I try to remember Angie’s approach. The truth is my art is apart of whom I am and the only way I can give my clients my best work is by giving it my whole heart. It is like my grandmother’s cooking she put love in everything she made and that is why even her simplest meals tasted better then something from the most expensive restaurant.

Where do you find your inspiration? Are you remembering to give everything you do your whole heart? I know for me sometimes to get back to inspiration I have to get back to my creating. It is then that I am really reminded to count my blessings. It’s true whether I am doing something for my own family or for a client. Of course, seeing the door pillow Angie made for me that says ironically enough “We are Blessed” helps, too.