Handmade with Purpose UPDATE

Look what y'all have helped raise! $154.86!

50% of each "Do Small Things with Great Love" print has been donated to the Red Cross.

With sharing about Handmade with Purpose & having some crazy sales last week Pen & Paint has sold over 20 of these prints!

Thank you so much for helping give to those in need through the Red Cross's Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts.

Remember this will continue through December!

And don't forget about all the other shops giving back!

CYBER MONDAY SALE!

It's Cyber Monday ya'll and the last sale Pen & Paint will be having before Christmas!

Take 20% off your order with the code CYBER20.

Happy shopping!

Pen & Paint Ornaments!

sew happy ornament

Christmas ornaments are in the shop! These were a labor of LOOOOOOOVE y'all.

I took artwork I use for the prints and resized them to fit on 3 inch wooden circles.

The wood is painted and then the artwork is mounted and cured with resin.

I'm calling them "Favorite Things Ornaments" since so many of us have favorite things

from sewing to coffee to writing to baking to photography.

camera ornament

There are a limited number available so get them while you can!

Also, since we are talking about Christmas I 

wanted to show you this cute printable Christmas Countdown calendar available for purchase over at Lil Blue Boo.

They are affordable and there is an activity for each day to countdown the days to Christmas from December 1st to 25th.

I'm excited about doing these with the boys. We have already been singing "Jingle Bells" daily since I pulled out Christmas decorations to use in product photos... Or as Jack shouts, "Bingle BELLS, bingle all the WAYYYYYY.

Also, there is a Silhouette giveaway going on here and you can see the countdown calendar in action :)

WOW. Thank you.

banner by Lace & Blossom Designs

Yesterday was an exciting day for Pen & Paint. 
The shop reached 1000 sales!
I'm not going to try and pretend I didn't have a big grin on my face. To see that number is huge. That means at least 1000 prints, paintings, or cards with my artwork are out there being enjoyed by others.
I am humbled. I am grateful.
I count it a blessing to be able to create things and share them. AND it's amazing to be able to create things and turn around and contribute to my family financially in that way. 

I am so thankful y'all.
Thank you to every person who encouraged me to create, who inspired me, who taught me.
Thank you to every customer and friend who supported the shop through purchases.
Thank you to my family, who has given me so much support to grow Pen & Paint and develop my talents.


In appreciate for all that love and support I have been given I'm going to have a celebration today. From 11 AM - 3 PM (EST) each hour I'll be posting a coupon code anywhere between 10% & 50%. I'm just going to use random.org to pick the numbers and I'll post them at 11, 12, 1, 2, 3 on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Not to worry if you aren't on any of those social networks, all you have to do is click those links and it will take to the pages so you will still be able to see the codes.

Let's get this party started :)

Art on My Walls { I heart art }

A year ago this wall in my kitchen had the yellow frame hanging with nothing. Just the frame, no glass, no chalkboard, nothing. It stayed that way for quite some time. I had a vision for the wall, but I wasn't quite sure how to make it happen. So, for pretty much a year I have been collecting prints and paintings from artists I admire (they aren't all displayed here, they will be on my other wall of art,

I'll show you that next November [wink]).

A week ago I hung the final print for this wall.

Also for the first time I hung artwork I created in my home.

It is complete, and I LOVE it.

I am calling it my inspiration wall (well one of them).

I spend about 70% of my day in my kitchen so it's fitting to have all this inspiring work hung there. It is also the first thing you see when you walk in the back door where most people enter our home. I think it's a good first impression.

From left to right:

joy print by katygirl designs for the joyful shop

family is everything print by pen & paint

tomorrow is fresh print by pen & paint

find things that inspire print by ello lovey

wine is bottled poetry painting by heart & hue

love block bubble wrapp'd

heart painting by heart & hue

love cards by katie daisy

vintage fabric mini garland by sand and starfish

love letters are cardboard letters I painted

you add beauty hand lettered artwork by sparrow nest script

we are family print by pam garrison

do small things great love print pen & paint

every season print by katygirl designs

"Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, 

inspire and motivate."

-Harvey Fierstein

What I'm Doing

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

-Mother Teresa

Every time I read that quote I kind of choke up.
Kind of as in, I do. Like when I sit and really think about it tears come to my eyes.

This weekend we had plenty of food. We had warm clothes. We had entertainment. We did have some uncomfortable times when our kitchen sink pipes practically deteriorated and we had to replace them. Other than that, we were very comfortable.

I don't know a time I have ever been without. Even as a child when my parents may have not had lots of extra, we never went without.
I am thankful for that, and I know because of that I have the opportunity and privilege of giving to those who are suffering.

Right now so many in the northeast are going without as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The stories I have read online or heard through the news are heartbreaking. I want to help and I want to give.
Throughout November and December 2012 50% of every 
"Do Small Things With Great Love" print from Pen & Paint
will go to American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts. I am working on a printable for purchase with 100% of the proceeds to be donated as well.

I have submitted my information to the Red Cross and have been approved as a donor, and I am so grateful I can give to help those in need.

We have several other shops who have chosen to do small things with great love through Handmade With Purpose. Please check out who is helping, and be sure to let us know if you want to join in. And remember you can always simply just donate to the Red Cross directly.

winner winner

{ cute banner by CM Handmade }

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's time for Holiday Cards { A GIVEAWAY }

I love sending Christmas cards.

Especially silly ones. Last year we didn't send out a card.

We had nice pictures taken of the family in plenty of time to have them made, but I just didn't take them time to send them out. 

I was determined this year would be a different. 

Basically I have been planning our cards since August. So imagine my excitement when my friend Katy told me she was going to be making holiday cards and selling them in her shop.

love this one

this one too

I had the privilege of helping with some of these! I drew up some things and Katy worked her magic and incorporated them into the card designs like this one with the proceeds going Hope for Sudan. Also, she has this card with proceeds going to the Joyful Life Library.

It's so hard to pick just one because I really love them all. However, I was able to narrow down a favorite. I won't show you  though because, well, then it wouldn't be a surprise when I send out our cards.

Which on is your favorite?

How would you like to win one?

Yep, Katy is giving away a card of your choice to a lucky winner!

Use the rafflecopter below and good luck!

ALSO I have comment moderation on. If you post a comment it won't appear until after I approve it :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Handmade with Purpose benefiting Hurricane Sandy Victims

In the Spring of 2011 a group of handmade shop owners and bloggers came together and chose to donate a portion of their proceeds from goods/sponsorships to selected charities.

We chose to create handmade goods with purpose. It was a great way for us to come together, support one another and those in need.

Handmade with Purpose is back.

This time with a new collaborative direction.

We are calling out to shop owners and bloggers and asking them to give towards relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy victims. We have several shop owners, bloggers, families, and friends who have been affected by this most recent disaster and we want to help.

There are many organizations doing amazing things, and we have chosen to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief with our donations. If you are interested in joining the group please first check out our blog and all the information and FAQ, then email handmadewithpurpose [at] gmail dot com as soon as possible. In order to fund-raise or promote you are donating a portion of sales from your shop there are guidelines (within the Red Cross, Etsy, etc.), and we want to be sure we meet them.

Even if you are a small blog or shop, remember every little bit counts...

Do small things with great love.

The Happy Day Project

Good things are going on this week over at Life Rearranged.

It's a week of sharing happiness with those around you.

Go check it out.

right now

Team Hop custom family portrait by Hunter Haines

This is us right now.

Daddy with his nose in a book and always up for board games. 

Mama with pens in one hand and paint brushes in another.

Two little boys who love to dress up as super heroes (thank you superstore for $10 pajamas with a cape).

It's never quiet at our house unless the boys are asleep or unless they are getting into something they are not supposed to. Someone is always whining, crying, laughing, jumping, running, roaring, or growling. It's fun, crazy, and tiring.

I absolutely love how Hunter captured us. We don't look picture perfect as we would in a photographed portrait. We are our quirky selves (and to be honest, my legs have never been that skinny and that makes me love this even more).

We framed and hung this next to our other custom family portraits by my friend Shannon. We plan to have more drawn over the years by other artists. I can't wait to look at the wall of illustrations over the years. I think it will be something really special for our home to have a gallery of hand drawn portraits. 

I also think everyone should have one made. Seriously.