Posted by Breezy on May 28th, 2010
I was recently discussing with some dear friends the subject of stay-at-home-daughters and time. We talked about all the things we hope to learn and skills we want to have before entering marriage. Beyond the basic skills of cleaning the home, caring for children, sewing, cooking wholesome meals and decorating cakes, there is a vast world of other useful skills that stay-at-home-daughters have time to learn.
As young women not yet married, we have the responsibility to become as well-rounded and useful as we can be. Right now you probably don’t have the full care of running the home—this is an excellent opportunity to prepare yourself for the rest of your life. The more helpful skills we acquire, the more useful, the more of a blessing we will be to our future husbands and families.
Think of these skills as an Invisible Hope Chest.
Your husband could have any kind of job: mechanic, business owner, economics professor, etc.—are you studied in many areas to be able to help him in whatever his calling may be? Your family may someday have special diet issues—would you know enough about nutrition to accommodate those needs? Could you start a homestead or home business from scratch and live self-sufficiently? Do you plan to home-educate your children? Are you collecting excellent books for them to read? How do you plan to raise them to become God-fearing and useful men and women?
There is a host of other things to learn as well. Systematic theology (there’s enough there to keep you constantly in awe for the rest of your life!), finances and banking, how to keep everything in the home running smoothly together, history, English, a foreign language, herbal medicine, science, home birth, and even some carpentry skills will be found quite useful. And how are your communication skills?
How are you filling your invisible hope chest? Perhaps you haven’t started on it yet, but what would you like to fill it with?
Posted in Around the Hearth, Life Journal, The Notebook | 24 Comments
Posted by Breezy on May 1st, 2010
“On the Cliffs” by Henry Ryland, credit
I’ll admit it: I’ve enjoyed my time away from blogging. Sometimes we need that. We’ve had many things going on, including a new project in the works for Noble Rose Press! And Spring, being the most wonderful season that it is, has afforded many opportunities for me to take the dog on longer walks, weed the garden, and reminisce over what life was like before I used the internet on a regular basis.
I’ll also confess that I’ve considered disappearing from the online world all together. But I can’t help but be reminded that having a wonderful little nook to write in and share with friends has been a big blessing in my life. So don’t worry, I won’t disappear. And I shouldn’t be gone too much longer. (And not that I don’t have anything to say! ;) It’s just good to take occasional breaks to refocus and recharge.
I should be back to blogging again soon. Until then, just imagine me furiously sketching away—because that’s what I’m doing! ;)
.:. .:. .:.
Just a note: If you have a question and leave it in a comment, I’ll reply to it in the same comment section.
Posted in Life Journal | 17 Comments
Posted by Breezy on April 17th, 2010
I am blessed with such a generous and talented sister! After having the last theme for over a year, I thought it might be time to freshen things up a bit, and did she ever! She was so gracious while I told her about what I wanted, and she created exactly what I had in mind.
You’ll find that I have a few new pages, a brand new subscribe button, and it’s all organized in beauty and simplicity. I love the Provence palette and feminine feel. Just my cup of tea. Thank you, darling Emily Rose, for taking time out if your overwhelming schedule to make your sister such a lovely design! I love you!
Posted in From the Studio | 32 Comments
Posted by Breezy on April 11th, 2010
Here’s the dress I made, in all its bright blue glory! I usually don’t pick such vibrant colors for my clothing, but after not being able to find just-right pink fabric anywhere, and the only alternative was to actually buy a dress, I decided that the blue seersucker would make an excellent spring/summer dress.
{ pattern: B5030 }
The almost-finished garment. I later added hooks and eyes to replace the pins. The cuffs have an embroidered white “X” at the base where the corners meet. (You can see one better in the last photo.)
I was so happy that Mom found this vintage-esque pattern. I have years’ worth of little sketches and dress designs, and a dress not unlike this one made frequent appearances.
Pattern alterations: Top-stitching, narrowed collar, and shortened sleeves. The “production” stretched over two weeks, but was finished with plenty of time left to calmly get ready for the long drive to Callaway Gardens. ;)
Photo credit: Emily Rose
On Saturday afternoon, Dad, Mom, Emily and I went to the Butterfly Garden and walked part of the way there with our friend Miss Rebekah and her father. We crossed a small stone bridge and took portraits of each other on the way back.
Photo credit: Emily Rose
I can hardly wait to get back to my little Singer with more fabric + patterns!
Posted in Life Journal | 42 Comments
Posted by Breezy on March 31st, 2010
I go through this season a few times every year. The pace of life seems to quicken, and one must constantly re-evaluate the most important things. Perhaps you know exactly what I mean. :)
I’ve made three lists. A list of all the things I want to do; a list of all the things that absolutely must be done; and a list of things to remove from the first list, especially if the want-to-do’s are distracting from the must-be-dones.
And my, what a list of must-be-dones! There’s homemaking, NRP, art projects, art lessons, piano for church, and the garden. Life is wonderful, but sometimes it’s so fast and overflowing!
I would really like to share a few of my notes from the Father & Daughter Retreat from last weekend. (We had a wonderful trip down to Georgia, by the way.) But until then, I highly recommend making a list of your most important things and the things that hinder you from accomplishing them. This has been helpful for me!
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” - Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)
. . .
A quick note - The new Ladies Against Feminism site has been relaunched! In honor of the relaunching, Noble Rose Press is having a sale! (Emily Rose did a great job of redesigning Mrs. Chancey’s site, didn’t she?)
Posted in Life Journal, The Notebook | 11 Comments
Posted by Breezy on March 16th, 2010
And I am happy. Just because the Lord is so good!
I haven’t been blogging as regularly as I’d like, but there have been so many other things to keep me busy. And I’m sure you understand!
Last week I took my first long walk in the back yard since most of the snow melted. The air was tinged with the mild, damp sweetness of Spring, and a day-long south wind brushed it over the homestead.
“Windflowers” by John William Waterhouse
Art, studying, reading, cleaning, exercising, etc. are constants on my to-do list. And the calendar seems to be filling quickly with spring and summer plans.
For an up-coming event I’m sewing a dress out of a light blue paisley fabric. Mom has given me some pointers and cut out a few pieces for me while I was slumped over with exhaustion, but I think I can say (so far) that this is the first dress I’ve made pretty much on my own. I’ve never made cuffs or a collar, or have even altered a pattern before, so this is a bit of leap for me! But it seems to be going well and I’m very happy with how it is turning out.
I can hardly wait until the sun decides to stay and warm up the earth some more. Last year we built raised beds for our garden. My, how easy to weed! and everything looked so charming and organized. They did well with our vegetables last year, so we’re planning on building a few more and transplanting the rest of the herbs and flowers into them.
Asplundh has cut down three trees in out front yard because, of course, they were too close to the power lines. But we plan on replacing them with shorter, flowering trees. It will look even more beautiful in the coming springs when everything is in full bloom!
Can you tell I’m looking forward to digging in the dirt again?
.:. .:. .:.
Posted in Life Journal | 16 Comments
Posted by Breezy on March 5th, 2010
The latest painting is now available in my Etsy shop! For each print sold, $10 will be donated to Rescue Haiti’s Children.
“I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food” was created in watercolor and colored pencil. The prints are reproduced with toner on Archival-quality, 80lb bright white card stock. Print will not have watermark, and will come with artist’s hand-written signature. Please note that the coloring may slightly vary due to your monitor.
Print size: 8″×10″ on an easily-framed 8 1/2″×11″ sheet.
Click here to order your copy!
.:. .:. .:.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you clothed me,
I was sick and you visited me,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
- Matthew 25:35-36 (ESV)
Posted in From the Studio | 15 Comments
Posted by Breezy on February 24th, 2010
Posted in From the Studio, The Notebook | 3 Comments
Posted by Breezy on February 19th, 2010
“I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me” is now available
for sale in my Etsy shop!
For each sale, $10 will be donated to Rescue Haiti’s Children.
“I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me” was created in ink and watercolor. The prints are reproduced with toner on Archival-quality, 80lb bright white card stock. Print will not have watermark, and will come with artist’s hand-written signature. Please note that the coloring may slightly vary due to your monitor.
Print size: 8″x10″ on an easily-framed 8 1/2″x11″ sheet.
Click here to order your copy!
.:. .:. .:.
Posted in From the Studio | 6 Comments
Posted by Breezy on February 11th, 2010
The Rescue Haiti’s Children team is still laboring in Haiti. Haiti’s needs will be long term, and Rescue Haiti’s Children will need continued support as well. In light of this, I have decided to make a few changes in regard to the original art sale.
Changes: Instead of selling the original paintings, I will be selling prints. This way more people will be able to buy their own copy and we will eventually (+hopefully) be able to donate even more to Rescue Haiti’s Children.
Also, due to time restraints and the creative process, I will be spreading out the paintings. I currently have “I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me” finished and ready to make prints of, which I will be selling in my Etsy shop. Over a longer course of time I will be creating more pieces for the Matthew 25:35-36 series. I will inform you all as they are made available.
Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm!
I’ll keep you updated!
Posted in From the Studio, Life Journal | 5 Comments
