14 Apr 2014

Creatives: BPaperie (& Giveaway)

by Kimberly | posted in: creatives | 2

Sometimes, when you get to watch someone do an every day job (say, an office assistant), you know they have a creative streak in them that is just dying to come out. That is the way I felt as I’ve gotten to know Beth of BPaperie. Beth and I worked at the same location in Louisville, then went to the same church. She of course is a wife, and has her sweet dog which you can always find pictures of. And she has a day job which she is great at. But, a love of hers is creativity. She is wonderful at taking the ordinary and making it bright and lovely and inspiring.

For my office (which is really a corner of our dining room), I wanted something new and inspiring as a I write and do photo editing. She happily obliged with a giveaway for my readers – just like you! And she designed this beautiful art with a quote I got from singer/songwriter Christa Wells from Emily Freeman’s book A Million Little Ways. Since this has been such a hard season of life with many changes coming, I picked this quote because it spoke to me of hope. When I look at it encourages me to keep going and keep pressing on in my dreams.

I asked Beth to answer a few questions so y’all could get to know her. Here is a sneak peak into her life as a creative:

1.Why bpaperie?

I started bpaperie as a creative outlet. My “about” section on Etsy says this, which I think might answer the question: I’ve wanted to own a design shop for as a place that smells good and is filled with fun things. A place to be inspired; a place where my puppy can run around in a cute sweater. And a place that’s affordable, too!
But since my husband’s in school, I’m stuck with a boring 9-5 job instead. I’ve wanted to open an etsy shop for a while — a creative outlet of my own — but I’ve been too scared to do it. It’s easy to let doubts fill my heart and keep me from doing what I love — what if no one likes my work? What if nothing sells? What if I’m a failure?
I can’t let those things hold me back anymore! Bpaperie has been a long time coming. It’s the next best thing to a “real” store. And if you want to see pictures of my cute pup in a sweater, shoot me an email. I’m happy to oblige. 🙂

2. How did you come up with the name for your store?

My husband, Wes, often calls me “B,” and I love paper goods. I was trying to decide between two names, and this one stuck.

3. What does your creative time sometimes look like?

A lot of times I end up designing while on the couch watching TV. Glamorous, right? 🙂 Usually while Wes is watching Law & Order or something I’ve seen before that doesn’t require a lot of attention. We sit as a family of three on the couch (Wes, me, and Lucy, our puppy) and I’m content to play around with different fonts, textures, quotes, and graphics until I figure out something that seems to work.

4. What happens when the creativity just isn’t flowing – kinda like writer’s block?

I’m not sure what you mean by this question. Like when I have “real job” deadlines and I don’t have time to get creative? It’s hard. My day job demands a lot (most!) of my time and mental energy during the week. I’m still in the start-up stage for bpaperie, which requires a lot of investment in terms of time, money, and creativity. I’m trying to get my name out there via facebook and instagram, I’m selling in a shop in downtown Louisville (Block Party Handmade), and I’m looking forward to the day when most of my customers aren’t friends & family members. 🙂 But mostly, I love what I’m doing; this has been a dream of mine for a long time. So that motivates me to work hard and make things happen!

I hope you can find encouragement to pursue your creative dreams by hearing just some of Beth’s story. Here is the fun information on the giveaway: Beth is giving away one print from her Etsy story to one reader of kd316. Here is how you can enter:

1. Go to BPaperie on Etsy and come back and tell me which one of her prints you would want to have in your home

2. Follow thekd316 and bpaperie on Instagram. Come back here and tell me that you followed.

3. Share this blog with your friends on FB or Twitter and return here and leave me a comment telling me you did so

Winner will be announced on Friday!

16 Mar 2014

Creatives: Kelli @ Sweet Love Bakes

by Kimberly | posted in: Arkansas, creatives | 0

Bakeries. Just the sight of them makes me want to stop, talk to the folks who run them, and eat their fabulous goodies that adorn their windows. This one is no different. How I came across Sweet Love Bakes was cool. I asked some friends if there was a good place in Little Rock (local, not grocery store or pre-packaged) to get macarons because I wanted them for our Valentine’s dessert. All friends pointed to the same bakery – Sweet Love Bakery which is only miles from our home.

So, the husband and I went in there, sampled their peanut butter cookie (of course) and took home some French macarons for the dessert the next night. Pink Champagne and Lavender Honey. Oh. My. Gracious. So light, deliciously flavored, and hit the spot. I emailed Kelli right away to see if I could come to take some photos of her bakery and interview her. She was delighted and we made a plan for a couple of weeks ago.

Kelli was hard at work preparing for a weekend full of delicious treats including an anniversary, a birthday, and goodies for the bakery shop. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and for the French macarons and cupcake. They were amazing and the husband loved the cupcake filled with lemon curd! Enjoy getting to know her and if you need any bakery needs here in Little Rock or Central Arkansas, please stop by.

How did you get started in baking?

Kelli has been baking for nearly 10 years and got started doing family baking. She had the opportunity to make a cake for her grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. That’s not intimidating. Her grandparents were thrilled to say that their granddaughter had made their cake. With many other family opportunities, reading, and practice – she was hooked. She loves to create art and knows that it is only temporary – but a temporary meant to be enjoyed – not immortalized!

What inspires your creativity?

She loves following other bakeries/chefs. That will get her creative juices going. Also, different mediums. (That was really interesting to me. So other mediums can inspire your love and creativity in the kitchen too).

What would you say to encourage others in their pursuit?

You really have to pay your dues. Its taken her ten years to get to where she is and she started Sweet Love Bakery two years ago. She wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the demand and business if she had started the bakery 10 years ago (side note: she has her business degree, so that helps in running the bakery). Quality can’t suffer as you grow. Quality has to only improve! When you are ready – it will happen! Be prepared!

What is your favorite creation?

Her polo cake. And that’s also her biggest lesson. Watermark your photographs. (I’ve started doing this because of our conversation.)

What is the hardest part of owning Sweet Love Bakery?

You can’t take things personally. You try your best to get things just right for the customer’s specifications, then let it go. You should always be learning and improving.

What do you think about French Macarons?

They are so time consuming and precise! She has learned about flavorings and colors from making so many of them though!

6 Dec 2013

Hello December 6: Creatives with Pretty Philosophie

by Kimberly | posted in: creatives | 0

As I sit and look out my double windows at my home in Little Rock AR, and watch the wintry mix cover the road and driveway in white, I look at these photos with color and the truth of the Season and smile.

I smile because they are pretty.

I smile because they are true.

I smile because I love getting the Gospel into others’ homes.

I smile because I know the artists and they love Jesus and are creative.

I smile because I like giveaways! (and so should you!)

5 Dec 2013

Creatives: Savannah Photography Stefani Thompson

by Kimberly | posted in: creatives, Uncategorized | 0

It is no secret that I love the Southeast, the coast, the beach, history, nature, style, great food…so why wouldn’t I love Savannah, GA? Savannah is a town that has everything you need (or can find it within a short distance). My friend, Stefani, is a fabulous young photographer. I got to know Stefani back when I lived in Louisville through my then future boss in Raleigh. Crazy connections. I’ve seen Stefani grow in her photography skills and she is now featured in The Sunshine Mag – a new online magazine. I thought I would feature her on here because I love her creativity, her heart for learning her craft, and would use her anytime to photograph anything!

How did you find your love for photography?
My first camera was a toy camera that used real film, 110 film to be exact. It wasn’t until I was about 14 years old that I picked up my mom’s nice camera and started teaching myself how to use it. It was also about this time that I started to write poetry and journal incessantly. So, ultimately, my love for photography originated from my love for journaling. Photography is really my public journal in picture form. I want the viewer to see what I see when they look at my pictures.

Why Savannah?

Savannah is such a unique city–a beautiful, historic city off of the Atlantic coast. One of my favorite things about Savannah is the diversity in culture. Between Savannah folk, SCAD students, and the constant flow of tourists there is always a wide range of culture. Sometimes it is seems surreal that I live in such a beautiful place. I love the quaint coffee shops, the historic architecture, the coastal climate, the broad art community, and the people. Savannah is a great place to be an aspiring photographer and I am very thankful to call it home!

How do you incorporate your love for God in your photography?

Ultimately, I want peoples focus to be on God. Even when I capture beauty in creation or something by created man’s hands, I want people to see The Creator and not just the creation. My desire is that my love for God will flow out through my photography.

What are your future dreams?

I would say I have a lot of ideas, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them dreams. Though any future desires I have may be biblical I know that God is the absolute planner of my steps (James 4:13-15). That being said, I would like to finish my bachelor’s degree, while I continue to seek ways to use my photography in missions, ministry or in any other ways that furthers the gospel. Even though my photography feels like the here and now to me, I am pressing forward always trying to improve on the talents God has given me for His glory. I am not necessarily looking at photography as a career, but a way to serve the Lord.

What is one piece of advice for others who want to be creative with their camera?

I think it is essential to know and learn how to use your camera. Seek out quality classes in your community, get to know photographers, and most importantly, practice. If possible, switch to the manual setting and take time to learn it, the more practice the easier it will be to get the picture you want.

30 Aug 2013

kd316 Creatives

by Kimberly | posted in: creatives, Uncategorized | 2

September brings another new month – and a new time in this blog. This blog, no matter the name, has been going on for almost 10 years in some form, and it is time for a change.

As I have been reading Jess Lively (a life blog) for a few years now (and loved her jewelry JessLC) I’ve come to know one thing about my blogging: I need to write about what brings me joy and love what I write about. I love theology – but lately, for reasons that I’ll keep between my husband and myself, I will choose not to spend much of my time writing about theology. Believe me, some posts will still exist: especially book reviews and CBMW topics and how to incorporate the Word into life, but this will not be my focus on this blog.

In the past months, I’ve been thinking about all of life as a creative. We were made in the image of our Creator and everything comes from Him. Our creativeness flows from Him. I love being creative: not knitting or crocheting or scrapbooking – but that’s just not my thing (and if it is your thing, keep doing so for God’s glory). I’m more creative in decorating, cooking, baking, food photography, photography in portraits and nature, traveling, style, writing, encouraging, etc. I also love seeing those around me see their world in a creative mindset and bent. So I will feature other creatives on this blog as well. I have many talented and creative friends all over the globe! 🙂

That is what this blog will be from now on. A mixture. I hope you enjoy the newness!

creatives

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