15 Dec 2014

Hosting Your Neighbors for Christmas (Giveaway)

by | posted in: Books, Kids r Readers 2 | 0

God Bless Our Christmas

Happy holidays everyone. I was reminded very much of this today when I went to my annual physical and had a Jewish female doctor.  I didn’t say Merry Christmas, but I did talk about how the Scriptures help me when I’m fearful.

Anyway…

We live in a suberb of Atlanta, in a culdesac of townhomes.  And I approached my neighbor (long time seminary friend) about hosting a holiday party for the ladies and children in our neigbhorhood.  My pastor had challenged us to share Jesus 5 times this holiday season (felt like Doc Reid was going to have us fill out evangelism reports like I was in Intro Evangelism).  And then I got this book from Tommy Nelson Mommies – and thought that it would be a perfect reason to have everyone over.  So, I dished out the invitations and my friend passed them out this weekend.  Be praying, because Saturday morning hopefully we will have non-believers in our home.

Here is what we are doing – and maybe some ideas will give you a creative spark to reach out to your neighbors in the next few weeks.

1.  I am hopefully going to have the opportunity to read God Bless Our Christmas.  This is a new book by Tommy Nelson (a book publisher for children) written by Hannah Hall.  It is a non-threatening, winter-fun-loving book that is illustrated for children and would be a lovely book to have all the kids gather around.  While, I didn’t think it hit on the Gospel hard enough, barely mentioning Jesus – I thought it perfect for our gathering.  Where we want to be inviting to our neighbors, winsome, and have a conversation starter that we can take (winter, snow, gifts, Christmas, trees) to then talk about the Gospel.  I’m so thankful to have conversation starters when sharing the Gospel.  I find it intimidating to walk up to someone and say “Hey, you know Jesus?”

2.  One of the precious and yummy things that book highlights is sprinkles.  Cookies and sprinkles.  So, we are going to have goodies at our holiday party and we are including a cookie decorating station for the kiddos.  This holiday season is already crowded and packed with friends and functions, so I want to keep it easy.  My friend and I are splitting the tasks.  And usually I would use this recipe and roll out the dough and make the buttercream – but I’m buying sugar cookies, and tub frosting – and having sprinkles and icing!  Fun for all the kids – and adults too.

3.  Another activity for the children is Christmas tree decorating.  We put our Christmas tree in our dining room this year.  So much happens around our table so I thought it perfect to include the tree.  So, I’m going to have construction paper, stickers, markers, glitter – you name it – for them to decorate Christmas trees.  Hopefully with the children busy with activities, my friend and I can get to know the moms and have opportunity to talk with them about Jesus.

4.  Presents.  Christmas is about presents – in some sense.  God gave us a present.  We give each other gifts.  And during the Black Friday madness, Lifeway Christian Stores was selling the Jesus Storybook Bible for 5$.  We bought several and will have bows on them.  Be praying that we will get to give all 4 of them away this weekend.

I’m thankful that my friend is doing it with me.  It is scary to share the Gospel.  Shouldn’t be – but it often is.

How are you planning on engaging your neighbors or lost friends this holiday season?  Comment on the blog here or any of the social media sites of mine – and I will draw a winner on Friday (19th) night and you can have your own copy of God Bless Our Christmas!  I love getting children to read and this is one your kids will love for every holiday to come!

Disclaimer: I am a Tommy Nelson Mommy.  That means I get to review, blog, and giveaway new books for kids!  Its exciting – but all opinions are my own!  Thanks Tommy Nelson!

14 Apr 2014

Creatives: BPaperie (& Giveaway)

by | 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.

Christ Wells BPaperie Quote

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!
BPaperie
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!
29 Jan 2013

9th Letter Press Giveaway

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 9
Love her Valentine's Day line of cards
Love her Valentine’s Day line of cards
Out of Central Florida
Out of Central Florida

Oh cards just make me happy!

While i was in Orlando this past week, I was able to take the LB and get a quick peek into the exciting-to-me world of letterpressing.  As most of you know, I love cards, make my own with my photography, and keep the post office in business by the amount of snail mail I still send out in an electronic world.

Pull up a seat in their store
Pull up a seat in their store

9th Letter Press was introduced to me by a friend of the owner/designer, Isabel.  She is creative and loves to doodle.  How cool that she makes a living and blesses other people with her DOODLING!  Sheli, the other runner of the show, seemed to handle the business side of affairs and handles the wholesale side of things – which they do a lot of right now.

For all the food lovers in your life? Color cards: red, yellow, green, and orange - coming your way soon!
For all the food lovers in your life? Color cards: red, yellow, green, and orange – coming your way soon!
These pens cards - I could by a whole slew of them!
These pens cards – I could by a whole slew of them!

I can’t show you a picture of the Valentine’s Day card I picked up for the Mister, but trust me, it is cute and he will love it (he also reads this blog sometimes, and I still want it to be a surprise.  I could have dropped some serious money in there because everything I saw I could have found a purpose for and made your day by you receiving something so cute in the mail.  They had feminine cards, generic cards, or cards that could be masculine in nature (cards to send to men are very difficult to find): fountain pens card and her nautical cards were among my favorite.

Wouldn't you love to give this card to a certain Mister or Mrs? Or just get one in the mail from a friend?
Wouldn’t you love to give this card to a certain Mister or Mrs? Or just get one in the mail from a friend?

I’m sponsoring a giveaway.  One card that most people receive is a birthday card.  So, there is a set of feminine gray and pink birthday cards (8 in total) ready to be sent out to the winner of this giveaway.  Here are some ways you can enter – with each way giving you another chance for your name to be drawn:

These cards could be yours!
These cards could be yours!

 

1.  Leave a comment here and include which one of Isabel’s cards you would like to receive (visit her website).

2.  Like KD316 on Facebook

3.  Follow KD316 and Isabel9thLP on Twitter (and come back and leave your @handle on a comment)

4.  Share this blog on your facebook page and tag me or KD316 in it.

This giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday, February 3 (for all you Super Bowl watchers) and I’ll announce the winner on Monday morning, February 4.

Thanks to Isabel and Sheli for allowing me to come and photograph their shop and get the scoop of letterpressing!

Pretty ribbons...makes all packages lovely
Pretty ribbons…makes all packages lovely

 

Monograms are all the rage - even in letterpressing.
Monograms are all the rage – even in letterpressing.

 

6 Dec 2010

Much and Link Love (December 6 edition)

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

Second week of December and it actually feels like it out there. Here we go:
1. O Holy Night is def my fave Christmas (sacred) song. More thoughts on it later this week.
2. Reilly Band (violin rock) and Barlow Girl were both awesome last night. Enjoyed the drive, blaring country music and Sojourn Advent, dinner with a friend, and then music and conversation.
3. Fave country songs right now: anything by Zac Brown, Put You in a Song by Keith Urban, Rain is a Good Thing, Why Wait by Rascal Flatts, Stuck on You by Sugarland.
4. Reading this week: Philippians, John, advent book by David Horner, Acts commentary by Sproul, God’s Two Kingdoms, Eat Pray Love, and Kitchen Confidential, and any missions book I can find while working on Quarter 2 and 2 resources on missions.
5. I miss the weekly communion at Sojourn.
6. I loved the snow on the ground this weekend. Beautiful driving down Duraleigh with snow topped trees that were just brilliant reds and yellows. It won’t get out of the 40s this week. Sad times this cold stuff! 🙂
7. Fun things on tap this week: Parker and Otis (cafe in Durham), Getty concert, planning day, research day, lunch with staff ladies, hanging with a friend, dinner at a pastor’s house with family, party on Thursday night and day off on Thursday (which is always good), Christmas programs, dinner out, photo shoots (definitely the busiest of the whole month!)
8. College football is almost over. Sad times. But, this was not a great football weekend, NFL or NCAA. Only Bob Stoops pulled it out for me! Florida got a good bowl game and the Carolina v UT will be a good game too!

Link Love:
1. My friend Lara wrote a great post on Hope. I love hope this season. Christ is His Name!
2. Anyone struggle with an eating disorder, or know someone who does?
3. These truffle brownies will be making an appearance at a Christmas party near you!
4. Love that this is written by one of my fave female authors and that we were talking about Ephesians yesterday in Life class and how Ephesians talks so much about what she said!
5. What a great Kevin Bacon find…do you like Bacon?
6. Kevin has always brought me good things before. Will be making these soon!
7. This candy may be making an appearance at a Christmas party near you, too!
8. I love Jane Eyre. Can’t wait to see this!
9. Check out this Charlotte designer giveaway featuring a Jess LC necklace!
10. Francis for Christmas. Good stuff.

6 May 2010

Siggi's Yogurt Giveaway

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

I have always heard much about Siggi’s Yogurt on food blogs and I wanted to try it. It is a little ore expensive than regular yogurts, so I emailed the good people at Siggi’s and they listened and graciously sent me 8 coupons!
I used one of them to buy some regular plain yogurt to use in a recipe – as a dressing. It was thick and yogurt-y. The good thing about it is that it doesn’t contain many sugars. Even the vanilla and fruit kinds, don’t have many excess sugars in it.
So…I am passing the wealth on to you, my readers. I have 4 coupons and want to give the chance to try it, too. Two winners will get 2 coupons each!
So, in order to enter – tell me your favorite flavor or yogurt. I’ll pick 2 winners on Sunday night.
5 Apr 2010

Spring "Earth Day" Green Giveaway!

by | posted in: Vegetables | 7

I love My Blog Spark. I get great things to try, coupons, cool, fun things to add to my kitchen – and they give me stuff to give to you, my readers, as well.
April holds the day known as “Earth Day”. I am by no means a totally green girl – but I have started some things. My new roomie is about recycling, so I will do what I can. I try to remember those cloth grocery bags when I go to WF or other places to shop. I care more about what I do and put in/on my body than about thing things I use for exterior things.
But, Green Giant (ho ho ho greeeeeeeen giant) and My Blog Spark are offering you a prize package to grow your own herbs, add to your utensil collection, and get some free veggies. I love wooden (or bamboo) utensils so these three were a great addition in my new kitchen. And I have a porch now so I can’t wait to grow my own little herb garden. You can get the same thing.
To enter: you can do one of two things:

1. Tell me what your easy way is to protect/sustain the earth?
2. Tell me what is your fave recipe using green giant frozen veggies?

Thanks! Happy playing. You have till Wednesday, April 7th to enter!
12 Feb 2010

Yoplait Giveaway

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 7

Smoothies are everywhere! Lyon in the Kitchen had one on his show the other day. Green Smoothies are all the health rage. Smoothie King is raking in the dough! So, wanna make your own at home?
Yoplait and My Blog Spark are giving you the chance for a “Free” smoothie. You get a coupon for a Yoplait Smoothie (found in freezer dessert section) and a single serve blender – I LOVED THIS this morning. Will definitely keep it.
You could either drink the whole thing, or actually have two servings. The one I chose, the Strawberry Mango Pineapple was a little sweet – but those are naturally sweet fruits too.
So, all you have to do is leave me a comment – what is your favorite smoothie? It can be homemade, green, take out, restaurant, whatever…
Let me know!
5 Jan 2010

Progresso Souper You Giveaway

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

Welcome to the first giveaway of the New Year. And if you are like many of Americans that make “health” resolutions at the beginning of every new year, then this giveaway is for you!
Progresso is doing a contest and here is their description of it:
Celebrate the New Year and a new you with Progresso Light and 100 Calorie Soups because from January 4 through March 15th, you and your readers can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to enter the Progresso “Souper You Debut” contest for the chance to win a full makeover in New York City.

My Blog Spark is hosting a giveaway for blog readers! Yesterday, when I got back in the office, I had a huge box waiting for me. It had 15 cans of wonderful, yummy, healthy (some vegetarian), Progresso Soups. I don’t have to buy lunches for a long time (which definitely helps out the checking account)! It also came with a beautiful blue Progresso Soup mug that had a nifty handle that fit one’s thumb perfectly (for quality gripping when you are serving up a hot bowl of soup). Also included, to help with those fitness goals, was an automatic jump rope (which counted the turns for you and other information).

So, if you would like to help out your menu planning, check book, activity calendar, anything, just leave me a message saying what your fave soup is (and if it homemade, please share a recipe, because I love soups). You could win all that was mentioned above. I’ll randomly pick a winner by Sunday night at 9pm. Thanks!
And, while you are on this blog, look over to the right and scroll down – I’ve got some yummy soups on there (I love soups year round!)

Thanks – and happy Soup-ing!