Archives for September 2010

I’m headed to the zoo tomorrow with these little cuties and their big sister, so I wanted to make sure that Friday’s giveaway was already posted and I am going to attempt getting a good night’s sleep tonight 🙂

Seriously, these boys keep me on my toes and they are just the sweetest things.  And I adore their brotherhood.  Their little relationship is amazing to me.  Onto the giveaway.

Dana over at Lifelines Designs

is my go to lady for all my digital artwork needs.  Dana has designed all of my business artwork.  I mean everything…business cards, blog buttons, stickers, address labels and even down to my clothing tags.

She is just the best.  She also made Sol’s Gotcha Day invites, some awesome thank you photo cards and yes, I have already had her design our Christmas cards.  I am trying to stay ahead.  She is awesome!  Her creativity is amazing, she is super fast and her prices are so reasonable.

Recently Dana contacted me about having a giveaway and I was totally on board.  I love to support other crafty people and especially ones that are good at what they do and are good at heart also.

So what is up for grabs:

Is your head spinning with all the possibilities for this giveaway?  So enter away and help spread the word.  This giveway will end next Tuesday, October 5th at midnight.  I will announce the winner next Wednesday.  Can’t wait to see what the winner picks. Thanks so much Dana.

**This is just a small sampling of Dana’s work, so make sure you check out her store to see many, many more examples of her work and the endless possibilities if you win.**

There are tons of new orders that I have completed over the last few days.  So excited about all these heading out to their new homes.

This first tee was ordered by Ashley in Missouri.  Ashley wanted a South Korea tee with some love.  Thanks so much Ashley…hope your adoption process is smooth and quick.

This next super hero initial tee was ordered by Carrie in California.  She wanted this adorable tee for her little boy to sport…I love little boys who love super heros…fits so well.  Thanks so much Carrie.

This 8×10 Adoption piece was ordered by Erika in Ohio.  She wanted this for a special gift for an adopting family.  Such a sweet and thoughtful gift.  Thanks so much Erika.  Hope the family loves it.

My friend Kelly ordered this tee for her little girl Emily’s 1st birthday party.  They are going with the classic Minnie Mouse theme.  Thanks so much Kelly and hope Emily’s party is a blast.

This set of key fobs is headed to Dawn in Louisiana.  Thanks so much Dawn for coming back.

These next key fobs are headed to Heather in Florida, Natalie in Kentucky and Elizabeth in Nevada.  Love that lots of people are already Christmas shopping.  Thanks ladies.

And this is my first double sided key fob.  Natalie needed one for a Tennessee and Kentucky fan.  Pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Natalie also wanted a classy tie tee for her little boy to sport.  Thanks so much Natalie.

These next key fobs are headed to Cara in Texas and Aimee in Michigan.  I really like all the fabric choices…so bright and fun.  Thanks so much Cara and Aimee.

This sweet big sister tee is headed to Annie in Indiana.  She needed to perfect tee for her little girl to wear when they announce they are having another sweet child.  What an honor.  Thanks so much Annie and congrats again.

Courtney is Kansas ordered this Africa tee.  I do not get tired of this color combination…so classic.  Thanks so much Courtney.

This next funky and fun pumpkin tee is headed to Elizabeth in Arizona.  The fabrics were picked out by her little girl.  I love that she got to design her own tee and hope she wears it proudly.  Thanks so much Elizabeth.

This next key fob and 3/4″ bracelet are headed to Kristy in Louisiana.  Thanks so much Kristy and hope you love your items.

And this sweet Mimi pendant was ordered by Renada in Nashville, Tn as a special thank you to her mom who has really been there for them lately and helped them out greatly.  I love thank you gifts like this.  Thanks so much Renada.

And I totally polished my fingerprint off of it, after seeing it through my lens.

And lastly, this tee is for my niece Campbell who just joined the Girl Scouts.  Love it and hope she wears it proudly.

Now for some super fun stuff.  My little boy Huddy’s 2nd birthday is tomorrow and we are gearing up for a bubble gummed themed birthday party.  He LOVES gum…and is actually really good at chewing it.  Doesn’t swallow it, gives it to me or puts it in the trash when he is finished and has only gotten it stuck in his hair once.

I am super excited about his party.  I think he is going to totally love it.  When thinking about doing a bubble gum party I was a little perplexed, but it was been too much fun.  A little sneak peek.

And on Friday I will be having a guest giveaway.  You always here me rave about Dana over at Lifelines Designs...well she is doing a giveaway here this Friday.  Dana designed all my business items (business cards, address labels, blog buttons, stickers, etc), Sol’s Gotcha Day invites, some rockin’ thank you cards for people who are donating to us and believe it or not, she has already designed my Christmas cards and I am in LOVE.

So come back on Friday and enter to win.  Happy Tuesday.

Wednesday was Josh’s birthday.  I wanted to wish him a late happy birthday.  He really is just the best husband and dad around.  I could not be anymore blessed.  He’s the greatest and his heart, well, I always tell him his heart is the hottest thing about him.  His heart is huge and empathetic and kind and compassionate and he really wants to change the world.  I wanted to make him something special for his birthday.  Last year Josh read the book Scared: A novel on the edge of the world by Tom Davis.

I am not a big book reader, other than children’s literature, ask me about that and I could talk all day long, but adult reading, not so much.  But Scared is in a category all of its own.  Want to get a true picture of life in Africa, particularly Swaziland, then read this book.  It’s a fictional book based off of facts and true events.  It is simply amazing!  I highly recommend this book to anyone and it’s an easy read, if you can make it through the stark reality of what takes place in Africa sometimes.  Simply a great book, compelling and just down right heart wrenching.  So Josh was so impacted by this book and a fire was lit in his heart for the people of Swaziland.  He went to Swaziland last October with Children’s HopeChest.

He went specifically to see carepoints (communities) that needed sponsorship, in hopes he would be able to get our church on board of taking on a carepoint.  What this means is our church will come along side a community is Swaziland and take on sponsorship for all the kids at the carepoint, providing food, medical treatment, education and discipleship.  Our church will also build fences, a kitchen, water wells, bathrooms, school building, bunk houses,  playground, chicken coops, etc. at our carepoint.  It is such an amazing opportunity to work right along side our fellow brothers and sisters and be Gods hands and feet to these children…a priviledge really.  So our church recently signed on to sponsor Thulwane carepoint in Swaziland.  To say that Josh and I are excited would be an understatement.  We are thrilled and hearts are about to explode.  For Josh’s present I used pictures he took from his trip last year to Swaziland on a 8×24 canvas and then used the name of our carepoint, Thulwane, over the top.

I hope this is something he will love and enjoy for many, many years.  It really stands for so much, but especially his heart.  Makes me proud to be Josh Kelley’s wife.  Happy birthday Josh.  Here’s to many, many more.  Cannot wait to see what God has in store!

More orders are heading out this weekend.  This  completed order is headed to Angela in Georgia.  She needed some special long-sleeved tees for some kiddos who are about to welcome their new sister home from China.  She wanted a shirt for the new Bigger Sister and Lil Brother and one for their new sister Sammie to sport at the airport.  It is such an honor to make these tees…especially homecoming shirts.  I never forgot the fact that these will be worn on such a special day.  Thanks so much Angela for the business and for the opportunity to make such special tees.

At the Kelley house we are gearing up for Hud’s 2nd birthday next weekend…

and our yard sale and bake sale October 15th and 16th.  This yard sale is going to be huge.  We are officially on for two locations because my mom’s house, garage and shed are officially bursting.  So my dad has offered to start taking on the rest of what is coming in and it’s a lot.  If you have items you would like to donate or you would like to make baked goods, just shoot me an email and I can get you more details.  Such an exciting time and we are so grateful and blessed.  Happy Friday!

A lot of orders is what has been going on here.  I am amazed as they just keep pouring in.  THANK YOU!!!  I am truly, truly grateful.  It is hard work, but great hard work.  And we are not afraid to work for our sweet boy.  So check out what has been made these last few days.  This order is headed to Terianne in Pennsylvania.  She needed three 3/4″ bracelets for some Christmas gifts.  I love that everyone is already starting Christmas shopping.  Thanks so much Terianne.

This sweet little 8×10 canvas was ordered by Sara in Australia.  Sara needed a special baby gift for baby “a” and I was happy to help.  I love the color combination and just how sweet it is.  Thanks so much Sara and hope the new momma loves it.

There are tons more key fobs headed out.  This first set was ordered by Stephanie in Hendersonville, Tn.  Thanks so much Stephanie…hope everyone loves them.

The first two “intentional” key fobs are headed to iMom at Long Hollow.  If you live in the area and participate in iMom, then don’t be late for your meetings tomorrow.  These two will be up for grabs for your On Time Drawing.  The third key fob was ordered by Kim in Mississippi.  Thanks so much Kim.

This next order of Africa key fobs were ordered by Melissa in Washington.  They are hosting some tables at a banquet to help raise money for a Widow and Orphan’s home in Ethiopia.  They are giving these as a Thank You gift to the people at their tables.  LOVE IT!  Thanks so much Melissa.

This order was placed by Christin in North Carolina.  She needed lots of key fobs, an Africa tee and a Mississippi tee.  I love the colors she chose for her tees and the fabrics.  Thank you so much Christin.

This next tee was ordered by Vicki in Goodlettsville, Tn.  She needed a girly Dallas Cowboys tee for her daughter.  She requested a sea green tee and pink and let me do the rest.  Thanks so much Vicki and hope your daughter loves it.

This next cute birthday tee was ordered by Jamie in Texas.  Jaime’s little girl Story is about to be three.  I love the purples and pinks and this funky polka dot fabric is one of my most favorites.  Thanks so much Jamie.  Hope Story has a blast at her party.

This next order was placed by Susan in Ohio.  She needed two little long sleeved tees for her little boy Max.  They are big Ohio State fans and asked if I could do the big block O…I will try just about anything.  I think it turned out great.  She also added a “max” tee to her order.  Thanks so much Susan.

And lastly…my sister-in-law Kim needed a pumpkin tee for my nephew Jack.  She also wanted a letter “i” bow holder for a gift and some cool name art for my new nephew Will’s room.  Thanks so much Kim.

(5×7 canvas)

(4) 10×10 canvases

Again thank you guys so much for all the business.  Don’t forget all the money from orders is going directly into our adoption account. So you are getting unique, quality items and helping us bring our little boy home at the same time.  Also if you want to just make donation, remember with every donation you get a sterling silver hand stamped Africa bracelet as our “Thank You”.  And tees are coming soon 🙂  Happy Monday!

Tonight the boys had their first experience with cotton candy…at least their first experience that I know of (I am some what suspicious of their Aunt Jen).  Harper has had it before, but was still very excited also to get some.  When we got home tonight I downloaded these pictures and laughed out loud as I noticed the sequence of these four pictures:

Very excited and chowing down on this new thing called cotton candy

Huddy and Sol cheersing their cotton candys (they do this quite often with drinks, toys and other food and it is very cute).  Both boys totally unaware that now their cotton candys are stuck together

Huddy is now fully aware that his cotton candy is stuck to Sol’s

Mom to the rescue and all is well in cotton candy world again.  LOVE them.

Business has been just as sweet.  God is too, too good and thank you everyone who is placing orders and making donations.  I have been working like crazy to keep up and orders just keep flooding in.  It is simply wonderful, crazy wonderful.  I really love to see how God works in big and small things.  Perfect example for this week:  Ellen in Hendersonville, Tn ordered a 3/4″ “Gigi” bracelet from me to give to her mom.

I have been so fried lately from staying up so late working and just life in general, that for some reason when I made Ellen’s bracelet, instead of Gigi I stamped Mimi?!?  I have no idea what I was thinking.  Ellen was super sweet about it and I immediately went home and made her a new one, but honestly I was bummed that I had made that mistake and now had a 3/4″ Mimi bracelet.  I decided to put it on Facebook for a sale price to see if I could get rid of it.  Not only did I sell the sale priced Mimi bracelet to Meghan in Sprinfield, Tn…

But then on top of that, I got an order from Amanda in Nolensville for a 1/2″ Mimi bracelet and then…

Suzanne in Franklin, Tn ordered a 1/2″ Mimi bracelet as well.

Some people may think this is silly, but I totally give God praise for this.  He took my mistake, that I was down about and made it something that was simply great.  Thank you ladies all, so much and hope all the Gigis and Mimis love their bracelets.

This order of key fobs were ordered by Carrie in Knoxville, Tn, Kristin in Illinois and Jenna in Texas.  Thanks so much ladies…hope everyone enjoys them.

This next order was placed by Mikila in Idaho.  Her little girl is about to have her first birthday and they are having a peanut party, for her little girl’s nickname “peanut”.  Mikila wanted a peanut shirt using browns, pinks and white.  Love the little added buttons.  Thanks so much Mikila and hope the party is perfect.

This order was placed by Melissa in Bretwood, Tn.  A fun fact about me:  My first job was at a Sanrio Surprises store in Rivergate Mall.  Melissa and I actually worked there together when I was in high school.  So I was super excited when she wanted me to make her little boy Jase a “Who Dat?” tee.  They are big Saints fans and I just thought this was too much fun.  Thanks so much Melissa.

And lastly, this order is headed to Kristi in Brentwood, Tn.  Kristi needed some special birthday tees for two of her little girls.  Thanks so much Kristi and hope everyone has great birthdays.

Thank you guys again so much.  Happy Thursday!

I love that I am a picture taker.  I have always wanted to be a photographer, but alas, I have had other things on my plate and I can just never quite bring myself to buy one of the many awesomely amazing DSLR cameras out there.  So I do what I can with my little point-and-shoot Canon.  I take it with me everywhere and mainly because I never want to miss one of those moments when later I will say to myself “why didn’t I have my camera with me”.  So when I leave the house I always drop my camera in my bag….just in case.  We had our dossier Tennessee authenticated, which means they slap big, cool Tennessee gold seal stickers on them.  Of course I had the kids with me and as we were waiting in the office, what I loved and thought about is that we were doing this same thing last year.  When we got home I immediately started rummaging through all my picture files and this is what I found…what a year looks like:

February 2009 Secretary of States office Sol’s dossier

And then this year

September 2010 Baby Boy Kelley Dossier

I was glad to see they still had the same chairs, but my how time flies.  Also the same lady did our papers again and gave all the kiddos their own official Tennessee gold Seal.

They in turn, authenticated their chucks.

Oh how I love these three and CANNOT wait to have our next boy home.

And I want to give a big Thank You to State Trooper Officer Kosoko.

If you have never been to the Secretary of States office building then you will not quite understand the nightmare that it is to find parking that is even remotely close to the building.  Last year I had to park about 3 blocks down hill from the office and walk with Harper (who was still 1 at the time, almost 2) and carry Huddy (who was 5 months at the time) in his car carrier because I forgot his stroller…all up hill, in the cold and getting hollared at by a construction crew.  So I was prepared to face the worse this time around.  Of course, again, I could not find parking and thought I would try and get some pity from the State Trooper who was on duty watching the employee parking area.  I pulled up, told him why we needed to get in the building and asked if he knew of somewhere I could find parking.  He checked out the row of car seats in my backseat and asked what I was going to do with all those kids.  I laughed and told him they were going with me.  He then smiled and told me I could park by his security booth…we’re talking “yellow lines, will be towed, don’t ever even think of parking here” area.  I was like “Seriously?” and he said “Yes Ma’am.”  Awww, how I love a gentleman and Officer Kosoko was just that.  Check out the yellow lines–

When we were leaving we all gave him big thank yous and then I asked if I could snap his picture and he said “Sure, you want me to stand by my car?”  LOVE IT!

We had a great weekend around here and pretty sad that tomorrow is Monday…just don’t want the weekend to end. Lots of playing outside this weekend and went to a little festival in Hendersonville.  Josh and I were not that impressed, but the boys loved the balloons and Harper was super excited about riding a pony for the first time.

The pony’s name was Justice, which Josh and I both thought was ironic, considering his circumstance.  But Harper’s face was priceless and the kids had fun and that was good enough for us.

And yes that is a Christmas tree you see painted on Harper’s face…she asked for it specifically.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her!

Saturday was also what I liked the call “the day of key fobs”.  I ended up making over 40 and it felt super fantastic to get them all done, packaged up and ready to head to their new homes.

What about these insanely cute girl scout key fobs?  LOVE the cookie fabric.

And this group of key fobs is headed to Sara in Ohio, Kerry in Murfreesboro, Tn  and Rebecca in Alabama.  I love the cupcake key fob and choice of verse…too sweet.  Thanks so much ladies.

These key fobs are headed to Lisa in Springfield, Tn.  She needed some sweet key fobs for her kiddos teachers.  Love the quote.  Thanks so much Lisa and hope the key fobs are a hit.

And these key fobs are headed to Deb in Colorado, Gina in Knoxville, Tn, Mary in Texas, Angi in Arizona, Nina in Illinois and Heather in Arizona.  Thanks so much ladies.  You guys rock!

Now that is a lot of key fobs.  Can you see why I was so elated to get those knocked out?  So glad they are done!

This next order was placed by Kerry in Murfreesboro, Tn.  Kerry wanted some sweet Russia tees for herself and her girls to sport.  I never get tired of these tees and I so love the black and white damask on black and pink.  Kerry also wanted the 8×10 Adopted art with Russia in the background instead of Africa and an “adopt” tee for herself.  Thank you so much Kerry for your business.  It was too much fun.

These next two 11×14 art pieces were ordered by Tamara in Tennessee.  Tamara wanted one 11×14 Names of Jesus piece and for the other 11×14 she wanted me to use Proverbs 3:5 & 6.  Thanks so much Tamara.  It was awesome to work with you.

And this last order was placed by Mary in Alabama.  Mary sent me some bags that she had bought and wanted me to sew some appliques on.  The first zebra print bag she wanting matching elephant silhouettes and for the purple bag she wanted the state of Alabama and then Africa on the other side.  She also wanted two key fobs and a special burp cloth for a new little baby “l”.  Thanks so much Mary.  Hope everyone enjoys their gifts.

We also have set a date for our big yard sale and bake sale.  Last time with Sol’s adoption we did this and had so much stuff donated we ended up having the yard sale at two locations.  We are hoping for the same turn out again.  We will be yard saling it all day on Friday, October 15th and Saturday, October 16th.  If you have items you would like to donate, we would be more than happy to pick them up.  We are already scheduling pick ups.  And if you would like to bake up some goodies, just shoot me an email and I can get your more details.  Last year my sister-in-law Kim WAY out did herself on the bake sale, but I loved her slogan “If we bake it, they will come.”  If you are a fan of Field of Dreams then you get the quote, but we really did bring in money on baked goods.  People loved it.  And if you could do one thing for us, please pray that the weather will be amazing.  We realize October is pushing it, but with everything else going on, it was the most reasonable date to make sure we have everything ready and organized for buyers.  So please pray for great yard sale weather.  Cannot wait to have our third boy home.  He is going to have so much fun with these two.

Happy Sunday!

It’s been too many days since I posted, but I have been so busy and have lots of orders to post.  These sweet little fall pumpkin tees were ordered by Elizabeth in Arkansas for her little girl and her nephew.  Her little girl actually picked out the polka dot fabric for her pumpkin all on her own and I think it turned out super cute.  Thanks so much Elizabeth.

This Africa tee was ordered by Kate in Iowa for her mom.  So stinkin’ sweet for a daughter to order something for her mom.  Love it!  Thanks so much Elizabeth and I hope your mom loves her tee and your thoughtfulness.

This really super classy tie tee was ordered by Heather in California for her nephew’s birthday.  I have decided that my boys are going to totally need one of these.  Thanks so much Heather!

These key fobs were ordered by Dawn in Louisiana and Sara in Kentucky.  Thanks so much ladies and hope everyone loves them.

This Adoption art piece was ordered by Jan in Louisiana.  She has a friend who is adopting from China, so she wanted me to use the outline of China…so happy with how it came out.  Thanks so much Jan.

This next order was placed by Rebecca in Alabama.  She wanted some Peru love tees.  This was my first Peru tee, so I was super excited when I received this order.  Thanks so much Rebecca for asking me to make these up for you.

And lastly my sister-in-law Kim has kept me quite busy lately and I am still working on more orders from her…thanks Kimmy!  She wanted some pumpkin tees for my niece McKinley and nephews Jack and Will.  Still waiting on the tee for Jack, but finished up McKinley and Will’s.  Too sweet.

Kim also wanted a Big Sis, Big Bro and Lil Bro for all the kiddos to sport.  Can’t wait to see them wearing all their goodies.  Thanks Kim.

Thanks so much guys.  Happy Wednesday!