Logo Design ~ Jagd Mafia

I was recently in contact with Beau, the owner of Jagd Mafia again and he said they were sure liking their logo design(s), which made me happy and I realized I hadn't shared it online yet. This was my most complicated logo design to date. I was given a photograph and was told they want to use the person holding the head of the stag. Jagd Mafia is a hunting adventure based out of Germany. If hunting is your thing and you are in that area you should get in contact with them, as it looks like they have a great time!

Like all logo work, I like to give the customer a few different options. Here are a couple that were not chosen, but I wanted to share anyway:

The two logos below are what they went with:

Thank you Beau! I wish you and your business the best!

Loved ~ Wood Burning

A design and handmade wood burning for my grandma... her favorite Bible verse, John 3:16 and what

a powerful one it is. The gorgeous wood frame was made by my husband of Wisp Woods. 

Love teaming up with him on projects! He's been making the most beautiful wooden bookmarks lately. 

You can check out a few HERE. Kaelyn and I want to keep all of them! :)

Have a wonderful day, and remember how much you are loved. ♥

A Sweet Logo Design

I haven't been so good about getting new designs posted. This was a really fun logo to create. The business owners were awesome to work with and had a good idea of what they wanted. What made this job even sweeter was getting the actual product to try! It is so awesome to actually see my design on an actual product but then to try out the item... oh my goodness! We made avocado pudding with the honey and it was amazing! Kaelyn doesn't like avocados but she loved this dessert. The recipe will definitely be shared in one of our Enduring Health newsletters (can sign up at the bottom of the page) and possibly eventually on the Enduring Health blog.

Thank you Brad and Crystal! I wish your business great success!

Golden Sunshine Birthday

I can't believe it has almost been a month since we celebrated Kaelyn's golden birthday! She is our little sunshine so it worked great for her golden theme. She loves to see what I come up with for decorations and of course she's excited for the food/dessert too. I made a wild rice dish and a couple cupcake experiments. Her golden ones were chocolate chip pumpkin with a unique frosting, no lemon. (unique, but tasty and good!) The recipe will most likely be shared in one of the first two Enduring Health Journey newsletters. If you are interested in receiving healthy recipes, uplifting inspiration, and tips for healthier living please sign up at the bottom of the page on my new website HERE. I will try to have the first newsletter out the end of this month and it will only be coming out quarterly so I won't be flooding your inbox. :) The recipes shared in the newsletter may or may not be put on the Enduring Health Blog. Kaelyn is so excited to help in sharing healthier lifestyle tips and allergy friendly meal plans.

She had a great birthday and was so happy for all those who could make it. The weather isn't always the best when we plan to celebrate so we are thankful for those who are determined to make it and have safe travels. Several people went out of their way to make her day extra special. Thank you! It was a golden birthday she won't soon forget. :)

Today is going to be a good day!

Hello! Sorry this space has been quiet for so long. I would love to add a few more hours into the day... I bet most of you would agree. I've been having some fun the last couple months with wood burning projects. I enjoyed coming up with the words, designing and burning the one above simply to inspire myself. It is to remind me that if I keep a positive view from the time I awake, it will be a good day, no matter what is thrown my way. There is a bright side to every situation. It is up to us to choose how we will respond. God's way is the best.

I have seen myself change so much this past year. It amazes me to see how God can work within one's self when you are open to Him and welcome to change. I have grown so much spiritually and because of this my physical and emotional well being improved greatly. I am grateful. If you have been in this space for awhile, you know I had a long ways to go with physical health. And thankfully I can say I am now doing so well! God has guided me and He has healed me physically, emotionally and spiritually. With that said, there is always room to grow and improve but I am no where near where I was two plus years ago and honestly it is all thanks to the Lord.

With that said, God has placed the passion in my heart to reach out to others, those who are struggling, whether it is with health, financial, marriage problems whatever, I want to offer encouragement and hope. I have been working on a new site for awhile now and am hoping to share it with you soon. I pray that it will inspire people all over, in all walks of life. It will be a place where I share my heart, words that God has placed on my mind, and the ways that helped me and my daughter heal. My desire is for the new site to be an uplifting space for anyone that stops by.

I've debated about getting rid of this space but have decided against it, because I do love to create. So this space will go back to its original purpose, a place to share designs and art/creations. The new site will be focused on health, wellness and encouragement. I hope you will join me in the new space when it is ready.

Last thing, my sweet and very talented husband made the awesome frame above. He's made a few of them now and I love them! I thought it made the piece. You can check out more of his work at wispwoods.com.

You are so loved! {NEW Art}

{You Are So Loved Art Print}

The giving of flowers primarily shows an act of love. Valentines day and funerals come to mind when I think of moments when flowers are often given, although any time can be special, whether a particular reason or not. It is a caring gesture from one to another.

Love one another. God's greatest commands. If only people of this world followed that one command. Just think how life would be so different. Sometimes it is hard to love others... difference of opinions, jealousy, hurtful words and actions. Someone's negativity can greatly affect us and cause us to react. What reaction do we generally lean towards showing? Is it kindness in return after we have been hurt or is it revenge or even shutting out the other person so we aren't hurt again? I wish I could say I respond in love and kindness just as my heavenly father would and wants us to. But often times it isn't. I am trying to become better at this. I've been slowly reading my way through the New Testament in the Bible. I love how God has given us a life's manual. When we take the time to read His book, learn from His teachings and show it through our own actions life becomes better and full of new meaning. At least that is what I find to be true. Life and situations around me are viewed so differently... better now that the Word is such an important part of my life.

My pencil drawing/charcoal painting, You Are So Loved, was inspired by Him. He blesses the earth with such beauty. It is truly amazing how a simple seed can be planted and it grows into something so beautiful and then can be given to another through a loving action or simply enjoyed where it grows. To me the book of John is one of God's greatest love letters to us. Jesus healing others, comforting others even though he knows what lies ahead for himself. He only did good yet was extremely mistreated. He showed love but was not loved in return. Yet he still died on the cross for each one of us to take away our sins. We are so not worthy of such a sacrifice. When it sinks into our mind of what He did for us because He loves us so much you can't help but want to become a better person and follow His word.

Last weekend we took our daughter to see the new movie Cinderella. It doesn't have quite as a happy feel as the older animated one but it does a great job in showing kindness even when one may not "deserve" it. The big part that stuck out at me was towards the end when Cinderella was leaving the wicked step mother with the prince and Cinderella turned and looked at her and said, "I forgive you." Powerful. For everything Cinderella had put up with you would think she would have reacted with revenge, but she reacted in love. Such a great lesson for young and old alike. ♥

God Loves You print {& other artwork with wood}

{God Loves You Customizable Art Print}

I haven't done an art post for awhile so figured I'd share a few projects that have been going on recently. Above is a new design I created and made available in the shop last month. A name can be added to the bottom of the cross for a special personalized gift; works great for Christenings, baptismal birthdays, baby showers...

I have had so much fun experimenting with wood burning! I worked on the "You are a wonderfully made child of God" piece during the last art group day. It has since been completed and given to a very special girl for her birthday this past Sunday. :)

{special request to bring out the graphics}

The project below has been keeping my husband from Wisp Woods very busy. The finished pieces are going to be awesome but they are quite complicated to make with so many parts, large size and different colors. I'm trying to help out with the staining. I hope the customer loves the final works!

So that's a glimpse of a few of the recent wood projects going on around here.

A Christmas Prayer

We have had some Christmas fun already and much more is to come starting bright and early tomorrow morning. Our daughter excitedly awaits. I know she wants to see what is placed for her under the Christmas tree, but I hope she will always remember the most important part of the Christmas season. It is not the gifts, things are so temporary, I pray I can show her that this time is so much more. A time of giving, not just gifts but love. It is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus... the birth of our Savior that gave us so much more than we deserve. I am not a big fan of gifts. Sure I like to get some little things to see the delight in another person's eyes, but most of all I like time together, laughter, just being close to those I love and doing things together we enjoy. I pray that my daughter will always know what is the most important in life... it isn't the material things. I pray that her amazing faith will continue to grow and that she will never hide it and that she will celebrate Jesus this holiday season and every day to come.
A friend of mine contacted me a few days ago and told me her two year old daughter was just diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 cancer. That kind of news just makes you want to grab your loved ones even closer and let them know how much you love them. Life on earth is short. I pray God will heal my friends sweet girl; He is so much bigger than any sickness/disease. I pray that all those struggling with health issues will ask God for help and He will guide them to becoming restored and renewed in both body and mind.
Jesus lived the perfect life that no one else could. He paid the price for all our sin and left the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of us. So much is possible within each and every one of us. How will you impact the world in 2015? I pray it will be for the good. I pray that I can do something that will make God proud. I pray that we will all be open to God working in and through us. What is to come is a mystery but with God I believe life can only get better.

Merry Christmas Family & Friends!

Shop Unglued for last minute Christmas gifts!

My sister-in-law said it perfectly, "I've been running around with my hair on fire." Ha! Surely feels that way! So much to still be done... David finished up with finals last week so we were able to get out and do more Christmas shopping this past Saturday. Yes, we are those people that wait til the last minute. Turned out to be beautiful temps in the 50's which is crazy for SD in December! (Weather drastically changed yesterday though ~ rain + ice + wind + snow = no electricity, not so fun! Some are still out, luckily ours came back at 1am.) Anyway, while in Sioux Falls, we were finally able to make it to Unglued's pop up shop. So fun! Here's a couple quick snaps...

They did such an awesome job at putting this together so quickly! Seriously, amazing. So many fun and unique gifts. We got some fun stuff! The store was constantly buzzing with people while we were there too. Unglued has also been keeping their artists/crafters busy with restocking so there will be plenty of awesome creative gifts to choose from through Christmas Eve... so hurry and get in your last minute shopping before they are gone!

Off I go before the fire consumes me entirely. :)

Lately { Art & Snow }

Here is a glimpse of just a few things going on around here...

{drawing in progress ~ hoping to get this finished at the next painting group day}

A custom request came in for this prayer and I thought it was pretty cute, so changed up the colors and made it into an art block for my Godson's baptismal birthday. It was a fun project!

Loving my extended work space! Unglued is opening a pop-up shop on November 20 in Sioux Falls SD! I can't wait to check it out. I am sure it will be just as amazing as their Fargo shop which is filled with lots of amazing and unique handmade gifts! More info to come.

In other news, the weather has changed significantly. A few flakes came this past Sunday,

more came Monday. This photo was taken before K headed to school Monday morning. School was dismissed at noon since it started getting nasty out and we had blizzard conditions. What kid doesn't like a snow day especially when friends get to come over? :)

 Little B didn't want to leave and instead of putting on his snow gear, put on David's shoes. Such a cutie!

While I was waiting for K to get done with Holy COW yesterday, I was watching the most beautiful snowflakes fall on our vehicle. When I arrived home I had to try to capture the detail.

Aren't snowflakes amazing!?! The intricate details in each one... love it! God did so good! :)

World's Best

Okay, maybe I'm a little biased, only a little... We are blessed with some of the best men (and women) in our family. Two of the amazing men are my dad and husband. There seriously needs to be more people like them in this world. They are always willing to help others for nothing in return. Hearts of gold.

There's a ton more to say about all their wonderful qualities but I better not turn this post into a book. :)

My dad was away over the actual Father's day (being awarded national champ in a different state) so he received his gift a little late...

 Kaelyn had fun helping make/finish the shirt. Yes, I'm a design nerd and did the tag too. 

The little things are too fun!

Father's day around home was pretty quiet, but it was a good day with some family time.

I'm sure they get sick of me taking pictures, but I can't resist moments like this. ♥

Inspirational Horse Block

Last month I completed my horse drawing and made an art block out of it for a special graduate.

In a very subtle text I put this quote: 

"God made the horse from the breath of the wind, the beauty of the earth and the soul of an angel.

May they forever run with our hearts." ~Bonnie Piper

You can read the words easier in person; my quickly taken photos give you the idea.

These two photos show the protective clear finish I put on. I like giving blocks a fun painted texture. 

It adds another dimension.

Here's another look at the drawing when it was in progress...

I always think its fun to see drawings come alive.

Eventually I will get more of the horse blocks created. It's a fun project!

Catching my Breath

It has been a bit exhausting around here, but I guess that is good. That means I'm feeling well enough to get a lot done. Finally today I have a little time to catch my breath.

I have so many blog post ideas and things I want to share but just haven't had the time. Hopefully I can eventually get to sharing more health and art posts with all of you.

This is just a little bit of what I've been up to...

busy in the art room. Lots of projects going on and many hours spent on these bags.

Had to test one out. Worked good. :)

While I was working, K went fishing with the boys. (Her grandpa and dad.)

She caught 2 huge northern!

She thought it was pretty cool to catch dinner and feed her family for free. Yes, it was all free, she even got her own bait... dead minnows from the lake. Worked like a charm. Tasted great and she never felt bad for eating the monsters. :)
Other than working on design projects and work orders, I've been busing co-leading close to 60 VBS kids in crafts, hosting a church/bible study class weekly at our house, getting our vegetable garden in, cleaning out our strawberry patch, painting group, several kids are always stopping by, K's been going to her second Bible school event and of course there is still a lot of time spent cooking healthy meals. So that is just a bit of our craziness lately and why I haven't been a better blogger.

Hope your summer has been off to a good start. We are sure enjoying the warmer weather!

Logo Designs

I've had the pleasure of doing some fun custom requests lately. One was creating a logo for an annual golf tournament in Minnesota. I usually give my customers around 8 design options to choose from. What was unique about this one was the group picked 3 of my designs to use on different media. I usually wouldn't suggest someone choosing more than one option for a business as you don't want people getting confused on what your brand is but being this wasn't a normal business different designs would work for them. I was glad they liked several of the options! :)

Here are the three chosen designs:

When purchasing one of my logos, you get several design files. One of the most important is the vector file, which is needed when taking designs to print shops. The vector file allows for clear printing at any size since vectors are made up of lines. This kind of file can also easily be used to make decals and other such media.
If you are interested in having a logo designed or have any questions, shoot me an email at enduringarts@gmail.com. I would be glad to work with you.

Shine {New Art Prints!}

Last year it seemed my body was just in survival mode. I did not feel creative. All I wanted was to feel better. Although I got a few fine art projects accomplished, no new graphic designs were created for the shop. This year is different. Sure I've had some ups and downs with my health, but my creativity has returned. That makes me happy. My mind is bursting with ideas and plans on what I want to accomplish this year. Now to work in the time to get it all completed...

I've had a "shine" design idea in my head for awhile now and when one of my bible study groups decided to work through Philippians I saw my Bible bookmarked with the shine verse and knew I couldn't put it off any longer. I worked hard on this design. I seriously created over 50 roughs before I was happy with one. And here is the finished piece:

{Girl's Shine Like Stars Art Print available HERE}

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, 

in which you shine like stars in the universe. ~ Philippians 2:13-15

Everyone has the ability to do good in this world. We each have a special talent/ability that was given to us from God. It is up to us to do what God has placed on our heart. I believe that when we follow our heart we start to shine from the inside out. I hope this art print will be a positive reminder to everyone who reads it to do good and "shine". Even if other people don't see us shining from what we do, God will and that is all that matters.

{Shine Like Stars in the Universe in seafoam green available HERE}

A simpler version of the shine print that would work for all ages. It would be cute in a boy's or girl's nursery.

Another newish print from this year that came about from a custom request...

{Boy's Christian Word Art Prayer in earth tones}

 A few different color options are available in the shop.

{Grace of God Boy's Christian Art Print in teal available HERE}

Hope you like the new designs. Some new products and fine art are in the works! :)