Friday, February 27, 2009

TRUE love

From the Princess Bride~ "wuv,twue wuv may fowwo you ..." Well said!


I pray that we could all focus on love again! From the Message bible version..ROmans 13:9-10 FOr the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting-and any other commandment-are all summed up in this one commandment: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Love does no wrong to anyone ,so love satisfies all of GOd's commandments.

They call certain crimes hate crimes..any crime is a hate crime no matter who it is against!

Romans 13:13 We should be decent and true in everything we do,so that everyone can approve our behavior.
I want only to spread love and joy and help you see that the only true thing left in the world is love.

I am in the midst of a new project and am having so much fun!All my fellow artists can surely relate to that excited joy in the pit of our stomachs when creating and following a new inspiration. I am making collage pendants with my own twist and cannot wait to get them completed for listing! I am going to work on my Creative souls and byhandbyme pages!
May you all be blessed and have joy in your hearts!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Hi Thursday




I can't seem to avoid dog pictures! They just make me happy! It is a beautiful day out and i am so glad spring is on the way! I have been working on our artfire shop today and the house,so i am going to go outside and take a walk! I am really struggling today...has anyone checked out the spoon theory yet? it really helps explain what it is like to live with a disease that involves chronic pain,swelling,fatigue. I hope everyone has a chance to check that out if you know anyone who is sick and that can help you understand thier everyday life. I need to work on our twitter,etsy,creative souls,laundry,dishes,...Cinderella would never have made it in this tech world!O.K. it's me that can't handle it OK!!!!LOL love to everyone!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

a long day..

I have a quote from the positive thought for the day my aunt sends me..

~Constantly reemphasize to yourself the great fact that God built potential strength into your nature. By affirming it and practicing it, this basic strength will toughen up as muscles do.

Habits will either make us or break us. Good habits are hard to acquire but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to acquire but hard to live with. In reality, as in all the good things in life, it boils down to the choices we make.

When you depersonalize life a little bit and laugh at yourself, it takes the pressure off feeling like you have to be perfect or do it all.


*Live your life and forget your age.

**Trust God and live a day at a time.

*Don't see yourself as old and getting older. Live youthfully now ---- and always.

*If there's no fun in it, something's wrong with all you're doing.

***If you love people, you inevitably get back love in return and thereby experience a joy that makes you a happy person.***

*When you get up in the morning, you have two choices---either to be happy or be unhappy. Just choose to be happy.

*Become a positive thinker. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see
the possibilities---they're always there.

One cannot help being old, but one can resist being aged.

I am managing my aging process with grace and acceptance.
I am at the perfect age for me today!
I am grateful to be alive at any age.

Hope this helps you all as much as me! i will have more time tomorrow to check in with everybody~Love to you all~

THe world needs more love

the world needs more love

Monday, February 23, 2009

it went as mondays go..expect the unexpected


Wow, i was in a really spring-ish mood this a.m. and put my bright coral scrubs on,bright flowered jacket,matching hair flower...prayed for a little break in the day to get the errands done and WOW! i got the day off! the Dr. i was to work with today comes to our rural little town but..he forgot our main tools back at home. Reschedule,go home! i was so glad i have been aching to start a new project and all the supplies arrived this morning!! Yea for answere prayer!..but i bet our patients were not praying for that! funny how that works, one prays for rain,one prays for sun..i am so glad that i am not the one in ultimate control becuase this place seems to be going down hill...is anyone else wondering why big guys can say"i didn't know i had to pay taxes" or why the money goes to those who already messed up, why not give it to US who can keep a home running on minimal staff and we actually do pay our taxes! AARRGGHHH!

Have you ever seen the bleeding heart flowers? They are gorgeous and i have added a picture of them from last spring..have a great rest of the mon-day! give love

Sunday, February 22, 2009

A day of rest..thank you Lord!











I just love the animal pics so much, they make me happy! The koala pic was after the fire in Australia,in my past blog i added a link to the news story and i think there is a way to donate help if you would like. The other pics are just for grins and giggles! and the nature scene is actually from Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park in southern Utah, between Bryce and Zion. I just want to say have a smiley restful day today, and thanks to everyone following this blog and twitters,i hope i can bring a speck of love to someone and if i can then i am blessed for that!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Saturday! love,love,love babaduhdada











Hey lovely artistic friends~ Thank you all for reading my blogs and following ..hope it makes you smile and love if nothing else!




"Love all,trust a few. Do wrong to none."~ Shakespeare
I can always get a good belly laugh out of fun animal pictures and i got these from a friend this morning! My first thoughts were"ying-yang,NO MORE NEWS ,..PLEASE!, I love a good kiss, Queen of the leaves blesses her people" and i laughed, and my husband laughed ,and i hope you do too! I love animals, and i have been having a really hard time with the way the world looks to be heading. I vote, i write to my representatives, i forward emails..but the crap keeps coming so..i stopped listening to the news and am focusing on the lovely, the fun, the holy and good...somedays it is really hard. i have a disease that is very painful,i am trying to manage on my own naturally..everything seems harder when you are hurting..something as simple as getting behind on dishes and laundry makes me feel useless and that causes big ball of internal combustion and melt down...myhusband is SO good to me..i am truly blessed to be alive, have a home and a greatest-est husband ever,to be loved by the LOrd my God and know he has created me on purpose! I will look at these fun puppies over and over again today and remember to laugh to love. By the way, everywhere i go, dogs find me and lean on me and i truly believe the Lord sends them my way for the love i need to get through the day because "people" can be so...? be blessed and smile! ~><~0~><

Friday, February 20, 2009

grahtoestudio | Twitter Grader

grahtoestudio | Twitter Grader

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Fly like an Eagle...

Have you ever seen a bald eagle in person, out in the wild? They are AMAZING to see.When we moved to Utah 4 years ago i had only seen them in the zoo,which is really sad now( they were a mated pair that had been wounded and would not have survived in the wild...death in your own field may not be such a bad thing for an eagle.)Since moving here we have seen them regularly,flying or perched, sometimes in trees,some times on a hill. Tonight we had to drive to town to shop,(30 miles to walmart & lowes) and there is a field that has been dubbed by my husband and me as "PD central"..The prarie dogs(PD's) love this field and they have hills and holes and pathways to rival any spaghetti bowl city highway! well, there were 3 magnificent bald eagles sitting together in this field..probably digesting a day of feasting! They are huge and very beautiful, i never can believe it when i see them even when it has been a regular occurance in the last 4 years. We often see pronghorn antelope on this drive as well but not much in the last year. The PD's ,however ,may be endangered elsewhere but here they are prolific..they are all cute and adorable looking and last year i was telling someone how sweet it was when they sit out on the road with a smooshed loved one and mourn and ..WHAM..that person told me they are carnivores and they are not mourning,.. they are dining..well, needless to say it changed the way i look at PD's..but they still look cute up on thier haunches with thier hands up by thier faces as if in prayer. HEY! it's my world let me dream!!:0)
sorry i did not have my camera ready for the eagles, i will try to make that up to you next time i see one.

O happy day..FRIDAY!!

This is a quote from "positive thought for the day-PTFD" my aunt sends me this most days and it is always so uplifting!

**Keep alert for those flashes of insight which come when you're really thinking.

You can literally force yourself to be courteous, happy, and enthusiastic with every person you meet. After you have forced yourself to be so for a short period of time, the habit takes over.

If we are to survive as a nation and discharge our leadership in this complex world, we and our leaders need to depend upon the guidance of God as did our forefathers in their time.***
Be kind and smile ALOT today!! besure to check out foundhandmade.com !

FREE ADVERTISING AT FOUND HANDMADE!! CALLING ALL ARTISTS!


Great tip from feathered friends,Found Handmade is doing free ads for one month! check it out!!:0)Handmade Rocks!!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Swirly thursday





I have been wanting to paint this jacket for 4 years now and i finally did it!well, i got the front done, istill have the back to paint.And this is "chewy" my lop bunny

it has been a long day for me and although my brain is still swirling in inspiration, my body is giving up so today i share love in a brief ~><~o~><~ BLess you all and have a good sleep, see you tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

SALE ON ALL JEWELRY!







Good morning all! OK..i did not make spaghetti last night..we made pizza!



i wanted to put our sale out there on jewelry on our etsy shop! 30% and shipping rates are reduced as well!



Wednesday..we got our taxes done, today we go work,work ,work!! talk to you all later
Spread love and joy everywhere you go today!
I was creating in my sleep last night and now i will be anxious all day to get home and make the stuff of my dreams!create!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tuesday Love..spaghetti night!


Hello Lovely world and friends! I wanted to share how we arrived at the name for our studio with everyone, some are asking what we do..so here it is..

**We are a husband and wife team. We have both dreamed of doing our art full time and are on our way! We love to have new projects and welcome custom requests.

We work in wood,stone,clay,metal,antler and beaded jewelry.

Our studio got its name from a traveling experience..we drove from Florida to the west coast..the rock formations are amazing, some of which are called grottos..as christians,we believe that our artistic talents are a gift from God that we are grateful for all the way down to our toes! As we traveled and marveled we tossed these concepts around ,along with the amazing earth the Lord has given us to enjoy and we decided to call our studio Grah(from grateful) Toe( to our toes) ! So Inspired Creations from Grah-Toe Studio!

Thank you for shopping with Grah-Toe Studio. Stacy and Kim .. see our shop at http://www.grahtoestudio.etsy.com/ too!

Have a great day everyone,i am working on our taxes today...:0(

Monday, February 16, 2009

SALE~30% off all jewelry

We are having a jewelry sale! 30% off at our etsy shop through March 1st!! We have also lowered all shipping charges(if we have still overestimated s/h we will refund the difference!) ..we all need a break right now, right?!! Hope to see you there!!!
http://www.grahtoestudio.etsy.com/

My husband makes amazing wood bowls!



Stacy made this amazing walnut bowl on the lathe the other day...i am always impressed with how he can look at a piece of wood,knarled bark,crusty ends, and know if it is going to be a great bowl,dish or vase..He picks the parts of the wood that look like they will have interesting grain..he is amazing!
I made this necklace looking forward to spring..v-neck shirts,tank tops,strappy dresses flowing in the breeze...it reminded me of beachy sunsets and bonfires..:0)

FREE HUG~ PASS ME AROUND THE WORLD!


PASS ME AROUND!!!

Everyone loves monday..right?

I love Mondays! It is a new day to go out and share love with everyone we come in contact with. If you ever watch CSI ,or a show like it,you know that everywhere you go you leave a piece of yourself..a hair,skin cells,..i want my footprint to be smiles,love,kindness..if a few hairs go with it thats ok too!
Where we live is in rural NE utah..walmart is 30 miles east! so there is alot of car time. We listen to books on CD often and this week we are going through the Lord of The Rings trilogy..well, we finished the Hobbit and actually went to the second book, The Two Towers. In The Fellowship of The Ring, there is a quote i love about the house of Elrond in Rivendell..**"That house was, as Bilbo had long ago reported,a perfect house, wether you like food or sleep or story-teeling or singing,or just sitting and thinking best,or a pleasant mixture of them all". Merely to be there was a cure for weariness,fear,and sadness.**
Is there a place like that in your life?
Love is the greatest gift of all. If we could all be kind and accept eachother it could be such a place. That is what i try for each day.
may you have a blessed Monday~Kimi

Sunday, February 15, 2009

More Nemo Philosophy..


From Finding Nemo...Peach says"Find a happy place,find a happy place,find a happy place!"In ever increasing pitch! Lately sleep has been eluding me,even though tiredness is there,so here i am, checking out fellow blogger,artisans and reading things i feel i never get to sit and read..The night is nice, quiet, no..ok little..distractions. My lop bunny Chewy(short for Chewbakka) is thumping for my attention and flopping down on his side..I love bunnies!
Bless you all,artists and insomniacs all!:0)

this is love in the midst of tragedy

THis picture truly touched my heart, i actually did the "AAAWwwwwwwwww":)

wherever we go, there we are!





We take pics of our feet when we go places because there is only us, and we don't want pics without the other! :0)

For Merry




For you Merry!

Create,enjoy,smile

Hello World!
The sun is shining,spring is on its way and We are blessed!
Although we have been having a tough time ,as are many,we can be thankful always for the good in our lives..many are under weather induced traumas, no power, no home..they are in our prayers. We are blessed to have friends, family, health,home...no matter how big or small,few or many..I had an email from a dear friend today with quotes from amazing folks in the past.".Success is not final; failure is not fatal;it is the courage to continue that counts."~Winston Chruchill. And" Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."~Henry Ford.
Encouraging words, no matter your lot in this life!
Hug someone and smile today!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day, world!




Love is so amazing,isn't it? It gets our heart rate up,it motivates,it makes us smile. Everyday should celebrate love,not just Feb 14! Today lets share love with a neighbor,the person in front of us in line and smile at them. Sometimes love is shown through actions,such as doing the dishes or laundry. It can be expressed through words,such as "you are so beautiful" ,"I really appreciate you taking the trash out ".Gifts are often a way to say i love you,as everyone has seen or heard on commercials! But it could also be a handmade gift!



I have joined several communities of artists that focus on getting back to handmade,getting back to the personal. We are on Etsy.com , Artfire.com , Silkfair.com . They are communities full of talented and kind people who love to create and do a REALLY good job at it! We are also all very aware of being kind to our fellow humans. We would LOVE to see you there!:0)


Friday, February 13, 2009

TGIF




Love is in the air! Don't forget to hug someone today, share a smile with a stranger,pet an animal and enjoy the day! God Bless us all ~><~0~><~

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Tell the world what you love!

Leave a post and tell what you love! I love..the helpful life tips in Finding Nemo like..Just keep swimming,just keep swimming..
I love..puppy kisses!
I love..to sleep in ..
Lets focus on the good,always look on the bright side of life! I am telling this to myself as well as you! I know that life can be hard..
I love.. the movie Blast from the past!
I love..baby giggles!
please,join in !

Have you found your soulmate?

I have ! My husband is also my best friend and soul mate! We have been doing art and life together for over 13 years.


We have a shop on artfire and on etsy and are delving into the world of handmade, aiming to create full time! Most of our life we were working to "support our habit" i.e. buying rocks,beads,wood from all over the country when we would travel.


Now, we are opening our studio and inviting the world to enjoy the creations made from inspiration and love!


We see colors and shapes that inspire us from the shape of snowflakes (See Stacy's lovely wooden snowflakes grahtoestudio.etsy.com and grahtoestudio.artfire.com) to the color combinations in the rock layers of thousands of years.


We wander the lands of NE Utah on the weekends(not so much in the winter:) and find rocks, fossils,and sometimes just peace in watching the antelope grazing.


My prayer for you all is that you have the blessing of finding and spending time with your soul mate ,it fills the heart in a way that is indescribeable! Love and blessings~ Kim



With valentines day around the corner I thought love was a great topic! The world does need more love in all kinds of ways, brotherly,neighborly ...the golden rule needs to be brought back into the spotlight! If we all executed treating our fellow humans as we want to be treated it could really change things in a far reaching way. Pay it forward ,the love and kindness spreads out exponentially after the first one and BINGO~we have a world of kindness!