from a bend in the road to sort of, the end of the road...

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and the knowledge that we truly are blessed people.

Our day was as perfect as it could be, barring our sweet Shauna's cancer. We laughed and talked and prayed and ate and played games and laughed some more, all while giving thanks over and over for another Thanksgiving together. For another day together as a blessed family crazy in love with each other. We have our differences and we disagree about some things (not many) but we don't care. We know who we are and we love deeply and we have faith that we will always be here for each other and that God is on our side. How could we not enjoy the day?

But, I need to get on to the reason for this post. I'm not sure how to start, but here goes.

When Chasity first came up with the idea for this blog, she worked and worked on it to get us started with our business and with the hope of sharing our faith, ideas and dreams with others. In the very beginning, it was a time of great anticipation and excitement. We were hopeful for our new business, and excited to share our faith, our thoughts, our ideas and our dreams with you all.

We have met a lot of wonderful friends and been greatly encouraged by you along the way. But things are a little different now. Our circumstances and goals have shifted. Our little wild raspberry business has fallen by the wayside while some other things have taken precedence.

It's been hard

and sad.

We are...well...
different.

We're wondering what's next.

Pensive if you will.

Searching in which direction to go.

It has been difficult for Chas to write. She just doesn't have it in her right now. She is really enjoying her photo blog and she has done such a lovely job with it. I love her so much and she is so creative. She and Shauna truly inspire me. I am so very blessed and so very thankful to have them for my sisters. God in His tender Providence, knew just who I needed in my life, and I am so grateful to Him for giving me such amazing sister's in law.

Alright, I'm getting all mushy and teary eyed again...
I admit of the three of us, I am the sappy one. :)

Anyway, we are not sure what we'll do with this little blog.
I don't feel like it is my baby to take over solo,
when Chas worked so hard to start it and keep it going.

I am attempting to start a new blog,
and Chas will continue her photo blog.
I'm the first to admit that I am not nearly as computer savvy as my sweet sister,
or, well, really, anybody. :)
I don't even know how to put a link from this blog to the one I will start once I do post something...
But I have no doubt that Chasity will help me.
She is my go-to girl for blogging flustrations. :)
We may keep this one up too, we will just see.
We're figuring it all out.

As for our little business, part of our home addition includes a "wild raspberry room" as hubby calls it. Once the house projects slow down...and hopefully life in general...I hope to get back to it. I look forward to the day when I can just sit and sew again. Crafting, sewing and painting things white is more than a hobby. It's calming, peaceful, soul soothing if you will. It fills a need I have to create. I think that God puts that desire to create in the heart of women. I have so many ideas I want to try...hopefully soon.

You see, though I have a few more years left, I am coming to the end of my home schooling road. Another four more years and my homeschooling journey (by then) of more than twenty-two years will be finished. I love my life and I am not ready for this stretch of it too end, but it will, and I will (maybe) have a little more time and energy for creating.

But Chas' girls are still little and she has a lot of years schooling left to go. She is not sure she wants to come back to our little business, though I'm not sure she has made any permanent decision yet. She is enjoying crafting with her girls for pleasure without the pressure of a business. I will miss having a business with her, but we will see how it goes.

If nothing else we have certainly learned that life is ever changing.

Anyway.
Things are just different.
We're o.k. mostly
Just changed.
Life has definitely thrown us some unexpected curves,
and we are trying to take them in stride.
Some days we cope better than others.
But we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with us each and every step of the way.

Talk to you soon friends.

Don't be surprised if it is right here on this little blog
I'm sure I'll have something I want to share before I figure out a new one. :)

Have a wonderful night!

Love to you all.
~Debbie

*Happy Monday*

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

It's finally warm and lovely here in the Midwest.

Finally.

I've been having so much fun with my new photo blog that I've been neglecting this one a bit.
Sorry old blog. I still love you too.

It's been incredibly satisfying to start working with my new camera and actually learn something....

I'm taking a photography class that started last week and it is pushing me to try new things and learn the technical side so that I don't look like a fool the next time I have class.

I've decided that when and if I hit the 100 followers mark over there....
I'm going to give away a print of any of my photos that I've featured on the blog
to one of my followers.

Maybe that's not much but hey.

***
It is sort of intimidating to put your art out there for people to see.

Always there is that fear of rejection.
Vulnerability.

Anyways~

Enough about that.

Hope you come see me over here sometime ....
I'd love a visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So....


I told you recently that we finished up an order for a wedding.

It was for a wonderfully sweet gal we met at one of our shows.



We made fabric brooches for all the people in her wedding.

The brooches were in all different colors.
When they were boxed up together....

it looked like we captured Spring
and held it gently inside the box.

It was so pretty.

Below is a brooch for one of the Mothers.

The main colors of the wedding were red and robin egg blue.

We used vintage fabrics and lots of vintage jewelry.



Isn't that a great idea??

A flower that will last for years and can be used by the person
after the wedding.



Why didn't I think of that?!

We even made them for the men.
We used vintage tie tacks or cuff links for their centers.

Here is the bib necklace we made for the Bride.

It's dripping with vintage jewelry.

Isn't her wedding going to be amazing?

I hope that we can share some of her wedding photos with you soon.

I can't wait to see it myself.....




Have a great week friends~~

Rhinestones and Baubles and Laces

Oh my.

I just have to tell you what we've been working on lately....

~~It's so much fun and exciting for us~~

We were hired to make the flower brooches and a bib necklace
for a sweet gal's wedding that will take place in April.

It is going to be the ultimate Country Living~esque
wonderfully beautiful wedding

~stunning dress~

~reception in a country barn~

{{sigh}}

We are thoroughly enjoying making them....

so much so that
Debbie made a lovely silk bib necklace
which is now in our etsy shop.

It's exquisite.

I sure wish that I had a good reason to wear one right now
because I'm smitten.

The Mourning of the Shrew

....

..This is a true story based on events which occurred
at our home last evening.

I wish I could say that no animals were injured
in the making of this story.

But alas.........

{you may need to grab a tissue}

The girls and I were upstairs getting ready for church last night when Hubby/Daddy began calling our names....

Girls~~come here~~~I've got something to show you.

They pulled their shoes on in a flurry and ran down to see what the excitement was about

Momma~~it's a shrew~~Come and see!

So I pulled on my boots in a flurry and ran down to find a teeny tiny shrew running laps in an old cement bucket.

Hubby had found the little critter in the basement and snatched him up for our entertainment...plus who wants a rodent running around in the basement.




Now some of you may be thinking {ick!}

but I'm here to tell you that he really was adorable....a little grey puffball with the tiniest squeek to his voice.

You know what comes next~~~~

Can we keep him Mom~~~please?!


Ok....for a few days....

now get him a little piece of cloth..... and a little dish for water.

I will put in a little bit of dogfood and see if he will eat that.

We quickly got a home made in the old bucket and zoomed off for church.



******************
{intermission}
******************


I completely forgot about the little fella until we were almost home and the girls began talking about what his name was and how they told their little friends at church all about the new pet.

I put in my two cents
~Pom Pom should be his name~

no Mom.
it's Truman


Spunky runs into the classroom to see him and I suddenly hear sobbing.

Loud sobbing.



She comes out and hides her tear-drenched face in my leg.

Oh, Baby.....did Truman die?

Uh~huh.

{lots more sobbing.....now joined in by Twinkletoes}

I wanted him to live! cries Spunky.

I did too Sweetie.
He was a good little shrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
now, I'm trying not to smile....
after all,

we only knew the little guy for about 5 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

but it was sad
he was a good little shrew.

So now....
this morning


they are preparing for his little shrew funeral.

A craft stick headstone has been made.
The trowel is ready.

Goodbye dear Truman.

You will be missed.

***************************************

Here is what the autopsy report stated:

Little shrew injested bits of cement after licking his paws
and his intestines were solid as a brick wall.

We are so sorry Truman.

************************************

~On another note~

Debbie and I have been busy filling up our etsy shop for Christmas
and getting ready for a Holiday Craft Sale in Higginsville this Saturday.

If you would like come to that and need more info~ let us know.

We are offering free shipping for orders over $50.

Blessings to you today~

I'm off to bury a critter.

~~Moving~~

We are in the process of moving all our products over to Etsy and will closing our other shop soon.
We hope that you come over and visit us at the Etsy shop and maybe even find something that you'd love to have.

{{It's not too early to be thinking about Christmas presents}}
;)

***************
I'm sorry I haven't been getting around to visit like usual...
between homeschooling and moving the shop~my extra time is pretty well depleted
You should just see my pile of dishes in the kitchen as proof~~I'm not above accepting help!

**************

Have a wonderful weekend~~~
Chasity

Stand at Attention!

The French General is in the house.....

I had been on the waiting list for months at the library......waiting for this book. {yes, if I weren't so thrifty, I could have just gone out and bought it. I always want to give it a test run first}
It really is lovely.......chocked full of amazing photography. It would make a wonderful coffee table book. It is full of inspiring sewing pr0jects like this.....







Aren't they great?

However, if you aren't the sewing type or haven't the time, you could drop into our shop and find some things that would make your life a little more "French Generalish" or "wild raspberryish" if you will.......

things like....

It's about the little details. Sure, you could put your shoes in a Walmart sack when you travel. But wouldn't it feel more special to use a lovely travel bag?

Yes, you could throw your clothespins in a ziploc baggie...but it is more fun to have a pretty bag to store them in.

You could always hold a napkin around your coffee cup to keep from scalding your fingers...but doesn't a coffee cozy with a vintage button and lovely fabric fit you better?

I'm just saying.....

Make every day lovely. It is a good way to live.

{save 15% off all orders this week by typing in the code SPRING when you checkout...hurry, offer expires April 30th.}

Pinkin in the Shop

We love pink here at the wild raspberry.....and with spring here, we are wanting to use pink in all sorts of places.......

*in sweet baby bibs*

{pink ric rac....what get's better than that?!}

*in cute aprons for little and "big girls" alike*

{yes, I agree, you need a close up of this darling vintage fabric}

*in purses*

*and bunting*

*we even put pink velvet on clothespins*

hurray for pink...we love you so.

Happy Pink Saturday To You All.

Love,

the wild raspberry sisters