Super Savings and Shameless Self-Promotion

Well, if you're like most people, you're probably already caught up in the frenzy of frantic Christmas shopping. Or maybe you're one of those irritating people who already have all of yours done. Or maybe you're like me and haven't even begun yet - ack! At any rate, your wildest dreams have just come true!

From now until December 20th, you can receive 15% off all orders via my website! Oh yeah! PLUS -You can receive an additional 10% off on orders of $150 or more (which is ALWAYS in effect! WOW! What a deal!)

Prints make wonderful Christmas gifts, especially for those hard-to-shop-for people who already have everything they need and go out and buy everything they want. Betcha they don't have one of my prints yet, though....they're unique. Yep.

To receive your discount, simply place an order through my online shop before December 20th, and use the coupon code "bethlehem" when you check out! If your order is $150 or more, your volume discount will be automatically applied! Wow, so simple! (Please note, this discount works only in the Beth Stone Studio shop, not in my Etsy shop.)

So, don't waste any more time - hop on over to my website, and finish your Christmas shopping! There's such a variety there, you're sure to find something for anyone on your list!

Merry Christmas!

Giveaway Link

Wow, check out this Fantabulously Frugal Giveaway! Great prizes!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
Apple laptop (hey, it's a wish list, right? - not a reality list)
knitting tools and fibers
art supplies
books - Charles Dickens, Christian theology, or art / craft
clothes or shoes

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
Furniture my Dad or brother has made, or a little photo album my Mom made me with funny pictures from my childhood

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
Hand-painted or knitted baby gifts for all of my nephews and nieces, but with 18 of them and no end in sight, I gave up on that. :o)

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
My Samantha doll from the American Girls Collection; also, Pipeworks

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
Legos (nephews and nieces - I don't have kids yet)

6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Gingerbread

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
Prints of my artwork, decorations, and gifts (can't say what though - they read this blog!)

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
It's a Wonderful Life

9. Favorite holiday song?
O Come All Ye Faithful
Carol of the Bells
Handel's Messiah

10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Decorating the tree while watching It's a Wonderful Life and drinking hot chocolate, and spending time with family

 
To enter to win all these cool prizes below simply answer the questions in this meme, make sure to post links back to TodaysMama.com and Provo Craft (use this link: http://bit.ly/4ikY3c ) and tag your friends!

Tag you're it!
Carrie
Linda
Heather
Faith
Ashley

Mural, Mural, on the Wall...

I realized the other day that I've never shown you any of the murals I've done.

So here's a little tour...

This is a mural I did in a local pediatrics office.

Each of the buildings included is a local historic site,

and as you can see, the landscape transitions through the four seasons

along the length of the wall.

Rocky Mount, Piney Flats, TN.

Detail: as you can see, there are lots of little critters hidden throughout the mural

to keep the kids occupied and distracted while waiting to see the doctor!

Tipton Haynes, Johnson City, TN.

This wall is about 45 feet long and 9 feet tall. It took me 2 weeks to paint this mural.

The grass alone took one full day.

Knob Creek Church of the Brethren, Johnson City, TN.

Fall, my favorite season...

The Covered Bridge, Elizabethton, TN.

Below is another mural in another local pediatrics office.

As you can see, this one is much more stylized.

(Please ignore the blue painters' tape.)

This wall is about 65 feet long by 9 feet high.

This mural took 3 weeks to complete.

Below is a castle mural that I did in a private residence.

The boy who lives in this room loves knights and castles...

This was my first mural ever, incidentally.

Below is a little decorative accent mural that I did in another private residence.

By adding shadows behind the ivy, I made the leaves seem as if they are popping off of the wall.

Below are two nurseries I did for the same family -

after they moved to a new house, I came and did the same mural again in their daughter's nursery.

The Poky Little Puppy

A business logo I did in their storefront...

Below is a "rug" I painted on an unfinished wooden floor. After I painted, they varnished over the top.

The rest of these are from a retreat center in Buladean, NC.

As you can see, words alone can be lovely murals.

If you are interested in commissioning a mural or have any further questions,

please e-mail me! If you are local, I offer free estimates and on-site consultation. If you are further away, I am happy to look at your photos and room dimensions and discuss your project with you over the phone.

Of course, if you'd like to fly me to some exotic and wonderful location,

you're more than welcome to do that too. :o)

For more information on murals & pricing, please visit my website, and go to the "Information > Pricing" tab.

A mural would make a fantastic and unique Christmas gift!

Drumroll, please....

The Thanksgiving Giveaway drawing is over! The winner has been selected!

I received over 100 entries! Wow!

Thank you all so much for participating -

I really enjoyed reading all of your comments

and checking out some of your own lovely blogs...

Using small slips of paper mixed up in a Chinese hat the most

modern and scientific methods available,

I selected the winner tonight,

after a wonderful day of giving thanks with family...

and the winner is....

cbprice

Congratulations! Please e-mail me with your mailing address,

but first, visit my online store to pick out which print you would like...

You may select any 5x7 or 5x5 art print or photograph you see there -

just let me know what to send, and I'll get that in the mail next week!

Thank you all so much for your very kind comments

and for taking the time to visit this little blog...

Today, I am thankful for all of you!

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before His presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD He is God:
it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise:
be thankful unto Him,and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting;
and His truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 100

Cross-eyed...

...after 11 hours of paint fumes, grocery shopping at Wal-Mart in the wee hours of the a.m., and putting them all away...

So, the giveaway winner will be drawn and announced tomorrow... sorry for the delay! I'm super tired!

Tonight (or rather, this morning), I am thankful for a hot shower and a warm bed! See you tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!

Whew....

Well, it's been a long couple of days for me...

Quick reminder: Tomorrow's the last day to enter my Thanksgiving Giveaway! I will be doing the drawing tomorrow night - can't give you an exact time - depends when I get home from a painting job I'm doing -- but it will probably be between 9-10 PM EST. So click here to enter! A print would make a lovely Christmas gift!

Anyway, I wanted to pop in to give you my thankful list item of the day:

24. I am thankful for down time.

I haven't had much of it lately, and it seems I never really appreciate it until I don't have much of it. We have been quite busy with other projects and family visits and such, and I haven't had many quiet days at home and/or in the studio lately.... hence the lack of artsy-related posts (which I hope to remedy very soon)... Anyway, I am thankful for time for quiet reflection, Bible study, rest, creativity, and refreshment.

(And now, the soapbox portion of today's post.... dear reader, beware!)

And, isn't that what Thanksgiving is about in one sense? Taking time out to stop, reflect on all that we've been given, and then give thanks to the Giver of those good gifts while we enjoy a day together with family and friends? I think so. That, in addition to the insanity of the crowds, is why I completely boycott all of the "Day after Thanksgiving" hooplah. No, I'm not saying, "Bah, Humbug!" to Christmas, gift-giving, or even finding good deals and the like. But, I do believe the essence of thanks-giving gets overshadowed when our focus is centered on all the new things we're going to BUY! BUY! BUY! the next day.

Isn't Satan clever? He's removed the focus of the Resurrection by throwing the Easter Bunny at us, he's distracted us from the birth of our Savior with Santa Claus, and now, he's preventing us from being truly thankful for what we do have by stirring up our coveteousness for that which we don't.

BUT THE SALES! WHAT ABOUT THE SALES???

As I like to say, it's not a good deal if you don't need it. And frankly, here in the US, most of us don't need much of anything.

So, spend the holiday thanking God for all of His good gifts; spend it with family; and don't miss out on the blessings of thankfulness and contentment. No "stuff" can replace that.
Happy THANKS-GIVING!