for you...with gratitude!

Can you read my Grace Bits paper?

It is impossible to be negative when you are thankful.

Guess what?

I am thankful for you!

P.S. -Please check Tiny Prints soon! 

My holiday designs are supposed to launch Friday, October 1st if all goes well! 

I will make an official announcement when I know for sure!

Have a glorious fall weekend!
Also...the show pretties are still set up through Sunday if you wanted to get by but couldn't.

xoxo,

C

Make shift mall!

My house looks like a mall...

 but even better, 

there's no parking hassle

AND

friends are under the same roof shopping and visiting at the same time!

Grab a friend, neighbor, or co-worker and swing by!

Thursday, September 30^th

9am-2pm

2036 Ferncliff Rd.  Charlotte, NC 28211

Blessed life t-shirts,

fabulous jewelry...great prices!

Lesley Evers' new fall line is gorgeous!

Licensed products from Multiple Blessings...some to take today and some to order!

These tunics, dresses and skirts below are 50% off!

Plus, we'll have hot coffee 

and you can nibble on delicious mini pumpkin & chocolate chip cheesecakes 

donated by Kathie Harper!

Thursday, September 30^th

9am-2pm

2036 Ferncliff Rd.  Charlotte, NC 28211

Hope to see you!

xo,

C

Thursday; fun day!

What could be more fun than having a house full of friends 

trying on dresses, jewelry, t-shirts and visiting?

I do this twice a year and look forward to it so much. 

So many of you have asked about my design work.

...what the fabric will look like, 

and what the Tiny Prints designs will look like,

 and what products I am working on.

Well, come take a peek at this and more!

This is WAY more fun than 

laundry, meetings, or working out, promise!

Thursday, September 30^th

9am-2pm

2036 Ferncliff Rd.  Charlotte, NC 28211

*Licensed Products designed by Caroline Simas

*Lesley Evers dresses, tunics and skirts!

Selected designs at 50% off!

*Blessed Life t-shirts

Verse Reads: "I sing for joy at the works of your hands".

and Jewelry from S. Burke

FORWARD THIS ON & BRING FRIENDS!

see you Thursday from 9am-2pm!

xoxo,

C

Precious in His sight...

I am in a cross cultural study...a 10 week training course through Women of Vision Charlotte.

Last week we watched this...

and part of my homework was to watch this...
wow!

and what can just one boy do?

Harvest Center update & Do we know?

Our family finally was able to go this morning to the Harvest Center
and we worshiped there for two hours and brought the donation
from William's Lemonade & Cookie Stand.
We ended up with a grand total of $1500 thanks to so many of you and others!
Quite a powerful service and our kids were struck by the level of gratitude in this place.

Jim Noble is now the pastor there each Sunday and he does an amazing job!
Jim and Karen Noble also founded The Voice of Healing Faith.

Jim has so many other gifts and he and his wife Karen
are using their time and talents serving others.
They own three fabulous restaurants here in Charlotte...
Noble's, Rooster's and The King's Kitchen.

The profits from The King’s Kitchen will provide funds for established feeding centers in the community to continue providing meals for those in need in our community. Designed to operate profitably, all profits will be used to help feed the hungry here in Charlotte, surrounding areas and in other parts of the world.

The King’s Kitchen is a new recipe to help fight hunger around Charlotte and the world. It is an outreach of Restoration Word Ministries (RWM). RWM was founded by Jim and Karen Noble in 1998 and began with a radio teaching ministry focused on the healing power of God. Through the years the ministry has grown and expanded with a partnership with Jim Noble Restaurants to feed the hungry in several counties of NC each Thanksgiving. Recently, the ministry has been able to expand to feeding people weekly because of partnership with Hoskins Park Ministry. With the addition of The King’s Kitchen the dream of feeding God’s sheep daily is becoming a reality.

They have so little and yet they are beyond grateful.
On a similar note...
Intriguing lyrics to this song...
Listen and ponder this over your morning coffee.
Do we even know how much God loves us?

And have you ever seen this video?
I think the point is we should not be ashamed of our faith.

xo,
C

Festival in the Park

Amazing art on display this weekend at Festival in the Park, 

which is at Freedom Park in Charlotte. 

If you're near by, you should pop over and check it out. 

All kinds of art on display through Sunday.

I was thrilled when I received a phone call last week from our new elementary school art teacher. 

She could only select 4 pieces of art from the school to display at the festival 

and William's piece was chosen!

Best part was when she said she selected his not knowing I was an artist. 

When she informed William, he said, 

"My mom is going to be so excited because she's an artist." 

She had the students look at an old fashioned telephone to create their artistic interpretation of it 

and.... voila!

So many wonderful student artists out there so we chose some of our favorites to share...

darling fish...

 peaceful wind catcher...

 bold and colorful...

intriguing design

 

3-D bird from hand cut book pages...

colored pencil shark...yikes!

fabulous pattern play...

and one of our favorites was this one...

made entirely out of bubble gum wrappers and colored Saran wrap...

so clever and creative!

and the festival and the people watching are just as intriguing;

where food and drink are an art form also...

and the smells of peppers and onions and brats breeze through the walkways...

for more festival snapshots you can visit here.

Here's to a celebration of the arts everyone can enjoy!

xoxo,

C

Cookies for Cancer-Please Vote!

Please vote for Cookies for Cancer today if you can and every day until Sept 29th! 
Read more and you'll learn how...

  Many of you who are in Charlotte know sweet Amy Christenbury 

and her son, Grier, who has neuroblastphoma. 

  He was diagnosed with stage IV at 2 1/2 years old. 

He is in Sarah Grace's class this year at school! 
This is Grier on his first day of Kindergarten!

You can learn more about precious Grier at  his website 

GO GRIER GO!

http://www.gogriergo.com/

This month is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month and Cookies for Kid’s Cancer is in the running for $20,000, to be put towards research.

Cookies for Cancer is tied at the moment and there's only have a week left.

So, each morning as we put our healthy children on the bus, or take them to school, knowing we don’t have to split our day between chemo and kindergarten, let’s go to our computers and vote at: 

 www.helmetofhope.org  

Cookies for kid’s Cancer. 

It’s the Jimmie Johnson Foundation: Samsungs Helmets for Hope.
  Please forward to some of your favorite moms and ask them to do the same.
Every day for a week...it's so easy!
Thank you for helping sweet Grier and so many other children!

More inspiring stories here...

xoxo,

Caroline 

Miracles DO happen!

Don't ever doubt miracles...they DO happen and one did tonight.

My friend Stella's husband, Rich, has a heart condition 

and luckily has a defibrillator connected to him at all times now. 

Rich was driving on the interstate today at 4:45pm in rush hour traffic 

and was on the phone with Stella using his bluetooth. 

While driving at least 60 miles an hour he blacked out for 10 full seconds. 

She heard silence then his moaning and then finally cries for help. 

Can you even imagine what she was thinking and feeling 

with one of her daughters standing by her side while she was on the phone?
The entire ordeal was 23 seconds.
The doctors are downloading the data from the defibrillator
but already know he was unconscious and was near death.
If that's not a miracle enough...

Here's more to the miracle...

When he came to, his car was perfectly parallel parked on the left hand side of the interstate 

one inch from the guard rail. 

Yes, in park. 

Yes, not one scratch on the car. 

Yes, cars in rush hour traffic zooming by 

not even aware of this miracle or that he was in the car. 

A miracle that he did not hit or kill anyone else. 

A miracle that no one else hit or killed him. 

A miracle that somehow, no not somehow... (GOD) parked his car PERFECTLY 

in rush hour traffic so close to the guard rail 

that he could not even open the door when he realized what had happened. 

A miracle that he was checked from head to toe at the hospital tonight 

and that he is home kissing his children goodnight, showering,

and going to bed with his amazing and loving wife. 

A miracle that he completely KNOWS this is a witness to God's divine intervention. 

It is with gratitude to Stella and Rich that they allowed me to share this story;

not a story at all...

a MIRACLE!

And I ask you to pray for them as they await test results 

to see if any of their children may have this same heart condition.

"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted."

Job 5:9

Amen!

xoxo,

C

Design Deliveries

It is such fun to receive samples in the mail of products I have been blessed to design. 

These came today, and it still never gets old to see it all go from idea, to painting, to product.

Especially useful, cool products..."mom invented" products which make life easier!

Calendar Dry Erase Boards

 Frames

 List Pads

 and my favorite new product...

Light Ups

They are the cutest little carabiner clips with a mini flash light attached.

It looks like this when together...
the LOVE design on one side,

and then when you pull the top off the light shines and it's super powerful. 

Beautiful Bird design is on the opposite side. 

Great for book bags, camping trips, spend the nights, and more!

I'll have samples here next Thursday at the SALE and you can place an order 

for as many as you'd like of any of these great items I designed for 

Mayfair Lane.
This is the same great manufacturer who creates these
Happeez clips...

Had no idea when I painted these little birdies they would be so well received.
Remember all of these products except the Light Ups
are all created with the material on the back
which allows them to stick to stainless steel, mirror, glass and more!

If you don't live here in Charlotte but you'd like to find them,
 check here for retailers who may carry them near you.

Organization never looked so pretty.

xoxo,

C

Lesley Evers event here Sept 30th!

Mark your calendar

for Thursday, September 30th 

9am-2pm

Lesley Evers sale here at my house!

I recently previewed the fall line and trust me, you don't want to miss it!

Lesley grew up here in Charlotte, but currently resides in California.
She is now designing all of her own fabrics which are...well, yummy!

One of the many reasons I adore her line, is that they really look great on every body shape, 

plus I love the color and pattern she chooses.

They are stunning and the pieces are so well made you won't believe it...

beautifully lined, trimmed and hemmed, but they can be casual or dressy.

 I love her extra touches too, like the built in fabric hook at the base of the neck 

where you hang the fabric wrap when it's on the hanger...brilliant!
Love this green Kelsey!...I have it in deep red.

Plus her new fabulous knit dresses...this one's called Pauline.

It feels fabulous on and does NOT wrinkle!

Comes in camel, charcoal and black.

Lesley's sister Drew, will be here with these and many more from the NEW FALL LINE

Some gorgeous tunics, skirts and dresses on clearance for 50% off while they last!

We'll have jewelry on the dining room table to complement the designs and 

mini cheesecakes and nibbles in the kitchen while you mingle and shop.

I'll have some of my licensed products out too, in case you need gifts now or in time for Christmas.

Swing by if you can and spread the word.

It's a day of fashion and fellowship!

xo,

C

Make it yourself=more fun

Not sure why I caved but recently the girls each ended up with these?

Have you heard of them or heard their noises yet?
We'll never have a live hamster if I have anything to do with it, so I guess these are not so bad. 

I refused to purchase any of the homes, equipment and accessories 

which are the extras for Zu Zu Pets, 

but I did suggest they be creative and make their own.

Our sunny weekend and over flowing recycle bin provided just what they needed to get started. 

With a little paint and tape they created this...

 now the Zu Zu pets have their very own hand made obstacle course.
This is what children are supposed to do.
This is what we did...we made our own fun.
We didn't buy it all.
We didn't ask our parents to buy it all (at least I don't think we did.)
And even if we did, they said "Be creative and go make your own fun..."
I do believe sticks, mud, sand boxes, tree houses, blanket forts and homemade obstacle courses
are far better than anything in Target.
Do you agree?

Soccer, baseball, golf, gymnastics, teen cotillion, youth group, piano, scouts,
martial arts and a bit of tennis are in full swing here!
But somehow, they always seem to have the most fun with the things that don't cost extra...
things we already have in the back yard and sometimes it's even the trash.
Hope you had a glorious weekend and have a great start to your week!
xoxo,
C