new license, huge blessing!!!!

Well I have known this for a while but have been so busy I have not had time to write this long post. 

You see this is more than just sharing the exciting news
that I am working with another wonderful manufacturer.....Magnet Works.
This is a God-orchestrated special story.

Many might hear this and think it a great coincidence,
but I know it was and is much more than that. 

I have talked here before about hindsight
and that perspective of looking back
and seeing God's hand right there all the while.

So let's go back...

for those who may be new readers, my dear friend Kate's daughter, Sloan
was diagnosed in late February of 2010 with mast cell leukemia.
I was honored to be one of the Care Team leaders from our church
for their family during the months that followed
and obviously became even closer to Kate, to Sloan and their entire family.
You can read more about her journey here , here , here and here .

So just 2 weeks before Sloan passed away,
I was sitting in her living room with her while she was knitting.
This sweet family already has several of my originals in their home.
We talked about me possibly creating a design and asking a manufacturer to produce it on product and donate the proceeds to mast cell leukemia research.
She was on board and happy to talk to me about her favorite colors,
her favorite flower (the hydrangea) and thought it was a great idea.
I of course had to tell her I would do my best but these things don't happen overnight
and often don't happen at all...and if they do, they usually take a long time.
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Ok, now back track a bit....before that conversation with Sloan,
two weeks before I had been asked to design for Magnet Works.
A thrilling opportunity to design large and small garden flags, garden stakes and outdoor mats.
We had already started on the art selections and discussions but it never entered my mind to ask them about this design for Sloan.
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Ok, fast forward again...
Two weeks after sitting with Sloan and that wonderful conversation,
Sloan's condition rapidly worsened and we were all in shock.
This precious child....14 years young, an only child, who was healthy as could be one year earlier....
how could this be?

 Her incredible and faith-filled parents brought her home
and I was blessed to spend part of the morning by her side before she entered heaven.
praying and weeping, praying and weeping
I came home to my quiet studio and waited on the dreaded phone call.
I was a mess and so when my phone rang and I answered
thinking it was one of the family members letting me know....
it was sweet Anne who I work with at Magnet Works
and she was of course wondering why I was crying my eyes out.
I told her all about Sloan and her parents, her journey and how I was waiting on the call.
I told her too, about my conversation with Sloan about the design...
I think the Lord just prompted me to do that because I had not planned that or even thought to ask.
We even talked about some ideas of what that could be and incorporating Sloan's name into the art.
As we talked more she told me that the owner of Magnet Works, Sue, has two brothers who were both recently diagnosed ....one with cancer and the other with leukemia.
Anne said that she wanted to talk to Sue about Sloan
and her story and the idea of the design in her name.
wow, wow, wow
I got off the phone and painted what the Lord placed on my heart immediately after that conversation.
I tucked it into a drawer and had no idea what God planned to do with it all.
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20 minutes after the dreaded phone call which I did receive letting me know Sloan had passed away,
I received the kindest message from Sue letting me know she had talked to Anne, been to Sloan's Caring Bridge site, and how touched she was by Sloan's story and they she would be praying for their family.
wow, wow, wow
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Ok, fast forward again....
Magnet Works has not only chosen 6 of my designs but the final design is that cross I painted as soon as I got off the phone with Anne that day.
It is a cross and inside that cross is a hydrangea, another flower with rays os sunshine for hope,
raindrops representing tears, and another flower with the name Sloan painted as the vein in the leaf.
There is a butterfly tucked in there too and more, so you'll just have to wait and see.
But this design will be on large and small garden flags, garden stakes and doormats.
They will be sold all over the US and we're working on the tags for each product which will show Sloan's photo and her story and the inspiration behind it all.
The entire collection of 6 designs is called the Rooted In Faith Collection
and I cannot wait to share it with you.
It launches in January in Atlanta in the Magnet Works showroom.
It just wasn't enough to announce this exciting new partnership
without sharing the real joy in it, which for me, is designing with a purpose.
I am able to donate all my royalties from this design and the company is actually matching it.
How awesome is that?
All those proceeds will go directly to The Sloan Chambers Fund
and will bless thousands of children who are
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology patients at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC.
I am so grateful to be a part of this project
and to be partnering with a manufacturer who truly wants to make a difference.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Caroline