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If I create a post will it really show up on Facebook? Have been trying to figure this one out all day! Ugh!

Community

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting our son and daughter's golf team at our home for a pasta dinner after they had a match. I've always questioned these events because after a full day of school and a multi-hour long match, I didn't understand the need to gather for dinner also....extending the day so long makes it hard to have time for and focus on homework. After our dinner (oh, my these kids eat a lot!) I formulated a new opinion. These eighteen, 14-18 year olds sat together, shared the food that was served family style, and talked, laughed and advised each other about their golf games, high school classes, relationships and their futures beyond high school. Not necessarily within each other's social circles, these teens regardlessly exhibited a real sense of community. This morning while doing the final clean up and enjoying a leftover brownie with my coffee (don't ask how early it was!) it was this sense of community that remained with me as the warm and fuzzy feeling from the evening prior. I'm proud of these teens and it reminds me of why we as Christians are called together in community. We need each other!

The first worship banners I ever worked on were done in community. A team of artists and seamstresses gathered together to pray about, generate ideas for and then complete eight sets of worship banners for our church sanctuary. This project is what led to the development of Carrot Top Studio. I had never taken on a task quite like worship banners and for the project to be successful it really needed the community of a group.

The first Christians in the New Testament were a great example of community as they quickly learned to gather together for worship.It's awesome that gathering together is a precursor to the Kingdom of God that is to come. In today's fast paced world may we not forget to take time to come together as community.

Creation Cleaner

The Labor Day weekend is past. Even though the days are still warm, this is symbolic of nature's seasonal movement from summer to fall. The children are back in school. I miss them and their friend's trapsing through the studio while I work. So it's up to my studio dog, Abby "the Labby" to keep me company while I sew, design, sew, market, sew, and sew some more! Abby often comes out of the marathon sewing sessions the victim of stray threads landing on her as caught in this photo.

The seasons may be changing outside my window but the church continues to mark Ordinary Time. How do you honor this? In worship I see the green paraments and ministry stoles. I hear messages encouraging me to grow in my faith. I sing old favorites like "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." Beyond worship how do we honor Ordinary Time? Abby and I love working through our days in the studio but we also enjoy the daily break of a walk through the neighborhood. We marvel at the ordinary....the shadows the trees make on the grass, the sounds of a child laughing in the distance, the birds holding court while sitting on the wires up above. We also use our walking time to help keep this creation cleaner. Taking a bag on our walks to pick up trash is an easy way to help keep God's creation cleaner. This is such an easy task for all ages to get in the habit of. You can even teach your little ones to join in this activity! Thinking about "creation cleanup" reminds me of the day my son, then seven years old, took our habit of litter patrol maybe a little too seriously. His teacher called to tell me that he arrived at school with beer bottles in his backpack (she'd discoverd them from the stench that was oozing from his locker.) She thankfully knew us well enough to understand my son's explanation of "caring for creation" on his way to the bus stop and the need to save the bottles for the recycling bin when he got home. But, she did highly recommend that he not continue to bring empty beer bottles to school! So, outside of worship I encourage you to take time to enjoy the ordinary (that is really extra-ordinary) and pitch in to help keep our creation cleaner...but tell your kids to not to pick the beer bottles up on the way to school!

Confirmation Stole Blank Special Offer

Are you curious about our confirmation stole blanks (seen at left) but don't want to commit without seeing the product? To help your decision during the month of September we're offering the purchase of a single stole blank ($11) with complimentary shipping. When ordering a single stole blank we'll include a short feedback page for you to send us to see what you think. We believe in the use of the confirmation stoles with youth to help them understand their spiritual gifts, their call to service, and the use of the visual in worship. With your feedback we'll be able to offer the best product possible for your ministry!

Read more about confirmation stoles and place your order here at www.CarrotTopStudio.com.

New Stole Designs

We're thrilled to have added several new stole designs to our online store! Visitationstoles and stoles for the confessional are shorter than our norm and can be found here. This is a new category for us and we'd love to hear your needs and ideas for this product line. The blue healing stole celebrates oil and the Old and New Testament references to its use. More about this stole can be found here. Lastly we always love working with batik fabric and this one is a beauty! It's description is on the Carrot Top Studio website here. We hope you'll enjoy and maybe be able to use one of these new designs.

Speaking of new....on a personal note I get to send my youngest child off to her first day of high school tomorrow. Our oldest will start his senior year. Having two children in high school embracing lifes challenges and seeking how God is to use them during the school year will probably provide not too many dull moments in our house! Blessing to all of you that are in similar situations as we transition into a new season.

More Memories

I'm still sorting through and scanning the photos that I've been dumping into a box for way too many years (see post below). I came across pictures from the Presbyterian Women's Conferences I attended in Louisville. The banners were always so inspiring in the large convention hall venue. I had no idea at that time that I was being called to start Carrot Top Studio but I believe seeds for the business were planted there. The below were commercially made but they made a great impact.

Then it was fun to find a photo of the first set of banners I made with a team from my home church. None of us had ever taken on a project like this but we were fueled by our worship commission that had a vision for adding liturgical color and symbols to our sanctuary.

Thankfully I have learned to take better images over the years! Although the photo doesn't show it, these banners are royal purple and several shades of gold. The donkey, manger and rainbow tell the story of God's promises and are used during Advent. Back to digging through the photos.....

Memories

I'm in the process of taking my family photos, that have been piled in boxes for too many years, and scanning them into the computer for safe keeping. So many pictures and so many memories! This project that is long overdue. It is an enjoyable process for me, yet will take much time and perseverance.

This project is making me think of all the Biblical verses that refer to remembering the past. For example, "Praise the Lord, my soul, and never forget all the good He has done." (Psalm 103:2) and "Worship Him faithfully with your whole heart; keep in mind the great things He has done among you." (1 Samuel 12:24). Whenever a loved one passes I draw upon these verses. I am thankful for the healing gift of "remembering" that God allows us.

Along these lines I was struck by a visual in a worship space I had the opportunity to visit this summer. This community is a fairly new one. The church building is not very old. The hall that leads into the worship space is lined with a memory of the prayers from the beginnings of this faith community and their plans to plant a church. The wall is lined with stones that have prayers written on them...prayers for the people that were to come together, the plans God had for them, and the spread of His love and mission within the community. I have to recall this scripture whenever I think of this lovely worship space visual, "Each of you must pick up one stone...We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to You?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordon River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel." (Joshua 4:5-7). I am passionate about worshiping in places outside of my norm and the stone wall in this church will be a lovely memory for me and a reminder that we still carry out the words of Joshua in so many ways.

Back to my family memories...I'll leave you with a "beauty" of a photo I unearthed of my mother and I that is proof of why Carrot Top Studio got it's name!

Book Review

I'm preparing for an adult Sunday School seminar at my home congregation. The topic is "A Protestant Look at Mary". Within this four week series in December I will be teaching one that will focus on representations of Mary in Protestant and Early Christian art. The goal is to get behond taking out with the creche at Christmas and then packing her ack int he closet in January. November and December are often Carrot Top Studio's busiest months so I'm trying to prepare now. One of the tools I'm using is the book Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary by Miri Rubin. It is very interesting to take time to discover how Mary, who is scarcely mentioned in the Gospels, became one of the most prominent religous figures in world culture. I'm learning from Rubin who draws upon an extraordinarily wide range of sources--including music,poetry, theology, art, scripture and miracle tales. Stay tuned as I draw deeper into this intriguing subject matter....I'm wondering how I will learn to be more like Mary through this investigation!?

Biblical Fiber Art

My teenage daughter and I have been looking at the book of Esther. We've read the story in the Bible, we've discussed where we could see God's hand in this book, and we've watched the Fox Faith film "One Night With the King." We watched a wee bit of the movie prior to digging into the Bible and I was at first turned off by the Hollywoodness of the first banquet scene. In particular my attention was caught by the banners and fabrics that were so enourmous and dramatic. I actually hadn't recalled these fabrics in the book of Esther but, because a large part of what Carrot Top Studio does is make worshp banners, my interest was picqued. So I found that the Bible says, "The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars." (Esther 1:6) Of course the fabrics in Esther represent the kings great wealth. This is different from the curtains and used when building the temple as described in the book of Exodus.The curtains in the temple were to designate a worship space and help show the reverance for and the scacredness of the place to worship God. How do you use fabric in your worship space? Are you using fabric to focus on our worship of the Almighty and designate the worship space as sacred? The contrast between the details in Exodus and Esther give us something to think about.

Back to the movie...my daughter and I did finish the movie and even though it's an interpretation of the Biblical story I was pleased with how the storyline remained relatively true. The background music is a bit dramatic and the visuals as stated before seem to have the heavy touch of the movie set director. Seeing the film version did emphasize how similar the times of Esther are to the conflicts we still deal with today and will inspire the viewer to stand up for what is right and just. As for my daughter: I send her off to high school this fall and I hope and pray that she will be like Esther...may she be a woman of character, may she see that God has a purpose for her, and may she be willing to act with courage when she needs to!

A selection of Carrot Top Studio's small banners are being auctioned on eBay this week. See them here!

Where Do Artists Work?

Illustrations by Michael Harrar copyright protected.

When I was teaching elementary art I had a poster that listed 100's of jobs where artists could work professionally. It included everything from book illustrators to muralists to cereal box designers. The variety of jobs that require an artist is astounding! The poster was meant to be encouraging to the impressionable minds that passed through my classroom.

This last week I've had two opportunities that have once again led me to think about how artists are used in a faith community. First, I had an opportunity to share an afternoon rendezvous over ice cream while my friend Michael and his wife who were traveling through the area. They have spent their professional years working for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Living all over the world Michael has, among other things, had the opportunity to use his artistic gifts illustrating Bibles, teaching natives to be artists, creating murals to spread the word of the need for Bible translation and even a chance to create a series of postage stamps. Secondly, I spent time with an artist who will display her fiber art in my home church gallery. She was asking about the history of the space and the type of art that had been displayed over the years. I don't know who had the wonderful idea of creating this space but it's been there for at least 17 years. It's brilliantly surrounding the area that our receptionist desk is placed, therefore the art is not to be missed by anyone who walks through this entrance. I've curated this space for the past two years and we've seen photographers, illustrators, oil painters, pastel artists and much more have a chance to exhibit. Some of the artists create liturgical work and others are Christians that recognize their gifts as from God. We celebrate all of these artists and try to use the space to educate our faith community. Additionally, when it is appropriate we make a connection to something that we are studying or celebrating in the church year calendar.

If I made a poster listing where artists of faith would work I don't think the list would be terribly different from the list I had in my classroom many years ago. The difference is how does the church respond to this, how do we encourage the artists, and how do we include them in our purpose. How are you doing in this area?

Celebrate Peace During Ordinary Time

Webster's defines peace as: freedom from war, tranquility, calm, a state of no anxiety, and having freedom from conflict. But it is only in Christ that we have true peace. Having peace with God through Christ and living a life faithful to Christ will allow us to be at peace with ourselves and others. I think peace is a great topic during this time of Ordinary Time and I wonder what a peaceful kingdom would look like in our homes, our city, our schools and our country? We can think of a few ideas to promote this topic:

• supply children with alternatives to war toys
• listen to people....everyone deserves to be heard
• light a peace candle during times of small group worship or before sharing a meal with friends (new and old)
• pray, "May peace prevail on earth"
• eat "Imagine Whirled Peace" ice cream by Ben and Jerry
• wear a Peace stole by Carrot Top Studio

How do you celebrate and encourage peace during this time of year?

I Am....

My first born is 17 (and a half!). He is manly and wise in many ways yet is floundering with the many choices and opportunities he has upon him as he approaches his senior year in high school. We're thankful for the time we have this summer to explore his spiritual gifts, what motivates him, and prayerfully seek insight as to how to magnify these things through education and a career after high school graduation. It struck me today how appropriate this type of acitivty is for many of us during the church's Oridnary Time. During this time between special liturgical seasons we are called to look for God in all the moments of our lives. A fun exercise for anyone to do is to quickly write ten "I am...." statements about yourself (whatever comes quickly to your mind) then share them with someone. Do the statements reflect your gifts and motivators? Can you see God in them? How can you grow in these areas? How can you make these parts of your life more linked to your life with God?

Speaking of I am statementes, I've been trying to Twitter for Carrot Top Studio to connect with more pastors and ministry leaders. It's struck me that Twitter could be called a social network of "I am...." statements. I am doing this...., I am not enjoying this...., I am connected to this...., etc. I have yet to decide of Twitter is a good thing or not, but if you want to follow us you can do it here.

Lastly, I'm thankful we don't have to decide whether the "I am..." statements of Jesus Christ are good, bad, or worth following. I draw comfort in knowing that Jesus is the bread of life, the light of the world, the true vine and so much more!

The "I am" stole pictured here can be found at Carrot Top Studio on this page. I think I need stop bloggins so I can go find my son and get him to make his list of "I am's"....I'm sure he'll be delighted that Mom has conjured up one more actitivty to help him with his discernment!

Stoles in Action-part 2

When you see tie dye what do you feel? Maybe times of joy, a sense of freedom, or lighthearted days come to mind? This stole in action was a perfect gift for a pastor who loves his tie dye! It was a really fun commission for us to work on.

Carrot Top Studio is now offering a tie dye stole in our online store. Find one here and one here!

What else says joy? We'd love to learn your ideas....and turn them into a stole!

Stoles in Action

Because of the nature of our e-commerce art studio we rarely get to see our stoles "in action" after they leave us. Occassionaly we are sent photos...thought you'd enjoy a few that demonstrate the diversity of the ministry leaders we serve.

This Noah's ark stole worn at a pet blessing by a pastor who has a passion for animal rescue.
The tree of life stole was the choice of this pastor for his latest installation service.

And, this ordinary time stole with fleks of golds, oranges, and reds was a great choice for for this autumn wedding ceremony.

What's Going on at Carrot Top Studio?

Summer does an odd thing to me and my time in the studio. I get this urge to clean out, reorganize and set new goals for our busy fall selling season. What does that mean for our clients? A few things that might interest you:

• our eBay offers this summer are mostly ministry stoles that we just have one left of in stock and we're offering them at rock bottom opening bids! We're on eBay as seller "carrottopstudio". What else would we be?
• we're rotating selections onto our "SALE" section on the website. Check it out here!
• the stole categories on the website are becoming more defined. Have you noticed the new "peace and healing" category and "music ministry" category?
• preparations are under way to add visitation, travel and confessional stoles to the website. We'll let you know when this goes live!

What are we missing? Is there anything you've been looking for to support your ministry visually that you can't find? We'd love to hear your ideas! Add a comment to the blog or email us at jenny.gallo@CarrotTopStudio.com.

Back in the Studio

After a week in these Colorado mountains we're back in the studio. We're relaxed and feel creatively inspired by the peace of the environment we've left behind. Thanks to our clients that were patient with shipping while we shut down for a week! Back to the drawing board...

Joy

What do you think of when you hear the word "joy?" Some people think of a favorite food or having a day off of work. Others think of the book The Joy of Cooking. The dictionary declares that it is: The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; pleasurable feelings or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exhilaration of spirits; delight. BMW (the car company) commissioned an artist to relate joy to their products...see the video titled "Expression of Joy" here. Joy is also of course a fruit of the spirit. God wants us to have joy and happiness in our lives. Sometimes we find joy in the most turbulent times, and sometimes joy just finds us. Other times we just need to open our hearts to being joyful. At Carrot Top Studio we often feel joy while listening to music. We enJOY a wide genre...everything from Bach to David Crowder to Miles Davis. In honor of joy and music we are introducing a new music ministry stole with Psalm 150:3 in mind..."Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet..." You can find this limited edition stole in our online store!

Prayer Flags

A prayer flag is a colorful panel or rectangular cloth often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas to bless the surrounding countryside or for other purposes. Traditionally they are woodblock-printed with texts and images and are connected to Buddhism. Prayer flags intrigue me because I see the similarity with worship banners and ministry stoles--all involve a religous message, color, symbols, and recognizing the invovlement of the visual and tactile in worship.

In my neck of the woods many churches are gearing up for a week of vacation Bible school. When my children were younger I often found myself in the art room at our vacation Bible school. If I were planning the art projects this year I think I might be apt to translate the Buddhist concept of prayer flags into mini worship banners. My home church is in the center of our community on a road heavily traveled each day. Wouldn't it be exciting to see these mini banners stretched along the roadside? I visualize the sculptural like display being added to each day....almost performance art! They would serve as a personal connection to each child as they soak in the love of God during the week and would maybe intrigue the passers by of our building to wonder what was happening inside--and maybe a seeker would even come inside to find out!

Icon of the Trinity

Russian icon of the Old Testament Trinity by Andrey Rublev, between 1408-25

We're pondering upcoming Trinity Sunday. Wondering how artists have represented the mystery of the Trinity we did a little research and found Rublev's icon of the Old Testament Trinity. This icon is based on a passage in the book of Genesis concerning the visitation of three angels to Abraham. The three angels can be interpreted as a sign of the Trinity. We love this notion that the sovereignty of God arrives in hospitatlity.

Carrot Top Studio's 4th Anniversary!

It's been such a fun four years at Carrot Top Studio we felt the need to celebrate! We are so grateful for our many clients that traverse the globe and celebrate what they believe in many different faith communities. You are great encouragers, are full of wonderful ideas, and are fun to collaborate with on designing ministry stoles and worship banners.

This year's celebration stole is being offered at $40.00 + 4.44 S&H. There are only FOUR available so don't delay your order! Buy it here.

The celebration continues with FOUR additional stoles hidden throughout the website with their price reduced to $40.00 + 4.44 S&H. These are only availabe at this price until June FOURTH. Search for them throughout our stole selection here.

And if you follow our blog or our Twitter posts you know that our staff has a sweet tooth.  So we'd like to share our favorite Carrot Cake recipe (what else would we make for this celebration?) from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book. Enjoy the recipe!

• 4 large eggs
  
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed, light brown sugar
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 2 1/2 c. finely grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup shredded or flaked coconut, sweetened or not
• 1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans.

Beat eggs with mixer and add the oil while the mixer is running. Add the vanilla, then sprinkle in the sugars. You will have a thick, foamy, lemon-colored mixture. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Add these dry ingredients to the eggs and oil in your mixing bowl, mixing to make a smooth batter. Add the carrot and nuts, then the coconut and pineapple. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack, then dust with confectioner's sugar or frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 T. unslated butter, at room temperature
• 1-8oz. pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 t. vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2-4 T. milk

Combine butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating well alternately with the milk until frosting is of a spreadable consistency.