Time simply just does fly!

So much new news! I'm loving the opening up that has happened in my creativity, and in my life. I'm loving not being a restaurant manager and having to leave my kids. I'm so grateful for all the support and love sent to me by YOU!
This is what I really want to do next. I want to make puzzles using nine blocks. I thought it would be simply awesome to put a puzzle in a case. Dream with me now....imagine one side of the blocks with a name (if the name doesn't take up nine blocks, some could just have characters or designs.) the other sides with different picture puzzles.

What if it was a puzzle of the child's family. What if I made a puzzle family. Each block had a name and a photo of the relative, so you could either line up all the names or faces. For example "Aunt Memee" on one side, and my beautiful face on the other side???
Wouldn't that be cool? Obviously I'd have to pull out my math skills so I don't mess it up. The difficulty level may be above me. lol

NEWS
I joined Etsy a couple weeks ago and LOVE it! I just had no idea people knew what they were talking about. Kristen, I shall make it public that you told me so before anyone else! About the 50th time I heard it though, I signed up. I've gotten so many orders from there...plus I've started shopping on there! Have you seen some of the things there? Wow...if I ever run low on inspiration I shall just go to Etsy.
CHRISTMAS DEADLINES
If you live in Canada and want to order, please get your order to me on or before December 1st.
If you live in the States, please get your order to me by December 10th.

Umm.....I believe I've emptied my head sufficiently now. Here are a couple photos I like of some recent work.

Update!

I'm so excited about Christmas this year. I wanted to send a quick message out to all of you and let you know that my turn-around times may be a little longer. If you are considering ordering blocks for Christmas for friends and family (or yourself :) you may want to start considering what you'd like. It would be most helpful if you ordered sooner than later. I know the post office tends to get bogged down close to Christmas as well.

NEWS!
I've started doing wall hangings. If you haven't come by for awhile, please come and take a look. I'd love your feedback. I can match blocks to any wall hanging to create a really nice little set too!

I also wanted to include some gift ideas for the holidays. I've listed them below.

Teacher Blocks
Photo Blocks for Grandparents of their grandchildren.
Using the Decor blocks, spell out a last name. It looks great on a mantle!
ORNAMENTS!!!! Personalized ornaments, photo ornaments, character ornaments...etc...
Pet Photo Blocks
Vacation Memory Block that includes the date, destination and photos!
Customized Traditional Blocks in antiqued wooden case!
....and so much more!

What can you dream up? I'll do that for you!

Thanks so much to all of you for your encouragement and support! Continuing through Dec 31st, we will be giving 15% profit from every sale to Divine Inheritance. www.divineinheritance.com. They are a phenomenal group. Please visit their website for more information!
If you know of a children's charity group that you would like to recommend for the new year, I'd love to hear about it!
Blessings to you all! Thanks again for your support!

Christmas....let's lay it out straight.

It has been awhile since I was this excited about Christmas! I have several craft shows coming up and so I've been working hard trying to figure out the best looks in a range of prices.
I have four official looks for ornaments this year. I'll post one picture for each look. You can view more photos at www.newcreationblocks.com.

I also have a few different decor sets available (also photographed on my site) but I'll make this blog simply about ornaments! I think they are so cute, I wish I could sell ornaments all year long. You will probably see me come up with an idea to do so! lol.

Let me know if you have questions about anything. These ornaments shown here are $8 each or six ornaments for $40.00. These ornaments will not break or shatter. They will be something to treasure and pass down from generation to generation!

I'm super excited about decorating my tree this year. I won't have to dig out the hooks and almost have a heart attack when my cat starts swiping at the balls. My two year old won't break these...the list goes on and on. :)

My Grandma loved me!

I just read my brother's blog and it so inspired me to write my own. My grandma was an amazing woman of God. She was not my dad's birth mother, but she was the only mother he really knew. His birth mother (Ruby) died when he was five. Eva, was one of his dad's old love interests before he met Ruby. Ruby died of cancer and when she did, Elmer went to find Eva to propose and request her help in raising his four children. It is such a love story....one I'm still learning. From what I have heard, Elmer wasn't too romantic about it and Eva had a lot to consider...taking on all those four unruly and sad children. She took it all on though, and with amazing grace as my dad has remembered. She was one lovely lady!

Eva and Elmer lived very long lives together. They ate good breakfasts, took long walks and read their bible every day. The thing that saddened me the most when they died, was the feeling that the prayer covering for me would be no more. My revelation left me little at that time, not enough to understand how much greater my support had become and "cloud of witnesses" would be in heaven. Thank you Lord for my heritage, my inheritance, and for your tangibility revealed in the lives of my grandparents! What an earthly treasure stored up for me.

Here is a poem she had copied into her Bible and a photo of her when she was turning 100. She went home when she was one hundred years old. The photo of the young woman is my Grandma Ruby who died when my dad was five. She too was an amazing woman, who I so want to learn more about, and when I do...you shall hear about it as well!

Prices!

Unfortunately, I have to raise my prices a little. The ink cartridges are too expensive. I'm trying to be creative on how I'm going to do it. Here is what I'm thinking...would love feedback.
The traditional blocks can remain at $5/block if they are just prints, patterns and a stamped letter. If someone wants character blocks or photos on their blocks, then I have to raise the price to $6.00 a block.
The 4"x4" blocks I raised the price to $29.00. It's all that printing that is adding up!
Of course we could demand lower cartridge prices and then all be happy. lol.

One thing is really great though. I am learning how to run a business effectively. I am getting busier now and am able to calculate my costs, and time so much better. I really feel like God is helping me get organized and ready for Christmas too. I'm super excited about Christmas!!
I've been working on some ornaments. I'm also doing a craft show November 7th and I'm trying to get ahead with some blocks to sell there!

Thanks for praying you guys. My family and good friends who advertise for me, you are so special to me. I appreciate it so very much. You just can't know. I'll take care of you! :)

Here are some blocks and block ornaments I've been working on. Please visit the website or facebook for additional photos.

The News!

I remember in 11th grade we had to watch the news for two weeks straight for homework. I thought, "who on earth wants to watch the news?" Somewhere between then and now I started watching it, quoting it, and anticipating it even. Somehow we get older, all of us. Going for walks seems nice and watching birds becomes interesting. When did it happen? I saw some girls look at me, the same way I looked at mom's with kids when I was young. It got me thinking and then it got me laughing. What a crazy thing.

So much going on in the news lately and I have started to wonder what is the point of watching it. Isn't that grand! It's a new thing I figured out how to do in my life. I just don't watch it, I turn it off.

Granted it has backfired some. I found out a week too late about the junker car cash offer the government was handing out. We have a junker, that might have worked for us, oh well.
Someone else seemed truly shocked that I didn't know swine flu had made it to my county. lol Hey my kids don't have it and so no harm done.

All the other news I get is from facebook, you know little opinions and snippets. All in all, I'm liking not watching the news. The best part of not watching the news is thinking that my old high school self would think I'm pretty cool right now! lol

Ok, here are some new blocks I did recently. The wedding block is $30.
The case filled with blocks is $60
The blocks by themselves are $5/piece. If you add photos to the blocks they are an additional $2 a block.

Divine Inheritance!!!

My new non-profit organization that I will be working to raise money for is Divine Inheritance. From Sept 1st-Dec. 31st, fifteen percent of every block sold will be given to Divine Inheritance. Of course, you can donate directly to them on their site and I encourage you to do that! I am so moved by what Divine Inheritance is doing for children in Burma, I have no words. All you have to do is google images of "child soldiers in Burma" and the images that appear will certainly wreck you with compassion and a love and desire to see justice for these kids. Thank you God for giving people the heart to go in and rescue them. Keep them safe. Please pray for this organization that the Lord will send them all they need and more, to continue to do what they do there. Below, is some information I grabbed from their site. Please go read and learn more at; www.divineinheritance.com

ABOUT CHILD SOLDIERS

Today there are over 100,000 child soldiers in Southeast Asia

According to The Asian Wall Street Journal one third of the 300,000 child soldiers in the world live in Southeast Asia. Yet, "live" is a relative term. Due to political and ethnic instability, conflict is widespread and children and their families suffer. Boys and girls as young as 6 years old are forced into local ethnic armies where they are trained as soldiers for guerrilla warfare. Their purpose: to serve and defend the drug lords of the area at the cost of losing their parents, families, homes and even their own lives.

Divine Inheritance exists to rescue these precious children

We take orphans out of hopeless situations and care for them. We labor in restricted access regions of Southeast Asia, where children are truly at risk, so we do not publish the specific locations of these children in order to protect them. We give them shelter, food, clothing, education, spiritual care and love.

We train these children to become leaders in their society. Some of them will work on tea plantations, others as teachers or government leaders. Regardless of their future positions, we train them to enjoy walking in God’s ways. In every aspect of life they learn to carry a spirit of excellence and to create positive impact on the regions they live in.

Lisa's Blocks!

Making blocks for my best friend while talking to my best friend was just fun. There were no order forms. It was like in the olden days but with a telephone. I'd get to the next step and say, "Lis, what color do you want this? or "Which font?" LOL.
I've decided that's the way to do it from now on with people who I know.
I like these blocks because they are the first 2"x 2" blocks I've done with photos. The photos are all Sepia in color and that always look nice with the brown I use. Black and White look nice too. Color looks nice too....heck, it all looks good. Anyway, they spell out JORDAN with my new font!

I'm heading to a couple stores tomorrow. One store here in Spring Hill Tn said I could put some example blocks in, with my card. The other store, I'll be asking them if I can display some. Wish me luck!

Kindergarten!

My little girl is going to Kindergarten. I've been a mess all week and I really thought I wouldn't be this way. It doesn't help that she is having difficulty adjusting...but we are only a few days in. She said to me, while crying in that pitiful dramatic way little girls do, "mamaaaaa, I want to be homeschooled." When I asked her what she didn't like about school, she said "I don't like to wear shoes all day, I don't like a nap, I don't like to listen and be quiet, and I don't like to wait in the car line." Well....she has given it a lot of thought eh? Like I said, we are only three days in!

Any way, I tried to show her how proud I was of her by making some blocks! It helped...for a day. Today we rewarded her for going to school with ice-cream. That took way less time. haaha Thank you Sonic! I don't remember getting rewarded for going to school....Mom???? help???

So, here is my first, "First day of Kindergarten" block! I reccommend anyone who needs a quick fix...buy one! lol. On the front is a photo (backpack and all) On the side is a note from us. On the other side is her name, date, and school name. $30.00
The traditional name blocks are an additional $20.00

It's time for me to go to bed now.....and pray for a little less drama in the morning!
Hope you enjoy the video of my crazy girls! Love them!!!

Chocolate Cake! Best Recipe EVAH!!!

I just had to share this. Oh my Sweet Goodness! This is the most requested cake recipe in 100 years for Better Home and Garden's Cookbooks.

Ingredients:
Two Sticks of Butter
8oz of Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate
1.5 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup cocoa

Prep
You will need a double boiler or a make-shift one with two pots.

You need an 8" Spring Form Pan. You will spray pan, cut out wax paper for the bottom of the pan and spray that as well!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Recipe
On the top boiler, melt two sticks of butter and 8oz of semi sweet baking chocolate
Once melted stir in 1.5 cups sugar
Whisk in six eggs ONE EGG AT A TIME.
Slowly whisk in 1 cup of cocoa powder

Whisk until smooth and then pour into your greased Spring Form Pan.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Top with fresh fruit and whip cream or ice cream. MMMMMMMM

Items for Sale

I have had some fun lately experimenting with different things...lol. I hate to have them all lined up in my house so I am eventually going to add a "Sale" page to my site. For now though, I'm going to offer them on by blog. Here are some blocks I have done. The first is my "Man" Block. It would be a great gift for an Engineer or someone who works/own a music studio. All the little words are part of that worlds lingo. I would be more than happy to personalize it with a company or personal name...etc... The block is $18 instead of $25. This block is 4"x4"

The next, is a set of three "dice" blocks. They are 2"x2" and they have the words "love", "life" "laugh" "dream" and "hope" on them. They also have a really cool modern vintage thing going on. I envision them to look really good next to some books in a library or something like that. I would normally sell these for $25, but the price is $15! I really like these.

Ok, I also have a "Dove" block. It is blue on crackled paper. It is pretty much perfect. The only thing wrong with it is the bottom right stamp is slightly smudged. :( I'll sell it for $10.00 instead of $15.00) If you also want the angel block which turned out great, the set will be sold for $20.00) These are 4" x 4".

These prices would not include shipping. That would be additional. If you would like one or all, you can contact me here, or by email. newcreationblocks@yahoo.com
Thanks Amigos!

I have a friend. Yes, I know that is funny to some, but it is true! :) I'm going to brag on her a bit for her talent is just crazy. She is a photographer and took some pictures for me. Her name is Allison Hendrickson (.com) She has an ability to take photos that are magical and make you 'feel' something you didn't just seconds before. I love when she releases new photos. I just stare at them.

She snapped these out in like two minutes for me. They are so good, I just want to delete every other picture I took with my camera. Please check out her website and recommend her to your friends. She doesn't just shoot weddings, she can shoot anything! I might be a little prejudice, but she is THE BEST!

I did update my site with a couple photo's I've received of little kiddos and their blocks. I put an album under "Photo Gallery". I'd love to add more. Check it out!

The birth announcement blocks in these photo's are $25 piece. The "LOVE" blocks are $20.00.
Editing photo's is not included in the price. These photos were sent to me this way. The photo on the top has a vintage nursery book theme. The Birth Block on the bottom has cherry blossoms and is very simplistic in style.

Don't forget to check out:
allisonhendrickson.com

Kids and Blocks!

I was awake in the night and had a great idea! I get so much joy over seeing kids playing with the blocks I made, I decided I'm going to add a page to my website of just that! I can go and look at it anytime I want! :) Of course, I realize some parents would prefer me not to post pictures of their child. I will honor this big time!
However, I won't disclose any details outside of the photograph. If you want to send me a photo of your "beautiful little" playing with blocks, I'd love to add it! Thanks!!!
This little man is the cutest isn't he? I went to lunch with a friend and just had the most fun watching him eat his french fries! lol.

I'll let you know when I post the new page!!!

Gift Certificates

I hope buying blocks has just gotten easier! I'm so excited about doing gift certificates. I think this will make it easier for people wanting to buy for showers, or for long distance friends. It will allow the giftee to pick out colors and discuss options with me personally! They can create their own little piece of history and have you to thank for it!
The gift certificates come in $25 increments. You can pay with PayPal, with a check or a money order.

Helmintollers

Remember that name, "Helmintollers". If you ever come across someone with that name, consider yourself one of the luckiest people in the world!!! Don't stalk them, but do everything in your power to keep close. :) I LOVE the Helmintollers. I love Big ones, small ones, funny ones, even ones that married the Helmintollers. They are some awesome folk, and obviously brilliant! haha
These blocks were made for some lucky little kid that will grow up knowing the Helmintoller family. Sweet little Parker is still in his mama's belly growing stronger each day. I love praying for the little ones that I get to make blocks for. So Lord, be with Parker even now. Entertain him with all the great stories you have. Fill him with gifts, abilities and a lifetime of laughter. We thank you for Parker's life and all the people who will be touched by this little reflection of you. Bless his mum and dad in the days ahead as well!

This set was $30.00 plus shipping.

Nancy's Blocks

Here our some blocks I did for Nancy Bishay. She is an old Canadian friend. I emphasize "Canadian" because it will make her happy. There ARE very patriotic Canadians you know. lol
These blocks literally gave me a head-ache. The "F" went missing for a little while and then everything I needed started to go missing. My little two year old had popped up before bedtime. She is cute, but AWWWWWWW!!!!!
They are different from other blocks I've done. One side spells out HOPE, and has a scripture and a design block included. The other side spells out FAITH and also includes a scripture. This is what Nancy wanted. Depending on her mood, (she has many : ) she can have a different look/word for a different day! What more could a girl want. Nice touch Nance! Hope you love them girl! Water them once a day and set them in a high sunny place.

This set of six personalized Decor Blocks (4" by 4") is $90.00

Christmas in July

I have experienced serious, serious negative feelings for those people who feel it's time to start marketing in July for a holiday six months later.
Now that I have prefaced my feelings of disregard for these money hungry mongars, I can demonstrate serious hypocrisy by sharing with you some of my newest creations.
Yes, they are for sale. Yes, it is one hundred degrees. Yes it is July. What's really sad is that I felt, "in the spirit" while making them. I was singing Christmas carols and just having a "jingle" of a time. I had so much fun, I may have more to add in August! LOL

They are $35.00 for a set of three....and yes, you need them in your life!
I'm out, like a Christmas tree in July.

So I've been talked into it...here starts my blog!

I just spent the week with one of my bestest friends in the world, and one of my biggest block fans. I think my head nearly exploded with all her encouragement. Thanks Lis. I shall dedicate my first blog to you and your sweet daughter Kate.
What do you give to your best friends little girl? Why blocks of course! lol. Here is a picture of little Kate on our Amish ride through Amish Country, and little Kate's blocks. Keep them forever Katie bug! Your auntie made them with love!