It comes in THREE's...

Whenever the good Lord is trying to get my attention, he alway's does it in sets of threes. The topic of this week's post was brought to my attention, not surprisingly, 3 times before I thought "maybe I should write about this!"
1) To Write Love On Her Arms - The featured "charity of the month" that Lisscat Creations is choosing to proudly support. TWLOHA is an organization that brings hope and healing to those who are suffering from depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. www.twloha.com

2) Whole Body Grace - My favorite health and wellness blog out there! (Ok, its my sister's organization, so I may be a little biased, but still, its awesome!) Last week WBG shared a blog post that was not only personal, but very deep, comforting and inspirational. Click here to read a young woman's struggles that almost brought her down, and how she bounced back from them.

3) Death - Recently we have lost two young, beautiful and talented woman.  Leslie Carter Ashton and Whitney Houston. Each of these woman had impacted the lives of those around them. They each shared a passion for music, had beautiful daughters, and both sadly lost their lives this past month.
I do not know them, and am only going off information released by the media, but it appears drug abuse may have played a role in these tragedies. Drug abuse is an addiction and often associated with feelings of depression or dark thoughts.

And so three times, I was reminded that there are so many people out there who are hurting. Just because they are smiling, does not mean their hearts are not silently breaking.

I feel a strong confirmation about donating to TWLOHA this month. As taken from TWLOHA's vision statement:

You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.


Please consider purchasing an original Lisscat Creations "ARMED WITH LOVE" handmade card.
Each card is only $12.50 and 10% will be donated directly back to To Write Love On Her Arms.
Keep it for yourself as a reminder of your self worth on your 'rainy days', or even better, purchase one for a friend who needs a smile.
You can order "ARMED WITH LOVE" cards directly at www.lisscatcreations.com/shop or email me at melissa@lisscatcreations.com. I'll even ship it for free! In the continental US only.


Be blessed,
Me-

What's LOVE got to do with it?

Here's our take on the age old question "What's LOVE got to do with it?"

LUV BUGZ - Two 4" x 4" hand painted wooden plaques. Acrylic on wood, with decorative ribbon for hanging. ($31.50 for the set)



1. Valentine's Day - Presenting the first ever Lisscat Creations Valentine's Day plaques. A cute way to celebrate the holiday that's all about chocolate... oh, we mean love! ;-)

ARMED WITH LOVE CARD -  5" x 7" hand crafted card. Featuring a print of the "Armed with Love" watercolor painting, set on black textured paper. Fashioned with a rhinestone between the 'love - hope' text. Comes with 1 white envelope. ($12.50)

2. This month, thanks to your great suggestions, we have made "To Write Love On Her Arms" the charity of the month! 

What does that mean? It means that 10% of all artwork sold will be donated back to TWLOHA.

We were so inspired by the hope that TWLOHA brings, we created the "Armed with Love" painting.

This original watercolor painting was such a hit, it sold within 10 minutes of its premier online.

So to help raise money for TWLOHA, and to share the hope, we created the "Armed with Love" card.

We'd love for you to pick one up for your friends, or for yourself and help share the hope!

To get your "Armed with Love" card and other great artwork, click here!

For information on "To Write Love On Her Arms" visit : http://www.twloha.com/

Wind of Hope

Today is the one year anniversary of the historic and devastating flooding that overtook Nashville last year.
It's crazy to think that almost one year later, our neighbors to the south are suffering their own devastation thanks in part to last week's tornadic storms.
I am so humbly blessed for our safety (the storms passed right by us) but heart broken for those effected in Alabama, Eastern Tennessee, and elsewhere. We have all seen the footage of once bustling towns, now flattened after the EF 4 tornadoes ripped through them. Heartbreaking.


Today a friend told me a story about a woman who had just adopted twp german shepherds. They were older dogs, and had just retired from the police force. During the storm, the dogs were separated from their owner. Later the dogs were returned to her, but not without their own heart warming story. After the tornados struck, the dogs kicked into action. Their training from the police force and searching for people, came as a natural instinct. Thanks to these dogs, 80 people were found and pulled from the rubble!
As an animal lover, I think this story is one of hope, and shows how God works in all ways, even through our furry friends!
This week's image is my new hand painted card "Wind of Hope".
$5 of each card purchased will be donated to help the tornado victims in Alabama.
The card resembles our classic "River of Hope" card for Nashville, but was created with Alabama in mind (notice the red).
Please support this effort!

get art. give hope.


Cards can be purchased here: www.lisscatcreations.com/cards

PINK....is the new HOPE

As many of your may have noticed, it is October. And with that comes cool weather, beautifully colored landscapes, warm apple cider...and Breast Cancer Awareness month!

I spent a lot of time trying to find a good charity to give back to this month. And then God laid it in front of me to help to find a cure for breast cancer! It seems that everyone has been effected, or atleast knows someone who has been effected by cancer. So for all those of you who have dealt with this, my prayers go out to you. I hope that this week's painting will help to give you the hope and peace you need to keep pushing forward. 
I would encourage you to send this to someone who may need a pick-me-up, or a little hope to keep on living!
Just a reminder that no matter how rocky your journey seems, God is with you the whole way, and in only an amazing way that He could plan, there is a special purpose lying for you down the road.

Each hand painted card is only $15.00 and $5 of that will be donated directly back to charity to help fight breast cancer. For  those confusing legal reasons, I am not allowed to  mention the charity's name but they are extremely well known and the initials are SGK. Trust me, your donation will be going towards a good cause. 

Please consider getting one and sending someone a smile in this new fall season!


Click here to get your "A Shade of Hope" painting for Breast Cancer.

www.lisscatcreations.com/cards 

Fighting with a paintbrush...

I always try to make my blog titles way more interesting than they actually are, but hopefully you all enjoy them anyway! :-)
This week's title is a play off of 'get art.give hope' and our featured charity. This month LC is donating $5 of the featured "wings of hope" card to help fight Lupus. We are donating to a great charity called the Dorough Lupus Foundation, founded by Howie Dorough after the passing of his sister to Lupus. (For more information please visit www.doroughlupusfoundation.org)  I really do believe in our little slogan 'get art.give hope' and I guess thats how it came about so naturally. By getting art from Lisscat Creations, you are helping to give hope to the charity we are donating too. You are also giving hope and inspiration to the soon to be receiver of the card you purchased. May sound cheesy, but we really can help fight this Lupus with a paintbrush!
Please consider picking up one of these cards over the next week. Maybe you have a friend or family member effected by Lupus. One of my 'adoptive grandma's out in Arizona is living with Lupus everyday. She is a strong and beautiful woman and is a shining example of hope!
I hope this card can touch you or someone you know. Right now we are at $15 raised for DLF, thanks to all of you who have contributed.
As always you can order your card at www.lisscatcreations.com/cards

God Bless!!

Playing around can be successful

So last week I shared my excitement over the shopping trip to the art store. This week I just wanted to share some of the results of last weeks' "play time".
I have had it on my heart for a long time to make these cards, and get them out there. The making them part is fairly easy (other than trying to find the time!)...its the 'getting them out there' part that seems to be hard for me.
Last week I was particularly motivated to create, and stayed up late to finish some cards for a few co-workers. I just wanted to take the time to say "thank you" to them for who they are, and let them know how blessed I am to work with them.
Coincidentally (or not) a lot or drama and hurt feelings broke out in the workplace the day after the day after I handed out the cards. This is the second time I felt pushed to get the cards out to people, right before a chaotic event broke out.
Now part of me wants to think, "Ok last time I give cards to people! They are bad luck!" But it in my right mind, I know God had me create these for a reason. I am not sure how or if the cards helped those involved in the drama last week, but I do trust that God will use them to bring some healing and comfort. After all, that's why I created Lisscat Creations...everyone needs a pick-me-up now and then.
Go do something nice for someone this week. Don't wait until a chaotic event to happen. What you do might just brighten their day, or give them the strength they need on stormy day.