Lessons learned for Maggie

God has taught me several lessons in just this short week.  I have been blown away by the support I have seen from people I know and love, and others I don't know but value their love and support.

Things I have learned:

A lot of people love Maggie.

7 canvases will not be enough.

People want to help in so many different ways.  I have seen the Body the way God designed it to work.  People volunteering their time, giving their money and even bigger... their encouragement. 

Here are most of the different color options I have available on Etsy.  From left to right, Turquoise and Brown, Cream and Black, Cream and Brown, Gold and Brown, and Red and Black.

Here all of the paintings I have had ordered since opening the Etsy shop on Dec 30th (5 days).  I am pleased to say that I have completed all but 1 (cause I ran out of red paint... what can a girl do?). 

These are custom color requests.  From left to right: Cream and Blue, Gray and Brown, and Cream and Red. 

In doing all of these paintings, there has been fear that I hadn't expected.  I am concerned that the people that have ordered the paintings won't like them.  I have had rejection in the past from others (concerning my crafts/sewing etc.) and the thought keeps creeping up in the back of my mind.  I keep telling myself that the main reason people are ordering these paintings is 98% for Maggie and 1% because they love the Hendersons, or my family and 1% because they like the picture.  That doesn't leave much room for an issue. 

God's goodness and loving kindness has shown itself over and over.  I have had countless people tell me how beautiful the crosses are, and many of the people that have ordered them have shown excitement for the project and for when they get their paintings.  

Another fear that has popped up that I wasn't expecting is financially getting in over my head.  I had a chaotic day getting 5 paintings in the mail today.  I had just guessed on the price of shipping, without really doing my homework.  I mean how much can shipping really cost anyway??? ALOT!  

I had assumed that I could get the "if it fits it ships" boxes and mail them out with no problem.  The actual problem:  a box that fits a 11 x 14 painting cost almost $40 to ship and is way too big for just a painting!! Yikes!  I wasn't ready for that this morning.  I passed on those boxes and then started looking at other options.  Shame on me for not being prepared... but hey, I'm learning as I go.  After going to the USPS for the flat rate boxes, then UPS for advice, I ended up at Staples buying bubble wrap and bubble wrapped envelopes big enough to ship all of Texas (I'm joking) and fearing that it was going to cost $8 just to ship the canvas. 

I ran a few more errands before coming across the dollar store on a whim (or by the Lord's goodness).  I took a quick trip down the paper isle to find 5x7 envelopes. Leaving disappointed, I saw a white box on the ground waiting to be stocked on the shelves.  It was still sealed, but read "12 x 18 bubble wrapped envelopes."  I thought it was mislabeled at first.  I helped myself to looking in the box, and realized this was just what I was looking for at 1/2 the cost of the envelopes from Staples.  You better believe I made a return to Staples!  When I got to the post office (for the 2nd time today) it ended up costing between $4.00 and $4.50 for shipping each canvas!  (AKA the finances are working out the way that I planned.)

All that to say... I was freaking out for no reason.  Yes, it was a chaotic day, but God took care of the financial part that I couldn't control.  And yes, Paco helped me get organized! :)

If you are interested in a cross, let me know!  Feel free to share my blog or etsy page to others! :)  You can order any way you can contact me :)

www.thehazzardoushousewife.blogspot.com

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HazzardousHousewife?ref=l2-shopheader-name