FLASH SALE

Let me cut right to the chase then give you the story afterwards.

I have two CUSTOM listings that I am marking $10 off for one day only. Monday, October 26, 2015 in the morning until 11:59 PM the following two signs will be reduced. All sales must be made through Etsy. These signs may take up to 8 (EIGHT) weeks to be finished depending upon the volume of orders. They will all be made and ship/be ready for pick up prior to Christmas. If you want to pick up your sign use the code PICKUP at checkout on Etsy. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS CODE IF YOU ARE NOT PICKING UP!!! In the drop down menu I listed the most frequently purchased colors. If you do not see the color you would like simply choose "other" and in the Notes to Seller box at check out write out the color you would like instead using the color sample chart that is pictured in the last photo of the listing.

1.) Regularly $40+tax, this one is marked to $30+tax. (Click link below for full information)

Personalized Mark 10:9

2.) Regularly $35 reduced to $25. This is a STEAL!!!

Order this sign HERE!

Now the fun part. The story. Many of you may know that the past week my husband and I have been gallivanting in Charlottesville, Virginia, acting as though we haven't a care in the world, let alone four children! And why? We were celebrating!! December 17, Trent and I will be married for ten years. In honor of our tenth anniversary I am marking these two signs, which recognize the value of a committed, Christ-centered marriage, down by TEN dollars. 

This idea popped into my head months ago when we started planning our trip. Originally I wanted to have the sale on our anniversary, but that is the very end of the busiest time of the year for Mama Hess. (I mean, who gets married the week before Christmas?? Oh yeah, us crazy, in love kids.)  So, there you have it. A great sale for you and a fun way to encourage your marriage, or a loved one's marriage!  I can't wait to see the colors each of you choose for your special sign.

 So: happy {early} anniversary to us and merry {early} Christmas to y'all! Look for a blog post of our trip - hopefully soon!!

Another Break & a Break Through

I know what you're thinking. "Didn't you just take a break?" And the answer is, "Yes." And I'll beg you to forgive me for this unusual behavior. So, the last day to order will be Wednesday, October 7th. I will reopen Monday, October 26th.

Favorite photo from my last break.

I PROMISE this will be my last break until my regularly scheduled break from when I stop taking Christmas orders. I will take a break from the Christmas cut off (Nov. 30) until the end of January. This gives me time to make all the Christmas orders before Christmas, and then breathe a little and even create some new designs that I've been wanting to do. Early in November I have a craft show I'll be at for all you locals who want to come out. More details closer to the date.

AND - I will be offering a FLASH SALE on the Monday I re-open. It will only be on two signs, but you can customize them and they will be finished before Christmas. I am so so excited to offer these to you all, so check back. I've never done a flash sale before. Ever. So this is going to be really big. You will love it. I promise!

For those of you who like my personal updates I have a really exciting one for you. As you probably know, I am not just a sign painter, I'm also a homeschool mama. And this year has been TOUGH for us! I have one Kindergarten student and two second graders. I've been challenging my Kindergartner to push herself to read. She WANTS to read, and knows the letter sounds and can sound out words. However, she has had a hard time NOT sounding a word out. She will sound out the name "Pam" every time it appears, even though she just read the same word one page ago.

That little girl on the far left is now a reader!!

Yesterday, it clicked. It was the quintessential light bulb moment. It made sense that every time she sees the letters p-a-m in that order, it will say Pam. And the same with the rest of the words in the little book she was reading over and over. She was SO excited to run to her big sisters and show them that SHE CAN FINALLY READ! And the way they gushed over their little sister and her big accomplishment was beyond precious. Then she waited for Daddy to get home to reveal her BIG SECRET. She wouldn't tell him all through dinner what the secret was. After she finished eating she ran for her little book and read it to Daddy.

Of course, my dear husband who has supported me through all the really rough days we were having lovingly encouraged me to write this down. On the really hard days where I'm sure I'm ruining my kids' (and my) life, I can look back and remember why I'm doing this. I wouldn't trade this moment for all those hard days wrapped together. And such is parenting, isn't it? It's like those old ladies in the grocery store who are always telling you to cherish every moment because they go so quickly. And yes, even if the little old ladies are a little fuzzy on whether their child ever had tantrums, they are crystal clear on one thing.

It is worth it.

Mother's Day is on the Way

It's hard to believe that Mother's Day is right around the corner, I feel like we just celebrated Christmas!

Last year was a very busy time for me making signs that were sold through my Etsy store. I wanted to give you all some ideas for moms, and give you a gentle reminder of an order deadline. :)

MOTHER'S DAY ORDER DEADLINE - if you need your sign shipped, please order by Sunday, April 26, 2015!!! If you are local and want to pick up, please order by Tuesday, April 28, 2015. I'm currently at about a 7-10 day lead time, but I have some commitments coming up where I will not be able to work as much.

Not everything is listed in my Etsy store yet. I'm working on a small amount of inventory for us (yes, this includes me) last minute shoppers.

First up - this Jen Hatmaker quote has been my most popular sign on Etsy. At the time of this writing I have one ready-to-ship/ pick up listed in my Etsy store.

This exact sign is available here.

 If you want to customize this sign in your choice of colors, or look at a few other samples follow this link.

This sign for a laundry room/nursery is also available now.

You can find this one also listed in my Etsy Store.

This sign can be customized here.

Those two signs are currently what is trending in my Etsy Store. These makes great gifts for a husband to give to a wife. Ladies, the Etsy links seem to work well for men. Be sure to tell your husband what colors you like.

If you are shopping for YOUR mom, now that's a different story! I have a variety of signs specifically for Grandparents. The two I'm going to share with you have many different options, but none of these are listed in my Etsy Store. You may contact me on my Facebook Page : Mama Hess Painting.

Current prices for these signs are $30 (without clothespins) or $35 with clothespins. These signs are approximately 8"x24". You can customize colors and number of pins. Clothespins can be painted or stained to match your colors. I currently have two signs available.

1. Shown with a black background, cream "grandkids" and gray "make life grand". It currently does not have any pins attached but that can be done if you desire.

This sign is available now!

 2. Grandkids - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Shown stained "golden oak" with black lettering. This sign has twine securely attached for you to hang your clothespins from (this allows for more space and is flexible if the number of grandkids continues to grow!)

This sign is available NOW.

This sign can be customized without any pins, with pins attached directly to the sign, or with the twine.

THIS IS SOLD! This is to give you an example of what the sign looks with the clothespins attached.

Thank you all so much for your continued support of my little business! It's truly a joy!

**All PA sales are subject to a 6% sales tax. Prices are subject to change as time progresses. Please contact me via private message on my Facebook Page with any questions.**

Today I will be Thankful

I have a new sign that I made at the beginning of 2015. Tonight (or this morning) I am working on the third copy of this sign.

To see this sign finished, you can find it in my Etsy store HERE.

The sign reads:
Today I will be thankful, for all the little socks and the grass-stained jeans, and the endless piles of laundry. For there will come a day when the laundry basket is empty, and these days will be profoundly missed.

Friends, if you look closely in the above photograph you will notice the top of a laundry basket. This was not a staged photograph. I recently bragged (oh how I hate to admit this) how my children are SO healthy. We are rarely sick. And you know that sweet little Proverb (Proverbs 16:18 to be exact) which says this "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.". Oh, you guessed it. This weekend we were sick. Sick, sick, SICK. First the husband, then the baby. Then the second oldest, then the third. Then me. Yes, me. Prideful, prideful me. Only one escaped, our oldest, dear Anne. Sweet, helpful Anne.

I digress. Here I am at 12:30 a.m. on my twelfth load of laundry for the day, painting a sign about laundry, and how these days will be profoundly missed. And I got to thinking - is this true? Is this really, actually true? Will I profoundly miss the days of cleaning vomit off my one-year-old? Or washing load after load of laundry that has been puked on? Or waking up in the night to change those sheets? 

And I prayed. I prayed for the sweet, dear Mama who will receive this sign. As she looks at it hanging in her laundry room as she washes load after load of clothes and sheets for her little ones, who won't always be little, I prayed that these words will be a reminder to her to keep pressing on. Because the Lord sees the good work she is doing. I don't. I don't even know her, but the Lord does.

And you know what? I think that maybe, just maybe, these days will be missed. I think of my own mom, who washed load after load of stinky soccer clothes for me. Often late at night because I would remember, "Oh mom, we have a home game tomorrow and my white jersey is dirty. Can you wash that for me? Thanks!" and I would hop into bed, knowing full well that my mom would have that jersey washed and dried and ready for me the next day. Because that's what moms do. 

I don't know about you, but that's the kind of mom I want to be. Maybe my kids won't remember anything about me doing their laundry, but they will know they always had clean clothes to wear (okay, maybe they won't always have matching socks - but that might be taking things just a little too far).

So friend, wherever you are tonight, I hope that you can be thankful for all those little mis-matched socks. Because these days will be profoundly missed. Don't believe me? Go ask your mom.