We've Been Minted!! // Boat & Buoy Print Up for Sale now

If you're following along with the Scripture Memory / Dwell Richly printable, here's the verse for week 23: 

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8b (NIV)

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Y'all. Earlier this year, I entered a few designs into the Three Cheers! Minted x West Elm's 3rd Art Challenge. It was my first time submitting any work into Minted but my good friend, Ashley Ottinger, suggested I take the leap and submit a few things. I entered a couple of art pieces, a few handlettered designs and a number of photographs from our travels. 

By the time the deadline hit, there were 5,220 submissions. [Read that number again if you must.] My immediate thought: Well, there goes that. At least I tried. 'A' for effort and 'A' for putting myself out there. Self-doubt, at its finest, my friends. 

A couple of months went by and the email popped up in my inbox. "Challenge Winners."

[Panic Attack]

I started scrolling down then just took the non-anxious way out and hit "ctrl > F > Whitney" (i.e. I searched for my name so that I didn't have to tax myself with not being able to find each entry). And there it was. TWICE!!! 

You have no. idea. how stinkin' excited I was when I saw that TWO of my entries won Minted Editors' Picks. Out of 5,220 submissions!!!! [insert dancing around the house, a mixture of full-blown belly laughter and screaming at the top of my lungs and sore arms from 'raising the roof' way too hard.]  

Full disclosure: I obviously cannot take full credit for these awards. These are absolutely considered Jitney photos. They were both taken during our travels, during adventures that JD and I were able to share. He probably took the same photos on his iPhone but from a different angle. ;) We seriously need to get that man a camera. He'd win all of the challenges. 

One of the entries "Boat & Buoy" was officially launched last night. The other entry "Tidal Pools & Crashing Waves" will launch later this fall. You can purchase the Boat & Buoy print with a frame (take your pick from the lovely ones offered) or unframed from a size of 5" x 7" to 44" x 60". 

Story behind the print: JD and I were driving through the Swiss Alps on an autumn evening in 2012. The sun had set and the rain subsided, only the fog remained. We saw this lone sailboat with a buoy bobbing attached to it and couldn't resist stopping along the road to capture the serenity and mystery of this truly picturesque scene. It's a special piece from our 'Jitney World Exploration Collection', one that is close to our hearts and will forever be engrained in our memory.

P.S. Please know that it took a lot of coercion for me to post about these awards. Thank you to all of my friends who remind me that posting news like this is all about celebrating and that we shouldn't hide the exciting things that God is doing through us and our business! In the words of John F. Kennedy (and echoed to me by Lauren McCaul), "Rising tides lift all boats." 

twenty7

I apologize for the lateness in the week, but f you're following along with the Scripture Memory / Dwell Richly printable, here's the verse for week 5:

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25 (NIV) 

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I was hoping to have an amazing post ready for today that would blow your mind and motivate you to no end. But that didn't happen. [today is my 27th birthday - whoop whoop!]

The past week or so, I've been working super hard trying to get art pieces and some of our travel photography ready for the Three Cheers! Minted x West Elm's 3rd Art Challenge. It's the first challenge I've entered (thanks for the encouragement, Ashley O.) and entering a Minted challenge was one of my top goals for the year. Since I've gotten to the point where I set my goals for the year on my birthday rather than New Year's (procrastination has gotten the best of me), I'd say I'm knocking them out pretty well so far. ;) 

You can help! Click on the 'Minted | Vote for Me' button to the right or here and vote on some of my entries. Be careful though, Minted can warp you in and before you know it, you've voted on 99 pieces and saved at least 110 to your wishlist. All in good fun, right? 

JD and I will be picking up my new annual Moleskine tonight so be on the lookout for the real twenty7 post coming soon! (The Moleskine helps me to collect my thoughts.)

And, because I know you've missed reading about Japan this week, I can't leave you hanging... Here's one of our favorite souvenirs from the trip: A manga artist from the Kyoto International Manga Museum drew / painted / manga-nized this canvas for us. It's currently hanging on our travel wall and we just can't get enough of it.