Our Silobration Experience

We decided that going back to Magnolia Market for Silobration was kind of like going to camp as a kid. After our amazing experience at Spring at the Silos in March, we were so excited to return to the beautiful grounds and sweet friends we met last time around. The warmth of the Magnolia staff (camp counselors anyone?) and old and new friends like Summer Ellis, Marry Me in Spring, Hadley Girl, May Designs, Always Rooney, Refine 31, Andrea Howey & Co, A’del Natural Cosmetics, and Smitten on Paper made this event a welcome work getaway.

Going into the week, we knew there was rain in the forecast–lots of it! You may have been a part of the little prayer team we turned to on Instagram, and boy do we thank y’all for each and every prayer (stay tuned for how those prayers were answered!). Set-up on Tuesday turned out to mean wet trips back and forth to the truck and a little improvising to block out the water from our booth because paper plus rain is a no go as you can imagine! But after a long day’s work, it all came together beautifully.

Val’s cozy library-esque design was the perfect mix of pretty and practical–just like we like it! One of our favorite features of the fall booth was an “Answered Prayer Wall”. We asked YOU for stories of how you had seen the Lord at work and y’all (or rather, He!) did not disappoint. Even though we couldn’t use every single one for lack of space, we rejoice with you in each answer. Here are a couple we featured:

The VMP Yearly Prayer Journal has been a game-changer in keeping me consistently praying. In this last year, I’ve seen 3 friends who’ve struggled with infertility become pregnant or give birth and my husband’s heart has been softened to our family! Praise God!! – Elisabeth

My husband and I have been praying for God to help us with our debt and be financially free by the end of this year (this has also been a line item in my Yearly Journal every month). We’re so happy to share that by the end of this month we will be consumer debt free!! He has helped us in ways we didn’t even imagine. – Rebecca

Sometimes we can get discouraged that our prayers aren’t being heard or answered in the way that we want, so we wanted to provide a little hope for the friends entering our booth! It was fun to see how those who were drawn to the wall also felt empowered to share their own stories of answered prayer. One lady, in particular, told me the story of how she and her ex-husband’s wife were now experiencing restoration in their relationship, coming together to raise their daughter, after years of hurt. We both agreed enthusiastically that this is the kind of thing that only He can do. Prayer IS powerful and effective and the evidence is all around us. If you’ve been feeling a little hopeless lately, make sure to check out this recent post.

On a less serious, but hugely impactful note, we also included BIG books in our display–Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday, Fresh Start for Moms, and a Compose Prayer Journal. These got more than a few laughs and were so fun to use for “story times” as larger groups gathered into our booth!

Another big hit? Handing out our fall catalogues. This digital world has nothing on you paper loving gals! And since we had some left over from this weekend, we’ll be including them with each new order placed until we run out! OR you can scroll through the PDF version here.

Check out our Instagram accounts @valwoerner and @valmariepaper to see all our favorite stories from the trip! Here are just a few:

• Having a mother and daughter buy prayer journals for each of their small groups.
• A 12-year-old girl who runs a prayer group for her friends grabbing her first journal.
• Val receiving the first copy of her book, Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday!
• Having someone announce their pregnancy to their friend by holding up one of our pregnancy journals and then that friend sneaking back in later to get it for her. 😉
• A real-life prayer warrior who’s writing prayers for her grandkids said we had the best booth there!
• The sky finally clearing making for a beautiful Saturday! *praise hands*

This past weekend, we also debuted two limited edition Compose Prayer Journals and we’ll be adding them to the online shop at the beginning of November. If Moss Green or Blazer Blue sound like they’d make your Magnolia-loving heart very happy, sign up for our Monthly Peptalk below to be the first to know when they hit the shop!

– Kara Bryant, Social Manager for Val Marie Paper