Entries Tagged as: linkage
2012 Goddess Year Workbook
January 17th, 2012, Comments (7)
I adore Goddess Leonie and her Creating Your Goddess Year Workbooks are always fabulous. What a delicious way to wrap up the year you've just gone through, celebrate all you are, and plan for the year to come. Leonie makes it easy with great prompts, questions, and spaces to dream. Here are a couple pages from my workbook.
A page with some loving affirmations, perfect as my word for the year is Love!
And here's a page about making your home what you want it to be in 2012. I decided I'd like to focus my energies on one room per month, doing some cleaning and clearing in that space.
It's still early in the new year and there's plenty of time to plan and dream up your 2012. You can grab a copy of Leonie's beautiful 2012 Creating Your Goddess Year Workbook here.
Popping In
May 19th, 2011, Comments (7)
I hope you've been enjoying the guest posts this month! I've got some fabulous ones to come this month and next and I'm so grateful to the creative souls who've been sharing their stories here, while I'm deep in new mama land.
Annabelle is keeping me on my toes! I feel like the last two weeks have been simultaneously the longest and shortest weeks of my life. It's amazing to be filled with so much love and so much exhaustion at one time, but oh, her cute little face and sweet snuggles make it all worth it. I know she won't be this tiny forever!
Before I return to the world of babyhood and the endless eat, sleep, poop cycle, here are a couple posts I saw recently that relate beautifully to this month's theme of BIG:
First, this post and video from Laura Hollick about being seen. I love her tips!
Second, a beautiful, post in images from Vivienne McMaster on Roots of She.
Enjoy!
Nursery
April 27th, 2011, Comments (64)
There are still a few tiny touches to put into the nursery, but I couldn't wait any longer to share this little room that I've been working so hard to create. I'm in love with it (it's definitely my favorite room in the house!) and hope our little girl will love it too. I've shared where I got some of these items at the bottom of this post, just in case anyone is curious.
At first I was thinking of doing a yellow and gray nursery, but the hubster didn't think it was feminine enough, so I went with aqua and yellow. Looking around for inspiration, I saw a gorgeous nursery that used the Robin's Nest paint color with yellow and happened to have a very similar crib to the one we bought! So we started with the crib and wall color and went from there.
I loved adding all the personal touches along the way. Customizing and hand-creating items really made the space magical for me. I sewed the crib skirt and curtains out of fabric I found online and painted the sweet, simple wall mural of trees, each with its own bird and/or woodland creature.
I enjoyed customizing items, like the mirror and lamp, which I painted to match the nursery. I also loved adding hand-crafted items from loved ones, like the quilt hanging over the chair, created by my talented cousin, Kim.
Looking to put something in the space to the right of the dresser, I combined the idea of the hubster (to paint another tree) and my best friend (to hang a growth chart), and painted a growth chart tree with a little bunny rabbit. I love how it came out. I'm planning to use white cut-out leaves (or birds or butterflies) made of contact paper, to mark her growth on the wall.
Here are some detail shots:
I fell in love with this clock from Decoylab early on (they make the coolest clocks!), but it was a bit translucent and looked off-white on the wall. So I painted it white to make it opaque. Perfect!! I love how it also looks a bit like a round moon on the wall.
This clothesline was hand-crafted by my best friend for my baby shower. Isn't it adorable? I love the little "A."
Here are some close-ups of the lamp. It fit so perfectly with with the little birdies and was easy to customize with some paint and a white lampshade.
It was fun combining items and art, my own (like "Lucy and the Elephant" and "Owl and the Pussycat" paintings) and that of others (like the Amy Ruppel encaustic above, and the polka dot bucket full of fans from Judean), that I already had in my possession, to decorate the room.
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I'm sure I'll be adding/subtracting and changing things up over time on the shelves.
And I had to share the little squirrel because he's a bit hidden, but so sweet. 
I hope you enjoyed the peek into my baby girls' nursery! We've got less than 2 weeks til my due date, so we'll soon be adding the best part: her!
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Sources:
Paint: Benjamin Moore Natura paint in Robin's Nest, applied by my step-dad (thanks, Gil!)
Crib: Babyletto Modo crib from Amazon.
Wall mural of trees, woodland creatures, and growth chart: Hand painted with acrylic.
Rug: notNeutral Seasons rug purchased from csnrugs.com
Curtains and Crib skirt: I made these myself with Premier Prints Suzani fabric in corn yellow from fabricguru.com. I used a slightly modified version of the Young House Love no-sew tutorial to create the crib skirt. I did sew the hem of the skirt, but I used her (brilliant) velcro idea for the top. There are blackout honeycomb shades hidden behind the valances.
Mirror and lamp: I purchased both at Home Goods and painted them to match the nursery. I changed the lamp shade to a simple white one.
Dresser, toy box, night stand, and bookshelf: Land of Nod (love their furniture!)
Nightlight: Oxo "Tooli." The hubster and I love this thing. It's super cute.
Baskets/buckets: The ones in and on the dresser (except for the small white one, which was a gift), book shelf, and next to glider are from The Container Store. The elephant bin next to the crib was a gift from my dad and step-mother, but I've seen them at Giggle.
Clock: Decoylab on Etsy (I painted it to make opaque white.)
Glider: Dutalier from Baby Furniture Warehouse (gift from my mom.)
Wall shelves: Home Depot. Artwork on shelves is by me! I'm not sure where the little bird/votive holders came from. I bought them for myself ages ago. The letter A was also a gift.
Mobile: Pottery Barn. I have to say, the mobile is super cute, but the music that went along with it was dreadful. We ended up buying a clearance mobile to change the music box part.
Art on top shelf of book shelf and hanging above it: Two paintings by me and "Urban love" encaustic by Amy Ruppel that I've had in my collection for years. The yellow polka dot bucket and adorable fans were created by my best friend as baby shower decorations. I had to take some home with me!
Clothesline (on the back of the door): Also by my best friend, Judean as part of a baby shower decoration. She hand-dyed the clothes and constructed them, which totally blew me away!
Any other questions, ask away!
Featured Creative Every Day Challenge Participants
March 31st, 2011, Comments (11)
Every so often, I love to share with you a glimpse into what some of the amazingly talented people participating in the Creative Every Day Challenge have been up to this month. I know it's hard to find time to see everyone's work, so hopefully this will give you a peek at some things you might not have seen otherwise. I wish I had time to share even more. You are all up to such amazing things and it's so inspiring!
First up are these sweet little owls from Karoline of What Karo'Line Did Next. I might have to try making some. I love owls too!
This gorgeous necklace is from Amanda Jolley of Hidden Art. I saw it on Flickr and fell in love!
This lovely collage about Home is from Rachel of art + food + friends. I love the Emily Dickinson quote in it, "Dwell in possibility."
I love the shadow in this beautiful landscape illustration by Nelleke verhoeff of yepr illustrations and inspirations.
I'm totally smitten with these gardening markers created by Ines of Daily Forward Tumble.
This tree sculpture was created by Jamie of Spunkyness. I love how she says it's a container for dreams. I think trees would make great dream containers!
And speaking of trees, check out this grand Eagle's nest captured in photography by Little Drum of The Dreaming Tree!
I'm loving the wonderful variety of work and the new worlds I see through your creative eyes. Thank you for sharing parts of yourself and keep on creating!
Loving Your Nest
March 16th, 2011, Comments (9)
Having the nest theme this month has got me thinking a lot about my home and the little and big ways we've been making it our own in the last year and a half. Many times it's the small touches (the pictures on the wall, the great piece of art you found while traveling, the vase you got as a wedding gift) that really make it yours.
Here are some of my favorite ways to love my nest:
1. Clear out the stuff you don't love. I think sometimes there's a guilt factor with stuff we get from family and friends or even things we bought and loved long ago, but no longer care for. These objects don't reflect who we are, but we keep them around because we don't want to be wasteful or ungrateful or simply because it's easier not to think about it. Moving can often help you get rid of excess stuff (less stuff to pack!), but you don't have to wait for a big move to move things out that longer sing to you.
You hereby have permission to release unloved objects into the world. Give these items to someone who could use them, sell them on craigslist, donate them, or just toss them. It's ok. By the way, you can also do this with clothes you haven't touched in over a year, books you'll never read, and food in your pantry that you'll never eat. It's freeing, you'll feel lighter after the fact, and you'll have more space for the things that speak to you!
2. Highlight the items you love. Frame that print you've had sitting in a drawer, your child's art, or that special picture of your pet, and hang them on the wall. Put out those special soaps you've been saving, light a candle in your favorite candle holder, pull out that beautiful blue bowl you only use at holidays. Use, share, and display the things that you love and you'll feel the glow of beauty all around you.
3. Treat your space: Flowers are a great way to bring some color and life into your space. I especially love to have them around before the flowers begin blooming outside. The smell can be fabulous too. You could also try pulling out a flowered tablecloth, making an arrangement of seashells in the bathroom, or sewing a pillow to go in your favorite chair. Just a little touch can make a huge difference in how you feel in your space.
4. Make the ordinary extraordinary. Arrange your shoes in a fun pattern in your closet, focus on the presentation of your food when you make dinner, sort your books by color, leave a trail of flower petals behind you when you walk out the front door. Be playful!
5. Dream your space: If your living space isn't what you'd like it to be. take some time to write and/or collage your ideal environment. I keep a blank journal with collaged images of spaces, with items and color combos that call to me. There are no rules or expectations in this journal, it's simply a play space to go with what inspires me in the moment and dream up new ideas.
Try writing 3 words you'd like to describe your space. How can you bring more of those things into your space today? this week? this year?
Need some help with the process?
I love the work of Jennifer Hofmann. I've take lots of her Office Spa day classes when I needed a clutter-clearing boost and found it enormously helpful. She's also got a 4 month "For Haven's Sake" class starting up in May!
I've also taken Goddess Leonie's Creating Your Goddess Haven e-course through her Goddess Circle and there's loads of juicy goodness there to help you love up your space.
Lastly, a friend forwarded me a beautiful article by Anna Kunnecke today and I followed a link within it to a course that starts next week called, The Queen Sweep, which focuses in on your home, your story, your closet, your calendar, and your wallet over five weeks. It sounds great!
Passionate Reading
February 9th, 2011, Comments (16)
As I was thinking about the Passion theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge, I looked up at my bookshelf and saw lots of inspiration there, so I thought I'd share! Here are just a few of my favorite reads that inspire passion in me, that are written with a certain firey passion, and/or encourage living a passionate life.
Ok, this one is top of the list for passion: The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark by Sera Beak. While this book might not be for everyone, I loved it. It's a book about spirituality that's got a great feminine vibe to it and it's written with great energy and a sense of humor. It's all about asking yourself meaningful questions, understanding more about what makes you tick, living with arms wide open, and "releasing your divinity into the world." The author also has a great website and blog: Spiritual Cowgirl.
Next up, is a book by SARK. I remember reading Succulent Wild Woman: Dancing with your Wonderf-Full Self and wanting to give the book to every woman I knew. It's juicy and delightful, bold and funny. SARK describes a succulent wild woman as, "A woman of any age who feels free to fully express herself in every dimension of her life." Sound good? The book goes own to talk about how to bring more of this wild succulence into your life with activities, drawings, and stories. She's a great storyteller.
I love this quote from a big new free happy unusual life by Nina Wise: "Creativity is about our capacity to experience the core of our being and the full range of our humanness." Yum! This book is all about connecting with yourself, your creativity, with others, and with life in general in a more playful, creative way. My copy is totally marked up with words and doodles. It's a one of my favorites.
Another favorite is The Book of Awakening, it's a daybook written by Mark Depo. The essays are amazing, but I'm mentioning it in this post because the writing has a certain passion in it, possibly informed by the author's relationship with life and death, as he wrote this while recovering from cancer.
It strikes me that most of these books have a certain spiritual edge to them. How interesting!
Anyway, I'm curious, what are some of your favorite passionate reads?
Soul Art TV
January 11th, 2011, Comments (5)
The truly amazing, Laura Hollick is launching a new show on Soul Art TV called the Creative Spiritual Revolution.
The show features interviews with Revolutionary Leaders with inspirational insights to ignite your own Creative Spiritual Revolution. Check out the launch here and stay tuned for my own interview on the show!
Leonie’s Goddess Circle
January 6th, 2011, Comments (7)
This year, I'm participating in Leonie's Goddess Circle, an online forum that is way more than a forum. For a set price ($99/year), you get access to a forum full of beautiful, interesting women from all over the world, plus (and this is a huge plus!) access to Leonie's fabulous 2011 Workbook and all of her e-courses and other goodies, such as the Creative Goddess e-course, Creating Your Goddess Haven e-course, Divine Dreaming Meditation Kit, among others. It's an amazing deal for all the fabulous things you get.
One thing I love about belonging to a forum like this, is that it can provide wonderful support for various aspects of life, from business to the personal. And one one thing I've learned about myself is that I thrive when I have wonderful support systems in place with like-minded souls.
The forum has sections for accountability, support for your growing business, a book group (they're doing The Artist's Way now), and others. I'm particularly excited about the section for mothers, as I love gathering wisdom from other women who are going through or have been through the process I'm in the middle of now.
For those of you who don't know Leonie, she is an amazing woman, new mom, and business owner. I admired her work before I met her online and am glad to now call her a friend. She's sweet as can be and full of such beautiful fire and sparkling, creative energy. Seriously, the girl is a total inspiration!
In the interest of full disclosure, the links I've provided are affiliate links, but I would 100% support Leonie's work without any added bonuses because I truly believe in her work. So if you feel called to do so, check out her Goddess Circle. Or if you're looking to bring some focus to your year, check out her 2011 Creating My Goddess Year Workbook.
If you're already part of the Goddess Circle, say hi to me there!
Preparing for Art Every Day Month
October 27th, 2010, Comments (29)
A few folks have asked on Twitter and by email how people prepare for Art Every Day Month. Do folks plan out the month, have one big project in mind, or just wing it day by day? I have seen many different approaches to AEDM and there is no right or wrong way to do it. I think you need to do what will work best for you. To help give you some ideas, I'll share how I prepare and share some links that show what a couple other people are doing.
What I do is a mix of preparing and playing it by ear. I usually go to my sketchbook before Art Every Day Month begins and look at ideas I've had, but not brought to life, make some notes about things I'd like to try or play with, and doodle to see if anything else is coming up. If there are some supplies I need before the month starts, I'll make a run to the art supply store and get stocked, so I'm all ready to go on day one. I think AEDM is a great opportunity to bring ideas to life that I've been wanting to do, but just haven't gotten around to it for whatever reason. For example, I've been wanting to paint a picture of the story "The Owl and Pussycat" for ages, but I haven't done it. I plan to next month!
Having some sketches I might like to play with is a good way to never feel like I'm out of ideas or don't know where to start. If I'm feeling uninspired on a particular day or days during November, I can turn to my sketchbook and pick one sketch as a starting point. These sketches may be fully formed ideas or they might just be a note like, "Tree with houses for leaves." If you don't have any sketches built up like this, try taking an hour before Art Every Day Month begins, to play and doodle and see what comes up. Or keep a notebook by your bed or in your purse so that you can capture ideas, doodles, and things that inspire you, before you forget them!
Along with the ideas and projects I know I want to tackle, I leave plenty of room open for creating in the moment with no plan in mind. I might even do this most days, as it allows me to play with whatever is coming up for me that day. I'll begin by asking myself what materials, colors, and mediums are calling to me in that moment and then I'll let my intuition guide my creations. It's a fun way to create and it often surprises me!
Here are what a few other participants are doing or have done in the past:
Last year, Wendy Edsall-Kerwin did a Doodle-A-Day during Art Every Day Month. This year, she's got a list of ideas for what she might do this year on her blog, including a very creative idea involving the periodic table of elements, which you can read about here.
On Twitter, Julie Jordan Scott wrote, "YAY! I am creating quite a goody-box of raw materials for #aedm2010. I am so gleeful to wake up & ask my heart, "What's next?"" Love the idea of a goody-box, Julie!
In 2009, Jennifer Lee did a drawing a day in a mini journal (so cute!) It allowed her to participate in the challenge in a way that was manageable for her during a busy month. And the drawings were fabulous!
If you feel like you might need some extra support through the process, check out the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide, which is a private blog with daily posts that provide prompts, links, quotes, and creative ideas to help keep you going throughout the month.
I hope that helps you think about how you'd like to prepare for Art Every Day Month. I'd love to hear how you prepare!
Fall Collage
October 22nd, 2010, Comments (10)
I've collaged together some rice paper prints of leaves and stamps that I made while in Judy Wise's class at Squam. Rice paper collages so beautifully! I plan to work with this image more, painting and/or drawing on top of it once it's dry. It definitely feels like fall and fits right in with the earth theme.
By the way, make sure the top on giant containers of gel medium are closed before you carry them around. Yikes! What a mess! Thankfully, I couldn't help but laugh, scrape up what I could salvage and clean up the rest.
Two quick things:
1. Today, I have a video up at SPRING, all about creativity, cycles and the beautiful community of Art Every Day Month. If you haven't checked out SPRING, please do. It's full of inspiration and this month the focus is all about creativity!
2. Art Every Day Month is right around the corner. It's a low pressure challenge that draws a great group of creatives every year. Your daily art could be jewelry, knitting, cooking, collage, drawing, anything else you can dream up or a great mix of lots of creative activities. I'll write more about it in the coming week, but you can read all about the process here and sign-up here.
And if you want to join in, but would like a little extra support, inspiration, and daily prompts to keep you going, you can sign up for the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide here.
