Entries Tagged as: photography
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!
New Passions
February 12th, 2011, Comments (11)
I've become slightly obsessed with a couple new creative outlets. Things tend to come in waves with me, but for right now I'm feeling passionate about sewing and Instagram. How fun to have these new means of expression and creativity!
Sewing has been a good lesson for me in accepting imperfection, laughing and going ahead anyway. I think if I was too much of a perfectionist about it, I would have given up 500 times already. As I was making this latest project, a sweet little hoodie for baby from Anna Maria Horner's book, there were a lot of little mistakes made. The sleeves were hard to attach, I'm not always the best at sewing in a straight line, and I had to re-do a few things. I remember at one point thinking, "Um, I'm not sure this is going to look anything like a jacket at the end."
But I kept going, and magically at the end of it all, there was a sweet little baby jacket that I'm immensely proud of. I asked my blue bear to model it for me and he happily agreed.
Instagram (an iphone app) is another creative tool I've been enjoying. All the pictures above were taken with Instagram (if you join, I'm there as leah_art.) There's something about snapping pictures throughout the day that wakes you up to the tiny moments of beauty all around you. I love that. And it's fun to see the tiny moments captured in others' days as well. Times like this make me madly in love with technology and all it has to offer for creativity and connections.
Are there any new creative passions in your life this month?
