little pieces of my soul...

...every January

i find myself clearing away

 things in my home and studio

i suppose one could say

that i am re-calibrating...
~ a new beginning ~
so to speak,
and a constructive approach
during these cold, long winter months
while waiting for spring to arrive :)

it is a ritual

that i have grown to look forward to

after all the hustle and bustle of holiday delights

this year,
i feel an urge to not only clear away the clutter in my studio ~

but to also

clear away the clutter in my heart
 for after awhile,
toxic buildup can weigh heavy on you!!

perhaps a few of you feel this way too?!

i believe it is important to listen to the cues

that your heart, mind and soul give you.

so i have begun a quest, 

upping challenges beyond my "comfort zone"

to strengthen my body

by participating in yoga ballet.

(a strong core = sound heart)

to nurture my heart
by taking the time

and immersing my mind into

such books as "The Artist's Way" 

"inner EXCAVATION"

and

"Positive Energy" 

(sound heart = creative energy)

and allowing my creative core

 the freedom to dance outside the lines that i've drawn for myself

(creative energy = soul print expressions)

and i must say

i am excited with the conscious effort
to dwell in the possibilities!!

  

as of late, i have been noticing a slide in my blog postings.

when i began this blog,
i made a promise to myself that "blogging"
would always be from my best, authentic self
and not be tainted by frustration,
negativity, comparisons or unwanted outside voices/influences
but to instead,
always be a place of inspiration and beauty.

the nurturing feedback
 and friendships formed within this blogging community
have blessed me beyond what i could have possibly imagined.
i enjoy sharing with all of my dear readers
the things from my heart and soul...

of course there have been moments of despair
and heart bruises!
enlightenment to a better you is not supposed to be easy ~
but
i take comfort in this constant truth
that it IS
 a unique journey that only you can write
and we can all choose to be a positive heart!

today,
i am sharing what my creative soul print has been up to!

"flutter"

a silk nuno felted poetry piece

...complex and interwoven,

spun from the finest silks and fibers ~

with ethereal touches of gossamer beauty.

ours, are hearts of wonder

and crave other worldly delights

as we flit and flutter

to and fro ~

in search of those intangible moments

 that simply take our breath away...

this nuno felted fiber poetry piece comprises of layer upon delicate layer of details:

 infused bits of lace, threads of iridescent fibers and fine silk, 

that radiate from within and can be seen clearly when held up in the light 

 handwoven over with mohair yarn, gossamer linen threads

and embellished with a diaphanous silk fairy and tiny glass pearl beads.

this is the first creative soul print of the year...

it is also my desire in this post,

to send out love and encourage you dear hearts out there

that also have a deeper creative yearning, 

to keep stretching your wings

and to keep honing that which makes you happy inside

for you will never know the opportunities that await,

until you try!!

believe in YOU

and just DO IT!

here's to a new year full of possibilities!

~snow angels~

 

 

 

...as i peered out my window this morning

the grey, cloudless sky
seemed to delight in flitting down more snow

yes ~

MORE

 of that fluffy white stuff

i seem to ONLY desire at christmas time!

 

 i am *definitely* more of a beach kinda girl:)

 

so as i anxiously wait upon springs arrival ~

1 week from now

YEA!!!

 i will be sharing my farewell to winter today

 

i give you

 

 ~snow angels~

 

 

 

 

you may count yourself fortunate

if you were to ever see...

 

 

 

 

a pair of divine snow angels

as lovely as these...

 

 

 

 

...i spied them gliding upon crystallized frozen water droplets

 

 

 

 

sprinkling their delightful, ethereal magic

as they trudged through the snow...

so i grabbed my camera

and followed them awhile

for there were things that i wanted to know!

 

 

 

 

it was then that they revealed that

sometimes they grow weary

and need a restful day

so they head out into the wide open fields ~

 

 

 

 

their most favorite place to play!

 

 

 

 

and i found that if you ask them

ever so nicely

they may "pose" in a photo for you

 

 

 

 

for who wouldn't want to catch a glimpse

of something so rare

 

 

 

 

as lovely as these snow angels

with ringlets of fine, spun hair?!

 

 

 

 

of course you may have to bribe them

with a snow angel treat

... or two

 

 

 

 

oh joy!

i just happened to have on hand

a plate of meringue snowflakes

and homemade smores ~

perhaps that would do?!

 

 

 

 

 with glistening eyes

and much to my surprise,

they assured me that their answer was

YES!

 

 

 

 

i stepped back with a wondrous heart

and tried to take it all in...

 

 

 

 

it has been such a magical day...

 

 

 

 

for there is nothing quite like a big grin

 from such delicate creatures

 beaming from within...

 

 

 

 

and as we bid our adieus ~

 they turned to walk away,

 

 

 

 

i whispered my gratitude to those lovely snow angels,

that i caught a glimpse of that day.

 

 

the end.

 

i hope you enjoy seeing snow angels today:)

 

sharing this post with:

timewashed: blissful whites wednesday

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

common ground's: be inspired friday

my romantic home's: show and tell friday

 

 

...here's to lovely snow angels!

 

 

 

 

 

...missing you terribly my dears!

 

 

 

 

i'm trying to find my way back

truly i am

 

~ but ~

 

fluffin' this nest has been taking everything i've got!!

 

top

to

b

o

t

t

o

m

 

my wand has touched it all...

 

i started with the worst room in the house:

the kitchen

 

my mom suggested i take before photo's

i. did. not.

i was too mortified,

as you can not

~i repeat~

CAN NOT

even imagine how hideous it was!!

 

the walls and cupboards were SHINY brown

and the counter tops were,

are you ready for this?

yellow!!

bleahk!!!

 

the previous tenants did their worst,

so to speak,

on maintaining this home.

hence my long absence

 

yes my loves,

it has been a challenge!

the walls were washed with a "silver lining" blue

and the counter tops were painted

with krylon's counter top paint in dove grey

aahhhhhh

serenity is bliss!!

 

 

 

 

what you are seeing here is my kitchen window

the lighting is terrible.

we are on a wooded lot and sunlight is scarce:(

so sparkle and shine was absolutely necessary in my makeover...

i started with the sheerest cotton organdy fabric

i could get my hands on,

and spun them into these "cupcake" window ruffles

(don't you love the sound of that??!) 

i wanted light dancing off of the walls

and in order to do that

you need crystal!

i searched hi and lo for a small crystal pedant light to no avail

soooo,

i whipped one up!

this WAS a crystal candlestick votive

(wink, wink)

and with my handy dandy dremel tool,

and a polished silver pendant kit,

it became this!

 

 

 

 

i love the dancing light sparkles that it produces!!

 

now,

this is by far

the smallest kitchen i have lived with

and cupboards are scarce here too

~but~

i need beauty!!

so off came a door

and faux bead board wallpaper went up

along with a light on a dimmer switch,

added two glass shelves

and crystal prisms to a piece of metal stamping

and voila!!

 

 

 

 

somewhere to put my beautiful bubble glasses!!

 

 

 

 

and this fabo "silver lining" inspiration holder from a kindred soul

is showcased oh-so-lovely now,

between two silk ribbon wrapped candles...

 

 

 

 

i have a slight obsession for iridescent bubble glasses

they make anything fizzy simply magical!!

 

 

 

 

the center room light throws delightful shadows on the ceiling

casting away any residual "eewness" from what it once was...

 

 

 

 

as i find the time,

i will be back to share the other magical things going on

in the land of odds...

 

 

 

 

and hopefully you will be inspired

to wave YOUR magic wand

wherever you are

as you can make it beautiful too

even if it's temporary!!

 

 

 

 

be good to yourselves my dears...

 

next time,

i'll show you just what IS

a "looking glass" chalkboard!!

 

 

 

 

until then

 

hug,

hug,

kiss, kiss!!

 

 

here's to silver linings and all things sparkly!

 

...a beautiful tattered cloth

 
...hello dear readers

can you tell me what you see here:

this isn't a trick question...

and

there is no hidden Waldo in there

lol!!

but seriously,

do you see ~

 part of a chair,

an enamel pitcher of lavender,

some green grass

and

a cotton crochet lace tablecloth too??

a lovely image, 

no??!

i was thrilled the day i found that table cloth

 pictured over the arm of the chair,

...

and it would be a generous statement indeed,

to say that it was without some flaws...

at first i thought that i would use it to cut up

and make a lot of different pretties out of it

as it was already tattered and torn...

some might even say, ruined

but,

i decided to stitch up a few of the larger holes instead...

a funny thing happened as i was stitching those broken threads

#1  there were a lot more holes than i thought upon closer inspection,

which took a few more breaths of my time

so

#2  i started thinking to myself,

in how that i was similar to this tattered cloth

no, i don't have any physical breaks

 my holes and broken threads

are more in the form of

~ broken dreams ~

~ heart aches ~

~ sorrows ~

but...

don't

we

all

have

 those?

some tatters are way BIGGER than we care to admit,

or even acknowledge ~

but

they are there...

strings hanging...

~ loose ends ~

almost like they are taunting us ~

sometimes almost beyond repair...

woa there!!

that's a pretty nasty lookin' hole!!

i'm not sure that THAT hole can be repaired...

but when we look beyond the obvious gaping hole staring at us,

and dwell in the possibilities instead...

then,

we are able to turn those nasty, gnarly parts of ourselves into

BEAUTY!!

yes,

you heard me correctly~

i said

Beauty!!

it has been said that

"beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

so isn't the question we should be asking ourselves

then become:

WHO, is my beholder?

what if we choose to allow love to wash over us,

 instead of,  let's say,

fear,

self doubt,

jealousy

and

 the list goes on...

by choosing love,

then we can see that all things ARE possible

and

s-l-o-w-l-y

 we can begin to see progress

and even though those repair stitches may not be exact,

they can still render this tattered tablecloth lovely

 and 

still useful.

if only for one last time

and by using threads of love, hope and gratitude

to stitch our broken strings,

we can become stronger

and even more lovely than before...

because now,

when our fingers run over those repaired stitches

or

~ scars ~

we can see,

that in the bigger picture

we were always meant to be

 BEAUTIFUL!!

sharing this over at

Faded Charm's: White Wednesday

i will have a few of these faux grain sack

"flower gatherer's" available

they measure approximately 24" wide

and have a sling length of 34" long

ruffles are 3" long

if you would like to reserve one,

just convo me.

here's to becoming a beautiful tattered cloth!