I slept really late today! The maintenance guys blew tons of pine needles and other debris off the roofs of our cottages, then raked up and removed them all. So much cleaner on my patio now! And so extremely loud, those leaf blowers!

We had another Year of Miracles call today with the amazing Lisa Nichols as the guest presenter. Oh my goodness, she is amazing and fabulous! Her message spoke to me on so many levels, and touched on so many of my own challenges. Two points that really stuck out for me: Lisa was addressing someone who had a question about waiting for clarity to take the next step or action. Lisa said, “clarity is waiting for your movement. If you stop moving, then everything stops and gets blocked. Keep moving forward, even if you’re ambiguous, even if you move more slowly than you want…. We have nothing to defend, nothing to prove, nothing to hide.”

The other main point that got to me was her statement, “your conviction (for your dreams) and your convenience don’t even live on the same block!” Her message was, if you have a conviction and it is not a convenient time or place, and the conviction still calls to you, then follow it. Even if your knees shake and your teeth chatter, say yes. Ahhhh. I say yes to my dream of love, even if the geographic distance between me and my love is not convenient! Love shall find a way!

This evening I finished three more heart place cards for my birthday party in February. EnJoy!

Three Heart Place Cards

Just 30 days left of this 365-day challenge! Woo-hoo!

I spent a lot of time today creating a couple of new custom print products, and am offering a special deal from now until January 31st: If you spend at least $134.00 in my boutique (excluding custom print items, excluding shipping), you will receive this lovely tote bag as a FREE gift! Perfect for carrying books, beach gear or your lunch!

Limited to one per purchase. Ready, set, shop! EnJoy!

Fiber Fancies Large Tote Bag 15″ x 18.5″ x 4.7″

Another sunny day, not windy so not quite as cold as yesterday. Still definitely winter!

Today I followed up on some business contacts, made an appointment to meet with one on Friday, and chatted with Vistaprint support for my pro account. I learned that I can also design business cards, brochures, and custom print items for customers, and give them a bit of a price break, too. Nifty! Let me know if you need any print materials made for you.

This evening I made another lovely pasta sauce for dinner with ground venison, pancetta and canned tomatoes, yum! I joined my weekly artist group on zoom, then talked with a couple of friends. Now it’s late and I need to wash dishes and prepare for sleep. Since I made a couple of items yesterday, I feel OK about not creating new art today!

MUST sell some art today, as I’ve got to replace the portable clothing closet in my garage–one of the uprights collapsed when I moved it slightly!–and I have extra expenses this month and next. Buy your Valentine a sweet gift here!

For your viewing pleasure, here is a pretty card I made using a postcard from Graphic 45 and other elements. EnJoy!

Blossom card

Blossom card 2

Blossom card 3

Blossom card 4

Another sunny day, though windy and chilly. Did my stretching, which always helps loosen up the muscles and joints, and noticed that my neck has more range of motion than it did up until today. Good!

Today I glued to pieces of tissue box together to make this fun little folio, using Voyage Beneath the Sea papers from Graphic 45. I love these images! What do you think? EnJoy!

Voyage Folio

Voyage Folio 2

Voyage Folio 3

Voyage Folio 4

Voyage Folio 5

Voyage Folio 6

Today I was talking with a friend about how I have too many items in my stash to be recycled: tissue and cereal boxes, tin cans, empty juice cartons and more. So much Stuff! and I’ve not been using it up fast enough. My friend said to get rid of it–and I said that I use so much recycled materials in my art, it’d be too bad to toss it all into a recycle bin.

SO, I’ve given myself another challenge: to use up as many of these items as I can by the time this 365-day challenge ends in 33 days, and then I need to pass on whatever is left. I will always have more cans and boxes to use!

Accepting that challenge, I covered a larger can with this pretty purple fabric, and turned a small frozen pie box into this journal cover. I used a small paper bag to cover the box, then added an image from a Graphic 45 catalog to the front cover. Not sure what I’ll used for the rest of the journal, and it’s a start. I also added doily hearts to 4 more red hearts for my birthday party in February, since it’s close to Valentine’s Day. EnJoy!

Purple Fabric Can

Small Dreamland Journal Cover

Small Dreamland Journal Cover 2

More Hearts

Love is in the air! I’m in process of creating a love nest, imbuing my home with love to welcome the Beloved, both spirit and human form. Today I took down my Christmas wreath from my gate, and hung the sparkly pink heart and some red fairy lights in its place. Dusted off a strand of heart garland and hung that in the love corner of my bedroom, and am singing sacred love songs througout my day. Sweet!

This evening I had just enough energy left to make this tiny little journal, using up some scraps for the cover and the pages. EnJoy!

Valentine Heart

Tiny Pink Love Journal

Just 35 more days for this year-long challenge! Yay me! I will be hosting a virtual party on February 25th to highlight some of my creations and what I’ve gleaned along this journey. You’re cordially invited to attend, so save the date!  I’ll post event details as the day draws closer.

Today we had sunshine again, hurray! In fact it will be sunny all week, with highs in the low 50s. It’s going down to 28º F tonight, though! Brrr!

This evening I cut out some red hearts to make place card gifts for my birthday guests next month. I finished this one, apart from adding the guest name, which I’ll do right before the party. EnJoy!

Heart Place Card

Today I zoommed off to Auburn to my chiropractor there; she is back at work after having knee repair surgery in November! Then I went on to Roseville for some shopping.

I got some Valentine supplies to decorate with, also to make some place cards for guests at my birthday party, which is four days before. Found the dark chocolate chips that I like at Walmart, and stocked up on groceries at Trader Joe’s and Grocery Outlet.

It was raining all the way home, and dark, so I drove slowly and carefully along the highways. Dropped some compost off at a friend’s house (I didn’t have time on the way south!), then just made it to Briarpatch for drinking water before they closed at 9 pm–an hour earlier than usual in winters now!

Here are pix of my Valentine treasures; I’ll start creating tomorrow. EnJoy!

Wood Heart

Valentine Heart

Valentine Supplies

Valentine Supplies 2

Heart Candy Cups

We had sunshine today, wheeee! So nice after so many gray days of rain!

This evening I decided to make a journal from a small paper bag and some scraps of paper and greeting cards from my stash. I sewed some pages to the hinge of the smaller folded pocket on the left, and put a separate journal into the larger pocket on the right. EnJoy!

Red Bird Bag Journal

Red Bird Bag Journal 2

Red Bird Bag Journal 3

Red Bird Bag Journal 4

Red Bird Bag Journal 5

Journal within the Journal

Journal within the Journal 2

Red Bird Bag Journal 8

We had rain and snow today! The snow did not stick, though, at least at my elevation. Higher elevations got more.

This evening I got on my weekly artists group call, where we create and discuss art while on zoom. Fun!
I also turned this old greeting card into a mini journal, with four blank pages inside to write on. EnJoy!

Valentine Card Journal

Valentine Card Journal 2

Valentine Card Journal 3