Everyday Extraordinary :: Preparations for Bloom True

.. Everyday Extraordinary ..
Preparations for Bloom True

Sample paints from Golden Artist Colors have arrived ... for students to try out at the upcoming Flora Bowley workshop.

And really lovely journals from Quarry have also arrived ... for students to use to jot down ideas and thoughts. (Check out Flora's upcoming book by Quarry, and also Creative Pilgrimage, which features Flora, along with 13 other artists.)

And I've had great fun designing and assembling zines for the event ...

Can't wait.

Everyday Extraordinary :: The Brothers Karamazov

.: Everyday Extraordinary :.
Toby and Scout
Brother pups who love rolling around in our bed.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Parentheses of Life

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I love the parentheses found in life. They are small stretches of time that pop up throughout the day. They're not rigid. They are fluid. And if we can welcome those stretches with just a bit of preparation, they can be the sweetest and most productive times that really add up.

It's a phone conversation where rather than just sitting and talking, you sit and do stream-of-consciousness doodling and journaling during the conversation. Parenthesis.

It's the extra 30 minutes you have to wait in your car because your kid's play practice is running late. Parenthesis.

It's the 20 minutes before you doze into dreamland when you figure out your next crochet or knit jewelry deisgn. Parenthesis.

All of what you see here was created within the parenthses of my life. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. It's funny ... there are some folks who will see the fruits of my efforts and say "where do you find the time?" or worse yet, "you have too much time on your hands."

The truth is, we all have the same amount of time. We all have parentheses of time that can either get squandered or used to create extraordinary.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Portal to Our Story

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My front door ... opens and closes a million times a day.
It is the portal to our home ... portal to our story.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Time to Start a Brand New Moleskine

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Time to start a brand new Moleskine.
Standard size.
No lines.
A place where each spread allowe me to think.
A place where I prioritize.
Make lists.
Plan.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Keys

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My plain little black pouch that I carry attached to my cluster of keys ...

Elevated and beautified with a bit of lace trim, felt, and button ...

Everyday Extraordinary :: Rachel's Stamps

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They're here ... finally here ... the stamps I've been waiting for not just these past weeks, but for the past several years ... stamps that I imagined could exist ... finally have become. So beautiful, so romantic, so Rachel.

For my note of thanks, I collaged a piece of ledger paper onto a piece of sheet music and then added a wash of gesso and let it dry. I stamped that with an image from Rachel's Romantic Botanicals collection and then added a simple note at the bottom with my favorite pen.

Understated elegance.
Thank you, Rachel.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Sunday Morning Walk in Park Santiago

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Sunday morning walk
With the whole gang

In Santa Ana's Park Santiago—the best park in the world
Where we walk, dream, and imagine

Everyday Extraordinary :: All of the Above

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Above: Crocheted flower couched onto Osnaburg.
Below: Three buttons anchored with black perle cotton, and white scallops embroidered with cream perle cotton.

All of the Above: Much too much fun.

Everyday Extraordinary :: Encore

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Batting.
Felt.
String.
Button.
Sheet music.
Encore.