the kindness of almost and not quite strangers

i admit i was a friendship snob, a relationship elitist if you will and never put any stock in those casual “friends” that i had acquired on the web..that was until i participated in kelly rae roberts flying lesson’s course… now to be fair i found krr thru the amazing andrea scher, whom i have also never met but feel instantly a kin…the course was about cracking open kelly rae’s creative and professional journey in the most honest, vulnerable and protected way that i had experienced, what emerged was well, a LOT of gratitude for krr’s candor and a collaborative and amazing collective of international “flyers”  we are artisans in every medium and we are dear, dear friends to one another….i will say it again we are FRIENDS

kelly rae roberts e-course

there are some that are local, some that jet set, some that are still trying to find their voice, and some that are singing solo in the spotlight to a sold out crowd…but there is space in this group for all of us.

the “class” is complete, but the learning and the connections continue to build and strengthen… some have become my very dearest of companions on this handmade life journey and i know that i am richer in every possible way for joining the flock

one the first day…my true love gave to me

happy february everyone! i know that there is still snow on the ground most places, and the winter grays weigh heavy on us…but today begins a new month and we are that much closer to spring!

in our house we celebrate birthdays for multiple days, ie my birthday is april 25th so i get the 25 days of dani (truth be told most everyday is a day of dani when david is concerned) and my sweet love’s birthday is february 18th so in turn he gets 18 days of david!! so today begins his birthday long celebration, but this morning as i slowly moved to an awake state, i was greeted with this:

 

my first day of valentines

 

a beautiful set of mini vases and my own special mailbox to receive my daily love notes by the most special delivery i could ask for (seems i was remiss in including the 14 days of this valentines kid who apparently resides with us too)… it is in these little acts of love that my positivity and creativity are renewed…so why not get your own little message repository and start a daily message of love for those that give you your smile everyday, and not just for 14, 18 or 25 days, but for the whole year.

 

not enough hours in the day

it has been a bit of a struggle to keep a regular blog schedule as my jewelry obligations have increased, and i miss this part of my creative outlet… i thought when i was able to dedicate a full time schedule to my business that each of the tasks would fall neatly into their bucket…. i thought this because for years i ran other people’s businesses this way…but there is no real schedule here, no official lunch break or quitting, there is just amazing hours packed with creativity and working though methods to refine my process and in the end there are casualties of time.

in the larger scheme of things i need to hire a “me” to manage all of the daily tasks of the day… in reality i need to channel my former self to kick this creatives butt into shape.

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• Maker Vs. Manager: How I Schedule My Day (gtdtimes.com)

the power of rest

i was feeling a bit weary and sleep was definitely not my friend, but as i sneak this little post from my hotel on vacation, i can say that rest has done this creative serious good! more than just 8 hours of shut eye, being completey without a schedule, deadlines or routine has given me my breath back, my calm…everyday i have been recording new ideas that I will execute back at the studio…scribbling on restaurant napkins and the back of receipts all so that the spark is not forgotten

this is our first vacation in several years and at first i thought i forgot how to be “on” vacation, but the truth is that vacation needed to learn how to be with full time creative dani…once that was ironed out, the rest is as sweet as tupelo honey!

love is in the air

it is really no surprise to me why all i can create these days is love themed, heart themed or romance themed pieces…no not because valentines day is around the corner, but because my anniversary is around the corner…next week it will be 9 years…9 years of i love you’s, i need you’s, i miss you’s, i am angry with you’s…9 years of waking beside my best friend, my partner in crime and my favorite cheer leader…in that time i have grown into the woman i am and he is the very best man i could ever have hoped or dreamed up….next week is actually just a day, a day that we publicly stated “hey y’all we LOVE each other!” everyday we celebrate with love and support of each others dreams, everyday it is a chance to renew our vows and faith in each other, everyday is the practice of cementing our commitment….but once a year in particular all i can see is hearts and love in my eyes, and next week is that time.

i love this man, i love this man, i love this man

per chance to dream

i love to dream…mine are vivid and stick with me and are sometimes a little scary, wonderful, and prophetic…but as of late i cannot find my way to dreamland and consequently the first stop to dreamland is actual sleep which apparently i have lost the directions to get to as well…night after night i feel exhausted and yet by 3am my eyes spring open….the only good thing about this, is that when i do open my peepers i am instantly flooded with ideas for new designs, blog topics, questions of how to and alike….my brain just can’t shut off….my fear is that all of my creativity is born from the fertile ground of my dreams and after i use up what has been stored i will be stuck or blocked or just blank

i know that i am working out the kinks in this new adventure and like everything else, this too will right itself, but for the in-between time i will hope for sleep~solid and uninterrupted

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• Lucid Dreaming (faithallen.wordpress.com)

and now for some wednesday LOVE

Once my heart was captured, reason was shown the door, deliberately and with a sort of frantic joy. I accepted everything, I believed everything, without struggle, without suffering, without regret, without false shame. How can one blush for what one adores?” george sand

“The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart” george sand

“I love. That is all. But I love strongly, exclusively, and steadfastly” george sand