new in the shop :: create your own wisdom card set.

you have the option of having me handwrite wisdom for you.  

or you can write your own.  

check out the new listing for these write your own wisdom cards. 

i'm in love.  it's a set that began last summer, that began as i celebrated 35.  

 celebrating.  wisdom.  coming into my own.  listening.  sharing. 

colors of my day: 3.27.2012. ((in the garden.))

lilac just beginning to bloom.  

a much needed cut for the grass.  green! 

our blooming blueberry. 

the first iris bloom.

our blooming cherry tree in the afternoon sun.  

so many blooms!  

so much to celebrate. 

so much to behold.

to stop & take notice.  

what's growing in your garden?

a super big project in the works.

i love, love, love this liturgical art project i was invited to take on.  i'm calling these celebration banners.  this one is maybe 1/8th of what's to come for an easter celebration at a local church.  more soon! 

in the studio: a baby circle!

the table is set for a baby circle.  ((a baby circle is a nursery shower were everyone creates something for the wee one's room or space.  it's a grand gathering and time of blessing! 

we added a second table and shared good food, laugher, stories, and a time of creativity! 

the punch was simply pink and perfect. 

we made blessing birdies that have been added to her firstborn's mobile.  

loved remaking something from her room for his.  perfect.  

the birds were made using the wonderful free spool pattern. 

some of the fabric i purchased from the online spool shop.  ((love them.))

blessing birdies hold blessings from each to the soon to arrive boy.  

each is made with love and carries the good vibes 

and colorful personalites of the maker.  wonderful!  

we shared in creating blessings for mama, too. 

for your life celebration including birthday parties for all ages, baby circles, birth circles, family gatherings, staff retreats,  please contact me. 

life story: marking moments.

life's full of marking moments.  today is no different.  

sometimes it's in celebration of life, of birth, of memory.  sometimes it's to allow the tears to flow after an uphill climb.  you've reached the top of the mountain and you plant your flag into the soil.  i've reflected on such moments for some time and cannot help but create such a ritual to share through my art. 

hearts, stars, and circles (not pictured) on a stick.  these are the flags that can be placed in a jar, on a cupcake, on a cake, or can lean well in a window or altar.   

as i celebrate and grieve my sweet boy's marking moment today, i will carry the memory.  today marks three years of love, care, and growth from the amazing folks at his day school.  he's growing up.  today marks such growth and life.  i celebrate and i breathe in the memory of it all.  

i will remember in my own ways.  he will, too.  i know this day will carry emotion for each of us.  i hope that in my mothering role i am able to help him to articulate his emotions and carry them well.  may we all do such work in our lives.  

ritual ways: marking motherhood

tonight marks the last night of mothering to a four-year-old sweet boy. i'm saying it over and over today, because it is really hard to believe sometimes. the days sweep by, collecting like little treasures neatly in a pile at my feet.

my heart is overjoyed as i watch my dear one play, run, laugh, tell stories, draw, love, cook, dig, run in circles, sing, sit in church, hug tillman & bear, love his daddy-o, and love his mom. he's a loving boy who is so curious, who builds elaborate castles and plays and plays for hours with legos and playmobile. he loves talking and he's a thinker at times, too.

as i've moved throughout this day remembering the birthdays before and the love that's contained in each of the years of his life, those remembrances led me to this moment where i stood reflecting on the steps leading to his birth.

know that i celebrate his life as his. he's a gift to share with his friends, with our community, with our family, and with our ancestors. he'll continue to hear stories, to see pictures, and to be told who he was in his younger years. he'll hear which uncles he looks like, which parents he favor when we were children, and he'll hear that he's a life all of his own.

maybe this is my way of marking these mothering years, by honoring the boy he's grown into over this time. i know that deep within i am settled into his growing. i know we are not guaranteed the future. i know that every fiber of my being wants his daily living and life-long living to be filled with goodness, laughter, courage, life, health, and creativity. i want him to know others well, to live well, and to love well. he's doing a really amazing job at each so far.

i want my mothering to continue to bring out the best in me, even when i am tired. i want my mothering to bring me to wholeness, to shalom. i want my mothering to be a partnership with my love's parenting and in the partnership together, we may continue to grow. there's so much i do want and so i name it, mark it, claim it.

i plant my claim here in our home, in our investment of time and love together. i plant my claim to this family i hold dear. i plant my claim in the spaces of the world that surround us where we can witness the sacred stories we are each a part of. may we continue to live well & love well in the spaces of our daily living. may we celebrate well each day just as we celebrate the day of a sacred soul's birth.

amen.

creative love: shop update + friendship

in honor of friendship, kindred spirits, and my soul friend jayme, i've created some fun, lively prints. each of my friends creates sunshine in my life, so it's fitting to see the golds. they encircle me with the birthing waters as some function as creative midwives, a part of the creativity within me coming to life. the colors move from our core out into the world that surrounds us. the world is better because of the good energy, love, and compassion we share for one another. we become better people.

so, as folks think about lovey-dovey hearts and cupids and boxes of chocolate, i think of these lovelies in my life who make me bloom. i'm sure you have a few, too.

and so... each of these are available in my etsy shop as reproduction prints (my first to offer) for $12 each. combined shipping saves $ and you can have a set of three or 5 lovelies that tell your own story of friendships you share. enjoy these. enjoy friends. enjoy this day.

who feeds your soul? who brings life to you? pause and send love their way. breathe deeply, allowing yourself the space to name them, send gratitude for their presence, and feel within your soul what they bring to life.

in the studio: friendship wreath

a friendship wreath in the making for Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt

representing a wonderful circle of women who surround her.

a friendship quilt on its way to its new home.

a fuzzy image of the meeting between wreath and book,

each created by the women whose gathering first took shape over stories shared

ending with these gifts: a lovely wreath and the awesomeness of this book.

ready to be received.

the friendship wreath received well, hanging at its home

where the friendships here are tied together,

gathered through this special woman.

the themes of friendship influencing the creation of this wreath:

blooming.

ties that bind.

a little birdie told me...

"i love rik rak!"

in the studio: a birthday celebration creativity circle

a birthday celebration creativity circle. women gathered, the table is set with supplies ready to be used. each pair of hands are moving freely, creating something new from within.

a special gathering for a special woman

celebrating the day of her birth.

the table shows the creative joy in this sacred space.

a candle is lit in celebration. food is shared.

creativity abounds amidst stories and laughter.

truly a joyous occasion.

cheers to this delight. cheers to this space &

this creative circle of kindred spirits.