Sunday, November 25

5x7 Folded Card

Picture In Portrait Christmas Card
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Wednesday, November 7

life lessons.

I feel like it's time for one of those deep posts about life that I used to write so often.
I guess when life gets busy you just don't have much time to reflect and think, but then as things settle down it all coms flooding back. Especially after such a huge change as moving halfway around the world.
Today as I was driving around town I was thinking about how we are trying to make new friends here. This got me thinking about the friends we do have, and how we managed to get them into our lives. This of course led to an evaluation of my life morals and where they came from (okay, maybe I over-think things).
I have a very certain philosophy on life that cannot be summed up in a few short sentences, but I would like to at least try to share.
Strangely, the three people who have influenced me the most in my life don't know and probably never will know how they have impacted me.
One has passed, one I barely know, and one I haven't spoken to in many years.
But this is what I have learned in my encounters with them:

~Always trust love, and love whoever you can, whenever you can, without attachment. Love can be fleeting or long-lasting, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is sharing with someone that you care for them and felling cared for in return (possibly not by the same person, remember), however briefly that may be. It doesn't have to be physical, it doesn't have to be returned (although, of course, that's always nice) it doesn't even have to be spoken (but I encourage it to be!). It just has to be. Every time you let love in, your sprit/soul/heart/whatever expands and grows and becomes open for even more good and more love. Let it lead it's natural path and let it go if you have to in the end. I promise you it's still better than never finding it to begin with, and you never know when the moment will pass.

~Be accepting and compassionate. You don't have to agree with people, you don't have to always be nice and not voice your opinion, but you should always give a person a chance to be their authentic selves around you. You will learn SO much and build strong relationships, some that will be bonded and never broken because at some point, you two felt truly at peace with each other together, despite your differences. You will also see how this rubs off on others, becoming a sort of mantra for the people you know. You will attract people who feel the same and you will never, ever want for true support and guidance. Some people you are dealing with may not return the favor, but again, this doesn't matter. You may literally save lives because at some point, you may become that one person someone can turn to when all else has failed.

~Always trust yourself and have faith in your intuition. If you feel like you should be someone or somewhere in your life, 1.) realize you are already that person and, 2.) get there any way you can. If you have a bad feeling about something, then abandon it as soon as you can. Don't trust anyone else to get you where you want to go. Do it for yourself and make it happen. Listen to your heart as actively as possible, meaning, never let it fade to the background. Our intuition needs practice to become strong, but when it is strong it is a guiding light that you couldn't have imagined. I'm sure some may call this God, or the Universe, or whatever a belief may be, but I think that outside of those influences we have something deep inside that can help us navigate our days and lives. Trust it, like you would trust a loved one with your life. Listen to it, learn to tap into it. YOU are your best guide in this world. *This has always served me especially well, but has become more and more important to me this past year.*


I hope that you can glean something from this. The only other thing I want to share is that you can't wait for the world to bring luck to your door. You can't pray for it, you can't wish for it, and you sure as hell can't just expect it. You have to DO it, MAKE it for yourself. Take chances, scary ones. Live outside your comfort zone. Take life obstacles with a grain of salt. Keep moving, keep doing, keep becoming and you will find out how fortunate you truly are.

I love you guys!

~~~~~~

I also wanted to share my next step in city living: My bike is here! Yayyyy Edie!!






































Sadly, she is not working, I messed up the back wheel drum somehow. BUT there is an amazing bike co-op here that will teach me how to work on her right and I will get her up and running in no time! I'm looking forward to hanging out down there and learning a thing or two :)

Saturday, November 3

I do love a deal.

I am not doing this for free services or rewards or anything like that, but I'm really excited about our new business cards so I am sharing about them here.

So, several weeks back I bought a Vistaprint Groupon, thinking that it may come in handy for Christmas or something.
Now there are plans in motion for the Art Barn Project, so I decided to use it on my and Katie's new business cards :D
Including the coupon and shipping, I got $108 worth of cards- for $29!!
AND they are 100% recycled! Yay! Vistaprint did not offer that option the first time I ordered cards several years ago, so I am glad they are moving into the future with that. :)

So here is their little linky to a preview of the front of my cards:



Hooray for moving forward!

P.s. Speaking of deals, I got the coolest pair of white and pink striped trouser pants today for $2.50. Heck. Yes.

Friday, November 2

Do-Over

Hi!
We are officially open for business!
Introducing Do-Over:


This is the bebe booth, I cannot wait to see how it evolves! It will be filled with art and love, I will continue to post about it as it goes :) So neat to have a permanent spot for Katie and I to peddle our wares!

And, I am also officially teaching sewing classes! I really think that teaching others to do something for themselves will be very rewarding, as it has been in the past. I actually am not sure why I have not been doing that all along, seeing as how I love it so much.

So, have a good weekend!