Life's In the Little Things

This sketch is far from complete, but I wanted to share today with you. These words popped into my head this morning as David and I shared a heartfelt celebratory moment over the fact that Judah had pooped without screaming for the first time since he started eating real food (lovely, right?).

"Life's in the little things."

Far too often I find myself associating life with the big moments and waiting for them to happen. Just waiting to have this baby. Or waiting to move to South Carolina. Or waiting to close on our first house. But I'm missing the little moments. The day-to-day.

Missing LIFE.

So today, I purposefully sat back a couple of times to soak it in. Just an extra moment to enjoy my daughter as she "drove" the shopping cart at Publix. Or to capture that sweet, expectant smile my son gave me when I pulled out a cookie. Or to just sit and listen for a moment to their silly bantering when they woke up from their nap.

Because those little things... they are oh so sweet.

Succulent Inspriation

I'm pretty obsessed with succulents. I had a pot full of them that David gave me for our 4th wedding anniversary, but my thumbs are so not green that I even managed to kill them off (they're supposed to be pretty hearty!). So I decided to doodle some succulents that I literally cannot kill.



I love how this one turned out. Especially with the watercolors.



I envision these cute little succulent initials on some pretty stationary sets. Just 25 letters left! ;)

Details.

"By wisdom a house is built;
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures."
Proverbs 24:3-4

This design is actually a custom order request. Sometimes those are my favorites... my customers have had a lot of really great ideas! This project has been particularly fun so far.



I am enjoying all the little details and just seeing where this one takes me.

Mother's Day Mailings

I love pretty mail.



Kraft paper and calligraphy and washi tape. L O V E.

I wish I had more time to make cards, write little notes, prettily address them, and send them off to sweet friends. It's one of the things that I want to try to do more regularly this summer.

I did manage to seize the opportunity with Mother's Day.



When I actually take the time to do it, it's so refreshing. An escape from this busy, modern life to a simpler, more graceful time. Yes, please. More of that.

What do you like to do to escape from busyness?

Enjoying the Process

It's been a while since I've done much with this blog. I don't even know who is reading this at this point (but hiiiii and thank you, whoever you are!). Once upon a time, I used this blog regularly to post tutorials and stuff. Then the babies came along, and blogging just took too much time away from them.

Well, I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately. And I decided to try to use the blog regularly again. I am by no means promising daily posts or regular tutorials. And I will probably rarely be sharing a finished project. But I've been learning to be less concerned with getting to the end result and to take the time to enjoy the process.



So you will see more of that here. What I'm working on... not completed or perfect. But lovely in its own way and full of possibilities.

Free Printable: May 2013 Calendar

Happy May, everyone! I hope that wherever you are, Spring has finally found you!



I have been playing around with watercolors lately, so this month I am offering one version of the print in watercolor:



And the other in my normal chalkboard design:



Please feel free to download these calendar pages to print or use as a computer background this month. Happy Spring!

Art for the Soul

I became an artist by accident.

There was nearly no thought put into it. I just always found myself browsing through prints on Etsy, and one day I started doodling my own.



So it caught me by surprise this week when, in the midst of lots of frustrating circumstances, I found comfort for my soul and communion with God through art. With a pen or paintbrush in my hand, it is so much easier to let life's complications slip away, quiet my thoughts, and just beathe, "I trust you, Lord."



So thankful for art and for the gift of creativity today.