"Everyone knows somebody that needs to read this book (Perseverance) !" –Kathie Lee Gifford, Live on NBC’s Today Show
"Perseverance offers… profound insight for all of us seeking to lead a meaningful life." –Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of A Whole New Mind
Buy Perseverance
February 6th, 2012 | 9 Comments »
This quote is one of my absolute favorites. It never loses its significance. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or uncertain, choose to bring your focus to your next step. Take a single step and then begin again. As you take single steps forward, your perspective will shift providing a new vantage point from which to assess your journey.
photograph: found on pinterest (pinned by liz schneider) via live creating yourself
p.s. more inspiring quotes
February 3rd, 2012 | 4 Comments »
The inspiration for this color mood board came from a recent episode of Project Runway. The contestants were challenged to design an outfit influenced by unique gelato flavors. Mondo, one of the contestants, chose cantaloupe gelato and I loved his creation! I hope you enjoy this color board and would love to hear what color is currently inspiring you :).
sources: pen pal stationery kit (halligan smith via design*sponge )|profile print (stephanie corfee via pinterest)|flowing skirt (rustic beauty)|font (ali edwards)|painted print (layla grace)
p.s. more color inspiration
January 30th, 2012 | 8 Comments »
I came across this quote by Georgia O’Keeffe in the latest O Magazine. It is beautifully inspiring.
photograph: joyhey on society6
January 26th, 2012 | 12 Comments »
Mint green is such a bright and cheerful color. It’s hard not to smile in its presence. I had a lot of fun creating a minty ombre heart design against a natural linen canvas. I may use the ombre hearts for some Valentine’s Day fun as well :). I hope this burst of color brings a little smile to your day. What color is inspiring you lately?
sources: photograph of woman with mint sweater (elle moss on etsy)| arrow card (ashley pahl on etsy) | mint chocolate chip ice cream photo (cindy loughridge on flickr)
more color inspiration: color me happy on pinterest
… a very green giveaway (ends tomorrow evening!)
January 23rd, 2012 | 3 Comments »
January 18th, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Confession: this color board was the hardest to create so far! Yet, it’s my absolute favorite to date :). Chartreuse is a tough color—with so many different shades between yellow and green. I found tons of images but as I put them together, the shades were totally off. As I worked on this board, I encountered an additional difficulty: completely forgetting the name of the color! After looking the name up about ten separate times, I finally wrote CHARTREUSE on a post-it note and stuck it on my computer (this did the trick!).
What I learned: this color is tough to design with for a novice like me (i.e., someone who calls it that crazy yellow-greenish color). To overcome my color knowledge deficit, I realized that the trick is to use this color to add an unexpected splash of cheer to a space or outfit. I adore the use of it in patterns (e.g., ikat, chevron, herringbone), especially for smaller accessories like throw pillows, jewelry trays, or tea towels. But to add a spectacular bold statement, I am loving the use of chartreuse to cover a sofa or even painting a door or wall in this gorgeous hue.
would love to know: love or hate chartreuse? what color is inspiring you this week?
sources: couch in cheerful office space (design*sponge via apartment therapy) | bloom pattern in circles (west elm—bloom pillow cover) | chartreuse tights (kate spade via matters of style) | you are here now print (farouche)
January 16th, 2012 | 7 Comments »
Welcome to this month’s Pen & Paper: Living Between the Lines written by the amazing Hope Wallace Karney. To learn more about Hope and the column, please check out the announcement post!
As we start off the new year, it is a good time to take stock of where we are, where our thoughts are, and what we are feeling.
I found a fun way to document this on Ali Edwards blog a couple years ago, and love doing it every now and then to ground myself.
She called it ‘Naming Your Petals‘, which she came up with after her son brought home an exercise her did in school. I thought it was brilliant and got to work on my own straight away.
I named my petals back in 2009 (shown in my journal)—in this spread I printed the petal file Ali offered, and traced it onto a tea stained coffee filter, then cut it out.
For my latest petals (2012), I just printed out the petals and cut them out. I plan on adding them to my journal later, and writing a but more about each petal as I reflect upon it.
This is a great way to see how you have grown, where you are en route to your dreams, and balancing yourself when it becomes hard to decide what to focus on.
Go ahead and give it a try—read Ali’s post first, then create your own petals and start naming them. They can be big or small – there are no right or wrong answers here. They can be soul deep, or surface thoughts—just start by naming things that represent you NOW.
Once you have them named, take a day or two to just look at them every now and then, thinking about what they mean to you. Then sit down with your journal, and write a bit about each petal—here are some questions to help get your journaling started:
Overall…
For each petal…
Try and do the exercise again in a month or two and see the difference in where you are then.
images: hope wallace karney
UPDATE: Download Flower Petal Template created by Ali Edwards (link to download on her site is down so we’ve added it here for you!)
January 10th, 2012 | 3 Comments »
This post is part of Reverb11. Through January 15th, I will be sharing my responses to the remainder of the prompts. You can expect “regular” content during this time as well :). My Reverb11 responses are a bit different than usual—more vulnerable, less polished, more frequent, and probably more interesting!
Creativity
What was the most creative thing you did in 2011? How do you plan to use your creativity in 2012? (Note: creative does not always mean artistic. Think outside the box here. Get creative!)
In 2011, I really began to experiment with my creativity in a more digital way. I began creating color mood boards, experimenting with photoshop, and playing with my new tablet. This new creative outlet has been a lot of fun to explore and share at the same time!
In 2012, I would love to use my creativity in my new physical space after I move. I hope to make the space really cheerful and representative of where my husband and I are in life at this moment in time. I also hope to use my creativity to further expand my blog and online community. I really believe 2012 is going to be the year that I focus the most on nurturing and growing this space. And, I can’t wait to use my creativity to create and launch a little line of beautiful paper (so exciting!).
Dream
What crazy and wild dream was born in 2011?
I finally recognized my crazy and wild dream to create a line of beautiful paper. It’s something I’ve wanted to do forever and put off for “someday.” I finally gave this dream a voice in 2011 and will give it life in 2012. That is crazy and wild and utterly exciting!
image: vapor.qualquer
January 8th, 2012 | 10 Comments »
This post is part of Reverb11. Through January 15th, I will be sharing my responses to the remainder of the prompts. You can expect “regular” content during this time as well :). My Reverb11 responses are a bit different than usual—more vulnerable, less polished, more frequent, and probably more interesting!
22. Mischief
What can you do to add a spark of mischief into your life?
I had a lot of fun brainstorming responses to this question! At first, I avoided this prompt hesitant to come up with ways others would find interesting. When I let go of this need to please, my inner nerd got creative with some mischievous tasks for 2012!
color my hair | do karaoke (extra points if done in public) | go to an improv class (extra points if I actually get up and do something in this class) | pretend I’m someone else (the polar opposite of myself) for 24 hours | leave random gifts for strangers to find | create a product in 24 hours (a la alexandra franzen) | work with the music on all day | wear an outfit composed solely of neon colors
23. Magic
What do you consider to be every day magic in your life?
four letters: hope.
photograph: jenny ebert for brooklyn bride
January 6th, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Ready or not, winter is in full force! For this mood board, I chose to focus on shades of brown. I sorted through so many gorgeous photos, but chose to go with a simple few that evoke a sense of coziness. I hope this board inspires you to create a yummy mug of hot chocolate, throw on a warm scarf, and indulge in some well deserved winter “me time.”
How about you, are you ready for the winter cold? What are some of your favorite cozy winter activities?
sources: woman with brown scarf (pinterest via ignite light)|sitting in chair (found via pink wallpaper)|chevron bracelet (the vault jewels)|painted driftwood (a creative mint for decor8)|cake with brown bow (martha stewart)
p.s. even more color inspiration
