Inspired by the Creatively Made E-Course

Hello!!! I know it’s been forever and I’m sorry but I’m back and I’m just full of inspiration – thanks to the fabulous E-course I’m taking by Jeanne Oliver.  My first trimester was trying at times, tired, nauseous, weepy but now that I’m well into my second trimester I’m feeling like myself again. While my cravings for chocolate have yet to subside, a forceful urge to create art has emerged, so when I found this course via the Dreamy Whites blog I signed up immediately! Jeanne has always inspired me with her whimsical creations and beautiful art, so what better teacher to help me break out of my creative rut?!

Our first project was to assemble a vintage art journal. A place where we can sketch, doodle, paint and dream. I couldn’t wait to begin. Here is the final result…

Cutting up a vintage book felt so naughty but I knew I wasn’t destroying it, just up-cycling it!

Embellishing the cover with vintage costume jewelry and an old crystal drawer pull was so much fun! I actually raided my husbands tool box and used pliers and screwdrivers! (I’m not what you would call handy…)

The antique illustration was taken from an old Shakespeare book…who can resist Romeo and Juliet? Not this Romantic…

Inside the front cover I added a little brown paper pouch to keep little pretties and the word “faithful” to remind myself to stay true to my creative spirit. The pages are compiled of vintage papers, scrapbook pages, watercolor and sketch paper. Lots of different textures to provide a wonderful backdrop to my creations.

I bound the book using this very handy hole-punch and some organic hemp twine.

Finally I found a use for all the shiny, sparkly baubles I’ve been collecting. It was so delightful to play with them.

I’m really happy with my little journal. Making it brought me such satisfaction and re-ignited that drive to create. I better do it now before I’m buried in diapers! Right?

Hope you are all enjoying the New Year! Let me know what creative goals you have on the horizon…

xo,

Inspired by Sibella Court

Hi Friends! Hope you had a decent Monday. Ours was very rainy but a trip to the antique stores with a dear friend made it a perfect day!

You may have seen on my other blog, that I posted a curated collection of images by Sibella Court. Well, her book – Etcetera: Creating Beautiful Interiors with the things you love – arrived and I couldn’t help but take pictures of it. It’s so beautiful!!

{click on images to view larger}

Really, you must have this book. It’s a treasure trove of inspiration. I promise.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

xo,

 

Jitterbug Magic

Tuesday evening was magical. I hosted my book club for the first time and had a blast decorating with Tom Robbins book, Jitterbug Perfume as my inspiration.

This my first Tom Robbins novel and it won’t be my last. I was completely enthralled with the story and all of Robbins’s philosophical musings. His analogies are like nothing I’ve ever read before! Honestly, this book is both crazy and ingenious. I didn’t even think I would like it, but I threw caution to the wind and dove right in. It’s one of those novels that stays with you long after you lay it down.

Check out my beet themed centerpiece. If you’ve read the book, you will get this connection. If you haven’t, check out this synopsis. Let’s just say that the humble beet plays a very important role.

The silver tea pot relates to the one of the main female characters, Kudra. The book discusses extensively the art of perfume creation, so I wanted to include apothecary elements too. I love my little mortar and pestle that I found at a local antique store.

I served a Greek themed spread in honor of the Greek god Pan, who also played a major role in this novel…yes like I said a tad crazy. A roasted beet and feta salad that I made was super easy and loved by everyone.

The rustic texture of the beets contrasted with the silver and glass makes for a lovely and original arrangement. This has definitely inspired me to create more centerpieces with vegetable elements. It’s a lot less expensive than flowers too!

We dined alfresco on my patio under twinkling candles and a spray of fairy lights strewn through my wisteria.

The conversation was very stimulating to say the least. Robbins really challenges you to be open-minded and encourages you to view things in an entirely different way. Among the fascinating meanderings of Robbin’s mind he throws out truly prolific lines:

“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”
— Tom Robbins

“The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you’re unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously.”
— Tom Robbins

“Our individuality is all, all, that we have. There are those who barter it for security, those who repress it for what they believe is the betterment of the whole society, but blessed in the twinkle of the morning star is the one who nurtures it and rides it in, in grace and love and wit, from peculiar station to peculiar station along life’s bittersweet route.”
— Tom Robbins

As a little take home gift for my ladies, I created my own version of the famous K23 or Kudra perfume. I couldn’t resist getting out my essential oils and giving it a go. It’s a jasmine themed scent with a lemon and tangerine top note and a sandalwood bottom note. (I didn’t have beet pollen on hand so it had to do). My friends seemed to enjoy it, deeply inhaling the fragrance and applying it to the inside of their wrists.

All in all, it was a fabulous night. Good friends, plenty of french red wine, yummy food, a riveting novel and wonderful discussion – doesn’t get better than that.

Hope you are reading something inspiring.

Happy Friday!

xo,

A Collage a Day

On Sunday, I was perusing one of my favorite inspirational magazines, when I stumbled upon an amazing artist.

Randel Plowman has dedicated his creative life to producing a collage once a day. These tiny 4″ x 4″ compositions have fueled his very popular blog, where one can experience his new art daily. Each piece sells for a very reasonable $25.00.

Being a bird lover, I am especially fond of these pieces but his style and themes vary, showing a fearlessness you can’t help but love. From soft and poetic to bold and graphic, he makes one of a kind art that is approachable and beautiful.

I am inspired by Randel’s discipline and the exploration of his own creative process. I’m thinking I might be doing something similar very soon…

By committing to a daily creative ritual, I believe it will lead me towards a better knowledge of my own artistic nature…at least I hope so!

Do you try to do something creative each day?

xo,

P.S. Check out Randel’s inspiring collage book too!

Comfort a cough with essential oils

My dear husband is suffering from a cold with a dry hacking cough. It’s been keeping us both up at night and so I headed to my herb and essential oil books to find some help. I mixed this up and it seemed to ease his symptoms.

Mix 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil and 2 drops lemon essential oil with 2 tablespoons of organic honey. (Aura Cacia actually makes a combo essential oil with eucalyptus and lemon..find it here.) Take 1 teaspoon of this and dilute in a glass of warm water. Sip it slowly. You can add a slice of lemon too.

Then massage the back and chest with 3 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil and 2 drops ginger essential oil diluted in 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil (any vegetable oil would do).

To do a steam inhalation, you could boil some distilled water, add 3 drops of lavender essential oil and inhale the steam deeply with you head and shoulders covered with a towel. Be careful not to burn yourself.  The lavender has a soothing, anti-inflammatory effect.

Got these remedy from one of my favorite books: The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy. It’s a great practical guide.

Hope you are in good health.

xo,

Ivy

Image: lindseyalyce

Sunday Reading

I’m still at the beautiful coast and the sun is actually shining. Gorgeous. I’m thinking that after a nice warm bowl of my friends’ turkey chilli I might head out and go read my book on the sand. Of course, this may be a very unrealistic goal since it tends to be very windy on the beach…but we shall see.

Book of the moment: 1000 Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I’ve heard rave reviews, so I’m rather excited to dive in.

Here’s the description on Goodreads:

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding, that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives, the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness, are inextricable from the history playing out around them.Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heartwrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love, a stunning accomplishment.

Sounds pretty good right?

I’m off to the beach…hopefully I won’t get blown away.

xo,

Ivy