Some exciting news…

Hello there. How was your weekend? Ours had everything typical of a weekend including, pizza, thai take-out, a kids birthday party, sleeping in (not) and pancakes. Not exactly exciting, but fun anyway.

I have some exciting news to share with you today. On March 1st, Somerset Apprentice will hit store shelves and little ole’ me will be featured within its inspiring, art filled pages! I feel so lucky and humbled to be included among such wonderful artists!

One of the projects I did for Jeanne Oliver‘s class – Creatively Made – will be outlined in detail with a helpful DIY guide that will walk you thru the steps to create a vintage journal. I can’t take credit for the idea, since Jeanne masterfully taught the lesson within her e-course but I was very pleased with the process and the outcome. It was a joy to build this romantic book. You can check out the full post here.

So, I hope you will check out the latest Somerset Apprentice. If you have never read the magazine, it is bursting with creative ideas and projects – many by very successful and well known artists – all laid out with guides to their processes! Brilliant! It’s a must read if you need to fire up your artistic side!

Thank you again, dear readers, for all the support and encouragement you have given me. I will always be grateful.

xo,

Up for the challenge…

Hi everyone. Happy Friday. I come to you today excited about possibility, learning and expanding! Even though I am exhausted from a night up with my poor teething, Claire – I am thrilled at some of the new things I’ve been trying lately!

First of all, I am super excited to let you know that I just signed up for Blog Boss – a new e-course with Holly Becker from decor8! I took her first course – Blogging your way – a couple of years ago and it taught me so much! This next one looks to be amazing and I can’t wait for class to begin. There is still time to enroll – check it out here.

Lately, I am trying to expand my photography knowledge so I’ve been dabbling in portrait photography. I know you have all seen my attempts with my children but recently I’ve been taking pics for friends and it has been quite the learning experience. I have such respect for those professional photographers out there that do portrait work. It is a true art! My latest subject was my neighbor, Taryn Emerson. She is such a fantastic friend and an incredible interior designer too! She asked me to take her portrait for her website (in production) and online social profiles. I agreed. So, last Sunday, I handed over Clarie to my hubby and off I went down the street with my trusty camera, in the hopes of capturing my friend and doing her beauty justice! The overcast sky provided the perfect, softly filtered light. We jumped around from her place to mine, outside, inside, front yard, back yard…but ended up with this as our winning shot!

Some of our other attempts…

Taryn was a great sport and put up with all my amateur-ish mistakes. In between giggles, she was poised and patient.

It is so wonderful to have another creative buddy right in the neighborhood and she is always encouraging. She likes to challenge me too…which is a rare gift in a friend. Since I have been avidly taking pictures, she suggested I shoot her gorgeous designer kitchen for her portfolio too. I balked at the request, insisting I knew nothing about interior photography and how we would probably have to rent lights and wide angle lens. She rolled her eyes and said, “Oh come on, let’s just try it!” So over a bottle of wine that night, we styled the entire kitchen and shot it the next morning…

It was so much fun dusting off my interior design skills to style this lovely space and collaborating with another designer is something I have missed! When we started the shoot it was dark and gray outside and I was doubtful that the light was sufficient but like a sweet gift, the sunshine broke through the clouds, spilling light into the room. We scrambled to move Taryn’s heavy kitchen table so we could let the shadow of the window unfurl onto the warm wood floor.

All in all, we were both pretty pleased with ourselves and I learned a lot! There is nothing better than the feeling of meeting a challenge, especially a creative one. So don’t limit yourself, expand your creative gifts – sure it can be a little scary and you might even mess up but one thing is for sure – you will learn and you will grow – and that is worth it every time!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo,

***Check out more of Taryn’s beautiful interior design projects here and like her new Facebook page here.***

Beyond Layers Class

Hello there! Hope all is well with you.

Today,  I finally found a teeny bit of time to work on one of the lessons from the Kim Klassen Beyond Layers class and I must say, it was so very delightful to have a moment of creativity! Our assignment for today was to use this lovely photo (provided by Kim)…

and rework it however we choose, using textures, layers and any other editing goodies. Here are two versions of mine…

I used Photoshop for my editing, layered several textures and used some fun brushes to get these effects. Of course, I had to add a French label to the bottle in the first one! ;) Okay, I hear my Claire-Bear waking up so I gotta leave you but I promise to be back soon!
xo,

p.s. Thanks to Kim for all the inspiration and encouragement. If you are into photography and you haven’t been to Kim’s blog, I highly recommend you visit!

Learn and Bloom…

Hello everyone! How has the week been for you? I’ve been super busy working on my business and trying to get the nursery finished…but it’s all starting to come together. I have taken moments to run out into our yard, when the light is perfect and snap some pics of all the beautiful blooming flowers and trees! I love this time of year. It’s funny to think that before blogging, I never used a camera creatively and now I can’t imagine being without it. Which leads me to want to share with you my thoughts about learning something new…

Firstly, to all those creatives out there that have their own business or dream of beginning one, I cannot recommend enough that you take this online class with Jeanne Oliver. I’m almost finished with it and not only has it inspired me to really tie up loose ends and improve my business but I have met an amazing network of supportive and caring women! Full of ideas, questions and yes, fears…we have all been able to help each other out! That’s a pretty cool thing to happen these days. So check it out…

Secondly, I wanted to share a list of the other online classes I have taken that have brought me so much inspiration and joy! Sometimes I just NEED someone to tell me what to do and then I really take flight!

1. Unravelling with Susannah Conway (photography, reflection & writing)

2. Blogging Your Way with Holly Becker of Decor8 (blogging, marketing, business, photography)

3. Creatively Made with Jeanne Oliver (mixed media art, creative exploration)

4. Beyond Layers with Kim Klassen (photography, photoshop, inspiration)

These are just a few classes avaliable online. They have done wonders for my spirit, my creative energy and the best part of all, is that I get to share that passion with my daughter. I truly believe that learning something new is the cure for the blues. There is nothing like that wonderful feeling when you open your heart and mind and things become possible, achievable. Hope fills your day and you start to grow in ways you didn’t know before. Feeling stuck? Go out there and learn. Expand. Grow. Bloom. I promise, you will feel better.

As I get closer to having this baby, I feel comforted that I now have an incredible source of inspiration, one that will hopefully nourish me through the more challenging parts of being a mother…

Sending you all the best and thank you for supporting me and my endeavors.

xo,

Ready to Unravel…

Good morning!

Today, I begin my journey as an official Unraveller and I am beyond excited!

I am enrolled in the highly acclaimed e-course: UNRAVELLING, run by the incredibly humble, inspiring and talented Ms. Susannah Conway. I’ve got my pencils sharpened, pretty new pens ready, camera charged, a lovely new journal for note taking and of course, a hot cuppa tea!

I can’t wait to unravel and further explore my creativity. I so need this. I will share with you some of my discoveries along the way and I’m pretty sure I will be taking plenty of pictures too…

xo,

Going within

Just completed my BYW homework and I’m glad it’s done. This course is really making me think. and dream. and wonder. and worry. and fear. and be so excited I want to jump up and down and sing. It’s making me go within. Deep. Down.

We got our assignment Monday and its taken me all week to finally sit down and write out my thoughts. The answers haunted me everyday, begging to be brought forth and made real. Pen to paper. One afternoon, I even sat down with my journal, dated the page, wrote “Homework Week 2″ at the top of the page, brought the tip of the pen to the paper and then stopped. Closed the book, laid the pen down and walked away. Ridiculous!

One of the things we had to address this week was what made us different…what would we bring to the table that was unique to the blogging world? This question scared the heck out of me. Tonight, as I neared the end of the assignment, that very question loomed at the bottom of the page. Mocking me.

Finally, I grabbed it with both hands looked it in the face and wrote from my heart exactly what I had to offer. It felt good, and I realized that I do indeed have much to offer and even more to gain by simply being me. That’s unique right? No one is me, except me. Now it’s time to accept and cherish that…

Now, for some gorgeous images that made me think of how I’ve felt this week…

More beautiful photography from one of my favorites – Lauren Withrow. Check it here.

Have a lovely, restful Sunday.

xo,