The Rosy Life: Gratitude Journal Pages and Art lately...

Good morning friends! Are you looking towards the new year or still wading through the wrapping paper and Christmas cookies? We had 5 Christmas celebrations this year and truly enjoyed each and every one. Time with family is simply my favorite. The girls have tons of cousins and relatives to play with so I end up getting plenty of time to visit with the grown-ups, which is a rare treat!

I feel like we're in a totally new season this winter as the girls are 3 and 4. It's a whole new adventure having two toddlers instead of two babies. With that said, my art/creating time is becoming more deeply infused into our everyday rhythm and routine, looking for pockets of opportunities to use my creativity in our everyday lives. Studio time is quick these days, but I still have to goal to create every single day. Sometimes that means I pop into the craft room and paint on a canvas for 10 minutes, other days it means a simple sketch, and a lot of times it means working on my gratitude journal.

For the past four years, I've always kept some sort of gratitude/real-life journal going. Not the kind where I pour out my deepest thoughts, just something with tidbits of the rosy in my routine. I adore keeping a blog and don't anticipate quitting, but there's just something about having a paper copy in my hands of the timeline of God's grace over the months and years. I don't create or write in this journal everyday, but I do at least weekly.

I keep an old metal tin on my kitchen island, stocked full of paper scraps, photographs, washi tape, and memories. Every now and then I'll sit and design pages. Doing this while watching a movie is my fave! I like to design several pages at once and then go back and journal on them later.

Another thing I enjoy? Flipping through old journals.. filled with cute things the girls said, the goodness of God, and memories. Sweet, memories.

Of course, as soon as the last Christmas is over my mind begins to reflect on the past year and dream towards the future one. I usually enter January with grand plans and scribbles in a notebook for days. Ideas spilling over and competing for first place. This year is different. If the past year has taught me anything it's been to seize each day and hold it precious. That a plan isn't always the best route. Surprises are good too. So I plan to be surprised by God this year.

I will say though, some ideas that have been brewing for months are finally going to happen in the new year, like teaming up with Brett to make handmade wooden frames with my art/photography inside for the shop. I'll be listing some of these closer to spring!

I can also say there will be new paintings added to the shop come spring also. While my shop is on vacation I'm having such fun playing and painting, pressure-free.