A (diy) happy SPRING bouquet!

Good morning friends! Are you warm and well? Last week was cold and even snowed randomly and oh, so grey outside. It felt like it was close to night-time all day long.  That combined with a headache a day or two had me almost desperate for something colorful and creative.  I was browsing Pinterest (my fave) and suddenly an idea began to take root in my mind for a happy, spring bouquet. I pictured colorful flowers, things like butterflies tucked in for extra whimsy, and tiny, fabric flags standing tall in celebration of spring. I simply couldn't put the idea to rest until I'd seen it come to life with my own two hands!

The best part? The bouquet won't wilt if the watering is forgotten.  

The girls and I headed to Hobby Lobby, where floral stems were half-off.

I started arranging a few yellow and pink stems in hand, tucking in a few extra treasures throughout the store, like the butterflies and bows.

Once home I made some yarn pom-poms (just search "yarn pom poms" on Pinterest) and attached them to colorful straws and kitchen skewers. I also cut some tiny, fabric flags and hot-glued them to skewers as well.  

Once I had all my bouquet components ready I began to do the arranging. My favorite part! 

I used a clean, recycled jar and put the bigger flowers in first, tucking yellow next to pink, and alternating between tall and short stems. 

Last I added in the pom poms, butterflies, and fabric flags. 

To make the jar a bit fancier I added two rows of ribbon and one of washi tape (the black and white stripes you see). I also hot-glued my last polka dot bow right in the middle of the ribbon. 

The bouquet now sits on my dining room table and the word that comes to mind every time I see it is "happy".  

We could all use a bit more happy, don't you think? 

*Hint-this would be such a joyful gift for a friend!*

Getting your inspiration back

Morning friends! Have you recovered from Monday? We always jump back into the week with the regular duties of life like laundry, dishes, and errands and boy do we feel it!  We'd much rather be camping, hiking, or gardening.  I'm sure you understand.  My life, much like yours, is simply busy.  I think "busy" gets such a bad connotation sometimes and I get it.  I've had seasons where I've said "yes" to too many things instead of "no" and my life has suffered because of it.  I can honestly confess this isn't that season. I've learned what is a healthy amount for me to schedule and what I need to politely pass on.  With that said, all of life is still rather busy.  It can sometimes feel hard to be inspired creatively when my painting time is crammed in-between a host of other things. 

Perhaps this is why I'm so motivated to find the "rosy in the routine."  The truth is it's much like a game to me, to take an ordinary moment or day and see how much beauty I can notice.  Usually, quite a lot.  One of my favorite places to get some inspiration back into my life is our local nursery. 

We live about 15 minutes from Westwood Gardens and it has been a place of great memories and inspiration for us ever since the girls were little.  We've advanced from pushing them around in a cart to chasing after them in-between the rows of plants.  

Not only is this our favorite place to purchase plants and flowers because the quality is amazing, I always leave with loads of ideas for painting.  

Is your life lacking some inspiration?  I believe you can grab some inspiration back, almost anywhere.  A few things I look for when my eyes are on the lookout for something to paint are......color combinations I like, different shades of color, interesting textures and shapes, and patterns and print. 

You could even jot these few criteria down and keep an eye out for them at the grocery store or Target. Or your backyard!  

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to step outside your house and say "Today I will be inspired!".  Because then what if you don't even know where to start or what to look for?  

But if you narrow it down, for example telling yourself "Today I will find a color combination I like", then you are well on your way to finding something interesting to paint, photograph, or enjoy. 

Here's to getting your inspiration back! 

Craft room redo: Before and After

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.  And yes, you probably really are asking yourself "Where did all the color go?!" 

Friends, I went for it and in a mad dash, gave my craft room a makeover.  A clean slate if you will.  I knew it was coming.  The nesting feeling is "game on" since being in the waiting stages of adoption.  That combined with the fact that a shift has happened in my creative schedule the past six months or so had me ready for change.  Looking back to when the girls were babies, I actually had loads (like hours) of free time when they napped to paint and create.  Fast forward to now, where we have early-risers and no-nappers.  There just aren't big chunks of time at my disposal anymore. 

Do I believe I should just shrug off my desire to create and put it on hold to things slow down?  No, if I do that my fingers will ache for years and let's be honest, life never really slows down.  I simply must create!  I can literally feel my insides settle down and breathe a long "ahhhhh" when I paint or make.  So for now, I've found myself craving a fresh start, both literally and figuratively.  I've needed the space to figure out how creating looks in my life during this season, instead of always longingly referring to all my ideas in the past.  I'm so very proud of chasing my dreams like Rosy Retreats, but it's time to let things be new again.  No more turning to chapters read over and over.  It's time to face the blank page and see what new idea seeds sprout.  

I thought it would help to literally create a blank space in the craft room.  You can see my progress through the photos below.

 (This photo isn't staged to look like a mess.  It is really this messy.  This is real-life folks!)

 (getting there)

 I painted the walls with my favorite white (Behr, "unwind", the same as my kitchen table) and wanted to dance a happy dance at the sight of the plain white.  I have no idea why this big, blank space is speaking so much to me when there's nothing on the wall.  

The after! I see this blank space and imagine possibility here, there, and everywhere.  For now, I don't plan to cover it back up with more stuff.  Instead, it will stay blank. 

 A little shelf display..

Another little display with collected bits and treasures. 

(all photos taken with my iPhone)

I'll end with my thoughts I posted on Instagram yesterday that perfectly sum up me for now: 

It's time to start fresh, to step back a tiny bit from social media, but not completely, to spend time alone with just God and I, to trust that quiet can move mountains, to let God speak about the direction of my dreams and loosen my grip on the steering wheel. It's time for a new year-round schedule for my life as an artist, for really living rich without sharing every single bit, for chasing ideas just because they'd be crazy fun. It's time to remember that it's in God I trust, not in the Internet I trust. Time for breathing, resting, quiet, and wide open spaces. Time for real connecting and grace. This is my heart today.

"I'd rather live a rosy life than not."

I said those exact words yesterday. 

"I'd rather live a rosy life than not." 

I'm living this hope-filled life not because I'm naive to the hardships and challenges of life but because of them.  Because Jesus is hope-filled and He knows situations are hard and I just believe He delights in me chasing the light, the hope, the rosy. 

How we live is a choice. Despite what goes on around or in us. 

I choose the rosier side of things to keep the darker side of things from getting in where it matters most-in my heart and soul.   

"I'd rather live a rosy life than not."

Join me?

keeper of the hearts

(here)

I'm a heart collector.  Or rather, the hearts collect for me all by themselves.  It's no secret that if we find a river bed full of rocks the heart ones will practically jump to my feet.  Heart rocks, hearts in latte's, hearts here, there....it is my own love language from God.  To put it simply, I notice hearts in the most random of places, whenever and wherever.  And every single time they remind me how much God loves me.  I've given up worrying if that sounds silly to some.  I'd much rather just feel loved.  My most favorite heart moments/photos? Like ever?  

The two below. 

For it wasn't until after I looked at the photos on the computer screen and printed out that I saw it....

the hearts. 

They showed up all on their own. 

Some may call this magic. 

I call it love.

I am the keeper of the hearts.

And the Father keeps mine.