My ETSY Shop IS ONE Today!!!

A year ago today, I started the morning by

dancing in my kitchen!!!
Because that morning I had
SOLD
my VERY first ORIGINAL painting
HOURS after listing it on ETSY to a total stanger in the UK!!!!

It was MAGICAL!
It was VALIDATING!
It was a NEW BEGINNING!

I find it quite fitting that THIS was the first painting I ever SOLD.

"Embrace New Beginnings"

Well, 365 DAYS have passed and I am proud to say

that the shop is still open for business!

I still dance when I get a sale,
and I am SO GRATEFUL to all of you
for helping to make it such a success!

In order for me to say

thank-you-merci-gracias...

I am offering you

40% OFF

ALL

ORIGINAL PAINTINGS

for one DAY ONLY!

(TODAY!)

Type this code in the note to seller:

First Year Anniversary

I will reimburse your account

saving you 40%

A NEW Friend + an UPDATE

Hello dear friends,

The sun is shining through my studio window this morning and I am feeling so good. Thank-you all so much for your kind words on my last post. I was finally ready to share this part of me, enough time and distance went by to provide some reflection and analysis. Thank-you all for listening and sharing with me.

Well, I have a few things to share today...

First of all, let me introduce my newest friend Mandy. We met last Friday in North Bay which is an hour and a half away from my home town. We shared lunch, visited the many ART shops and Galleries on Main St., and capped off the day with a wonderful cup of tea all the while talking about ART. It was GLORIOUS!!!! For four hours, we shared. We spoke about our ETSY shops, our BLOGS, and our ART. She is also passionate about animals and especially her four bunnies! It was so wonderful to talk about something that I am MOST passionate about with someone who truly appreciates every aspect of it. I feel like the Universe was so generous to send her my way. We plan on meeting monthly. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Check out her ETSY shop here and her BLOG here.

A couple of UPDATES:

1. My wrist is still a problem but the pain has subsided for the most part. My other wrist is now starting to be a nuisance (probably from compensating for the injured one...grrr). I hope to get an appointment with my doctor to view the results of my x-ray this week. Thank-you for your well wishes. I hope to get this sorted out soon!

2. Professional Organizer. Those of you who read this post know that I have called in a PRO. Anne-Marie did stop by for a consultation a couple of weeks ago. The good news is, she said there`s hope, she has seen worse and that I am doing alot of things right. She suggested that we wait until I finish teaching before diving in because it always gets worse before it gets better. I already feel like there is too much to do in a day so we both agreed to take it on after the teaching contract is over. I will make sure to keep you posted on the progression with pictures and her tips along the way.

3. I spent hours this weekend clearing out my studio (again). Now that I am adding the sewing media back into my life I needed to make room for it. Those of you who sew know how messy it can get, so I needed clear a space for it. I promise to create a blog post just about my sewing corner soon with pictures and all the goodness.

4.

Look what else I`ve been up too!!!

It may still be cold around here, but Spring is here
because the calender says so!
I have been diving into this Spring palette
and I can`t wait to put paint on these canvases and wood blocks!

5. Last but not least...

Guess whose turning 1 this week!!!!

My ETSY SHOP!!!!

Wednesday March 30th marks ONE YEAR since I opened the doors!
Help me celebrate on Wednesday with a
HUGE ONE DAY SALE
to say thank-you for REAL!

PS. My monthly NEWSletter will be going out this week.
Sign up and receive special promotions just for subscribers. xo

Some Dreams are NOT Meant to Last

I sit here painfully typing these words. I have been in denial this last week. Unwilling to admit that my wrist was in crisis. I finally caved and went for an x-ray today... I hope to get the results soon. I also hope it heals super-hero fast... Pushing a heavy grocery cart with one hand is painful and totally not cool. I'm about as graceful as a hippo with this brace... Please send me your healing vibes...

On another note, I have been thinking alot lately about my creative journey. As I get closer to wrapping up my teaching contract, I am looking forward to the future but also taking stock of the past. I am in soul searching mode again. Trying to find a clear focus as I look toward FULL days as a creative again in just a couple of weeks.

I wanted to share a very special time in my past. It lasted a total of two years.

During this time I learned so much about others, but mostly about myself.
It was exhausting, fulfilling and extremely painful at times.

Welcome to mimi & lulu...
Handcrafted Designs and Studio!
(2008)



It was a dream of mine to have my own boutique,
a place to play and to be creative...
a place to encourage others to do the same...

(2007)

Here are mimi & lulu...

My cousin Julie and myself as we worked sewing
our silk screened tote bags...

Together, we built this creative oasis.

Our location was an old movie theater called the Capital Theater.
It had so much character and charm.
We hung jewelery in the old poster frames.
It was a magical place.

We each had our own sewing zones where we worked in between serving our customers. We also had large tables in the centre where the workshops were given in beading, sewing and felting.

No painting. Nope.

The whispers were there....but they were only whispers then.

We sold supplies as well as finished works.

We were busy little bees filling the shelves with aprons,
handbags and tea cozies mostly made by our hands.

We made sewing and beading kits
and offered birthday parties and girls night out craft nights.





We were both self taught in the fields of beading, sewing and felting.
We were "freestylers' and encouraged people to think outside the box when they were creating.



I still cannot even look at a bag of beads without cringing.
I think it will take me a long while to embrace this medium again...


I'm just glad I don't have to make these for a living anymore.
I starting resenting making jewelery...
I couldn't articulate it well then but I was just DONE with it.
The whispers were growing louder but I continued to silence them with
more and more beads.

I didn't honour my intuition.

I kept taking orders, making custom jewelery and offering workshops.

Why wasn't I happy? Wasn't I living my DREAM?


(2007)

The truth is, as I look back at it now, I was close.
I was close but not close enough.
Only after going to one too many ART shows
and looking at other peoples paintings,
coming home disappointed with myself and frustrated for
not trusting the whispers.
Too afraid to USE those pretty tubes of paint I had bought years before.
I was so good at collecting ART supplies, but too afraid to use them,
To know if I had what it took, to find out if
I. Could. Really. Ever. Be. An. ARTIST?
To have the courage to paint on that white canvas, to dare to find out.
Heaven forbid to actually TRY!!!
(but what if I totally suck???)

Well, here I am, one year and a half after closing the store. It was a dream, a dream I realized. I have no regrets about trying it and giving it all I had. But now I know why so many things just didn't line up.

It wasn't supposed to.

It was only supposed to last as long as it did. The Universe was done whispering. It started shouting and finally I heard it. Finally I succumbed to its messages to open the tubes of paint, to get my hands dirty, to go where I felt vulnerable and scared.

TO TRUST.

I can now look back at this time in my life with a full and open heart.

Grateful for the many lessons.
Completely accountable for my role.
And totally appreciative for unanswered prayers.

This is what I need to remember as I look forward to the next chapter:

I need to remember to trust the journey.
To believe my intuition.
To respect the past.
And to remember wholeheartedly that I am part of something bigger.

I am ready to dream BIG again.
I am ready to TRUST and BELIEVE in the impossible.
But not before saying thank-you for my creative journey thus far.

Some of our dreams are meant to happen,
but some of them are not meant to last...
because something BIGGER and BETTER
is waiting for us just on the other side...

Grumpy...Whose Grumpy?

Dear friends, it has been a week since my last blog post. I have been enjoying some quality family time with my two handsome men. We headed to Toronto to see my very first NBA game and it was AWE-SOME! This has been on my wish list my whole life. We enjoyed every minute of it. I just wished we lived closer so we could cheer them on all year long.

Along with some R & R, I have been in teacher mode. I am coming to the end of teaching my ART therapy course and I have to admit I am looking forward to being able to focus on my ART again FULL-TIME! I miss spending hours in the studio because even the grumpy train is going to kick me off if I don't get creating again. April 5th is my last official day in the classroom. You can expect a ton of work to come out of this studio soon...



Here are some original paintings on canvas, mini ART quilts, and a journal that will all be listed in the shop tomorrow. I am SO loving this new direction you guys, I hope you do too!


I plan on digging out some pictures from my old shop "mimi & lulu", so you can see the whole picture, the patchwork of my creative journey is all seaming together... I am totally excited about the future!!!

Please check out my ETSY shop tomorrow for these little beauties.

Have a wonderful day. I hope the sun is shining where you are...
It is finally shining through my studio window now! :)

My NEW LOVE...

Introducing my NEW LOVE....
Free motion stitching!!!

Its has been a while since I used my sewing machine.
I was always a freestyle sewer but now I am even MORE in LOVE
with the art of stitching without boundaries!!!

I started making mini ART quilts with fabric prints of my (NEW) paintings.
How fun is this you guys...

I started this class on Creshendoh just last Saturday and it has
totally rocked my world!

It`s so nice to be able to use my many sewing supplies again...

I`ve been an avid collector of vintage ribbon, handkerchiefs, and fabrics. I have finally found a way to utilize all of my favorite things at once!!! Here is an example of my free motion cursive stitching. It`s far from perfect, but that`s what I LOVE about it!!!

These are some examples of new paintings
I will be listing in the shop next week.

Here`s another one with a pocket.

You can fill it with a love note or wishes for yourself or someone else...

This next one is Steve`s favorite.

She is holding her sweet friend...

Here is the first art quilt I completed. I just love her and the colours in this one.

Here is a quilt with my favorite new painting.
The original has SOLD but I needed to bring her back.
I LOVE the ticking fabric in the background of this one.

I LOVE the femininity of fabric ART!

Here is something else I learned in the course. This is the first face I attempted! I CANNOT WAIT to make dozens more of these. It is SO MUCH fun to play again!!! I feel such a sense of freedom when I do this and I am not attached to the end result at ALL. I am truly in the moment. It feels so good to find something where I can just let myself go again and not take myself so seriously...





I have more art quilts and original paintings to show you but I will save them for another day. I plan on posting new original paintings and art quilts next week. I am also getting some work ready for FARM, so if you are in the North Bay area, I have new work coming your way next week!

I totally encourage you to give this a try...
I just wish I didn`t have to teach tomorrow...
I`ll have to wait another day to play some more...

The DREAM Team

I have been working on something so fun, I haven't come up for air in days! I can't wait to show you all what it is, but for now I couldn't wait another day to share some online classes that I know you will LOVE!


First up is Juliette Crane. Many of you already know her. I FINALLY had the chance to meet her at an ARTful Journey. I have always been fond of her name and now I have become so fond of her. You may not know that she is very tall and likes to wear long skirts. I love this about her. She is going to be offering her very first ecourse. This has been a labour of LOVE for her and I just know it will be awesome. So, if you have been wanting to learn how to paint, looking for some new techniques or have a love affair with owls, than Juliette Crane is the teacher for you!

Sign up here! Don't wait because class size is limited!

Next up is my sweet bosom friend from across the pond Beth Nicholls. I introduced Beth before here. Not only is she planning to host an innovative ART Retreat, she is also offering an ecourse. This is an AMAZING opportunity for all those who wish they could go to England but can't.

Do What You LOVE...

"This online adventure will take you step-by-step on a path to discovering your true passion, and finding a way to make it a greater part of your everyday life.

In six weeks you will expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and use this to feed your creative soul. You will travel this path with a community of like-minded people from across the world, sharing your stories, forging new connections, and inspiring each other."

Register and find more info here

And finally, here is Louise Gale. I first introduced Louise here. She is offering her DREAM ecourse again soon! If you didn't sign up last time, you can do it now. She has started her own revolution and she is proving to all of us that it works!

I had originally signed up for this course in January. Because of my teaching obligations and workload, I was unable to truly participate the way I wanted to, so I am doing it AGAIN! Join us as we set some goals and dreams and work towards them within an inspiring and supportive community!


Ecourses are a wonderful gift you can give yourself. You can do it in the comfort of your own home and at your own pace. I am so grateful that so many courses are available to me as I live in a very remote area of the world where these courses are not available. I have already taken several courses that have enriched my life so much. Do yourself a favor and gift one to yourself today. Trust me, you will not regret it! You may just find the support and the community you were yearning for. I personally know these women and they are living their dreams. Let them help you live yours!

Stay tuned for my next post as I unveil what I've been working on...

The F Word

Yes, I'm one of those. Always was and always will be. I co-founded the Women Studies Student Association at Ottawa University. I graduated from the Women Studies Program. In those days I was living the stereotype, angry, hairy and loud! (My father was mortified!)

Today, I am still a Feminist. Less angry, less hairy and less loud. I am no longer a single woman dating a man in the infantry (that was a HUGE learning curve for the both of us). I am now married to a Veteran and raising a son. A beautiful boy with a heart I can only dream of matching. I am a woman living with two males in the house (even a male dog).

Today, I am a woman who has come a long way in her own life. I have learned that anger is an acceptable emotion that can fuel change when necessary. At times it can be effective and absolutely obligatory. I have also learned that LOVE and grace are also progressive in creating change. That what you DO is much louder than what you say. That two negatives are counter productive. That I am the greatest teacher for my son and that he will learn to respect women by seeing me respect myself.

I used to have a chip on my shoulder on International Women's Day. My anger and disgust was palpable. The inequities and violence against women enraged me... I always made it known...

I still wear a capital F near my heart. It sits there proudly while I walk along my day. It no longer has to shout to be heard. It has become part of my DNA. It sits there along my integrity, my self-respect and my "Oh no you did'int". It is part of my lens as I view the world and live in it.

There are millions of women still suffering in this world because they are women. For me, this is completely unacceptable. There is still much more work to do. By sharing herstory with my son, I hope that he learns to wear the capital F by his heart as well. United, we can make the world better. Divided, we only chase our own tails.

100 years today...

i AM BEYOND GRATEFUL TO ALL THOSE WHO SACRIFICED SO MUCH IN THE NAME OF WOMEN

1911-2011

Happy International Women's Day from
my heART to Yours...

NO, Not Now, No Thank-You!

"Wo horsey". Things have changed around here. Yup, for reals. I have finally made some decisions to say "NO, not now and no thank-you." I have been overwhelmed these last few weeks rushing from one commitment to another. My to do list is always growing, my email box is always full and I am no longer enjoying the rhythm of my day. As Charlie Sheen has said just recently... "I have one speed and it''s GO" (So sorry for this quote but I couldn't help it).


So, my new speed is now SLOW, or at least slower. It's time to take it down a notch, catch my breath, refocus, and regroup. Maybe it's been crazy because I have had to catch up on so much since coming back home. Maybe that's just an excuse because I am always busy, rushing, and running to the next thing and setting new challenges for myself.

"I Surrender"

Here are some things I have put on hold:

Editing my book until I finish teaching at the end of April
Hosting
Taking on any new projects and new commitments

Answering the phone

Facebook surfing during the workday


Here are the things that are grounding me right now:

Kickboxing twice a week
Blogging
Painting

Things I need help with:

Paper (you already know this)

A laundry fairy (this has been mentioned in a previous post)

Creating a realistic schedule

Guilt from: mothering, wifing, teaching, creating, writing, friending, daughtering

Things I yearn for:

More time outside with trees

Spring: We have a BLIZZARD going on around here!!!
An intern

Despite the abundance of snow, maybe I have Spring Fever. Maybe I feel the need to clear the air. Maybe just maybe I am realizing that no matter how good things can get, they're only good if you can stop and breathe and truly enjoy them without looking ahead. Maybe, I need to ask for more help and let go of controlling everything in my present spheres. I am one human trying to do my best juggling every ball up in the air. This is me reclaiming my time, my space and the way I want to spend my days.This is me creating boundaries so I can focus on the things that really matter to me. This is me realizing yet again that you can't have it all all at once.

Using my friend Louise Gale's words, I plan to create a clearing this weekend and purge whatever does not serve me anymore. I started by cleaning out my wallet. Even that feels so good. Here's to more purging and clearing so I can get back to creating and attracting the things that make my heart sing again. Whose with me?

Sometimes You Gotta Call in a PRO

photo credit

I did it. I really did. I called a PROfessional organizer to help me, to dig me out, to SAVE me. OK. It's not that bad... I'm not close to being on "Hoarders" by any means...but the buck stops here. I have always had issues with paper, bills, receipts... And, this morning, when I could no longer find my cheque book, that was the final straw.

Why is it that I always have to look for something. I am the token poser organizer. I buy the bins, the cute containers, the label machine... I have read these books. But CLEARLY my system is flawed, broken, useless. (She drops to the floor with exhaustion).

photo credit

Why is it that my husband can ALWAYS find what he needs in his neat and tidy desk? His chequebooks are ALWAYS in the same place...and I need to empty every handbag, basket, and container to try to find mine???

Friends, I am hoping for a revolution here. I am desperately seeking assistance in managing my paper wars. I need something that works. I am even ready to forgo cute for function. It has come down to this.

photo credit

So I called a professional, booked a free consult and I am now counting the sleeps until this magical lady with the magical wand knocks on my door to change my life. Please nice lady with good ideas, feet firmly on ground and completely unattached to my stacks of important papers...please make me paper happy. Help me embrace the stuff and feel good as I walk by it... Because right now it's making me nauseous... S.O.S. Please make me a paper princess...

Are there any other bashful paper friends out there? Please tell me I am not alone...