All about February
I realize that a lot of people aren’t as active or even on social media, which is where I seem to live my life. LOL. Going forward, I’ll do weekly roundups, so you don’t have to go looking for my posts or wondering what I’ve been up to, but since February has just passed and a LOT happened this month, here are some snippets.
I launched Love Letters to Myself: a self-paced class that invites you to look in the mirror and see all the good that is within you. We often only see the flaws, the wrinkles, the gray hair, the crooked nose, the wonky bits…and we overlook the kind heart, the empathetic spirit, the soulful creative, the nurturing friend. This class was my way of reminding myself that I am deserving, that I am worthy, that I am loved. And I have noticed that many who have taken this class are finding a little more love, grace and kindness for themselves while partaking in the physical act of making these love letters. The cohort is limited to 50 people and class doors will close in March, so if you’re interested in joining it, there’s still time.
I won’t be launching another long-form, multi-lesson self-paced course in the near future given how much it takes out of me, but I am excited to share some more reasonably-priced 1-hour start-to-finish tutorials with you this year. The first of which was this fingerpainting class that has turned out to be a huge hit!
If you took this class and would like me to feature your work on the blog, please email me so I have your permission to share and celebrate your beautiful florals!
Speaking of $5 classes, I am not sure how many people realized that I also have one on gel plate printing with botanicals! There was so much going on in February, that I never had the time to promote it. So, if you have any interest in gel plate printing and have 47 minutes to spare, I highly encourage taking this class!
And then of course, I had a more detailed 2-hour workshop for my membership community that entailed a whole lot of gel plate layering with botanicals that resulted in an envelope accordion book. Community members have access to all past recordings and I also share post-workshop instructions with photos on how I finished up a project that we may not have had time to finish during the live. From the response of community members, I know that these post-live-workshop notes are valuable resources as they pursue their own creative journeys.
Last month, I also had the honor to create a custom set of gratitude tags for a local yoga instructor and it made me wonder if I should open up orders for sets of gratitude tags. I haven’t done commission work in a while but given how much joy these spread, I am open to the idea. Would you be interested in a set of 10 mixed media tags to hand out to your co-workers, employees, friends? Let me know!
And so much gratitude for all of you who purchased a Bucket Filler Kit this past month! I had a limited edition of 24 collage-themed kits and they’re all sold out. It was such a joy packaging everything in customized boxes and shipping them off to different parts of the country. To be honest, I got very emotional when packaging the last box … I never thought that my little kindness initiative would find such strong resonance with the larger community and that people will want to be part of it! So, thank you, from the depths of my heart for keeping this going. The next limited edition of kits will be watercolor-themed and I hope to release them in late April/early May. They will include everything you need for on-the-go watercoloring and include access to exclusive video tutorials that will help both beginner and experienced watercolorists enjoy the contents of the kit and spread some more kindness and love in their corners of the world.
Last but not least, I opened my sketchbook again this month and made some magnolias. I don’t use reference images so the fear of not translating on paper what my brain is envisioning is omnipresent. But I can tell you that the worst thing I do to myself is stop myself from even starting … because when I do start and forget about perfectionism or realism or comparison, I am able to create exactly what was in my heart.
And, really, that’s what is important — not what your brain is imagining, but what your heart is asking you to create. It’s nothing like Mother Nature’s magnolias but they are mine … they are flawed and imperfect and a whole lot of wonky, much like me. And I am ok with that.
I hope you enjoyed my February highlights and I look forward to sharing what I am up to in March! If you’re not a blog reader, you can always subscribe to my newsletter where I do a monthly roundup, host giveaways and share upcoming classes/events/new product launches.
