Welcome to the Makerie

It’s been over a month since I returned from The Makerie. I intended to write about my experience sooner but we all know how life ends up rolling along. When I signed up for The Makerie, I signed up because it was something I wanted to do for me. Something I knew that if it didn’t happen this year, I wasn’t sure when it would happen. After attending The Makerie I know that it is something that I will do again. Maybe not next year but I will definitely make that kind of experience a priority in my life.As soon as I arrived at the Chautauqua property, I felt welcomed by all of the small touches Ali DeJohn had put into The Makerie. When I walked into register, I was greeted with a warm hug from Ali herself and was told to let her know if there was anything she could do to make my stay better. This was her mantra all weekend long. Whenever I saw her, she asked how I was doing and genuinely hoped each of us was having a wonderful experience.

After checking in I got to select a paper flower name tag. Each individual tag looked so lovely, it was hard to choose just one!

In addition to our name tags, there was a pinecone for each of our rooms. Mine now sits in my Makerie Box as a daily reminder.

Every little detail was thought out at The Makerie, every detail to make each of us feel welcomed.

As I unwrapped my lovely lunch that first day, I delighted in the colorful patterns and fun little details of the packaging. I realized that it may feel like extra work to add these small touches to our daily life, but the joy it brings seems to outweigh that extra work.

I’ve been noticing that creating those small details in itself creates joy. It may not be possible to do everyday, but after The Makerie I tried to make smaller efforts to bring my joy in the form of color into my life. I pulled out my colorful cloth napkins for dinner and made sure to use my patterned desert plates.

These beautiful lunches were just another element of a well throughout weekend. A weekend to make each of us feel welcomed, appreciated and special. I think as woman, a lot of us go about making the lives of those we love special, but we forget about doing that for ourselves.

I was so happy that, last minute, I had opted to stay at Chautauqua. Staying on site made the entire experience so much more relaxing. I think had I chosen to drive back and forth from Denver to Boulder each day, almost an hour each way, I would have felt like the whole experience was lacking.

I enjoyed being able to walk back to my little cabin throughout the day to grab something, or just for a moment of quiet. This cabin made me want my own little quite cabin in the woods. Some day…My cabin mate and I enjoyed morning coffee sitting out on the back patio, swapping stories about how we met our husbands.Staying on site allowed me to feel rested, unrushed and to be able to fully enjoy and immerse myself in the retreat. I was certainly excited about the creative part of the retreat but I was also very excited about starting each day with 6:30am yoga. All I had to do was get up and walk across the lawn and I was in the yoga room.

I got to see the sun rise several mornings while at The Makerie. It was magical to watch the sun come over the town below us.

And magical to watch the sun brighten the Flat Irons Mountains above us.

After starting our morning with yoga for two days, our last day was started with a morning hike. It was peaceful and quiet and only about 10 of us were up for this morning hike. I loved it! I loved being able to walk out the door and begin this hike. I loved being in the woods in the quiet. It was also a nice treat since Chautauqua can get pretty busy on a weekend.

The Makerie was a weekend full of all the things I love. The small handmade details, a weekend to play and create (I’ll share more about this soon, I promise!) and a weekend spent close to nature. “It’s so quiet,” is something I say to myself when I find stillness and I’m realizing how much I long for this. “It’s so quiet,” is my way of saying, I am happy in this moment.

May Thrifted Treasures

I missed April’s round up of finds but I’ve been trying to slow my thrifting a little bit so I haven’t had as much to share.

My favorite find recently was a box of old rub on letters. I was digging through the box thinking I’d only pick a handful of sheets and then thought, I should just take the whole box. I haven’t seen the $2 price tag on the side so I was happy I had chosen to take the whole box when I got to the check out.

I’m still on the look out for vintage music sheets, children’s books and maps. Though with my drawer full now, I’m probably set for maps. At least until I start using them and run low. I tend to collect lots of something before I feel like it’s not so precious and can start using it in my art.

I was proud of only spending $1 at one estate sale. This estate sale had an entire room lined with books and I resisted almost everyone one of them, just picking up 1 children’s book and a stack of label maker tape. The more I collect, the more particular I’m becoming in the things I do choose to buy. That’s mostly because I can’t afford to bring home everything I want. Nor is there space for it all. This vegetarian cookbook was part of a set, but I couldn’t justify bringing them all home. So I just picked one. I looked the illustrations and I thought it’d make a fun artist journal. But since I haven’t been doing much art journaling I didn’t need more than one.

I’ve started to do a bit more sewing now that I got a new sewing machine, but I’m still not much of a sewer so I try to keep my fabric buying low. I couldn’t pass up these fun colored samples though. I actually thought they’d be great in collages rather than sewing. With the changing seasons, I’ve had my eye out for spring clothes at the thrift stores. I was proud of my denim capri and tan blouse find. I only grabbed the jeans because I needed a pair to try the shirt with and sure enough the capris fit! I was wearing the outfit when bear came home one day and he said, “Goodwill today?” I replied, “Savers, actually.” He knows me so well.

Writing this round up has got me jonesing for a trip to the Goodwill up the street today. Trying my best to hold out on that urge though.

My First Artist Date

I’ve had The Artist’s Way by Juila Cameron sitting next to my bed for over a year. I read chapter 1 twice in the time and haven’t been able to move any further until this last week.

One of the lovely ladies I met at The Makerie suggested the a small group of us go through the book together-at our own-pace and offer support and encouragement along the way.

There are two main components to this book. The first is the morning pages, which consists of writing 3 pages daily, preferably in the morning. This was part of what got me stuck last time. It takes commitment-and about 20 minutes-to sit and write 3 pages. It takes getting out of bed a little bit earlier. It takes sitting at the table writing, when your phone alerts you to an email. It takes perseverance. I am almost through the first week and still at it. I still dislike it, but I see that it is good.

The other component is the artist date. Once a week, you are to take 1-2 hours for just yourself and do something inspiring. I thought about this all week. What would inspire me? What would fill my creative well? What would be a true treat for myself. I couldn’t concentrate in yoga because I was thinking so hard about this artist date.

Finally, I asked myself, “what do you want to do today?” It was such a nice Saturday, like a summer Saturday, and the sun was calling, “Be outside,” the voice in my head told me over and over. So I stopped at the french bakery on my way home and picked up a fresh croissant. Once at home, I put on a pot of coffee and laid our wedding quilt out in the backyard. I grabbed a stack of my favorite art books, my sketchbook and a few pens. Then I laid in the sun for over an hour flipping through books, reading, and doodling in my sketchbook.

It was so LUXURIOUS!

I can see the importance of these dates and how they do fill the soul. I also realized there is no reason to come up with a new date idea every week so although I see the importance of switching it up, I will be repeating this date frequently.

Spending some quality time with myself, soaking in inspiration made it possible for me to enjoy the rest of the day and not feel that guilt I often feel for not being in my studio creating.

A Daily Reminder to Find Joy

I came home from the Makerie exhausted, but full of inspiration and the desire to bring some of the magic of the Makerie into my everyday life. I realized that all that magic came from joy.

I wanted to capture all of the lessons I had learned at the Makerie in a a physical form. Something I could look at daily and remind myself that even if I can’t permanently be on a creative retreat, I could at least make creativity apart of my daily life.

I had rescued this green shadow box from a friend’s donation pile, unable to resist something filled with so many cubbies. But it sat in my studio unused almost a year. When I saw it sitting in my studio on Tuesday, I knew it was the right place to start for my Makerie project. I used materials accquired and gathered while at the Makerie, in addition, I used other special pieces I had sitting in my studio to fill this box with reminders of how I wanted to live my daily life.

I knew right away when I started this project that I would use scrabble letters for the words “FIND JOY DAILY.” That phrase is the main focus of this box. The three wood pieces were cut off our christmas three in 2011, I had intentions of making ornaments but I wasn’t liking how they were going and I was a couple years late. This felt like a better fit.

I also knew that I wanted to include the sweet pinecone that we all received upon check in at the Makerie. I just loved the way all the pinecones looked sitting on the table waiting to be taken to a new home. And the little note attached is completely true.

I included several items from the natural world as a reminder of my love for the outdoors. And because I have a habit of collecting things and not doing anything with them! I noticed this cluster of red leaves on the ground at Chautauqua while walking to my cabin. I actually resisted the urge to pick them up, but when they caught my eye the next day, I knew I needed to swoop them up!

The wood comes from some trip to the beach, possibly San Diego several years ago. The text is from a song one of my yoga teachers played during class. I typed the text up awhile ago and I found it sitting on my work table while I put this box together. The scalloped lace is cut from a set of Christmas cards I used years ago.

Years ago, a friend gave me a pack of prayer cards. This one has been hanging in my studio for while and had the perfect sentiment for this project. I’m not sure from where the rock came. I collect rocks on my journeys and have them stacked around my studio.

Another important word for this box is the word PLAY. I used cardboard letters that I received for Christmas from my mom in college. I’ve forgotten what it means to create art in a playful way. Most of the time, I create art with the intention of it becoming a final piece and then selling it. I’ll write more about this later, but while taking my Doodle Draw class, I had so much fun just playing with drawing.

The feather was sitting in my studio, picked up along the way. And the pressed greenery comes all the way from England, 6 years ago.

The little card “Wind to your wings, light to your path, dreams to your heart,” is another little piece from our Makerie welcome bags. The textured paper behind it was something I couldn’t resist bringing home from my Creating Content class.

Above, I included a photo from our 6:45am morning hike at Chautauqua our last morning. I put the words “practice” over the photo to remind me that art is a practice. Just like yoga and making time to go to my mat, I must make time for my studio and creating. It’s called yoga practice, not yoga perfect. The word is also a reminder of something Molly Hatch said, “Being successful in the arts isn’t about money, it’s about sustaining a practice over a life time.”

In the squares above, I included another photo from that same morning hike, just because I always feel so proud of myself when I take a good photo (even if it is with the help of Instagram.) I used a strip of fabric that I bought in California last fall and used my typewriter to create the text “I want to live a simple life,” lyrics from The Weepies, a song playing while I worked.

And finally, for the first time, I used a vintage measuring tape from my collection. This is a reminder to stop saving things for a special occasion because today can be special, too.

I’ve saved several of the tags from my Yogi Tea and picked two that were perfect reminders for this box.

I didn’t set out to chose a certain color scheme, I just let myself pick the colors and textures that delighted my eyes. Some of the paper were collected in Crafting Content class, some papers came from our goodie bag when we checked in at the Makerie. Like the “What will you make today?” which came from the CreativeBug’s promotional brochure. Still other papers came from my collection. The teal and green pattern above is a recent acquisition, it’s a vintage wrapping paper sample!

I chose to hang my Makerie box next to my bed so I would see it everyday. It was nice to finally make a nice wall composition in this space, too. I had recently framed some artwork by Cori Dantini, but hadn’t hung them up yet. These three pieces complimented the stretched canvas photo from our wedding, a picture of a tree with our initials carved into it.

Just A Day

I was inspired by Flora Bowely today and have decided to write up a quick blog post.

Flora Bowely is doing a 30 Day Blog Love Affair, where she rekindles her relationship with her blog. I’m feeling I need to ignite that same affair.

Using her blog post as a jumping point, here’s how my day went today.

I got up at 6:30! Which after yesterday is a HUGE deal. I’m working on a new wedding invitation suite and I was motivated to get up early before work and put some time in. Perhaps a clue to finding my passion and fire?

Then I went to work for the day.

The sun was shinning when I came home today so I changed into my long maxi dress-the first time since last Fall- and went outside with the dog. There was lots of fetch. And I opened a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

Enjoying my glass of wine, I made a tour of the yard, checking out what is springing up now that it is Spring.

Even though the sun was going down and I needed a sweat shirt, I insisted on sitting outside for dinner tonight. We grilled pork loin and pineapple, served with salsa verde, avocado, black beans and quinoa. One of my new favorites and I promise to post the recipe soon-when I’ve taken photos!

I spent an hour at the computer working on the wedding invites again before settled into the couch to watch my new favorite show Nashville.

Not a bad Wednesday after all.

It Is Work

I haven’t wanted to get up lately. It’s not a matter of being tired, it’s been a lack of fire. I feel like I’ve been missing my inspiration, my passion, my fire.

I’m trying to be so gentle with myself and allow myself to lay in bed a little bit longer in the morning if I need it. I remind myself that one day we will have kids, and I won’t be able to lay nestled in the layers of covers in the quiet dark, snuggled up to the dog.

But I quickly remember that I also won’t have the time that I have now to accomplish things. So I feel I need to get out of bed, getting going.

Of course the days I work outside of the house, I have a little lee way to how much extra time I can spend in bed. At some point, I do have to get up, get ready and leave the house. I’ve had intentions of getting up early and spending time in my studio, or journaling, or adding a morning yoga practice at home. I have accomplished this, but very rarely.

These days, when I am “working from home” (working on Lexisworks,) I run about a 50% average on getting up and getting going. Some days I do manage to get up at 6:30 am, make some coffee and get to the computer. Other days I’m an hour or two behind that. Though the benefit of working from home is that even if I do snuggle in bed a bit longer, I’m still up and working at about the same time I would be at my day job.

I think part of the reality is that the “working from home” is starting to wear. I’ve been on my current schedule of 2 days home, 3 days at work for almost a year. Plus there were the 8 months before that of off and on work. It really takes a continuing dedication to work from home.

I feel like I’ve been searching for that renewed dedication, that fire and passion, since the start of this year. Now that Spring is here, it feels like I haven’t made much progress. I wonder where Winter went, along with all of my intentions to get set up for the year, organized and generate new business ideas.

I guess that’s why it’s still called “working from home,” because it is work.

 

 

A Living Room Transformation, in Progress

We have been in the process of “finishing” our living room since the Fall of 2010, when my in-laws kinda removed the wall paper from the walls. The room sat for another year before we gained the momentum to paint. After painting three other rooms, we’d lost the enthusiasm to paint.

We finally painted the living room in the Winter of 2012 and removed all of the carpet in the room as well. It was a magical transformation and I finally began to decorate.

But we still had our eyesore of a fireplace at one of the room to deal with. We knew we had to do something with it. So we started by removing all of the wood paneling around it. We went back and forth about weather to keep it, replace it or remove it. So I did my best to camouflage it while we figured it out.

We’ve decided to keep our existing fireplace and we’ve made decisions about design and tile. It’s all framed out waiting for the tile board. But we have to take the window out behind the chimney. Its awkwardly placed and covered in a weird “mosaic” glass title. We’ve been stalled because since we decided to remove this window a month ago, the weather has gotten in the way every Saturday.

While I’ve been waiting to have my fireplace completed, I’ve gotten impatient with the imperfections in the rest of the room. I really wanted to have a pretty rug in the room. Something to bring color to all the brown and tan we’d some how ended up with in the living room.

I searched online and found lots of rugs that I loved, but didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars. Rugs can be so expensive. We stopped in Cost Plus World Market to check out rugs and in with five minutes of walking in, we both spotted a rolled up teal colored rug and said, “That one.” There was a sale, we bought it. We didn’t even unroll it until we got home. Of course once I got this new pretty rug, our torn apart couch was now bothering even more.

 

For as well behaved as Remi is, he has two faults: digging holes in our couch and his love for used Kleenex…he may also be a bit needy. He doesn’t chew shoes, or belts or curtains, he knows what his dog toys are. But he does enjoy making a bed and scratching the couch. Which has resulted in a nice hole in one cushion and torn fabric on all the others. We’d taken to covering the couch with an afghan, that then needed to be straightened daily. The room looked disheveled everyday we got home.

So off to IKEA we went, in search of a replacement. We’ve had the brown sectional for five years and I think you need to first own a couch before you can purchase the right one. As we looked at the couches at IKEA, we knew we wanted reservable cushions and removable covers.

We made the plunge and picked out a smaller, charcoal denim couch. I feel much happier when I come home everyday.

Now before I go to work, in addition to closing the doors to the bathroom and bedroom (to keep him out of the trash and away from his beloved used Kleenex,) I also put a chair on top of the couch to keep Remi off of it. And in the evening, when Bear and I sit on the couch, Remi is no longer allowed to to curl up with us. He was pretty upset with us in the beginning and it’s been a hard two weeks for the dog, but we still let him curl up with us at night so I think he’ll survive.