project life :: january 2014

There's a reason why I haven't posted about Project Life for about a year. I stalled out last Spring. I just couldn't find a groove. But this year I'm finding my way with it again.

I'm still doing a lot of the things I shared in this post and this post. 

(And if you are completely new to Project Life, head over to Becky Higgins' site to learn more.)

All photos from this spread are from January 1st, so I added that on a label with my typewriter (arrow journal card by Pam Garrison)

A few things I'm doing differently:

1) Gathering photos + stories by month: So far I'm putting them together during the first week of the next month. I let go of each spread needing to represent one week. Doing that felt like a big sigh of relief. Whenever I'd think about catching up last year, I'd think about how I'd never be able to recreate each week. The amount of time it would take me to put the photos in the exact order they should be in felt so overwhelming. I often wondered why I didn't just gather things by month. Then when I read that Elise was doing her Project Life monthly this year, I felt the permission I needed. (And gosh I can't wait to hug that girl in person in just two weeks!)

A huge part of January was about the word of the year necklaces from my shop. Including pieces about this felt really important. 

2) Printing all my photos at home: I have the Epson PictureMate and I LOVE it! But I also have a whole lot of supplies for my little Canon Selphy left over from the photos I didn't print last year, so right now, I'm using the Selphy. I'll be switching to just the Epson for Project Life soon. (Here's the thing about the Selphy, it is super easy to use. But I have an older one and it doesn't interface with my computer, so I have to load the photos back onto my camera's memory card to print them. And the photos aren't exactly 4x6, which is okay, but I really want full size photos to fit the page protectors. I'll be using the Selphy for other projects though because I do really love it and it prints wirelessly, which is awesome for quick iPhone photos.)

Love that Ellie creates so much artwork these days. Lots of playing is happening inside her "art journals" too right now, so including photos of her artwork is also fun. 

3) Printing Instagram photos at home: I started to stall out last year when so many of the photos I wanted to include were Instagram photos and I thought I had to get them printed by a place that printed 4x4 photos.* This year I simply created a 4x6 template in Photoshop and pop the square photo in and trim it when it prints. I bet you could also do this with PicMonkey. I'm also attaching part of a journal card right to the 4x4s to fit them in the 4x6 spots. Easy and means I don't have to use an entire 4x4 page protector every time I want to include them.

4) Doing what I know: I reread my own tips in this post and started following them again. Not worrying about my handwriting. Just getting the stories down. Letting Ellie help because she LOVES to. Also, I'm not rounding the corners on everything. Maybe I will go back and do that. Not worrying about that right now.

Ellie loves to help with the stamps and letting that be imperfect is awesome and totally okay. (Stamp from Elise, but she's not selling them at this time.)

5) Studio Calico: I did it. I signed up for the monthly Project Life kit subscription. And I love it. I still use cards from both the Seafoam and Clementine kits, but having some new things to work with each month is making me happy. 

6) I'm also using more filler cards with quotes and that feels really easy and I love how they look. 

A huge part of January was also about my Five Deep Breaths practice, and photos from it are scattered throughout these January spreads. I think I'll share more about how I tell my story with Project Life in another post along with how I'm storing Project Life stuff. Stay tuned!

Other supplies I used: 

• Design G page protectors
• Design A page protectors
• Seafoam binder
• American Craft slick writer pens
• 3x4 grid cards
• And instead of making my own, I'll be ordering these 4x4 grid journal cards today! I might be late to the party on realizing these are out, but this just made my day!

And see my Project Life Ideas Pinterest board for some inspiration.

*I still LOVE getting my Instagram photos printed from Printstagram (from Social Print Studio) and PostalPix. The quality from both is awesome. I'm using some 4x4 and 3x3 and even 2x2 sized photos in a few other projects I'll be sharing soon.

Quick note: Some links are affiliates, which means I receive a small commission when you purchase from that online store.

21 secrets begins in 21 days

As I put together the lessons and videos for my "I Am" self-portrait + poetry class for 21 Secrets, I simply had so much fun. I'm so grateful that Connie Hozvicka asked me to be part of this experience so that I could gather up my go-to favorite poetry + self-portrait prompts and put them together in an accessible online class for you to experience. Adding these mediums to your art journal adventures is going to change your life. For real.

And there are 20 (TWENTY!!!) other teachers who you will be learning from when you sign up. Look at all the gorgeous artwork represented in the above image. I can't wait to dive into the juicy ways we'll be learning to tell our stories. YES!

Here's a tiny peek inside one of my I Am journals that I am filling with photos + words + prompts. I share more about this simple journal in my class.

21 Secrets Spring 2014 will be a downloadable eBook, which means you receive full access to all the 21 Secrets workshops at once (including videos, written content, and visuals) and are able to keep them forever. This way you can go at your own pace, and if you've ever taken an ecourse with me, you know how important I feel that is. 

But you don't have to go it alone! Students and teachers will be connecting in a private Facebook group and private Flickr group. Love this!

Learn more about 21 Secrets and sign up right here.

{Note that as a teacher, I am also an affiliate for 21 Secrets. This means I receive a commission when sales are made through my links.}

five deep breaths

Every day in January, I paused to take five deep breaths. Hand to my heart. Creating space inside me. Letting in light and even love with each breath.

I'm doing it again this month. 

Each time I'm taking a photo and pausing to listen in the space just after I finish the fifth breath. I'm seeking evidence of this moment, of who I am, of what I most need to remember. Then I'm pairing the photo with the words I hear. Words like:

Five deep breaths right here alone for just this minute.

Five deep breaths while steeped in gratitude and trusting my gut.

Five deep breaths even in (especially in) the rainy dark.

Five deep breaths as prayer before nourishment.

Five deep breaths in that blurry space of exhaustion.

Five deep breaths in the rain knowing it's okay that I don't have all the answers. 

And as I take these deep breaths, I really feel like I'm coming home to myself. 

If you want to circle with a group of women who are exploring these kinds of practices, come along to Hand to Heart my free ongoing community of women. Each month I share different ideas to add to your current self-care practice and we're here to support you if you're just beginning the adventure of learning self-care. I also share more insight into the five deep breaths practice.

Learn more and request to join right here.

i wait all year...

Just like last year, the crocuses came up but didn't bloom. But the cherry tree buzzed with bees today, and I found myself welcoming the beginning murmurings of Spring amidst the missing that comes each year on my grandmother's birthday. I wrote this piece last year and am sharing it here for the first time.

*****

I wait all year for the day when the crocuses in my front yard seem to almost dance with their purple blooms reaching toward the sky.

I wait all year for this day that always falls just near her birthday. This day that pushes me to know that Spring is returning, as she always does, even when I doubt. This day that feels like the beginning of a conversation between us. Me, here, living this crazy beautiful life. Her, gone for eight years now, whispering to the budding trees and the pushing upward tulips, encouraging them to grow.

Almost every year during my childhood, I visited my grandparents during the spring. Some years it would be mid-March and the forsythia would be blooming. Other years it would be April and the azaleas and rhododendrons would appear like pink and purple dresses all around their town. My grandmother loved spring. She would name everything that was blooming when we walked around her yard, drove around town, visited the small lake near their house.

When she died on a day in April, it was during one of the most gorgeous springs her town had ever seen. Everything was in bloom. Everywhere. Trees. Bushes. Flowers shooting straight up from the ground. Pinks. Purples. Fuchsias. Yellows. Oranges. Reds. And she never saw any of it from her small hospital room. 

I remember feeling like I was in a fog, as though the world around me was almost in black and white. We were driving back to my grandparents’ home after the funeral and I suddenly noticed all those blooms. My heart felt broken knowing she would never see them again, knowing I would never hear her voice.

That next March, just before her birthday, when I was deeply doubting Spring could ever return outside or inside me, I was walking to get the mail and noticed the purple blooms of the crocuses in my front yard. 

As I stood there looking at the stripes and the unexpected burst of orange in the middle, a new kind of conversation began between us. Me, here, missing her so much I couldn’t breathe sometimes. Her, everywhere, breathing life into spring, into me.

But this year they didn’t bloom.

Nothing. Just green shoots and not one bud.

I tried to ignore it each day when I would look outside the kitchen window, cup of tea in hand. But when her birthday came and went last week without one bloom, I couldn’t deny that my crocuses weren’t blooming this year.

Even though of course the rational side of me knows that we won’t live in this house forever, that crocus buds do not really send a signal to my grandmother to visit me, part of me wondered if perhaps the conversation was coming to an end. If it was time to move on from this belief that she pauses in my front yard to remind the crocuses to bloom each year.

Thinking about this, I stood outside with the unexpected blue sky above me and the sun warming my head, and I put my arms out as though asking, “Are you there?”

I heard a whisper in that moment. A quiet, real voice saying, “You already know.”

Yes. 

(A version of this post originally appeared here.)

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

 

Meg is back with another Pinned it. Did it. post. There are so many awesome DIY ideas out there for bath scrubs and love having this recommendation from Meg. If you try it or have another one you love, let us know in the comments.

Meg writes:

I happen to fall into the large portion of the population that suffers from Keratosis Pilaris - tiny red bumps on the backs of my arms. I’ve had it come and go since I was a teenager and have finally found something that seems to help. I love how many smart ideas I come across on Pinterest that I might otherwise not find. This sugar scrub is one of those things. 

I’ve been using this scrub for over a month now and am starting to see a decrease in the red bumps on my arms. I’m hopeful that there will be a huge improvement by summer when I like to have bare arms. It is certainly not a quick fix, but I love how natural it is and how easy it is to personalize. I think it would make a great DIY gift for anyone to pamper their skin. 

I used avocado oil and coconut oil, white sugar, and a calming blend of essential oils. It’s recommended in the comments of the original post to not use 100% coconut oil (unless it’s fractionated) because it solidifies at room temperature. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about different essential oils that I could try in my next recipes of sugar scrub. I love how easy it is to personalize or experiment with. The scrub itself is so easy to make. It’s as simple as covering a scoop of white sugar with an oil of your choice (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil are some that come highly recommended), and then adding a few drops of essential oils of your choice. You could also leave the oils out for a fragrance-free option for anyone with sensitivities.

I’m enjoying feeling a bit pampered while I wait for baby to arrive in April. It’s funny how something so simple can feel like self-care and a pick me up in the winter days we’re having. It’s like having a hint of a spa indulgence at home. What ways do you like to indulge or pamper yourself with for some luxurious self-care? Tell us about them in the comments! I’d love to hear. 

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

***

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

permission granted

A few weeks ago, I snapped this photo and shared it on Instagram with these words: Permission to "sit on the floor of the kitchen and drink a cider and read while lasagna cooks and your family watches videos of the cast of Frozen singing in the other room" granted.

Such a simple self-care move to help me find my way back to myself. 

And capturing this moment with my phone + writing down a few words becomes evidence of how I'm finding my way.

Your homework: Get into the picture this week + give yourself permission to take care of you.

Yes.

*****

In my book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media, I gathered up many of my favorite ways to unearth pieces of our stories using the mediums of poetry, photography, and mixed media.

Through the prompts and examples in this book, you will be inspired to take photos of the everyday beauty around you (and even turn the camera on yourself), find the poet inside you, play with the art supplies you probably already have in your home, and take time to seek stillness in your daily life.

It's available right here in my shop.

love this :: ellie's current favorites (march)

I asked Ellie if she would share some of her current favorite things on my blog. Here's the list she gave me:

Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game!: This game is awesome! It is great for fine motor skills + everyone has a chance to win, which means we all get to learn about being a kind winner and what it feels like not to win. Ellie says, "I like when you get a storm and all the acorns blow away." 

Ellie says that The Very Hungry Caterpillar Puzzle is her current favorite because it comes in a box you can easily carry. She just about has the book memorized and loves reading it to herself. Puzzles have been a favorite for about a year now. 

Melissa & Doug's Pattern Blocks are a favorite during evening quiet time (something we are doing after bath time to ease into bedtime). Ellie has fun choosing which animals and colors - sometimes matching, sometimes going for the rainbow look. Listening to her commentary is always a treat.

Ellie and her Daddy love reading Ladybug magazine. It's for ages 3-6. It contains a variety of different mediums - poetry, art, and short stories, and it has recurring characters that they can follow from issue to issue. I love that it gives them something special to do together. It's also available in digital format, which would be awesome for traveling. They also enjoy reading Disney Junior magazine.

Ellie also wants me to tell you that she loves her Elmo nightlight. It came in handy when we almost lost power a few weeks ago. It was early evening and the light were flickering every now and then for about thirty minutes. Ellie kept it close to her so she could turn it on right away if the lights went off. She's still talking about how "prepared" we were if the power went out.

A little more about the evening quiet time: Around Thanksgiving, we found ourselves neck deep in the "I don't want to go to bed" excuses. For weeks we tried different things. It got really intense. One day last month I asked myself, "When I look back on this six months from now, what do I want to remember?" It was a take on my word of the year practice, thinking about how I would hope this time would look like if I came at it from even more love.

As I thought about this question, I had this vision of Ellie and I sitting in my bed. Me reading. Her looking at books or playing quietly with stickers. I realized that this time could be more about just being quiet together, letting the day fall away as we eased into bedtime. I could let go of "if you are a good mom, then your three year old should be in bed by this time or she will be exhausted and not thrive and her brain won't grow like it is supposed to" and all the other crap that gets piled up on a parent trying to do the best she can.

So we're trying quiet time. Sometimes it happens at her little white table or on the couch or next to me in bed. I'm letting go of the pattern of what the evening used to look like and letting this new way be okay. I'm listening to what I know and remembering how this serves me, us, again and again.

Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commision when you purchase something from the linked website.

come along to hand to heart

Beautiful Soul,
This is your invitation to say:
Yes to seeing the beauty in the simple moments
Yes to kindreds circling
Yes to showing up as you
Yes to magic found in the stillness
Yes to dance parties + poetry + mugs of tea
Yes to feeling the joy and the grief
Yes to opening up to love again and again...
Yes to all of it

Hand to Heart is a soft space for you to land daily as you listen to the wisdom within you and practice what you know. When you join, you become a member of an ongoing community of kindred women who will be exploring a new soul care practice and theme each month. These practices will light the way as we find the YES in our beautiful, messy lives. 

Some of the themes and practices we'll explore over the next few months include:

• Creating space within through accessible being-present practices that will help you find your breath, sink into your body, and quiet your mind. 
 
• Creating sacred space within our homes through gathering the treasures, inspirations, and words that speak to where we are on our journeys. We will look at ways to create small altar spaces to honor who we are, where we have been, and where we want to walk next on our paths.
 
• Creating space for ourselves throughout our days by seeking the beauty in the everyday, connection with kindreds, journaling through photography and writing and even putting color to the page, poeming it out, getting out into the world for short creative adventures, and using our cameras to capture who we are through self-portraiture.

We’ll begin with diving deeper into a few of the practices found in my “Yes, This” program, exploring them for a month at a time instead of just a day. In March, we'll pause to find the stillness each day as we take five deep breaths (including capturing that stillness through our cameras) and look at how this practice can ground us and give us the space to reboot in the middle of our day.

Your monthly membership includes:

Practice Notes: A PDF at the beginning of the month with guidance and inspiration about that month’s practice. This might include stories, an audio meditation, printables, worksheets, and so on. There will also be 1-3 additional emails per month with encouragement and love from me to you right in your inbox.

Monthly Spreecasts: In monthly video chats on Spreecast, I’ll share stories and thoughts around the month’s practice and other ideas we’ve been focusing on in our Facebook group. You’ll have the opportunity to ask me questions and connect with others using the chat feature. You’ll also be able to submit questions ahead of time and watch the Spreecast later if you aren’t able to join in live.

Monthly story releasing ceremony: Once a month, I’ll send out a love letter via email with an invitation to reply with a story or words that you need someone to hold space for. I’ll gather up the stories sent and through a small ceremony release the stories into the Pacific Northwest woods.

A private Facebook group that will include:

• Connection with like-minded souls seeking the Yes in their days.
• A “thought of the day” from me each weekday morning (which will be posted when I'm drinking my morning coffee here in the Pacific Northwest on PST). These will be invitations, reminders, inspiration, and quotes that will set the tone for the day and invite us to be present in our corners of the world. 
• Discussions about how we integrate these practices into our day-to-day lives and stories about the ways I do this in my corner of the world. 
• Safe space to check-in and honestly answer the question, "How are you in your corner of the world?"
• Weekly Poem It Out Thursdays: A day devoted to poetry each week where I’ll share a poem for you to explore + ask you to share your own favorites. Once a month there will also be a poetry/writing prompt inviting you to put pen to paper.
• Moderation Monday-Friday each week
• And so much joy and magic that will come from the synergy of all of us gathered together!

Other good things: You will be the first to know about my future offers, there will be shop discounts just for you, and so many other beautiful goodies that will reveal themselves as Hand to Heart grows and teaches all of us.

By becoming a member of Hand to Heart, you will receive ongoing connection from me as your guide and from a circle of like-minded souls. I truly believe that this is the group you've been waiting for. 

Membership: Introductory price of $39 a month

Learn more, read the FAQ, and become a member right here.