Garden Party

Jordan taught me that if you're looking for pretty party ideas, wedding magazines are one of the best resources. She's brilliant like that. In the current issue of Wedding Style Guide there is a story on a Garden Party Bridal Shower that made my heart go pitty pat. I'd love to throw the same party — not as a bridal shower — but just as an excuse for the ladies to lunch.




I love the tagged canning jars ready to host fresh flowers that the guests arrange themselves. I love the hearty sandwiches served on sheets of brown paper. Lots of lovely details. Bonus: you can even get free downloads for the party stationery — invitations, hang tags and signs — so that you can throw a party just as pretty as theirs.

And if you're not subscribing to this Australia-based magazine, you might want to do so. Wedding Style Guide is a treasure. Full of gorgeous photography and brilliant party and entertaining ideas.

Moxie Kids

The Moxie Iris Dress by Ses Petites Mains. 18 mos. to 8 years. Available only at Moxie Kids. Perfection.

Goodies from Beehive Bazaar

Knowing how bummed out I was about missing another Beehive Bazaar, the lovely organizers sent me a box filled with goodies so I could experience some of the BB wonder here in New York. Lucky me!

Beautiful and functional (my favorite combo), hand-painted garden tools. The cutest little reversible apron you ever did see. And a cheery wool-sphere necklace — that I have been totally coveting. The package absolutely made my day. Thank you Steph and Molly and Noelle!

Man Stationery

The best thing about today is that it's one day away from Ben getting home. He's been on a business trip since Monday night and I've been trying to pace my Motherhood Patience so that I'm not completely worn out before he gets back. But alas, my patience is running on fumes today and I've been offering up incessant prayers that my children be especially charming today so that my only desire is to hug and kiss them and buy them yellow balloons.

Because my mind is on manly Ben, I remembered this fantastic line of stationery I spotted on kirtsy. They're called Man Notes and you can find them (and their silly names) on Pretty Bitter.

Ask Design Mom Week Starts Monday!

Do you remember the last Ask Design Mom Week? Well it's awesome. And it's back. And it starts on Monday.

Here's the story: every so often I realize I have become a serious slacker about answering Ask-Design-Mom Questions. So. I take a week and post as many as I can. Then I answer some. And you, the clever reader, answer some as well.

A new twist for next week: I'm hosting 5 different excellent Giveaways — one a day, Monday through Friday — to thank you for your help in answering all those worthy questions. So meet me here on Monday for good questions, good ideas and good prizes. I can't wait!

More Refurbished Plate 411

I've received a few emails asking for more information on the plates I posted about last Friday — the plates we made at the Method Party. And happily, I've rounded up a few great photos so you can get a better idea of how it works. By the way, the photo at the top is from Danny Seo's home. He made a whole series of plates and displayed them in his workshop — aren't they fabulous? And don't you want to move right in to his workshop?

Here's how you can make a wall of plates for yourself:


Come up with a silhouette. You can draw it from scratch or trace an existing one. Or maybe just do a bunch of circles or stars. Whatever you envision, it needs to be outlined on a sheet of computer sticker paper.


Cut out the silhouette.


Pull off the adhesive backing and place the sticker on your plate. We used old plates that had been picked up at Salvation Army. A great way to reuse!


Choose a color (I still can't remember the name of the paint. Anyone else?), and cover the entire plate surface with paint. You may need a few coats to achieve the color and coverage you're looking for.


When the paint is dry, use a pair of scissors to carefully tug/scrape the sticker away from the surrounding paint toward the center of the sticker. You will want to work carefully or the paint edges can come up. Don't panic if they do — you can touch them up with a small paint brush.


When the sticker is removed, bake the plate at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (No word yet on how durable this ultimately makes the plate.)

And that's it. Now. Why not host a plate party and make your own collection? Like the idea, but not up for making your own? Check out the work of Sarah Chiat. Refurbished plates with all sorts of good-looking, sometimes edgy silhouettes.

One last note about the party. We were lucky enough to be joined by Amanda from Goody Blog. She is darling and friendly and I loved the post she wrote up about the event. Many of these great photos were taken by her — thanks Amanda!

Emma & Avery

If you have a wedding or other special event this summer and you need something just right for your daughter to wear, find a dozen drool worthy options at Emma & Avery.

Emma & Avery is also perfect for anyone with a daughter that insists on dressing like European royalty.

Porridge Home

Fun to see that Porridge is expanding their great clothing line to include bedding! Looks gorgeous.

Random Links

Since the power in my neighborhood has been randomly turning off on this completely storm-less day, I will embrace the randomness and give a list of unrelated, but interesting links that have been on my mind.



Sugar City Journal
An excellent blog. Written by two sister-in-laws on the opposites sides of the country. Very inspiring. Lots of ideas and projects — like the pretty detailing on these stairs.

Xerpi
This is a site to organize all your favorites sites. It's like bookmarking on steroids. With the ability to do things like visually group related links and add notes. I've been using del.icio.us for my bookmarks for the last 18 months or so. I use it to keep track of sites I've posted about and sites I want to post about. But I'm thinking about switching to Xerpi. It looks like it has a ton more features to help me track things more efficiently.



White Trash Mom Handbook
Don't you love it when one of our own (bloggers, I mean) makes good? Hooray for Michelle of the infamous White Trash Mom blog, who just had her first book published! It's filled with lots of funny anecdotes and practical advice on not letting the pretentious aspects of Modern Parenting get you down.



Tollipop
Another fantastic blog by a talented and interesting illustrator.

$1 Summer Movies
AMC is hosting dollar shows all summer long to benefit charity. Lots of recent kid hits like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Alvin & The Chipmunks and Shrek The Third. I love matinee movies in the summer! You can't beat an air conditioned spot and a box of milk duds when getting to the pool sounds like too much work.



Memorial Day Quilt
Look at this beautiful quilt Scribbit posted about. Made by friends to commemorate the death of her young nephew. For materials, the friends used sections of his blankets and clothes and pajamas — even including tags occasionally as reminders of his ages and stages. What a gift!

Collapsible Reusable Grocery Bags

Part of being a Mother in 2008 means not being able to meet friends at the park without some discussion, minor or major, about reusable grocery bags. And I'm not even exaggerating at all. Grocery bags are a big topic. Huge.

So of course, my eyes are constantly peeled for the best bags to recommend. And it's true, I've already linked to several different types in previous posts. But today, I'm going to introduce two different versions that focus on the ability-to-become-small as one of their chief aspects.




First Baggu. It's a great website with great photography. So you should probably check it out just for that. The bags are sturdy, generously proportioned (they hold the equivalent of 2-3 grocery bags), they sit flat when they are filled, and they come in great colors.





Next, meet Flip & Tumble. Featuring another smart site with a little video that shows you how fast it is to collapse these bags — easy as balling a pair of socks.

Flip & Tumble bags are so small that it's a cinch to keep one with you all the time. And in a pinch, the ball will double as entertainment for your toddler.

Beaba

In one week, I heard about this little appliance from three of my best sources — leading me to understand the Beaba is one hot little number. All three mentioned that it was French. That is has been all the rage in Europe. And that it's just now available in the US. You know how I get that longing look in my eye for anything Euro-chic. . .

Why all the fuss? Because the Beaba is a multi-tasker. It steams. It blends. It warms. It defrosts. All in the same compartment. And it does it under 15 minutes. Enabling you to make healthy, fresh meals for baby without much trouble or mess.



I'm thinking this will make a perfect baby gift — especially for my friends who've already had a baby and still own all the traditional gear. Especially cute paired with this wholesome baby cookbook.

Laviva Home

Oh my. I'm pretty darn excited about this find — sent in by DM Reader Catherine C. It's called Laviva Home and it's a website started by the talented Laura Aviva who was formerly the Director of Creative Projects at Travel & Leisure. (Sidenote: doesn't that sound like a terrific title? I'm thinking it was probably a hard one to give up.)

She left the magazine about a year ago, and has used her knowledge of world travel to put together "curated, online trunk shows" of really beautiful items from around the world. The first show (the one that's currently on her site) is called "Textile." The next two are tentatively scheduled as "Object" and "Collective."



Laura is both the curator of these trunk shows and owner of the website. Her goal as she puts together the collection is to make sure each item “tells a story, reveals a history, and evokes a sense of place.” The first one features seven different kinds of beautiful textiles from a number of far-flung locales. Items like Turkish hammam towels (I can't guess how absorbent or practical these are, but they are gorgeous and I'm coveting them) and Mexican bedspreads (my sister Jordan has been craving one of these beauties for ages).



The website is simple and easy to peruse. The items are beautiful and reek of quality, purpose and exotic places. I think it would be wonderful to create a home where items like these would fit right in. A really delightful collection to browse and day dream about. I can't wait to see the next trunk show.

Memorial Day Weekend

Is it really truly already Wednesday? This week is going so fast, it's like a pretend week. Before it's done and gone, here's a quick report on our busy, happy weekend.

Friday night was a Father and Daughter Campout. Ben and Maude and Olive drove about an hour North to a lovely little campground at Whaley Lake. Betty will be old enough to join them next year. Campfire, s'mores, tents and canoes. A good time was had by all.

On Saturday, we met Ben and the girls at Benton Brook Farm. Twice a year the Darger Family (Benton Brook's proprietors) hosts pretty much everyone they know at their incredible farm in Massachusetts. It's an all day event with games and food and dancing and loveliness. This year, they added a charming little green tractor which spent hour after hour circling the farm and offering rides to the wee ones. A great day!



The great picture of Oscar at the farm was taken by Laura B. Speaking of Laura, my family didn't do anything formal to mark Memorial Day this year, but I loved reading about what Laura B did with her family.

Growing up, her family would spend this holiday bringing flowers to the graves of loved ones — not necessarily military people — just anyone they wanted to remember. Laura lives far from home now but wanted to give her children some of the same feelings she had on Memorial Day. The solution? Her husband looked up the gravesites of all sorts of famous people buried in the driveable New York area and they spent the day wandering through four different graveyards and leaving flowers in their wake.



Just a few of the graves they visited: Herman Melville, Miles Davis, Joseph Pulitzer, Rachmaninoff, Babe Ruth and Duke Ellington.

Wasn't that a fantastic idea? What a great excuse to get to know some out-of-the-way places. I fully intend to copy this idea next May — if I can wait that long.

Little Architecture

Andrea, a-former-West-Elm-designer-turned-jeweler, sent me the link to her Pico shop. The name of her line, Little Architecture, caught my eye. I checked it out and wasn't disappointed. Beautiful pieces — with clear architectural inspiration. I especially loved the bracelets. (I am all about bracelets these days.)

Apple Shift Dress

I would put Betty in a simple dress every single day of the summer. Like this cute little shift dress from Little Season's etsy shop. Apple-y delicious. A steal at $20.

Zeichen Press

The cards from Zeichen Press are smart and funny. The CD/DVD covers are beautiful. Apparently intelligence and beauty are not mutually exclusive. Letterpressed. Of course.

Winners — Method Cleaning Products

Another great Giveaway from another great sponsor. Congratulations to the 3 big winners:

-Shiloe who said, "This will help me with my belated Spring Cleaning."
-Kathryn who said, "Just even looking at the products makes me excited to see how they could brighten every room of my house!"
-Angela who said, "I luv Method!"

Happy Day to you lucky ladies! And thank you to the generous sponsor, Method Home.

Random Giveaway — Method Cleaning Products

Oh how I love pretty packaging. And pretty packaging of products designed to make your home prettier (and cleaner) are the loveliest of all. If you feel the same way, you'll be delighted to know that this Giveaway is an opportunity for Three Lucky Ladies to win huge, overflowing giftbags from Method Home!!

What's in the bag? I'll tell you. But first I have to tell you about the bag itself. It is awesome. The Method Reusable Market Tote. Silkscreened on the outside. Plain blue on the inside. And the whole things stuffs into its own inside pocket. Making for a tiny little pouch you can keep in your handbag. Plus, it's filled with even more swag than the partygoers received last night. Take a look:


Squeaky Green Book
Reusable Market Tote


Sea Minerals Hand Wash
Cucumber Dish Soap
French Lavender All Surface Cleaner


Lil' Bowl Blue Toilet Cleaner
Omop Wood Floor Care Kit


Method Kid Squeaky Green 3-in-1 Shampoo
Method Kid Squeaky Green Body Wash

Plus coupons. So you can try out more items from their so-much-more-extensive-than-I'd-imagined product line.

That's quite a bag full. If I say so myself. And really, it's yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. Because three of you will win identical enormous Method Goody Bags!! Here's how all the loot looks hanging out on my kitchen table:



These yummy products are bound to make a particularly dreary task bright and happy. Hooray for non-toxic products that are beautiful and smell good! Hooray for shiny clean houses! Happy commenting.

Thank you Method!

-------------

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight PST on Monday, May 26th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Method Party

Best Thursday Night Ever. Can't wait to report. The event: I hosted a fantastic party at the Method pop-up shop in Soho. I can freely say it was fantastic, because I was responsible for nothing more than the guest list. And I should mention, the guests were the best part — a smart, hilarious and creative group of women from my neighborhood.



The highlight of the evening was refurbishing second-hand-store dishes into works of art. Our crafting leader for this project was the famous Danny Seo. Who kept us entertained and informed and happy. He is lovely. And clever. And patient. Danny has an empire of books and dvd's and magazine columns and tv appearances and I'm embarrassed that I didn't know more about him until last night. But he is some kind of creative genius and I have serious plans to stalk his blog forevermore. The most important thing you should know about Danny: he was named one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People magazine. Because he's a total hottie.

The basic instructions: we used sheets of computer sticker paper to draw a silhouette. In my case, an elephant, but there were all sorts of great ideas. Fish rounding the edges of the plate. A well-drawn initial. A beautiful moose. Then we adhered the sticker to the plate and covered the plate with some kind of made-for-ceramics paint. When it was dry, we peeled off the sticker and voila! there was our silhouette on our happy refurbished dinnerware. We were told to bake them for 20 minutes at 350º to make the paint permanent.

What a great project! I think this would be fun to do with my kids — I'm having visions of a cute set of dessert plates for the holidays.



The food was yummy. The company was yummier. And to make things even better, while the paint on our plates was drying, we discovered the Method photo booth. Designed to showcase cleaning confessions — our dirty little secrets.

There were lots of photo booth photos that had been left behind by past party goers. The one that made me laugh the most said: I like bacon more than friends. And I don't mop my floors. I had 3 thoughts when seeing that photo: 1) Totally. 2) I think I would be bff's with the subject of that photo. 3) She should totally check out kirtsy. It's like a bacon showcase over there.



After we photo-boothed to our hearts content, it was time to send us home with generous swag bags: reversible, reusable grocery totes filled with Method cleaning products and a super cool tee that says "Cleans Like A Mother." Fun, right? And then we headed out into the beautiful New York night without so much as emptying a garbage can. Can you beat that? Being the hostess of a great party with no responsibilities but showing up. Lovely.

Why a Method party? Because Method is super smart. They know the best way to showcase their products is to get them in the hands of real women. Which they did. And we can't wait to try out our goodies. I've been a Method Handsoap fan for ages, and I'm totally ready to branch out now and see how I like their other products.

The only regret: the shop is small and I could only invite so many people. But you know how I hate anything exclusive. Exclusive is sooo anti-social-media. So to help you take part in all the fun, how about I host a great big Method Giveaway? Watch for the forthcoming post. . .

Party Hats Hurrah! — Guest Mom Amy Sharp

I love finding wonderful birthday party ideas for the wee ones on the web. I often find moments of bliss here on Design Mom and other places like here, here and here.

I ran across an amazing idea today on this lovely blog — a Robin Hood party! How Charming!!! Here is a video tutorial on how to make the Robin Hood hats.

Imagine if we could harness all of the creativity and pizazz of all of these super awesome people...we could power the world!



And here's my sad little goodbye:

I have had a wonderful time here this week on Design Mom. I felt at home and welcomed by all of you. Gabby has such an amazing site and equally fabulous readers. (I am so jazzed about all of the new blogs I am discovering!) Merci! It was good to relish a bit on creativity this week as I think it is so important for our souls as mothers. We are the keepers and nourishment of our children's bliss...

Picasso said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

I encourage you to talk to other mothers about creativity and inspiration as we have so much to share with each another. Big kisses to you Gabby — you inspire us all!

As Ever, Amy

Books of the Week — Bob Gill

I love these books so much! And was delighted to find that Phaidon just reissued them. I think Bob Gill is a genius. He was a freelance illustrator in New York before he moved to London in 1960 — where he started a design firm that eventually became Pentagram(!). What a cool guy. I love that he has both Pentagram and awesome children's books on his resumé. Nice.

In A Balloon for A Blunderbuss a child starts with a butterfly and imagines what he could trade it for. A butterfly for a wishbone. A wishbone for a flag. A flag for a straw hat. A straw hat for a green umbrella. Until eventually he figures out a way to trade for everything-in-the-world.

In What Colour is Your World? there is a simple discussion of how different people view color. A gardener would see things in green. A milkman would see the world in white. And an artist might view color altogether differently.

The style and illustrations are perfection — authentically retro cool. These books would make great gifts for the children of any artsy parents you know.

Simple Art/Learning project for the summer — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

A really simple project Finn and I worked on recently was to make a feeling/emotion wheel.

We took two pieces of cardstock, no actually we cut two identical circles from our cereal box and used the blank sides. I used my xacto knife (don't ya just love any excuse to get it out?) to cut a two inch square on the top circle near the edge. We then attached the circles together with a paper fastener or a fancy brad if your a scrapper.

We marked with pencil several squares as We turned the top circle and then took the circles apart to fill the squares with photo feelings. Finn choose the feelings and on that particular day they were nervous, happy, loving, angry, peaceful, and junky.

We took photos of him acting out these feelings and printed them out and pasted them on our squares. The whole project was quick and really rewarding as we talked a lot together about emotions.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a wheel attached to our faces? It would be great to just adjust an attitude by a simple turning motion near the ear and jaw bone. Even if it couldn't change your mood, it could announce to the world the real way you're feeling. :)

I like this wheel template for learning colors, letters, weather, words, and just about anything for any age. I plan on using it for our garden lessons by having Finn learn plants and vegetables! What would you make with the wheel?

If you like the idea of talking about your feelings you can always buy one of these bad boys. I love these Kimochi Emotion Dolls. I know they are pricey but how much are those darn American Girl Dolls? These sweet weirdos spark real conversations I think. Cool!

Back to Business

I'm back from another great trip to Houston. Fun fact: did you know Houston has just bypassed Chicago as the third largest city in America (following NYC and LA, of course)? And did you also know that it is really hard not to eat really well in Houston? Excellent restaurants are plentiful and you would have to go out of your way to find a poor meal.

One of the trip highlights was an inspiring evening spent with the kirtsy girls, Jenny, Brené, Ellen, Lucy and Katherine. What a group! Encouragement and enlightenment all around. No one wanted the evening to end. Plus Jenny was wearing a gorgeous gerbera daisy in her cleavage, so that made for a happy place for me to rest my eyes.

Another highlight: Laura arranged for Laurie and I to stay at The Modern. A bed and breakfast housed in a fantastically cool building. It's lovely. And hip. And chic. So chic that Dwell Magazine named it one of 16 Hip Hotels in America. You should totally stay there. And eat their super yummy organic breakfast — which included the most delicious scones I've ever tasted.



And while we're talking about cool places where you can stay, I'll mention that I've got a comprehensive post on playtents up at Cookie's Nesting blog today. Check it.

Grow Them Well — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

There is something amazing about the introduction of summer. The knowledge that is is right around the corner is enough to make us purr. The sunshine rubbing all over me last weekend reminded me of how very special this summer will be. My son is old enough this summer to really invest in summertime, but I am old enough to be tempted to stay inside in the air conditioning if I don't let the inspiration flow.

My family is working on a garden this spring/summer and it is proving to be very exciting to learn to tend the earth. I started off here at you grow girl and here at kids gardening to learn some basics and soon found that gardening can be so addictive.



We are working on the garden as a whole concept. We planned, shopped, started seeds, planted, and now are tending as a family. We have started to journal daily about our garden and plan to run to the garden before breakfast in our pajamas. We pray it goes as well as it sounds in our minds :)

There are so many activites and lessons that go along with summer and gardening. Check out these books and even if you live in the city and have no land to dig- there are books like this to help you catch the gardening spirit.



Wondertime has a great article on gardening and kids and the awesome Artful Parent blog has a lovely interview with Sharon Lovejoy on Gardening with Children.

Simple or elaborate, you can learn a lot this summer if you dig together in the dirt. Teaching your children to respect the earth and care for mother nature is a fabulous gift. Follow your bliss this shining summer!



And speaking of all this...mama likes:
this and this and this and this and this.

Creative Spaces — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

I love when Cookie and Wondertime magazines show us the little reading nooks of readers. I daily browse OhDeeDoh to see what innovative and gorgeous kid rooms they will post. I love seeing creative spaces for others. Kids rooms and homes that are family centered make me happy. I love day dreaming of having this or this for my kids.

I think kids need spaces, places of their own. Where do your kids go to read or create or find peace? Do they build forts of blankets or sit inside these charming tents? Would they chill in this?

I know that if my family asked me to create a special space for me, a small room or nook of my own...I would have this light hanging above my head and I would probably be perched on one of these reading this!

It is fun to dream!

Great Art Supplies — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

Need some supplies to get you started on your Artsy Fartsy Summer? Here are a few inspiring picks:

Modern Kids Twist Crayons
Funky Brushes
Stockmar Crayons
Finger Paint

Create An Artsy Fartsy Summer for your Family! — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

Some sample art projects I've done with my kids.

Virginia Woolf said, "Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order."

Art is a natural tool for teaching. Children are open and creative without effort and adding art into their life can only increase and stimulate their young brains — and work on matter of fact parameters like hand eye coordination and motor skills. Art rules! Come on, even if you worry that you are no artist, you must still love to color. You must still love that fresh new marker from a box?

This summer why not plan a great art camp experience for your child at home? And in this beautiful blogosphere there is no need to re-invent the wheel. I have been checking out some amazing blogs and all of the cool ideas they have for us:

Camp Creek blog is a stellar site that revolves around the authentic art education of a family. Check out the great lists and tips for creating art at home!

Courtney over at Two Straight Lines is super artsy and gives us creative crafts and tutorials! You might have seen her in Wondertime Magazine!

The Crafty Crow is an organized and lovely spot to go and find tons of art projects!

Book Hour Craft Projects provides beautiful craft tutorials.

There are so many wonderful sites out there for ideas. A great choice for an art scaredy cat parent is to hook up with another parent and host a mini-camp-like-experience this summer. I am working on one at my blog and am going to join other folks in my town to virtually create a great summer experience for my boys.

Just remember that young children don't know that you "can't" draw. They just know that you are spending time with them, they just know they are having fun with you! Get out your Crayolas and explore! Grab a sketch book and hit the zoo! Have a colorful summer together!

Inspire Yourself — by Guest Mom Amy Sharp

I try and live a wonder filled life. I try and stay true to my artist soul. My family typically creates something each day together. It may be an art project, a poem, or a cake, but we try and use the spark daily. I think the spark is the magic in your day, the energy that can make a bad day good, or a hard day easier.

Before I share a lot of specific projects or ideas that I have for parents and children, I would love to think about inspiration. People email me and ask me how I think of cool art projects and educational lessons and I always reply that I read and I look each day. I am rarely doing anything revolutionary, simply filtering all the amazing inspiration that is out there through my life.

I like to go to this site and dream about mood boards, which can help you come up with magical ideas! The flickr pool for inspiration boards is amazing and I dare you to not start your wheels a turning while looking. I go to the library weekly and check out tons of activity, art, craft, and lesson planning books like these:
Under Chinaberry Tree
Ginger Carlson
Making Stuff Kids

I keep a basket under my desk of ideas and future wishes and dreams. I tear out magazine articles or scribble ideas and tuck them in there for safe keeping. You cannot do it all at once, but in a year you can do a lot with your child!

I love to browse the web for lovely things to kindle the wonder. I love to go to flickr pages like this one and browse, and flickr is so cool as you can just type in a word like a color or an emotion and just swoon. I love to go to youtube and listen to music from my past as it always makes me feel delirious with passion and ready to tackle a new day.

And then there are the blogs! It is at times too much to think about all of the creative buzz that is flowing round this web. I love to visit my favorite blogs daily and soak up the eye candy and wisdom. I love how I feel when I read my favorite blogs, or discover a new fabulous blog. I feel energized. I feel full of possibility.

Each day is filled with the must do's of life. We must work, run errands, care for others, cook, clean, pay bills, and so on...Why not make creativity a must do for your day too? We are all creative and capable of fostering a sense of wonder in our lives. We must not be afraid to play and learn with our children. We must not be afraid to take the time we need to nourish our souls first. Fill your mind and soul with inspiration and watch it run over into all the parts of your life.

What do you do daily to inspire yourself and your family?

photos from flickr that are lovely/inspire me:
one two three four five