A New Day

When I wake up the day is spread out in front of me like a blank page. Slowly at first and then faster and faster, the page starts to fill with little drawings of all the things I have planned, my to-do list and other things I want to find the time for on this day. Before I know it, I´m up and heading for the shower - I want to begin so I have time for all the things that I can see on my mind´s page for the day - this day´s patchwork...I can see it in black and white within a few minutes of getting up and during the day, I get to colour it in.

Granny Square

It´s been getting pretty cold around here lately and after being inspired here and here, I tackled the basket of wool left-overs and made a snuggly granny square blanket to use on top of my quilt to keep us warm during these cold nights. Click HERE for a granny square tutorial.

OUR PLACE

I Love...

making useful things.

I love having a vegetable garden and getting my hands dirty.
grow your own vegetables
What I can´t grow myself, I buy locally.
10 reasons to buy local
I cook for my family from scratch every day.
cooking inspiration

Favourite Things

a film
a song
a book
an essay
an inspiration board
a website

My Bathroom

~ Enjoying a wonderful E-course
~ Blog post on de-cluttering
~ Article on pepping up bathrooms
~ Peak at other people´s bathroom counters HERE
~ Fabulous floor mat tutorials HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE
~ Ideas for creating a day spa at home
~ Earth friendly clothes washing tips
~ Bathroom cleaning tips

Excited!

Moo cards for my small business called

kreARTiv

On Monday I will be officially registered as

"Graphic artist and maker/designer of fabric articles"

Secret 10 Living in Abundance with Positive Priorities

(print by Leonie)

Prosperity = "the experience of having plenty of what we truly need and want in life, material and otherwise" (Shakti Gawain)

I haven´t had much to say here these past few weeks. At 42, I have had my share of rejection but that´s not something I want to concentrate on because I have learnt to move on immediately when it happens, sort of like on auto-pilot, because it´s the best way for me. Brush it off and move forward. As for alliances, there seems to be a wave of woman´s networks popping up in my area and I have been meeting lots of lovely women which is something I have been missing in real life...here in the blogging world it´s a different story. I have realised that I am so much more myself here than I am with strangers so I´m working on being more "myself" when I go out into the real world.

My own network here in my area is growing and it is definately bringing more prosperity into my life. I have my bags selling in a book shop and an organic grocery store and there are some business ideas to do with collage also developing. I have a lot of work within our group of language trainers and translation work coming in.

I know what I truly need - love, harmony, challenges, acceptance, adventure - in the past I have made the mistake of putting things off, waiting for a better time, more cash, a slimmer me...no more of this. I want to experience life not just read about it or watch it in a film. Now, here, I am taking time to do the things I love, I am putting myself and my work out there and inviting abundance into my life to come and play.

March Morning

I find myself feeling a little blue this time of year. My fingers are itching to get into garden work but it´s still too cold out. A good breakfast should lift my mood - a latté with honey, a roll with gorgonzola and roasted capsicum and a nice magazine of-course!

Some years ago I was sad and empty and feeling very inferior. I started this blog and 3 people reached out and encouraged me (symbols above, Jamie, Megg, Alexandra). Those first contacts and countless more since then have added beautiful, bright colours to my world and made me feel more a part of things and not so isolated here in my little town. This week I will be watching out for guides all around me and working on intensifying relationships with them.

12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Secret 6: Conquering Saboteurs

I can give compliments freely and have no problem being enthusiastic or sharing my admiration for people BUT I cannot criticise others OR take personal criticism – I have no problem talking to a third person about someone who upsets me but it´s very difficult for me to tell that person directly for fear of it coming back at me and then having to accept some criticism myself. This makes me ashamed of myself again and again and I am often fearful of putting myself and my ideas out there. My biggest fear is being laughed at. It makes my tears well up just thinking about it.
I´m sure there were situations in my childhood and later years that have played a role but only because it´s a weakness of mine that others have picked up on. Their critical, unaccepting and laughing voices are my gremlins and although I can be creative and happy regardless, they have the power to hold me back.
I have noticed my fear of success. I see the world in two parts. The artists, social thinkers and alternative lifestylers on one side and the greedy, money making business mogules on the other. (Even while I´m writing this one of my gremlins is saying you´re all going to thinking I´m crazy). I want to be in the first half and am afraid of getting too close to the second half. Does this make sense to anyone? So although I do want to have abundance and financial security in my life, I fear getting caught up in working life and becoming part of a system I don´t like. I´m sure that this outlook also blocks my creative ideas and endeavours too.
I feel like the path has been easy these last few weeks and now I´m standing in front of a steep hill. HELP!

SEW HAPPY!

One pile of scraps + 3 lovely, quiet hours of cutting and sewing = lots of bags

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Secret 5: Commiting to Self-Focus
The way for me to silence those voices in my head telling me I have more important things to do than collage or sew, is to have a plan and stick to it. Routines and rituals feel good to me. I feel at ease when I know that I am taking care of myself and my family, when I can open my door and not be ashamed of my apartment or my appearance and when I have enough time to create and to be with family and friends. When I don´t plan my days and just let them happen, time runs away from me and I feel like I´ve done nothing.
During Soul Coaching I made my Zen Teacup - I know what´s important to me and I don´t let much else in. It´s MY cup, it´s MY life! I´d love to see what´s in your cup.

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

(Wolfsberg and Bad St Leonhard-where I live)

Secret 4: Surrendering to Creative Cycles

In the past I have often felt stuck and lost - mainly this had to do with my financial situation. Living in a house too big for my pocket had me frantically looking for ways to be creative to make money. I started to realise that it would be easier to find ways to live well without spending so much. I started buying groceries locally- directly from farmers, baking my own bread, cookies and cakes and making yoghurt, pasta, marmalade and cordials myself. I learnt how to grow a vegetable garden that almost feeds us during the summer months and I started making gifts and cards instead of buying expensive gifts for friends. I used to feel held back by not having much money but now I see it was my ticket to creativity.

Right now I love what I do - teaching english to adults and children and including my own creative ideas within my teaching. It thrills me to see people develop confidence in their language skills and I love that I am able to put them at ease so they enjoy their time with me and go away smiling.

Being outside, exploring my surroundings, fresh air and the change of seasons stimulates my creativity. I love moving with the seasons like people did years ago. Being in the garden in spring and summer, knitting socks, scarves and gloves in autumn, slowing down in winter and using up what I have. The year moves a little slower when I live with the seasons and appreciate what each one has to offer. Going for walks and really seeing the world around me opens my eyes to the beauty all around and makes me feel invigorated and open to creative impulses.

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Secret 3: Following Your Fascinations
REACH: to get to or get as far as in moving, going, traveling; to come to or arrive in some course of progress, action; to succeed in touching or seizing with an outstretched hand; to stretch or hold out; to extend so as to touch or meet; to establish communication with; to amount to, as in the sum or total; to succeed in making contact with.

There is so much in Chapter 3 that speaks to me. I know what fascinates me, I know I am strong, I know I work well under pressure when I really want something. I want to reach out to others, reach out beyond myself. I will take this knowledge with me tomorrow when I start my training. I really believe "It´s only too late if you don´t start now"(Barbara Sher´s book title) . I am so excited!

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Secret 2: Honoring Your Inspirations

Creative Style Inventory
1. When did your creative awakening or reawakening occur?
I was always creative, I just didn´t recognise and make time for it. This changed shortly after I started blogging. By getting feedback from people I thought were fabulous, I became more adventurous and proud. I started to feel the need to make things with my hands and move away from consumerism.
2. What talents do you have naturally?
I´m a good talker and teacher, I make people feel at ease and I don´t get nervous very easily. I have a good ear for music and I love to sing. I am a natural leader. I am great at making something out of almost nothing. Friends often ask me for for ideas when they are decorating, looking for a gift or creating something and I always have an idea. Ideas just pop into my head. I´m also great at combining colors and patterns.
3. Which elements draw you toward them?
I love water and swim whenever I get the chance, even when it´s really cold. We have a lot of wood in our home as my husband is a carpenter/cabinet maker and I love the cosy atmosphere it creates.
4. Where and when do you create?
I create at my sewing table, my kitchen table or my coffee table. I put 2 hours aside every day to sew or collage or blog or just be open for ideas which I write down in an ideas diary. I check my timetable the night before and write down a 2 hour appointment for the next day in my calendar for creating. I have 3 hungry teenage sons, a large appartment and a small garden so there is always something that has to be done. If I didn´t put time aside for myself it wouldn´t happen.
5. What activates your creative energy and what drains it?
Going for a walk each day, noticing the weather, the change of seasons and the colors outside, breathing, these things make me feel alive and full of energy. Having a routine to keep my surroundings organised and my family fed and clothed gives me energy because I can create without that nagging voice in my head telling me I should be doing something else. I am the assistant director of a girl´s choir. Working and being around them gives me a lot of energy too. Being tired drains my energy so I try to get enough sleep but I don´t always succeed - I´d rather read blogs and books.
6.Do you use creative rituals?
I have my utensils sorted into activities. All the sewing stuff in one place, a box for collaging materials, my knitting things all in one basket. One ritual is to put away these things after I am finished so I don´t waste time looking for things. Before I go to bed at night I make sure my living space is tidy so I can start the next day with a clean slate.
7. Does nature influence your creativity? How?
As mentioned in answer 5. There are so many inspiring sounds, patters and color combinations in nature, everywhere you look.
8. What has been your greatest creative hurdle so far?
Silencing the voices in my head telling me what I create is not good enough and that I should be doing something more worthwhile with my time. My routine, positive feedback and a partner who is supportive and creative himself really helped.
9.What time of day are you most receptive to inspiration?
I find mid-morning the best because I´m home alone and it´s so quiet.

This year I will be working within an independent group of international language trainers, interpreters and translators - on the 27th of January our new language training center will be opening with courses beginning in Febuary. We also plan to include art, craft and sewing courses aswell as personal development workshops sometime in the future. I will be starting a series of courses and seminars at the end of January to become a motivational trainer for adults and children. And to top it off I will be learning to play the piano so I can incorperate music and singing into my courses aswell.This week I will concentrate on my new work situation and how to use routines and rituals to make this dream come true.

101 things in 1001 days. Number 32: Write a poem.

My Creativity

There´s this thing inside of me, part of me.
You may see it glowing.
If you´re moving along too quickly,
then you probably can´t tell.

For a long time, I didn´t notice it.
I was busy with other things.
Having kids, teaching, living – sort of.
Worrying, running, suffering.

In my relationships, my jobs, my homes.
It was there, glowing.
But I was moving along too quickly.
I just couldn´t tell.

These days I move slower, I live slower.
I walk with my eyes and ears open.
I love with my heart open and let what´s inside out,
like rays of sunlight.

I wish that everyone´s creativity be alive in them and beyond them, joining together to brighten this world.

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Secret 1 - Acknowledging Your Creative Self

"What you love is a sign from your higher self of what you are to do". (Sanaya Roman)

I used to think I would have to change my profession to be happy as I felt too restricted in my teaching job - but I have come to realise that it wasn´t the work that had me feeling restricted, it was my position within the company and a boss I didn´t like. While staying in that job I was restricting myself and not acknowledging my talents which are

*Teaching *Motivating *Leading *Crafting *Singing

Now I´m learning and experimenting with new processes so I can combine these talents and use them to make a positive difference.

My husband made me these wooden letters. I´m so grateful that we found and said "yes" to each other.

YES!

2009 is spread in front of me like a new book waiting to be read, like a new journal waiting to be filled. On this fresh, new, exciting first day of the year I say YES! Yes to life, YES to me, YES to all the old things I love and all the new things I know are just around the corner waiting for me to welcome them in, YES to all the things I have learned and have yet to learn. Happy New Year!