What are you Grateful For?

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

Gratitude is something that is easily forgotten in the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives but is something that each person should take 5 minutes out of a day to give a little thanks. I started a gratitude list a months ago but some days or even weeks, I would forget to even write a single word of appreciation. However, with all chaos of my life, I have found great comfort in writing 5 things that I am grateful for each day. In the beginning, my gratitude was for the children, family and friends and why I am grateful for each of them. Then it moved onto the things that are necessary to my survival on this earth... food, water and shelter. Now, I am truly finding the things that I am grateful for in life and in myself such as my artistic skills, the warmth of sunshine on my skin and the freedom to walk this earth each day that I wake up. To be grateful for each breathe I take is indescribable because so often we take for granted that each breathe we take is keeping us alive and on this beautiful earth. So what are you grateful for today?

Love Everyday of Your Life

"You only live once, so do everything twice."

 When someone dies, it makes you put your life into perspective. You begin to appreciate who you do have in your life and are grateful for the chance to take another breathe. My  best friend had suffered her first death as an adult and I wish there is something that I could say to make her feel better. Unfortunately when it comes to death, I become numb because it brings up many emotions that I yet to deal with in my own life. 

3 years, 7 months and 2 days.... that is the amount of time since my little brother died at the young ago of 23. I can put on the happy face and act like I am ok but in reality, my heart is still breaking from losing someone I was so close to and shared a special bond with. My brother and I didn't have the easiest childhood but what helped us get through it was each other.... even if we fought like cats and dogs. As adults, our bond grew stronger as we both struggled with our personal lives. We always knew we could talk and vent to the other. Now, I have felt lost without him and haven't been able to cope with that. Seeing my best friend crying over losing her friend makes me want to say something or do something to help ease her pain but all I can say is appreciate the people and things we have because we never know when it can all be taken away and gone tomorrow.

Finding My Laughter Again

"I would not exchange the laughter of my heart for the fortunes of the multitudes; nor would I be content with converting my tears.... into calm. It is my fervent hope that my whole life on this earth will ever be tears and laughter." Kahlil Gibran

Heartbreak is one of the hardest emotions and feelings to let go of and in the course of letting it go, you can discover new things about yourself that you may have never known. Recently, I have felt this painful emotion of heartbreak because of a breakup with my boyfriend. People told me that I would go through the mourning and grieving process which is true. I have gone from crying to anger to crying again. It has become a vicious cycle that I have not found a path off of just yet. There are moments of happiness but laughter has left my life and has not returned. 

In the movie Monster's Inc., you witness that laughter is 10x more powerful than fear and screams. So I am on the search to find this laughter that can bring a smile to my face and begin to reawaken my soul. Laughter and happiness is a key component to a loving life and loving yourself. Each day brings its own struggles but when you wake up in the morning, its a fresh day and a fresh start. So find laughter in each new day!

ReAwakening my Life

"Best is good, better is best" Lisa Grunwald

Lately, I have been struggling in my personal life to find myself and feel the happiness that those around me feel on a daily basis. Originally, I created this blog to reawaken people's creative senses but I want to expand beyond just that and allow people to follow my journey to find my happiness once again. For years, I knew that I struggled with depression but I never wanted to admit this to anyone let alone myself. Lately, I have had the chance to look at myself and my life and realize that my depression has been around since I was a teenager but no one else paid enough attention to see that I was unhappy. 

I know that everyone and their mother has written a book about finding themselves. Some people took trips, some people looked for small, daily ways to make themselves happy but I need to figure this journey out myself. I don't want to allow someone else journey to dictate or influence my journey to much. My journey needs to be my own. There is resentment and anger that I need to let go of, maturity to be grown and happiness to be found. 

So as I travel this path and attempt to find ways to find my happiness and love myself, I will be blogging about things that work and things that don't work. I hope that my journey will inspire someone else to take their own journey to find happiness and self-love.

Gift Certficate Giveaway

"A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it's easy to exchange."  ~Author Unknown

I know that I have not been blogging this week but I had a crazy, hectic week with having to get a new computer and trying to retrieve my old files. Now I am back on track and just in time to announce my big giveaway! For the next 2 weeks you get to enter or a chance of winning a $10 Gift Certificate to my Etsy Shop!!!!!

WAYS TO WIN: Comment on this post wins you an entry, each comment on each of this week's posts wins you an entry per comment, for every person you refer to win they need to put your username as a reference you will win an entry so you have 3 ways to win and plenty of chances! I will announce the winner at Noon on Saturday February 25th! The winner will be emailed a $10 gift certificate good for my Etsy Shop . Good luck to everyone!

Felted Soap Bars

“Everyone has huge creative capacities. The challenge is to develop them. A culture of creativity has to involve everybody, not just a select few.”
Sir Ken Robinson

I love to get my creative juices flowing and I have been searching to create something that was a need more than a want for a person. Well everyone needs soap to clean up so that I got my thoughts going. I didn't think I was up to the level of making my own soap quite yet plus I want whatever I create to fit into my fiber centered shop. Which gave me the idea to create felted soaps! I went to Michaels craft store and bought wool roving packs in an assortment of colors and then stopped by Target to buy soap. I got a Pomegranate Mango scented soap and Ivory Soap. 

I am learning that creating felted soaps is a learning experience that will get better each time I attempt to make more bars. I searched different sites for instructions and tutorials so I can see how to properly make the felted soap. Well that was overwhelming because so many people do it so many different ways. So I tried my hardest and I think they came out pretty good! I even needle felted a heart on my first bar! Now my first set of bars are listed in my shop! I am so excited to share these with other people!!

Pattern Winner

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

Mother Theresa

Time to announce my winner of my first blog giveaway! Thank you all who stopped by and checked out my blog and for those of you who promoted my giveaway. I love to see the smile on people's faces when they see a finished creation so I am giving away 2 of my patterns to both of my readers that commented! Thank you so much for the support! I hope that you enjoy creating something new!

CONGRATS NEW ENGLAND QUILTER AND LAURIE! I will be emailing you to give you the information on redeeming your free pattern.

** I will be announcing a new giveaway next Saturday so tune in!

Pattern of the Week

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo F. Buscaglia quotes

I have a collection of patterns that I have accumulated over the years with the thought in my mind that I would one day make this or that. Well now I am setting myself the goal to work on one pattern each week and reveal my creation every Thursday to all of my viewers. I am going to keep my first pattern a surprise so that when you tune in next Thursday you will see a new creation of mine that I created from one of my many many patterns. I am so excited to finally delve into my pattern folder and begin creating something new!