Pick a Pack of Rick Rack

A dear friend of mine recently had the difficult task of cleaning out her parent's house.

And as a result, gifted me with some vintage sewing supplies which I was more than happy to accept.

Including this lovely assortment of rick rack.

I don't know about you, but I find old packaging such as this absolutely beautiful.

I have a feeling it might be really difficult for me to actually open them up and use them. Maybe I'll just admire them for now.

The Secret to Success in all Things

The secret to success in all things. That's a lot to deliver, right?

This little altered board book is going to do just that.

Are you ready?

There you have it. Work diligently, patiently, and persistently and you're bound to be successful. Easy peasy, right? It's pretty simple when you think about it.

The trouble is that working diligently, patiently, and persistently is pretty tough in a world where faster is usually better and so much is measured in terms of speed and ease. Modern living has made the click of a button or mouse the standard by which we expect all things can and should be accomplished.

Diligently, patiently, and persistently takes time. Lots of time. Painting this little book took a lot of time. There were moments when I felt like it was taking more time than it could possibly be worth.

For me, the process of making art is incredibly slow. I wonder how so many artists can be so prolific. So successful. Now I think I know. They work diligently, patiently and persistently. We don't necessarily see that. We only see the result of that.

Work diligently.

Diligently.

Work patiently and persistently.

 Patiently and persistently.

And you're bound to be successful.

Bound to be successful.

Keep it moving!

The Secret to Getting Things Done

Here's some advice we can all use in our lives, right?

Are you ready to know what it is?

Cliche? Yes!

Effective? Try it and find out for yourself.

You may have noticed that the advice starts and ends with "keep it moving." That's a favorite mantra of mine that I picked up from a former co-worker. You can apply those three little words to every aspect of your life--physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. It doesn't matter where you are as long as you keep moving forward. I think that just might boil down to be the simple purpose of life besides the most effective way to get things done.

This altered board book probably could have just contained that one phrase. But hey! I had a bunch of pages to fill to I paraphrased in as many ways as I could to really make the point.

Keep it moving! That's all you really need to remember.

Don't look back...just keep it moving.

xoxo

For the Love of Paper

I love old paper! The color. The graphics. The type. The crumbly deterioration.

To me, all of these qualities combine to create a thing of beauty. Something that I could sit and look at for hours. Or simply frame to hang on the wall as art.

I'm very lucky that exquisite examples of old paper such as this receipt book from 1884 find their way into my life. My friend Cathy gifted me with this one.

The best part is the faint, but still visible, words penciled onto the cover. Cucumber. Pickle. Possibly written as many as 130 years ago by someone. Somewhere. For some reason we will never know.

Cucumber. Pickle. A sweet, sweet mystery.

Spread the love.

xoxo

The Secret to Success - Book 3

  

Here is the third and last in the itty, bitty secret to success series. They are tiny little books with massive messages. Life is not as complicated as we sometimes try to make it. It's really just all about the love.

It's all about the love.

Spread the love.

xoxo

Spread the Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Although today is a day designated to celebrate love, lately I've been on a mission to spread the love every day. I keep this bowl of handmade hearts on my desk at work. Anytime someone notices, asks, or comments about them I let them know that they are welcome to have one. I explain that it's my way of spreading the love. It's delightful to watch people glow with happiness at such a simple gesture. One person even jumped up and down like a small child upon hearing that she could take one. Most people spend a moment or two to choose just the right one and often tell me who they plan to give it to. Just this week I heard that someone had gifted her heart to a friend who was having a difficult day. I told her to take another for the next time she needed to spread the love. The hearts have gone to people that I see regularly and to complete strangers as well. I keep refilling the bowl. It makes me so happy to spread a little love in the world. It doesn't take much. Really. Everyone can spread a little love. Give it a try and see what happens.

Spread the love.

xoxo

The Secret to Success - Book 2

Here is book #2 in the itty, bitty secret to success series.

Achieving success is really quite simple, isn't it? After all, success is just a state of mind.

Spread the love.

xoxo

The Secret to Success - Book 1

There are many secrets to success. I made a series of itty bitty, tiny books to share just a few of those secrets with you. Here is the first book.

Simple, right? Give it a try today and see what happens.

Spread the love.

xoxo