Thought I’d have a bit of fun in my Strathmore Mixed Media 9″ x 12″ Journal. I painted her in watercolor paints but with a limited palette of 3 colors. I added a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt which reads “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” What are your dreams for the future?
Hope your weekend is off to a great start!
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Share the Happy 💖
I came across my Strathmore 6″ x 12″ watercolor journal and because of it’s size it’s a bit more challenging to create in but I thought it would be fun. I just finished her last night and found the quote after she was done and it couldn’t be more perfect “She wore flowers in her hair and Hope in her heart.”
Have a beautiful day!
Share the Happy 💖
I painted this little spring tea cup birdie to add to my Jodi Ohl Color Lovers Challenge journal. For the color challenge she hosted last year I used a canvas for the Spring prompt but held this spot in my journal to come back to later.
This tea cup design was created by a talented watercolor artist Lori May. I have a larger version of this painting but I liked it a lot and thought it would go well for the spring prompt. I added a quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that reads “Came the spring with all its splendor. All its birds and all its blossoms. All its flowers and leaves and grasses.”
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Every animal on this planet lives in the present moment. They don’t concern themselves with what happened yesterday nor do they give any thought to what tomorrow may bring. They’re simply living in the here and now.
Human beings on the other hand are born with the ability to worry and it’s something we love to do. But worrying won’t allow you to change the circumstances you’re thinking about. But it will change how you feel emotionally and physically. Worry loves to bring along her faithful companion fear, who has the power to stop your in your tracks.
When worry and fear join forces they can seem unstoppable. The two of them will make you give up your dreams. You won’t go for what you truly want because you’re afraid and they’ll stop you from moving forward in your life. But this is where you need to bring in courage and confidence to fight for your freedom to create the life of your dreams.
Don’t allow worrisome thoughts to grow and take over your mind, keep them in check. If you find they’ve grown into thoughts of fear, think about the worst case scenario and what is the best way you could handle it. Get comfortable with that and one by one, lay all your fears to rest. Remind yourself that worrying won’t change a thing and be confident and believe in yourself. You are a truly amazing person✨
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“Confidence is something you create within yourself by believing in who you are.” ~Unknown
You may or may not have noticed I’ve been MIA for the last few weeks. I ended up getting pretty sick just before the holidays. So Christmas and New Year’s celebrations skipped my house this year. It felt strange but was necessary.
I’ve had people say to me, wow that’s a terrible way to end the year. But I don’t see it that way. Life threw me one heck of a curve ball. Instead of going crazy during the holidays trying to get everything done, I was forced to take it easy. It was the most chill holiday season I’ve ever had. And when someone says it was a terrible way to end the year, I say no it was great because I made it through it all and I’m still here ready to make this a better world, one day at time!
It’s taking a little more time than I expected to get my mojo back. My creative muse has also taken a hiatus. But I’m slowly getting myself rolling again with short workouts and super healthy eating habits. I’m grateful that I can continue to share my happiness with all of you 💖
Today I start a new course called Interactive Abstracts with Jodi Ohl. I’m really looking forward to this class and getting my creative muse back on track. With all of the rest I got I feel blessed to be more focused on what I want to accomplish this year. So you can expect great things from me in 2022!
When life throws you a curve ball, and believe me it will, don’t fight it. Go with the flow. Life is perfectly imperfect. Sometimes these curve balls give you a lot to think about. So find that silver lining in the cloud. Pick up the pieces and move forward with gratitude which is the best attitude!
I hope your holidays were awesome! I wish you the greatest success in 2022!!!
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Share the Happy💖
“Gratitude: It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.” ~Unknown
Most of you know I recently participated in Jodi Ohl’s Color Lovers Challenge. Since I used a canvas for Day 24, Red & Green, I saved a place in my journal to come back to and this is what I ended up with.
This journal spread really makes me laugh. The poor little red bird doesn’t seem too happy with the notes the little green one is belting out. He’s almost looks like he’s freaked out by it 😂
With that said, I chose this quote from an unknown author that I thought went well: “No matter what people think of you, always keep singing your own song.”
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Share the Happy 💖
What are mirror neurons? Mirror neurons are the part of the brain that cause us to mimic or reflect back what we are seeing in another person. For example when you see some one hurt themselves, you may winch and feel their pain. Or when some one yawns, you’ll have to yawn yourself even though you’re not tired. The same also holds true for when some one is in a bad or good mood. Their mood may rub off on us. This is because of the mirror neurons in our brains.
When I first started my morning walks I’d smile at strangers and most often I didn’t get much of a response, much less a positive one. But I didn’t let this stop me because I was determined to share my happiness.
As I continued my walks day after day, I’d smile bigger and longer. If that didn’t work I’d follow that with a twinkling wave and a cheerful “Good Morning!” I completely understand that not everyone wants to be happy and that’s ok.
But smiles are contagious and are universally understood. If you smile at some one long enough, you’ll most likely get a smile back due to the mirror neurons. Whether you’re in a good mood or not, the fact that you’re smiling instantly raises your energy and you can’t help but feel uplifted.
After a couple of weeks something magical started happening. These strangers who were not the happiest little campers suddenly became friendlier. I began to get big smiles, twinkling waves and morning shout outs of “Good Morning!” So much so that some would go out of their way to greet me. It made me feel even happier that I was able to share my positive energy with others. I may not have changed the world, but I changed my corner of it, just a bit.
Imagine if everyone tried to “Share the Happy” with those around them. Life isn’t always perfectly happy but when we put more of that positive energy out there, it will surely come back to us ten fold. So what are you waiting for, get out and share a great big smile with some one today 😊
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Share the Happy 💖
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~Buddha
Jodi Ohl recently hosted a Color Lovers Challenge that I participated in. I loved every moment, especially the challenging ones. But for Day 12 which was Vibrant, I used a canvas I was working on for the challenge and saved a place in my journal to come back to and finish at another time.
So this was the vibrant watercolor abstract painting I made in my journal. I added a quote by Zig Ziglar which pretty much summed up the challenge: “If it doesn’t CHALLENGE you, it won’t CHANGE you.”
Have a wonderful weekend!
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I’ve been listening and reading a lot of inspirational works. There’s one thing I’m noticing that keeps coming up and that’s “Attitude.” Attitude is defined as: A manner of thinking, feeling, or behaving that reflects a state of mind or disposition.
Attitude seems to be the foundation of our lives and is a reflection of what is going on in our minds and where we our in life. Our success or lack of, is based on our attitude, and it is tightly woven in with our thoughts. The two are pretty much intertwined.
It stands to reason then that a Good Attitude gives you good results. But if you have a poor attitude towards learning something new that could move you forward in your life, you’ll just get stuck in the mud and won’t go anywhere. If your attitude is one that all the cards are always stacked against you, then you’re powerless to change anything.
All of these negative attitudes make you a magnet for attracting more negative situations into your life. Have you ever had a day that starts with one thing going wrong and then there seems to be a domino effect of one thing after another that keeps going wrong? By allowing yourself to dwell on the negativity in your day, you allowed your attitude to become negative and thus made yourself into a human magnet for attracting more negative situations into your life.
So how can we change? Start each day with gratitude and the intention of how you want the day to go. Don’t jump out of bed, rushing through your morning and responding to the day as you go. Instead, take a minute to set a clear intention on how you want your day to play out. I mean really think about it and allow yourself to feel how wonderful it is to have such an awesome day!
Do this every day and you’ll be surprised at how your life improves when you set a daily intention to maintain a positive attitude.
I hope this inspires you in some way today. Thanks for stopping by!!
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“A great attitude is not the result of success; success is the result of a great attitude.” ~Earl Nightingale
How do you stay on the path of positivity when there is so much negativity around you? How do you find that ray of hope each and every day? It’s hard, no doubt. Not something to be taken lightly either.
I’d like to think everyone starts their day on a positive note but depending on what your day was like the day before, that may be a tough thing to do. You may still be carrying all of that luggage. But I look at each day as a clean slate, a chance for a new beginning and a chance to make a positive change. Leave yesterday’s problem in the past and focus on a better today.
A few years ago I started listening to podcasts and grew to really love them. I go for the ones that grow my mind and spirit and a few business ones. Brendon Burchard is a life coach and is one of my favorite podcasts. He came up with a mantra that he uses first thing in the morning. I slightly changed it to fit my needs but here it is:
“Thank you God for this opportunity to serve today. Grant me the strength to focus. To be mindful and present. To serve with excellence. To be a force of light and love.” ~ Brendon Burchard
These words when spoken from the heart most definitely have a positive affect on your day. They don’t guarantee nothing will go wrong, but if it does, you can get back on track easier.
The podcasts are free and are a great resource for inspiration and spreading the happy! If you don’t have access to the podcasts on your phone, check YouTube.com, you can find a lot there. I highly recommend trying them out if you haven’t done so already. You may be pleasantly surprised!
A few of my favorites:
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Share the Happy!!
“Your life is simply a collection of all your thoughts and actions. Which direction to steer it in, is a choice you make every day and every moment. Be positive, live happy.” ~Unknown
Flowing Waters Art 