It's not just fairies!

I wanted to share some recent commisions that I have done for people. I love being asked to do something a little bit different and out of my comfort zone.

I never know quite what something is going to turn out, but that is really exciting to me.

I love the concentration involved in tackling a new subject and it's brilliant when it turns out well.

The best thing however, is knowing that someone is going to be delighted with their special card, because a friend or relative has asked for something to be created, just for them.

Five ways to put more sparkle in your day.

So, what does that mean exactly? Well, I see it as having a little bit of magic about you. It's the bit of fairy glamour that attracts others to you and makes you feel light, bright and positive. 

I think that cultivating a bit of sparkle is a really positive thing. When you are feeling happy, you are open and confident and much less likely to spiral down dark paths. By staying light, you will brighten other people's day and show them that it IS possible ( as well as feeling a whole lot better about yourself.)

How to do it!

Self care

It can be easy to neglect to look after ourselves properly, especially when we are busy and stressed. As a teenager, I was not into makeup or clothes. In fact I was anti fashion and lived happily in oversized band t-shirts. I didn't really care what I looked like and that was fine with me! However, I notice now, that when I make an effort to put some lipstick on or choose a nice outfit, I feel a LOT better about myself.

It's those moments when you look in the mirror and think 'hey, that's me and I'm looking pretty good' that give you a boost. Instead of the alternative scenario where you haven't bothered, you feel tired and moody and your reflection not only reinforces that feeling, but sinks your confidence a bit too.

Your appearance shouldn't matter (after all it's what's on the inside that counts!) but how will anyone know what a beautiful soul you are if you neglect to express yourself as beautiful? 

Mood boosters

There is lots of advice out there on how to start your day,  as it sets you up for how you approach the rest of your day. People recommend, meditation, yoga, exercise and a good breakfast. These are all good, but to get some sparkle going, I would put on some music, have a dance, or sing! Start your day with passion an excitement and don't let anything knock you off course. 

Follow your thoughts like water

Have you noticed how your thoughts seem to trickle down into your body and leave you with either a good or bad feeling? In order to maintain a sparkly feeling, you need to make sure that your thoughts are making you feel good. Just like water, thoughts and emotions run down well worn tributaries, simply flowing unless they find resistance. 

Your habitual thoughts will have a well channeled groove in your emotional body and it is up to you to build dams for negative thoughts and actually carve out new pathways for your shining thoughts to run through.

It takes work and practice, but when you are habitually reaching for happier thoughts, it will be even easier to find that extra bit of sparkle. 

Ocean dips and free swimming

There is nothing quite like getting in natural water to reconnect you and make you feel all shiny and new. Just try it! You will feel special, like you are carrying around an awesome secret. If you don't live close to open water, then have a cold shower. Seriously! You will feel so good after.

Polish your aura

Just because you don't (usually) see it, doesn't mean you should neglect it. Your aura is your energetic space around you and people pick up on how you are feeling without you having to say a word. It helps to visualise your chakras and ensure that everything is flowing as it should. Imagine golden light around you, glittering and enveloping you. 

I like to visualise flowers in mine! This is a lovely and uplifting thing to practice. You can even imagine the smell to give yourself an extra lift.

I hope you find some of this useful! If you would like a bit more detail or any clarification, then let me know.

In the meantime, shine on!

Birthdays, balloons and stuff

Well it was my birthday on Monday and celebrating another year tends to make me a little reflective. 

I love birthdays, I'm not one of those people who get upset that they are a year older, instead I'm pretty happy that I am a year wiser and that I get to continue on this crazy thing called life.

So I kind of started celebrating in my head about a week before, because hey! A day is too short! And too much pressure to make perfect. Instead, if you spread out your birthday, you can maintain a happy birthday buzz for days! (Don't tell me I'm the only one!?)

Anyway, my actual birthday was absolutely lovely. The weather was shocking (hail storms and freezing wind, but that was fine! I enjoy dramatic weather!

We went to The Old Coastguard in Mousehole for lunch and took it in turns chasing after Tabitha! Times have certainly changed. Previous years would have included a heady evening of food and wine and lengthy conversations about life, the universe and everything. This year, we hardly got to talk let alone drink, but it was perfect nonetheless.

On my birthday wish list, was to buy a red helium balloon for Tabitha, which might sound odd, but was the best thing! We have been reading 'Pip and Posy: The Big Balloon' by Axel Schleffler  to Tabitha and it had made a big impression, so I just wanted to bring it to life for her.

She grinned when she saw it for the first time. She held it in the car all the way home with her legs kicking excitedly. She ran around in amazement when she got home, she ate dinner holding onto it and she even took it into the shower. Bless! It took her a while to actually let go of it so she could sleep that night.

I couldn't believe something so simple could bring so much joy! 

The balloon slowly sank after a couple of days (I don't think it liked having a shower) and I  felt it symbolised the end of my celebrations. 

So, I felt a little 'off' today. I noted it early on in the day and just decided to be aware of it and not let it escalate. It took me a while to realise that it was simply a readjustment of getting back to 'normal'. 

But then, the reality of everyday life and everyday thinking can be just as I choose it to be. My birthday might be over but, I've got so much to look forward to this year and when it comes down to it, every day is special with my little girl. I count my blessings every day and feel lucky to spend another year on this planet.

How about you? Do you look forward to birthdays? 

Chocolate yoga

I feel like this is a bit of a confession. Every morning since I've had Tabitha, I eat chocolate with a cup of tea in the morning. And you know what, I'm kind of unrepentant.

For one thing it's either good quality dark chocolate, or raw chocolate made by my husband (Food of the Gods). To be honest, being married to a chocolatier means that chocolate is a part of my life (for better or for worse).

It all started because I would be up really early with Tabitha, five in the morning was about average and it was too early for breakfast. I wanted to have enough energy to do some yoga and so a bit of chocolate was a pretty good solution. I was able to do some stretching while she rolled around and I kept going until it was a more normal time to eat.

Time has moved on though and Tabitha sleeps in longer, but my chocolate ritual has continued. 

Fitting my stretches in around shower time, nappy changes and baby breakfast is like some sort of multidimensional puzzle. Sometimes I manage to get my mat out and sometimes the magic happens! The baby, cat, dogs and husband all manage to entertain themselves for long enough for me to breathe, recenter and remember what it feels like to open and stretch.

But, this tends to be the exception rather than the rule and my chocolate habit feels almost like yoga, taking me to that place of bliss and calm and ready for morning baby madness!

The thing is though, I watch my rituals and challenge my behaviour. If you have read any Castaneda, then you will know what it means to stalk yourself. 

I feel that as a yogi in training, I should be drinking green smoothies first thing. Avoiding caffeine and living a 'pure' life. I certainly should not be 'addicted' or 'dependent' on anything.

But, there is a part of me that is rebellious and childlike and simply puts on the brakes! I want to live a full and rich life, not an austere one.

So, I'm at a bit of an impasse. Ive decided not to dictate to myself one way or another, but to observe myself with kindness. It's easy to beat yourself up and make yourself miserable over little things,  but sometimes it's the energy associated with the act rather than the act itself that's the problem.

I think that I will know when the time is right to change my morning habit. And when I do, it won't be difficult. It will just feel like the right thing to do. 

So, for now, my chocolate ritual is my morning yoga. I eat with mindfulness and gratitude that I get to spend another day in a beautiful place, with my gorgeous family and if I get to do some sun salutations then that's even better.

The business of love

It's time for Valentine's and as a card maker you would think this would be a great opportunity to shout about my work and get lots made.

   

Truth is, I only managed to get four cards done in time and when I say 'in time' I mean this week and that's not really enough time for anyone to order one! 

At the moment I am sitting with my little girl on my lap. She's asleep (phew!) but while this gives me a while to write it doesn't give me the opportunity to create.

I recently joined a website called All by Mama, which is basically an Etsy for mums and I was asked to include a 'tip' for other mums.

I wrote my advice a little smugly, feeling like I had achieved something: "I think my best advice is to simply get on and do it! It's surprising how little bits of work can add up to something quite big. I think if you are passionate about your work then you will find a way."

And now I read it and go 'yes!' that's right, but I have been so busy just getting on and doing it that I didn't really plan ahead.

My new advice to me is to get a calendar and write down all the events of the year from Mothers Day up to Xmas and then plan backwards! 

Perhaps if I can sort that out then the rest will fall into place. 

Who knows? 

Being a time scarce mum has pushed me to be creative with any moments that I can squeeze in some creativity, but that doesn't come free of baggage. It comes accompanied with thoughts of 'shouldn't I be playing with her right now, or I shouldn't I be doing....' And I have to reassure myself that it's okay, I can do something I love, that and  the fact Tabitha needs to have her own space as much as I need mine.

And so I carry on. I might not be a perfectly organised but I am living a life full of love and that's something to be happy about. 

Thoughts on buying original art

Original art

I bought my first piece of original art just before Christmas. I had fallen in love with this painters style through her Facebook updates and felt a connection to her portraits. Angela Kennedy has a knack for painting whimsical girls with soulful expressions and when I saw a picture of an angel she had done I kept wistfully looking at it.

I am usually quite reluctant to buy art, (of any kind) mainly because a lot of my own work fills my walls and space is a bit of an issue in my tiny miners cottage. But this felt special and because my Nan had recently passed on, I was encouraged by my mum to buy something to remember her by.

This was the perfect thing. And it is a beautiful. It took a few weeks to arrive from the U.S. but the anticipation was exciting in itself. I unwrapped it with reverence and hope. You never quite know what something is going to be like when you have only seen it online, but it was every bit a lovely.

I love the image, but I also love being able to see the brush-strokes on the wings and the delicate handwriting on her dress. There is an 'energy' and 'aliveness ' that you only get with original art. I always think that it is as if the artists soul has permeated the canvas and imbued it with a magic that goes beyond the image itself.

I think a lot of people are hesitant to buy original work because they think it will be too expensive, and they worry about whether it is 'good art'. I think if you go with your heart though it doesn't matter whether it is critically acclaimed and art is more affordable than ever before.

With a plethora of online art sites and the ability for artists to sell directly to the public, consumers can bypass the hefty gallery commission that tends to double the price of artwork. It's always worth a conversation with an artist, to discuss what your budget is and what you are particularly interested in. 

I recently did a special commission for a special customer who I had built an online friendship with. I knew she liked my work and had bought lots of my fairy cards and a small picture: so when she asked if I could do something bigger, I jumped at the chance.

This was a challenge on a few fronts because I had become used to working on a small scale where I could add lots of detail. Creating tiny images also fitted in with my little girl as I could take my work around the house with me and even out in the car! 

Working on a picture bigger than my table meant that I had to develop my technique and made me pay more attention to composition and the use of space. It was a lot of fun and once every inch sparkled with fairy magic, I knew it was time it could fly to its new home.

My lovely customer (and friend) Lindsey said when she received it: "OMG !!! Had my husband put it in the frame before I saw it, absolutely love it, Martin and Amy too, trying to put it where we can see it all the time, worth every penny, your work is truly beautiful, it has a serenity about it, I am very, very happy, thanks Jac's XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Make sure you let everyone else see it now!"

It's so lovely to get such positive feedback and such a delight to create something totally unique for someone. I think that with commissions it's not just the energy of the artist that goes into the piece, but the energy of the person who wants it, making it even more special.

I think most artists would be delighted to hear that you are interested in their work enough to order a commission. Why not get in touch with one that you follow and see what they could do for you in your budget?

Setting intentions

I was scrolling through my images on my iPad the other day and the amount of work that I had done really struck me! Everything was there, from my first logo attempts to my first batch of cards, right through to my most recent work.

It's almost been a year of exploration and learning and I'm happy to see that things are moving in the right direction. I have been very fortunate to make some amazing connections with people and this has helped to grow my confidence.

Positive feedback and some regular sales have enabled and inspired me to keep trying new things. Some things haven't worked for me, but lots have! 

I have REALLY listened to as much advice as possible. You wouldn't believe the amount of webinars and podcasts I have listened to! The Thriving Artist Summit has been really awesome for art specific help, but I have also watched loads of mindset stuff by Tony Robbins, Gabrielle Bernstein and Marie Forleo. 

I think you have to have a good mindset when you are an artist. It's too easy to start worrying about your art rather than enjoying it. I feel quite lucky that I love being creative and being a mum makes my desire for creativity even stronger.

So! What do I have planned for this year? Well it's a good question! There's part of me that is really pushy:wanting to find new galleries, organise an exhibition, generate press, do craft fairs, but.....

This year I'm also going to California to train as a yoga for surfers instructor.... Yoga for surfers teacher training

I need to study, practice and set up a business that I will just be able to press GO on, when I get back home in November.

At the moment my head feels a bit all over the place! I feel like a bit of a split personality, but I think that's because it all feels like it's floating in the future. I think I just need to take control of the now and the future will take care of itself.

This year I have also started Life Book, which is a year long art course. It also involves a healing/spiritual angle, which is great as that is what art is about for me. 

The picture is my response to the first lesson and sets my intention for the year to be fearless. It's a great reminder for me to stay strong when I feel the wobble and to have faith that everything is going to work out.

What do you have planned for this year? I hope that it is happy and productive, whatever you decide.