current favorites {may}

Over here, May is all about being in the midst of moving and choosing paint colors and kitchen cabinets and getting the last of all the things from the old house into the new and putting that house on the market. It's a beautiful and messy time. (And I'm sharing peeks at the new house over on IG using #thehouseofmagicalbluesky.)

As lots of stories are stacking up, waiting to be shared, I thought I'd make a list today of my current favorite things. These are the things that are keeping me going over here - from helping me stay organized to inviting in some deep breaths.

The "hello" welcome mat from Target makes me smile every time I see it at the front door. It's possible this house is going to have just about every shade of blue in it.

I'm rereading the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. I. Love. These. Books. She's an incredible, thoughtful writer who happens to write detective stories. They aren't gory mysteries. They're beautiful stories about what it's like to be human - the setting just happens to be a small town in Canada where murders seem to happen. Highly recommend them.

After visiting Lori Portka last month and drinking her delicious coffee, I bought a milk frother. (It's possible I can't stop myself from sharing photos of foam and froth on IG. It's crazy how happy it makes me.)

I'm using my Trust Yourself perfume oil from Anna Wingfield daily. Always. It is my favorite scent to wear (photo from Anna's shop).

I've been eying the "OK" vase from the Oh Joy collection for a while now and finally bought it. Those of you on my newsletter list know that our golden Millie died the day before we got the keys to our new home. These letters are helping me just remember that all is okay, even when it feels upside down, like it has without her.

My favorite go-to inspiration deck from Kris Carr with illustrations by my friend Lori Portka. I'm choosing one every day. Lori's illustrations are like balm for my heart.

Love using Staedtler pens in my planner and my journals. Whenever I share them on social media, someone asks about them. They are awesome for coloring too! And because I (mostly) keep them in their case, I can usually find them amidst the chaos.

My Get To Work Book is helping me hold it all together. From ideas for articles I'm writing to paint colors to notes for future ecourses to just noting the days I do my practice - I'm finally getting into a groove with using a planner. I'm so glad I didn't give up. I'm a person who holds my to-do list in my head, which really is never the way to go. And it's taken me months to finally use it (almost) regularly. The new school year planner is out and I'm loving the black covers! (In the next few weeks, I'll share a post about how I'm using the GTWB and what I love about it.

The beanbag pouf from Pier1 (shown above) is my new favorite chair. It's possible my mom bought one for Ellie's new room and then when it was our only chair in the new house, I couldn't stop myself from buying one for me. It's my current go-to perch for working.

And pictured in the photo at the top, my vintage suitcases are acting as tables and desks right now in my studio. I've found several at flea markets and antique stores, but Etsy has some awesome options too.

Note that some of these links are affiliates, which means I receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. All photos are copyright to the businesses and makers mentioned.

To check out other posts where I share my favorites including the "I heart makers" series, click here.

be the blogger {a contest with eBay)

I'm so excited to share this new opportunity for you as part of my ongoing collaboration with eBay! 

For over a year now, I've been writing guides all about self-care, gift-giving ideas, books, and other fun topics over on eBay.

Now it's your turn to dive into the world of creating fun and interesting content as part of the Be the Blogger Contest with eBay.

There will be four opportunities to win over the next 12 weeks as you write your own guides inspired by the themes eBay will share every 3 weeks. Visit the Be the Blogger Contest page and check out all the juicy details and fine print. (But first read below for some more info including the opportunity to have your guide spotlighted by me over on Pinterest!)

The first theme is: Express Your Passion(s)

Your guide will need to:

• Be at least 400 words long
• Include at least 5 photos (that you have permission to use - so they should be your own or photos found on eBay)
• Include at least 5 links to eBay searches (for example, if you're writing about How to Make Your Famous Red Velvet cake, you could link to searches for your secret ingredients, fun cake pans, your favorite apron your wear for baking, etc)
• Focus on/be inspired by the current theme

And here's something fun: I'll be choosing the winners! 

Every three weeks, I'll choose one winner who best followed the guidelines and created a fun, interesting, and informative guide. That winner will receive $1000! eBay will get in touch with the winners, and I'll be sharing them here on my blog.

I also plan to share the winning guides with my more than 3.7 million followers over on Pinterest. And if there are quite a few entries that I just love, I will probably not be able to stop myself from sharing them as well (so you should probably enter because that alone is a pretty awesome thing).

For more information about how to writing a guide, check out my guide all about creating eBay guides right here. There I give you lots of ideas and information so you can learn best practices and get right to the fun part of writing and sharing what you love. I also link to a few of my guides that give you examples of what your guide should look like etc.

Remember: When you're ready to start writing your guide, you'll want to be sure to head over to the contest page to read all the details. And after you complete your guide, be sure to submit it through the submission section on the contest page. Also, when you submit your guide for your contest entry, remember to select my name so that your guide will come my way to be part of the guides I'll be reviewing, selecting from, and sharing over on Pinterest. 

Some tips about the first theme:

As you think about writing a guide inspired by the theme "Express Your Passion," spend a few minutes brainstorming topics that you really love. From cooking to entertaining to Doctor Who to gardening to collecting posters from old movies to meditation to homeschooling, just about any topic is fair game here. What do you get excited about? Write down all your ideas.

Then choose an idea that you can't wait to write about, and make sure that it lends itself to images you have access to.

Also, you want to choose a topic you know quite a bit about because your writing voice in the guide will reflect this.

In other words: You want your audience to trust you. You want them to want to read your other guides. So start with what you know. And be sure to let your passion for the topic shine in this first guide.

Head over here to start writing a guide (when you get there, just click "write a guide" in the blue box on the right).

This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to see what you create!  

Please note: This post and my participation as a judge in the contest are sponsored by eBay. All opinions shared are my own. 

Most of the answers to your questions about how to enter can be found on the Be the Blogger Contest page and in the Terms and Conditions found there. Remember to also read my guide on How to Create an eBay guide for more tips and answers to questions. I look forward to reading all of your guides!

there are stories to be told

The blank page, the blinking cursor, the big white canvas, the camera in the corner.

They sit there waiting.

Always waiting.

But in that empty space, an entire world awaits. A world that you (yes, you) create by simply picking up your pen, putting your fingers to the keyboard, grasping your paintbrush, bringing your camera up to your eye.

There are stories to be told honey.

Stories waiting inside you that are ready.

And I want to help you tell them.

Come along for my newest ecourse: Tell It.

You choose the medium you want to play with - from writing to painting to journaling to photography to blogging or anything else that calls to you - and I'll give you prompts to help you put pen to the page, paint to the canvas, pick up your camera, and have some fun. 

Together, we'll cheer each other on and create connections that will last long after our 15 days together.

Tell It is just $25 and includes daily emails full of juicy goodness and a Facebook group that will stay open beyond the course for continued connection and sharing.

Learn more and register right here.

adventure is out there {i heart makers}

to be brave print

Another edition of {i heart makers} for you today! As the days warm up here in the Pacific Northwest, I can't help but start dreaming about little adventures to take with my family. While looking for a collection of goodies to celebrate getting outside, I was struck by how many awesome handmade designs there are the directly celebrate the adventures we experience in our lives. So I focused on that word and discovered all these goodies.

One thing I love about almost all of these is that they'd also make really thoughtful gifts for grads, new parents, and some would even be sweet wedding gifts.

First, the print at the top of this post is from Mae Chevrette, and I love how it celebrates the way we have that deep desire to connect with our bravery and make our way in the world. From big decisions, like moving across the country after college or starting a new business, to smaller ones that feel big ones, like simply moving into a new house, we all know this feeling. 

The Adventure Moleskine from The Wild Creatives would be a sweet way to keep track of the adventures you want to take and what you find when you get out in the world.

I'm also a little obsessed with their Breathe Adventure Drink Coffee mug. 

The Adventure Awaits globe from Everthine Designs is simply gorgeous. Hand lettering makes me happy and I'm pretty excited that this is a trend that is sticking around. You can customize a globe with your own wording too, which is so much fun!

The "adventure is a family value" sweatshirt from elSage designs delights me. I had the chance to connect with these makers at Urban Craft Uprising and this couple is the real deal. Awesome customer service and just a very sweet, genuine vibe to them.

This "Blessed are the curious" watercolor print from Winsome Easel is breathtaking. 

And while curating over on Pinterest, I've seen quite a few prints and other good things that celebrate this idea that "you are our greatest adventure" but I think this one, also from Winsome Easel, might be my favorite. A gorgeous gift for new parents.

You can never have too many bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, and these Adventure Awaits pencils from Earmark Social Goods make me smile.

Here are two products that celebrate the adventure captured in the movie Up (which is one of my favorites ever...that first 10 minutes or so...hashtag I can't even). First, this sweet print from Wanderlust25 Paper Co.

And then this handmade "Our Adventure Book" journal by Akeidah is the sweetest!

The "life was meant for good friends and grand adventures" t-shirt by ShopAugustInk takes me back to the summer in college that I spent in Jackson, WY with dear friends from the boarding school I went to. Wish we'd had these for the iconic photo we took by the Welcome to Wyoming sign we stopped at during our cross-country drive. Also love their not all who wander are lost tee.

An invitation: Are you a maker? Share a little about you and your shop with a link to your site in the comments so I can visit. Would love to possibly feature you in a future post.

Note that some of these links are affiliates, which means I receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. All photos are copyright to the makers mentioned.

To check out other posts in this ongoing series where I celebrate makers and the good things they create and design, head over here.

the beauty of real

Words from March 17: Today was a little girl home from school and pink eye and cancelled meetings and cuddles and movies and working in tiny slivers of time and a very sweet pediatrician and bangs that made me happy and cherry tree blooms moving on to unfurling green and chocolate chip cookies and taxes and paperwork and several "holy cats!" moments of adulting and more complaining than I'd like to do and a list of joy made in my head and a list of real made right here while I tried not to burn the hamburgers on this gorgeous night where the light is luminous and I'm feeling gratitude for the inbetween moments that bring me back home.

Sometimes you have to snap a photo and pair it with pieces of the true stories that make up a day. Use the prompt "today" and just start writing down every word.

There is so much beauty in telling the true, real stories. 

(Imagine a journal filled with images + words. Now imagine reading your grandmother's journal like this. Or even a stranger's. I think of that song "Virginia Woolf" by the Indigo Girls and the idea that someone else's journal can become a letter to your soul. Yes. Yes. Yes. And writing it out, taking self-portraits, telling the true stories is like writing a love letter to your own soul. For real. Love that image. Love it.)