Often, when I come up with a new project idea, it comes to me in a flash of inspiration; like when I made this fun collage painting, and these clay ornaments, and these wooden eggs and magnets!
Sometimes it literally feels like a vision comes upon me and I can see the exact outcome of what I want to create.
Those are the fun times, and that’s when I truly know that I project is going to work out.
That’s what happened with this one.
my muses 🦋
Ever since the air started to cool, and the first leaves began to drop quietly from the trees, I’ve had the strong urge to catch up on everything and get it all back in order.
It’s not an unknown feeling — it’s actually a quite common autumn feeling for me, especially after a summer full of responsibilities.
the common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) in the meadow has been stunning this year — I can’t wait to see it continue to spread!
Earlier this year I wrote about how much work we were doing on our two acres of land to turn it into a native wildlife habitat.
Unfortunately I haven’t been much help lately, largely due to the infamous back injury, but also due to the fact that I cannot comprehend how Mom and Riley have been working through the hottest, buggiest, most humid days of the year.
I got burnt out doing a lot of deep, grueling poison ivy work early in the year, and I found that I much prefer doing jobs like building stonewalls and building dead hedges.
new magical spot unlocked 🔓✨
I’m the kind of person who has the audacity to simply do what I want.
Have I ever built a stonewall before?
No.
Was I confident that I could do so?
Yes.
(and yes, this project happened before the infamous back injury)
we love our little stonewall, and we also love the baby shagbark hickory tree (Carya ovata) that’s growing just behind it 🌳
We finally did it: we gave our front door a makeover.
Years ago we painted it green, which was a big improvement all on its own. Our house is quite a bland and boring color (#beigemoms would love it), so painting the doors a bright color makes all the difference. But for some reason we never actually did it until a handful of years ago.
We enjoyed our green era, but the color was never quite right, so this spring we sat down and went through some paint chips and decided on what era we’d be entering into next.
of course I stuck with my classic floral design, which I’ve painted on so many other projects (like skulls, portraits, and mirrors) 🌸
I’m not gonna lie: this summer has been the opposite of relaxing for me.
But I’ve had an abundance of work opportunities and pet-sitting jobs, which I’m so grateful for. Because of the multiple-week jobs, I was able to save enough money that I shouldn’t have to worry about paying car insurance and taxes next year 🎉
As a small business owner who’s never had a traditional job, it’s always an extra big sigh of relief when I confirm that my work is continuing to financially sustain me.
You may remember seeing my DIY recycled denim patches that I shared in June. Well, I’m very happy to share that the patches have been quite a hit in my Etsy shop 🎉
Although I can always imagine the exact kind of person who will enjoy each new project that I make, I never know what projects will actually get found by those specific people, and therefore get the attention they need to be successful.
But apparently recycled denim patches are a highly-searched-for item.
(who knew?)
I sew each patch freely, so each one is truly one of a kind ✨
I recently realized that although I’ve shared my skull art with the deer skull, the coyote skull, the beaver skull, and the gray squirrel skull, I’ve never shared my full painted collection on my blog.
So I thought it’d be a good time to share some photos and the stories behind the more personal pieces of my collection ✨
