Back in November I vowed to fall in love with winter. And I did, for a while.

Winter is beautiful.

Harsh. Stark. Cold.

But beautiful. Colors, shapes, textures are simplified. It’s quiet. Minimal. Details you might not notice stand out because there’s less to distract the eye.

I made a point of getting outside every day. I took long walks. First by myself and then with Clara. House training a young dog brought me outside a lot. Getting outside meant I was able to witness winter’s ever-changing magic.

Then February hit. Polar vortex cold cut walks short. Some days we made do with quick trips to the backyard and even those made my fingers ache inside my gloves and Clara try to lift as many paws as possible off the ground in a vain attempt to keep her toes from freezing.

Suddenly I was sick of winter. Sick of the pandemic. Cranky. Irritated.

I have nothing to complain about. My home is safe and warm. I’m healthy. My family is healthy and safe. I’m fortunate and privileged in my life. I work for myself and my job is to spread beauty, inspiration and joy. My business continues to see financial growth. In many ways I’m flourishing.

Yet I was still sick of winter. Weary of a pandemic with a death toll in my country that’s now higher than the number dead on the battlefields of both World Wars and Vietnam combined. Heartsore after saying goodbye to Jude (the third furry family member we lost since September). Fed up with politics that continue to baffle and enrage me.

What to do?

I started by coming back to my word for the year: OPEN.

I let myself feel all my feelings, reminding myself, again, to be open to the negatives. Those negatives push me to embrace even more fully the art, magic and joy around which I’ve fashioned my business and my life.

Back in September, with autumn and then winter looming, I committed myself to self-care. The list I made included yoga, walking, reading, playing in my sketchbook and unplugging. There are so many ways to nurture ourselves and tend to our hearts. Earlier this month I invited you to embrace creativity as self-care and then last week I suggested turning to art-books as another form of self-care.

Self-care isn’t one-size-fits-all. We need to choose what works for us.

Even then, sometimes our self-care practices need shaking up.*

We need to try something new. Remember to embrace PLAY**. Or re-commit to what truly brings us joy.

So, I tried again. And it helped.

Here’s some of what’s been working for me:

Flipping my schedule so I play in my sketchbook before I do any other work in my studio.

Perhaps more than anything else this has helped the ideas begin to flow again. Daily sketchbook practice and play yields so many benefits. Even when I’m not feeling the energy (or inspiration) to sit down with my sketchbook, something happens once I overcome that initial hump of hesitation. Even if what appears on the page isn’t great, it sets me up to be more creative in the rest of my day.

Reminiscing (and dreaming) of my summer garden while creating a new fabric design.

Nasturtiums might be my favorite flower (it’s hard for me to choose just one). I’ve used nasturtiums in a few of my fabric designs, (I even sewed a top from one of them). This new pattern, with its tangle of vines, was in my head for a long time. I had such fun putting it together! It’s my entry in the Hand-Drawn Floral Design Challenge on Spoonflower. I’d love to have your vote (there are a LOT — 1448! — of entries in this one. The biggest challenge I ever participated in before this had 855!).

Planning a fun challenge for next month.

Stay tuned to learn more. I’m hoping you’ll want to join me. Hint: it’s more creative nurturing.

This week the weather relented. After wind chills in the negative 30s, seeing the temperature climb into the high (positive) 30s, felt like spring.

Between my self-care, the sunshine and the smell of melting snow, I’m feeling so much better.

So tell me, what does your self-care practice look like right now?

Does it need re-vamping? Do you need to re-commit? What’s bringing you the most joy?

*The conversation about self-care in Kerstin Martin’s interview with Mirjam Hachem is so interesting.

**I couldn’t agree more with Dana Barbieri’s recent post about Creative Play.