(How’s that for a catchy title?)

I have a few different things I want to tell you about which wouldn’t necessarily be meaty enough for their own posts but which also didn’t really fit in with the post I was planning for today. Tagging on one unrelated thing is ok, but tagging on a few didn’t really make sense.

Watercolor Gingko Leaves Pattern Design by Anne Butera

So here we are!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a hodgepodge sort of post. Most of the time I only share inspiring links in my monthly Joy Letters*, but there’s no reason not to share some here once in a while, too (like Dana does with her Lovely Things posts).

I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately and what’s been inspiring you as well. We can all learn from and inspire each other!

First off, I want to tell you about Laura Ashton.

Laura is a watercolor painter and a teacher on Skillshare as well as a graphic designer and marketing specialist who lives in Canada on Vancouver Island. This week Laura and I collaborated on a YouTube video about our favorite watercolor greens. I’ll be honest, if Laura hadn’t suggested a collaboration I’d probably still be dragging my feet about YouTube. She helped make it a lot less scary and she gave me a deadline (no more procrastination!).

I hope you’ll go say hi and check out all she has to offer.

And more than that, listen to those people who encourage you to try something new and maybe a bit scary. You’ll be glad you did.

As long as I’m talking about encouraging people, I want to tell you about Jenny Blair.

If you’ve been following along with me for a while you might remember the interviews I did with Jenny on my old blog for both Sketchbook Conversations and my Artist Interviews series. Up until recently Jenny’s main focus has been her gorgeous embroidery kits. I even have one (all prepped and ready to go, but sadly neglected for months… might be time to finally work on it).

The Luna Moth Embroidery Kit from Jenny Blair

Last week Jenny announced that she’s embarking on a new endeavor as an intuitive coach. Although I didn’t have a particular problem to solve or even anything specific in mind to talk about, for some reason I felt drawn to this. I contacted her and on Tuesday she and I had a video chat. It’s hard to even put into words what our chat was like (and I’m not sure I want to). I felt so light and at peace and open after talking to her; for the rest of the day I was floating. Little glimmers of magic have kept popping up since then, too. If you’re at all curious, get in touch with her.

Synchronicity… Amy Butler talked about synchronicity in her newsletter this week (it’s not formatted to be viewed on the web so I can’t link to it here, but if you’re interested I’ll gladly forward the message to your email). With all I’ve been thinking about lately her message seems like synchronicity to me. She mentioned this book by Deepak Chopra. I’m going to have to get it from my library.

While I’m talking about reading… This post about cultivating a creative practice on the Local Milk blog is resonating with me as I’m reading The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg. Really great thoughts on how to live a life. The chapter “What is practice"?” gives a different sort of perspective on something like a 100 day project or other daily practice. Yes the book is about writing, but it’s about so much more than writing. (Natalie is also a painter and I also enjoyed her book Living Color where she talks about her painting).

Handwork makes a wonderful daily practice. Do you knit or crochet? Dana’s fall garland will have you itching to pick up hook or needles. Knitting, crochet, embroidery… all great winter projects.

As is sewing! Need more fabric? Spoonflower is having their 50% off fat quarter sale right now. It goes through Sunday.

autumnal watercolor paintings, bits of nature and Anne Butera's Autumn Joy Fabric Designs available on Spoonflower

All my fabric designs are included in the sale and they’re available on each of Spoonflower’s fabric substrates.

What can you do with a fat quarter? How about make some shoes? Do you remember these?

Shoes Made With Anne Butera's Goldfish Fabric from Spoonflower

I used Melissa Q’s “I got it kit” for mine.

I’ve also used fat quarters for pillows (yay, celosia velvet!) and some day I’ll finally get around to sewing a simple quilt with my fabric. On the Spoonflower blog there’s lots more fat quarter project inspiration.

Something else that’s made from fat quarters? Tea towel calendars!****

Just in time for holiday gifts. (I better go order mine…).

Whew! That’s a lot for one post.

I hope I’ve shared something that resonates with you and that you’re inspired to delight in some creativity today. Or to reach out and connect with someone else who’s inspiring you.

*I love writing my monthly notes to my subscribers. When you Choose Joy by subscribing to my newsletter I send you a set of printable Joy and Gratitude Lists because being mindful about the beauty and magic of the world we’re living in is a practice that has changed my life.

****Don’t want to hem your tea towels? No problem. Spoonflower will do it for you through their sister site Roostery. Finished tea towels are 20% off now through Sunday (discount will be taken at checkout). You can find my finished tea towels here.

This and That

I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately and what’s been inspiring you as well. We can all learn from and inspire each other!

And more than that, listen to those people who encourage you to try something new and maybe a bit scary. You’ll be glad you did.

I hope I’ve shared something that resonates with you and that you’re inspired to delight in some creativity today. Or to reach out and connect with someone else who’s inspiring you.