Posts in joy
October 2021 in the Garden, Thoughts on Joy and a Nature-Filled Vacation
October 2021 in the Garden, Thoughts on Joy and a Nature-Filled Vacation

I’m never certain if I’ll have flowers blooming in my garden in October or not.

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art, garden, joy, lifeAnne Buteragarden, garden tour, garden tours, garden video, monthly garden tours, inspiration from the garden, embroidery kits, embroidery patterns, embroidery, marigolds embroidery kit, marigolds embroidery pattern, dahlias, watercolor dahlias, dahlia flowers, dahlia watercolor, night scented tobacco, vacation, summer vacation in autumn, Beaver Island, dogs, nasturtiums Comments
How a Sunflower Painting Brought Back My Creative Joy: Behind the Scenes in the Studio
How a Sunflower Painting Brought Back My Creative Joy: Behind the Scenes in the Studio

Right now zinnias, dahlias, cosmos and marigolds color my garden and feed the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

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art, creativity, inspiration, joy, sketchbooksAnne Buteraart process, painting, changing season, seasons, garden, butterflies, hummingbirds, watercolor, watercolor painting, painting process, sketchbook, sketchbook practice, sunflowers, watercolor sunflowers, inspiration, following inspiration, developing as an artist Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Sketchbooks! Week 4 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Sketchbooks! Week 4 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

It’s hard to believe this is the last week of my month of gratitude. August has flown by.

I think back to childhood Augusts with school looming and days of freedom dwindling. Back-to-school was both exciting and welcome but also tinged with sadness for the ending of summer.

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art, art classes, creativity, inspiration, joy, sketchbooksAnne Buterasketchbooks, Sketchbooks, sketchbook practice, summer sketchbooks, Dana Barbieri, a class with Anne Butera and Dana Barbieri, sketchbook class, Sketchbook Playground Mini Class, Free Mini Class, Free online art class, free class with Anne Butera and Dana Barbieri, gratitude practice, gratitude, a month of gratitude practice, joy, celebrate summer joys, summer joys, summer, August, collaboration, collaborative sketchbook, creative journey Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

If July’s garden stars were purple poppies, August’s are sunflowers.

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garden, gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buteragarden, garden tours, monthly garden tours, what's happening in my garden, what's happening in the garden, rescue dogs, Pitbull mix, rescued pitbull mix, pit bull mix, rescued pit bull mix, garden dogs, celebrate summer joys, A month of gratitude, a month of gratitude practice, a month of joy, sunflowers, summer garden, late summer garden, nasturtiums, dahlias, zinnias, japanese beetles, japanese anemones, canna, stars of the garden, garden tour Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Noticing beauty needn’t be limited to seeing it. Last week we focused on COLOR, something we experience with our eyesight, but this week I want you to awaken your other senses.

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gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring, savoring each day, savoring summer, slowing down, going slow, how to slow down, taking things slowly, engaging your senses, all your senses, noticing beauty, gratitude practice, gratitude, embracing gratitude, A month of gratitude, committing to gratitude, joy, Joy List, Joy Lists, celebrate summer joys, a month of joy, a month of gratitude practice Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Did you end up writing a Gratitude List after my post last week?

Are you ready for today’s prompt to help open your eyes to the beauties and joys of summer*?

This week I want you to focus on COLOR.

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garden, inspiration, joy, seasons, gratitude, lifeAnne Buteracelebrate summer joys, gratitude, gratitude practice, summer joys, color, celebrating color, focus on color, savoring color, savoring summer, noticing color, garden colors, zinnias, zinnia flowers, geraniums, pelargoniums, colorful leaf geraniums, orange pixie tomato, nasturtiums, butterfly weed, sunflowers, dill, borage, wild bergamot, commissioned paintings, watercolor paintings, watercolor paint, watercolor paint swatches, mixing watercolor paint, mixing colors, wild bergamot watercolor painting, calendula flowers, dahlia flowers, dahlias Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice

Summer is speeding past and before it’s gone I want to make sure I savor all the things I love about it.

To remind me to slow down and savor the days, I’m devoting the month of August to gratitude and joy.

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joy, life, seasons, gratitudeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring each day, savoring summer, Joy Lists, writing joy lists, gratitude practice, gratitude, A month of gratitude, a month of joy, printable art, printable joy list, printable gratitude list Comments
June 2021 Garden Tour (It's Not ALL Roses)
June 2021 Garden Tour (It's Not ALL Roses)

Wow. So much has changed in the garden from April to May to June. As I mentioned last week, summer is well and truly here.

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garden, fabric, joyAnne Buteragarden tour, monthly garden tours, June garden, June garden tour, in my garden, garden design, garden inspired fabric design, roses, roses in my garden, raised beds, cinder block raised beds, clematis, delphiniums, pacific giants delphinium, above and beyond rose, small space gardening, container gardens, geraniums, scented geraniums, potted herbs, Pitbull mix, rescued pitbull mix, garden dog, Clara the dog, walking onions, Westerland Rose, Quietness Rose, foxgloves, lilies, Gertrude Jekyll Rose, The Poet's Wife Rose, David Austin Roses, head over heels rose, Spoonflower, Spoonflower Design Challenge, Spoonflower Vegetable and Herb Garden Design Challenge Comments
Resonate with Summer's Rhythm: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Magic
Resonate with Summer's Rhythm: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Magic

Two weeks ago nights were in the 30s and there was danger of frost. Summer weather quickly arrived and today heat index values could reach 105.

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joy, life, magic, seasonsAnne Buteraenjoying summer, summer days, summer's rhythm, slowing down, enjoying each day, enjoy the magic, the magic of summer, summer bucket list, summer joys, summer joy list, summer joys list, fun to-do lists, inviting joy into your life, inviting play into your days, Clara the dog, skillshare, Skillshare, sketchbook class on Skillshare, summer sketchbooks, summer sketchbook class, garden, summer garden Comments
Why Joy and Play Will Continue as Part of My Creative Practice
Why Joy and Play Will Continue as Part of My Creative Practice

The Get Re-Inspired Creative Retreat is now over. I’m not sure if it ended up being what I planned, but it was nurturing, fun and I learned a lot.

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creativity, joyAnne Buteracreative play, experiments, creative experiments, trying new things, papier-mache, paper mache, Sarah Hand, daffodils, papier-mache daffodils, paper mache daffodils, papier-mache birds, paper mache birds, papier mache snails, snails, papier-mache cats, cats, process, getting lost in the process, joy, the joy of play, the joy of creative play, creative practice, joy and play, March Creative Retreat, creative retreat Comments
Shake Up Your Self-Care and Recommit to What Truly Brings You Joy
Shake Up Your Self-Care and Recommit to What Truly Brings You Joy

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

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art, creativity, joy, life, sketchbooks, fabricAnne Buteraself-care, winter, sketchbook, play, fabric design, Spoonflower, spoonflower contest, spoonflower challenge, recommit to self-care, dreaming of spring, garden dreaming, seeing the beauty of winter, rescue dog, February, Feeling sick of winter, feeling weary, feel your feelings, botanical fabric design, nasturtiums, watercolor nasturtiums, nasturtium fabric, vining nasturtiums fabric design Comments
Why I Love Valentine's Day Plus an Invitation to Creative Self-Care
Why I Love Valentine's Day Plus an Invitation to Creative Self-Care

I love Valentine’s Day. It’s probably not cool to admit this, but I do.

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art classes, inspiration, joyAnne Buteraskillshare, Skillshare teacher, Skillshare, Skillshare classes, valentine's day, self-care, creativity is self care, creativity, joy, love, self love, sketchbooks, journaling, Create a Joy & Self-Love Ritual with a Handcrafted Inspiration Deck, Inspiration Deck, joy ritual, creative rituals Comments
Are You an Artist? Writing an Artist's Manifesto
Are You an Artist? Writing an Artist's Manifesto

The shop was a jumble of art, jewelry and funky secondhand furniture. Although the town’s population was tiny, it was crowded with people attending the local art festival. I browsed, more curious about what was for sale than because I wanted to purchase anything.

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art, inspiration, joyAnne Buterainspiration, artists, what does it mean to be an artist?, who is an artist, what is art, Artist Manifesto, Artist's Manifesto, creative encouragement, we are all artists, are you an artist?, Melanie Falick, Making a Life, Ellen Dissanayake, Laura Bray, Laura K. Bray, Vincent van Gogh Comments
Shift Your Perspective and Recommit to Your Heart
Shift Your Perspective and Recommit to Your Heart

I stumbled into my shoes, pulling on my hat and coat before rushing two wagging dogs out the door.

I was still wearing my nightshirt.

I wasn’t wearing any socks.

I hadn’t even put on my glasses.

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joy, lifeAnne Buterajoy list, Joy Lists, Joy List, writing joy lists, journaling, skillshare, Skillshare, win a year's premium Skillshare membership, rescue dog, dogs, change to begin again, shifting perspective, perspective, fresh start, joy, learning lessons, lessons from a rescue dog, give weight to the good, love, give weight to love, give weight to beauty, beauty, goals, dreams, recommit to your dreams, recommit to your goals, recommit to yourself, shifting focus, end of the year, new year Comments
Art by Other Artists in My Studio: a Partial Studio Tour
Art by Other Artists in My Studio: a Partial Studio Tour

I’ve been wanting to show you around my studio but instead of giving a full tour, today I’m sharing one corner where I’ve collected art from other artists.

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art, joy, studioAnne ButeraJust a Card, independent artists, art, artists, support artists, support small businesses, supporting artists, my favorite artists, studio tour, studio, studio cat, Quin, decorating, art collections, embroidery, Golly Bard, Holly Ward Bimba, Abigail Halpin, Natalie Wargin, Mary Woodin, Regina Lord, Ginny P Worsley, Stacey Ann Cole, Dana Barbieri, Ashlie Blake, Oh Chalet, Caroline Kelly Saganich, ATCs, artist trading cards, UPPERCASE Circle, UPPERCASE Magazine, Scrabble, Scrabble messages, Scrabble word art, Leigh Anna Newell, Helen Hallows, Katie Daisy, Stephanie Ryan, joy Comments