A Poetry Moment . . .

Greet Yourself . . .

With early morning light

Come and greet yourself here

See your wonderful self

for YOU are waiting there

Take a deeper look

a long and searching glance

at the Self that stands

before you now

Greet yourself in love

protect 

what lies in front of you there

Greet yourself in peace

There are moments in our day

when we choose to not see ourselves

for we choose to look away

 look even deeper, if only for today

Greet Yourself

in this quiet moment

for you will find that

YOU are still waiting there

Making journals

I recently treated myself to an online course

entitled "Art Journal Conversion"

with Roben-Marie Smith

what a treat this course has been for me!

I have followed Roben-Marie for

quite awhile and I absolutely

love her style of painting!
There is nothing this creative lady can't do!

I have had so much fun creating wonderful journals

using materials I already had in my studio, 

some mixed media paper, stencils, inks, paints,

whatever I could find!

I even learned to use Modeling Paste,

something I had never used before, 

but now am hooked on what fun it creates.

This was a quote I put on the cover of my poetry journal

I created

"She lives her poetry out loud each and every day"

I wanted to make each journal personal.

This was a canvas duck cloth I created

along with the journals

so I could have some creative book tabs!

I had so much fun with all of this.

Here is my Poetry journal and see the little tab there?

Each journal is hand sewn with a signature of various papers inside

I used newsprint, watercolor paper,

bristol paper and sketch paper sheets

for the inside pages!

This was a piece I created during Mindy Lacefield's class

"Paint Your Story"

so I decided to make it into a special journal for me

(this one carries a special place in my heart

cause I love my Mindy girl!)

Here I added a scrap piece of newsprint

that I used as a blotter sheet

Roben-Marie had suggested this in her video

(a surprise page inside the journal)

I love the way it turned out!

All I had left was to get out my sewing machine

and do a little free form stitching on the tabs.

What fun this class was for me

and I am not done yet!

I love creating

I love painting

I love learning something new

and

spreading my creative wings!

Roben-Marie shares all of her knowledge

so freely with you,

I encourage you to take this class

if you are interested in creating these beautiful journals.

Once you sign up you always have

access to the class!

Now each time I begin writing,

it is going to be hard for me to choose

 just which journal I want to write in!

Have a beautiful Friday

and find some time to be creative

during this weekend!

A Poetry Moment . . .

Hello Self!

Each day is a new beginning

of learning something new ...

a challenging task

finding a new word

writing a poem

learning to reach out to others

Each day I say "Hello Self"

I am practicing
self care

self love

self acceptance

so today I am excited at what will be

Life is so full of wonder

if only you will see,

just look into the mirror

say hello

ask yourself

"What is needed for me today?"

Saying "Hello Self"
is always a good thing for me
for I like the image I see there,
I am learning to dig way down deep inside
I am growing
I am loving this girl she

Still working on Simplifying

Well today is Friday and time for another blog post.

Sometimes I find it difficult to think of blog topics to write about,

other times ideas just keep filling up in my thoughts!

Today was an easy one!

As I was quietly knitting socks this morning,

I was reminded of how gentle and quiet this art form truly is.

It is definitely a way of living out my word for the year Simplify,

for Knitting only requires you to be present.

Knitting is a constant companion,

and it makes me feel good every time I pick up my needles,

it is always a good reason to gather with others

and the finished product is usually awesome!

For Christmas I wanted to create a pair of

hand knit socks for each of my daughter n laws,

for as I am knitting on any project,

I always knit love and affirmations into what I am working on!

I ran out of time and was having a hard 

time finishing two pairs of socks,

then my hubby said

"Why don't you wrap up one a piece?"

So I did with the promise note

that the other one would be coming soon!

So I have been knitting away on the

second sock for each girl!

Here is a picture of each of

Heather and Lauren's feet

each wearing their only sock from me

on Christmas morning!

There are so many opportunities to slow ourselves down,

enjoy the simple things in this life of ours,

I am definitely working on a slower pace at the present moment,

I must say it feels good to me.

So I hope that your weekend will be one filled

with creativity and all good things.

Find a way to simplify your life today,

what can you put aside just for the moment?

A Poetry Moment . . .

This poem was inspired by

my beautiful necklace created by Liz Lamoreux

I am enough

She speaks to herself this early morning

reminding herself that she 

truly is enough

Don't try and compare yourself to others

for you are enough

just the way you are

There will always be others

who are stronger than you

more accomplished than you

Just remember

that you are truly enough

repeat this over and over again

For she tells herself

she has much to offer

in a way unlike no other

So on this perfect Wednesday morn

she leaves her home

in strength and confidence

Smiling ... all the while knowing

She is enough

I am enough

My Word for the Year . . . SIMPLIFY

Yes I plan to!

I was driving to work one day and stayed behind

this old white Ford pick up truck. 

I couldn't make out the words until I got up close

and there it was

SIMPLIFY

I believe it was meant for me to see on that busy morning,

when I was just trying to get to work on time.

I got up close and took a picture

(and yes I quickly posted it on Instagram!)

I have pondered on my word for 2013

and this word just kept coming back

to my mind

it just seemed right!

Life gets so busy,

we certainly

over commit

over eat

over do

over think
over process

run around crazy

get tired and frustrated
just to do it all over again!

For me I plan to

SIMPLIFY

to take my new year

more slowly,
being more mindful,
 walking at a slower pace

breathing in the beauty around me

taking in my art & writing

enjoying the process,

 the simplicity
of my everyday life.

How about you?

Hope you like the changes I have made
in my blog
I am so glad to have you here!
I have decided to post on Fridays
and have a Poetry post
somewhere in between
(shake it up a bit!)
Let me know what you think!

December Heart Thoughts . . .

From my Studio to Yours

I recently added some twinkle to my studio

and I love the feeling of happiness they bring to me

every time I enter my art space!

I had them awhile back and took them down,

(not quite sure why I took them away,

but they are back!)

How wonderful it is to have my very own

creative space

where all of my art supplies, books,

yarns, fibers, mixed media stuff,

paints, brushes, journals,
rubber stamps, washi tapes

and so much more

are all together

in one magical room!

December is such a hectic time of year

we have so much to do,

so many gifts to shop for,

creative gifts to make,

cards to send

and so much more.

I am currently enjoying

Hannah Marcotti's

Holiday Joy Up

21 days of connecting with gratitude.

What a gift I gave to myself!

 It is teaching me to slow myself down

enjoy the holiday

and find some breathing space
for just me!

So my December

will be filled with quiet moments,

not rushing through this holiday,
time for writing poetry,
good times spent with family and friends,

staying off the computer,

and taking a cyber break!

I want to work on re-designing

my precious little blog for 2013,

so I will enter the new year

refreshed, restored,

ready for new adventures

and coming back with a totally

new blog look!

So I wish you a holiday filled with love,

precious times with your family

and time for you to

rest within yourself.

Take the time to connect

with your thoughts, your faith

and your heart desires.

I wish you sincere peace.

I will see you in 2013!

I am looking forward to taking

Flora Bowley's E course

Brave Intuitive You

in January

so I will be off to a 

great creative start!

Blessings and Hugs

to you my creative family

Donna Lee

Thankful Wishes . . .

Wishing Tree from my niece Emily's wedding day

I recently watched a movie on the Hallmark Channel

entitled "The Wishing Tree"

and it really touched my heart.

Then after seeing one at a family wedding recently,

I realized what a beautiful idea that was!

Instead of putting wishes for a couple at a wedding,

I would create my own creative wishes.

It made me want to put one in my studio

and add my own wishes to the tree.

What inspiration that will be!

So right now I am on the hunt

for the perfect limb from a tree.

You know that got me to thinking

(for everything gets me to thinking these days!)

What am I wishing for right now, here in this moment?

It caused me to pause and reflect,

for I needed to ... life is going way to fast for me lately.

I keep finding myself trying to escape away to quiet

and think about this question

and here is what I finally WISH to share with you:

I wish for:

Peace of Mind

A Quiet Heart

More Writing Time

Happiness at Work

Health and Happiness

for my precious family

More time spent with my kids

(anyway and anyhow)

More time for Yoga

Cuddle time with the hubby

Getaways whenever I can

(lots of them!)

Reduce the chatter in my mind

 Always have time for poetry in my life

To be a beautiful and helpful soul

to others all around me 

I wish for you:

Beauty of Heart

Happiness and Spiritual Well Being

Well spent time with yourself

To always find 
the creative spirit inside you

Love and Laughter

Time to slow yourself down

Creative time to play

Wellness and Beauty

all around you.

Happy Thanksgiving

sending gratitude 

for what is right now

and what will be in the future

You are loved by me!

Donna Lee

I met Shelly along the way . . .

Shelly Norris of Soul Fire Retreats
writing on Maya Stein's "Type-Rider"

Last year at Serendipity Retreat

in the Outer Banks

October, 2011

I met this sweet and amazing girl

name Shelly Norris!

She was a teacher right where

I lived in Virginia Beach!

She came at the suggestion of her

good friend and author

Susan Pease,

my cottage mate at Squam by the Sea

October 2010

(are you getting all these connections?)

Retreats are always about 

 bringing others together. 

It was her first retreat 

and

she was on fire! 

She took in the entire retreat experience

with such joy and excitedness

that her attitude

was infectious!

She returned this year to the Outer Banks

for Squam by the Sea

and it was so good to see her once again.

For now she has quit her teaching job,

and begun a journey,

a beautiful journey all her own

called

Soul Fire Retreats!

She will be holding her very first one

in Sandbridge, Virginia Beach

in February of 2013

and has plans to hold

many more in the future,

each retreat having different

venues to choose from.

I just wanted to encourage you to check out her video

on You Tube here!

I wish much success along the way

for Shelly is a beautiful soul

wide open with expectations!

It was important for me to share Shelly with you,
I am so grateful to have loving and creative friends
in this artistic life of mine.
If you are looking for nourishment, looking for
a new life "shift"
then this is the place to look.
Fall back in "love" with 
your truest self!
Art classes, fellowship and so much more!

www.soulfireretreats.com

Participating in a Card Swap!

"Trust the Process"

This year I participated in the "Inspirational Card Deck Swap" with

Jessica Brogan of  In Search of Dessert 

I had read about her first swap earlier this year

and when she decided to hold another swap this fall

I knew I wanted to participate this time.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jessica

at Squam by the Sea this year

in the Outer Banks,

how wonderful it is to connect with

new friends from our social media world

and actually have a conversation

in person!

Jessica inspires me in so many ways,

please check out her link above to

her beautiful blog,

she is doing amazing work over there!

The deadline to have our 52 cards

to Jessica is November 15th,

so I am very proud of myself

for having completed and mailed

them off to Jessica this week!

It all began when Hurricane Sandy

decided to do her number on the East Coast,

and on Monday last week, she pounced

on Virginia Beach!

My office was closed and I found myself with a day off.

 I spent the entire day beginning and working 

on the process!

(Kinda cool hearing wind and rain while creating)

The challenge was to  start with a deck of cards,

all 52 of them

and I started playing away.

First Layer was white gesso

I used Liquitex gesso . . . I love it for many things

(even covering up pages for journaling)

Decided the second layer would be a stencil

Robin's Egg is my favorite color

Starting to come to life

Something starting to happen here ...

Added lots of different dimensions

to the cards that I use in my own

collage pieces

I have learned along the way

More Card Detail

(bubble wrap, smudges, rollers, palette scraping, bottle caps) 

A Little rubber stamping too

Almost there!

Writing down 52

Inspirational Thoughts for my cards

I then decided to type them on the computer

in a favorite font

Print onto Tracing Paper

and use on my cards

(learned about tracing paper on a tutorial)

I wasn't sure if it would work in my printer

Added inspirational quotes with matte gel medium

This is my favorite one!

I used a fun metallic marker around

each quote

Added a heart from ephemera 

to each card

A thin layer of top coat

Then finished with black gesso

along the borders

My hubby would just pass by the kitchen table

day after day to see how they progressed

he didn't get it

but knew it was something I had to do!

Love my hubby!

I packaged them up pretty

and mailed them off at the end

of this week

after thoroughly drying.

Now I wait . . . 

later this year Jessica will mail back to me

with 52 new cards (including one of my own)

and I will have a deck of inspiration

to begin my new Creative Year with!

One for each week to ponder on!

What fun it was, it took a lot of time

but was worth every minute of it.

Thanks Jess for putting it all together for us,

now the work is on you!

This was a great artistic experience

just having returned from the Sea!