Happy Wednesday, friends! This year I was lucky enough to spend Fourth of July at my family's lake house, Turkey Hill. The weekend was filled with food, family, friends, water balloon fights and of course sparklers. I hope your long weekend was equally as festive!
June Around The Web
Summer has officially arrived, and I can't believe June is already coming to a close! This month Dale and I spent time celebrating our friends' birthdays in Lawrence, I visited my cousin Liesel in Richmond, we celebrated Megan and Matt's wedding in Kansas City, and spent a weekend at home in St. Louis. Dale and I visited the Johnson Shut-Ins and had a lovely dinner at Scarlett's Wine Bar for our two year wedding anniversary! While not overly relaxing, this month was filled with time spent with our dearest friends and family and we still have more celebrations to look forward to this summer. This was also a busy month at work filled with special projects and work on cards I can't wait to share when they finally reach stores!
With the warm weather I have also been wanting to try making homemade popsicles, and the web did not disappoint with two (very different) recipes that both look delicious! The first is the Pitaya Popsicle from Glitter Guide, and the second is a frosé popsicle from Camille Styles. Here are some other finds this June:
I loved browsing these beautiful cards by Moglea on Print & Pattern
I'm always on the hunt for book and podcast suggestions — Grace's June reading list looks wonderful and I can't wait to listen to some of these Creative Podcast suggestions
Think.Make.Share.'s terrarium ideas would be perfect gifts year-round beyond Father's Day
This dress looks like the perfect summer addition to my wardrobe.
Keeping this backdrop tip in mind for future parties!
Dale and I are planning a Europe trip for next summer and are hoping to visit Southern France after Lisbon. Julia's photos from Provence and Victoria's guide to Lisbon have both been inspiring!
I am in need of a new toiletry bag and I have my eye on this one from Mark and Graham.
Now go enjoy those long summer days!
Fourth of July Inspiration
Almost every year my family spends The Fourth at our lake house enjoying homemade ice cream, good food, and fireworks! This year we are lucky enough to be carrying on the tradition (I missed out last year because I was in Italy with Sophie), and I can't wait! In anticipation I gathered some of my favorite Fourth of July inspiration. (I couldn't help but include two ideas from Think.Make.Share. and The House that Lars Made, I couldn't choose just one!) I hope you find a little inspiration for your celebration this year. Enjoy!
Summer Blooms
A few weeks ago I took some peony photos and I thought this one would be perfect for an iPhone background! (Feel free to save the image below for your own phone.) I hope this brings a little beauty to the start of your week!
Happy Father’s Day
I had a chance to create some lettering for Hallmark this year as they shared Father's Day messages on the Think.Make.Share. blog. My family was lucky to spend time together today, I hope you all had a chance to celebrate with your dads and father-figures this weekend, too!
The Spark and The Grind
Happy Friday! I just finished reading The Spark and the Grind: Ignite the Power of Disciplined Creativity by Erik Wahl. Lisa Congdon recommend it during her CLS talk (along with a few other books I hope to read soon!) so I was especially excited to dive in. Erik recounts his own personal journey in moving on from the end of a corporate career into live performance painting. He believes that:
“Ongoing, original creativity requires the spark and the grind: the initial flicker of hope and the work to stoke it into something that changes the game. Always both, never just one. ”
Most people have one phase that they are more comfortable operating in. Either you find great joy from igniting ideas but have trouble taking the time and doing the work to bring them to life, or you work for the sake of working, and don't always see all the opportunities and possibilities. I took tons of notes while reading, and it would be difficult to share all the tidbits of wisdom I gained. Here are a few of my favorite quotes and notes, but I highly recommend reading the entire book yourself!
One of the concepts I was at first resistant to was the idea of attaching yourself to your work. I have sometimes thought it is necessary to have hobbies and interests outside of your actual job, but came understand that Wahl's perspective is that you should attach yourself to everything you do and allow that to inform you work.
“Each day is a day to create. Period. Constant creators see life as simply as that. ”
After finishing this book I am inspired to seek creativity in all aspects of my daily life, to remain open to the possibilities (especially when I know that I am more typically a grinder), and to keep creating. This quote from the end of the book is really the best way to summarize it:
“We can theorize all day long about theology, politics, creativity, and social change. But the rubber meets the road in practice, in actual encounter with real life. Too often our lives are small and circumscribed, structures to protect us from anything unfamiliar or unknown. We fight not to appear foolish. Stop fighting that fight. Let go of your self-consciousness and fear of humiliation. There are far greater things to lose than a little ego now and then. ”