Yes!  This is where I will be later this coming week.  Will you join me?

Some classes are full, but there are openings still available….

The Creative Connection Event is 3 days packed full of  inspiration, creative businesses, women and so much passion for their craft … you will come away thoroughly inspired. The collaboration of Jo Packham and Nancy Soriano, it has attracted some of the biggest names in the business for Keynote Speakers, Class Instructors and Attendees alike.  Last year was the 1st Annual Event, which I also attended and it was just fantastic.  I met so many creative, wonderful women.

It will be held at the Crowne Plaza in St Paul.  So please head on over to the link and register yourself for 1, 2 or all 3 days.  When you do, leave me a comment so I will know you’re attending and we can hook up at some point.

So… come get your creative on and join me!

Just wanted to send a quick note off to all of you… our studio opening is upon us!  As I write, the finishing touches are being made and the final lists being crossed off… for tomorrow is our Grand Opening.  Alicia Danzig of Lulu Painting and I will officially be studio mates! 

There have been a ton of set-backs….one step forward and two behind in some cases, but we have perservered and made it to this day.  Our special color and design playhouse is almost ready!  Of course as time goes on, we will keep evolving it, but for now…. we invite you to put on your party shoes and join us tomorrow (Thursday, April 28th) at the Semple Mansion from 7-9 pm, for the event.

Please grab a friend (or someone who is really fun) and head on over for some delicious drinks and happy desserts.  We’ll be looking for you.  Oh, and don’t forget… we’re even giving away some wonderful prizes too!  See you then!

I am so excited to review this next book!   Decorate by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick is hot off the presses.  Just released in the UK, soon to be released in Australia, and not being released in the US until late April… I have my hands on a gorgeous copy!

Thanks to Anthropologie…(they being the only venue in the US to be able to sell advanced copies of Decorate)  I received my beautifully wrapped book, as only Anthropologie can do, last Friday.  I was so excited; you would think it was my book that was being delivered!  I have anticipated the book’s debut for a couple of months now, and as a current student of Holly’s (her latest Blogging Your Way class) I am thrilled to be able to review her and Joanna’s co-efforts in the form of Decorate.

Holly Becker is the founder and author of the extremely popular Decor8 blog and columnist at Real Simple online and has contributed to many design publications over the years.  Joanna Copestick is a writer and editor with more than 10 books to her credit.  Both women have combined their talents, resources in the design world and experience, to put together a fresh design book like no other.

First off… the book’s photography is simply gorgeous!  The attention to detail, lighting and composition is rare and fresh.  Debi Treloar has set the tone for the book with her talented photography, creating more than 400 stunning photos to delight in.

Decorate is a different kind of decorating book as the cover suggests…. It focuses on decorating and lifestyle ideas to transform your home, rather than just one trademark look or design aesthetic.  It absolutely lives up to that promise.  It is packed with more than 1000 professional ideas and solutions for every area of the home.  There is page after page of designer contributions- each stylist, designer, shop owner or creative, lending their expertise and style wisdom for everything from floor plans and space planning, to defining one’s style through every room of one’s home.  Some featured talents include:  Kelly Wearstler, Celerie Kemble, Amy Butler, Vincent Wolf and Amy Neunsinger.

The rooms are not just spaces that are creatively decorated, but really lived in homes that have become highly personal spaces that allow for real-life to happen there.  This is the kind of book that speaks to my design heart.  These homes reflect the families or artists who live there and how their home really compliments and enhances their day-to-day life.   The spaces are not showcase experiments by designers just looking to stretch the “wow” factor, but homes that really have evolved in most cases to what the home-owners really desired to surround themselves with.

One of my favorite quotes from the book by Nate Berkus is “Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love brought together under one roof.”  Surprisingly, it is very reflective of the words on my website about telling the story of who you are and how that past, present and future story should be reflected within the walls of your home.

The book features four categories:

Space Matters

Setting Your Style

Room by Room

Attention to Detail

The overall design aesthetic of the book is simply fresh, usable ideas that can translate to any style of decorating and almost any home.  It is refreshing to see this direction in a decorating book.  The pages are jam-packed with tips, hints and decorating guidelines to allow the reader to really pull the ideas that strike them the most and to be able to put them into action.

I believe Holly, Joanna and Debi have created a book that will live on as a design classic to be turned to for years to come.  My congratulations and thanks to Holly and her partners for this lovely new book. 

I have been taking a blogging course (Blogging Your Way) with the fabulous and wonderful Holly Becker of the blog Decor8.  I initially took this class last year, but was so busy at the time, I couldn’t embrace all their was to learn.  I am back as a student for the next 6 weeks to try to take it all in again.  Holly is a great teacher… gracious, knowledgeable, highly supportive and motivating.   Each Wednesday we are treated to a podcast by her on a topic that works with the other materials for the week.  I would like to share some points of today’s podcast- including her thoughts and some of my own observations/experiences after listening. 

Holly‘s podcast on “Fear” has really created a conversation in my head about how this has worked in my own life.  She talked about how we can use fear to successfully motivate positive changes in our lives instead of letting fear overcome us and either stop us in our tracks or alter our thinking to the negative.

What about you?  Is fear stopping you from being all you were designed to be?

You only get one chance to live today.

Are you living authentically in your true passion?

Fear can motivate us to make changes in our lives and really move us into our “own”.  Small changes can be the spark to keep us “alive” while we wait for the bigger change to fully arrive.  Fear can be a more motivational feeling than regret.  Fear can motivate us vs. regret is done.   Don’t regret what you were too afraid to move past.  Use that fear as a catalyst to make great changes to claim the life you were designed for. 

Until recently, I was letting my fear of some business decisions cloud my decisions, my faith, and my ability to actually do what I am designed to be doing.  I was allowing my fear of outside influences to drive my choices, not letting my true voice be heard.  I was succumbing to the pressure of what is expected and accepted as “normal”.   I wasn’t doing what is true to my heart.  Which almost lead me to make some choices that were not the best for me or my business.   (There will be a post on that topic on another day, but for now I will stick with how fear can motivate us.)

In the last 6 weeks, I have moved forward through my faith in God and knowing His plans for my life and along with my new perspective, I have moved past fear and into peace.  I have made some new choices that have taken me out of “Fear” motivation and into using what I know is “True” to guide me.  I still don’t have it all figured out, but I am in a place of positive change, not in stagnant fear options.

The best things take time, so we need allow the new changes to take place in our lives as they need to.  Motivate yourself with the plans set forth for change, not just on how fast the changes get here.  Baby steps can make us stronger, so allow the pace to move slowly if that’s what is required.  Keep moving by improving oneself and making ourselves stronger in the process.  For me that means deep study and reflection each week.  It means I rely on trusted mentors to reinforce what I am learning elsewhere, all while awaiting the full change to come. 

Remember- every success, failure and moment up until now is preparing you for what is to come… are you ready for all that life has prepared you for?

I would love it if you’d leave a comment on what you are fearful of and how you plan on using that fear to motivate you to make needed changes in your life. 

Happy Winter Day!

Today we are going to think creatively with all this winter that surrounds us.  I think it’s so easy for winter weather to make us less creative, so today I want to use it for INSPIRATION!

Yes, today I would like you to ‘think outside the box’ and be inspired by snow, shades of gray and simplicity of landscape.  At first glance, it seems colorless and almost lifeless.  But… wait… there is beauty and inspiration there, we just have to slow down to take in all of the details. 

Okay, I know there are some readers who do not have snow outside their windows.  If that is you, I envy you a bit… but I believe you can still gain some inspiration from this post, so, please read on.  (Maybe consider remembering a time you were in a snowy landscape or browse some online resources- photos, blogs or the like, to find some wintery scenes to pull inspiration from. Try here at Anna Malin’s blog or here at haus maus .)

Now, for the details that will allow us to create in a new way….

In a typical winter scene, there seems to be lack of color, but it’s really abundant in color, one just has to spend some time really looking.  The twigs, trees and wood that are exposed have many shades of gray, brown, gold, tan, and even some purple or red hues in them.

Where there is snow that has fallen, it can be heavy and wet, icy and hard, or soft and clumped.  What do those textures represent?

Look at the sky… the various shades are determined a bit by the time of day.  Maybe some early morning pinks and purples, afternoon blues and grays, and possibly some evening color with a bit of orange or magenta.

How does the landscape lay?  Are you looking at fields of softly blanketed white, a backyard of greenery laden with heavy snow, or a city boulevard with homes and buildings lined up like soldiers along a snowy avenue?

Now that you’ve really spent a few minutes looking at the details, how can you use that information to inspire your creativity today?  What did you gain from looking at the scene outside your own door or window?

Can you imagine creating a piece of art with those colors, textures and details?  Would you like to take a photograph to capture the beauty?

Would you like to pull your gardening books and make plans to update your garden areas to better compliment a winter landscape?

Would you like to gather some friends and enjoy a day outdoors sledding or going on a quiet winter walk?

Are you compelled to plan a menu to incorporate hearty comfort foods to share with friends on a cold winters eve?

Would you like to nestle in and knit a sweater for someone special with the colors of winter?

Are you inspired to redecorate a bit, embracing the hues and textures outside your window?

Creativity can take us to new places.  When we take the time to really look at the details around us, we take those details with us to other parts of our lives.  We can be changed by nature and our surroundings when we slow down and take the time to welcome those bits of beauty that can often go unnoticed around us.

What beautiful things did today’s winter scene inspire you to do today?