Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

Remember when you were a kid and there was something so scary about the dark?

You were afraid there might be monsters under the bed or in the closet.  It felt so real.  Your body tensed and you feared the unknown.

Somehow when the light was turned on, or in the light of day, the monsters in your imagination would recede and lose their power to hurt you.

The movie, Monsters, Inc. is a charming, animated tale that shows the monsters in the light of day as goofy, charming, caring, and sometimes frightened themselves.

Our emotions can be like these monsters.  When we hide them, ignore them, or push them into the dark corners of our mind, they become much bigger than life and raise the fear factor.

We’re afraid of what might happen and often the fear is much bigger than the reality.

Shining some light and bring the emotions out where we can see them, feel them, and release them can make them seem less frightening and mysterious.

I’ll admit that it is going to take a lot of practice for me because of a lifelong habit to put my emotions in a closet and double bolt the door.  I figured if I ignored them, they would leave.

In the Attraction Distraction by Sonia Miller, she says, “Emotions are healthy and all emotions are completely ok.  They are simply energy passing through your body and need to be released so your soul can speak to you.”

What a lovely way of putting it.  I believe that is true and the more we listen to our instincts, the signals from our body, and shine a light on the feelings we’ve hid in the dark, the less we’ll live and act in fear.

The book that I am reading now, and more importantly, doing the exercises, is The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin.

I am really enjoying the simple and effective methods that help release emotions, both old and new.

It’s like having a flash light to see there is nothing to be afraid of, it’s going to be ok.

Mark Twain may have said it best ;

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

In Spring, there is always an abundance of soft, pastel colors in the clothing.

I think they are beautiful but I don’t look good in pastels.

I found this beautiful fabric at a quilt shop last year and wasn’t sure what I would make but fell in love with the beautiful color and pattern.

It is a good compromise for me of some soft colors like the periwinkle and green surrounded by a rich, dark brown.

I am going to make the Liberty Shirt by Sewing Workshop.   My friend has made this in several different fabrics and it looks great and completely different each time.

I am so lucky because she and I are the same size and she has me try on hers and then just tells me what changes she made to fit.  How’s that for a time saver?

It has a flattering fit and the directions look pretty straight forward.

I don’t have enough of the leaf fabric for the whole blouse, so I think I am going to use some large scraps of this purple fabric to cut and piece the sleeves.

We’ll see if that works and I’ll share my final results when it’s done.

I was reading Carol Sack’s In Medias Recipe blog post about making Clementine muffins with Clementine curd (a cousin to Lemon curd) and that got me started!

Not only did I make muffins and Clementine curd, but I got excited about the idea of making some citrus marmalade and possibly a Clementine pie – like a key lime pie with meringue.

While the idea of tantalizing our taste buds with sweet and tart citrus excited me, I was struck by the rich, bold colors of the oranges, Clementines, and Meyer lemons tumbling out of my grocery bags.

A while back I had an idea to take some pictures of color combinations and use it as inspiration.

So these globes of sunshine are the first official color inspiration feature of the month.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts about color, you can use this as a starting point to do almost anything your imagination beckons.

Use it to inspire an accessory change to brighten up your nest, an idea for a painting or a drawing, putting together an outfit, making some jewelry, or creating a meal.

Beautiful color can evoke emotions, memories, and ideas.

What idea does this spark for you?