For a little Utah Mamma to get away for a couple days to work, refresh, recharge and reunite in NYC makes for a trip I’m not going to forget for a long time.

What started as a excuse to walk a couple trade shows, turned into a business/getaway trip where I got more accomplished in 3 days that I normally do in 3 months.

Turned out that when I went looking for a roommate to save on hotel bills, my Mom and sister jumped at the chance to visit our favorite city.

Most of the time was spent in meetings, working on projects, eating food I’d never get in Utah, walking and absorbing all the city has to offer, and letting my spirit recharge. Oh, and staying up till 2 am laughing our heads off. Nothing like girl time.

I’m constantly amazed at the diversity of architecture in this city. So mind thrilling.

And what’s a trip to NY without boutique hopping. Wishing that I couldn’t have taken more photos, but of course, most places are so strict about taking photography. Good thing I had my sketchbook! So much inspiration!

And the coolest thing? I had a friend there the same time, and she snapped this picture at FAO Swartz in NYC! Really? Children at Play fabric on 5th Ave? That was a surprise!

(If any of you knows this clothing brand, I’d love to know!)

OH. And major highlight of the trip. Amazing!

And I have to leave you with an image that pretty much embodies old meets new. Pretty amazing how this world has changed….and hasn’t.

It’s been 8 long years since I’ve been back to the big apple, and oh how I’ve missed this place! So much color and artistic stimulation…all packed into 3 short days. I’ll be back soon.

Ashely Anne Photography has been a favorite blog of mine for a while. She is the one that posted this great tutorial of how to stitch over the LIVE YOUR LIFE ON PURPOSE print that I know so many of you have printed out and used. And I’ve been wanting to make more illustrated quotes now for a while, so when she asked me to illustrate a poster as a gift for those who donate money to the orphanage where her daughter is coming from in China, I jumped at the chance. You can read more about the project here. There are other prints for those who donate, all themed around the word “song.” Beautiful and inspiring.

I came up with this phrase a while ago, while I was looking back on the paths I’ve take as well as the paths that I want to take. So often, when making decisions, I tend to look at those I know and love to see what has taken them down their roads. But in the end, I always take my own. We all do. It can be scary, not knowing what your particular road will be. Even though we forge ahead year after year, there are still moments when we have to step back and make sure we are making this the path that we were truly meant for. And it really is an adventure, isn’t it?

And so there we go. Sing the song you were born to sing.

Thank you Ashley for bringing awareness to yet another great cause, and enjoy!

This print is 8 x 10. Print it out and pin it up…frame it….trace it and stitch it…whatever suits you! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD PRINT HERE.

I think a lot of how children play. I marvel at it. I wonder at it. Getting inside their minds and seeing all the amazing worlds they are creating.  I guess it’s a good thing I do what I do: raise children, make things and draw for them. I seriously consider myself lucky every single day. It’s seriously the most beautiful thing to observe a child at play.

Here’s our photo journal of play this past month.

Here’s my ode to childhood imagination, as promised with a sketch for each post.

There is so much going on in those minds. Amazing what goes on in their world.

PS: Shop update coming very soon:) Stay tuned!

Ok. So I promised that I was going to include an illustration in every post. But my blog has been down, and my hands have been tied up in web-stuff.

But I had to share this one last image from our trip to HANA. The tide pools below the house are covered in black lava rock formations, and then broken up bits of coral from ages of wear. My parents and Kenneth and I spent an hour searching and wading through pools looking for the best letters to make the phrase. A task that simple seemed like play…spend an hour looking for the letter “E?” That’s when I started to realize that I really do have a lot going on in my life, and slowing down is a very theraputic, wonderful thing.

Right now, I’ve been in the middle of some more website battles..and so I’m really, really sorry if you’ve emailed me, visited the blog or site and gotten error pages, or broken links.  We’re still working on some issues! And they’ve made me go a little crazy…cause it’s like having a house with no drivway or address…but things are getting there, and if you had trouble this week so far…I’m so sorry. Today I’m shifting my mind back to that trip where I truly felt nothing else but being mindful of the present moment, and that is a good way to go into this Thanksgiving holiday.
But I’ll be back with some exciting BLACK FRIDAY sale notices, so you can be ready for shopping after Turkey day.

I hope you all have WONDERFUL thanksgiving plans! We do. We have family in town, and a new baby nephew who I can’t get enough of. I just love this holiday. So much.

God bless, and have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

(But don’t forget to come back and find out about weekend sales…they’ll be all done by monday!!)

Love to you all,

sarah

I mean, really….I had a love affair with color every.single. day.

Every where I turned there was color-color-color! Like laughter all around me! I could just drown in it.

You know, it’s interesting. I have color in my head all the time. But I haven’t really colored our home yet.  I don’t even have many indoor flowers and plants, and I’m feeling rather ashamed about it! I’ve decided to invest in flowers for garden, and totally investing in cut bouquets through the winter. I must have color!

Can you believe these shades of red?

No photoshop here!! Straight from my camera. Amazing.

Man. Hana bleeds color.

Must have more color around me! Official mission of 2012: Color bursts!

Ahhh….Feeling better already. I think I’ll go paint something red now.

Last night (late!) while I was working, I caught wind that Steve Jobs died. While we all knew that he resigned from Apple, had been struggling with cancer for years, I felt the universe quiet down for a moment. I didn’t even know him. Never seen him in person…I don’t even think I’ve seen him in video. But I’ve read of his life, read his words, and seen his work (and listened to it!) And while it was late, I had to sketch out in my journal this quote that I’ve come to love so much.

The world is a different place because people like Steve worked hard, fought, tried NOT to fit in and make ideas happen. He came to earth with a mission. I love this that he said:

‘We’re here to put a dent in the universe’ ~ Steve Jobs

After my car accident this year (did I mention I had two? The other was a snow related accident where  my car slid down a steep hill out of control and stopped feet before a big drop off.) Ya. It’s been quite the year. I’ve wondered so much about those two close to death experiences, and while there are SO many ways I realize I have changed because of it, I really resonated with these words from Steve Jobs. Ever since those incidences, time is even more valuable. Fear is stupid. Or, if it’s there, it reminds me that I am mortal and that I am in constant search for divine help. I am reminded that I came here with incredible potential to do good. And every minute that is sucked into mindless surfing on the internet (which happens!) or even time spent worrying or wondering about the future rather than just doing something about it, I get angry that there are so many distractions all around us to keep us from “making that dent in the universe.”

And believe me, you don’t make a dent from wishing for, hoping for, or following someone else’s dent. It’s yours to make. And when you remember that your life is a ticking clock with a buzzer that someday really will go off, it can easily, at least for me, keep me moving and making and shaking.

Steve Jobs. Mover and Shaker. Curious and Determined. Visionary and Realist.

You brought us the ipod. But more than that, you set a course and revealed a path we often lose sight of.

You will be missed.

1. Signing my book along side “The Toymaker.” Both of us have Christmas Books coming out. If you haven’t seen her site, it’s a must!

2. I spoke on a panel with 3  new kindred spirits: Amy Turnsharp of Little Allouette, Andrea Badgely of Sacred Suds, Liv Lane of Choosing Beauty. Amazing women!

3. The first purchase of A Christmas Goodnight! Kim Christopherson and Kris Thurgood from the DIY DISH of course!

4. My first spotting of my book for sale!

5. Holly Becker from Decor8…lovely, lovey person.

6. So inspired by Christina Ferrare!

Wow. What a week. My first week traveling by myself, without my husband, with out my kids, turned out to be quiet the break I needed.

I was asked to speak at the Creative Connection event in St. Paul, and it was really a week of learning and introspection. I really like speaking. I love having the chance to talk about the things I’ve learned on this creative journey I’ve been on, because it actually makes me go and reflect to what I’ve learned. Without the motivation to speak and help others, sometimes I think it’s easy to breeze by and not recognize all the treasures of wisdom I’ve acquired. A great lesson of learning, for sure!

In attendance, were women from ALL spectrums of creative lifestyles. Designers, seamstresses, crafters, photographers, artists, bloggers, you name it. I think I had to say that I enjoyed the Keynote Speakers the best.

Holly Becker of Decor8, what a darling. She shared her personal story from her girlhood to how she got where she is today, with no shortage of trials, that’s for sure. And, her book is GORGEOUS! It sold out fast at TCC! She really is remarkable, and I love her even more now.

Cristina Farrere from Cristina Cooks on the Oprah Network: What a babe! She also shared her personal story from girlhood to where she is today. She too had the kind of hurdles that would shut any “normal” person down forever. But she has fire and faith and a lot of persistance. What a story!

Other keynote speakers, who have amazing products, talent and stories to share a long with it: Kelly Rae Roberts, Leigh Standley, Melody Ross, Susan Branch, Karen Walrond, Becky Higgins, Nora Abousteit, and Stacy Julien.

All these women have climbed their own mountains and faced their own hurdles to get where they are. And most of them created a business FROM the rubble. Even more inspiring!

Here’s an illustrated quote that Susan Branch shared at the end of her Keynote, which she shared on her blog:

I mostly took the chance to be introspective, meet other women who are crazy like me (the kind the ALSO don’t shower or do laundry for days when trying to meet deadlines) and it was so nice to be in the company of women who’s hearts beat with the same pulse. Who go through their challenges, rather than around, and use their creative gifts to answer life’s big questions. And they are all helping others a long the way.

It also reinspired me to try new paths, be more fearless with my own creativity and follow my dreams with more fire and haste. To be less swayed by outside opinions, and to create more truthfully.

I was also more determined to let creativity into my life more. Working, networking, and all the business aspects of what I do (not to mention mothering!) take up a lot of my energy.

I’ve made the pledge to be wake up each morning with Creative Living as my motive. I am sensing in my own self a season of change. A time of new realization and creative growth. And I’m really excited to discover it all!

Thank you to all the lovely new friends I made and the wonderful conversations I had that I will never forget. Why I didn’t get more pics of my newly formed friendships is beyone me! But Creative spirits connect. It just happens. Creative Connections. It’s a beautiful thing!

The other night, I looked out my window, and all the light around the house was orange. Sunsets. They make me so happy. But this was post-sunset. Dusk. My favorite.

When we were house hunting, we had our usual specifications we were looking for. Room count, square footage, schools, etc. But on the top of my list was light. Windows and sky. And trees. It’s like food for my soul. Finding a house where you could see the sky in any room of the house was as important as getting a house with a dishwasher. It took us a long time to find a house!

But we did. And today I was reminded just how much I love what happens in the “up” space of the world.

When my husband and I were dating, he mentioned to me that he had done an experiment where he spent a day walking around and always looked UP. Never looked down at his feet while he was walking, but always looked up. We must have been in college at the time, and so we were walking around a lot. But try it. When you are walking down your hallway even. Look up. It does something to your mood. And it doesn’t even have to be at a gorgeous sky. Although that helps. Looking upwards has always helped me from getting too serious about stuff. It really works!

September gets me excited. There’s magic in the air, and I love the fall season coming. But it also has me looking at to-do lists a lot more than I have been over the summer. Ahhh….summer. I’ve found it important to look up.

Well, except for when I am around little people. And then I look down. A lot. But when I look down, I see this:

And that has me feeling pretty up too.

Happy weekend!

{And thanks for all the “BE….” love! I hope to have them in the shop at the end of September as well as a bunch of other new fun things! I’ll post more soon…stay tuned!}

Thanks so much for the great response to A Christmas Goodnight It’s always a bit nerve wracking to share even a little bit of something that I’ve been keeping a secret for so long. I have so much more I want to fill you in on, but until then enjoy these last few weeks of summer…I promise I won’t bug you about Christmas for at least another month:)

I wanted to share a few posts with you that are floating around the www today.

Ashley of Ashely Ann Photography (LOVE her blog and photography!) posted this great post of how she turned this free downloadable quote of mine into a canvas print which she embellished with hand stitching. Doesn’t it look amazing?

{All Photos, Ashley Ann Photography}

I have my print behind glass in my kitchen…always such a lovely reminder to wake up every day full of love and purpose.

I made this print several weeks ago, but it has meant even more to me the past 2 days after recovering from a could-have-been-fatal car wreck. I’ll spare you the horrific details, but let’s just say it involved a bouncing metal pipe coming towards me on the freeway while going 65 mph in morning rush hour traffic. My car was totaled, 3 other cars were involved, and after spinning across 3 lanes of traffic, I walked away unharmed. Needless to say, I’ve been recovering on all levels, as you never expect to go through something like that. But if ever there was a shake in my soul to live my life with no regrets, it’s been these past 48 hours. I can honestly say that I love my children every day like it will be my last, simply because I have always been so aware how fragile this life can be. But until you go through something like what I did Tuesday morning, am I shaken into living my life for God and my family with even more love than ever. The kind of purpose I didn’t even know was in me. But now I do.

So…ok…onto happier things, Ashely is hosting a giveaway to get one 16×20 canvas print which you can use to print out that same quote. Isn’t that great??

And other lovely things going on in blog land, We Love French Knots hosted this great interview with me on Tuesday. Interviews are fun, because I get to share things I don’t normally talk about here. Enjoy!

(Sorry I didn’t link to it earlier…I was rather busy tuesday!) Bari J, a fantastic fabric designer and embroidery designer, started this fantastic Stitching Blog and has been relentless in filling us all in on all things stitching. Check it out!

{Overall Baby}

And guess what else you are making? I had to share these gorgeous photos of more wonderful projects you are making with Children at Play from my Flickr Group. You are all so talented and inspiring!

{Girl. Inspired}

{Picolli Piselli}

{Overall Baby}

{Overall Baby}

{Stolen Moments Blog}

{Skirt as Top}

{Little Toot Creations}

{Overall Baby}

Love to you all! Hug your babies. Live your life on purpose. Make your home beautiful. Inspire someone else. Be creative. Thank God every day for all his mercy. And laugh a lot. Amen.

Oh, and don’t forget about the great giveaway over at Ashley Ann!

xo

sarah

I think about color a lot. As an illustrator who takes drawing very seriously, color is something that has always taken second place. As I’ve grown as an artist, and forged my path for where my art wants to go, I’ve learned to apply design and color in balance with my drawing, and it’s been so enlightening. Rather than thinking of the subject of the piece I’m working on, I’ve learned to think about color just as early on in the doodle stage. And because of the handy-dandy computer, I can play with color a lot faster and it’s not as intimidating when trying to come up with color palettes.

This is a color palette I’m seriously in love with at the moment (well, for the past few months) and I can’t get it out of my head. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

{Bottom images: here, here and here. Also collectively found here.}