The show will also feature 250 artist designed 12x12 boxes (see mine below). Each box is $100 and the money raised goes to benefit Freedom Place (recovery center for underage female victims of sex trafficking). The box show will be at both buildings. My 4-box piece will be displayed at Spring Street Studios.

How can I be a commercial photographer running a studio and making forays into the fine art world while writing a book and being an educator who also sews quilts, has an Etsy shop and teaches photographers about business? Truth be told, it's tough. My husband would say, "no, it's not, you're doing it right now...just do it more". Of course, that's just way too simple and it doesn't really work like that anyway. What happens is that one aspect starts to compete with the other or my ego gets in the way and gets worried about what someone else may think of what I'm doing. I second guess how to prioritize all the pieces and just end up feeling like a mess. I start to feel like I'm doing a lot of things halfway and that none of it is that strong. Basically, I let doubt and fear creep in and kill it.

The thing is, I know the truth. The truth is that it doesn't matter what the haters or critics have to say about me because they aren't my audience. I know that the struggle for balance is part of the process. I also know that my best and most productive self does not live in one tidy box. My best self is free, complex, integrated, bold and multi-faceted. There will be those who will thrill and delight in the mix of things that I am doing and love it all (even more) for the variety. However, knowing the truth and living it are very different prospects.

Lately, it's a matter of fits and starts, good days and bad days. It's not a light switch that can just be flipped. Oh, how I wish that it was like that! It's a mental battle between what I know and what I am feeling. I'm a box myself in addict. Do they have a recovery group for people like me? I think it is a learned behavior that I need to unlearn. Stop allowing the question "what would X or Y person or group think about this piece or this project?". Ask only what do I love about what I'm doing and chase it down without so many questions. Day-by-day, by day, by day, by another day...one day at a time perhaps.

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(the image in this post was created while away at a workshop in Dallas with the lovely and talented Brooke Shaden. It has inspired so many new ideas and I'm working really hard to chase them down- without too many questions. Hope you like it! Wait, no, I'm not going to worry about whether or not you like it, not today anyway.)

I have a new favorite blog. Her name is Dottie Angel and I'm simply swooning over her crafty awesomeness. She has a weekly blog post that she does called Wordless Wednesday, and I love it. Writing my blog is something that I really enjoy and finding the right image to illustrate my words or vice versa is an amazing creative exercise. Every so often, though, I don't have words for an image that I love. So, as a little tribute to the brilliance that is Dottie Angel (and I sure hope she doesn't mind, do you Dottie??), I'm going to play along with her on Wednesdays.

Please go check out her blog and I feel pretty certain you'll fall in love with her too.  If the little dog bed she made for Olive doesn't do it then I'm not sure what would.

On this first wednesday, we have words. Next wednesday...just image (and maybe a description? not sure about that). Play along? Leave links in the comments!

I am always searching for ways to bring all of my artistic loves together (photography, mixed media collage, quilting, needlework, drawing...). I'm on an integration mission! A few days ago, I was working on a quilt and thinking about how I was going to bind it. That's when I had an idea! Maybe I could add a binding to a photograph? In the theme of my August Inspiration, I used my recent picture of Einin, the fabric flowers I had made, some of my inspiration fabric and voila!

Here are a few detail shots. I made the two fabric flowers without a specific plan for them but they worked perfectly here! I started by just pulling out fabrics until I found some that coordinated well and went with my August theme. Once I had my fabric, I pieced and sewed not knowing exactly how it would turn out. I braided some of the fabric scraps into the yarn used for hanging it on the wall and I really like how that turned out. I added a few buttons as details and added some embroidery stitches in various places along the frame.

The image is printed onto water resistant canvas and can be hung on a wall without a frame or glass. Dust can be gently wiped off with a soft cloth. I embedded dowel rods into the top and bottom to keep it straight and flat. I can't wait to hang this in Einin's room! For now, it's going to stay at the studio hoping to inspire my clients to have one made for themselves.

So, what do you think? Keep going?

I fell in love with those cosmos petals, so soft and delicate, reaching up to the blue sky. Inspired by that image, I created this (an ode to pink) Etsy Treasury and then this one with that extra bit of greenish-blue.

And the love affair with blue started to turn up in some new work...

The colors have made their way into my latest quilting project too. Here's a quickie Instagram shot of that in process project.

All of this gave me the idea of doing a monthly inspiration board or mood board that I could share with you guys. Who knows, maybe you'll get inspired too? So here is the first (of many, I hope) inspiration boards. If you love it, you can download it here to use as your computer's desktop wallpaper.

To make it even more fun, I created a digital scrapbooking / digital design set made from these inspirational pieces. Here is what the set includes:

I also made a 5x5 holiday card template that is included in the set. Just insert your own images and, voila, holiday card!

Then, I made a 12x12 scrapbook page template that is also included in the set, yay! As with the card, all you have to do is insert your images into the template, print it out and your scrapbook page is done! The template is layered so you can move things around if you like. The little fabric flowers are handmade by me and the rest of the items are things I have been collecting as inspiration, enjoy!

As you can see, the colors inspired the pictures of Einin too! This one is my favorite (it's the bottom left one from the template).

Feel free to download the wallpaper and let the soft pinks and blues inspire your work or just decorate your computer's desktop. To purchase the digital set, head on over to The Designer's Mix and purchase it online. Make sure and share any creations you come up with! Leave me links in the comments section below or tag me on Facebook. Would you like to see more art? Check out my Etsy shop!

Happy August friends!