Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 23

New Art :: Dream Big In the Moonlight

(Signed/ Matted Print Available Here)

I made the above with True in mind, (a new little something for his new room in our new house) but I'm inspired to consider my own dreams as of late.........

I want to have a picnic or two. And read a book in the green summer grass.
I want to make a memory book, printing off photos regularly and documenting more of our everyday life. 
I want to stay authentic in business, making choices that continued to be tuned into my vision, mission, truth. 
I want to trust the journey and the abundance that exists at every turn (it's the small things).
I want to go to NYC and wander the streets with John.
I want to walk around my new hood, make new friends, put up a new little library.
I want to have more dinner parties. 
I want to make more collaborative paintings with True. 
I want to make more paintings for kids. 
I want to gather on the coast with new friends, old friends, and eat candy. 
I want to be still. 
Take it all in. 
Celebrate. 
Be grateful. 


Here's to dreaming big, friends. In the sunshine, and in the moonlight.XOKelly Rae

giggles, and the three week countdown!

You guys, the above blooper reel from my upcoming painting ecourse might be the funniest thing I've seen all year. If you're in need of a giggle yourself, watch and giggle. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

You know how when you have a giggle attack, you have to concentrate really hard not to laugh. That would be us, not even able to look at each other. This went on for about 30 entire minutes. I haven't laughed that hard in so long. So grateful we were able to catch it on tape.


Friends, we're on the three week countdown to my painting e-course! I can hardly believe it, and I can hardly wait. Excitement is building!

I thought I'd share a couple of the behind the scenes photos with you from the video shoot:


This was our "set" - lights, camera, action! It was so fun seeing the studio transform. So much heart and love and good ol' fashion hard work went into the entire thing. A total team effort. And totally worth it. 

That's Kevin, our videographer. He hooked us up with two HD camera views (wide angel and close up) for this love project. He also helped keep our energy up and our vision focused. Oh yes, he was also our lighting guy, our sound guy, our techie guy. Whew! 



A little love note to myself to stay centered through it all. We filmed for three entire days, and I learned so much. SO MUCH. I really want to do more of this sort of thing!



Class starts in three weeks. Come paint, laugh, and learn with me, friends! There is still time to join the installment plan, too.

Head on over here for all the details, but first, watch our lovely lovely e-course trailer (it itself was a love project!):






"I am SO EXCITED about your class! I bought more supplies yesterday - actually I think I could have purchased half the store! Your passion and purpose absolutely radiate from your art!"

"I just watched the [supply] video last night. So excited (& nervous & thrilled & breathing deep)! If your charming supplies video is any indication of the fun to be had this will be a true delight! So honored to join you on your Mixed-Media Painting E-Course maiden voyage! And there's fun shopping to do too!"

"SQUEALS! I'M USING MY OUTSIDE VOICE DUE TO EXCITEMENT!"
"Thank you for breathing life, and putting words, to my current life. You are so inspiring Kelly! Can't wait for the e- course to start!"
"I just signed up for your new e-course and am so very excited!!!!!! It makes my heart sing! Thank you so very much for sharing your talents and abilities!!"
"EEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!! Sooooooo excited!!!!! Just signed up for Hello Soul and I CANNOT wait for February 24th!!!!!! I have waited years for you to do an e-course and would not have missed this for all of the world!!!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!"
"I am beyond excited to take your new e course. Love your work and how you write about your life."
"Going to practice courage, as you say. Thanks Kelly Rae for this new opportunity to feed my soul and stretch my creative spirit!"

Nourish Your Soul with our NEW Manifesto Canvases

Each week, I shine a spotlight on a few creations that I'm particularly proud of.  May you be inspired - and perhaps find a little something to nourish your soul.  Click here to see all the posts in this series. 

Introducing LARGE soul manifestos!!!!!
I am SO excited about today's post, you guys...... Remember back in 2012 when I wrote my own manifesto? And then I created a special edition for Brene's parenting manifesto? My life-long love affair of art & words & writing began to sprout more wings. I went on to create a few more soul manifestos that speak into the stories + experiences we all share. From joyful living to being brave to loving our favorite people on the planet to the promises we want to make to our children. 
I'm excited to announce today that in addition to the small manifesto prints that we sell in my print shop, we now have big, gorgeous, large wall canvases of three of the manifestos!  
They are big, well crafted, solid, and with chunky thick distressed sides that I LOVE! 
(A Joyful Life Manifesto large wall canvas - available here)
A manifesto for anybody who believes in living a joy-filled life - through the struggles, triumphs, and all the moments in between. This one is my favorite! 
(Available online here.)
This one sits in True's room. A sweet and beautiful love letter to the precious little humans who change our lives on the daily. This one is especially close to my heart.  

(Available online  here.) 
I created the I Heart Your Heart Manifesto for the people in our lives who love us well - our mothers, BFFS, sisters, and anyone who makes an impact. I got a little teary when I wrote the text while thinking of all the people who have touched my heart along my path. 
So there you have it friends! Big, soulful manifesto wall canvases! Can I get a yee-haw? All three available here - unless you're looking for the smaller matted prints (those are available here)


Thanks, friends. Our mission is to continue to create products that blend creativity with meaning, beauty with function. I so love what I do.
Warmly,
Kelly Rae
PS: The products featured above (and more) are sold online via Garden Gallery Works (a local shop here in the Portland area), but if you're looking for signed/matted prints and/or originals, you can get these in my online shop.  International customers, Garden Gallery is HAPPY to ship worldwide. Please email them at gardengalleryorders@gmail.com to get started. 

New Art :: Trust Your Divinity

Signed, Matted Print Available Here
(come paint your own mantra with me!)


So, trust is turning out to be a great word for the year. Really good.
While I'm standing in a long line at the grocery store - a situation that would normally trigger my impatient self -  I'm finding myself creating a new story in my head. One from I don't have time to waste to I'm trusting in the abundance of time - that there is plenty of it, that its pace is sacred, that my beliefs around time are impacting my own ability to see the world through a lens of peace vs a lens of angst. I'm conscious of this new story in the mornings when I'm feeling rushed to get the day started. When I'm in traffic, when I'm in the middle of a lonnngg conversation. When I'm wanting my three year old to move quicker. When I'm in a dreaded meeting. Trust, trust trust. It's helping me create a whole new way of being in the world. Love it. 
AND THEN.
I began thinking about all the ways I'm learning to trust in the divinity of everything. Not just time. But getting dressed in the mornings. Our nighttime routine with True. Creativity. And especially our thoughts - how our thoughts themselves are expression of our sacred selves. The choices and urges we have to follow our instincts - divinity. The way we tell stories - divine. The way we grieve and forgive and love - divine. The way we creatively express ourselves through writing, painting, decorating, crafting - divine. And when we don't choose to be true to who we are, we are in some real way betraying our own divinity/sacred journey that awaits. 
Big stuff, friends. I can't tell you the enormity of peace that I have felt these last many months as this comes into focus for me. Life, and all of it's layers and bits and pieces and story lines and nuances and choices are making so much more sense in a world where trust and courage are at the center. 
So here's to trusting our divinity. We are all such sacred light beings, and everything we do/create/dream/witness/experience matters in more ways than we can even know.
I believe this with my whole heart.XO

hello anticipation!

Let art out. Let love in! 
Anticipation and excitement is building for Hello Soul Hello Mantra and I couldn't be more thrilled. My heart is excited, too. Wanna silence the noise and create a personal mantra that will nourish your soul? Wanna then unleash your joy and paint it into life?

Wanna come learn how to make super fun, gorgeously layered backgrounds - gobs of them? Yes, yes? Love, love? Come join me! It all starts in about four weeks.


All levels welcome, including those of you who have never painted before but have a soul whisper to begin (I know that place!). An installment plan is available, too for just about one more week! 
Come on over to learn more!
Oh, and please use discount code "justforyou" for 10% off the ecourse tuition. My treat :)


In other news, I have to share this video and email I received the other day. It might be the sweetest letter of encouragement I've ever received. This little guy melted my heart and gave me the boost that I needed - perfectly timed! Thank you Liv, for permission to share Henry's joy, and for radiating some joy into my inbox!




Kelly Rae,

I have to send along this video to you of my 5 year old son, Henry doing a cheer for you.  We have lots of your pieces in our home and he knows Mommy likes you, but I never realized that he knew your name or honestly was this excited for you.  
Please enjoy and know that - WHAT YOU ARE DOING MATTERS. 
Your fellow traveler, Liz 


XO,Kelly Rae

we placed an offer on a house!

(XO letters made by my dad. My mom sells them in her etsy shop for those of you who are interested!)
We fell in love with a house. A bigger house, but still charming, still in a historic neighborhood super close to where we live now. We put an offer on it, and now we wait. While we wait, I'm obsessing about whether or not they'll accept our offer, all the fun decor decisions we can make, furniture placement, big art I can make for the walls, and on and on. It would be our forever home.

We have loved every minute of the four years we've lived in our little bungalow - from the moment we bought it to all the love and renovations that we put into it. It will be hard to leave, but I am so hoping our offer gets accepted. I cried when I walked into the house. ACTUAL TEARS. What in the world?

I wrote a nice letter to the real estate agent. Sent her a photo of our sweet family. Told her all the reasons why we love it, how we'd fill it with love and memories.

I hope we get it.

For now, we wait! My word for this year is trust, and that's exactly where I'm at. Making a move by placing an offer, but also trusting in the outcome.

Hello, possibility!

Nourish Your Soul with bird houses, totes + encouraging photo frames!

Each week, I shine a spotlight on a few creations that I'm particularly proud of.  May you be inspired - and perhaps find a little something to nourish your soul.  Click here to see all the posts in this series. 
PS: Most of the products featured below (and more) are sold online via Garden Gallery Works (a local shop here in the Portland area), but if you're looking for signed/matted prints and/or originals, you can get these in my online shop.   International customers, Garden Gallery is HAPPY to ship worldwide. Please email them  at gardengalleryorders@gmail.com to get started.  

BIRD HOUSES:


We've had a few really beautiful days around here lately and it has me thinking about all the fun that's to come in our yard this year! I can't wait for the birds to return to our adorable bird houses!  Cute shape, cute for gifts, cute cute cute. 
TOTES:

 I especially love the muted tones of the this Create bag and fabric flower detail!

One of my favorite bags from the entire bag collection. The fabric flower attachment, the birdie, the sentiments, the feather....all of it. Get yours here! 
See the full collection of totes including reusable shopping bags here and all our bags here.  
FRAMES:

What a gift it is to be reminded to celebrate each and everyday! This little photo frame does just that! 

I adore how the Dream Big frame turned out! Double love that it holds an Instagram sized photo (totally addicted to square photos at the moment). 


Thanks, friends. Our mission is to continue to create products that blend creativity with meaning, beauty with function. I so love what I do.
Warmly,
Kelly Rae

Link love favorites as of late!

Sharing a little bit of my favorite finds as of late....enjoy!


Television:
* A couple of weeks ago I was in bed resting up from a bad sinus cold, and it was one of those rare moments when I had some downtime to lose myself into a show (love that!), so I put a call out on my Facebook page to see if there were any recommendations. Love how FB is such a great resource. Friday Night Lights came highly recommended. Mati's been telling me for years how much she loves it, too. So I dived in. I'm in season 1 over on Netflix, and I'm hooked, obsessed, and incredibly happy to have a little getaway each evening. I'm not even a fan of football, but I've always loved Texas, and so far I'm loving the stories being told on this series.

* Other addictions when I have the time: Parenthood and sometimes Scandal (though it's getting a little too violent for me lately).

Life:
* John and I have been touring preschools lately, and generally having a lot of discussions around education philosophies, what would be a good fit for True's personality, etc etc. - all the normal stuff that first time parents do when their first kid is getting ready to start school. It's intimidating, scary, wide-open. Hello, life and big decisions! Although I don't think home schooling is what we'll choose (at least for now), I really loved this TedX talk that a 13 yr old boy gave about what happened when his parents pulled him out of the traditional education system when he was 9. Enlightening.

* I hope I'm still wearing my joy when I'm in my 80s. This documentary looks sooooo interesting. Definitely going to check it out.

* Excited to be a contributor to Liv's Project Light Year. There have been some pretty big intuitive hits for me lately around deepening my spirituality, understanding more clearly the purpose of my soul and why I'm here. I've always believe that we all have a reason and a divine purpose for being here, but not until recently have I felt clarity around why I'm here. One day, I'll perhaps tell the whole wide story here in this space but it's safe to say that an opening has been made in the last several months and my spirit is soaring. Liv is a big part of that story, and I'm so so grateful.

Blogs:
* Loving my friend Ali's post about deciding to go hands free from her cell when with her kids. Yes, and yes. Love, and love.

* Design Sponge's Gracy Bonney's blog post about all that she's learned from having an online life struck a cord for me. I'm inspired to perhaps share my own story about the ups and downs of these last 9 years (NINE!) online. Having an online life has been a rich playground for me in which to learn a ton of really important lessons. More on this soon! Thanks, Grace, for the inspiration.

Articles:
* Have you guys seen the new(ish) flow magazine? It's originally from The Netherlands, but you can buy it online if you can't find it in stores. I have the issue photographed above and CANNOT believe how full it is with eye-candy, loose papers to have and use, articles, and more. Love, love, love. Like, totally smitten.

* This article on etsy-nomics was interesting. I got very lucky back in 2006 when I started selling my paintings on Etsy, which had just started the year before. It totally changed my life. I was selling my paintings, then prints, and making a very good supplemental income while working part-time as a medical social worker. Eventually, thanks to Etsy and the general growth of online world, I was able to transition to full-time artist 2 years after selling my first painting on Etsy - before I ever licensed a single piece of artwork. Now, all of these years later, Etsy continues to define what is possible for those who want to sell their goods. I know Etsy isn't a perfect answer for everyone, especially now that it's so huge, but it's a great option, and it's totally changed the landscape of so many lives.

Fashion:
* Did you guys know that Stampington started selling some of my products? Pretty cool, no? I'm especially loving how they styled my scarves in 10 different ways, including on a pair of boots. Cute!

* Speaking of boots, I've discovered boot cuffs on Etsy and I. Am. In. Love.

* Adorable vintage inspired clothes for real women. Loving this site.



Speaking of Stampington, big thanks for their recent publication (and awesome magazine), Artists' Cafe - it features their best of articles and I'm lucky to be included in a 10 page feature article! How cool is that? Honored and grateful. Yes, yes. 

Around Here Lately

(OR coast)

In the midst of winter, I found there was in me, an invincible summer. - Albert Camus
Can't remember the last winter in the PNW that was this sunny and dry. Not complaining. I am digging it, immensely. This just might be the first winter in a long time that I haven't succumbed (yet) to the blues. It's turning out to be a full-on winter of possibility rising up, a bubbling of energy, biz projects underway, family adventures in the wings.


Other than work and family, it's been a pretty quiet time. Been working a lot on my upcoming e-course (just a few weeks away!), writing a ton of lessons, thinking about it constantly (inspired!), and generally pouring my heart into making it excellent. Feels really, really good.



I was a single mama for many days as John was out of town on a big adventure. Man. I have so much respect for single parents out there. I must have had a million cups of caffeinated tea to help keep me going. Super early mornings (John is the morning person in our household) paired with working in the evenings had me zonked. Totally worth it, but definitely tired. Loved our mama/son time though, I have to say. That kid has my heart. 



Totally random, but I walked into a Dr. Marten shoe store the other day for the first time in probably 20 years and was shocked to see the same exact pair of shoes I wore all through high school. The design and color are the same! I fell in love with them all over again and brought them home with me. I'm leaning more and more back into what simply delights me. And these red shoes light me up. It all matters. 


My friend and collaborator Beth Nicholls (Kempton) and I have had the privilege of writing for this amazing publication since it began early last year. The latest issue is out and friends, it's good! Lots of great articles. We are honored to be included! 

Received the most gorgeous dreamcatcher from Rachael Rice. If you look closely, you'll see the "trust" feather in the mix (my word of the year). I am in love, love, love with this and can't wait hang it up. She is one talented soul, that Rachael.

More soon!

Atlanta showroom sneak peek

(Atlanta! View from my hotel room.)



(My survival pack for the Atlanta gift show. It's a crazy experience. One must come prepared:)

You guys! I went to the Atlanta gift show to launch our new products. It was a whirlwind of trip with lots of energy, lots of excitement in the showrooms this year, and so much eye-candy to see.
I wanted to give you a quick little photo tour and sneak peek at some of my new product displays that were in the Demdaco, Sylvestri, and Lang showrooms. These photos are not the best, but you'll get the idea. These goodies are not quite in stores yet, but they'll be available soon both online and offline. More info in the coming weeks. For now.....a little photo tour and peek! 

This was the main display of the new products in the Demdaco showroom. Gorgeous, no? Cory, the set designer, always blows it out of the park. And this year wasn't any different. Love, love, love. Notice the large manifestos on the wall in the background. They are big, chunky, and gorgeous. 


We introduced a ton of new chunky wooden home decor sculptures this season. I am LOVING how these turned out. They're heavy, gorgeous, and the mixture of the wood with the colorful art makes me swoon. Cannot wait to put some of these in our house!


Here's another wooden piece. Love! 


Here's a couple more. Loving how the "love" artful word turned out. Also loving the chunky wooden heart. Friends, I love it when introduce new formats that make my heart swell :)

Staying with the theme of wood, we made a lot of these mini-manifestos, inspired by my own manifesto. I'm loving how these turned out as well. Stackable, affordable, and petite. Love!


And of course, we have our wall art canvases - a big staple in my line. 

Another staple are the figures. We introduced three new figures at the show - not sure if you can see them above, but they are the three large floral ones toward the top. 
Jewelry:



We also introduced a few more tote bags, and lots of jewelry, including a new line of birthstone necklaces, wrap bracelets, and more. 


This was the only jewelry photo I could get from the showroom, but loving this new vintage inspired necklace. More jewelry photos coming soon! 


This is an AMAZING new earring displayer. It's large, holds a ton of earrings, and it's lovely, lovely, lovely. 
Garden:

We introduced our first ever garden line in Atlanta. Here's a peek at how some of it was displayed. Cute, no? We're calling it The Garden Of Possibilities.....



Can't wait to show you guys more of this line. It turned out so great. Love it all! 

Holiday:


Cory did an amazing job with the all the displays, but I'm in love with this red piano that is a part of my holiday display. How grand is that? And the big tree with all the Kelly Rae ornaments. LOVE! 


The new holiday angels are breathtaking. Can't wait to show you more of this line! 


Swoon! The new ornaments are so sweet, my heart leapt at the site of this one in particular! 
So there you have it! A small peek at the showrooms. I'm glad to be home, and excited to keep on truckin in life, love, business. Loving this time of year. Always full of excitement (despite the sinus cold, right on cue).

More soon!