Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 35

Nourish Your Soul with wall art, hanging angels and more!

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: All 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. 

PPS: International customers, Garden Gallery is HAPPY to ship worldwide. Please email them  at gardengalleryorders@gmail.com to get started.  


Love the size at 12 x 16. It reads, "dear faith, thank you for holding the spaces between fear and love, mystery & trust and for your unending courage." Her leaf wings make me smile. You can get yours here.

The hanging angels are a long-time best seller. This one reads, "Dear You, may you give yourself permission to trust your voice, step into power, and know that what you're doing matters." You can find her here.


Because even wall hooks should shine, no? Colorful, vintage inspired knobs are perfect for hanging necklaces, aprons or anything smallish. Available here.


I haven't shared these yet with you guys! These dangly necklaces are vintage inspired, feminine, and lovely. Each has an artful charm with sentiment. Which one will be yours? See all three here. 

Don't forget to check out our other jewelry items. I am so delighted at how well it's been received.



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

Room Tour: Playroom

(basement in 2010...when I was preggers)
(putting up walls)




Friends, our home is a quaint little bungalow which means as we've remodeled slowly over time, we've become experts as using every square inch to its fullest. Recently, we've been remodeling our basement. Most of the bungalows in Portland have basements and act as a whole other livable level for living space. When we moved into our home, our basement was a disaster and wasn't being used as living space, but more as storage space. There was a door that went down to the "dungeon" we called it and that door didn't get opened for a long time.

Recently, we have opened the door and begun creating a lovely space (walls! windows! flooring!). We also created this little corner for a play room! I think I'm in love. Happy space for play dates, and F.U.N. The train table was a complete score from a neighborhood family that had outgrown it. I think it makes the space come together perfectly! True loves it :)

Here's to happy kid spaces! Man, I love pulling spaces together.

come join me!

Friends, I'm so excited to announce that I'll be speaking/leading a workshop at the Soul Sisters retreat in October. One of the things I most love to do is sit around with other women, talk about life and business and creativity, tell stories, and get inspired by all the chatter - all while under a beautiful setting of surroundings. I love facilitating gatherings like these with other women - not necessarily formal "workshops" but rather casual gatherings, knowing that just the right constellation of folks will attend, making it a unique co-created experience.
So, when the Soul Sister retreat said I could facilitate such a "workshop"at their upcoming event, I jumped at the opportunity! Please join me for a truly unique experience this October in Oregon. I promise it will be lovely, inspiring, engaging, and connections will be made with those who attend.

I will be leading a workshop or what I'd like to call a Wisdom Jam Session. There will be wide-open discussion on what it looks like to put ourselves out there, how we nurture our voices, how we find beauty in our struggles, how we keep ourselves honest in our work, and how we connect with our audience. We'll talk Creativity! Motherhood! Business! Truth be told, I don’t have it all worked out yet, but I know it will be good and amazing and FUN. 

Here's what you need to know about registering:
- You can head to the event website for all the details (lots of amazing speakers/workshops - I'm in awesome company!)
- If you decide to register (act fast, it will sell out!), please kindly use this affiliate link to register (this is how I will get paid for this event - through affiliate earnings)- If you don't use the affiliate link above, and rather you simply click through to register from their website, would you kindly include that you learned of the event from me during the registration/check-out process? Why, thanks. So much.




PS: The the event is being held at McMennamins Edgefield - a magical place that I LOVE LOVE LOVE just about 15 minutes East of Portland. It's an old county poor farm from 1911 that has been converted into a true NW style resort (think brewery, urban faming, spa, soaking tubs, lush greenery, outdoor concerts, etc). John and I really wanted to get married there many years ago, but alas, we got married in FL. 

My whole life changed when I went to my first retreat. There's something about gathering with creative women that sparks and inspires. If your heart is calling, listen! I'd love to meet you!

Welcome June Sponsors

I'd like to offer a warm welcome to my new June sponsors. They'll be participating in our giant giveaway later this month (giving away awesome stuff), but I wanted to give them a warm shout out this week. Besides, I’m an artist & writer today, but I’m pretty sure I was a professional matchmaker, in another life. I LOVE connecting my readers with uplifting & inspiring businesses that share my Possibilitarian mission.

They are:

*Make Art That Sells online course from the Lilla Rogers Studio School (class started on Monday - not too late to sign up!).

*Lilla Rogers' Global Talent Search for the next big thing in the art/illustration world.

*Soul Sigh - an intimate four week ecourse/journey honoring the creative feminine through ritual and (re)birth

*Belac Jewelry - jewelry featuring turquoise, silver, natural gemstones, and unique glass.

*Stunningly Strange - mixed media art that inspires a creative and playful lifestyle.

Thank you June sponsors!

PS: Want to reach thousands upon thousands of fellow Possibilitarians with your business message — every month? Yes-oh-yes? Please-oh-please? Become a Sponsor — all the details are right over here.

allowing and awakening

(me in Bali on my last day)
We lose ourselves, sometimes, to our daily, smallish worlds. Truthfully, my world is pretty narrow. I wake up and either hang with my family or I go to work. I see my friends when I'm able - usually in small windows of time as we all seem to have such full lives between our families and our work. I rarely travel outside of the US. I see things through the lens of being a mother, a wife, a business owner, an artist. I see lots of possibility, too, but sometimes it's the very last thing I see in the horizon with sleepy, tired eyes at the end of a busy day.

For a long time now, I've known that I've needed to create some sort of daily practice of centering myself. Since becoming a mom, I've mistakenly let go of my daily quite time, alone time, journaling time, spirit wandering/daydream/lounge time. Although I've been working on it, it's been really hard to reclaim these pieces of myself, for whatever reason. And when I do do self-care or adventure or the things that reclaim those pieces of myself, I'm still heavily tethered to all the things in my world that ground me. So, although there is always play, connection, and transformation, there is rarely a moment when I feel like life has been paused in a way that I can totally unplug and awaken to my inner self. The last time I had that kind of experience was my first time at a creative retreat back in 2006. My world stopped long enough for me to find myself again (in a HUGE way) and my whole life changed after that trip. I had discovered a whole new world. 

That's how Bali was - like discovering a whole new world. Of self discovery. Of creative expansion. Of creating daily intention behind every day that I live. Like that first creative retreat, Bali was an important pause, an opportunity to totally exit my everyday roles of mother, wife, biz owner, and awaken to all the parts of myself that live outside of those roles. And it was especially nice (and important) not to be "Kelly Rae Roberts" and just be a student, a beginner, an open container for new inspiration and experiences to rush in. I've been getting a little confused as I try and grow and cultivate a new voice that doesn't necessarily belong in the branded "Kelly Rae Roberts" box - a super tricky, complicated thing.
During those blissed out long days, my spirit felt the expansion, the breathing room, the long long exhales. The days seemed relaxed, slow, deep, and wide. I felt as if, without the everyday backdrop of my everyday life and roles, I could see really really clearly WHO I WAS at the core. I felt alive, adventurous, spontaneous and even a little bit funny. I'm committed to nurturing those pieces of my spirit while back home and inside my cherished roles. I arrived home lighter, freer and more connected and grateful to my life and the people in it.
When I wasn't in the painting workshop (amazing experience - will share details in another post), I lounged, and read, and woke up to jungle sounds. I LOVED waking up at 6am-ish and falling asleep early in the evenings as my roomie and I talked until our eyes shut. I LOVED eating simple + clean meals (fish and veggies) every day. I LOVED the banana pancakes and fresh fruit. I am so inspired to recreate a love affair with food now that I'm back at home. I want more fish in my life, more simple eating, more early wake ups, more ease with food and sleep.


I swam in a ridiculously gorgeous pool. In fact, most days I hung around in my bathing suit all day. Friends, this was RADICAL self-care, self-love for me. I floated there on my back, in the day, in the night, literally counting my lucky stars for the moments as they unfolded. I came home inspired to continue the radical self-care, self-love, self-compassion journey. I'm tired of martyring my body to work, family, and apathy.


Speaking of self care, lying on the massage tables felt like heaven to me. Pure heaven. I will never forget the quiet, the spaciousness in my thoughts, the comfort. Massages are incredibly affordable in Bali (about $18 for an hour) so they were plentiful. 

I was charmed endlessly by the way the people seemed to smile from the inside, their friendliness, and simple living. Families were everywhere together. The children were precious beyond precious. As I was traveling around and having this adventure, I wanted to remember how it felt - to bottle up that feeling of aliveness. I want True to grow up with parents that have come alive, that have awakened. I see travel in our family's future, for sure.




While falling in love with Bali, I also fell in love with my new friend Lynx, my roommate while there. More on her later, but she was a big part of me seeing myself more clearly. We gabbed and talked and motorbiked and laughed (hard) and snorkeled and ate and got massages and connected on a deep level. I came home deeply inspired by her - the way she lives, sees the world, parents, and creates. A life changing friendship was born. And lucky for me, she lives just a couple of miles away.

(Lynx, Flora, me)
Another life changing friendship, I can't wait to share all that I learned during Flora's daily painting workshop. Nothing short of transformational. Her gift of teaching beyond the scope of painting (because it's much much bigger + deeper than just painting) is remarkable. Along with all the personal shifts that Bali gifted, I was gifted with a real sense of creative expansion. I have Flora to thank for all that. When I arrived in Bali, Flora told me she had a hunch this trip would be huge for me. She was right.

If you ever have the opportunity to take her workshops, I can't recommend it enough. Life. Changer. Her book is also brilliant :)



Thank you, Bali, for being the reset button - for being the soft landing place for all of my recent healing/inner work. I feel shifted and transformed and crossed over. Thank you for helping me to teach my son what it looks like to take good care of oneself. Thank you for giving me the gift of allowing myself to bloom up and wide. Turns out all of the allowing led to awakening. I feel deeply inspired and committed to integrating all the bits of what was nurtured in Bali into my everyday life: everyday body care, everyday spirit care, everyday mama/son care, marriage care, play, rest, sleep, writing, and continued work that aligns with my creativity and values.

I cried when I left. What a huge gift it was - majorly grateful. It's a kind of experience I wish for every dear soul on the planet.

XO
Kelly Rae

Nourish Your Soul with frames, candles + wall art!

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: All of the products featured below (and more) are sold online via Garden Gallery Works, but if you're looking for signed/matted prints and/or originals, you can get these in my online shop. 

PPS: International customers, Garden Gallery is HAPPY to ship worldwide. Please email them  at gardengalleryorders@gmail.com to get started.  



Friends, the LED candle collection is so lovely! I love the idea of a candle that will burn brightly and never fade, don't you! They are 100% safe for little hands and wagging tails. 

Don't you think this one would make a darling hostess gift! Me too! 

Speaking of gifts! What a gift it is to be reminded to Celebrate each and every day! This little frame does just that! 
I adore how the Dream Big frame turned out! Double love that it holds an instagram sized photo! It would make an excellent gift for your graduate!

I love seeing which paintings grow up to become wall art! The span in sizes in this years release is really fun. From 6x6 to 8x24, there's the perfect sized piece in the collection for your space.

Gentle Thoughts  + Come Alive are both 8x24 and full of heart. Gentle thoughts reads, discovering peace, slowing down pausing, listening, being gentle on ourselves, finding sacred in the ordinary, this is where the peace lives, where it breaths. Come Alive reads, Come Alive, jump in puddles, celebrate your quirkiness, do something spontaneous, be radically kind, make a new friend, make a new friend, take a risk, share your heart, tell the world you dreams (out loud), say you're sorry, wear red shoes, trust your heart whispers


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!

Signed/matted prints available here.

It's been a long time since I offered up some Link Love. Enjoy, to the fullest!

Loving that my friend Liz is offering up a 10-day deep dive into self-care just for moms of toddlers. It's called Water Your Toddler Mama Soul. Sign me up, please!

This guy gave me full body shivers. A must MUST must watch.

My biz partner Beth and friend Lilla Rogers have teamed up to launch a Global Talent Search. The winner wins two years' representation with Lilla Rogers. Holy smokes, that is BIG! Are you an artist who wants to license your work? This might just be your big chance!

Have you guys already read this? I will never judge myself (or other mamas) again when I'm on my phone at the playground. Another must read.

Totally digging The Creative Joy  Journal +  Playbook !  It's free, inspiring and inviting everyone to document their creative joy. Yes, yes, yes! 


Currently reading this newbie and this classic. 

Listening to a lot of their tunes lately. The best!

Was recently introduced to PNW's journal for conscious living when they invited me to be on their cover (thank you!). Love this journal and everything they're about.

Totally adore her, her art, and her new ecourse which looks AMAZING!

Have you seen Lacy's Kale Yeah! stickers? No? You are in for a treat and you can have some, for FREE!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bali: the offerings

One of my favorite things about Bali were the offerings - a daily spiritual practice of the Balinese people as a way of creating blessings, gratitude, and connection to their spiritual practice. These gorgeous offerings were everywhere, friends. I found the spiritual practice not only incredibly beautiful, but it's simplicity profound. Each time I came upon an offering on the street, I would pause, even if just for a moment, to be thankful and hold that energy/space.  
The offerings themselves are simple and beautiful - created with leaves, flower petals, perhaps a cracker and some incense.  The offerings are placed everywhere: in front of stores, temples, statues, homes. They're on cash registers to welcome in abundance. They're at busy intersections to aid in protection.  Everywhere. 

The simplicity of the ritual, yet profound connection of the practice stole my heart.

On the first day back home I told John all about the Balinese offerings - about how I wanted to create a little alter in our dining room and begin our little version of the same practice. I love the idea of using it as a sweet, beautiful tool to teach True all about blessings, intention, and gratitude. Later in the day John went out into our yard, gathered up a big leaf, a couple of sticks and pretty petals. He came back in and surprised me with our first offering - we lit some Balinese incense and chuckled a little bit at ourselves. My heart leapt.

I learned so much in Bali and this practice of simple connection, gratitude, and intention was an important one.

Bali, part one

Friends, I went to Bali. And it was a life changer.

When I think back on all my best decisions - the ones that have gone on to define a clear path for my life - they are the decisions that came with an intuition, a hunch, a knowing without knowing kind of pull. I like to think of these kinds of intuitive urges as leading me to my True North. They just never fail. 
Deciding at the very last minute to take the 40 hour journey to Bali for nine whole days was one of those decisions. A total life changer. A total True North decision. 
My friend Flora had been gearing up to take her annual trip to Bali (a creative painting retreat that she leads) and there was something inside of me that longed to go, too, but I didn't say anything until just before she was getting ready to leave. I sent her an off the cuff text asking if I could go, totally not expecting her response. 
I'll never forget those moments. John and I and True were on our way home from a quick day adventure to the coast. As we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I casually mentioned my longing for Bali to John which led to my texting Flora which (unbelievably) led to there being room for me to go which led to John absolutely insisting that I go. He was driving the car, practically bouncing up and down with excitement for me. I, on the other hand, was trying to talk myself out of it (work! childcare! not enough time to get organized! etc!). Kelly, this is why you've worked so hard. This is why you hired Lacy to help with the biz. This is why I'm a stay at home Papa. GO! God, I love this man. 
By the time the traffic eased up, I was officially planning my trip. I would board a plane in four days. 
I struggled with nerves and gremlins. Having never travelled abroad alone, I was a little scared. I don't speak the language. What if I get sick? What if True gets hurt while I'm gone? Am I wrong to leave him for so long? 
A dear, wise friend suggested that my mantra be something like "he's watching Mama take care of herself." Amen to amazing, insightful words of truth. I arrived home more renewed and more in love with my family and life than ever before. Turns out self care is a game changer when it comes to parenting, marriage, and self love. But more on that later.


The trip to Bali, though long, was completely seamless. Very little jetlag. Very little adjustment at all, really. I arrived in Amed in the evening, and woke up the next morning to a heart soaring view and an orchestra of sounds: rooster, birds, dogs, insects, chickens, frogs. I felt like I was home, like I had been there many many times before. It was full of beauty. 
During the opening ceremony on the first day of the retreat, we all gathered, sitting in a large circle on the floor. In the center of our circle was a beautiful altar of rocks and flowers and little 5x5 paintings that Flora had painted - one for each of us. Flora asked each of us to talk about what brought us to Bali and what we wanted to invite in during the experience. When it was my turn, I talked about my last minute urge to travel to Bali, that even though I had all sorts of permission and encouragement to come (from Flora, from my work, from my husband, etc), that I still struggled with allowing myself to come. I said that my hope was that I would allow myself the full breath of the experience, that I would allow myself the gift.


I then reached into the center of our circle and randomly picked one of the 5x5 paintings that Flora created. When I turned the painting over, it read "allow, allow, allow."
Shivers. Gratitude. And a knowing that I was exactly where I needed to be. 
Allow became my word for the trip. I wrote in on my body every single day, as a reminder. Most days, I had to keep re-writing it because it would sweat off a few times (hello Bali heat!).


Bali ushered in all sorts of personal and creative expansion. I can't wait to share it all.

This trip wouldn't have happened without the alignment of so many factors - and all at the last minute. I have huge gratitude for Flora for making it possible for me to go. I think of Flora as my older sister spirit guide who has led me toward all sorts of life awakening adventures. Huge gratitude for my husband who, for the entire time I've known him, has valued trips and experiences like these as the ones that remind us who we are, and thus are not to be missed. Huge gratitude for Lacy, my awesome assistant, who I had total trust in to run all things biz related with the utmost care. Huge gratitude for my parents who helped support John with childcare while I was gone.

To those of you who have a longing, an intuitive pull toward something - a trip, a conversation, a letting go, an inviting in - whatever it may be, I can't encourage you enough to consider it an important whisper. It's your life calling you. Listen and allow. Listen and allow.

XO and more soon,
Kelly Rae

PS: For those of you who were following along in my Bali adventures via Instagram and/or Facebook, thanks so much! I loved sharing the adventure with you as it unfolded. 

Nourish Your Soul: Trays!

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: All of the products featured below (and more) are sold online via Garden Gallery Works, but if you're looking for signed/matted prints and/or originals, you can get these in my online shop. 

PPS: International customers, Garden Gallery is HAPPY to ship worldwide. Please email them  at gardengalleryorders@gmail.com to get started.  



I love this tray! I've been using it daily to hold my cup of tea and candles while I work! I love the idea of using it everyday, not just on celebratory occasions, because when you think about it, everyday is a celebration, no? It's available here.



Nested trays! Three sizes that all fit together! Yes, please! 

This is the largest of the nested trays and it's stunning in person. It reads, Beauty matters (Surround yourself with it) with small words that read, flowers color love meaning and is available here. How cute would this look on your coffee table holding magazines + a candle!


I absolutely adore this sentiment. We could all use a little letter from faith now and again, right? Right! Get your sweet reminder to trust the wisdom and intuition within here.

 This is the perfect counter top tray! Use it as a place to drop your phone + keys when you get home!  It's the smallest of the three nested trays and is available here.

I love the distressed green frame on this one. It's super sturdy and would make a lovely tray for serving beverages or breakfast in bed! It reads, What makes you come ALIVE? nurture your passion and you can get yours 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