Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 65

it's not all easy, pretty, and fast. let's talk about that!

Photo by Tracey ClarkAs my business has grown over the years, I've hesitated to share all the specifics here on this blog - the hard decisions, the awful mistakes I've made, the behind-the-scenes struggles of securing an agent or licensing deals, the legal frustrations, the money pieces, and on and on. For the most part, what I share here is positive - you see and hear about the successes, but what I'm learning is that our failures, or our business struggles is where SO MUCH of the wisdom live.

And I've learned a lot. A lot. A lot. I've accumulated a great amount of success and I've accumulated a great amount of mistakes. I call some of them my best mistakes because they taught me something valuable that I tucked away in my learning toolbox for later. And I call some of them what was I thinking mistakes because, well, I wasn't thinking.

Photo by Tracey ClarkI think it's important to create safe places to talk about these sorts of things, a place where other people understand what you're talking about, where you are surrounded by other people who are also pioneering business paths for themselves and who understand that it's not all easy, pretty, and fast.

This is one of the reasons Beth and I created The Business Soul Sessions ecourse. We wanted a place where we could share our business experiences (the good, the bad, and the very very ugly) and invite others to feel safe inside a community where they too could share their stories and get support. What I know is that there is room for all of it (the hard, the triumphs, the creativity, the abundance, the mistakes), but that we all need a place to process, learn, and be surrounded by others who totally invest in the idea that you can absolutely create a thriving, soulful business.

Photo by Tracey ClarkSo yes, I (along with some of our awesome and amazing contributors) will be sharing the stuff that I don't share here on the blog - the real stories of how things happen, how relationships are born, how money plays into all of it (you'd be surprised how satisfaction levels might relate, or not relate, to how much money I've made), how contracts can get messy, how conflicts are born and worked out. There will be many candid conversations, stories, lessons learned, and so much more.

I have needed a kind of specific community like this for years. I'm so thrilled to be a part of leading it. Come be a part of our inaugural e-course. We'd love to have you (you won't regret it!).

It all starts 1/16.

sneak peek at new products!

Hi friends,
Before I show you some sneak peeks of what's coming out (bursting with excitement over here), I want to let you know that I'll be in Atlanta later this week attending the gift tradeshow. Lots of new products are debuting with DEMDACO (gift products), Creative-Co-op (home decor products), CR Gibson (stationery), Magnet Works (garden art), and more. While there, I'm doing a couple of signings/event:
– Thursday, Jan 12th: Demdaco evening reception for artists and valued retailers, 7pm
– Friday, Jan 13th: Creative Co-op signing in their showroom, 2pm
– Friday, Jan 13th: CR Gibsion signing in their showroom, 3pm

If you're attending the show, I'd love it if you stopped by one of the above events to say hello!
Been experimenting a bit with photos (this one taken of me by Fancy Farmgirl) combined with my artThis is always such an exciting time for me - when all the new products come out and I travel to the shows to see it all put together in gorgeous showrooms that my licensing partners build. It feels like a fun extension of the holiday excitement. I'll take lots of photos while at the show and will post more photos of all the new goodies once I'm home. At that time, I'll let you know where you can buy it all (if you're interested, of course!) as they will not be sold in my online shop (per my big decision).  In the meantime, I thought I would share a couple of sneak peeks for you:

I shared this photo on Facebook the other day - so fun to finally show it! The first time I saw the mock-up/concept of the couch, I gasped. It was at night. I was lying in bed checking my email (bad idea, btw) when this photo came through. I got so excited, I couldn't fall asleep. I was dancing on air about it. A couch! Seriously? A couch! I have long loved patchwork couches. I used to own a red couch that my mom and I reupholstered with a patchwork of fabrics years ago so it's so fun to see this old love of patchwork couches circle around a bit with this amazing couch!  This couch and all the goodies that you see in this photo are a part of my home decor line with Creative Co-op. Look closely, and you'll see a peek at wall flowers, a rug, banners, paper lanterns, vases, magazine rack, storage stools, and more!

 These globes make me so happy I can hardly stand it. They are a part of my line with Demdaco. The focus of the new products with Demdaco for this release was creative space. We wanted to take ordinary products that you would normally find in an office or creative space and put a different spin on them. I love the result and these globes are a definite stand out from the creative space collection with Demdaco. LOVE!

You guys, I am going bananas over these. Meant to add artful flare to your home, these pieces can hold a favorite photo or postcard or small piece of art. I love the idea of the pink cage holding snapshots, letters, mementos. And I love the artful details on the other two - swoon! If you look closely, you'll notice another new produce - a birdie on a stick and one of the paper lanterns. 
These are like the ones above but they have wings. Oh my goodness, my heart lept when I saw these for the first time. They are all a part of the home decor collection with Creative Co-op.
Ok you guys, this seriously cool, and probably my favorite release. These are pop frames. You know all those wall canvases in my wall art line with Demdaco? These pop frames were made to coordinate with ALL of those canvases, no matter what the size. Here's how it works:


The pop frames are just that: you simply pop your canvas into the frame. No nails, no fitting, no anything. Super simple, SUPER affordable and makes the wall canvases look even more stunning. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! The frames are available in all the wall canvas sizes (6x6, 8x12, 12x12, 8x22, and 18x24) and they're currently available in chocolate, cream, and green. The other nice thing about these sizes is that the frames will work with ANY wall canvas (even non Kelly Rae) that is one of these standard sizes - pretty nifty, right? These pop frames have been years in the making and I'm thrilled to finally have them out in the world! They. are. awesome. Thank you Demdaco!

In addition to the pop frames, Demdaco is releasing MANY new wall canvases, figures, and an array of creative/office space items, including the awesome stool you see above, the tack board, canisters, and more. Really excited...


I'm a HUGE tea drinker (not a coffee fan) and am seriously excited over this tea cup collection. These are being released by Creative Co-op. I can't wait to use these!

I've got a fairly new partnership with CR Gibson, a leading stationery company. Above are a few of the items they are releasing this month. Love the vibrancy of the journals. They've done an amazing job!


Sometimes it's hard to believe that I have stuff like this out in the world. It really is. Hard. To. Believe. I'm just on my knees in gratitude for this opportunity to bring art + meaning + function to the world via my incredible (INCREDIBLE) licensing partners.

I can't wait to share with you the rest of it, though I hope you enjoyed the small peek at what's coming!

Warmly,
Kelly Rae

NEW Sponsor Spotlights: Bloom True ecourse + The Soul in Bloom

I like to think of my sponsorship program as a way of playing matchmaker. These weekly sponsor spotlight posts allow me to do just that - play matchmaker between you and some really amazing people who are providing unique and well crafted offerings. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email at kellyraeroberts@gmail.com for further information!
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Flora Bowley's first ever online workshop ' Bloom true: the e-course ' presents a groundbreaking and transformational approach to painting (and living) that celebrates intuition, connects body, mind and spirit and allows unique and expressive paintings to emerge naturally and authentically.
Flora's unique and heart-centered style of teaching has inspired thousands of people to step boldly into a world where art is born with spontaneity and joy. Now the chance to bloom true is available to you wherever in the world you are!

Brimming with high definition video demonstrations, new techniques, unique lessons and inspiring prompts, this course will empower even first time painters to unlock their creative flow while gleaning life transforming lessons along the way. This will be unlike any other online painting e-course out there, and it may just change the way you paint… forever.

Registration is open now and this five-week painting adventure will begin on Monday February 6, 2012.
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The Soul In Bloom~ Home edition
Join me in excavating a deeper meaning of home. Together, for 6 weeks beginning February 25th , let's get more comfortable and in tune with our 3 levels of home; body, dwelling and earth. If we feel more at home with ourselves, our lives are transformed.

This is a practical online course. We will learn about body chemistry and breath. We will deeply embrace color as a life-changing tool. We will learn the basics and benefits of floral design, gardening in small spaces and honor the healing power of trees. We will cleanse our homes for new beginnings.

We will create community online, and for those who can, we will meet in person on March 24th in Buffalo, NY to learn the healing wonders of tuning forks, more gardening and tea tasting with Bellocq.

Come home with me. Let's bloom together.
Love,
Graciel Evenstar

For more information~ Website. Facebook.


**************Big thanks to my sponsors! It takes a lot of courage to create a business from dreams, and I'm honored to highlight their bravery + and their offerings. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email at kellyraeroberts@gmail.com for further information!

couple things i'm loving

 A friend gifted this mug to me. The artist is UK's Rob Ryan, an extraordinary papercutting artist. Be delighted.

I'm either a backpack girl or just-a-phone-and-my-debit-card girl. So I can't tell you how awesomely excited I was to find an iphone cover that could hold my license and my debit card. Sweet, no?

Photo of my boots by Tiffany Kirchner-DixonI bought these last year and now that the rain has truly arrived here in Portland, I'm wearing these lovely, vibrant rainboots everywhere. I love Chooka Rainboots, but these illustrated ones take the cake. Love!


As a new mom, I've rediscoverd SouleMama - what a lovely, lovely honest blog. Ali's twitter feed alerted me to this particular post where SouleMama writes about a very important moment that happened while attending the Squam art retreat, a moment that changed everything for her and gave her permission to simply be who she was. It was a post that reminded me of my own experience when I attended the same retreat in 2008. I just re-read my post about that experience and every word still rings true. Like SouleMama, the experience of Squam gave me a safe place to process a pivotal moment for me. It was hard, but necessary and really really good. Registration opens up for Squam soon and I'm considering going again - the idea of hanging out with a bunch of creatives in the woods by a lake sounds so good to me!

And last, but not least, the you are beautiful campaign. Spread the word (for free!)  

my word for 2012

Last year by word was gentle. And it was most definitely a guiding force for me all year long, a place to come back to, an internal compass that reminded me to be gentle with myself, my family, and my business as we all made big leaps and transitions into new ways of living.Thank you,  gentle. You were a great word.

This year, I'm entering January energized + inspired. As I mentioned earlier this week, I've been seriously inspired by the content of our upcoming e-course. The more Beth and I worked on the content these last few months, the more I began to think creatively, outside the box. Big ideas started coming through, some having to with creativity, with business, and others having to do with life. The ideas have been coming furiously, fully formed, and totally aligned with all that I've been working out when it comes to asking myself what's next (in life and in creativity and biz).
Got a wacom - can you tell? Changes everything!All of this is to say that my word for 2012 is innovate - completely and fully inspired by all that I've learned and processed while putting together this ecourse with Beth - it's inspired a totally new way of thinking for me, one that involves innovation at every turn. So yes, I want to innovate new ways of creating, of making art, of writing, of making money with my creative biz. I want to push up against my boundaries and invent new ways of doing things in my life, and in my work. I want to break rules, create new ones, and redefine what is possible for my life. I want to celebrate what is already there, but reinvent what I can, give it new life. I want to innovate in small ways and big ways. I want to learn new things and invent new ways of doing the old things.

To me, innovation means creative thinking, trying on new ways of considering everything and turning every thought upside down, sideways, and so on until an aha hits, until an idea emerges, until inspiration fosters movement. I am so excited.

Innovate, I have a feeling you are going to be good to me this year...lessons, mistakes and all!

For those of you who are interested in making innovation a big part of your 2012, come on over and join us for The Business Soul Sessions: Where Passion Meets Profit. There's an entire session called create + innovate - one of my favorites from the e-course and the session that has inspired my word for 2012. E-course starts 1/16 (so soon!) and will be a game changer for you and your life.
ps: Have you seen our contributors? PINCH ME!!!!!!

6 seconds of joy for you

Had to share this super quick 6 second video of True. This is what he does when we ask him to laugh...love, love.

ps: I am so doing this to my keyboard (thank you, minifanfan, for the inspiration!):

Hello Soul, Hello Business - ecourse is almost here!

Photo of us by: Tiffany Kirchner-Dixon
Beth and I are on the two week countdown to our up-coming e-course. I can't tell you how excited we are about it. It's been months and months of building, creating, editing, and finalizing everything. Our hearts are about to explode as we finally move into the homestretch. We've been chatting with many of our contributors via skype calls and interviews and emails and the energy surrounding this project is pure joy, pure enthusiasm, pure gratitude. There's also been a ton of buzz (and sign ups!) for which we are enormously grateful.

This is no ordinary e-course. I can say that because I've been been reflecting on how the content is actively changing my own life. The course is set up in two parts: the dreaming phase and the doing phase. While the doing phase is jam-packed with mini masterclasses, practical tools, and concrete information, the dreaming phase is all about defining the soul of your biz and smartly organizing everything about your biz around your mission, your purpose, who you want to serve, how you want to serve them, and with what you want to give to the world through you biz. It sounds simple, but it's not. As I've worked through our content, our exercises, our suggested new ways of thinking, I can feel the shift in my own life. I can now see 100% clearly where I've been, where I'm going, and how I hold so much more power than I ever dreamed I could have when it comes to choosing how I operate, choosing my people, choosing my products and service, and so much more.

It really is about where passion meets profit. It really is about soul and business.

Photo of us by: Tiffany Kirchner-DixonI am crazy proud. Crazy excited. Crazy impressed with our contributors and the level of offerings they are giving to this ecourse. Crazy about the community that is forming from people all over the world.

I would love it if you joined us for the e-course. Head on over here to find out all about it, how it can change everything for you, how it can help you welcome in a kind of abundance into your life and business that you can genuinely be proud of.  The course is not cheap, but it's an investment in your biz - an investment that will pay off in more joy, and more profits. We're sure of it! And if doesn't, well, we'll gladly give you your money back!
Photo by: Tiffany Kirchner-Dixon
It all starts Jan 16th.  
Come be a part of an extraordinary experience and community. You will not be disappointed :)

goodbye 2011, a review of you

My studio table, photo by Andrea ScherI just re-read my 2010 recap and made the recognition (realization) that this year, 2011, was about all about recovering from last year, 2010. Sort of hilarious, but so true... it took an entire year to recover, to process, to recalibrate one insanely packed and full year (2010) and recreate a new normal for myself this year. That is what 2011 was for me. It was about stepping away for a bit. About recalibration. About rebirth. About belonging to myself and to my family before belonging to anything/one else.  It was about figuring out how to spend as much possible time with baby True while navigating the demands of a growing business. In essence, 2011 was about redefining everything from self to family to home to business. That's what parenthood and motherhood gifted me in 2011: a complete redefining period and an opportunity to create a whole new life around family. It was rocky, wonderful, stressful, gorgeous, and completely awesome.


It was also an insanely fast year as evidenced at how quickly True grew from a 3 month old baby at the beginning of the year to a full on toddler by the end. But yet it was insanely slooow, too. It's so true what they say about that first year of life as a baby and new parenthood: it's the longest shortest time. 2011, you were most definitely the longest shortest time. 

There was so much to celebrate during that long, short time. Here are your highlights, dear 2011 (and a few lowlights):

 - Learning to celebrate the remarkable experience of motherhood. while also trying to craft a whole new way of living and seeing the world (important soul work).
- Giving into those really hard new moments of learning how to be a mom, and loving those aha moments full of love and understanding.

 - It was a big year for my gift line with Demdaco. I traveled to the Atlanta market where many  new gift items were debuted. It was a quick trip, but super exciting. I took my mom so that she could get a glimpse into the madness of it all.
- Hosted Demdaco Appreciation Week here on the blog with the intention to give readers an insider view of how products are made. There were huge giveaways, skype interviews with the company's owner, my product developer, and more. 
 - Did a ton of decorating and general play around the house. 2011 was most definitely a year for nesting. Gave several room tours on the blog, including the kitchen, and dining room, and living room, and master bedroom, and the nursery, and guestroom, and small office nook.
- Decorated for the holidays!  - Had a fun little photo shoot at our home with True when he was 3 months old (in Jan)
- Shared photos and celebrated True all year long (3 mos, 4 mos, 5 mos, 6 mos,7 mos, 8 mos, 9mos, 10 mos, 11 mos, and finally the big 12 mos). Resisted the urge to post photo after photo of True on this blog every single day :)
- Got extremely excited and surprised by Oprah tickets.
- More reasons for the Oprah craze.
- And finally, the full scoop on the show and why the kindness of being given the tickets meant the world to me. - After 13 years of living with a packer fan, I finally gave in and started watching the games, celebrating the wins, and getting some team pride.
- Completed a couple of DIY projects, including this one, this one, and this one. and this one.
- Opened up a brand new online shop and celebrated all the peeps who help make my biz life possible. The new online shop was a great giant improvement from the old shop and it was updated with brand new gift and home products all year long.

- surrendered to what matters the most and decided to pull back a little bit and put my energy and heart where it deserved (and wanted) to be.
- Began to really miss my beginnings as an artist. 

- Total dream come true, was featured in a 10 page article in Somerset Studio magazine. Also featured in Apprentice mag - so grateful!
- I traveled to China to see exactly where some of my products are made. Amazing trip of a lifetime.

- Remembered to shine and made it through the other side of through.
- Announced a huge and exciting new venture: partnering with Creative Co-op for a home decor line!
- Traveled to Dallas for the home decor line debut. Cried when I saw it all in person.

- Got inspired by Country Living and put my office in a closet 
- My first ever card line launched (super thrilling!)
- Made more mistakes than ever before. 

 - Started really leaning into the chaos of parenthood, mining for all the truth and beauty.  - Launched a brand new updated version of this website and blog - big updates! - made a big decision and moved my biz out of my house, + hired a 2nd employee. yikes!

- Took a family vacation to Hawaii when True was 7 months old. Laughed our booties off at his above expression from NOT liking the sand or ocean one bit.
- Celebrated the freedom that traveling gave me as a new mom.

- fell in love with a pair of cowgirl boots
- celebrated friendship, power, and truth, and who we are as a collective
- Traveled to the Creative Connection Event - met a ton of amazing people doing work similar to me. Totally awesome.

 - Discovered instagram and haven't looked back.
- Shared my thoughts on parenthood after almost 1 full year in it. 
- Ran the Flying Lessons e-course for the 2nd time. It was amazing.

- Wrote a love letter to you.
- Launched a new business called Hello Soul, Hello Business which had me more creatively excited than I've been in a long, long time.
- Got crafty with my lovebomb girlfriends.

 - Celebrated 10 years of marriage. Good stuff. 
- Celebrated five years of running a creative business.
- Celebrated transformation that babies gift us.

 - Got inspired by kindness  - Had a aha moment that let me savor instead of dream.
- Decided to take a big leap of faith and made a huge decision to scale back my online shop in big, big ways.

2011, you were full, full, full. You were our first full year with our baby and let me just say, everyday joy exploded in our home, in our lives, and in our hearts because of baby True. Everything else felt like icing on the cake. Before I let you go, 2011, I want to answer a couple of questions, introduced to me by my good friend Andrea Scher:

1. What do you want to acknowledge yourself for in regard to 2010? (What did you create? What challenges did you face with courage and strength? What promises did you keep to yourself? What brave choices did you make? What are you proud of?)

I am proud of sticking as closely to my chosen word for 2011 which was gentle. I gave myself a ton of space to fall into motherhood, to gently allow myself to feel it all, including all the overwhelm and the joy. I faced big challenges of merging creative biz with motherhood, and self-care, but again worked hard to give myself permission to gift myself this period of figuring it all out gently and without the crazy amounts of self imposed pressure to do anything else, create anything else, accomplish anything else except to simply and gently be with my family. Looking back, I'm really proud of that decision.
When it comes to work like, I'm really proud of making the big decision to scale back the scope of my online shop from big big big to small small small. Although this was a big financial decision, it was completely aligned with following my heart so that I could spend more time doing what I love during my work hours (creating, writing).

I'm also proud of the togetherness that John and I continue to create. I'm proud of how we've traveled together this year, how we've supported each others journeys into parenthood, how we've loved one another through the good and the hard. I'm proud of the decisions we made together, always with the goal to squeeze out as much juice of life as possible. I'm immensely proud of our family, of the new life that we created (and continue to create) around family in 2011.
2. What is there to grieve about 2010? (What was disappointing? What was scary? What was hard? What can you forgive yourself for?)

I forgive myself for not taking good care of myself with good exercise and good food. I forgive myself for the many many mistakes I made when it came to overestimating what I could get done and how those mistakes affected the people in my life. The hardest part of 2011 was coping with how full life feels now that I'm a parent - however awesome being a parent is, it still brings major adjustment. There were most definitely things to grieve - the feelings of loneliness that parenthood can sometimes bring,  the changing tides of friendships , availability for social activities when life feels too full. I forgive myself for all the tumbles and stumbles through all of that.

3. What else do you need to say about the year to declare it complete? The next step is to say out loud, "I declare 2010 complete!" How do you feel? If you don't feel quite right, there might be one more thing to say...

Before I declare you complete, 2011, I must tell you how grateful I am. Thank you for being a year where we were healthy, for keeping us safe. Thank you for being the year when my parents moved from FL to OR to be near us. Thank you for all the big ideas and creative dreams that you birthed. Thank you for all the ways in which you allowed me to be brave in sadness, brave in love. You've shown me, perhaps more than any other year, how practicing being still against all urges to do, do, do, leads to quiet strength, and quiet but profound joy.

2011, I declare you complete!

Sponsor Spotlights: Andrea Scher, The Word Cellar, Stacy Kathryn Art and Illustration + Creative Courage

I like to think of my sponsorship program as a way of playing matchmaker. These weekly sponsor spotlight posts allow me to do just that - play matchmaker between you and some really amazing people who are providing unique and well crafted offerings. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email at kellyraeroberts@gmail.com for further information!

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Join Andrea Scher for the January session of Superhero Photo! and her brand new course Elevate the Ordinary!
The Superhero Photo course is all about creating a new way into joy, gratitude, and appreciation. Andrea will guide you through 6 weeks of lessons, photo prompts and activities that will transform how you take photos and bring more color and magic into your life.
We will hone our technical skills while opening our eyes to the beauty all around us.We will find ourselves in that sweet spot where creativity, play and aliveness intersect.We will have more access to joy.
The Superhero Photo January Session begins Monday, January 9th. Register today with the coupon code KELLYRAE and you will get a $20 discount!
Elevate the Ordinary begins Monday, February 13th. For those of you who have already taken The Basics (this summer or this fall) please join me for Elevate the Ordinary! A brand new course where we will continue our exploration of making magic out of our ordinary days.
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Calling all writers and "wish-to-be" writers to The Word Cellar. Would you like gentle, usefulfeedback on your writing? What about personalized creative coaching? Let me (Jenna McGuiggan) bea supportive and honest guide along your writing journey.
Here's how it works: You'll email me your work, I'll review it and then send you written comments on what's working, what could be improved, and suggestions on how to move forward. As your writing coach, I'll help you to follow your dreams and find creative clarity by asking questions, listening, and recommending books, resources, and creative practices. We'll meet via phone or Skype to discuss anything related to writing or creativity. I'll serve as your sounding board, cheerleader, nurturer, and brainstorming partner – whichever you need. Whether you need one session or ongoing monthly support, let me know how I can help – and I'll design a custom package just for you and your writing wishes. Learn more or contact me to find out how we can work together.
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Hi, my name is Stacy Kathryn and I am an artist and illustrator! Creating art has been something I've gravitated towards my entire life. My dream is that my works find their place in this world, and help others create their own views of the world in the movement of the brush strokes, the vivid colors, and the concepts of life as only art can reflect. This path is an adventure, and I'd love for you to join me on it. Check out my blog and website for more art and inspiration.
Be sure to visit my etsy shop, I have all new art pendants and holiday cards available. Since I've been a huge fan of Kelly Rae for the last four years, and love being part of this community, I'm offering a special discount to Kelly Rae readers. Just enter the code 'POSSIBLE' at checkout and receive 20% off your order.
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Would you like an extra boost of courage to kickstart your creativity in 2012?

I'd like to invite you to join Creative Courage, an e-course about finding, following, and realizing your creative dreams. Creative Courage is a holistic guide that provides the tools you need to make your goals real and connect with like-minded women.

I'm Stephanie Levy, an American illustrator living in Europe, and the next session of Creative Courage will run from January 9th – February 24th, 2012.

I've invited 12 expert guests to join us for exclusive Creative Courage interviews. Our special interview guests this session include: Andrea Scher, Kelly Lynn Jones, Mati Rose McDonough, Heather Smith Jones, Belinda Kemp, Jennifer Louden, Janine Vangool, Amy Ng, Amelia Critchlow, Kate Swoboda, Michelle Ward, and Jill Bliss.

This amazing group of women from around the world will share their secrets on how they have accomplished their dreams of publishing books, building online businesses, creating workshops and e-courses, and earning a living as successful, thriving creative artists, illustrators, authors, coaches, and instructors.


Creative Courage is your invitation for 7 weeks of fun, color, inspiration, and tools to begin an inspiring, new creative life in 2012. As a unique bonus, we will take a *virtual field trip* to Barcelona, and I'll even send you a personal, illustrated postcard directly from Spain!

I hope you'll come celebrate the new year with us! Find out how to sign up here: http://www.stephanielevy.blogspot.com/p/e-courses.html.


************* Big thanks to my sponsors! It takes a lot of courage to create a business from dreams, and I'm honored to highlight their bravery + and their offerings. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email at kellyraeroberts@gmail.com for further information!

scenes from around here, holiday time.

 It was truly a wonderful Christmas season - the first one since my parents moved here from Florida. We decorated. We ate. We played hilarious games over wine. We watched movies. We sat around. We got out and about. We took videos of True.Here's a little peek into the last couple of weeks around here:







 
     Really, REALLY looking forward to ringing in the new year. It's my absolute favorite tradition to celebrate the old, and welcome in the new...a review of 2011 coming up and what I'm hoping to manifest for 2012. Thank you, holiday season 2011. You were awesome.