Do What You Love

(Photo credit: Natural Retreats) Have you secured your place yet? ***

                          This month Do What You Love was featured on: Crescendoh, Chrissy Gardner, My House is Green, Studio Mailbox Can’t believe we are at the end of January already!  How was yours?

I don’t know about you but we seem to get more and more junk mail these days.  I miss the days when I would race home from school, hoping to find a pale blue airmail letter with a Canada or France postmark, bearing a letter from my penfriend.  And remember the excitement picking up theread more >>

Are you doing what you love?  Whether the answer (right now) is yes or no, we all have a story to tell. In celebration of the Do What You Love e-course launch, I am putting out a call for guest posts for this blog.  It attracts four-figure weekly traffic, and I want to open up thatread more >>

So excited to share with you this interview with celebrated American painter Flora Bowley.  Flora’s work is simply beautiful, and she is an inspiring free spirit with a talent for luring amazing paintings out of those lucky enough to take classes with her.  Having admired her work from afar I first met Flora when I tookread more >>

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So how did this crazy, mad, happy creative journey begin anyway?  Where did this artist thing come from? And why does it matter? Find out in my Art Saves story over on Crescendoh.com *** I am honoured to be Guest Curating on Crescendoh.com all this week.  Pop over to see my collection of inspiring posts from otherread more >>

Time is precious We try to save it, to make it, to manage it. But sometimes it just seems to slip away. Someone told me the word ‘chronophage’ means ‘time eater’? I’m not sure if it is really a word, but I like it. I think the online world is a chronophage. So I made onread more >>

A sweet creative lady, sent me this thank you postcard.  It’s lovely enough from the front, but if you hold it horizontally, a secret message appears… A hidden heart – how clever!  Thank you Susan.  I love surprises

… and then someone does something lovely to remind us.  Like the man coming home with a huge bunch of fresh flowers, just because.   Love, love, love!  Off to fill every vase in the house…  *** What has reminded you recently of how lucky you are?

What does the contents of your handbag say about you?  I am taking part in the ‘It’s in the bag’ blog crawl run by Ashley over at A Hasty Life, and it is fascinating to see what is in other people’s handbags. Personally I don’t have one handbag that I always use.  I have a cupboardread more >>

The gift of permission The gift of time The gift of space The gift of community The gift of creating The gift of dreaming The gift of belief The gift of making it happen *** Give yourself the gift of a break from it all, to indulge in art workshops and to grow that creativeread more >>

Nothing like a dip in an ice cold lake to waken the mind. Been out on Lake Windermere in a canoe. The perfect thinking place, fog lifting off the hills beyond over a glassy lake reflecting the clouds.   Just couldn’t resist taking a dip…

  I have been completely blown away by the response to my new creative business venture, and am feeling slightly overwhelmed with gratitude.  My old blog had a healthy following of lovely souls, but I have had more visits here in 10 days than I had there in 10 months.  I have had a flood ofread more >>

 What is it about water that relaxes the mind, calms the soul, opens the eyes? *** Sent with love from the Lake District

Priscilla Jones, one of the incredibly talented artists who will be teaching at the Do What You Love art retreat in May, is featured on the front page of the latest edition of Stampington’s Sew Somerset. Priscilla’s mixed media work is gorgeous – she fuses wax, wire, paper, canvas, paint and stitch to create delicateread more >>

  I have long been an admirer of Orla Kiely – somehow she manages to reinvent her core patterns over and over again – new colours, new products, new styling – in a way that is always fresh, but always recognisably her.  I popped into her flagship store in Covent Garden last week for a peekread more >>

Shhh… don’t tell everyone or they’ll all want to come… Here is a sneak peek of our gorgeous cosy accommodation at the Do What You Love art retreat venue, situated in the stunning Yorkshire Dales, deep in the English countryside.  Imagine yourself here with new friends, relaxing after three amazing days of creating, and processing your new-found inspiration and ideas to realiseread more >>

  My big discovery this winter has been fingerless gloves that are not connected between the fingers.  Do you know the ones I mean?  Like a long sleeve you can pull down over your hands and keep you toasty?  My mum made me these lovely ones.    Such a treat ***    Just one week left to getread more >>

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the UK’s 16 most exciting young female entrepreneurs, and awarded a place on glossy magazine Marie Claire’s groundbreaking Inspire & Mentor programme.  Brainchild of Marie Claire UK’s editor Trish Halpin, the programme pairs participants with some of Britain’s most successful andread more >>

(Taken at Monmouth Coffee, Covent Garden, with hipstamatic on my new ipod touch) One of the best things about not working a ‘normal 9-5 job’ is being able to sit and discuss life and art with friends over coffee and apple tarts*.  The funny thing is, sometimes it is when you switch off from yourread more >>