I am mixing my blog up a bit this year.

I thought instead of writing posts directly related to the theme of the calendar month, I am going to take you with me through the month and see if I can highlight any helpful lessons learned, lessons I have yet to learn or just wth moments, to see if any themes I talk about relate to where you are in your own life stuff.

January was an intense month in the land of stitched pictures because we moved her home across town. No more little blue house - shall I be reaching out to you from, but from big brown one.

She is lovely - and as hard as it was to leave my nest - since arriving, big brown has welcomed us with open arms.

The bonus with the move is that stitched pictures by Caroline Storie now has a very spacious, dedicated space which is AMAZING. As I slowly unpack - I will be bringing you snippets of my stitched pictures land as she unfolds.

The dedicated space is very much a statement that I am wholly committed to whatever this creative hop, skip and jump I have been on will bring. I am all in and isn’t that petrifying?

I thought it was, but as I move around and fabric angel on the floor - it doesn’t feel as horrifying as I thought - in fact it feels more - lets go!

Now I just have to find out what that means.

Last year I signed up to Indie Roller’s kickstarter - a handbook for Indie businesses along with a course to work through at your own pace. What attracted me to Leona and Indie Roller is how she sets out from the beginning that this business is all about doing things your way. Getting firm on what you are about and going with that - not flailing around and comparing yourself to what everyone else is up to.

This speaks to me in volumes. My business has always been hard for me to clarify. I make products as in cards and prints and pictures, but there is a bigger flavour to what my pictures are about and that was as important as the visual art itself. When I compared my progress to people around me it made me feel lacking, missing something - products aren’t flying off the shelves, my audience is relatively small - why am I doing this? My panic mantra is always “am I just putting my crazy out there?”

When I started to look at it through the lens that Leona was talking, I saw that I was progressing at exactly the right pace. I was opening up just as I needed to be. It wasn’t anything about lacking and missing - the issue was about not fully owning who I was and what I do - or even not valuing it - rather than not owning. Not realizing that the honest who we are and what we want to do - is the only secret you need to know. Once you have got a clear sight of that - that is when the magic comes. That is when the right opportunities come, because you are in the right place. You are saying no to the distractions and yes to the things that are right.

You also know that you have been doing that already on a small scale. The things that always felt right, the yes’s you were certain of, the good feels, the happy feels, the things that made you feel the harmony of all the things that had been rolling around in your brain so long. Those are the keys! Those are the things where you were able to shut the nattering talk down and go for it. Sitting down and looking at these in more detail, with more curiosity is going to unlock for you the full answer if you are feeling the same lacking and missing that I was.

IT is so cliche to be yourself - but it is equally the best thing you can do for your peace of mind. Don’t mask or dilute things anymore to suit what you “think” you should be doing or how you think you need to be seen. Take a step, one, two, three on the path of the clear yes’s and it is going to eliminate more and more that brain fog. IT could well be the thing that makes you feel utterly sick - that you need to listen to (see my video on instagram) - it could be the thing that makes you nervous, or smile, or sing. I don’t know what your signal is when the thing is right - but once you find yours, listen to those sounds or those tingles because they are telling you when you are on the right track.

SO what is my track?

This is what I have come up with so far.

I am here to let people know that we can all feel better - but we don’t have to feel amazing all the time.

I am here to highlight that the little feels and activities of our day to day are significant.

I am here to show that tea, colour, chats and understanding can solve quite a lot.

And maybe most importantly to me:

I am here to let you know that if I can do this - you most certainly can too! If you have something to express that you haven’t found an outlet for - it is there for you - I promise! Just wait for the tingles - and see where they take you!

Wishing you a happy, colourful, creative day.