This past week I have been focusing on small joys, wonder and moments of being so present that time seems to just stand still while you are fully immersed in the moment.

Like the blooms of my neighbors cherry tree as it rained it’s pink petals

or the blooms of the crab apple tree that the bees loved

or the perfect tiny flowers that make up a lilac bloom with its strong fragrance in the evening light

I have really leaned into the slow life. I want to experience the beauty of what is around me and just sit with it for a moment while I can before that moment passes as they all do. The blooms and light are ever changing so to see the flowers at their peak in great light is a little gift of nature. Much like sunrises, sunsets and seeing the moon, they are wonders to see and easy overlooked in our rushing around in our modern lives.

This week I took several free classes on 2 virtual retreats. I did the needle felted mushroom and really enjoyed it! I have learned so much about needle felting that I want to try more techniques. This was the Felted Fungi workshop. I am going to try to do the second project which is a mushroom picture that is needle felted.

The second virtual retreat I attended was Making Zen. I took many of their classes for ideas and inspiration. This is the little slow stitched landscape I did. I loved this because it was simple and something I could do with materials I had on hand. There were many workshops that were about intuitive stitching, embroidery, knitting, art journaling and making these crafts as part of your intentional meditative part of your day. I loved it. And I also signed up for another virtual workshop next week!

I also found a studio not far from home that offers all types of classes. I was scouring the internet for classes and that is how I found it. I am taking an in-person collage making class from paper. I am very excited. I am finding that I am having a hard time staring at a pile of fabric, a blank page with paints, a stack of collage fodder or a pile of wool roving without any idea on what to make. That is where patterns are helpful in making quilts or in yarn crafts. You have a plan and then can make it your own. So hopefully taking classes and watching videos will be inspiring as I take a deep dive into the Summer of Wonder. I saw a short of this video of Dot saying she wanted to be a child of wonder and then looked up the long version.

Such an inspiring video.

I am going to post on Instagram my wonder pictures, I did wonder collages for several months and I wanted to pivot to what the Wonder Habit is doing. I am doing photos with some captions that describe the moment of wonder. I also want to do Fat Mum Slim’s photo a day of real life.

I hope you are having an inspired day and have time to be creative! Off for my coffee as the sun is rising and filling the room with its light.

Vicki