Give Your Love Wings!

With Spring in the air it is as if everyone is filled with a new zest for life.  We are eager to get outside and tend our gardens, start new projects and revamp our homes.  Yet, we sometimes forget all about romance.  Yes, you heard right, romance!  When we are new to a relationship or just married, romance comes so easily, however, soon the everyday chores and running around covering all the bases, nudges romance off to the side and soon out of the door!

However, all is not lost, and with a little bit of imagination and effort we can rekindle those days of romance and roses when we felt giddy with love.  Here are 5 ways to light those fires anew!

1. Each day for the next month, write down a reason why you love your partner.  Put it in his/her lunch box or briefcase or jacket pocket where your partner is sure to find it.

2. Find an old photo of the two of you taken during those first days of being in love, enlarge it, photocopy it and have it laminated.  Use them as placemats for the dinner table.  It will be a constant reminder of the love you share.

3. After supper, when the kids are safely tucked up in bed, go for a moonlit stroll outside in your garden.

4. Once a week turn off the TV, the computers, all the phones, then light some candles and listen to all your old favourite music.

5. Say no to that quick peck on the cheek when you both go your seperate ways for the day.  Instead, make that kiss count.  The thought of it is sure to have him/her thinking about you all day long!

Try these few suggestions and any other wonderful ideas you may come up with for a month and you might just be pleasantly surprised by a renewed feeling of the old familiar "butterflies-in-the-tummy" in-love feeling!!  Come on, give your love wings....

If you flutter by please share with us any of your ideas how to put the romance back into a relationship.  I would love to hear from you!!

365 Day Creativity Challenge!!!

Are you ready?

Grab your art supplies, grab some paper, pens, glue, knitting needles, wool or grab your camera!!! The 365 day, 30 minutes a day Creativity Challenge is here!!!  It does not matter what medium you choose or what you decide to do with your 30 minutes a day of creativity as long as you DO it and share it with me and the rest of the participants.

Every Friday I will post the prompts for the next 7 days here on my blog on the "Art Challenge 365" Page as well as on my FB page http://www.facebook.com/charri.hart .  All you have to do is send me a friend request and then post your  7 days of art/craft on my FB page every Friday.

I hope you will be joining me in this challenge.  It gives you a legitimate reason to commit to 30 minutes a day creating. It's YOUR time.  It's your opportunity to be as messy or creative or experimental as YOU want to be.  No rules, or judgements, no masterpieces, just FUN!!

Ready.....Set....Create!!!!

Fly Away on the Wings of Art

Are you getting ready for the 365 Day Creativity Challenge?

Tomorrow I will be posting the first 7 prompts of the 365 day challenge. I am inviting you all to take part in this challenge. This is an opportunity to be creative for 30 minutes, 365 days of the year.

Use whatever medium you prefer - pencil, paint, fiber, photographs- it does not matter. I decided to not to wait till January 1st, after all there is no time like the present, but to start as soon as possible.

After some sweat, tears (and a few kicks aimed at myself) I finally compiled the list. Every week, on a Friday, I will post the prompts for the next 7 days. On the Friday I will also post the previous week's "artworks". If you decide to take part, just send me a message and I will add you as a member to my 365 Challenge Group and then you can post your 7daysof art right there on the page. Or send me a friend request, here is a link to my FB page: http://www.facebook.com/charri.hart . Then you can post your art there too.

Why should we spend time creating every day?

Creating art is a known stress reliever. Getting in the habit of creating everyday develops our skill and it sets our muse free.

Remember: It is NOT about creating a masterpiece! It is just about the act of creating. Keep it small, no larger than A4 size, but preferably smaller. It does not have to be finished either, just post it, you can always later return to finish it. Maybe one of them will lead to a further development or even larger painting, but for this challenge keep it to 30 minutes.

If you miss a day - no sweat! Just carry on with the next prompt the next day. JUST DO IT!!!

I am ooking forward to seeing your artwork!!

Spring, beautiful Spring!

How wonderful!!! Yes, it is that time of the year again!  Here in the other half of the world Spring has sprung!  It is in the air, it is in the way the sun falls merrily upon my face.  The trees are sprouting tender little leaves and my cat is basking in the mellow sun.  It feels as if a window has been opened somewhere in my soul and the fresh breeze is filling every corner, chasing the last gray of the winter out.  It hardly matters that a cold front might be looming ahead, Spring is here, it has shaken Winter's cocoon from its wings!

I love Spring.  The rebirth of the Earth always fascinates me.  I am surrounded by the promise of new and wonderful things to come, I am filled with renewed energy and excitement, I want to drink in the crisp air with huge gulps of joy.  I am ready for new and wonderful projects.  What would it be this season, I wonder. Maybe a new lick of paint for my lounge, fresh bedding or a new craft project?  No, none of that.  This Spring I want to give thanks.  I want to give thanks to my Creator's wonderful mercy and love, the blessings He has bestowed upon me, my family, my friends.  I want to actively live a life of gratitude.  When I look at the world, at all the sadness that we read about every day, strife and war, the horrors of natural disasters, then I am humbled by how much grace we still receive every day out of our Lord's hands.  I feel so small, so undeserving.  It makes me realize how seldom I just give thanks.  So, this Spring it is time for me to reflect on all I have to be grateful for. 

Yes, I know, some of you who are reading this post might feel as if you can't think of anything to be grateful for, maybe you do not feel so particularly blessed.  Maybe you have had to face hardship or sadness, maybe a loss or ill health.  Maybe you have had so many difficult times that you do not believe in blessings any more.  However, I want to tell you, no matter what your circumstances, the Lord is there in it with you, he knows your path.  You are not alone and if you take the time to look, to really search, you will find that one little flower managing to grow in among the thistles and thorns, that one little blessing.  We often mistakenly believe that it is happiness that makes us grateful, but the truth is that it is gratitude that makes us happy.  Mostly we think that blessings are found in the big things in life, but the truth is that it it most often found in the little, seemingly insignificant, things in life; my husband's warmth next to me when I wake up in the morning, the rich aroma of my early morning coffee, the smile on my daughter's face, my dog's excited bark when he sees me.  Once we stop recounting all our problems and start counting our blessings we will be amazed by all we have to be grateful for.

I leave you with a quote by Melody Beattie : " Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

If you flutter by here, please share with us what it is you would like to give thanks for.  I would love to hear from you.