Ray of Sunshine

"Just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." The truth of such simple things was not lost on the master storyteller, Hans Christian Anderson.

Today I find myself at a crossroads. Spring has come and with it budding flowers and their annual message of hope and new beginnings. Freedom is revealing itself to me unexpectedly from the midst of gathering storm clouds. And now this morning I wake to a 'ray of sunshine'.



I must admit, as a relative newcomer to the Land of Blog, that I wasn't sure what to 'do' with this award! But oh how it filled my spirit with JOY! Kittie from The Block said this award is her way of passing on a 'ray of sunshine' but I would say it was much more than that. To encourage another breathes life into their soul. Thank you Kittie. We 'met' only recently and already you have in this small way made an impact for good in my life.

This world is too full of fear and duplicity and therefore breeds too easily those behaviours that tear down, wound and destroy. How wonderful to be reminded this morning of those who choose to use their energy to send sunshine into the lives of others.

So in the spirit of this award received, I would like to pass it on to the person that introduced me to Kittie in the first place. I went to school with Pamela Jo and recently discovered her blog Theres just life where she writes, "to get through this life I try to see the funny side of things." You may enjoy her quirky "Friday Flashes." Thank you Pam for enlarging my world. :) I hope you enjoy this ray of sunshine as much as I have.

Music and Sunshine

There is a daily choice I have to make. Whether to look at the clouds or see the sunshine behind them. In an effort to remember the sunshine, I started my botanical illustration class last night, and I promised some friends to post the outcome of them here (a humbling thing to do).

It was a simple class format, not much instruction, not the best light, and working in the room next to the pokies certainly not as serene and contemplative as sitting in a meadow surrounded by wildflowers! But as I am ignoring the clouds I focused on my seed pod with my blurry eyesight and eventually worked out that by looking over the top of my glasses I could see the detail better. And by closing my left eye, even better again. My right eye was doing all the work, and my eye-hand coordination was not the best after its long winter rest (of about 25 winters!)but in the end my sketches somewhat resembled the gumnut and poppy stalk I picked from the pile in the basket provided by our artist-in-residence.



Next week it will be watercoloring layers. The sample looked interesting and may suit as background "paper" for a layout sometime. We'll see.

At the end of the class I chatted with the 4 other ladies at my table and then talked a bit with one of the 20 year old uni students at the other table. They were having a great time! I learned he was a 3rd year Biology student and had taken the class for a bit of fun. Yes, that is exactly what this is about: fun. We chatted about the need for having creative outlets and of course I thought of my own son in his second year studying Chemistry at the same university. His creative outlet is his music. I had created this layout just a couple of nights ago while he was rehearsing with his orchestra group. Yes, there is something really special about having a creative outlet - even if it is an outlet from your usual creative outlets!


We all need a bit of sunshine and this kit by Janet Carr is filled with it! Janet's Dear Sweet Friend kit brought just the right amount of sunshine and whimsy to my favourite photo of my son enjoying his flute for his own pleasure.

Being a part of Janet's creative team is another corner of sunshine in my life. You can meet the team and view other layouts by my Creative Team pals at our gallery at Little Feet Digital Designs.