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Wednesday Wellness::Natural and non-toxic

February 23, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 4 Comments

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Use natural and non-toxic cleaning products in your home.

I do this and I think you should too. Maybe you don’t care what I think but if your reading this, maybe you do, just a little.

Nasty Stuff-Chlorine, Formaldehyde, Chloroform, Lye, Hydrochloric Acid, Ammonia , Phthalates, Parabens, Petroleum Distillates, VOC’s…these are the worst offenders causing a whole spectrum of health problems that you probably don’t want to know about but should. I don’t have kids but I care deeply about how and what I surround myself with and if I had children I’d probably be even more fanatical about this topic (I’ve been known to buy bleach on occasion and use products that may contain Lye and maybe a hint of Ammonia-I’m not perfect, I confess!).

Now that I listed the Nasty why the HECK would you want to use toxic products? Hello?

From my experience there are 2 reasons people haven’t already made the switch to non-toxic:

1.) They think that toxic means cleaner…!*@#???=healthier (please refer to the Nasty above, does that seem healthy to you?).

2.) They think natural means more $$

Seriously, do you want to have anything with a skull and crossbones in your house (and I’m not talking about your sense of fashion or your funky taste in art)?

I don’t and sense I’m not paid to endorse any products here (or anywhere) I’m not going to. I’m sure you know how to use a search engine of your liking to find the ton of websites, books and blogs out there that already give you the specifics about what to look for and how to make your own-it’s easy and cheap (so you can eliminate #2 from your excuses now).

As for #1, there are a lot of germaphobes out there and I’m not one of them. I’m very healthy, I don’t get sick often (neither does my husband) and I spend a lot of time in my home (I work from home) so something must be working for us. If this is your excuse for not using natural cleaners than I urge you to do a little research and give some products a try, you just might find that they smell better, don’t require using heavy duty plastic gloves to apply and work just as well as the toxic avengers!

One note of warning, so-called “green” cleaners are a big area of revenue for business but not all products are created equally. Some “green” products are nothing more than the same old toxic cleaners diluted and with “essential oils” added. Beware, read up and be a smart consumer (read the ingredients). Seriously, it’s not that much work and you and your family are worth it.

Your life is worth living well so don’t pollute it when all your trying to do is clean it up a little!

PS. For those of you who are lucky enough to hire cleaning help, supply them with the cleaners you want them to use in your home and make sure they are using them:)

Wednesday::Wellness (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
How To Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Products (huffingtonpost.com)
The Toxic Tradeoff: What Happens When Some Products Go Green (greenbiz.com)

Victorian Inspired Textile Commission

January 11, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Organizing Projects 4 Comments

I’m excited to share the latest completed textile commission I delivered to clients on Sunday. This piece was commissioned to fit into a 2 story entrance area in a home that’s design is influenced by Victorian era elements. I discussed the colors, size and overall feel that the client wanted. The chandelier and fabric below are a couple of the main elements of design influence. I wanted to use the peacock feather motif and the colors from the fabric.

I initially did these sketches to get ideas down and then choose materials. Over the last 6 months or so I’ve worked at the piece at times knowing clearly what I wanted to do an at other times I let the piece sit while I figured out technical or creative challenges I needed to solve.

A project like this is so rewarding because it challenges you to step into someone else design aesthetic while remaining true to your personal design style. I knew that this client liked my weaving’s but without my loom set up currently, I was left to find another medium to work with.

I choose to work elements of weaving into this piece by using the long hand dyed fringe as a major design component. I also used a subtle toile fabric as the background and selectively painted motifs that were inspired by a collection of hand colored etchings the client has. I used layers of sheer fabric bringing in both color and metallic sheen. Layers of texture are a common theme in my work and this piece ended up having 3 layers of fabric, 1 layer of fringe, feathers and embellishments including stitching and beading. They were thrilled, I was thrilled and I was thrilled that they were thrilled! My husband was thrilled to have our dining room table back available for use!

Farewell 2010

December 31, 2010 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 3 Comments

Farewell 2010…it’s been a year of challenges and change and as much as I enjoy rising to a challenge it’s exhausting. As I reflect on this past year how it began and how it ended are both very different than I ever could have anticipated! I started the year employed at a relatively creative job, that I was good at and had been doing for over 7 years. About mid-January that abruptly changed as I decided that I was not inclined to relocate for my former employer. Okay…now what?

Well, I decided that I would take the year to reflect on where I’ve come over the past decade and to re-assess where I’m headed. If I was middle aged I might say I was having a mid-life crisis but alas…I am not middle aged and I’m not in a crisis. I’ve experienced a lot of intense emotions this year. I’ve been sad, depressed, angry, resentful, ashamed, scared, lost, confused and bitter…Enough! I spent time reading, traveling, making art, cooking, gardening, volunteering, talking long hours on the phone with good friends, I had a LOT of FUN and I realized that underneath everything I am an artist at heart, I am an ARTIST!

I am so VERY GRATEFUL for the time I’ve been given this year to do this reflecting, to be spontaneous, to do things that I might not get another chance to do and to try to learn how to just be (I’m not very natural at this but I’m starting to learn)! I remember watching a TED conference video a couple years ago about a design firm in NYC that closed it’s doors every 7 years and took the year off to re-group, refresh, renew and rest (I can’t find that talk but if you do, please leave a link in the comments). That’s what this year has been about for me. For a long time I’ve been going full steam ahead, doing a ton of things outside of work with all my friends and family constantly telling me they were amazed by how much I managed to do and I was CONSTANTLY BUSY. It’s funny, there is something about that perpetual motion that is wonderful but it eventually you have to slow down. This year I’ve replenished a bit of my depleted energy and reserved some for the years ahead because I’m ready for 2011! I don’t really do resolutions but I do plan to create a community of creative people around me.

This is the first time I am choosing a word for the year. Thanks to a little exercise that Kim Klassen posted on her blog I was able to discover that my word for 2011 is CLARITY! I had a few other words in mind but nothing really clicked until I did this exercise and it came to me. Setting my intention is powerful and I am so excited to start a new year and see more clearly where I am headed.

~I’m wishing each of you a beautiful New Year!

Daily Gratitude Journal and Morning Pages

November 25, 2010 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

About 2 years ago I started a Daily Gratitude Journal and Morning Pages as I was reading The Artist Way. After I had filled the journal below I incorporated the practice of recording at least a few things I’m grateful for into my daily “morning pages” journal.

This practice has helped keep me grounded through a year that has been filled with un-anticipated highs and lows. Starting every day by realizing and giving voice to the things that I am grateful for really puts life in perspective. Some days it’s a lot easier than others but just forcing yourself to take a little time to reflect on what you are grateful for is such a wonderful practice.

So, on this Thanksgiving day when we American’s traditionally stop to give thanks; I’d like to share some of the things I am truly grateful for.

~My family who are all in good health and are finding happiness and prosperity in ways that constantly amaze me.

~Challenging myself to learn new things and get started on some of those things I’ve always wanted to do.

~The love of my husband and three furry fuzzy sweet kitties.

~Reconnecting with old friends (this year was my 20 year HS reunion!) in unexpected ways. Finding new friends in unexpected places.

~The opportunity to start my own business!

~Understanding that I am not defined by my career, my education, the way I dress or any other solitary thing.

~Knowing that each stage of life is only a chapter in “the book of life”.

~Time reflect and get to know myself again.

~Sharing the appreciation of local farms & food with others. I’m truly grateful for the farmers who work so hard to bring us this food. I’ll be feasting with my family upon a local meal this Thanksgiving.

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4 Simple Goals

September 22, 2010 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques Leave a Comment

Here are the 4 Simple Goals I want to accomplish by the end of the year. This comes to you by way of the A Beautiful Mess blog and there are lots of participants. The idea here is to pick goals that are not results oriented and that are simple and will bring you more joy by doing them. A good way to check in with your goals is to ask yourself how they make you feel. Do you have that slightly uncomfortable but excited feeling or does it seem simple enough that you know you can succeed?

1. Update my software skill set (increase my Photoshop knowledge and start to learn Illustrator).

2. Start sewing and knitting again. I haven’t really done either over the past few months.

3. Organize and start a new collaborative project with artist and designer friends.

4. Finish organizing and setting up a new office space (to share with hubby) and storage space.

Bonus: Continue to increase my physical strength. I recently started lifting weights again and it feels great so I want to continue this.

I’ve chosen goals that are realistic, actionable, that I can be held accountable and that are simple and fun. I’ve also tryied to balance these 4 simple goals by choosing goals that meet a variety of my interests including, creative, intellectual, physical, home/relationship etc.