A little of what we've been up to :-)

We've been feeling really productive lately and have been working on all sorts of new ideas.  I'm so enjoying the lighter evenings and being able to get outdoors in warmer weather.  I love all seasons and try to see the beauty in each of them but there's something really lovely about Spring and everything it promises :-)  We are so lucky in the UK; we get to experience such vastly different weather - and temperatures!  And you have to love the way the good old British public flock to the beach or dig out the flip-flops the moment we get an inkling of warmth!  Even we couldn't help ourselves ;-)

Ok...it was a bit chilly...but lovely to feet the sand between our toes :-)

Little feet at the beach :-)

Our priority recently has been trying to find a supplier to get some of our paintings produced as prints.  This has not been an easy task and has taken so much longer than we were expecting!  We've had many, many samples on all sorts of paper, from various printers.  We even tried printing our own but we weren't 100% happy and we can't send anything out we wouldn't love for ourselves :-)

But then these arrived:

Our first glimpse of the prints on unwrapping them!

And we were so pleased!  We chose to have the paintings replicated using gicleé printing, which is a really high quality method on thick artist paper. The feedback we've had so far from customers has been wonderful and in particular the comments have mentioned the detail and how close to the original it looks.

This is one of Mum's creations and just look at the detail!  You can see every piece of fabric, just lovely :-)

I can't wait to get cracking on some more mixed media pieces that we can add to our collection :-)

We've also been working hard on blocks.  We've been making the blocks for a while now - we sourced a very particular type of wood that we felt fitted perfectly with our rustic style.  We cut every piece ourselves before sanding and then starting each design.  Sometimes we have some words in mind and the design just comes to us or sometimes things are half started until we know what we want to do.  I loved working on this one which is currently available to order in our Etsy shop.

I had in mind a child's bedroom.....I love the phrase for children......encouraging them to open their minds; expand their horizons; dream a little :-)  

The blocks are always fun to photograph and we like to try to capture as many different angles as possible to give a sense of the character of the wood and the depth of each piece.  

We found a gorgeous new light blue floral fabric which we've not yet found time to do much with but I did manage to use it for the sea here.  And we do love our bunting :-)  It's just so much fun and why not put it on a boat too?!

Here's a few other recent blocks which you'll also find available to purchase in our shop:

So much inspiration all around us at the moment.  I'm wanting to do everything and having to remember that every small step is an achievement......there's no rush......and time for everything :-)

Gemma xx

Finding balance ♡

Wow I am so happy to welcome Spring! It's such a lovely, prospective time of year with so much loveliness happening around us, especially in nature. I'm so enjoying the slightly warmer weather and being able to put those gloves and hat away :-)

It's been such a funny 2015 so far...the start brought so many dreams and aspirations and of course, as such is life, they've not quite played out exactly as they were supposed to ;-)

If you follow The Seashack on Facebook you'll know we've been very infrequent in our posting and just generally quieter than usual. This is partly down to me being 15+ weeks pregnant with our 3rd child! Whilst I'm feeling fine now I'm definitely feeling the pinch of having 2 other children, a house to manage, school runs, trying to fit in creativity which is hugely important to me......it's a case of generally finding BALANCE... :-) Which brought me to writing this!

It can be really frustrating at times......so many ideas for the business and creativity is really very healthy for my wellbeing. I love being at home to look after the children and manage our everyday needs but when my focus becomes solely on these things I start to slowly feel a little down. A creative outlet solves this for me and my only issue there is making time! It's something I'm hoping to work on in the next few weeks so we can develop the ideas we have and take baby steps forward.

I've also been working this year, in my tired, nauseous state, to generally simplify our lives. It's meant doing a lot less, no dashing here and there...no over-promising what I can deliver and no taking on too much. It takes practice! At times I feel a bit lonely spending so much time at home with my 2yr old, between school runs, but it seems to be the only way I can keep on top of the little things that otherwise seem to make me feel stressed; the washing (I mean actually managing to hang it up - she says, with yesterday's load still in the machine!)...the dishwasher...general housework/making the beds. But I do intend to try to balance this a bit more and get us out, especially with the weather changing. Although we seem to have a girl at the moment who won't even go in the garden, quite content within these 4 walls it seems :-)

It's been nice to write this down and spend half an hour doing something creatively productive while the kids play. I can feel already I've done too much today...too much on my feet...not enough resting...I'll learn to look after me soon hopefully...!

Gemma xx

P.s. I found the lovely words and photo on Pinterest from The Maven Circle ♡

The chaos that is creativity!

Creativity is a funny thing because sometimes it's all there and you're having a wail of a time and sometimes you feel like you've nothing. Kind of the whole 'artist's block' thing. And the problem with having a creative mind (or at least my creative mind!) is that it's hard to quieten. But without that quiet space creativity doesn't flow so well. You know, just how it likes to hit you just as you're trying to drop off to sleep!

Lately there's a lot of self doubt, self criticism and comparison going on in my usually fairly confident head. My mind is not nice to me sometimes! I've been feeling a lot like this. Like I could be more organised and I could improve on this and that. And yes, it would massively help if I was more organised, let's be honest! But what isn't really helpful is the self-attacking because all it does is drag me down, not change anything. And it's funny how quickly you go off track and before you know it you're way from the path you were on before!

I've been thinking a lot about this self criticism and I've realised I've spent so much time in the past unconsciously worrying what I create isn't as good as others. But actually it seems that how other people see you is very different to how you see yourself! I want to see myself a bit more like this I think :-)

I love having a creative, crazy, jam-packed head but I just need to learn to channel it to be most productive. To trust & hone in on that instinctive vibe that tells me it feels right; It's ok to be different; things are unfolding perfectly, just as they're supposed to; everything is going to be okay. And most importantly, I am perfect as I am :-) Oh, and it's ok if during your beach painting you suddenly decide you'd rather paint trees and possibly a washing line and bunting instead! Instinct said so ;-)

There's lots and lots to learn along the way - pretty exciting, huh?

Gemma xx

Choosing gratitude ♡

'Gratitude'

Defined by Oxford Dictionaries as 'The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness'.

It was a few years ago now that I realised that the best way to pull myself out of a dark place was to practice gratitude; to spend time noticing all the positives in my life, however few there seemed. As many as I could possibly list. Until the good thoughts overcame the less-good ones. And at that point I had succeeded because my energy would always shift and I'd feel happy again :-)

So last night I felt a bit like this. I've been so tired lately and not eating as well as I could (which hugely links to mood drops for me). But I couldn't shift this grey cloud...a general feeling of bleugh. I feel very fortunate that these days I seem to have quite a good balance to my life and there are very few dark days or even dark moments. I do believe over time your mind becomes accustomed to new ways of thinking and I think perhaps there are lots of factors why I'm on the whole mostly a happy go lucky sort of person.

So when I began to feel rather lacklustre I knew I needed to help myself to get out of this moment. Especially as I have an old and ingrained habit of wanting to wallow and not help myself! Kind of self-destruct mode where I definitely in that mood don't want to feel better for some bizarre reason.

So I took the initiative. I forced myself to do the only thing I know how to do (which of course in my negative state I was convinced wouldn't work!). And sometimes you really do have to talk yourself in to these things! I began to list things I was grateful for in that moment. I looked around me for every little thing until I filled up that paper. I find the more you can list, the more powerful and fast the result. It's yet to fail me and this is why at The Seashack Mum and I are so passionate about gratitude and why it can help so many of us every day. My energy changed and the real me was back!

I challenge you to try this when you're in that low place - to look for the most littlest things to be grateful for. To choose to shift your focus and energy on to better things. For it's the littlest things that can change the world <3

Gemma xx

The gift of simplicity

It's 17th December and I've finally finished our Christmas shopping!  I can't believe we've got this far without it being all complete, considering I started in November!  Mum and I have been so busy with The Seashack that time has run away with me.  But it's lovely now to be able to relax......bake......write......have some me-time :-)

I was wrapping up a present that I'd bought for my Daughter earlier and it got me thinking about what we have bought for our children and how it didn't seem like they have many presents.  We have a bit of a rule in our house...something along the lines of less is more.  I will admit I do find it a challenge not to go crazy buying them things.  There is nothing better than seeing that look of joy when they open something they lovely, isn't there? 

One of my fondest memories as a child is waking up on Christmas morning to find a sack full of presents!  It was truly the best bit.  My parents weren't rich and the presents weren't lavish but just the act of unwrapping lots of little bits was so exciting!  As the years went on the sack would get smaller (less presents, each individual one probably costing much more as we got older) and then of course the sack was finished and I think it was the time when Christmas started to get less exciting; when we grew up and knew that Santa wasn't real and the magic sort of ebbed away.  It makes me sound dreadfully shallow; I'm not, I'm really not.  I realise what Christmas is about and I'm not still tragically devastated but at the time it's what I felt. 

Anyway back to our presents 'rule'.  My Husband made the rule and he has a touch of OCD so this is kind of how it originated.  He suggested that we buy the kids one thing between us and then one thing from each of us.  And now we have 2 children they also buy each other something.  So essentially each of them get 4 presents; a gift from Mummy & Daddy, a gift from Mummy, one from Daddy and then one from their sibling.  It sounds so little in this day and age but I think this is only because we are used to giving and getting so much.  It really started for a few reasons:

1) Both of our children get so much from the rest of the family. They are amazingly generous and with 2 sets of Grandparents, 2 Aunts and Uncles and friends, as well as us, they are more than showered with new things :-)

2) We want to live more simply.  This means less of everything; less toys around, less mess, less choice.  We have found that when the kids have less they become less overwhelmed and more likely to enjoy playing with their favourite items.  We still have many different types of toys but if they aren't playing with it, it gets put away or given to charity if it's not needed.  Having less around and less stored away has so many benefits - I'll do a blog on this very soon. 

3) We would rather save the money for experiences together in the future.  That £100 that we don't spend on toys that they probably don't 'need' can sit in our account for a holiday in the future or days out. 
And are the children worried at all about what they don't get?  No, of course not - that's all in my head :-)  The few items that we have chosen for our 4-year-old he has been going on and on about for months and he will be over the moon!  He knows no different; this is how it has always been and hopefully this is the basis for us teaching him simplicity, gratitude and less is more :-) 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

Gemma xx

Getting things done :-)

I was about to blog about productivity and the irony is that it has just taken me about half an hour to get this laptop to work well enough to be able to start to write! :-)

My Husband just made a valid point; sometimes technology is just too advanced - and then gets in the way of itself when it tries to be too clever!  Either way, it got the better of me!  But, phew - it's working now :-)

So I started the evening with a little girl still awake but running in and out of Daddy's gym - which was actually the perfect scenario for me because it meant that she was having a great time; Daddy and her were spending time together (which if you knew my little girl you'd know she really likes to be with Mummy!), & I was able to crack on with some work :-)  I had a sudden creative spurt; scissors out, bits of fabric everywhere and fingers covered in glue and sawdust! This is some of what I came up with:

You can't really see in this photo but the bottom left block is really unusual.  We had a plank of wood that had split and Mum thought we wouldn't be able to make use of it.  We managed to snap it in several places and it split really beautifully to leave us with 4 or 5 unique pieces to work with.  Actually let me take some shots of one of them......

I could see this one as a snowy Winter scene straight away...with trees and I wanted it to be fairly muted.  We found this lovely muted green fabric in a local shop, with tiny bits of red in it - you can see it above in the first photo.  It reminds me a little of the liberty prints.  We've not used it much so far but I knew it would be perfect teamed with a neutral star print.  I've only got as far as painting the snow in - before I got the urge to pack up for the night and write this ;-) 

So my productivity definitely comes in waves......and when I get that inspiration I just have to go with it and see where it takes me.  Which I kind of like - that trust in your intuition - it's very liberating and exciting to see what comes out of it :-)

Gemma xx



When you're glad you didn't throw out that book :-)

Yesterday I was out with Mum at a bookstore and I suddenly felt inspired to start reading again and when I got home I searched through my wardrobe and I found this.

Mum bought it for me years ago.  I can't believe I still have it!  I have a horrible habit of decluttering - which you might think sounds great but our house has ended up pretty sparse!  And it means often there's something I'd really like to look at again but, oops, looks like it went to a charity shop! 

Anyway, this one made it for some reason - The Secret Daily Teachings by Rhonda Byrne - it's a great little book Mum bought me years ago, pre-children and when I started to get interested in the Law of Attraction.  It's got a quote or paragraph or something to mull over each day - for a whole year.  And although I remember starting this one January, you know what it's like - by April I was forgetting to look at the day's page (in fact I think I did pretty well to make it to April!).  So I decided to open it up as I kind of felt I *needed* to look at it.  And I came across this page very early on.

It's amazing what a buzz reading this stuff gives me!  It reminded me of years ago when I started to realise that gratitude was the key to shifting my mood.  I used to spend each morning on the train to work counting as many things as I could to be grateful for until my mood would lift.  Gratitude is simply remembering all those little things; the things we are too busy to notice; the things that are around us that uplift and enliven our mood a little :-) The more you focus on these things, the less space there is to see the other stuff; the stuff that drains us; that eats away at us; that causes us to feel less great than we should. 

And you know what?  For most of us, life doesn't always run as smoothly as we might like.  Things happen.  Sometimes they are small things and sometimes they are huge and we don't know how we are going to get past them. And sometimes it's just not feasible to feel like you can be grateful for things...when you're in the depths of a down-time or things just don't seem to be going right it's hard to pick yourself up and see the other side.  I have been here - sometimes I just don't want to feel good.  But since regularly making gratitude practice a part of my life, overall, I can pick myself up quicker from one of these dark days.  Little by little you can help yourself to get back to where you want to be. 

I love this little quote that I found on Pinterest.  I did a bit of research and this was created by Chelsea at Moments A Day.  Isn't social media just amazing for connecting people?  I already know that Chelsea's blog and Facebook page are right up my street :-)

*This* is exactly how I try my best to see the world.  I believe that in every situation there is a way to look at it in a positive light.  It can be hard.  It takes a lot of training yourself if this isn't your natural outlook but it is such a lovely way to live - to see the best every day.  *This* is what I want to teach my children.  I want them to look at the world through loving eyes and approach life with love, not fear. 

I'm going to leave you with this funny image I found (from Pinterest also). 

 

I love the guy at the desk reading :-)  It takes a lot less stress and energy to trust in life and look for the best - and be truly content with what you have.  I always wonder what might happen if the people in the left-hand queue took the stance of those who aren't in the right-hand one?  What do you think about this?

Love and ((hugs))

Gemma x