my gratitude journal

Last year I bought a gratitude journal from Ashley, the girl behind the Creative Place. Although she didn't sell them again this year, I still wanted to share mine with you because I really loved making it. But you will have the excuse the quality of the pictures, this was seriously a year ago that I took these images, and I didn't realize how much my photography has changed.










all images credited to me

featured seller: creativeplace

This weeks featured seller is another lovely lady named Ashley from the Creative Place, whom I met via Etsy almost a year ago! I bought one of her paper packs, then started reading her blog, and now we have kept in tough ever since. She is such a sweet and genuine lady so please take the time to read her interview and get to know her. You can also check out her shop and her blog.

Please tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your life.

I am a 28 year old stay-at-home-mom to a precious 3 year old little boy, and I am married to the most amazing man who is truly my best friend, Rob :) I am a Christian and am so thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I have a love for paper, fabric, anything vintage and thrift store-ing and flea market-ing. I've always loved art, crafts, and being creative (I ended up earning a degree in art/graphic design several years ago at James Madison University in Virginia :)). Growing up, I was always the one who got art sets, markers, crayons, and paper. I remember my mom taking one of my sisters and I to a paper factory when we were little and we got to dig through barrels of all different sorts of scrap paper. I was giddy with delight at all of the paper :) That is my first memory of being excited about anything having to do with paper and crafts :)



What is the significance with the name 'CreativePlace'?

Actually, a very close friend of mine and also a graphic designer and crafty person (Ashlee of Ashlee Proffitt Design) and I came up with the name several, several years ago. We were going to make a little business of it (I still have sketches and notes about it! :)), but life got busy, our families started expanding, and it all got put on the back burner :) Upon deciding I wanted to open an etsy shop, I checked with her to see if it would be ok if I used the name. She's such a sweetie and said "Of course!" and was super excited about it for me :) I regularly email back and forth with her, and she truly understands my obsession with paper and craftiness- so it's fun to have a name that also serves as a reminder of our friendship! :)



Your blog has so many amazing tutorials. If you had to pick one, which would be your favorite and why?

I would have to say the Woven Paper Journal Cover tutorial. I loved developing that tutorial and figuring out how to weave all sorts of paper together. It's fun to be able to look at so many different papers all at once!



What inspires you?

I love to read-- books, magazines and blogs, as well as talk with other crafters. I love coming across new-to-me things-- I usually will have a spark of inspiration and then my imagination will develop new ideas and concepts. I keep a journal/sketchbook full of written ideas I have, or clippings or other blip-its I've found. I am constantly going back through my journal and finding new ideas that I hadn't "seen" before.



You get to be a stay-at-home-mom with your son Jimmy, what is that like? What is a 'normal' day for you?

I don't really have a normal day, ever. LOL! Every day changes (which is fun, but can also be frustrating at times).

I've had a lot of my friends (mostly all who have children) ask me how I'm able to get crafty things done on top of caring and playing with my son and keeping up with housework. It is quite a delicate balance, and I often fail. By the grace of God, I am learning more how to balance everything. I do most of my craft work during naptime hours and during evening hours after Jimmy has gone to bed. My hubby and I have "work nights" when we are both doing our own thing - he has a small business consulting and building/installing sound systems mostly for churches, studio recording, and other audio stuff (that I don't quite understand, lol :)). So some nights we are doing that, other nights he is at church with band practice; so I work, and other nights we have hang out time together.



Sometimes during the day, Jimmy will "help" me in my studio/work area by coloring, playing with fabric remnants or pulling all the scrap pieces of paper out of the trashcan. He is also very good at helping me "clean up" or "dah-ba-dee-ing" (his words for cleaning), and loves to help with cooking, laundry and loading the dishwasher. Also, he is good at keeping himself entertained sometimes so I can clean the bathroom, fix supper, etc. We have lots of play time, though, running in circles around the house, and he loves for me to sit on his ride-a-long Lightning McQueen and he pushes me around the house-- Biz (our miniature schnauzer) barking the whole time at us (I'm sure this would be QUITE hilarious to watch and I often wonder what it would look like if we got it on video ;)).

But like I said, everyday is a learning process, and I'm quite thankful for God's grace with me as well as Jimmy's grace with his mama. I read a great post on one of my fave blogs awhile back, and it was a great reminder to me about how one day Jimmy will be all grown up, and I don't want to regret missing any of the small things with this precious little one God has blessed my hubby and I with.



shop ♥ blog

travel faves. ♥

Hello! I'm Ashley from The Creative Place. I'm so excited to be guest posting here at Blueheart today! While Jessica is on vacation, I thought I'd do a collection of Faves related to travel :) Accessories, journals, and other fun things - enjoy! :)
1. Madeleine Necklace by tamar
2. Vintage Map Necklace- Your Journey by dlkdesigns
3. Bon Voyage by simplyhue
4. Summer Sandals Wall Hoop Art by AllAboutTheFiber
5. Poetry in Avocado Green by bayanhippo
6. 5x7 Kitchen Sink Journal - Cardinal by spacedogstudios
7. In Touch Snap Pouch by downstairsDesigns
8. Sand Dollar Bookmark by EleganceFarm
9. Take Me Anywhere Suitcase Pillow by Olive

mother's day: the 411

Hello! I'm Ashley from The Creative Place and I'm super excited and honored to be guest hosting today here at BlueHeart. I absolutely adore Jessica's blog and etsy shop and was so excited to be asked to guest host today! :)

With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I've been thinking about what I would like to send to my mama and mama-in-law that would let them know how much I love and appreciate them (Check out upcoming posts this week here on Blueheart for some fab gift ideas!). I love Mother's Day and while every day we should tell our mamas how much we love and appreciate them, I do love how there is a special day set aside to honor all of the amazing women who have loved, nurtured, taken care of and shaped a child's (or children's!) life. With all of that in my mind, I started thinking "How exactly did Mother's Day begin?" and "How long has it been around?" So I began some research on the www. I found a lot of different ideas and opinions, but came up with a basic summary of the origins of Mother's Day. Below are also sources about Mother's Day and where I found a lot of my information.

Mother's Day: Origin and Beginnings
As I mentioned, the opinion on the origin of the celebration of Mother’s day appears to be quite diverse. Historical references to the formal celebration of mothers include the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Celts, as well as 17th Century English Christians who celebrated “Mothering Sunday” as an opportunity to reunite families who were living in different parts of the country in honor of mothers.

In the United States in 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher,began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis and her attempts to create a day to honor mothers. At a church service honoring Anna's mother, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, white carnations - which represent sweetness, purity, and patience (Carnations are now greatly associated with Mother's Day). In 1908, her mother's church agreed to have a special service in honor of mothers. This idea spread to churches in 46 other states which held these special services the very next year. In 1909, Anna left her job and worked full time soliciting the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen and clergy to create a special day to honor mothers. Anna's hard work finally paid off- in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers- Mother's Day.

Around the World:
Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year. Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Turkey also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May - the same date as the US.

Go here to see a great reference of when other countries celebrate Mother's Day.

Other great links about Mother's Day (and sources for above info):
+ Facts and figures about Mother's Day
+ Wikipedia
+ Mother's Day
+ Mothering Sunday in the UK, and here

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(Above Story Polaroid Photo Source - unknown, please share if found!)

Visit Ashley's etsy shop ( CreativePlace )
And read Ashley's blog ( The Creative Place )

guest bloggers next week ♥

To say that next week will be crazy is an understatement. I have finals coming up, so I have a lot of studying to do. Therefore, I've asked 3 lovely bloggers and etsy shop owners to guest post this week. With Mother's Day coming up just around the corner (May 9th) I have decided to dedicate the entire week to mothers. Here is the weeks line-up:

Tuesday: Ashley from The Creative Place will share with you the History of Mother's Day.
Wednesday: Rebecca from The Ardent Sparrow will help you with some gift ideas that can be handmade or created.
Thursday: Hollie from Mermaid's Closet will feature amazing gifts you can find on etsy.
Friday: I will be closing up the week with an inspirational post for mother's and women in general.

Not only are these ladies awesome bloggers, but they all have amazing etsy shops. Take a look at each of their shops and check out their blogs, then make sure you come back here next week to read their posts. ♥



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Have a good weekend!

packages of goodies.

I've been receiving lots of goodies in the mail and they come in such lovely packages. Just wanted to share these with you.


Those lovely earrings are from a new shop loverlea and she's offering free shipping right now! I really love the fall colors but they would be great for summertime too. The other package is from nicepackage. They have so many lovely things. Here's a few more photos.



This morning I also recieved a package from CreativePlace (read her blog here). And there was so much goodness in this package: a Gratitude Mini Album kit, a package of handcut envelopes in beautiful colors, and a pack of new and vintage papers that I had been eyeing.



And here is a picture of some of the lovely goodness I recieved from the paper exchange with inkihandmade.


And here is a picture of the Pink Lemonade Journal I sent out this morning. The "A" is for her first initial.

That makes sale number 2. :)

I am Grateful for Giveaways :)

I was so excited this morning when I saw this giveaway over at The Creative Place. There are so many goodies you can win. Ashley's Gratitude Mini Album looks like it would be so much fun and I love the great idea she mentioned, "This mini would be great to take to your Thanksgiving gathering and have everyone present write in it something (or somethings!) they are grateful for." Hurry and enter over at her blog and then check out her cute little etsy shop, CreativePlace.

I'm already trying to think of what I would write in this journal, the things I am grateful for. I'm so grateful for my family and for my friends. I'm thankful for my church and for my Savior. I'm thankful for my amazing boyfriend that is so supportive of me through all this (although he doesn't really understand the blogging part yet). And I'm so thankful for all the little things in life like the umbrella that keeps my dry, the sketchbook that holds my ideas for later use, homemade pizza, and suprises. What are your thankful for?