Well…today was field day at my kiddos school and I wanted to join them, so I threw on a decent t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I {kinda} did my hair and makeup and off I went for a jam-packed day. Only when I got home and looked in the mirror, my style was in sad SAD shape. I’ve lost some weight since last summer {which I am NOT complaining about}, but I think I can now firmly attest to the fact that clothing that doesn’t fit just doesn’t look fantastic. Wanna see?

Blah. Blahbbity Blah. {earrings and lipstick would’ve made it better– I should ALWAYS listen to my mother}

So I kept the shirt {which is still a li’l big} but in a 5-minute switch, it’ll do…

And:

Better. Although I quite doubt that I’d pair active wear with a pencil skirt. But stranger things have happened, right? It’s about making it look cute. Even if it’s a CRA-ZAY kinda cute. {P.S. I wonder if a cinched that shirt with a belt if it would create a faux peplum? I feel like I run to my closet and try. I could pretend that the “activewear” logo was just there for some flair. Ok, ok…I digress…}

Shirt: Old Navy//Skirt: Old Navy//Necklace: Pick Your Plum//Earrings: Francesca’s//Lipgloss: BabyLips//Hair: Kayla LaGrange at the Hairspa {She’s fabulous!! And a miracle worker as we’re working on growing out this crazy choppy mop!! I may not have the grow-long-hair endurance anymore so we’ll see if it sticks around.}

These? Well, they were just too fun not to include.

Have a fabulously joyful Wednesday! I’ll be holed up in my studio working on these Zippy Envelope Wallets ALL-DAY-LONG! Someone bring me an Igloo {diet vanilla with extra ice} — pretty please?!

Last week I began this little series on how to balance our creative nature with the demands of our daily responsibilities. If we’re honest with ourselves, I think that as a wife and mother {especially once you are in charge of other little humans} it can feel like we’re skewing too far one way or the other in a moment’s notice.

So let’s talk about this one question that might help you work out that delicate balance:

What is the PURPOSE of your creativity? 

Really take a few minutes to noodle on this. Meal planning, gardening, sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, blogging, decorating…each and every one of these things {and more} can have multiple purposes. You might find that your reasons are intrinsic:  Perhaps your creativity thrives because you are feeding your family well, creating a calm living space or arming yourself with the world’s most fun list of summer crafts for you to do as a family. Maybe your reasons are extrinsic: Your creativity provides extra income. Sharing on your blog gives you a platform to connect with other bloggers who have turned their creativity into a career. Maybe you even just need a little escape from your responsibilities and that is why you dive into creativity.

{Pinned}

I don’t think that a single one of those things is wrong. But they can be out of balance. I can always tell in my life when creativity has overstepped its proper place in our home because I find myself more grumpy than normal and usually with a few extra loads of laundry to catch up on because my family hasn’t had the best of my efforts and attention. If you’re married, ask your husband to help you create a healthy balance. I’m sure that he will if you already have great communication. Don’t be afraid to ask him what you can make a priority in your home that will bless him. Some husbands will answer that they want you to dedicate the bulk of your attention into your creative outlet if that provides your family with income. He may well even vacuüm, cook dinner and bathe the kiddos too. Other husbands might say that they would be overjoyed to walk into a calm peaceful home at the end of a long day, so putting aside your scrapbooking an hour or so before he comes home might bring peace to your family. If you both work outside the home full-time, then maybe your time for creativity is at night after the kids go to bed– but be careful that neither of you is feeling like your relationship is suffering because of your dedication to Pinterest. You read me?

Also, hear me loud and clear– there is not a single one-size-fits-all answer to this question. But perhaps if you can start to nail down YOUR purpose in leading a creative life, then you can start to discover what balance looks like for you personally.

Maybe you can begin by simply answering these questions:

1. What are my creative hobbies?

2. How much time per week does each one take?

3. Does it create intrinsic or extrinsic value?

4. Can my creativity benefit my family and/or others?

5. Does my creativity or lack thereof cause stress to myself or others?

6. What would I like my creative life to look like at this time next year?

And if you want to share, I would love to hear your answers to any of these questions in the comments below!

Hopefully by discovering the purpose behind your creativity you will help find a happy balance in your life!

Rather than say {ok, TYPE} it out loud, I’m linking up with Life Rearranged for Insta-Friday. If you’re not on Instagram, you are completely missing out on my super favorite place in the whole of social media! So much visual eye-candy– and a great way to connect with friends.

I’d love to follow you. Click right here to follow along on my weekly adventures. Oooooo…and I just set up a LovespunStudio Shop account tonight {it’s still empty as I type, but it’ll fill up soon!} so click here if you would like to see what’s happening in the shop!

Enjoy your weekend! BTW, I’m taking the weekends off & away from the blog. With only one week of school left, it might end up being more than the weekends for the summer. But we can manage, right? After all, isn’t that what Instagram is for anyway? *wink*

 Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. Proverbs 18:21 The Message

Which got me thinking about how much my heart craves kindness. And friends, our words MATTER. They matter a lot. A LOT! I hope that if you bumped into me at the grocery store that I would smile and chat a bit. Even though bad drivers make me cra-ZAY, my prayer is that instead of huffing under my breath in a tizzy when you cut me off, that I would smile and whisper a genuine prayer for you– because maybe you are having a bad day. I’m serious here. The bottom line is that someone is always watching and listening. Your spouse. Your friends. Your parents. Your brothers and sisters. Your co-workers. They notice your words.

And these munchkins?

They are ALWAYS listening.

Knowing that my children are always listening, and considering my words once again from earlier today, led me to noodling on what they hear from my lips.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized with a very very thankful heart that I don’t think that either of my children could give you an opinion of mine or Jeremy’s about a person. Because honestly, we just don’t talk about our opinions of people in this home {unless of course it’s praising them or sharing something neat and positive about someone that we love}. My breath caught a bit as it sunk in that one of the things that Jeremy and I have done well within our home is to choose not to spend our words speaking in a way that could ever be misconstrued as unkind toward our neighbor, our friends, our family.

Please hear me well. We aren’t perfect parents– far from it! I sigh a little too often. My patience runs too thin more often than I’d like. But gossiping is not welcome inside these walls. Not even between Jeremy and I. If it creeps in, it typically dies a quick death at our acknowledgement of the problem. You see, by guarding our words, we guard THEIR hearts. They are free to love. Free to learn. Free to explore their world without our 30-shades-of-cynicism distorting the view.

This is my public notice: If you hear unkind words from my mouth, please call me on it. {Gently. Kindly. Honestly…remind me that my words breathe life or fuel hurt} And please remember in your own home that your children {spouse, friend, co-worker, etc.} is listening. It’s up to you to determine what they will hear.

Are words something that you struggle with? What or who encourages you to speak with grace and kindness?  

Good morning and happy Wednesday! It’s *finally* warm and sunshiny here in the great Hoosier state. To celebrate and pay a little homage to my favorite place on Earth {no really…I’m not even kidding}. I decided to wear my brand new “Midwest Is Best” t that I picked up at the adorable little White Dog Vintage shop on my trip to Crimson Tate in downtown Indy last week.

I’m not even gonna lie. I was all swoony about it. I have another Indiana one that I might give you a sneak peek of next year. After living in Indiana and Texas {and ya’ll KNOW that Texans are proud of their state}, I feel like the midwest needs a few more cheerleaders!

This shirt was the brainchild of Megan Lee Designs {in case you want one too}

And although it’s a BE-U-TI-FUL day, I’m going to be sitting here in my studio working on turning this awesome stack of delicious fabrics into these amazing Zippy Organizer Wallets so that I can list them in the shop {If you want one early, you can click here to pre-order} They are PERFECT for keeping track of cash {ala Dave Ramsey Envelope System style}, foreign travel and handling multiple currencies and for all you coupon queens!

And just like every Wednesday, I’m linking up with The Pleated Poppy’s “What I Wore Wednesday” Please click on over and join in the fun!!!