Random Summer Crafts, Quotes & Heart Talk

Summer Crafts, Quotes & Heart Talk inevitably gets random just like real life. It has been a rough couple of days. Life keeps moving. Death draws near. In between, we turn toward beauty.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Summer Crafts, Quotes & Heart Talk

Are there cares distracting or tormenting you right where you are? Do you need more rest?

Are you turning toward beauty?

It is Always a Good Time for Creativity

This summer has mostly been a sweet pause from renovation projects. While weeding and gardening are ongoing tasks, they offer an opportunity to work from a place of stillness.

I take time each day for music at the piano, but my hands also itch to create art and get crafty. Ever experimented with natural dye projects like those with avocado pits?

I have done this with t-shirts, but blush pink cotton napkins would also be sweet…

tie dyed tank tops…

and maybe some cozy PJs:

Lovely Lounge-y Things to Consider

What Does Living Fully & Openheartedly Look Like?

Are you seeking beauty in the little things? There are so many distractions that it is good to now and again revisit what it even means to live fully. It’s not going to be the same for everyone. I am leaning into the notion that wealth for me involves how many hours daily I can spend napping, walking, and being away from media.

Are the little things truly little, or are they EVERYTHING? Here’s a delicious little thing I often make for lunch on hot summer days:

The colors and freshness are little things that deliver such great satisfaction.

Ideas for Summer Meals

Do your cooking habits also change in summer? My go-to dinner these days is adding protein to prewashed, pre-assembled salad kits. Grill salmon or a thin chicken breast and add to your favorite salad mix. Stir fry steak to add to a Southwest Style or Broccoli Slaw type salad. Add a bunch of baby spinach. Go plant-powered instead with garbanzo beans, nuts, and berries.

If you are invited to cookouts and need inspiration for a salad to make:

Another dish I like devouring n summer is shrimp scampi. While I can’t add as much butter as she does (low-fat is a matter of survival for this hungry fairy), I love all of Alison Roman’s dishes:

Virtual Globetrotting

Lots of folks are traveling this summer, but if it isn’t possible, the internet can offer virtual opportunities. Feel like strolling in Paris and dropping by a cute shop or fresh market? You can almost smell the smells through the screen so go right ahead:

Be Transported by European Country Decor

If you can’t visit Europe in person, why not enjoy designs starting with the best there is?

Study designs from Pam Pierce and issues of Milieu to train your eye for simplicity and pleasing juxtaposition.

Crafty Idea: Paper Flowers

If it is too hot to venture outside, could you get your hands busy making something beautiful?

Whether you add fresh or paper flowers, branches, or nothing at all to a white pot like this (below), its pleasing silhouette is bound to charm you this summer.

Our Humble Bird House

A couple of years ago, I commissioned my husband to make this humble bird house, inspired by a dear friend’s passing. Marianne was a nature lover, and when the tumor in her brain had stolen most of her vision and hearing, I was with her as she still energetically fed birds and chubby squirrels who gathered on the sacred temple of her deck. The beauty of my lifelong friend, stripped of her senses, hair, and comfort yet committed to giving…well, the beauty will remain forever.

Watching Marianne toss handfuls of bird and squirrel food like parade confetti through the sky reminded me of a biblical conversation with Peter and Christ.

“Do you love me?” Yes, Lord. “Feed my sheep.”

Days ago, one of my closest sister-friends also left her body. She was a horsewoman, a farmer’s daughter, and a spiritual journeyer gazing into eternity alongside me. The thing is, she’s gone, but our love is still very much alive. I am grieving and never imagined a future without her in it. We just don’t know whether we’re smack dab in the middle of all of the beauty or at the end.

Say the loving things now.

Don’t wait for a better moment to be less awkward.

If only you knew the number of awkward moments I singlehandedly create with my people! I’m a messy, odd, imperfect mess because I just don’t have the kind of time it would take to be less awkward.

Feed each other love. Let your voice quiver. Be vulnerable knowing it will cost you. It will also mysteriously prosper you. Let tears come. Allow tenderness to flow free from your eyes.

About the birdhouse making. We used reclaimed wood from a vintage dresser I salvaged so it feels even more special. Here are the instructions:

Plaster Dipped Flower Craft

Here’s a super easy craft I have done for years.

Familiar with the beautiful blog So Much Better With Age? Here is Jamie’s awesome tutorial for an adaptation of those dipped flowers.

Discover even more easy elegant French DIY projects in Jamie’s book:

Summer Exercise Nudges

Need to get moving?

Since I have osteoporosis, I am mindful about injuries and falls. This is the cruiser I own in silver:

For those of you who have little doggies and one of these with the back wheel rack…

Oh my!

Summer Exploration of the Science of Well Being

No, you are not too ancient for summer school. Did you know you can take a course at YALE on happiness for FREE? Yep. Here’s a great book I own on the subject:

It’s not science, but it’s a wee dose of happy, and these chewies hit the spot:

I have chronic illness, and most days require extra help to glow. It doesn’t just happen. Think twice about dismissing makeup as vanity or superficial attempts to fake beauty. If you love a no makeup look on yourself and feel fabulous that way, how wonderful! I love using colors and balms and potions as an artist who goes to the canvas with fresh hope in her heart.

I’m not looking for a mask as much as a gateway to more confidently face the demands of the day. So I take time for spiritual practice. I play the piano. And I play with skincare and makeup.

Bake Someone Happy

How timeless and gorgeous is this pale pink beauty? Whether you have a Ph.D. in fondant or have no clue what fondant is, maybe this is a sweet time to learn a new skill like cake decorating.

Color Therapy

Lovely Summer Wreath DIY

I’m so impressed by folks who make these handmade wreaths, and I’m even more impressed with folks who take the time to teach us! It is so much work creating even the simplest DIY video so my hat is off to creatives who teach! (Who cares if it says spring!?! Works for summer!)

I also spied these readymade beauties:

Spruce Up a Summery or Beachy Vignette With Glass Beads

Add Gentleness to Summer Road Trips

Relaxing music and flowers are always a winning combo.

Summer Shifts for Self-Care

Visit a collection of personal growth quotes HERE.

I’m sure you know how skin reflects gut health. My struggle is real, and I need clean products to soothe and hydrate. Oak Essentials from Jenni Kayne is a favorite. Try the travel size full routine to discover what you like most! For me? It’s ALL.

We began with words from Mary Oliver…let’s part with them too in this poetry which paints a portrait of how I aspire to somehow draw strength from the “velvet darkness” appearing:

Thinking of each of you, thankful for your presence here.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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