Crafty Cards

I've been inspired to learn how to sew. The sewing machine is still a little daunting and currently sitting in my closet. (Well actually it is more of the ironing that is involved but that's a different story.) Hand embroidery has given me an opprotunity to be creative and get in my sewing kick. Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners by Aimee Ray and The Purl Bee were great resources to learn different types of stitches. These are a few birthday cards I've created recently for friends and family.



This one was my first card I created for my sister. I used a simple back stitch for her name. The flower was created using lazy daisy stitches for the flower petals and a feather stitch for the stem.


For my dear friend Susan.

I'm proud of the design of this one. I sewed the number 3 using a chain stitch onto a piece of scrap fabric and then sewed it onto the card stock using a running stitch. It's for my nephew for his 3rd birthday!

Birthday rituals

My grandma gave me Anne Morrow Lindberg's Gift from the Sea last year for my birthday. I decided to reread this wonderful book again. Perhaps it will become a birthday ritual, for I am finding new insights and remembering old ones on this second time around.

Mallard mullings

As I sat by the lake
a beauty swum by me.
A mallard who dressed as
from a black and white film.
His cheeky grin disguised a
secret known only to him.

Breathing in...

With a simple breath and an open heart I begin this blog. It stands as a commitment to myself to write more, create more, appreciate more, to notice and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me. A Simple Breath is also a commitment to worry less, procrastinate less, and move in my own natural time. I am approaching my 29th birthday on Thursday and as I do my goal for this year is a simple one. Breathe and simply be.