sand dollars

someone brought me back a sand dollar from a beach. i set it on my desk & it set itself on my heart. i share these riches here with each of you.

& the name picked out of a hat is...

elizabeth from the blog http://retinalperspectives.typepad.com/!

congratulations & a print will be sent your way! love to all.

rain on my skin & a giveaway to yours

this piece was inspired by natasha bedingfield's song "unwritten" & i did it for my birthday. the truest glowy gifts are really all your hearts beating nearby all the time & i take THAT in & thank you.
i thought it would be fun to offer a gift today. here's how you can enter to win:

*one entry: go to http://www.rachelawes.etsy.com/ & take note of your favorite print & come back here with a comment of what it is. if you win, you win your fav print.
*additional entries: if you buy something from my etsy shop this week, leave three extra comments here.
*another entry: if you become a follower of my blog or become a facebook fan of all i did was listen (all on the right hand side of my blog) this week, those are each comments/entries.
*another entry: post about the giveaway on your blog.

entries will be gathered until 1 pm thursday may 27. i'll write all your names on paper, with love, & have one of my sons pick the winner out of a hat. be sure to let me know how to reach you. thank you for playing with me! xo

from my terrain to yours, with love.

i'm adoring these warm & blooming days now in minnesota! i was on a walk & saw a woman bent over & tending her garden & was both moved by the loving arch of her body as well as her beautiful blooms. (etsy added with love)

dear beauty

i just wanted to share some of the dear beauty i've been hearing in the creative world! i've done a little gift shopping recently & wanted to share with you a sampler of what's been in my heart-cart (& now in heart-hand!).


i found this sweet softie (paris) at www.etsy.com/shop/rabbitrabbitsofties!

this fun book can be found at http://www.amazon.com/ to inspire some fun illustration attire!

the print above is from ms. gorgeous aimee from artsyville & you can find her at

http://www.artsyville.blogspot.com/ and www.etsy.com/shop/artsyville!

i've also bought sweet stickers from www.etsy.com/shop/juliettecrane

& a juicy journal from www.etsy.com/shop/paintedfishstudio.

as these are gifts, i'm not showing any more pictures (although i've already probably shown more than i ought to!). :)

what are some of your favorite shops for gifts (to others or self)?

much love to all that is brimming out of all your beautiful hearts & hands. xo

all aboard!

for some reason, pretty ferris wheels kept going through my imagination for a while & how life-giving it can be to engage with such a ride. i know it can be both beautiful & scary for some people. if you can bear the risk, anyone care to take a ride with me? xo

an invitation

these words are a combination of two different writings from "open the door" by joyce rupp & "eat, pray, love" by elizabeth gilbert. i have tucked them into my day planner & they occasionally find their way to the top of that little paper pile or inch their way off to the side of the pile & whisper "remember us? remember you? keep going...deeper, further, more true, more you." i share this same encouragement with you now, with colors & petals & love.

amazing love

after a fun family card game of five crowns, we laughed about who broke whose heart, or created black holes in hearts with winning/losing, or displaced a heart from one spot to another, & so on. following such a pondering, the conversation picked back up at bedtime. somehow this led our sons to recalling that worms have five hearts. NOW THEY HAD ME. i raced out of the room to put it in ink. it was they who had a lullaby for me that night. & sweet dreams to all of you too. xo

p.s. i just learned that the lovely hearted lisa just posted an interview of me on her beautiful new blog "strength to be me"& here's the link:

http://ourstories.strengthtobeme.com/2010/05/rachel-awes_03.html

happy may day

us & ursa

& how i adore constellations with sweet souls in this blogosphere. x
(etsy added with love)

prairie

i met someone new & her name was prairie. i was so taken by the name that i thought we could all partake in some part of it! lush green ground with shimmering in the sun flowers to each & every one of you. xo (etsy added with love)

simply

look at what's down this aisle!

i was grocery shopping at target, when suddenly i was stunned by the sight of a little girl's hands. her mom painted them & signed her arm with a heart, comma, mom. oh how our very lives are a canvas for art & love.

pot of gold

(etsy added with love/both as a print & part of a new set of cards)

rainbows

(etsy added with love)

easter cake

i had fun "painting" a cake canvas for easter & wanted to share it with you! hope your holiday was filled with sunshine & pretty piano keys. either way, i play them for you now. xox

pretty peace

an artist/blogger expressed a wish to see an artsy hippy girl & i thought she would be fun to create. hmmm, it might be fun to name her! (summer, delilah, starshine, morning petal...?).
peace & love. (etsy added with love)

a giveaway

i am giving away this 9 X 12 original at http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/2010/04/giveaway-thursday-rachel-awes.html.

please bring your stunning & shining & free self over & enter! xo

chicago snapshot sampler

the art institute was lovely! i was especially inspired by this matisse painting & some of the colorful furniture below.

i discovered the leafy sea dragon & was enchanted (to be found near the sea horses at the shedd aquarium). i am totally in love!

& now it's time to unpack my bags & get back into the groove of life back at home again. i can't wait to look again at what you all have been up to! lots of love & inspiration to each of you. i'll be back here soon. xo

roll in ecstasy

(etsy added with love)

i'll be on a brief vacation, with more limited/unpredictable internet access... & will return with an april 1 giveaway. :)