Pens and Positivity Art

Capturing tiny details. Sometimes it's best, though, not to sweat the small stuff, and to just go with the flow.

Happy Friday! I've just had a big shop update if anyone is looking for some pretty journalling supplies 🌻✨️✏️🎨🖌📙🌷

🌿🌙🐝🐦🌷

It's been a while since I had time to make some hoops! It was always mixed media and sparkle ✨️ that made my heart sing when I first started creating!

Which is your favourite? Mine is the crow.

These are all for sale and will be listed in my
E🌻T🌿S🌷Y soon.

🌷🐝🌻☀️🌿

This week is shaping up to be a busy one. School plays, cross country tournaments, squash tournaments, work, clubs, I'm rather exhausted.

I also stayed up far too late, making this sweet little journal folio to document some of the fun that we have been having.

All the cutouts are now available for you to use on your own projects 🌻🐝🌷

Hello strangers! 👋

This sunshine has brought me out of my winter slumber 🤣 I'm slowly staring to think I should try and be a bit more present here after such a long time of sporadic posting.

Spring is definitely on the horizon....my friends and I took a dip in the estuary yesterday and it was the first time in months that it felt like we could have a proper swim as the water was just that fraction warmer.

My boyfriend and i took the dog for a long walk on Saturday, collected some wild garlic, cooked a roast, and had lots of silly fun along the way.

My son has spent a couple of nights after school at the park with his friends as the evenings are drawing out, and I didn't wear a coat on the school run this morning.

I'm so excited for the brighter warmer days.

The peacock butterfly painting was inspired by my lovely boyfriend excitedly telling me he had something for me last week, and proceeding to pull a tupperware box out of his work bag, with a no longer living, but beautifully preserved butterfly that he found in his locker. And to think that I was ever worried to let him into my home because of my random collections of skulls, feathers, rocks, and unalive things 🤣 ❤️ 🤭

Hello there 👋 Happy New Year, everyone!
How has 2024 started off for you? It's been busy here. Some moments of sadness and loss. And a whole load of exhaustion and overwhelm.
I so wish we could do like nature and take time to rest and reset through these winter months.

I did, however, have the most lovely weekend. A date day with my little boy on Satutday. We went to town, visited our favourite Japanese shop, got some new books and sweets, and watched a movie in the evening.
On Sunday we met my beautiful sister and crept out of my house, while the rest of the street was in darkness, to the beach, to watch the sun rise (with an obligatory Maccy's breakfast), and then I met my friends for a swim in the estuary in the afternoon (3.8° ❄️🥶 and a massive tide) for a much needed dopamine hit.

What I do know is how important it is to my mental wellbeing to sn**ch these little moments of everyday magic at this time of the year.

What do you do for yourself to make it through these winter months?

Nothing like leaving things to the last minute, right!? 😬😬😬

My 2024 calendar wall sheets and journal stickers) will be listed for sale this evening at approximately 8pm.

It is later than I usually like...but it is super beautiful this year if I do say so myself 🥰😍
#2024

Look at me popping up in your feed! 🙈🤣
Or probably not, as the algorithm will likely punish me for my absence. If you happen to see this, please give it a like to help me out 🙏😊🌻
I'm currently working hard at my 2024 (how on earth is that going to be the year) calendar/journal stickers, and I'm busy playing catch up getting some Christmas bits in my shop.
In less than 2 weeks my day job will settle down (I've been busy vaccinating people for the last few months and it's been all consuming...Read about it in my new blog post if you like)

I'm really super excited to get back into journaling and creating some gorgeous stationery for you all!

A day that started with a chilly dip (check out my story) 🌊🏊‍♀️
You can definitely tell the temperature has dropped!

Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I also work in Pharmacy and flu/covid season is currently underway, meaning that for the time being I am having to be there more to get people vaccinated, so Mondays have become the day to get everything done here!

I've got February's page complete for next year's calendar, and I'm just about to start a new custom logo design that is making me get the technical drawing tools dusted off. Lush.

Every single order has been posted out today.

Look at me being all organised and adulty 🤣😂😉

Hello, you lovely bunch 😘 👋

🌈🍄🌧🌻🌷🎃

It's been a minute! Again!

(Feel free to pop over to my linktree blog post link if you are curious as to why I dipped out this past year. Trigger warning for eating disorder and depression)

I've just started working on my 2024 calendar and keep your eyes peeled for some festive things dropping into my shop soon!

I'd love to hear how you are all doing and what has made you smile over the summer ☀️

*Hangs head in shame*

How has it been 3 weeks! Eek! Sorry.
How's life? Loving the warmer weather? Or not a fan?

For the most part, I am loving it...i painted this common blue butterfly as an ode to the little dude who sat on my nose on the school run in the week.

Snippets of my week include:
Making friends with all the bees 🐝 🥰
Crying with laughter multiple times at work 😂
Surviving (just about 😅) and asthma attack that was the most furious I have had in years.
That sweltering Friday night where I took nearly 2 hours to cook a pasta dish, and everyone was half naked/in their pants.
Swims for days 🌊☀️

I'm gonna knuckle back down and carry on with getting a shop update done next week.

It's a long post, but a moment I want to remember 🌿🌻🌷🍄✨️🌈

Today marks the end of a six month plan. I wanted to study children's mental health. I did. I wanted to get my pharmacy dispensing qualification signed off. I did. I wanted to expand my injection knowledge and train to administer and carry Naloxone, a drug used to slow/halt opioid overdose. I did this today (trained by the most inspiring man who is a recovering addict with over 20 years sober, who now spends his time working to help other people who are active in their addictions)

It's been a ride. My mental health has taken a battering at times. I put myself through some counselling. Exercise has kept me sane. And 3 weeks ago, I started swimming in the estuary 3 or 4 times a week, and as I stood out, alone, in the open water today, I felt at complete peace for the first time in a long time.

I want to make a change in the world. I know I am small. A drop in the ocean if you will. But even a single drop makes a ripple, doesn't it.

🌻🌿🌷☀️🌊

Thankfully, my morning prediction was spot on. Today has been beautiful. Our starling babies have fledged, and we watched them take flight from the rooftop in the morning sun. I'm the proudest bird nana 🥰😂🐦

I went for a swim at the estuary with some lovely merfolk, and it stayed bright and sunny all afternoon.

I had some new Converse arrive, and they fit like a glove 👟 (the postman got to hear me singing Sum41's 'Fatlip' very loudly for a good minute until I realised he was at the door with the parcel 🙈😂) after spending the morning having a 90's/2000's punk rock revival when my son asked me how I knew a Papa Roach song that he heard on YouTube 😂😂😂

I also learnt a fun fact about Forget Me Not flowers.....Some have yellow in the center, and some have white (this part is called a fornice), and the ones that are white have already been pollinated. This lets pollinators know that the white ones have no nectar left.

Nature is awesome, isn't it!

I've got a good feeling about today.

Have you?

❤️🌻🌿🌷☀️🌊


#

Today has been a dream! 🥰😍
I placed a food shop order for tonight.
I made the cutest folio whilst listening to a podcast.
I went for a swim in the estuary off our local beach and i met some new people.
We started planning a camping trip with one of my favourites.
My friends daughter gave me a buttercup on the school run.
And me and my son have had a delicious dinner and are now cosied up on the sofa 🥰

🌿🌷🌸

New journal paper! I'm super excited for the dog roses to bloom. They are one of my very favourite wildflowers.

What I am even more excited about, though, is a day off tomorrow with absolutely zero commitments. No studying. No training. No meetings. No orders to complete. Nothing.
First proper day off in almost 4 months!

I'm going to spend the whole day creating journal folios for us to take on our impending travels 🥰

I reconnected with an ex-boyfriend recently who told me he'd been going through some things and he found a letter I wrote him. He laughed that he'd kept it for 21 years! It made me smile.

We did the whole chat about what we had been up to....I wondered whether to keep it short or give him the full extended edition 🤣🙈

We chatted about our kids. His son is not far from the age we we were back then.

In some ways, a whole lifetime has passed. Whilst in others, it just feels like yesterday.

A reminder that time goes so incredibly fast and that being present is everything ❤️

Also...how cute did these rose cut outs turn out! 🌷🌸🥰

🦋🍄🌈🌷🌿🌻

I've spent my (child free) weekend studying to get my very last assignment submitted for marking and getting orders packed up ready for posting tomorrow. I've easily spent 30 hours glued to my desk. Urgh.

After months and months of having absolutely zero free time, I can't tell you how excited I am to have a little more time for painting again now 🖌🎨

Also....in approximately 1 hour there is going to be a big shop update! Be sure to pop by! ✨️

The start of something new 🌷🦋

🍄🌷🌿🌻🌈

Joy can be found in the ordinary.
It can be found on the toughest of days.
It can even be found during times of grief.

You just have to look for it.

Joy, for me, today came in the form of my son choosing to chat to me on the walk home from school when he could have easily run off and played with his friends. He shared a 'secret' with me, and I felt so incredibly humbled that he trusted me with it.

We had a dip in the paddling pool in the afternoon sun. Chickens scratching around for corn, raspberries just starting to bud. Seedlings leaning towards the sunshine.

Of course, there was a good peppering of rubbish parts of the day but I'm not choosing to recount them. They can stay in the bin where they belong

What has brought you joy today?🌈🌻🌿🌷🍄
#ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ

This weekend has been a total dream! Lazy mornings, family, copious amounts of gardening, lunch with our lovely friends, lots of laughter, and yummy food.

We also had our first dip in the paddling pool today....it won't be long until we are back in the river 🏞 😍

Oh hello sunshine! ☀️☀️☀️
What a beautiful day.
And productive too!

I passed another module and assessment of the course I am currently doing, and I have spent the whole day working on the next one that is due this Friday (nothing like cutting it fine, hey 😅), breaking for a workout at lunch time (i have realised I have a complete inability to sit still for any length of time without running around/dancing/singing and desk work is definitely not for me), putting a plan of action together for the weekend so we can cram in as much gallivanting with friends and family as possible, and topped it all off with a haircut.

Then my sons friend knocked for him with a sense of urgency telling us that there was a bee on his drive that needed rescuing 🐝...bee rescued and back to it's bee business and that leaves me just enough time to show you these little bird journal cut outs that will be available in my
🌻E🌷T🌿S🌼Y🌸 🌻S🌷H🌿O🌼P🌸 later this evening.

Phew, and breathe.

My heart is so full 💓

Who's looking forward to the weekend as much as I am!? All orders up to the 24th are now posted out, and we are off on a seaside adventure! 🌊🐚🏖

How are you spending your weekend?

I've been up processing orders since 6.30am....post office run this afternoon.
This spring hare is one of the prints that is leaving here today 🐇

🌻🌿🌷✨️🌈

Shine. Except the sun missed the memo today! 😂

Even with the grey skies and rain, we have had the perfect day
🩵❤️🩵

I tested out the avocado dyed paper last night and I love how the muted tone looks behind bold colours 🩷💚💜💛

Hello you beautiful bunch! 🌿🌷🌈🍄🌻

I have come asking your help. Some of you will know I have had to rebuild my Instagram account this year. I lost everything last year and instead of giving up, i started again...but it is hard going.

If you don't follow me already, please could you?
Some of you here have been here following me since I began and I feel very protective of my Facebook followers. I'm so grateful for every single one of you.

My Instagram is:

https://www.instagram.com/pens_and_positivity_art

In summary is a collection of honest posts that capture the little everyday joys, document the tougher things, share art that will hopefully make you smile and inspire you.

I share reels there that don't copy over Facebook like the photos etc do and I am aware that people who would like to Saturday in the loop are missing things.

Also...if you could drop a like/love/photo of something that has made you smile this week I would be very grateful as it will help the algorithm to help this post to be seen by others.

As always. Thank you so much for all the help and support you have always shown me ❤️
It doesn't go unnoticed.

Pens and Positivity Art Follow my Linktree to find my shop, Instagram & website: https://linktr.ee/pensandpositivity

I'm always unsure if I should post the less positive parts of life here.

I really want to though as I feel like being honest and completely authentic is important for myself, but also for anyone looking in, to see that whilst life is happy, and filled with love and special moments, it's by no means perfect. Living a lie can never end well.

In fact, I think we should all consider life as a constant evolutionary process of climbing to the top, then having a wobble, steadying ourselves, then falling right back down again, only to repeat the whole process over and over again.

Anyway, thanks so much for the lovely messages, comments, etc. on my post yesterday ❤️

Paints: Docrafts
Pens: Posca

Eeek. Super vulnerable diary post, so I can remember how I feel today.

The past 3 months have been tough. Really tough. After some quiet introspection, I decided there were some changes I needed to make in order to be truly at peace with myself.
Covid was rough. I didn't realise the trauma I was suppressing from that period in my life.

I'm a single parent, and trying to juggle home learning and being under a huge amount of pressure working in a pharmacy was one of the most difficult times of my life. Being a parent is hard. Doing it alone is both a privilege and the single hardest thing I ever do.
My own needs often go on the back-burner, and I would often find comfort in unhealthy ways. Over eating, buying random crap I didn't need. Constantly looking for that momentary, surface level dopamine/endorphin hit.

3 months ago, I decided to start caring for myself. I started studying again and started working out daily. I've lost almost 2 stones so far in total. I'm proud of that. But I'm faster, fitter, and stronger than I have ever felt. And that beats any visual changes any day.
I meditate every day.
I have attended counselling.

The point I guess of sharing this is that I'm learning to understand that being honest with ourselves and addressing our issues it the most vulnerable, scary, and difficult things to do but that so much can be gained from putting ourselves through that process ❤️

Today I reached a milestone point with my weight loss and I passed the last 2 modules in a qualification I am doing at work. So tonight, after 2 months of no takeaways, we will celebrate with a yummy dinner, cuddles on the sofa and a film.

My gratitude is huge today.

If ever there was a day of two halves ☀️☁️
Last weekend before the kiddo is back at school. He's with his Dad this weekend, and I've spent the day dancing and singing my way around the house whilst doing the housework. I washed the sofa covers and curtains as the sun was shining....the minute I hang them on the line, the clouds gathered! Typical!

Perfect evening for a bike ride though! 🚲👌❤️

Is anyone else having such a glam Saturday?! 😂