Your cart is currently empty!
Layered Life- Mixed Media For Expression
Layers Exercise For Self Expression Today I want to share with you a fun and uplifting exercise. This exercise is all about using layers to express your life story. Your life story is full of layers! Layers of good and bad, pain and joy, hope and fear. These are the things that make you who…
How To Refresh Your Mental Health
What is refreshing your mental health? Refreshing. What comes to mind when that word is mentioned? Cool, fresh air, ocean spray and sound, gurgling brooks, fresh, cut grass? So many images can be conjured up when we say or think of the word refreshing. Today I want you to think of it in a mental…
Block Printing For Fabric For Beginners
(As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you! I only recommend the best items I know are quality and useful for you). In this video and mini course I will show you how to design a block print for printing your own fabric. First, I’d like to give you…
3 Ways Inspiration Boosts Creativity
Inspiration begins as motivating external factors which cause you to create new ideas, products or actions. Inspiration can come in a variety of ways. Every day you are inspired by something in your personal life. That could be watching the sunrise from your kitchen window, hearing the laughter of your children as they play, or…
Why Does Art Help Stress?
Have you ever wondered why does creative expression help stress? In this post I show you a little bit about why expressive art works for all kind of stress. It is my hope that as you read through this website you learn how art can enhance your life and help you to destress. I’d like…
Creating Memorial Jewelry
This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase through this blog post, I make a small commission at no cost to you. I only suggest quality materials and affordable materials for you to create with. Bring Your Memories To Your Creation Memories are vital when you lose someone close to you. It is…
How Can Creativity Help In Healing Grief?
Creativity can help you grieve in deeper and more meaningful ways. In doing so, you will find greater healing and renewed perspectives on the loss you have experienced.
The Art Of Kintsugi- Broken Is Beautiful
Kintsugi Kintsugi is the Japanese art of reclaiming broken pottery. Kintsugi has been called a redemptive art form. A piece of broken pottery is fused back together with a mixture of gold or silver dust and a glue like substance. The piece of broken pottery is then able to be used again and has a…
All Things New
Jesus Makes All Things New Luke 5:17-31 Looking For A New Life? Does life sometimes feel stagnant for you? Like you need a refreshing outlook or a complete makeover? Jesus desires to do this for you. Jesus came to make all things new. There are many wonderful examples across His ministry that point to this.…
The Purity of Christ
When we think of Jesus and the Christmas story, we see from the very beginning the purity of His birth and nature. Pure From Conception His birth is announced by the angel Gabriel, a messenger from God himself. He tells young Mary, who is a virgin, that the baby that will grow inside her will…
Discovering Jesus Through Your Sketchbook pt.2
I am happy to bring you a new video and new viewpoint on Jesus’ life. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a pretty small and insignificant place at the time of His birth. But was it really that insignificant? Not at all! Bethlehem was a city in the North of Israel where sheep were raised. The…
Discovering Jesus Through Your Sketchbook
Advent Begins The season of Advent begins and we start to celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you are a church-goer oh, you have experienced the celebration of Advent, if you are not a church-goer perhaps you have never heard of Advent. Advent goes like this: Each week part of the story of Christ’s birth…
Sketching Your Garden Growth
A few weeks ago in June I had posted on creating a garden journal. This week I want to talk about filling your journal with sketches and notes on your garden. How is it growing? Are some plants doing well and others poorly? Have you noticed any specific details that you found interesting about a…
Learn to See Like an Artist
There are many ways to see the world. If you are looking for new ways to broaden your perspective, start learning to see color shape and value like an artist. What does it mean to see like an artist? It means viewing shape, color, contours, every day items and more with eyes of potential and beauty. It…
Garden Journaling
Keeping a record of things is as old as the hills. People have journaled or kept records since the beginning of time. It’s such an important act. Not only for practical purposes but also for learning and being inspired to create new things. Growth is one of the many benefits of Journaling, whether its you…
Love Is In the Details
What comes to mind when you view an intricate pattern, work of art or the intricate beauty of nature?Do you wonder how long it took to create, marvel at the patience of the artist, or wonder how such beauty is even possible? Displaying His BeautyThe act of creation in and of itself is intricate and…
Creating From memories
memories can be foundational to your creativity. Take a walk down memory lane and see what happens.
The Beauty Points To God
This week we continue looking at God as the Creator and how creativity affects our spiritual life. God used skilled artists and craftsman to create His house of worship. He wanted it to be a place of beauty where His glory dwelt. His desire was that the beauty of His house be the visual director…
Therapeutic Art During The Pandemic- Free Mini Course
Covid-19 has forced many people to become introverts and taken away much of our social interactions. For those who are social by nature this can be even harder due to the limited interaction. Although it is safer to keep distancing to prevent further spread, there is a great need for an outlet to express just…
A Prayer For Focus
Father God, There are so many things, so much noise to distract and take me away from your voice. I need your help to focus my heart. Set me as an arrow upon a bow and shoot me forward towards the goal of pursuing You! Bring my mind back to center and back to Your…
Useful Creativity
Your creations are useful and important to God. Did you ever think of that? He used many creative people to serve Him throughout the Bible and beyond Don’t discount your creativity as just a hobby or just a thing to do. It has a place and a purpose. Look at these situations in the Bible…
The Spiritual Side of Creativity
Did you ever stop to consider what creativity and God have in common? The answer is everything! He as the great Creator of our lives and the world around us is the ultimate authority on creativity. Because of that, we can look to Him for inspiration and understanding in our own creative lifestyles and projects.…
Weekly Prayer- Tapestry
Heavenly Father, Our Creator, The times we are living in are hard to be a part of. We see many people that are suffering, including our own lives and people we love. It can be so very hard to see beauty in these times, but it is still there. You, oh Lord, are the creator…
Christmas Art and Fun
As a child, I loved making my own Christmas cards with construction paper and glitter. Many times my sisters and I would create cards for nursing home individuals and hand them out as we walked through the facility. I loved doing that. Reaching out to others. Right now, reaching out is what we need to…
Hygge: Happy Moments In Time
The other night as I was baking in my kitchen, I realized a hygge moment was occuring. My little six month old daughter was at my feet in her walker intently watching as I whipped up banana bread and coffee cake. The house was warm and cozy as the oven heated and my baby girls…
Hygge And Its Simple Pleasures
Hygge (pronounced Hoo-Gah) is a Scandanavian word meaning comfort or warmth. If you do a search on pinterest you will find hundreds of ideas regarding hygge. But what is the feeling behind this interesting word? According to the Scandanavian peoples, Hygge is more of a lifestyle choice, a slowing down of time to ‘stop and…
Homeschooling and Giving Your Child The Gift of The Arts
This past week was arts education week, which I did not know until coming across it in the news feed of my Facebook. I had already decided to begin writing this post and found it to be a perfect tribute to arts education! The arts are everywhere! Even rural communities! When I was a child…
How To Benefit From Sketching
Did you ever think about how sketching or even doodling could benefit your life? Of course it also benefits your artist’s eye but it has more far reaching abilities that perhaps you never thought of. Here are some ways in which sketching or doodling can help you! Sketching Improves Visual Acuity Drawing, sketching, or doodling…
Creative Bloggers and What You Can Learn From Them
This blog contains affiliate links that will pay me a small portion if you choose to purchase a product or book I review or suggest that you try out. The prices of products I link to are always the same for you and never more than you would pay usually on a website. I will…
A Victorious Faith for Such A Time As This
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 This post will finish our devotional on faith and the book of Esther. We will go through chapters 7,8,9 and 10. The last devotional touched on courage and how faith was a support for courage. Queen Esther had to have faith in…
The Best Drawing Pencils
Searching for the best drawing pencils? Let me share these great pencils with you!
Faith Begets Courage
Did you ever gain the courage to do something because you trusted in and had faith that the results would work? Faith helps your courage to rise and courage produces action. The last post was about stepping out in faith. We read how Esther had to use her faith to be willing to step out…
Free to Fly
Today in the art journaling post I want to encourage you to think about areas of your life where you feel hindered or held back. As you think of these areas, consider what solutions or steps you could take to help bring freedom to that area. Sometimes I feel hindered from pursuing my dreams by…
Inner Strength Letter Illumination Prompt
How To Express Your Inner Strength With Letter Illumination Inner Strength is something we all need in this life and when you find strength within yourself to move forward you will see you are able to make it through. Today in the post I want to help you find what strengths lie inside of you…
Keeping The Faith Pt. 2
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Taking That First Step As we continue our devotion on faith, I’d like to focus this week on stepping out in faith. We have read so far in Esther that she was taken along with other young women to…
Art Journaling
This week I wanted to start up the art journaling. You will need a sketch journal for mixed media any size, glue, some watercolors, regular ballpoint pen, pencil and crayons. You can always add to this supply list for yourself of course. Self Discovery Let’s start with self discovery. When we want to understand ourselves,…
Keeping The Faith For Such A Time As This
The other day I was perusing my Amazon Prime movies for something to watch. I came across the story of Queen Esther of the bible. Ever since I was a little girl I have loved this story. It is a story of great bravery and of keeping the faith when times are uncertain in life.…
Self Discovery Art Journaling
Paint your feelings, sketch your dreams, write your heart out, and journey into a world of self discovery.
Trees, Towers of Inspiration
I love looking at trees, they are gorgeous in so many ways. There is a story to each tree, a growth journey that started as a seed and grew for so many years or centuries. What happened among those trees? How many animals found rest and shelter in its branches, what caused the interesting scars…
Creating Your Own Soap
I have found that during this difficult time of the Coronavirus, with many people unable to work and staying home, it pays to be creative and learn some skills that may help you stock up right from your own pantry rather than going to the store. Although going to the store is convenient, think of…
Fancy Feathers
Have you ever stopped to consider how creative nature is? I find it so very interesting to learn about different animals and their ways of life. They can be so very creative in what they do! In this post I wanted to share a bit about our fine feathered friend, the bird. I am sure…
Spring Art Doodles!
Happy first day of spring everybody ! I know I have not written on the blog for a while but I’ve been dealing with a couple of changes and shifting job situations due to the Coronavirus. As I’m sure many of you are. Today, I wanted to share a link to a video I posted…
God is Near
This morning I read a devotional that I love and felt compelled to share it with you. It is from the devotional, Grace for Today by Max Lucado. Short and encouraging snippets of scripture and how God’s grace is constantly with you each day. I recommend it if you are in need of a good…
A Visionary Recipe
As you begin your weekend, I want to share with you a couple of recipes to remind you of how to keep adding great ideas to your growing vision! In 2018, I wrote for a lifestyle website called jenreviews.com where I shared two delicious recipes that you can add your own special twist to! Please…
Creating a Vision Board
I promised a post this week focusing on the theme of pursuing your vision. I want to give you a few ideas here for creating an inspiring vision board that may help you to stay focused on your vision. With vision boards, there are many options that most people like to use. They can be…
Your Vision Has Potential
In this post today, I am preaching to myself as well as encouraging you. I want to encourage you that whatever your vision is for the future in your life, it is truly possible. Having a pure and honest vision is having purpose in life. You must be diligent in focusing and refocusing on that…
Playing with Mixed Media for Stress Relief
This post contains affiliate links that will pay me a small portion if you choose to purchase a product. The prices of products I link to are always the same for you and never more than you would pay usually on a website. I will only suggest or review products I feel you may benefit…
How To Write A Simple Haiku
You can create your own Haiku helping you to find quietness and simplicity in a busy life.
Prayer Can Improve Your Life
Prayer is a place where you get quiet before your Creator. He longs to hear your heart and where you are in life today. In your life, maybe prayer was never a priority. Maybe you don’t even know the first step to praying. It is so very easy my friend! You see, God is your…
Renewal, Time and Action
Today I wanted to talk about renewal, time and action. Renewal is a part of every new year. For instance, I try and make goals and take a fresh new perspective on my work and daily life. I’m sure you all do too. However, as we all know, it can be so very difficult to…
Quotes for This Week
I hope these quotes will uplift and encourage you this week! Feel free to share your own favorite quote in the comments! If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere – Vincent Van Gogh Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness:…
Lessons In Less Worry
Worry hinders everything in your life, learn to trust and give your worry to God.
Welcome To Beauty For Ashes!
Welcome to Beauty For Ashes website! This blog exists for the purpose of your self care using art, creative writing, inspirational quotes, devotionals, and creative lifestyle ideas. I desire to help you find meaning in the ashes of dark situations in life. Perhaps your dark situation is depression, grief, stress, or fear. Perhaps you are…
