"A new year is unfolding - like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within." Author Unknown
Everytime a new year begins, I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz skipping excitedly and cautiously down the yellow brick road singing "we're off to see the wizard...." not quite knowing what lies ahead but determined at least to take the next step. Yes, we have to leave Munchkin Land behind (aka - the old year which was a little weird to begin with) and forge ahead to the Emerald City in search of a way back home (aka - better economic times with black bottom lines). With Dorothy's wide eye naiveté and determination to keep searching for a way back home, she is fortunate enough, like all of us, to collect along the journey a unique collection of friends who support, encourage and sustain her struggling attempts and, as we all know well, her final success!
Now, if you are still with me through that attempted analogy of my current state of mind, I thank you.... and hope that you are one of those unique friends we all hope to have acquired along the way on this precarious road into this new year. All reports I have been reading..... from Gail Doby, ASID, co-founder and Chief Vision Officer of Design Success University..... to Bunny Williams, a design icon, author, speaker, business woman extraordinaire, the ol' Magic 8 ball is predicting "outlook good"! By the way, both links to their great articles can be accessed to the right under "Enlightened Links".
January is that painfully-slow, hold-your-breath-hoping-that-February-picks-up, what-is-the-balance-on-my-credit-line type of month that we are happy to have over! Yet it is also a month to assess the mistakes and excesses of the old year, make plans and plot changes for the new year, and find that plucky courage to start enthusiastically skipping down the yellow brick road once again.
So here are a few of my New Year inspirations from Greenhouse Fabric's new 2011 collection:
Mix and match, bright and bold, fresh and fun.....just what this dreary January needs!!!!!!! Visit their web site (greenhousefabrics.com) where something fresh is always at hand and attitudes are as positive as you can get. Just read this enthusiastic quote they posted in their latest newsletter:
"We're as excited as you are about a fresh start, a new year, a new decade, and the hope for a positive upswing in the economy. With an energized perspective and renewed motivation, it's a great time to review what we do everyday and make it even better."
Makes me want to raise my hands and scream "I believe"!
EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY!
Also, scoot over to spoonflower.com!!! Here is a powerful tool to create unique fabric of your own design with no minimum order for under $20 per yard, premium natural fabrics and eco-friendly textile printing. And last, but not least, take a few curious minutes to visit my friends' blogs to the right and follow links to other blogs where you will discover more unique friends and ideas to help you on your way this year.
REMEMBER......Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE, the word itself says "I'M POSSIBLE"!
Audrey Hepburn
