Most of us want to make this world a better place. With all the demands on our schedules and the craziness of everyday life, it can feel overwhelming to figure out how to do this. Taking on a long-term commitment to volunteer for a good cause might not be something you can sign up for right now but know that there are small, but significant ways you can still give joy to others.
Small gestures of kindness can cause a ripple effect. Best part is that lifting others up can be super easy and doable, no matter how busy our schedules are!
Here are five ways to give joy to others:
1. Smile
Have you ever noticed that when you flash a big smile at someone, they can’t help but smile too? Yes, smiling is contagious! What’s so interesting to me, is that smiling doesn’t just make you more attractive on the outside. Sure, that’s a bonus but apparently, scientists have found that when we smile, a bunch of chemicals are released in the brain that make us feel good, lower our stress levels and boost our immune system. Studies even suggest that simply smiling can possibly prolong our lives. So, today, make a conscious effort to look others in the eye and smile! It’s good for both of you!
Click to tweet:
You're not too busy to give joy to others! 5 Easy Ways: https://tinyurl.com/y34skvbg 
2. Give a Compliment
We all know it feels wonderful when someone gives us a compliment. You can really make a positive (sometimes even lasting) impact on someone by sharing your genuine appreciation for something about them. While it’s nice to give a compliment when someone wears a cute sweater you like or an eye catching necklace, compliments can be even more meaningful when they’re about an intrinsic value, such as friendship, a job well done, a skill, etc. Also, turning your compliment from a statement starting with “I” into “you” can help the compliment be more powerful. Here are a couple of examples: - “I like your garden” vs. “You have such an amazing green thumb! Look at how you made those flowers bloom!” - “I like this meal” vs. “You’re an awesome chef!” 
4. Make a Gift
Instead of purchasing a gift at the store, try making a gift next time you have the opportunity. Handmade gifts are the best! My friend is super handy with her sewing machine and has gifted me her crafty creations made out of the cutest fabric. These have been my favorite gifts! No problem if you’re not into sewing, we all have our "gifts" in the other sense of the word! Here are some ideas: - arrange flowers from your garden in a cute vase - paint watercolor greeting cards - use your pretty handwriting to create pretty gift tags - record a song If you’re super short on time, supporting small businesses that offer handmade gifts is the next best thing! Large corporations don’t jump for joy when they receive an order like an etsy shop owner or artist will!
3. Write a Letter
Imagine. You walk to your mailbox for the daily chore of emptying it. Tucked in between the bills and junk mail, you find a hand written envelope from a friend. Wouldn’t you feel instant joy at this unexpected and exciting discovery? Wouldn’t this piece of mail be the first you can’t wait to open? Writing letters or even a card by hand takes a bit of time but is a fabulous way to stay in touch with a far away friend while so much more joyful than a quick email. 
5. Remember
Remembering stories that connect us or memories that we’ve made together can bring a smile to our faces. I’m the first to admit that this has not always been an area of strength for me but you can most certainly give joy to others by remembering special dates or even names. I’m pretty good with names but dates…. I’m attempting to get better at this is by writing special dates in my planner. Now I just need to look ahead and remember! Ha!
Which of these joy giving ideas resonates most with you? What compliment have you been given that meant a lot to you? Any other ideas you’ve found to give joy to others? I’d love to hear in the comments!
If you enjoyed reading this blog post, it’d give me so much joy if you share it via the social media buttons. Thank you!
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A couple of weeks ago, I somewhat accidentally found the cutest art gallery on the East side of Portland. It’s called Sidestreet Arts and it’s located near 28th and Burnside. Sidestreet Arts is an artist collective, owned and operated by member artists who work in a wide selection of media and styles.
Walking in, I was greeted immediately with sincere friendliness. I noticed that besides beautiful art to hang on the walls of your home, the art gallery also carries jewelry, small gifts and cards. 
I didn’t walk in with the intention of looking for another venue to offer my art, but after chatting with the artist working that afternoon, it felt meant to be that I’d stumbled upon the gallery!
I’m so excited to share with you that my greeting cards are now available at Sidestreet Arts! These cards are individually hand drawn, original art greeting cards with a variety of cute designs. The inside of the card is blank so you can use them for many special occasions. 
If you’re local in Portland, Oregon or visiting, I’d encourage you to stop by this gallery. It’s an awesome spot for finding unique, yet affordable gifts, and art that will pique your curiosity. I promise you that you’ll leave feeling inspired and joyful!
Here’s the exact address: Sidestreet Arts, 140 SE 28th Ave., Portland, OR 97214. Please let me know about your experience and leave me a comment, once you've had a chance to check it out. Thank you!
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This blog post is NOT sponsored by the companies mentioned and I did NOT receive free product. Also, I'm NOT an affiliate for these products. This blog post reflects my personal opinion and is not influenced by these companies.
In my last blog post, I shared with you about an important tool I've started to use while I'm wood burning: a smoke absorber. I wanted to continue to share with you about the tools I use to create my wood burning art.
Beginner Wood Burner
 Photo Credit: Walnut Hollow
When I just learned about wood burning and wanted to give it a try, I started out with a hobby wood burning tool.
I was pleased and to be honest, kind of surprised how inexpensive this tool was! It was only about $10. I started using the Walnut Hollow Creative Wood Burner. It requires a few minutes to warm up and then you’re ready to burn! These are my very first pieces I created with this wood burning tool: 
What I like about this tool:
The drawbacks of this tool:
Safety Tip: Be sure to tape down the metal stand so you don’t have to worry about a hot burner tipping over!
Professional Wood Burner
 Photo Credit: Razertip
Once I realized how much I was enjoying creating art through pyrography and wanted to add more wood burned gifts to my etsy shop, I decided to upgrade to a professional wood burner. I did a good amount of research and ended up choosing the Razertip SS-D10. Since I couldn’t find this tool locally, I purchased it online through treelineusa.com which I can highly recommend as they‘ve provided me with excellent customer service.
What I like about this tool:
Here is an example of the more detailed work possible with a professional wood burning tool:
The drawbacks of this tool:
Honestly, there’s not much I don’t like about this wood burning tool. I’ll just make these two points:
Please note: this Razertip Wood Burner also comes as a single pen option (Razertip SK). This tool is a bit less expensive and may be a good alternative if you don’t think you’ll need to switch between pens very often and would prefer a professional wood burner at a lower price.
Other Accessories
To keep my lines sharp looking, I use the Razertip Tip Cleaner to scrape off any build-up. This tool is super easy to use as you just gently scrape the tip along the sharp edge and isn’t too abrasive.
Finally, I use graphite paper to transfer some of my illustrations to the wood. I start all my wood burning projects with sketching my ideas on paper. Depending on the design, I’ll then draw it onto the wood freehand or transfer it with graphite paper before making it permanent with wood burning.
That’s it! Hope you enjoyed reading a bit more about my favorite tools in creating my wood burning art.
Have you tried wood burning before? What type of tool do you use? Do you enjoy filling your spare time with another creative hobby? Would love to hear from you in the comments! If you enjoyed reading this blog post, please share!
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Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! Happy New Year! While we’re still finishing up the holiday treats over here and finding bits of New Year’s Eve confetti in the corners of our living room, another major holiday is already sneaking up on us! If your resolution was to be more organized this year (this seems to be the running theme over the years for me!), I’m here to remind you early!  My etsy shop is filled to the brims with Valentine’s Day gifts that won’t add calories to your diet or wilt after just a week.  My wood burned items are lovingly made by hand on Pacific Northwest foraged wood. I also have some upcycled items in the shop, as well as an instant download digital printable for gift tags. These tags are perfect if you plan on baking cookies to give out, to label kids Valentine’s treats for the classroom, or making DIY handmade gifts this year. Bonus: I’m continuing to offer free domestic shipping on many, many items!  Here are just a few favorites but please check out my etsy shop to see the whole collection. Don’t forget to join my email list to make your 2019 more joyful with this fun “Simple Joys Bucket List”! Click on the image below to join the club!  How do you plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year? Would love to hear from you in the comments!
Thank you! 
Did you know we brought home a kitten last summer? Some of you may remember from my earlier blog post. Well, in case you’re wondering, Rocket is doing very well. He has grown by leaps and bounds!! He has stolen our hearts and makes us laugh every single day. It’s so nice to come home to his head-butting and purring.
He's so sweet and snuggly but when he’s awake, watch out! That’s when Rocket operates on turbo speed and has more energy than a class of kindergarteners at recess!
If you love a kitten or young cat, you know how much energy they have. To enjoy playtime with your sweet feline, I wanted to share Rocket’s very favorite toys with you - that also happen to be free!
Old Sheet
You can hide a favorite toy or ball in a fold of the sheet so that kitty has to find the “treasure.” You can drape it over something so kitty has a “fort” to hide in. Sheets are also perfect for a good game of peekaboo! O, so many possibilities with old sheets! Toiletpaper Tube Since toilet paper tubes roll, they're fun to chase and perfect for wrestling too! 
Box
If you have any old corrugated boxes, kittens love to jump in them! Boxes are great to contain balls from rolling underneath the couch. They can be used as a lovely place to nap, and turned over to sit on top or for easy access to a windowsill. A small box with flaps that are mostly closed, can cover a favorite ball or toy to make it more challenging to find. Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? 
Paper Bag
The crinkly noise of the paper bag and the feeling of a fun hideaway, make paper bags another fun toy! If I’m not there to supervise, I cut off the handles of the paper shopping bag so kitty can’t get hurt and entangled. String All kittens seem to love string! Just be sure to have kitty only play with string supervised as some cats will eat it and taking an emergency vet trip doesn’t sound like fun, does it?
Best toy of all?
Okay, this one isn’t free but you can probably find it cheap at Goodwill or among your kids’ discarded toys (which is where Rocket proudly found it all by himself!). The plastic piece that makes a Beyblade spinning top spin is Rocket's most favorite toy of all! Could it be because it was "stolen loot"?! No guarantee that it's still usable for its original purpose after kitty chews on it a bit but our kitten loves to carry this toy around. He also purposely sticks it underneath the flap of a box for a fun challenge to retrieve it. 
Hope these ideas will lead to lots of fun and bonding with your cat. Now it's your turn!
- what toys does your cat love most of all? - what is your favorite game to play with your cat? - any tips for people with a kitten or new cat? Please share in the comments. Can't wait to hear! Thank you!
Be sure to hop on my Simple Joys Club list!
Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! 
Hi everybody! Exciting times here at Presents of Love! The weather has been absolutely delightful here in Portland this week. We've been having cool and crisp mornings with gorgeous sunshine in the afternoon. My favorite weather during my favorite season! So.... I decided to celebrate this joyful feeling by hosting a JOYFUL event:
a Fabulous Friday in Fall ART sale!
This coming Friday 9/28/18 (in two days...eek!), I'll be offering all my handmade artwork as well as stained glass mosaic bird feeders and art prints for sale. The art sale will be from 5pm-7:30pm in Portland, Oregon. For questions and specific location, please contact me at marieke@presentsoflove.com.
This art sale is just one evening only so if you're local, this is your chance to shop for meaningful, handmade gifts for your friend's birthday or do some early holiday shopping before life gets really crazy. If you're not local, most of my artwork can be shipped worldwide so please check out my etsy shop. Thanks for your continued love and support! P.S. If you want to be personally notified of news from my art studio, please join my email list below. You'll receive a fun Simple Joys Bucket List too!
It must be the change of the season. Or the kids going back to school. I’ve been on a serious declutter and clean out RAMPAGE. Kind of like spring cleaning, but then in fall!
This is not totally typical for me. Most days, I’d much rather read books about organizing than actually going through that junk drawer in the kitchen. Rather find joy in eating sushi than partake in Marie Kondo style Japanese decluttering. And most definitely, rather hike in the woods or work on a creative project. Lately, however, I’ve been feeling antsy. After a busy summer, I think I need the serenity of an organized space and less clutter, both in my environment as well as in my mind.
Now that I’ve sorted through lots of toys and kids stuff in our home, I started tackling my art studio yesterday. Looking around, I realized my sacred and beloved creative space had become a dumping ground for items the kids wanted to clear out of their rooms, old boxes and piles of charity donations.
After digging in, I can see my desk again! Yay! Is my art studio perfectly clean and organized? No! Will it be messy again in no time? Yes! But I feel a lot more on top of things now than I did a couple of weeks ago. This process of “catching up” after the kids go back to school always takes me longer than I expect it to but I feel I’m finally getting to a better place.
Do you go through a similar process during the fall season? Do you enjoy decluttering? Are you a person who regularly organizes or only once in awhile?
Please share in the comments below. Always love to hear from you! Thanks! P.S. If you like to check off items on a list as much as I do, I have a "Clean Home Bucket List" printable available in my etsy shop. Check it out! Checking items off makes you feel SO much more productive!
Be sure to hop on my Simple Joys Club list!
Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! 
I don’t know if you’re feeling it but these last days of the school year feel a bit like having your head stuck in the washer on the spin cycle. It seems as if every teacher is trying to fit their last big project in. After school, you’ve got the end of the year concerts, graduation parties, recitals…. on top of the regular sports practices and kids activities. So much fun but all kind of heaped together! I try to just embrace the chaos and savor all the special milestones and moments we’re celebrating with the kids but it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. From talking with other moms, I know I’m not the only one feeling this way.
So this is why I’ve decided to put my etsy shop on vacation hold for a month. I absolutely love working on my shop but I also know this:
If you’re interested in something from my shop, the last day to order is Sunday June 10th. If you’d like to be notified when my shop is open again, please join Simple Joys Club. You’ll receive a complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable to joyfully start off your summer as well! Wahoo!
I’d love to hear about YOUR summer plans!
How are you planning to get the most out of this summer? Do you have any fun trips planned? Places you’ve wanted to explore? Hikes you have wanted to go on? Projects you have wanted to tackle? Books you have been longing to read? Be sure to include these items on your Simple Joys Bucket List! Also, I love hearing from you so please leave me a comment to share. Thanks so much for your support of my art!
If you’re looking for teacher gifts to thank them and celebrate the end of the school year, you may like some of these items in my shop:
Be sure to hop on the Simple Joys Club list!
Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! 
We had to hike a few miles up a steep trail but once we made it to the mountain lake, we knew this was going to be a fantastic weekend. The kids were being troopers, carrying backpacks with the lighter items, hopping like billy goats from one rock to another. We scaled a couple of downed trees to find the perfect camping spot on the edge of the lake, with water so clear you could see right to the bottom.
With only a couple of other tents around the lake, this spot was so serene. We could hear the wind whistling in the trees and bumblebees buzzing around. Bright orange butterflies added a splash of color to the browns and greens of rocks and trees. Once the tent was set up, we took a swim to cool off and sat down to relax a bit before starting dinner. That’s when we saw it. A beautiful osprey, first flying high above the lake before suddenly swooping down to catch a fish. 
This happened several years ago but I still remember it clearly. There was just something magical about this moment. I've always enjoyed watching wildlife and grew up with a dad who was constantly looking out for birds of prey, while my mom kept reminding him to keep his eyes on the road while driving. :0) I’m really not all that knowledgeable about recognizing birds but I do enjoy watching them and the osprey is pretty easy to spot.
If you enjoy wildlife and bird watching, I wanted to share with you that I recently learned about a cool program by Cowlitz County PUD, a utility company here in the Pacific Northwest. When an osprey couple decided to build their nest on top of a power pole a few years ago, the utility company helped them to relocate the nest to a safer place… successfully. The ospreys are back again this year. A live cam has been set up to allow you to watch their nest as we wait for the eggs to hatch. Science in action for the kids!
I hope you enjoy watching these magnificent birds as much as I do. Please know that sometimes it takes a few minutes for the live feed to show up. As always, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. If you'd like to celebrate more joyful moments in your life, sign up for your copy of the Simple Joys Bucket List below. Thank you! Ready to watch the ospreys? You can find the live cam here: https://www.cowlitzpud.org/osprey-cam Here are a few of my latest listings in my etsy shop:
Be sure to hop on my Simple Joys Club list!
Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! 
You can now fill out a bucket list for both of these activities! Maybe I should have been cleaning but I decided it was more fun to create a bucket list printable ABOUT cleaning instead…. and once I made the Clean Home Bucket List, I couldn’t stop so I made another printable for all my creative ideas: the Crafty Bucket List.
Now that both bucket lists are created, it’s time to roll up the sleeves! Want to join me?
Why I like to use a list to get stuff done and organize ideas:
1. When I clearly define what I want to get done on paper, the tasks become more manageable and stop nagging my brain. I stop worrying about forgetting something. 2. I find it so very gratifying to check off items on a list. Seeing the checked off items helps me to feel productive and gives me a sense that I'm making progress. 3. These bucket lists are digital printables so I can print as many copies as I need. Priorities change? No problem! I just print a clean copy!
Do you like to make lists? Are you working on spring cleaning, deep cleaning or decluttering your home? What type of crafts do you like to do? Do you also have many creative ideas all at the same time?
I would love to hear from you in the comments! Thanks!
Be sure to hop on my Simple Joys Club list!
Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox. You will receive a cute, complimentary Simple Joys Bucket List printable with pretty floral illustration, just for joining the club! |
