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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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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! 
I’m all about celebrating the simple joys. So then, why am I talking about science fair projects?! Most moms in the middle of “science fair season” wouldn’t list science fair among their simple joys. Ha! Hear me out though….
Our kids just got done with science fair at their middle school and pffff… it’s always a lot of work. This year, they had such cool science fair projects though that it made the whole process more exciting and fun. As I mentioned in my last blog post, we have been reading the book The Nature Fix by Florence Williams as a family. This book inspired the projects both our kids chose to work on.
I wanted to share them here as it’s hard to find cool projects that will help your kids learn while at the same time making the work relevant to something they can relate to in real life. 
While the materials for these projects are not free, both projects can be completed for less than the cost of taking the family to the movies. For both projects you will need a blood pressure monitor which you can buy for about $17.
Project 1: “Can you smell health?” This project questions the effects of Hinoki oil on our blood pressure and pulse. Hinoki oil comes from the Japanese cypress and is an essential oil that has been used for meditation and relaxation. You can purchase it for about $10 online. After your child completes their project, you can use it in your diffuser to help your family to relax after all that science fair work! :0) To do the experiment:
Project 2: “Seeing Health in Nature”
This science fair project studies the effects of seeing nature images and city images on your blood pressure and pulse. Since we spend a lot of time in nature, we have a lot of nature photographs (you can check out some of my favorites on my instagram). We printed these on a larger sheet of photographic paper along with city images on a separate sheet. The printing cost about $8 for both sheets but you could certainly print the images at home if you have a good color printer. To do the experiment:
The best part of doing these science fair projects was that as our kids asked people to participate to be tested, others were so curious about the effects on their blood pressure, they volunteered and asked to be tested as well. In our kids’ experiments, both the Hinoki oil and the nature images lowered the subjects’ blood pressure on average.
While I’m not going into the details of how to interpret the results of the data or what information to include on the project presentation (I trust your child's teacher has given clear instructions), I wanted to share these projects here. I hope they will inspire your kids to enjoy their science fair project and possibly consider a nature inspired project (one of these projects or a variation) that helps them learn about the positive effects of nature. If you don't have a child working on science fair, count your blessings! ;0) Just get out there and know it's good for you!
Does your child’s school conduct a science fair? How do you support your child's learning to make it relevant to real life?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
Keep in touch! Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox!
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Most weekends, our family enjoys exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest nature. Recently, we had the chance though, to head up to Seattle for some exploring in the city. Our son had a special performance at MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture) and since our family loves to travel, we grabbed the opportunity to make a family fun weekend trip out of it!
MoPOP was so fun! After the performance, we ended up roaming the exhibits and playing the musical instruments the rest of the day! Besides visiting MoPOP, we didn’t really have a lot of plans set in stone. This unstructured time allowed us to find a place we would have otherwise never known about, as it opened very recently. However, we were all blown away by the experience. 
Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, WA
As we were walking the streets through the South Lake Union neighborhood on our way to play tourists at Pike Place Market, we noticed an eye catching building at the end of the block. We couldn’t help but move closer and asked a person who looked like someone who would know, standing near the door, what this building was all about.
We found out this building was named “The Spheres” and that these peculiar buildings were amazon’s new offices. He invited us to come in. Really?! Inside, the atmosphere was transformational as huge close-up images of beautiful plants greeted us. The room’s exhibits explained the unique architecture of “The Spheres” and the philosophy behind it. 
The Spheres in Seattle, WA
While we couldn’t access the upper floors of the buildings, videos and photographs gave a pretty clear picture of what these spaces looked like. The middle of the building had a huge tree in it and thousands of plants from all over the world were brought in to create a green, natural environment.
The conference rooms were built like a bird’s nest and a tree house connected by wooden walkways that reminded us of suspended bridges in the forest. Amazon encourages their employees to have meetings in these inspirational places. Based on scientific research that shows people think best when walking, employees can move on the wooden walkways to gain new insights or figure out the creative solution to a problem. 
My husband and I have been reading the book “The Nature Fix” by Florence Williams. This book discusses the scientific evidence behind nature making us happier, healthier and more creative. We have been very intrigued by this book and have certainly found that spending time in nature has added much happiness and joy in our own lives.
Here are 3 ways:
1. Go out into nature as often as you can Find outdoor activities you enjoy to stay fit and have fun with your family. Maybe instead of going to that matinee at the movie theater, go for a hike? 2. Bring nature in Indoor plants benefit the air quality and beautify our home. 3. Walking meetings Can you do some of your work while walking? Meet a friend for a walk instead of sedentary coffee or lunch?
What is your favorite way to incorporate these concepts in your life? Which one of these ideas most speaks to you? Please share your thoughts in the comments. Would love to hear from you!
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