Spring and Mothers Day Treats

 I've been having a lot of fun lately placing 

my art onto products!

My hand painted bees buzzing in the clover

look great digitized and printed on this floor cushion.

And the water color tiger lilies complement

it for quite a lovely garden ensemble.

If you're looking for a Spring treat or Mothers Day gift,

my art is on products at my Society 6 shop .

I believe this code will get you a discount:

https://share.society6.com/x/4nS7hj 

if you copy it and paste it in your browser

to visit Society 6 (for a limited time). 

The One Thing

 Across the miles,

Across time,

Across joy and pain,

Feeling lost and found,

This is The One Thing:

You Are Loved Always and Forever.

Our souls are ever connected

in The Heart's Song.

Thank you, friend, for the unmistakable message.

Happy Easter.

Wild About You Notebook & Cards

Wild about nature? 

Want to let your Valentine or someone know you're wild about them?

Treat yourself to a lush notebook and stationery.  

My gouache painting is digitized and carefully placed to ensure 

you'll love writing in this journal. 

While you're at it, delight someone 

with a personally penned note on a work of art.  

You can get them HERE.  

A great gift to celebrate Earth Day, too. 

Thank you for visiting!

100 Days Project

Are any of you taking part

in the 100 Days Project?

It's simple.

Choose an action and stick with it

for 100 days.

Ok, that's not always so simple as it sounds!

I invite you to pull up a chair and 
cheer me on. I can use the support!
Watch my 100 Days project over on Instagram.

I chose 100 Days of Things that Fly.

I will be making some kind of art

related to that theme

every. single. day.

In this example, I created monarchs, 

the caterpillar and the milkweed that 

Monarchs feed on.  I drew a chair, 

made a pattern from the monarchs and milkweed, and put it on the chair.

I will not be able to be this

fancy every single day.

But I will strive to post something

related to my theme every day.

The idea is to

"do it for the process."

Show up every day and see what you learn.

Some days might not be perfect,

but do what you can.

So, pull up a chair and come
help me do this thing with your support and encouragement!

And if you're doing your own 100 Days Project, please let me know!

Sad Goodbye to Some Pet Chickens

We had some sadness around here last week.

Here's the heartrending story
and what these plucky little gals taught me...

Two of our beautiful backyard hens 
were taken by a coyote -- 

in broad daylight, no less.

We did not get fancy with their names
when we brought them home 21 weeks ago.

We called them Buff, Red, Lacy and Gertrude.

Having never kept chickens before,

I had no idea I'd love them SO much!

I handled these little cuties daily since

bringing them home

as hatchlings.

Buff in particular was a sweetie.

She loved to cuddle!

I'd pick her up and she'd snuggle 

right into my neck and nestle there, 

making contented little sounds.

She did that even when she got big.

Our First Eggs! Free Kitchen Printable, Too!

We got eggs!

Eggs!

We got our first fresh organic eggs!

and they are Eggcellent!

A lot has been happening

behind the scenes in the past

17 weeks here at 

I Gotta Create!

We got our first ever baby chicks,

{four of them: Buff, Red, Gertrude and Lacy}

built a chicken coop from a kit,

expanded it,

learned all about chicks and chickens,

transferred our babies from the shower

to the garage,

to the yard,

and now....

taa-daah!  Eggs!

I'm so proud of the girls!

To celebrate, I'm sharing

a free 8x10 Eggcellent kitchen printable 

with you in the link below!

How to Grow Lettuce, Kale and Spinach

Growing lettuce, spinach and kale 
is easy, rewarding and SO healthy for you! 
These are some of the easiest

and most prolific crops to grow in the Spring and Fall garden.

And that is fantastic because these dark, leafy greens are exactly what our bodies crave. They're great in salads, smoothies, and cooked up in recipes.

We've grown these crops from seed

planted directly in the ground in our  raised bed,

as well as from

from plants started at the local greenhouse.

A Walk in the Woods: Common Woodland Wildflowers

This Spring has been absolutely Beautiful!

I've been mesmerized by all the little
wildflowers and other
flora and fauna I've seen,
so I thought I'd share a bit of the magic with you.

Raised Garden Bed with a Roof

Yes, that's right...

a roof for the garden!

We've just started gardening again

in the past couple of years

and I look forward to the season

with these two additional awesome options:

A Raised Bed

A Roof for the Garden!

There are two important reasons for our roof:

to keep the deer from chomping up our crops

and to extend the growing season.

Let me show you what I mean...

Purrrfect Caturday Crafts

Pet lovers know the

joy of caring for a furry friend,

the laughs at the zany things they do,

and the fun of pet-themed projects.

Check out the projects below to get your fix of

Cat Themed Crafts, Decor, Fashion, Food

and baubles for your Cat…

Turtle Talk #1: Slow but Steady

Time to slow down a bit,

take a deep breath,

relax…

and soak in some wisdom

from nature.

Pin this little gem as a reminder.

An inspirational quote to help you when

you're overwhelmed with all the to-do's:

Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks, Aesop.

You can learn more about turtle

symbolism and facts here.

Come take a walk in the woods:

Western Painted Turtle: Symbolism and Facts

My hubby found the sweetest

little turtle near our new garden.

It is literally the size of a quarter!

I love turtles!

The beauty of this creature inspires 

ancient stories and symbolism.

Observe a turtle and let it speak to you

of the wisdom in its nature... 

Turtle Symbolism:

the ability to stay grounded

peace and harmony

strength and stability

reminder to slow down, pace yourself

determination and persistence

patience and understanding

ancient wisdom

Here are a few more turtle tidbits:

DiY Wood Branch Coasters

Nature makes some stunning patterns.

And that means we can bring those

natural design elements into our homes

in simple and elegant ways.

After pruning a hedge apple tree 

we noticed the gorgeous rings in this branch.

Aha! 

Such dense wood makes for beautiful coasters

for a wedding gift,

housewarming,

fathers day

or your own home.

Here's how to make

DIY Wood Branch Coasters:

Spring Nest Color Palette & Designer Paper

Oh the many beautiful shades of Spring!

A Spring Nest project (posted here)

inspired this color chip palette. 

Match some paint, fabric or paper to this

palette to freshen up your surroundings

after a long winter.

If you'd like a couple of 

designer digital papers

based on this color palette, I provide a link below.

Newspaper Nest Tutorial

One of my favorite

signs of Spring in nature

is the nest.

The nest inspires all

kinds of decor, crafts, and holiday goodies.

These little newspaper nests

can be used throughout the Spring season,

and are perfect for Easter celebrations.

Here's how to make a newspaper nest:

Eeewww! Wolf Spider with Babies on her Back

Nature is endlessly fascinating.

And she has served up an amazing creature

just in time for Halloween, too!

Take a look at this Wolf Spider!

Wolf spiders are unique because

they carry their egg sacs and their 

baby spiderlings on their back.

And due to the comments on this post,
I just need to tell you:
this is a REAL spider
~not a craft!

Oh yes... let's look at a closeup of that!:

Nature's Hues: Early Fall

Fall will not be outdone by Spring. It dons a wardrobe just as spectacular. It gushes forth a colorful harvest, drawing all of nature's creatures to its vast, bountiful table... 

Picking Out Fall Gourds

You ready for a Fall field trip? We gotta get some gourds and enjoy the scenes of fall. Jump in and take a ride with me! 

Off we go!  To a plant farm where you'll see much more than this amazing planted Chevy. It's a beautiful day and I've got some key tips to share with you about picking out fall gourds. 

But first, you've gotta see these sights...

This is My Baby

 Just look at what our wildlife cam caught recently! Bambi with mama. What a sweet face!!

Feeding together.

And here she is nursing.

In my quest to nurture my creativity, this blog has been an important outlet and touchstone in a busy life. I really love pulling together posts to share with you.

I changed things up with the linky party and features.  I've been reflecting upon what it means to be a gracious host and create an ethical, win-win atmosphere. You can read about that *here.*

Like other bloggers, I will start truncating my feed to protect my "baby" from pirates and scrapers. I dislike putting any barrier between you and me, and I hope you will click on over when I Gotta Create! shows up in your email box or reader. 

Allow me to again thank you for subscribing, following and visiting. I love sharing with you. 

Read: Pinterest Woes, Scraper Scandals & Your Power

More Backyard Wildlife Here!

and here

{I host a weekly linky party. Come find out more here!  I'm sharing this Bambi Fawn with Doe and Changes to my Party & Posts with...Monday:  Craftomaniac, Making The World Cuter, Alderberry Hill, Skip to My Lou, Cherished Bliss; Tuesday:  Not Just a Housewife, Nap-Time Creations, The DIY Dreamer, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Savvy Southern Style, Uncommon, What We Wore & Made, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family. Elizabeth & Co.; Wednesday:  The 36th Avenue, Live-Laugh-Rowe, Someday Crafts, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Trendy Treehouse,  Snap; Thursday: Johnny in a Dress, My Repurposed Life, Tidy Mom, Shabby Nest; Friday:  Funky Junk Interiors, Anything Goes, Finding Fabulous, My Simple Home Life, Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Thirty Handmade Days, Naptime Crafters, Stuff & Nonsense, One Creative Mommy; Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, Tutus & Tea Parties, Positively Splendid, Sew Country Chick; Sunday: Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Project Parade, Under The Table and Dreaming, My 1929 Charmer, Sew Darned Crafty}

Dancing in the Rain...Finally!

It rained!  It RAINED!  

Finally!

The nighttime pattering on the roof whispered a promise.

Morning Light revealed a simple blessing...

The earth drank deeply.

I danced with the drops...

...that fell freely from the sky...

The flowers dipped and whirled in step with each splash.

Leaves cupped their hands and drank greedily.

The field sighed deeply with relief.

We are grateful

for life's simple

blessings

Check out 

how we helped the wildlife through a blistering summer of drought.

More "Beauty of Nature" here

{I host a weekly linky party. Come find out more here!  I'm sharing this Life's Simple Blessings ~ Dancing in the Rain with...Monday:  Craftomaniac, Making The World Cuter, Alderberry Hill, Skip to My Lou, Cherished Bliss; Tuesday:  Not Just a Housewife, Nap-Time Creations, The DIY Dreamer, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Savvy Southern Style, Uncommon, What We Wore & Made, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family. Elizabeth & Co.; Wednesday:  The 36th Avenue, Live-Laugh-Rowe, Someday Crafts, The Trendy Treehouse,  Snap; Thursday: Johnny in a Dress, My Repurposed Life, Tidy Mom, Shabby Nest; Friday:  Funky Junk Interiors, Anything Goes, Finding Fabulous, My Simple Home Life, Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Thirty Handmade Days, Naptime Crafters, Stuff & Nonsense, One Creative Mommy; Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, Tutus & Tea Parties, Positively Splendid, Sew Country Chick; Sunday: Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Project Parade, Under The Table and Dreaming, My 1929 Charmer, Sew Darned Crafty}