Upcycled Holiday Gift Countdown Week # 4 - Book Clipboard



This week's easy-peasy upcycled gift is an amazing little clipboard book.

(you are probably now certain I am obsessed with books and clips and organization and you would be totally wrong - at least about the organization part - I am whatever the opposite of obsessed with organizaton would be right now)

I use these to hold my order forms at shows, but everyone needs a clipboard to keep all their little notes, photos and doodads handy.

This also looks great hanging on a wall or standing on a book shelf.


You will need:

a book, clipboard clips and hardware, screwdriver, drill





Grab a second book with your clip so you are not fighting to keep it open, mark your holes, drill, screw and voila!

If you need a personalized magnet for yours (any wording) just contact me and I will pop one in the mail to you.

I am making a half wall of these in my studio, will grab pics when I finally get the "about me" shop pics done.

My hard drive died yesterday and I am waiting to get my computer back with a new hard drive - fingers crossed tomorrow - they saved my files, but not the programs - why can't they ever save the programs? Ugh!




Part l (continued) - how compassion can unleash our passion

print by yarrow summers
see part 1 HERE

Compassion is a frequency. It's the frequency of sameness and acceptance

(the place of only one of us here - the place where we all connect).

It's the part of us that holds the essence of the universe - the place where there is no judgement. 

It is the space where expansion happens.

Wherever you are, is just fine…You can get to wherever you want to be from wherever you are… It’s time to stop measuring where you are in relationship to where anybody else is. The only factor that has anything to do with you is where you are in relationship with where you want to be.   --- Abraham

The more we connect to our compassionate self the more we will be heardIt's the sound that allows the universe (angels, our higher selves, universal consciousness - whatever you resonate with here) to recognize itself in us.

One day late last winter, I think during David's first relapse, I had to call a couple family members to let them know what was going on. Family help had fallen away and hubs and I were feeling very much alone at this point. I picked up the phone with a heavy heart, thinking I would lose my mind if I was about to hear "we told you so" while my heart was so broken open.

I stopped. I put down the phone. I knew that was exactly what I was going to hear if I brought that energy into the conversation. I knew that I created my own reality. I needed to get into the compassionate place of no judgement with everyone involved in the situation and not just David.

I took some deep breaths and did a few rounds of pranayama* to see what I needed to open up to.

*(alternate nostril breathing - holding one nostril closed at a time and taking some deep breaths - helps with relaxation and clear thinking - my left nostril which accesses my right "feeling" side - as opposed to my thinking side - is usually more closed. I always get my best work done when both sides are open and more equal. If you are ever driving when tired, covering your left nostril and breathing through your right nostril only - activating the left thinking side - will keep you more alert - it works)

I took the time to get myself into a more compassionate, loving space so my higher self could connect with their higher selves. I dialed the phone and told the first person what had happened.

The words from them that I would have heard as "I told you so- we've been through this before you came into the picture- David always does this - you can't fix this - who do you think you are" a few moments earlier - those exact same words were heard by my heart as "I did my best - don't make me feel guilty that I didn't do more".

In that moment I totally got that everything was exactly as it should be. There was nothing to forgive here.

Hubs and I had more to give at that time and so we gave more - family members pulling away had nothing to do with me and by pulling my judgement away from the situation everything changed. I offered them compassion, I said "yes, you have done so much - please continue to keep your heart open that we get healing in whatever way is possible here".

Well, maybe I didn't say it exactly like that, I didn't suddenly start channeling the Dalai Lama , but by offering them love instead of guilt everything changed in a moment.

Instead of looking for blame, like I would have if I had stayed in my lower self, I reached for compassion - and maybe reach is the wrong word here, I slowed myself down enough to see the other path- the one not in the frequency of my lower self - the one I could only feel.

I got into a space that was so free and so joyous (stayed there for a couple days) and so familiar that I recognized it was where I wanted to live. The compassion for others brought me into a space where I felt compassion for myself.

(I also created a whole hell of a lot of amazing new work the next day)

I have a friend whose husband had an affair and they went to a counselor - a wise counselor who said to my friend who couldn't forgive her husband - maybe you can't feel forgiveness, but can you feel compassion for him? It was the start of their healing.

I promised an exercise (in snap decision making) and will post it in a couple days since this post is too long already and I have an upcycled gift tutorial to post tomorrow!

Next week - Manifesting for Makers Part ll - why your message matters