Oops. It's been a while for a my week post. As you may have noticed, I tend to be somewhat inconsistent- I'm working on it. This week had its major ups and downs, but some of the ups have been a breakthrough in sunshine and warm weather. It was glorious yesterday and I'm sure will be even more glorious today. Speaking of glorious, my first object happens to be something a little more ephemeral.

1. This morning light

(for being so incredibly breathtaking and beautiful.)

2. These pretty pink peonies

(for actually being from last week, but their dried presence is just as lovely.)

3.  This sketchbook

(for slowly filling itself with the imaginations in my head.)

4. These simple weavings

(for fulfilling my pioneering daydreams.)

5. These little leaves

(for giving me the inspiration I needed for a new project...more to come!)

things to take you to the weekend:

• i think i know what i'm making on the weekend
• sometimes you just don't have the words
• a biased mother's day gift guide
• cut. it. out
• please, someone get as hooked as i was
• so many good things 

Since I started on Pinterest, it has always acted as a personal mood board for me to find inspiration, as I'm sure it does for a lot of people. But recently I began to ponder on how to engage with in a more communal way, to find inspiration with and alongside others. There's something about bouncing our ideas off one another as a community that gets the inner wheels turning for new projects and ventures. Unfortunately, that's a hard thing to do when your creative community is not physically in the same room. So, I came up with the idea of sharing in our mornings with one another by creating a group Pinterest board for inspiration. It's a place where we can share images and words to set the tone for the day, specifically relating to simplicity and reflective beauty...a place where creative minds can connect. Here are just a few of the images that have been popping up lately: 

top left + top right: girl in window + lemons pinned by The Merrythought

bottom left: still life pinned by Amelia Hackett

bottom right: coffee cup pinned by Veronika / By the Shore

I would love to have you follow along! To see the board, click on the widget below. If you have a similar aesthetic and this sounds like something you are interested in joining, please send an email to jenni.haikonen8@gmail.com. 

Follow Jenni Haikonen // Bottomley Cottage's board m o r n i n g • i n s p i r a t i o n on Pinterest.

I'm just going to dive right into feelings and say that I've been going through some emotional waves today in regards to my value and what I'm creating. One of my downfalls is to get so caught up in analyzing numbers and practical things that I forget to just put the work in and create. And then it becomes a blame game on myself, the voice of not being good enough as I compare my work to others... A horrible game to play, I know. 

But then there are days, such as the day I got these recipe cards printed. When I received them from the printers, I felt so ecstatic that they turned out exactly as I wanted! I felt proud of the work that  I had done. I need to remember moments like those as I keep on putting the work in and let that motivate me rather than the opposing voices in my head that want to tell me I'm worthless. 

When I think of mother's day, I can't help but hear the thoughts of a thousand moms who may have had those same thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, as their job is so often a thankless job. Why not remind your mother of her worthful-ness this year? Send her something pretty. Something to remind her that she is valued, loved and appreciated for how much work she puts in without personal reward. There are some items in my shop perfect for that, such as:

recipe cards - for all those homestyle meals she spent hours making to nourish you. 

art prints - so she can be reminded of your love every time she walks by. 

greeting cards - because a note of encouragement will always make mom's day. 

But no matter how you do it, remember to love on your mom this mother's day (and any other day of the year) because she is worth it.