Valentines day wisdom

Valentine's Day:

To all the single parents out there who feel like they are not doing a good enough job, ask yourself this has my child gone to bed tonight fed, warm and content? then you are doing a good job,if your circumstances right now are hindering you in doing this for your child, then seek help or try and come up with a solution to change your circumstances, if you really can't see a way to feed or keep your child warm, send me a private message, I will help you.

Don't feel guilty, nobody comes with a parenting manual saying "this is the way to do it". You are doing your best, that is amazing. You are truly loved even though you're on your own right now,it is bloody hard sometimes, you are still loved, you are doing the best you can with the knowledge you have right now and that is amazing.

To the people in same-sex relationships that get pissed off because of the way commercial Valentines is portrayed with a man and a woman, just be patient, a little bit longer, the world needs to catch up, you are pioneers of a new generation, instead of getting annoyed by the man, woman thing, how about taking charge and designing your own line of cards for next year, get them sold! There is obviously a gap in the market and they could be a best seller.Go to those restaurants that put the valentines posters up aimed at a man and his woman and explain to them your point of view, they probably have never even thought of it, people need educating we know this. Change takes time and it starts with us.

To all the people who have, had love and are widows,or who are divorced, who now find themselves in a different situation to the one before. Yes it's hard, today it seems all about happy couples everywhere rubbing it in that you're on your own now. But do you know what, you have experienced something that a lot of people never experience, you have experienced true love.
Be thankful for that and remember how that felt, it was wonderful and although I know you would love it to be like that right now, one day it could be like that again.

To all the people looking for love and have never found it, yet. Stop looking! that's it, just stop looking. You are wonderful, you are amazing and there is somebody out there for you. First of all, you need to really love yourself, I know that sounds cliched but there is work to be done. Do that work on yourself, your own personal development and put it out there to the universe the kind of person you would like to meet. The kind of perfect partner, you would love to attract and then let it go, let that shit go, stop letting it consume your whole being because when you do you create a block. When you let it go, that person will come into your life just be open to opportunities.

To the teens who feel fat or ugly, or like you are not normal, for the ones that don't fit in who feel like they don't belong. One day darling you're going to look back at this time and think "oh my God what the fuck was I thinking of" because you're the ones that are going to be the creatives, the ones who are brilliant ideas people, the ones that have overcome adversity and will go on to do amazing things.
You have compassion, you are full of Love for others and the planet, it's time some of that love went towards yourself too.  Today I want you to do something radical!! I want you to go and look in the mirror and instead of seeing the empty shell of somebody who feels downtrodden and alone, I want you to look at yourself and say I am going to be somebody, I am, I am beautiful, even if you don't believe it this moment, right now, you are! I'm telling you! you are beautiful.

Beauty doesn't have to be the outward appearance, the tall, long gorgeous flowing hair magazine type, you are the perfect already.
Inside beauty comes in all sorts of ways, beauty comes from a deep understanding of the world, it comes from a passion for music, it comes from the way you write, it comes from all sorts of things darling.You are full of those things, please believe me. All the things that bother you now, like the freckles, the hair colour, spots, too thin, too fat, too tall, too small etc, those things won't matter to you as you grow, it just feels painful now because of all the changes and the transfer from child to adult, it's a mixed up crazy time, just see it as a ride, a rollercoaster to be ridden and the end is coming.

To all the people in relationships that suck right now, if there is abuse involved, its time to leave, if you are going through a bad patch, talk things through. You both know though, when you are flogging a dead horse, why stay together making each other miserable? why not part (as hard as that may seem) and let each other find true love or happiness with someone else?

To all people who don't feel there are enough or they are not enough to be loved or they are not enough to do wonderful things. You are always enough!! you are alive, you are breathing, you have a body, you are a miracle, did you know that there is 1 in 144,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance of your dads sperm fertilising your mums egg, and then a 1 in 3 chance of you being born alive? Think about that or a second! You are a miracle.









Just how amazing is it, that you are meant to be, you are here to be happy, to live your fullest life, this all starts with you. This starts with inside of you feeling you are enough. Forget all those people have told you throughout your life are stupid, or who think you're not good enough, do you know what, fuck them! fuck them all, because everybody is enough! Everybody is wonderful and a miracle and I just wish I had a magic wand so everybody could see just how truly amazing they are

On Valentine's Day we are shown really happy faces about love, it has turned very commercial, buy this, do this, buy cards. Or if you don't get a card, you not good enough. If you don't send a card you are not good enough. I used to hate it, I used to really hate Valentines for the commercial aspect, but this year lets embrace the love side of it. If a lot of people can wake up to the love and yes it's only for one day, if we can wake up to love today, that's a wonderful thing.

But what we need is to wake up to love every day, it all starts with us, it all starts inside, from now on let's try every day to love ourselves a little bit more and to love those around us that means something to you, whether that's our family or friends or just a lovely person that you talk to the greengrocers every day because you got nobody else to talk to you. (I've been there) but let's start with that.

Let's radiate that, let's do little kind things for each other, even for people we don't know. Let's just radiate love to all, instead of Valentine's Day, it could be 'Radiate love day' and that's much nicer, just remember you are loved even when you feel like there's nobody there, even when you feel like there's nothing you can do, even when you feel at the depths of despair, like ending it all (I've been there too). Please don't, please just know there is somebody that loves you, even if you haven't met that person yet, it's aligned in the stars.

Just hold on darling, just hold on for one more day, that's all you can do and then the next day, hold on for another day and then the next day, hold on for another day and if you can't manage today, hold on for one hour, change something, get dressed today. Go to the library. Pick a book and sit there in the library, so you're actually in the company of others, you don't have to talk to anybody but you're actually outside doing something, pick up a book and start reading that book, get involved in a different story within the pages and let your imagination take over a while, go for a walk in nature, if there is no nature near by, you could jump on a bus and go to a park, just do something for yourself today to make yourself feel that love. If you can't do any of those things and you can't leave the house, run yourself a bath, if you feel disabled and you can't get in the bath, get a bowl of nice warm water, get some bubbles in it or some herbs and salt and just pop your feet in it, you deserve that, you deserve that today, you deserve that every day. There are always small things you can do to make yourself feel better and to make yourself feel good.

Just know I LOVE YOU! just know you are needed and wanted and loved. Happy Valentine's Day from me to you.

To all people who don't feel there are enough or they are not enough to be loved or they are not enough to do wonderful things. You are always enough!! you are alive, you are breathing, you have a body, you are a miracle, did you know that there is 1 in 144,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance of your dads sperm fertilizing your mums egg, and then a 1 in 3 chance of you being born alive? Think about that or a second! You are a miracle.

Artist studio tour 2

It's been a weird month August and I can't believe it's nearly at the end already, I have been having a hard time the past few weeks (damn that full moon) feeling totally exhausted, my immune system has taken a battering and I had mastitis and Hidradenitis suppurativa, I have been running on empty for a while but kept going to be supportive and I felt I needed to be strong for everyone else. 

I feel my hormones are all over the place and making me feel totally disconnected, snappy and tearful, I have been keeping in my emotions of feeling unlovable and slightly depressed to myself, but I shared them with Mr Delightful in a heart opening way, I allowed myself to feel vulnerable and explained everything, after his kindness and total support in finding ways to change my diet and take supplements to help me and after using some natural remedies, I could actually face up to these past few days and share with you. 

I didn't want this truth to break the 'always positive' delightful me, but I feel you deserve to know why I haven't done any art, posted on my blog or been attending anything.

I have some wonderful friends who are so caring and their messages have kept me going on the dark days, I have been reading, watching films, resting and restoring myself. 

So all I have to offer is some photos of my studio, this place brings me joy, I am so grateful for this space.

Little things here and there, that have been given or collected over time.

My easel really needs a good tidying up, it is full of unfinished projects.

Always got to be feeling the love no matter how dull things seem, if you have no one else to love, always love yourself, and I am sure there are plenty of people who love you, even if you don't think there are, I love you, each one of us is a miracle, I mean check out how amazing it is and the odds you are actually here, its something crazy like there is only 4 hours a month in which you can get pregnant, that's is if a sperm actually reaches the egg and the egg actually gets fertilised, I won't go on, this isn't a place for biology lessons, but I hope you get my point, before anything else, how amazing is it we are actually alive!

Old books, new books, god I love books, I love the smell of musty bookshops, crammed from floor to ceiling with so many possibilities and ideas in those pages.

Rose quartz for love and my studio angel

These little 50p storage pots from Ikea are great for keeping all my bits and pieces in one place. My tiaras are in there too for the days when I need an extra princess vibe.

The summer holidays are nearly over, Autumn is nearly here again, what are your plans and how have you been feeling with this crazy moon?

Love Dotty xx

I'm having an art sale!

It has been a busy week in the studio, I did a fair last weekend at Avenham Park in Preston as part of the mad hatters tea party, and then had another this weekend at St Anne's music festival so I was making loads of art. 

I loved to paint and make mixed media pieces, it stops me getting bored of doing the same things.

I love doing both but the mixed media ones develop and evolve as I go where the rainbow ones, I already know the kind of way it will turn out. I also love getting the glue and paint on my hands, it makes me connected.

As I have 3 males in the house I love making girly pieces with glitter and loads of pink, my studio is pink and girly and I love it, if I need to reset my feminine energy, I just come in here and do a big breath and feel myself relaxing and recharging. Sometimes living with all males is hardwork.

I always love to put positive words and quotes on my art, I think words are so important, that is why it's called spelling, you create spells with your words.

I am having a sale over on facebook if you want to have a look, I am also open for commissions at the moment, until I get booked up again. Hope you have an amazing week, remember the possibilities are endless.

Love Dotty xx

#artvartist Dotty Delightful

For ‪#‎artvsartist 

It's supposed to show how your appearance compares to the people you paint but I paint various things! 

Have you joined in on the trend? its so cool to see all the different art in one place.

Love Dotty xx

Do you feel good about yourself naked?

I am a big follower of all things positive and try to see the best in situations, always a glass half full kinda girl, you know, I appreciate the sun, the birds singing, the crisp sheets on a freshly made bed, I am thankful for my wonderful life but the thing that doesn’t come quite so easy is when I am naked, looking at myself in the mirror.

 

Forgive yourself

There is a lot of forgiveness I need to do, a lot of inner soul work, its hard, its painful but I know it needs to be done. We have changed our foods, our toiletries, we live as eco as we can, we work on lots of other aspects of our lives and now its time to work on ourselves.

Thin, fat, tall, short, any shape or size we all have hang ups, I have been reading a Louise Hay book You can heal your life, so far its a great read and has made me question so many things, it has made me realise the hang ups I have stem back to learned ideas that control me without me even realising.
So this made me go back and think about why I feel the need to cover my tummy that is flabby and full of stretch marks, should I not embrace those marks and think how amazing it is my body has grown 3 healthy boys?

Yes really I should, I need to change my thoughts, this can’t just happen though can it? by changing the negatives to positives, is it really that easy?
We according to Louise Hay who’s strategies and ideas have worked for millions of people says that it is ” Believe it or not, we choose our thoughts".

We may habitually think the same thought over and over so it does not seem we are choosing the thought. But we did make the original choice. We can refuse to think certain thoughts. Look how often you have refused to think a positive thought about yourself. Well you can also refuse to think a negative thought about yourself.”

Baby steps.

This makes sense to me, I think baby steps are needed with truly loving yourself,
Years ago I really didn’t have much self-esteem after a violent and mentally abusive relationship, I believed I was pretty rotten and fat, that no one would ever love me. It took a lot of time and kindness to myself, plus the advances of several men to make me feel better, I did this slowly, every time I passed a mirror I would smile at myself, then eventually when I was comfortable with that and it came easy to me, I would then add a compliment in my head to go with the smile like ” you are beautiful”. I sort of tricked myself at first into believing it and then my confidence grew. I had a 2 year period of being single and in this time solely focussed on myself, I painted, I sang, I read books, played music, lit candles, I did all the things I would do if I had a date coming round but I did them for me. I dated myself.

True love

I loved myself, then I met the man of my dreams, my soul mate, my love. I think we couldn’t have met any earlier because that work on myself needed doing. It is ongoing, I still love myself in many ways but as I have put weight on these past few years, I think from feeling content and secure in my relationship and enjoying food so much I have a negativity about my body again. I am working on losing the extra weight gradually, through better choices and doing more so I can feel happy fully with myself again when looking at my naked body in the mirror.

Love Dotty xx

Positivity butterflies and angel art

Finished 2 commissions this week for a lovely customer I have enjoyed these so much,

 I was even staying up till 2.30am some nights sticking sequins on, its addictive!! 

These are my favourite art works so far - amazing!! 

Thank you for the opportunity and wonderful brief xx

Thank you so much for helping me do what I love, so grateful.

Love Dotty xx

Supercharge your income as an artist

Hey gorgeous souls! I want to share some on my art I have been making lately, and share how on earth I am actually selling stuff!

 if you want to keep up to date on a daily basis pop over to Facebook as I am on there a lot ;)

So I have been such a busy bee lately since I have gone ahead and become a full time artist, its amazing, I get to wear my fluffy My Little Pony pjs, eat Green and Blacks chocolate, watch films like Cinderella and paint and draw, plus get paid! I think this is THE happiest I have ever been in my whole life.

I feel truly blessed and thankful for this kind of abundance and life I am living.

How am I doing it?

You know, there are a couple of key things that have really resonated with me and I think they have been the key to me believing in myself, being able to have the knowledge and guts to go ahead and start living my dream. One is this amazing book  The magical Path by Marc Allen and his amazing meditation:

Watch his video

The other is the amazing Leonie Dawson she is an inspiration, I have joined her academy to do the business goddess workshop and it has been invaluable, the support from the groups and women you connect with is amazing. I love that it is not stuffy business and that its filled with rainbows, unicorns, love and really useful information that you can implement as a creative person.

In the academy there is a magic money making kit where you predict the total you would like to make that month (there is a brilliant workshop that goes alongside it to help you learn) I was a bit nervous about saying, too big a figure, its got to be believable for me and even though I have had mini successes in the past earning money, it's never been constant or I never thought it would be, anyway I put £500 for the month, to someone on a full time wage this probably doesn't seem that big, but you need to remember this is coming from an artist (in fact its even weird for me to call myself that, do I have permission?) but to me thats a great amount, so imagine my delight when I totalled up the amount of sales I have had for the month so far (5 days in) and it came to over half the total for the month!!
Like holy shit I am actually doing it!

I can only imagine it growing too, I have only been a member for just over a month and I feel like my life is transforming before my eyes. Its magical.

Hard work?

I do keep thinking someone is going to come and say "you can't do this, work is hard and you are having fun!"

We are conditioned at an early age with sayings that work is hard, such as:
“Nothing worth having comes easy.” – Theodore Roosevelt
"Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work."Booker T. Washington
 Hard work brings prosperity; playing around brings poverty.     -- Bible
Or a favourite is well meaning parents saying you have to do a job you hate because you have to pay the bills. 

Yes the bills need paying, yes you need money to live but don't forgo your happiness for this, find a way that works for you and your family, do something you love and you will never work a day in your life


 Contrary to popular belief with some friends, I don't loll around in pjs all day ( I do get dressed occasionally to go out haha) I don't spend my days faffing about, eating chocolate, watching films whoops! ;) in all seriousness, I have a whale of a time but I don't keep conventional hours, I don't finish working at 5pm, sometimes if I have a commission I am up till 2.30am, the housework gets rejected until its a must, I have to literally prize myself away from the computer sometimes to go to bed, the painting canvasses is a tiny part of running your own business, especially if you are a one woman show, theres all the marketing, admin, accounts etc but I wouldn't change a thing, to some it seem like 'hard'work but to me I am loving it. You can love your life and job too.

Like my work?

If you like my art and want to help me feed my chickens, children, rescue dogs and my chocolate habit you can pop over to my Etsy page or come stalk me on Facebook, get in touch if you want a commission piece painting, I love, love doing them so much!.

Love Dotty xx

Sometimes when things are falling apart

Darling it's OK to have a wobble, to feel not quite right, its OK to grieve, to cry, to feel sad when things are not going the way you would like. One day you will look back and realise it was all part of the plan, you are exactly where you are meant to be right now, no matter what you are going through, we have your back, we love and support you.

Take it one day at a time, just breathe deeply and know you are safe. 

Love Dotty xx

Unleash your power

Everyone has a gift to give or share with the world, some people know straight away what that gift is, others need time to grow and figure it out, some people don’t ever know they have a gift because they never work on themselves, I am guessing because you are reading this you don’t fall into the last category.

Inside you is amazing power, the power to heal, the power to make wonderful things happen, the power to choose your destiny.

To tap into this power will make you very happy, fulfilled and rich in all aspects of your life.

I have 2 sayings

1. Thank you

2. What’s the worst that can happen?

These words have propelled me throughout my awakened life and will continue to do so for ever more.

Throughout everything I have learned the number one thing to make you brilliant is gratitude, being thankful and believing you can do amazing things turns your life around,  being thankful everyday about all things makes you a happier and positive person, this in turn makes you attractive, fun to be around, makes you capable of achieving all your dreams, unlocks areas in your life you didn’t know could be amazing, and makes you open to opportunities and have the courage to go for them. 

Make sure you use the words ( and mean them ) Thank you, every day, all day from the minute you wake up “ thank you for granting me another day”, “Thank you for a bed to sleep in” to last thing at night “ Thank you for all the abundance I have received today”, “thank you for  a good nights sleep”

What's the worst  that can happen makes you think of the truly horrific, the absolutely most hideous outcome, then you always (normally) realise that it isn't that bad after all, this eleviates the worry factor and makes you more inclined to take a chance. 

                         Photo found on Manifest your dreams

Be positive. Believe that you can do it! Don’t focus on the negatives. Your brain doesn’t have an image for words like ‘won’t’ &  ‘don’t’ so when you say things like ‘I don’t want to fail’ your brain has to actually picture you failing which then takes your focus off your goal.

You can be happy and abundant!

How many people woke up today and had to drag themselves out of bed, get dressed in clothes they wouldn’t normally wear and don’t feel comfortable in, drive/get the train/bus early in the morning whilst half asleep to get to a destination they don’t like going to, to be there for 8+ hours, eating and drinking when told they are allowed to, asking permission to go to the toilet, acting in a certain way to ‘fit in’ whist looking out of the window wishing they were somewhere else. Doing this for 6 days a week, to get money to pay for things they don’t need but they think they should have because society and the media have brainwashed them into believing they would be happier and more fulfilled with the items, working for 48 hours a week (not including the wasted time travelling back and forth) to get money to save up to get 2 weeks off a year on holiday so they can ‘relax’.

Days off are treated like gold, Mondays are treated like the enemy, Fridays are looked forward to all week because “the weekend starts here”

Time is precious, your life is precious, family, friends, children are precious. Being happy is precious.
Today forget about money for a minute, ask yourself, am I doing what I love and enjoy? if money was no object how would I spend my days?
I am fully aware in this society we need money, I am not being idealistic by asking these questions, I just want you to think for a minute, have you been put on this earth to feel drained, stressed and like life is ‘hard work’?
I think we are amazing, our world is amazing, the opportunities and abundance is there for us all.
What one change could you make today to get closer to your dream life?

Don’t let other people’s ideals impact on you and your decisions, forget for a minute your background and the way your parents instilled their own values and ideals onto you, forget that the neighbours have a BMW ( whatever car you think is fancy, I like Morris Minors, but didn’t think that would work in this scenario) forget your sister redecorates every few months or your brother has just been to New York.

Take a breath, go on a big deep right into your belly breath, release it, release all the consumerism, release all the thoughts of “I can’t”

Then imagine what your life would look like if you could do what you enjoyed for a living. Imagine the endless possibilities, think back to when you was a child, what dreams did you have? I bet you didn’t have any thoughts then, that it wasn’t possible, that you was being unrealistic, no you didn’t!. Because as a child you believed anything was possible, magic happened, dreams came true. When did that belief change?

I have been reading many amazing books lately and come across some amazing inspiring people who started out just like you and me, but they did something about their dreams and turned them into reality.

This is my current book I am reading, I am about half way through and can’t recommend it enough, I am excited to see how the changes will impact my life.

I am also a massive fan of Leonie Dawson, she is infectious, I love her bonkers attitude to life, I love the way I can relate to her and I love the way she went from working in an office to living in tropical paradise.

The one book and film that changed our lives the most, right back 6 years ago and made us rethink everything was The Secret. If you do one thing today watch it, it is available on Youtube, so no excuses, I promise it will change you.

I just want you all to know, you can be happy, you can be abundant in life, love and wellbeing. You have permission to be amazing, you have permission to follow your dreams no matter who it pisses off along the way (normally that stems from jealousy or fear). Take the first step. We support you and have your back!

New year, fresh start

 Happy new year gorgeous people, I have been so absorbed lately in learning and growing and I came to the conclusion that the handmade and vintage fairs are no longer suitable for me to organise, I have done it for 4 years and loved every minute of the events but it is really hard work, sometimes is very stressfull, I have shed many tears of frustration and got so worked up on lots of occasions so I had a long hard think, talked for hours with my lovely partner and realised it isn't for my highest good to carry on, so I have now moved onto something that has been on the backburner for years, my art. I adore drawing and painting and positivity quotes and have been doing these canvasses just for fun, they are al around our home bringing joy and love to our days.

I also found some drawers I got from Ikea years ago on top of my dresser so I did a 'delightful' makeover on them too, I bloody adore them!!

What is your favourite quote?
Have a wonderful week xx