I seem to be a bit of a broken record, but I am so happy it is spring. I'm loving the sunny days, the warmer weather, and all the beautiful flowers in bloom. My heart is racing with excitement because of all the inspiration I see around me and my head is filling up with more ideas, techniques, and projects I want to try. For instance, I can't wait to finish my piece from the other day and share it with you. I got my inspiration from what my daughters have been calling "popcorn" trees that have been in bloom for several weeks now. Unfortunately I didn't stop and take a picture of their beauty and our last set of rainstorms washed most of the "popcorn" away. So this piece will be a good reminder of their beauty. It will also remind me to stop and enjoy the moment because moments can pass so quickly, in every aspect of life. So be sure to enjoy the moment and have a Happy Wednesday!

Today was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and I was able to squeeze in some "playtime" between laundry, dishes, etc.. I was joined by my trusty sidekick Katherine (my 3 year old), and when we began, I had no idea what we were doing or where our projects would take us. I just knew I wanted to create, to put paint to canvas and just play. We had a wonderful time and I'm thrilled with where my project is going. I also love how Katherine followed my lead, doing everything I did, but ended up with a completely different project. You gotta love that. Art is so much fun! Here's a sneak peek of my project. When it's finished, I'll be sure to share.

"With All My Heart" Etsy Treasury In the past, I've had the pleasure of being included in several etsy treasuries. Most recently I was included in a beautiful " Flaming Turquoise " treasury and it got me thinking about treasuries. I must admit that my husband got me thinking, too, when he responded to my facebook posting of the treasury with "I have no idea what that means but it sounds cool and I love you. Grats!" So I explained it to him--a treasury is a collection of beautiful things. I then realized how much fun it would be to put one together and surprisingly, I had never done one before. And I love beautiful things. And I love collecting things. A perfect match! So last night when I was tinkering with etsy, I noticed that my favorites included a bunch of hearts. I'm not exactly sure why this surprised me, because I love hearts. In fact, I am lucky enough to have a heart shaped diamond on my wedding ring. I tend to be a bit of a dreamer a

The beautiful tulips I see on my way to work It is quite the rainy, blustery day today. But it is Spring nonetheless and it's been wonderful to see all the flowers and trees in bloom. I've been doing my best to focus on the brighter side of things in my quest for more happiness and I've been doing a good job for the most part. It can be tough sometimes, especially when I get tired, but nobody's perfect, right? This week I wanted to share a couple of happy things. First, you should check out  Happiness Week over at the Whole Self . I'm still checking it out myself and I must say it's filled with lots of inspiring stories, information, and websites. And be sure to check out the the brand new Feel Good Deal  website. It's such a great idea and resource. So have fun, be happy, and enjoy your Wednesday!

My new iPad2 case , originally uploaded by  byjen . This weekend, my birthday weekend, I enjoyed time with family and my new love--my iPad2. It was a birthday present from my family and I love it!! My husband actually waited in line all day on the 11th when they were released and I received it for my birthday on the 18th. Hooray! With it being so new, there are not a lot of options when it comes to accessories, especially cases. So I took care of that by making my own. I was good and used stuff I already had in my stash. I lined it with pretty white fleece and covered it with canvas. I was going to paint it or embellish it more, but now that it's made I think I like it just the way it is. It is so cute and fun to make, that I might just have to make more. My new love could use a few outfits, right? I also wanted to let you know that I am extending my Feel Good Deal  to help celebrate the launch of the new Feel Good Deal website this week. So stay tuned! And hooray for  Liv

Join me as I celebrate today! This year I have been trying to appreciate everyday more, but today is also my birthday. I'm lucky to have the day off from work. I'll be celebrating the day with family watching my husband learn to drive a Zamboni (a dream-come-true for him) and watching my daughter show off her ice skating skills (Rebecca's been ice skating for over a year now). We'll have lunch together, we'll enjoy brown sugar cupcakes together, And I should be getting my new iPad 2 (a dream-come-true for me)!  It should be lots of fun! I'm also celebrating here on my blog and my etsy shop . I am offering a special deal through Choosing Beauty's Feel Good Deal of The Day --37% off anything in my shop all weekend long (ending Sunday 10:00pm PST). Just use the coupon code: FEELGOOD.  AND I'm excited to be debuting my newest creation:  The Art Journaling Inspiration Kit !  So check it all out and be sure to celebrate today!!

So here we are, it's another Positively Wednesday !  Today I would like to share Liv Lane of Choosing Beauty and her FEEL GOOD DEAL OF THE DAY!    She has so much happy, positive energy to share through her blog, her art, and her new Feel Good Deal. I first "met" Liv through Kelly Rae Robert's Flying Lessons and rediscovered her through her new  FEEL GOOD DEAL OF THE DAY: "The FEEL GOOD DEAL OF THE DAY  arrives in your inbox each weekday morning, with a featured discount on one spectacularly creative, artistic, soul-stirring, spirit-lifting product, program or shop.  Created and delivered with love by  ChoosingBeauty.com .  In addition to your daily discount, each short & sweet email features a Feel Good Freebie of the Week, quick links to Feel Good Blog Posts, Inspiring Quotes and More!" Now really, can it get much better than that?  I have just barely scratched the surface of all Liv has to offer and I am in awe..... and inspired, amazed, a

Yesterday I enjoyed some time in my c raft studio c reating (in between c leaning house and taking  c are of the girls). For a while now, I've been wanting to either buy or c reate a necklace with my one little word, c lear. The other day I was inspired by Lorrie Everitt's glass c harm tutorial . I couldn't get my hands on a glass c harm, but I had been wanting to try making a scrabble tile pendant, so it seemed like a good alternative. Earlier this year I had also found an eyeglass c harm in my stash that I thought would be perfect with my word, c lear. And then I thought it would be fun to use the scrabble letter " C ." Obviously the word c lear starts with the letter " c ," but then if you say it out loud, it represents the word "see," as in I c an see c learly now.  If you have a chance, be sure to visit Lorrie's blog because she's c elebrating her blog's first anniversary. She's got lovely ideas, not to mention a fun

Today I'm trying something new here in my little corner of the internet. This year I seem to be on a lovely, but unexpected, journey of self discovery like no other. And in my "travels" I seem to be running into the topic of happiness a lot. And it makes me so happy! So I'd like to share my happiness with you here on a regular basis. I haven't truly figured out all that I wish to share, but I know that I want to share. And what better day to celebrate being happy and positive than on a Wednesday. I mean, who couldn't use a little extra happy in the middle of the week, right? So here is Positively Wednesday! This week, I had thought about sharing some happy reading and thoughts, but then yesterday I was inspired to take a different direction. At lunch I was outside enjoying sunshine, blue skies, and fluffy clouds--Hooray! I was reminded of a silly little video that my husband recently shared with me. And just thinking about it made me smile. So if you have fi

Enjoying some sunshine in my studio today.

She Chose Happiness , originally uploaded by  byjen . This week I finally found the time to watch the videos for Christy Tomlinson's new  She Art class (of course it was in the middle of the night because my puppy Sprinkles and then my three year old, Katherine, wouldn't let me sleep). After seeing the videos, I had no choice but to fit in the time to make my very own She Art. It just made my mind race with ideas and inspiration. My little heart was just racing with excitement as I created my background and girl. I really enjoyed using colors that I wouldn't normally use together. I felt comfortable knowing that if I got to a point that I didn't like, there was always another layer coming that could change that. There are some little things I wish I had done different, but all in all I am in love with my girl. She makes me so happy, as well she should right?.

Today I am joining in on some One Little Word (OLW) blog hopping fun thanks to Margie from Ali Edward's OLW class  (which I absolutely LOVE ). So for those of you visiting for the first time, I'm Jen. I have two adorable little girls, a loving & supportive husband, and a full-time job as an optometrist. But my heart truly belongs to all things creative, which is what this blog &  By Jen  are for.  I've been choosing a word each year for several years now, and this year I chose the word Clear (kind of funny when you think about me being an eye doctor, huh?). I wasn't sure about my word at first, but with the help of Ali's class I have fallen in love with my word and all it stands for (if you'd like, you can read more here and here ). Not only is it helping me to clear out physical clutter like my overflowing house and my excess weight, but my OLW is helping me find mental clarity, including my very own " Aha " moment. So let me walk you