Today’s DIY came about out of necessity. My key holder fell off the wall and a corner cracked and I started thinking about ideas for something new. I went outside, grabbed a branch from the neighborhood (we have a lot of old, large trees on our street) and grabbed some yarn out of the craft closet. A few hooks and some hot glue and we had a crafty afternoon on our hands! These are my favorite kind of DIY projects: simple, fashioned out of items on hand, and quick enough to accomplish in the same amount of time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Here are the supplies:

yarn, glue gun, branch, hooks

Stick a dot of hot glue on the back side of the branch that will hang against the wall and wrap yarn around the stick. This is where you get to be creative. Use whatever colors you want, cover as much or as little as you want. Add some paint. Or some washi tape. Make it yours!

My five year old daughter brought me this gold card part way through and told me it MUST be included. And so it was.

I ended up using a nail and hammer to tap a hole into the branch where I wanted the hooks to go and then screwed them in. It made it much easier for me.

Tie some yarn to the ends and hang! Voila! New key holder.

What other ways would you use this branch? Jewelry hanger? Let us know if you have some ideas!

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The weather is really starting to reflect the fact that we are headed into summer here in the western part of the US. I’m noticing kiddie pools, bbq menus, sweet summer fruit. All of my shoes are open toed and my arms are feeling the warmth of the sun on a pretty consistent basis. You know what this mean, friends. It means it is time to show off my favorite jewelry.

Mishakaudi is a gem of a find, dear readers. There isn’t one piece in this shop I wouldn’t wear and I’m thinking the layered look might be my new statement for summer, if only to allow me the opportunity to order piece after piece. Marissa Lewis comes from a family of jewelry makers and her desire to create fun, unique, and affordable pieces for everyone drives her business. Her husband works with her and there is just something spectacular about a true family business. You can see the love in each piece. Browse through the Mishakaudi shop and find your new signature piece.

Mishakaudi is giving away one Honora Necklace to one lucky winner! To enter to win, please answer the following question no later than Tuesday, June 25th.

Please visit Mishakaudi and tell us: What signifies the beginning of summer for you?

Start checking the winner’s box on Monday, July 1st, to see if you’ve won!

Today we are honored to introduce you to Marissa from Mishakaudi.

Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

Mishakaudi was started by Marissa Lewis in 2010. Mishakaudi is a collaboration of Marissa’s artisitc and creative talents, her business experience and family history of jewelry making. Her parents have been in the jewelry manufacturing and sales business her entire life. Making jewelry and creating unique pieces that are affordable for everyone is her passion. With the addition of her husband to the business full-time this past year, they have be able to expand and grow in ways she has always wanted. Her jewelry is affordable, fun, funky, postive and unique. The line she designs is for the bohemian free spirit in every woman. She is a proud vegan, and does not use leather or feathers in any of her designs. Each piece is individually hand crafted in our workshop in Spokane Valley, WA. She lives with her husband Lamar and their lovely daughters, Jayli and Everly.

We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

Yes this is my life! My hobby is now my full time job, actually it is our family income, as my husband now works full time with me now too!

Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly believe that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

Everything. Really I get inspiration from people, places, culture, places I’ve traveled like Ecuador, Jamaica, Indonesia. I am very into geometric design patterns, so I try to take those ideas and put a modern twist on them. I would say my strongest infulences are tribal, native, bohemian, futuristic, spiritual, ritualistic and art deco. I am constantly changing my lines and create new pieces almost daily. I also have a love for the art of business and marketing in general, so I create simple lines that fit into specific markets.

On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a little bit of sunshine?

I exercise regularly, I am an avid Crossfitter! I do yoga and meditate occassionally. I make green juice and eat a high raw vegan diet and try to find the best in everything! My two sweet little girls are my built in sunshine and bring me the most joy I could find anywhere!

What are you most grateful for?

Everything! My family, my career, my zest for life!

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from Mishakaudi!

The Lemonade Stand is where we meet to share from our hearts, inspire each other to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, and gather as a community to celebrate the bright side of life.

Greetings, Bright Side readers! My name is Miss Ashley and I am so excited to be a part of the BSP team! This blog has brought sunshine into my life for many years now, and I hope to do the same for you!

As a Floridian, I grew up with sunshine and beaches. And, being from the state’s Panhandle and on the Gulf of Mexico, it meant glorious sugar-white sand and crystal clear water. Until I left my small Southern town (we’re pretty much Alabama here in Pensacola since we’re just a few minutes drive to our neighboring state), I didn’t realize I took it for granted. I’ve traveled all over the United States to mountains and deserts alike, but there’s just something so calming and centering about the ocean. My life has been about as tumultuous as those waves lately, and change upon change has been crashing into my life in good and unsettling ways. I headed out to the beach this weekend with all this whirling in my head, but watching the sunset across the ocean and seeing the moon rising to take its place made me think that some things are set in our lives just so others can rise. It’s not always fun or comfortable, but its just as beautiful if we let it be.

I love this quote by one of my favorite writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it goes along so well with our mission here at the BSP! As change comes in my life and crashes around, and I feel like being pulled under into negativity, I must remind myself to: live in the sunshine and positivity, and to embrace whatever comes my way as helping me evolve into a better me. Right now for me what helps is to physically and literally be in the sunshine, swimming in that glorious Gulf and drinking the wild, salty, sea-breeze. It does me wonders!

What makes you feel more centered? Where is your “happy” place that you turn to when change or hard times come or to free your mind from negativity?

To download, click on the image to open it full size and select file “save as” for your own personal use.

Hello, friends! We are so excited to introduce our new Honorary Ambassador of Sunshine, stone + cloth. Matt Clough founded stone + cloth purely out of inspiration. Once you hear the story, you will find yourself looking at the world a bit differently. You will start noticing how easy it is for one person to see something that needs to be done and to actually do it. Or perhaps you will realize you need a better backpack than the one you’re using and you will use your dollars to support this worthy cause. With stone + cloth, it is a win/win.

Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

stone + cloth was inspired by a trip I took (founder of stone + cloth) took to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. While descending from the Summit, I learned my porter, Benson did not earn enough money in a day to send his children to school. Benson was the one who enabled my success; he was waking me up with tea, cooking my meals and carry my heavy rucksack on my journey to the summit. I went to school for design and arriving home I wanted to put my design skills to work to honor my experience, so I designed a mountain inspired rucksack, that became a symbol for education. Your purchase of any stone + cloth product helps put students through school in Tanzania, Africa.

We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

I try to learn something new everyday. I also make sure I have fun everyday. Our philosophy at stone + cloth is to have fun and get stuff done. In order to love what you do, you need to be able to reflect on every day and truly enjoy the ins and outs of what you do.

Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly believe that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

The day to day has been busy lately, so I find clarity and inspiration on my buddy’s sailboat in the Marina. Since we’re working out of a loft and the rest of the city seems to overload the senses, finding silence can be tough and that’s become my favorite place to become inspired.

On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a little bit of sunshine?

I get out of my head and just create. This is where I am the most happy.

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Since we are spending this month focusing on the bloom that is inherently a part of June, it only seems appropriate to talk about art. There is nothing more personal, emotional, or engaging than art that speaks to you, don’t you think? Personally, I find that surrounding myself with art I love is a surefire way to keep the gloom at bay and to make sure my day always starts off on the bright side.

DENY Designs is a company that speaks to the very core of what we are all about. The concept is simple: you choose the home furnishing product you love, you add artwork from the DENY Art Gallery, and you have a functional statement piece of your very own. Dustin and Kim Nyhus head up the small and dedicated team over at DENY Designs to ensure that your life is one that is well lived and well decorated. (Bonus fact: a portion of the proceeds goes to the artist themselves.) Aside from the thousands of designs (seriously, click on the artist you like and a whole new world opens up) of throw pillows, duvet covers, and other home goods, DENY Designs has created what I think is absolutely the most genius storage solution ever: the Bling Box. I may or may not have just spent an hour virtual shopping through the entire gallery. That is what is known as full bloom, folks.

DENY Designs is giving away one pair of 18″ Outdoor Throw Pillows (winner to choose from over 4000 designs!) to one lucky winner. That’s two pillows of your choosing, friends! To enter to win, please answer the following question no later than Thursday, June 20th.

Please visit DENY Designs and tell us: Who is your favorite artist? If you don’t have one, describe the kind of art that draws you in.

Start checking the winner’s box on Monday, July 1st, to see if you’ve won!

Today we are honored to introduce you to Dustin & Kim from DENY Designs.

Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

We’re DENY Designs…nice to meet ya! Here’s our brand in a nutshell: we work with over 100 hand-selected artists from around the world and we put their art on our products. The best part? Our artists receive a portion of the proceeds, enabling our customers to support art communities all over the globe. How awesome is that? And as if that’s not great enough, all of our products are printed in the United States!

We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

This philosophy could not be more true for us. We are incredibly passionate beings here at DENY. Each of us cares immensely about the art community and want to share that creative spirit with our customers.

Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly believe that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

Here at DENY, we have the great fortune to work with crazy inspirational people and artists. Any direction you look here, you’ve got bold colors, brilliant artwork and the friendliest of faces.

On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a little bit of sunshine?

We’re quite lucky, as we’ve got over 4,000 pieces of vibrant art that we get to stare at everyday. So even on the dreariest of days, there’s nothing but sunshine up in the DENY office!

What are you most grateful for?

We have so much to be grateful for over the course of the last two years. We’ve been able to find the very best people to work at DENY and have some of the most talented artists in the world gracing our brand. And to have our work be so well received by the public? Well, that just means everything! We don’t take it lightly and are constantly striving to break the molds on inventive home decor accessories so that we can continue to knock our customer’s socks off!

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from DENY Designs!

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In this day and age, it seems we get so busy with our daily tasks that we forget to take the time to sit down and write someone a note, just for the heck of it. Sure, we email and we write on people’s walls on Facebook, and we follow people on an array of social media sites but how often do you actually put pen to paper and write a note? I don’t do it often enough, that’s for sure. Part of the problem is I don’t have any fantastic stationery to use. Not for long.
Tracy Locke Castro, of Fair Morning Blue,  is an artist from Austin, Texas who designs and creates amazing greeting cards, hand stamped textiles, and other bespoke goods. Her work is the kind of art you wish you had created and you feel honored adding your name to the bottom of the card. Truth be told, Castro has my dream job. The only difference between us is, well, her talent. And her artistry. And her amazing technique. Yes, let’s bring back the handwritten note. With Fair Morning Blue on our side, we can’t lose.

Fair Morning Blue is giving away 3 boxed sets of cards packaged in brown kraft boxes: Ribbons and Arrows (set of 8, 2 of each design), Spring Beach Umbrellas (set of 6, 2 of each design) and Santa Fe Summer in Pink (set of 8, 2 of each design) to one lucky winner! To enter to win, please answer the following question no later than Tuesday, June 18th.

Please visit Fair Morning Blue and tell us: What do you want to be when you grow up? (As in, what big dreams do you still keep hidden away?)

Start checking the winner’s box on Monday, June 24th, to see if you’ve won!

Today we are honored to introduce you to Tracy from Fair Morning Blue.

Please introduce yourself to our readers and explain a little bit about your business.

Hi! My name is Tracy Castro and I am the artist behind Fair Morning Blue, a paper goods and textiles shop based in Austin, Texas. I started Fair Morning Blue in November of 2011 after spending several years as a stay at home mom, instead of returning to my previous career as a nurse and university instructor. For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of being an artist and a writer, and I’m so happy that I finally decided to just go for it!

We believe that one of the ways to achieve happiness is to “Do what you love, love what you do.” How does this philosophy apply to your life?

DO WHAT YOU LOVE: I believe that life is far too short and too precious to waste our time NOT doing what we love. We are each on a mission to seek out what makes us come alive and fills us with passion – and then to pursue it! That is precisely the impetus for Fair Morning Blue. I love each step of the card making process: drawing ,printing, trimming, scoring, packaging, photographing. I’m eagerly learning how to silk screen and carve stamps – and, I’m even saving up for a letter press. “Do what you love” is also the reason I occasionally let the dinner dishes wait on the counter while I take my daughters swimming until the pool closes, my rationale for staying up late to finish a truly great novel even though it’s a school night, and my argument in favor of splurging on a chocolate cupcake every now and again.

On the other hand, I can’t spend every waking minute creating and embracing beauty. As a wife, mom, daughter and small business owner, I find that life is unavoidably cluttered with little mundane tasks and obligations. This is where LOVE WHAT YOU DO comes in. I file my sales tax, I sweep up cheerios, I keep my annual appointment with the dentist. But as I do these, my very least favorite of chores, I make a commitment to love what I am doing. It’s not always easy, but I can almost always find some loveliness in whatever I am doing, even if it’s just the music playing in the background or the card I am designing in my imagination.

Our mission here at The Bright Side Project is to spread sunshine on a daily basis because we firmly believe that life is (still) beautiful. Where do you find beauty and inspiration?

At the risk of sounding trite, I find beauty and inspiration in the ordinary everyday world. This summer here in Texas, I am inspired by the stretched afternoon shadows on the sidewalk, the smell of sunscreen and the stickiness of melty popsicles.

On a dreary day, what do you do to infuse your life with a little bit of sunshine?

On a dreary day (or even when I’m just feeling kind of dreary and blue), nothing cheers me up more than making myself a small treat – a cup of coffee or maybe a sparkling water with lemon in a pretty glass with a straw. Then, I curl up in the rocking chair with some shelter mags. Most likely, my kitty cat Apple will curl up at my feet.

What are you most grateful for?

Above all else, I am grateful for my two charming daughters. They fill my days with laughter, love and happy chaos. And they inspire me to be follow my dreams in hopes that they will grow up following theirs.

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from Fair Morning Blue!