Today we are honored to introduce you to Danny from Litographs.

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

I founded Litographs to give book-lovers a way to share their passion for literature. As a book-lover myself, I wanted to create beautiful literary design products that I would be proud to wear or display in my home. We work with the International Book Bank to send one book to a community in need for each product we sell.

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?

Absolutely! Litographs is my dream job, and I know that’s a big part of our success so far.

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?

My cats!

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

Besides reading a good book, I find that music plays a large role in my daily disposition. My playlist selection is definitely influenced by the weather outside.

What are you most grateful for?

I’m most grateful for my family and friends. But I’m also so grateful that I have the opportunity to spend every workday on a product I love, and with fantastic, intellectual customers!

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from Litographs!

{website :: Facebook}

Everlasting Spring is upon us. friends. and that means only one thing: dresses. I don’t think I’m wrong here when I say that there is something about the perfect dress that means spring has sprung. ‘Tis the season to break out every dress you have sequestered away during those cold months and walk around open air markets and flower stalls with a wide brimmed hat and an armful of bangles. Problem is, a good dress isn’t as easy to come by as one might think. Specifically, I am constantly on the lookout for well made dresses that are designed with a woman’s real needs and wants in mind.

This is where Shabby Apple comes in. Shabby Apple is an online dress boutique that specializes in vintage and retro dresses. The aesthetic is one where femininity and strength merge with great design to accentuate the beauty in each of us. This Decadence dress is absolute perfection and I simply cannot imagine gliding through spring without this Highland Light number. For whatever reason, spring is the season where I dress myself up in my favorite clothes and head out to the nearest cafe to enjoy the first blooms of the season. Oh, and just for the record, those three dresses featured up there are on my wishlist for heading from spring into summer. From navy to stripes to red, it seems the perfect way to plan ahead while honoring our “Everlasting Spring”, don’t you think?

Shabby Apple is giving away one $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner!  *Open to US residents only!* Comments now closed…good luck!

Please visit Shabby Apple and tell us: What items from the shop are on your list for honoring your “Everlasting Spring?”

Start checking the winner’s box on Monday, May 20th, to see if you’ve won!

Happy Monday, friends! We hope you had a lovely weekend. We are starting off our month long “Everlasting Spring” with some pretty special giveaways this week and we are spending as much time as possible outside, weather permitting. That being said, I decided today that I needed to simplify my weekly routine. Those of you with hectic schedules understand how important planning is when it comes to meals. There is nothing worse than standing in front of the open refrigerator, stomach growling, wondering what you can make in five minutes. (Grocery shopping while hungry is a close second.) I decided to work up a tentative weekly menu to make those crazy hours between four and six easier to deal with. If any of you have menu plans/ideas for us, please let us know. This is relatively new territory for me (I usually plan day by day) so any trade secrets would be greatly appreciated!

Here are a few delicious looking ideas that I think will make their way to my table this week:

A Cup of Jo posted this recipe for The Best Omelette You’ll Ever Have. I’m willing to accept that challenge. Plus, an omelette with a green salad on the side for dinner? It’s like a mini European vacation.

This Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Brussel Sprouts via Gimme Some Oven is a surefire hit. There are certain staples in our house. This recipe has three of them. Win win. (Win.)

It just wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t add some sort of dessert here. There is some definite love for desserts in this household. This recipe promises to be The Best Chocolate Mousse of Your Life Under 5 Minutes via Cafe Fernando.

This week is looking to be something pretty remarkable.

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

Happy Friday, friends. Do you have any grand plans this weekend? Here in SoCal it is starting to warm up like crazy so we are looking forward to getting outside and absorbing as much literal sunshine as possible. Some of you are in cooler climates so I wanted to share some of the sunshine with you, albeit metaphorically. Every now and then I want to share some of the blogs that inspire, entertain, bring the sunshine to my computer screen. Today, I want to introduce you to Lovely Indeed.

This is Chelsea:

Aside from being ridiculously adorable, Chelsea creates the most fantastic DIY projects. And the photography? Gorgeous. I honestly want to curl up inside her blog sometimes and never leave. If it were possible to vacation for a week in her blog, I would.

Here are a couple of my favorite posts:

Photobooth Factory // Cinco De Mayo Fringe 

DIY Bar Bottle Labels

Spend some time this weekend visiting Chelsea at Lovely Indeed. You’ll be happy you did.

Hey, friends. Since we’ve got Mother’s Day around the corner, I started thinking about something for the amazing mothers in my life. While we generally keep holidays pretty simple around here, now that the kids are getting older, we always like to have them step in and help with acknowledging the loved ones in our lives during the special holidays. Anyone with children is familiar with using vegetables and fruits for stamping and I had some romaine from the CSA box that was about to turn so I figured, hey…two birds, one stone! Now, as often happens, I adjusted the craft as we went (hence the “added supplies” photo.) Tell me you do this, too.

Here are the supplies needed:

And here are the added supplies that worked their way in part way through. Basically, I did the first part and it looked a little bare. So I went out front, snipped off some lavender shoots (thinking they will dry up nicely) and taped them to the card with washi tape. Problem solved.

I cut the lettuce off and basically used the core as a stamp. There were teeny tiny lettuce heads. I’m thinking cabbage would have been beautiful. I did not, however, have cabbage in the house. So there’s that. I’m a big fan of crafting with items we have on hand.

I blotted the cores on paper to (a) see the effect and (b) get rid of excess paint. There is a similar project I caught in passing on Pinterest (although I couldn’t find it when I tried) and that one looked AMAZING. This is how Pinterest works for me sometimes. (As in, it makes me feel inferior and horribly amateur when it comes to DIY projects.)

I blotted the pink and white over each other and I like the abstractness of it, to be honest. It wasn’t at all what I was going for but it was actually beautiful, I think. There is space on top for my daughter to write something special to the grandmothers. I think they’ll love it.

These would be a fun set of notecards, too, don’t you think?

Robert Frost wrote:

“Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; / And give us not to think so far away / As the uncertain harvest; keep us here / All simply in the springing of the year.”

There is just something about spring, don’t you think? It is the time of endless possibility, ultimate potential. It is also the time for the biggest rewards, the greatest beauty.

This month, let’s focus on this beauty, this potential. Let’s continue our focus on the bloom and delve even further into bright light we all carry within us.

For the duration of May, we will be focusing on artists who exemplify this exact mission. We will showcase products, people, and ideas that promote living in and “Eternal Spring.”

{shop :: Facebook}

Friends, we have made it to the end of our month long “Flourish.” We hope you have been inspired by our focus on the bloom, the luxuriant beauty. Here at the BSP, we strive to honor the flourish every day of the year and we hope that you feel the same. One easy way to maintain the focus is to pay attention to the ways in which we adorn ourselves. The decorations we put on our bodies are the petals, the bloom. It is our honor to supply you with the options.

Simply Adorned is an online boutique helmed by Amy Magers. Hosted under the Kitsy Lane umbrella, Magers curates beautiful pieces and showcases them at discounted prices, essentially doing the work for us! As a stay at home mother of two working to supplement the family income, Simply Adorned is more than a virtual shop. It is a movement toward an inspired life, a step toward living in beauty and purpose. What better way to honor the flourish, don’t you think?

Simply Adorned (A Kitsy Lane Boutique) is giving away the winner’s choice of the Marley Necklace (pictured above) OR a $50 gift certificate to the shop! To enter to win, please answer the following question no later than Tuesday, May 7th. Comments now closed…good luck!

Please visit Simply Adorned and tell us: What did you want to be when you were a child? (And what did you grow up to become?)

Start checking the winner’s box on Monday, May 13th to see if you’ve won!

Today we are honored to introduce you to Amy from Simply Adorned.

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

Hi, I’m Amy. I am a stay at home mom of 2 active kids. I was looking for a way to contribute financially to our household with limited disruption to my household. Kitsy Lane was the answer I was looking for. I now own an online jewelry and accessory boutique which takes minimal time to manage not to mention is lots of fun to pick the jewelry that I want to represent from the numerous and ever changing inventory. Simply Adorned (the boutique’s name) sprang from my personal style of less is more and wearing jewelry can enhance what is already beautiful. You can learn more about Kitsy Lane here.

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 love this philosophy although I will admit I sometimes have to stop and reflect on my life and decisions to keep this philosophy living strong.

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?

I find beauty and inspiration in the simple things in life. The snap shots of experiencing or witnessing pure joy. Making drip sand castles with my kids, laying down on the grass and watching the clouds float over head, listening to my daughter’s infections laughter that brings a smile and giggle to everyone, the noises emanating from my son’s room from his latest lego creations.

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

Cranking up the tunes, making a big pot of soup, sipping a glass of wine, and nibbling on a piece of dark chocolate.

What are you most grateful for?

I am grateful for the love and laughter of my family and friends.

Check back later today for an amazing giveaway from Simply Adorned!

Hi friends. We hope you had a lovely weekend. Let’s talk about weekends, shall we? While the “weekend” is generally seen as the restful part of the week, most weekends are spent catching up on all of the errands I didn’t get done during the week. Plus, those are the two days my man is home from work and we can (a) take turns watching the kids and (b) work on the projects that require more than two adult hands. Needless to say, the weekends aren’t always quite as relaxing as we might hope. In fact, there are times they are more structured and over scheduled and the spontaneity that generally comes with a couple of days off is non existent.

This weekend, I decided to let out a huge exhale and open up the afternoon. While there were two looming tasks highlighted on my to-do list, I brought out a huge white canvas and a box of acrylic paints. While my youngest napped (and my better half was at the hardware store), my daughter and I created something. Together.

So often, I feel as though I need to prepare for an art project. I think about it, gather the supplies, carve out time. It becomes a task (albeit a fun one) that needs to get accomplished in order to feel as though I followed through. I had forgotten that the true gift of being creative is the fulfillment that comes from making something SOLELY for the sake of making it. Forget the end result, forget the DIY pictures, forget the bigger picture. Just put out some paint and let your five year old (literal or metaphorical) go to town.

And then thank yourself for living in a time when your phone has a camera so you actually do capture these moments to remember them later.

What about you? How do you carve out time for creativity? Are you spontaneous with it or do you plan every detail?