I haven’t much of a chance to get outside to create any of my nature mandalas lately. Whenever the temps haven’t been -30 windchill, it’s been snowing like crazy and the only thing I’ve had the chance to do when I’m out there is shovel. To be honest, the snow has sort of been kicking my ass haha! But it sure is pretty and I refuse to begrudge it. Last night when it finally stopped snowing and I went out there to shovel, it was absolutely breathtaking (and not because of the cold 😉), dusk was falling and the colors were so soft and lovely. 😍
In between the frigid temps and the snow, I’ve been nice and warm inside, painting. I got a really good deal on some little 4 x 4 wrapped canvases a while back and I thought I’d experiment a bit with painting mandalas on them using some Valentiney colors. 💘
Painting a round design on a square shape is not very forgiving and you can really tell how crooked they are. I think I might have to try to figure out how to draw some sort of grid on them before I start painting so they’re not so crooked. The only thing is… I never know ahead of time what sort of design I’m going to paint, it just sort of becomes whatever it becomes…
You would think that as I’m working out from the center and going around and around that it would sort of automatically be centered on the canvas, but apparently not, in my case. 🙃 I need more practice making my dots more uniform in size. Good thing I have all these little canvases to practice on. 😉
Stay cozy, my friends! Wishing you all a wonderful, love-filled day! ❤
When I first started putting this together, I initially had only the one little lonely heart hanging there, but then I thought to myself “No… this isn’t true. No heart is ever truly alone… Love is all around us, everywhere.” So I added all of the other little opalescent hearts to illustrate that. Sometimes we can’t see it, but if we shift our perspective just a little bit, it begins to come into focus.
I’m having mixed feelings about Valentines Day this year. It can be a difficult holiday when you don’t have a special someone to share the day with or when you aren’t able to be with the one you love. And as much as we like to tell ourselves “oh but Valentines Day is about all types love, not just romantic love,” there is still that little twinge of sadness when we don’t have a lover to celebrate this day of love with. At least that’s how it is for me. And unfortunately, the one I want to spend my Valentines Day with is an ocean away…
But I’m going to do my best not to feel all down and depressed because I happen to be a HUGE fan of love and an eternally hopeless romantic at heart, so I have decided to do something on my blog for Valentines Day to reflect that.
I come across so many wonderful quotes all the time, many of them about love, and because I’m not feeling especially inspired right now to come up with anything of my own, I thought I would share some of those quotes in addition to some great pictures from deviantArt that I find sweet, passionate, or romantic.
I happened upon this poem a while back and it speaks so much to me. It’s perfect to start this out with…
“One day your heart will take you to your Lover. One day your soul will carry you to the Beloved. Don’t get lost in your pain, know that one day your pain will become your cure.”
“Love knows not distance; it hath no continent; its eyes are for the stars.”
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“Love has the power to break all chains – swim the deepest seas – endure the strongest pains. Love is the glow in the darkest night leading you on until you have sight.”
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“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.”
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“The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman’s heart.”
“Romantic love reaches out in little ways, showing attention and admiration. Romantic love remembers what pleases a woman, what excites her, and what surprises her. Its actions whisper: you are the most special person in my life.”
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“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”
“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs, being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes, being vexed a sea nourished with lovers’ tears, what is it else? a madness most discreet, a choking gall, a preserving sweet.”
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“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
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“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; that word is love.”
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“Real love isn’t blind. It sees, sees everything, but loves anyway.”
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“The throb of life is love. Without it, humans are bodies of bones clad with skin.”
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“And think not, you can direct the course of love; for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.”
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♥♥♥
Edit:
I came across this video after this post, but I just felt like it was a perfect ending for this. I am so in love with it!
I created this blog primarily just to express myself by writing about whatever random stuff happens to come to mind on any given day. Over time I suppose it may morph into something more specific, but for now it's just my various ramblings. Thank you so much for stopping by and wherever your day leads today ~ I hope it's to a happy place! :)
Ramblings From Jewels 