Be Yourself... An Original.

This beautiful image was illustrated and painted by Jody Bergsma   Those who may not know who she is,  she is an incredible illustrator and water color artist from Bellingham, Washington.   She had been working on this particular illustration as part of her online class for water coloring. (Which she does freely).   The caption on this image this morning was:

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I particularly liked it because of the blue fish.  The blue fish is a clown fish, which traditionally are colored orange and white.  When I see this image I think about how being original is important in all walks of life.

I like to apply my uniqueness to the drawings and products that I create.  I'm asked quite often how come I don't do what everybody else does. :)  Simple.  That wouldn't be me. (Some of you may not realize that I hand draw all of the images that are featured in my products.)

I stumbled across a t-shirt last year that had a doodled fish swimming one direction, and a school of fish going the opposite direction. I came home and I illustrated my own version of it using funny goldfish (below) and captioned it " There's always one... BE the one!"  because I think it's a great reminder that it's OK to go a little different direction than everyone else.  You still get to some of the same destinations, but perhaps took in a little different scenery! :)

My thought for you this Sunday is to stay true to who YOU are.  Your family, friends, and even your products in your store will benefit from your YOU-ness. :)

And now for a freebie...   I found this in my files and thought it was a bit fun.  Since our skies are so blue today with a little wind (perfect for hot air balloons),  I thought I would share this.  It's a simple number tracing activity 1-20,  with hot air balloons.  If you decide you like it, and would like a blank template so you can add numbers etc... send me a note with your email address and I will send it to you.  :)

I grew up in a small down in Washington state known for antique malls, and hot air balloons.  I miss hearing the sound of the burners lifting the balloons into the air.  I always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride to see as far as I could see....  but I think my fear of falling from the sky trumped that idea. :))

Be sure to stop by my friend Mel's blog...from Graphics from the Pond.  She is participating in a fundraiser to generate some much needed resources for her fellow Aussies who were affected by Tropical Storm Oswald. It's a really good opportunity to obtain some super resources, while helping some folks out that can really need it!  I plan on donating too!   Super Pack for Bundy

Have a wonderful week, and remember.... BE YOURSELF!