Posts in gratitude
Focus on Gratitude in December: Thankful for Gardens and Nature
Focus on Gratitude in December: Thankful for Gardens and Nature

I stand at the window and look out at my garden. Birds come and go from the feeder.

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garden, gratitudeAnne Buteragratitude in december, gardens, gardening, grateful for gardens, gardens as inspiration, grateful for gardens and nature, finding joy in winter, winter garden, garden inspiration, botanical art, end of the year, joy of gardening, joy in nature, paying attention, gratitude, gratitude for nature, gratitude for gardens, gratitude is the answer, ending the year with gratitude Comments
Focus on Gratitude in December: Thankful for Art and Creativity (and a Giveaway!)
Focus on Gratitude in December: Thankful for Art and Creativity (and a Giveaway!)

“In the pocket of her jacket, Aunt Edna found a small sable brush, and throughout dinner she repeatedly dipped it in her water glass and drew…. upon her absorbent napkin.”

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creativity, gratitudeAnne Buteracreativity, art, gratitude for creativity, gratitude for art, gratitude for art and creativity, imagine a world without art, imagine a world without creativity, focus on gratitude, gratitude, Strawberry Moon Magazine, Dana Barbieri, collaboration, creative collaboration, celebrating creativity, Joe Coomer, One Vacant Chair by Joe Coomer, quotes, gratitude in december Comments
Gratitude and a Giveaway Inspired by an Exciting Collaboration and Fun Stickers
Gratitude and a Giveaway Inspired by an Exciting Collaboration and Fun Stickers

Sometimes a project comes along which is a complete joy. My collaboration with Kickapoo Meadery was one of those projects. This fall I worked with Roots and Refuge Farm on another.

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art, garden, paintings, gratitudeAnne Buteragiveaway, 2022 Botanical Watercolor Calendar, Anne Butera, art by Anne Butera, collaboration, commissioned paintings, the story behind a commission, Roots and Refuge Farm, Jessica Sowards, Jeremiah Sowards, stickers, stickers from Roots and Refuge Farm, 2 Million Blossoms magazine Comments
November 2021 in the Garden and an Invitation to a Joyful Seed Exchange
November 2021 in the Garden and an Invitation to a Joyful Seed Exchange

In Wisconsin by the time November rolls around, we’ve usually had our first frost. Sometimes we’ve already had our first snow, too.

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garden, gratitude, joyAnne Buteragarden, garden dogs, autumn in the garden, autumn cleanup, saving seeds, snow on the garden, dahlia seeds, dahlia tubers, saving dahlia seeds, digging dahlia tubers, saving dahlia tubers, garden as inspiration, harvesting carrots, snapdragons, violas, messy gardens, imperfect gardens, my imperfect garden, joy in the garden, why i garden, seed exchange, exchanging seeds, planting spring bulbs, letting go, roses in the garden, The Poet's Wife Rose, The Poet's Wife David Austin Rose, battling Japanese bettles, gratitude, beauty in imperfection, garden tours, garden tour Comments
An Exciting Commission: Working With Kickapoo Meadery on Six Botanical Paintings
An Exciting Commission: Working With Kickapoo Meadery on Six Botanical Paintings

A few times over the summer I mentioned working on a big commission. I even shared a sneak peek of one of the paintings.

Today I want to share the full story.

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art, paintings, gratitudeAnne Buterawatercolor, watercolor paintings, wild bergamot watercolor painting, wild bergamot, Kickapoo Meadery, mead, mead labels, Kickapoo Meadery mead labels, Tim McDonald, Diane Roy, Wisconsin, Wisconsin small businesses, Viroqua Food Co-Op, pollinators, pollinator plantings, pollinator habitat, milkweed, watercolor milkweed painting, bees, beehives, mead and honey production, local food, Staghorn sumac, staghorn sumac mead, staghorn sumac painting, Ohio spiderwort, Ohio spiderwort painting, lance leaf coreopsis, lance leaf coreopsis painting, ginger painting, staghorn sumac watercolor, Ohio spiderwort watercolor, lance leaf coreopsis watercolor, botanical watercolor paintings, ginger watercolor painting, staghorn sumac watercolor painting, lance leaf coreopsis watercolor painting, common milkweed watercolor painting, botanical watercolors, botanical watercolor series, botanical watercolor commissioned paintings, the story behind a commission, creating paintings for Kickapoo Meadery, Kickapoo Meadery in Blue River Wisconsin, farm to table, farm-to-table, popular posts Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

If July’s garden stars were purple poppies, August’s are sunflowers.

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garden, gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buteragarden, garden tours, monthly garden tours, what's happening in my garden, what's happening in the garden, rescue dogs, Pitbull mix, rescued pitbull mix, pit bull mix, rescued pit bull mix, garden dogs, celebrate summer joys, A month of gratitude, a month of gratitude practice, a month of joy, sunflowers, summer garden, late summer garden, nasturtiums, dahlias, zinnias, japanese beetles, japanese anemones, canna, stars of the garden, garden tour Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Noticing beauty needn’t be limited to seeing it. Last week we focused on COLOR, something we experience with our eyesight, but this week I want you to awaken your other senses.

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gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring, savoring each day, savoring summer, slowing down, going slow, how to slow down, taking things slowly, engaging your senses, all your senses, noticing beauty, gratitude practice, gratitude, embracing gratitude, A month of gratitude, committing to gratitude, joy, Joy List, Joy Lists, celebrate summer joys, a month of joy, a month of gratitude practice Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Did you end up writing a Gratitude List after my post last week?

Are you ready for today’s prompt to help open your eyes to the beauties and joys of summer*?

This week I want you to focus on COLOR.

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garden, inspiration, joy, seasons, gratitude, lifeAnne Buteracelebrate summer joys, gratitude, gratitude practice, summer joys, color, celebrating color, focus on color, savoring color, savoring summer, noticing color, garden colors, zinnias, zinnia flowers, geraniums, pelargoniums, colorful leaf geraniums, orange pixie tomato, nasturtiums, butterfly weed, sunflowers, dill, borage, wild bergamot, commissioned paintings, watercolor paintings, watercolor paint, watercolor paint swatches, mixing watercolor paint, mixing colors, wild bergamot watercolor painting, calendula flowers, dahlia flowers, dahlias Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice

Summer is speeding past and before it’s gone I want to make sure I savor all the things I love about it.

To remind me to slow down and savor the days, I’m devoting the month of August to gratitude and joy.

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joy, life, seasons, gratitudeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring each day, savoring summer, Joy Lists, writing joy lists, gratitude practice, gratitude, A month of gratitude, a month of joy, printable art, printable joy list, printable gratitude list Comments
Finishing My 10 Year Painting Celebration with Gratitude
Finishing My 10 Year Painting Celebration with Gratitude

Bright sunshine and warm breezes. Clear blue skies and crisp snow. Cold, dark, wet days. This month I’ve tried to be present for it all.

November has been a gift. A strange month, but a gift, too.

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life, joy, inspiration, gratitude, creativityAnne Buteragratitude practice, gratitude, joy list, Joy Lists, seek joy, transformative power of gratitude, writing joy lists, 10 Year Painting Celebration, 10 year painting celebration, 10 years of learning to paint, 10 years of watercolor painting, 10 years of learning watercolor, 10 Years of Learning How to Paint, being a beginner, sketchbook practice, committing to gratitude, committing to a sketchbook practice Comments
Embracing Stillness: Lessons Learned Waiting at the Vet
Embracing Stillness: Lessons Learned Waiting at the Vet

This year I’ve gone to more vet appointments than I can count. I guess I could count them, flip back through calendar pages and tally up appointments for tests and surgery and treatments and more tests.

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gratitude, joy, life, seasonsAnne Buterastillness, embracing stillness, quiet, embracing quiet, waiting, waiting during medical appointments, pets, loving animals, veterinarian appointments, rescued greyhounds, retired racing greyhounds, rescued cats, joy, gratitude, gratitude practice, unexpected gratitude, embracing gratitude, unexpected joy, pandemic, struggles, mindfulness, inactivity, gift of stillness, gift of inactivity, magic of the seasons, changing season, autumn, beauty, noticing beauty, distraction, being distracted, filling time with distraction Comments
10 Ways to Lighten the Darkness
10 Ways to Lighten the Darkness

Hello, my friend. How are you? Are you hanging in there.

I had a rough week. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m healthy. My family is healthy. My business is doing fine. Matthias’ business is doing fine.

And yet…

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life, joy, gratitudeAnne Buterafinding light in the darkness, how to feel better during dark times, techniques for uplifting your mood, feelings, uplifting books, self-care, self-help, self love, self care, painting, watercolor paintings, sketchbooks, water soluble crayons, books, favorite books, re-reading favorite books, garden, violas, masks, handmade masks, fabric masks, mask making, roses, Therese Bugnet Rose, Yoga With Adriene, yoga, meditation Comments