April 2025
Hello lovelies!
I hope you had a very blessed Easter/Passover. I can’t believe its almost the end of April! Mother’s day is around the corner and I am excited to be drawing the winner of the personalised birth flower pillow on the 1st of May! The winner will be announced in May’s newsletter, but I will be in touch with my lovely subscriber straight after the draw to confirm the personalisation details.
I’ve had fun trying out some different painting techniques, hoping to embrace a looser style, but alas! I just can’t help myself! I am a details gal! The feedback I’ve received hasn’t been extremely positive either. Kind, but honest. I’m grateful! I love that this friend could be honest. Yay for honesty in the world! We need more! So I guess I’m just going to have to embrace my left brained, details artist personality. You can see my endeavours on Instagram @jodaisyart.
This month’s free downloads
Those who know me, know that I am a total tea addict. I drink around 9-10 cups of tea per day! (Yes, you read that correctly!) These days I try to stick to Rooibos, but I love a good Earl Grey when I’m out and I have a tin of beautiful French Earl Grey tucked away in case of emergencies. I’ve been photographing tea pots for ages and I finally sketched some out and combined my love of tea and flowers for this month’s free gift. I’ve created a Mother’s Day bundle consisting of a greeting card, gift tags, bookmarks and seed packets. You can access them here in Jo’s Gift Garden.
What I’ve been up to…
I treated myself to some new Procreate brushes and had the best time adding textures and patterns to the Mother’s day bundle. Perhaps a bit too much! I own a few Lisa Glanz brush sets now. The woman is a genius and a fellow South African. Love her! No, I’m not an affiliate, just a big fan who is grateful for the joy and play her brushes bring me. Did I mention that Procreate is another of my addictions? I am so excited to be teaching this phenomenal application to others. This month I taught my first class and I am looking forward to offering more classes soon.
I have also had a very generous offer from a local bookstore to stock my birth flower bookmarks. I’m redesigning a card version of the metal bookmarks with a local printer. I’m really excited to be working with this bookstore. We have many great loves in common. I’m also looking forward to sharing these on my site in the near future along with other beautiful products, which I will be launching, such as greeting cards and gift wrap. Stay tuned for the details.
Invitation (some thoughts on lfe and faith)
“God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful.” Mother Teresa
I’ll be honest. I’ve experienced much frustration at not being further along in my business after the time and effort I have put in. This is partly due to fear; about my age, the change that’s about to take place in our lives, a fear of failure in general. So this quote struck me to the core!
God has had to deal with me about my fear. I’ve been reminded that I was not placed here to be a “successful artist.” He placed me here to serve - my family and my community. For too long I had been hiding behind the internet, afraid to make real connections. When one’s business consists of a website and Instagram, one can almost fail anonymously. He has since granted me the courage to interact and serve as an artist in my local community. He has reminded me of my initial desire when beginning this pursuit; to glorify His name by bringing beauty into this world. He has called me to be faithful to the connections He has already provided for me. And He has called me to serve by sharing my work, my time and my knowledge with others.
The restoration in my joy with this mental shift from success to faithfulness has been so fulfilling and energising! I absolutely loved meeting the ladies in my class. I have experienced phenomenal generosity by putting my pride in my pocket and asking for help or opportunities from real people. I am so grateful for this valuable lesson!
It’s not enough to do what I love. But doing what I love in service to others is proving to be the most joyful experience!
Have a gorgeous May! As always, if you know of someone who would like the content, the free downloads or a chance to win the custom Birth Flowers pillow, please encourage them to subscribe. I’d be very grateful.
With joy and beauty,
Jo xxx
