I’m having a real WTF moment realizing it’s Wednesday. Yesterday, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to our beloved horse, Simply. For 9 years, my days were shaped around him… checking on him, caring for him, just being with him. Simply, was literally our way of life. And now… there’s this quiet space where that rhythm used to live. Grief does something strange to time. The world keeps moving as if nothing changed, but for you… everything feels slowed down, like you’re walking through it in a different reality. So today, there is no artwork to share, no, "what's the focus" for the week. Just a question and a poem: How do you grieve? For me… I’ve learned to feel it. All of it. The waves, the heaviness, the moments that catch you off guard. I didn’t always do that. When Eric passed, I tried to be “strong.” I pushed it down, held it together… and it only delayed the healing. It wasn’t until I let myself actually feel the things I didn’t want to feel that something began to shift. Somewhere in that process, I found my way back to creating from passion instead of performance. Writing. Designing. Letting the emotion move through something instead of getting stuck inside me. It became a release. A quiet place to put the pain… and somehow turn it into something meaningful. Today, I want to share something I wrote in honor of our sweet boy… whose name couldn’t have been more fitting: Simply Worth the Wait You carried more than riders, and jumped more than hurdles, You carried our joy & sorrows through life’s tightest circles, a quiet reminder the journey is Simply worth the wait. They spoke in low numbers, said chances were small, But you answered by staying, outlasting it all, a living reminder that faith is Simply worth the wait. Through love and through prayer, through each fragile day, You gave us more time than they said you would stay, a miracle reminder that hope is Simply worth the wait. When Loss tried to find us and pull us apart,

Some days you wake up ready to conquer the world… and some days life walks in like, “Yeah… we’re gonna need a softer plan today.” 💛 If your focus feels off, scattered, or just plain hard… it might not be a discipline problem. Sometimes… it’s because your heart is holding something bigger. Right now, mine is. Our sweet Simply is nearing the end of his journey… and my mind keeps drifting back to him. And here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: 👉 You can still show up AND feel it all. This morning I gave myself two 20-minute pockets of focus… and honestly? That felt like a win. Not because everything is getting done… but because I showed up in the middle of the grief I’m carrying. So if today feels heavy, try this instead: 👉 The Gentle Focus Method Pick ONE thing. Set a timer (10–20 minutes). Give it your attention… and nothing else. Then pause. If your mind drifts back to what’s on your heart… don’t fight it. Give it a moment. Let it breathe. Then come back. Because focus isn’t about shutting life out… it’s about learning how to move with it. ✨ So tell me… what’s your one 10-20 minute thing today?

WTF = What’s The Finish 👀 👉 What did you actually finish since last Wednesday? Not what you planned. Not what you started. Not what’s 90% done sitting on your table… ✨ What is DONE enough to call it finished? Done doesn’t mean perfect, it just means you decided it’s finished. Drop it below 👇 What's mine??? I decided not to spend hours editing the WTF Drop designs this week and call them good. That's actually hard for me, believe it or not. I spend a lot of time editing the details. This week, I was practicing/teaching myself how to prompt AI to show movement and to mashup styles. I'm sure you can tell which ones were about movement, and the angel was the only style mashup worth sharing. (it's a mashup of photograph, oil, and acrylic painting) I'd love to see what you called done last week, and tell me which one of these is your favorite.

It started with a feeling… Earthy pigments. Worn textures. A little bit of “found in an old studio that smells like turpentine and stories.” Deep rust. Grounded teal. Soft, stormy neutrals. The kind of palette that doesn’t try too hard… but still pulls you in. And then… Moody Petals bloomed from it. (one of my decoupage paper designs) Not soft. Not sweet. Not playing small. This design is what happens when you stop forcing pretty… and let depth take the lead. ✨ Petals with contrast, not perfection ✨ Color that carries emotion, not just brightness ✨ Layers that feel lived-in, not polished It’s a reminder that beauty doesn’t always come from the light. Sometimes it comes from the shadows learning how to dance. If this were a vibe, it would be: A worn leather chair. A storm rolling in. A creative who stopped asking for permission. Now I’m curious 👇 What do these colors inspire for you? 🎨

After whiskers were twitched, tails were wagged, votes were counted (and recounted because WOW 😅)… 🏆 @Shannon Manning — YOU are our Paws & Whiskers Showdown winner! 🏆 Cue the confetti, the zoomies, and at least one overly dramatic victory lap around the living room 🎉🐕🐈 Shannon, you’ve just won a $100 Whimsykel Gift Card AND your favorite dog & cat designs — because clearly, you’ve got elite-level taste 😏✨ To everyone who voted, cheered, debated (some of you took this VERY seriously 😂), and showed up… this was WAY too much fun. Seriously… I had to count some of those rounds three times because y’all made it that close 👀 💬 Tell me… were you Team Dog 🐕 or Team Cat 🐈 in the end?(Don’t worry… we’re not starting arguments… probably 😆) Shannon — send me a message so we can get you all set up! And to the rest of you… don’t worry…This won’t be the last time we stir up a little friendly chaos around here 😏🔥 Can’t wait to see what you create! 🎨✨