Glow by Lady E

Some stories need a little more room. When I began writing Gentle Healing , I wanted to explore the quieter parts of life: the thoughts we carry, the expectations we place on ourselves, and the small ways we learn to treat ourselves with greater kindness. As the series unfolded, I found myself wanting to continue the conversation beyond the pages of Glow. And so, Gentle Healing Extended was born. I’m creating a complimentary digital editorial edition featuring five new, personal essays about finding our way toward a softer, more intentional life. Alongside the magazine, I’ll also be sharing Soul Notes: Before the Day Begins , a printable morning journaling companion. A little space to gather your thoughts before the day begins asking things of you. I’d love to send you a copy. Early access registration is now open. Simply leave your first name and email address through the form below, and I’ll send the magazine and its journaling companion to your inbox when they’re released. ...

I collaged this mini notebook. This is part of my City Cats Collection. One client bought the full collection. This was my favorite I have a weakness for beautiful notebooks. Give me a lovely cover, good paper, and a design that catches my eye, and I’ll probably stop to admire it. The trouble begins when I bring one home. I like buying notebooks from popular Japanese brands, but lately, I’ve been making a lot of my own, with my own designs for the covers. Sometimes, a notebook is so pretty that I hesitate to write in it. I start wondering what deserves those pages. Should I use it for important plans? Creative ideas? A journal? Something worth keeping? And before I know it, the notebook is sitting on a shelf, waiting for a purpose grand enough to justify opening it. And you know what’s worse than that? Discovering them a few years later and they’re already yellow or moldy. That sucks. But I’ve learned that a notebook doesn’t need an important assignment to be useful. It can hold...

I got the brush roll and the pouch for free! I ’ve used different art materials over the years, but trying Tombow brush pens for the first time was a pleasant surprise. Just a background. I’ve always wanted to use brush pens, but I feel that they are too stiff compared to, say, watercolor brushes..or even acrylic brushes.  I found this particular set at a local crafting event by Googly Gooeys and The Happy Station at Sheraton hotel.  I couldn’t resist the pastel shades. I’m a deep autumn gal, but I really liked these. I told myself that I’d give it another try. I’ve only started painting in late May and my fingers are not that flexible yet, so I was a little afraid to use brush pens.  The first thing I noticed was how much control I had over the strokes. The flexible brush tip allowed me to create both delicate lines and broader shapes simply by changing the pressure. It took a little getting used to, but I enjoyed how naturally the colors flowed onto the paper. I cannot...

  Dear Glow Girls, It’s been a while since the last issue.  Right now, as I write this, it’s 12:24 am and I just finished decorating 17 notebooks and fulfilling another big order.  I posted 16 notebooks yesterday and one regular client bought them all.  There goes my inventory.  But I’m very grateful. In fact, thank you. More please.  And Lady Flo also arrived. So, yeah.  I’m sure you can imagine how that’s going for me.  I was swamped with orders one after another at the atelier. There was no breathing room.  And then I was commissioned to work on a book project that will last 18 months. So that’s an ongoing thing.  And now, I’m preparing for a bazaar and of course, Christmas! As I wrote this issue, I was also experiencing and choosing gentle healing  in many areas of my life. You’ve read about some of them in this issue.  For many years, I thought of healing as only physical health. But now I am profoundly aware of not only m...

For years, I  had this strange tendency to make things harder than they need to be. If I can do something from scratch, shouldn’t I? (I was possessed by Bree Van De Kamp 😑) If I could spend another hour making it better, shouldn’t I? If there’s a more difficult way to accomplish something, surely that must be the more legitimate way. Except… why? I’ve been paying more attention lately to the little systems that make my life easier. Tools that save me steps. Supplies kept where I actually use them. Doing several similar tasks together instead of constantly switching gears. (Very useful in the atelier.) Using something that’s already made instead of insisting that I create every single component myself. Choosing the easier method simply because it is easier . (Hello, Eggo!) None of that makes the result less valuable. Efficiency isn’t a moral failure. Convenience isn’t laziness. And struggling unnecessarily doesn’t make the work more worthy. Sometimes the smartest th...

I used to look at everything I needed to do and quietly make one ridiculous assumption: It should all be finished today. The writing. The orders. The house. The errands. The messages. The ideas I suddenly decided were urgent simply because I had them. And if I reached the end of the day with unfinished things? Somehow, the unfinished things felt louder than everything I had actually accomplished. I’ve been trying to unlearn that. Not everything on my list belongs to today. Some things belong to tomorrow. Some belong to next week. Some can wait until I have more energy, more information, or simply more room in my life. That doesn’t mean I’m procrastinating. It means I’m finally learning to distinguish between having things to do and having to do everything now . I’ve also noticed something strange. When I stop demanding that I finish everything, I often get more done. It’s true!  I noticed this one night when I was at my desk, reviewing my day.  There is less frant...