The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: The Law of Least Effort

The law of least effort says that nature's intelligence functions with effortless ease. We can practice this law by doing the following: Accept people, situations, and events as they occur. Take responsibility for your situation and for all events seen as problems. Relinquish the need to defend your point of view.

Om Daksham Namah

My actions achieve maximal benefit with minimal effort. :)

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: The Law of Karma

Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. Choosing actions that bring happiness and success to others ensures the flow of happiness and success to you.

Om Kriyam Namah

My actions are aligned with cosmic law.

Have a Happy Tuesday!

My Gifts

My practice of giving and receiving for the rest of the summer will revolve around these four beautiful boys. It has been a bit of a challenge being surrounded by so much boy energy thus far. A wise woman recently advised to be grateful for the opportunity that has been given to me to enjoy every smile, laugh and moment. My new goal for the summer is to create a wonderful happy space where they can create fun memories. The universe works in wonderful ways. Sometimes we simply need to look from a new perspective. Here's to some new sunglasses with lots of sunshine reflecting off of them!

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: Giving and Receiving

I will be attending the Seven Spiritual Laws of yoga teacher training in July (if I pass my pre-test, which I started yesterday. :) I'm super excited and I want to share this journey with all of you. Every day there is a spiritual law with a corresponding mantra. It is a great practice to concentrate on these ideas throughout the day and during your yoga or meditation practices. (The week really starts on Monday but since life is all about starting where you are right now, and it's Monday, let's start here. :)

Oh yes! There's Sanskrit! Which I'm super excited about learning.

Monday: The Law of Giving and Receiving

Sanskrit: Om Vardhanam Namah (I am the nourisher of the universe)

Everywhere we go and whomever we meet, give them a gift of a flower, a smile, or simply look in their eyes and say namaste. Receive your gifts from the universe with gratitude and keep the circulation of wealth in your life by giving and receiving of care, love, and affection.

Happy Monday!

Artist Highlight-Jane Dixon

I am so so excited to have the lovely artist Jane Dixon as a Pink Light "guest" artist! Jane is such a pleasure to work with and I am always so happy to see her beautifully coordinated designs. I could tell the first time I chatted with Jane that she had a beautiful aura about her and she translates her positive energy into her bright, fun, unique patterns.

Joyful color, funky shape, and quirky line are the bits and pieces that make up Jane Dixon’s illustration and pattern collections. Inspiration is found mostly in nature, music, and everyday experience: simplified and twisted just enough to make a whimsical and stylish statement. Favorite subjects include florals, bugs, fish, and animals, city scenes, and culinary delights.

With a background and work experience in studio painting, graphic, and product design, Jane opened her own studio in the Chicago area in 2007. She designs for the stationery and greeting card, home décor, party, advertising, and publishing markets. Companies who’ve sought her designs are Target, Andover Fabrics, Solo Cup, DesignDesign, Carolina Pad and Paper, Wilton, Burnes Group, Great Arrow Graphics, and Scholastic Books.

Thanks for sharing your light with Pink Light Jane!

Shown here are a few of my favorites. All designs below are copyrighted by Jane Dixon. :) Enjoy!

Pink Light Design for CardsDirect.com

Artist's Kristin Knych and Mary Beth Freet have designed collections for CardsDirect.com for their latest birth announcements! A few designs are shown below and please see the rest of the designs here (top 12 are PLD)!

The designs are quite lovely and we had a great time collaborating with the smart team at CardsDirect!

Just a few happy thoughts...

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

Anne Frank

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Leo Tolstoy

Earth laughs in flowers.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Teach only love, for that is what you are.

A Course in Mircles

Pink Happy Thought for the week

What I learned this week:

When I say yes to what I really want, life seems to flow much easier. Let's say yes to what makes us happiest even if it seems like there's not enough time or not enough resources. When we just say yes, everything has a way of working itself out. Here's to saying yes to love and joy and spending time with family, even when we have a million things "to do". What we really have "to do" is simply "to LOVE".

Pink Light at Printsource!

I am VERY excited to announce that Pink Light will be premiering in the fashion industry (returning to my roots) at Printsource in NY in August! Hope to see you there! More details to follow...

Wednesday's Woman: Khristian A. Howell, Surface Designer and Photographer

I am so excited to feature my dear friend Khristian A. Howell as this Wednesday's successful business woman who is working it! I miss sitting 8 feet away from her at Nordstrom but I am so happy to see where she is now! Thanks to Khristian for being a constant source of inspiration for many!

Hi, I'm Khristian and I make surface patterns, take pictures, and eat lots and lots of olives.

Let’s keep it simple…I am determined to live each day doing what I love. Right now that includes surface design, graphic design, and photography. Some would call my love of French culture an obsession – I choose to call it passion. I could (and will soon) live the rest of my life eating olives along the Mediterranean and riding the trains of Europe.

Each day, each step in this adventure as a working artist, gets better and better, and I learn more about myself and how I see the world.

I just completed my first Surtex and I am still basking in the afterglow! The experience was so amazing, I could not capture it all in a blog recap. So spur of the moment, I wrote a book about it all! Confessions of a first timer is my way of addressing the roller coaster of emotions, second guessing, and just plain fear that anyone feels thinking about doing their first trade show. I also share a bit of how to and what I will do even better next year. Writing this book was truly cathartic for me. It also gave me great closure on one of the most challenging and rewarding times in my life. Completing it gave me clearance to move on to the next level in my business. I sincerely hope it will help anyone thinking about diving into Surtex or the Licensing Expo, the extra boost of confidence we all need.

Five things Khristian loves most in life and business:

1/ travel. especially paris.

2/ my wonderful, amazing, magnificent husband

3/ building my business with integrity and following my instincts.

4/ belly laughs with my best friends

5/ pink champagne

Tuesday Teen Talk with Maryah: Fresh Attitude Dance Recital

FRESH ATTITUDE 2010 DANCE RECITAL!!!!

I have taken dance at Fresh Attitude Dance Studio for the past 5 years…and I love it! There are lots of different ways that I like to be creative and dance is just one… but probably one of my favorites, because I love performing, being with my friends and wearing crazy outfits!

Last weekend was our 2010 Dance Recital!!!! There were 9 hip-hop dance classes and 2 lyrical with nearly 150 students that made up our two hour show. The whole thing was SO much fun… from getting ready back stage, to performing, watching the other classes and ending each show with the grand finale!

This was the dance where we got to wear our “tye dye” t-shirt!!! I love how they all looked together on stage with bright lights!

Here, we danced to a song called “Do or Die” by the ‘Bandwithnoname’… it was a fast, upbeat song that was hard to learn but our class did a great job and we had a ton of fun performing it.

THE FINALE!!!!!! At the end of the show our entire studio came out on stage and did one final performance together! We had a blast!!! I can’t believe that the year is over… and can’t wait for next year!!!!

“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger, May you never take one single breath for granted, GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed, I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens, Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance. I hope you dance....” (Lee Ann Womack)

Pink Light featured on Orange Circle Studio Blog

Thanks to Orange Circle Studio for featuring us on their blog. Check it out here.

Here's to happy weeks everywhere!

Karmic Management, a must read!

The first quote in this book is ancient wisdom that says:

"The odds of success In all things Are 100%."

That's an attention getter!

Karmic Management is the sequel to The Diamond Cutter which is a global business classic. Read Karmic Management and stop stressing over decisions. Know how to make things happen.

"The line between me and you is artificial". --Master Shantideva, 700 AD

With that being said...I will be taking my yoga teacher training at the end of July!!!

I'm very excited but apparently I have to study lots of anatomy in the next month. :) I'm not stressing, especially after reading this book! It's a super easy read and actually...a super easy practice! Enjoy.

"Your First Year" Baby Calendar Give Away by Orange Circle Studios

One of the most rewarding projects of 2010 was the "Your First Year" baby calendar I designed for Orange Circle Studios. My true love is not only designing, but actually seeing the product come to life. Please click here for more info on the calendar and to sign up to win a free one! This calendar is printed beautifully and it's the perfect gift as it's gender neutral and a great price! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed designing it!

Wednesday's Woman: Mary Beth Freet, Pink Light Design Creative Director, Designer, and Agent

I was out of the office on Monday attending a CRAVE Seattle business event which was quite lovely. I really had no idea what to expect on Monday, other than that I was going to learn some great skills to improve my business. While I did learn and was also reminded of a few key elements for success, the biggest thing I learned is that I am a successful business woman who is working it! :)

I am going to be very candid here because there is really no other way to say it but that I truly believe that we can do anything and achieve anything that we are truly passionate about as long as we are listening with our hearts. With that being said, after our dreams become reality, in order to move to the next step, there is something that needs to happen internally which is called "expanding your mental equivalent". I have been struggling a bit since Surtex with the idea of "what's next?" and how to sort of "move into it". Part of expanding your mental equivalent is that you literally need to sort of "move your mind" into the place where you want to go next and to truly believe that it is possible. It is much different than the law of attraction which many people know about and practice. The law of attraction comes from the point of view that you "attract" things into your life that you think about or picture. The Law of Mental Equivalent is more about becoming or growing into the type of person you dream about and expanding your capacity to experience all that is Good in life. For example, if you want to go from point A to point F, then your mental equivalent should be in the range of point E to G. It would not be to your benefit to try to put your mental equivalent at Z, for example, unless it truly seemed within your mental capacity of believability. Think of point A as "I want to start my own business" and point Z as "I want to have 100 employees and be on the Fortune 500 list of best companies to work for". It would be to your benefit to set goals along the way, and as you reach each goal, adjust your mental equivalent so that you can more easily achieve the next one and the next one. It is crucial that your mental equivalent always be within a range that you feel is 100% possible. Then when you reach that goal, you can expand to the next level.

I have been taking a few weeks since Surtex to really think about a lot of these ideas and to sort out how to keep my original business intentions while continuing to expand my mental equivalent. Most of all, how can I move forward while always remaining grounded, balanced, and having complete humility. I'm sharing this process because I think it is quite intriguing from a business perspective.

With this all being said, what I have resolved is that yes, I am a successful business woman, it is ok to claim it, and most importantly, I will continue to let my hot Pink Light SHINE!! I will do this by sharing my knowledge and inspiring others to do what makes their heart sings. In order to do this humbly all I need do is remember where that light comes from. It is a reflection of everyone around me and all of the wonderful experiences I have had that have gotten me to this exact moment. With deepest gratitude to Tanya, Rachel, Andrea, Nancy, Danielle, Kanae, Rupa, Khristian, my mom, my grandma (my angel), Sandy, my family, and my two boys who teach me more than anyone else every day and who are the two reasons why I do what I do. May we teach them how to create beautiful lives for themselves.

Tuesday Teen Talk with Maryah: Tie Dye Party

Last weekend my dance class came over to tye-dye t-shirts for our dance costumes, which will be for our dance recital in JUNE!!!!

Here is the LONG, creative process to making the most perfect, crazy tye-dyed shirts!!!!!

You start with Rubber band MANIA!!! I couldn’t BELIEVE how many rubber bands it took to make these crazy t-shirts! We found out that the thicker, stronger rubber bands worked best for this project!

There were 13 girls that came over to my house and we used over 300 rubber bands!!!

You can twist and turn your t-shirt in anydirection! When we tied our shirts up they looked super weird!! Several of them ended up looking like chickens, robots, and evenlooked like crazy little people!!!!!

Before you start the actual dying process you have to rinse your t-shirts in water. We had a huge pile of them as you saw above, so while the shirts were rinsing we thought this was a good time to have a pizza break!!!!

Let’s start tye-dying!!! Dip, drop, or pore… anything works!!!

WAIT!!! Wait for the dye to set in…… We found that if you let the dye sit longer the brighter the colors will be!

Untie the rubber bands, and rinse in cold water until water runs clear.

Look at your master piece!!!! (This is my dance instructor Sharnessa Sanden! She was the first one to rinse her shirt out and it turned out SO awesome!)

Wash EACH ITEM in cold water then dry in dryer or air dry.

THE FINISHED PRUODUCT!!!! They ALL look AMAZING, and each one turned out so different!!! Good job everyone!!!! I can’t wait to see how these will all look on stage at our performance!!!

*****My mom and I had a little trouble on this project I took us 4 try’s!! So make sure to use COLD water!!! And they may not look good all rolled up, but just wait…. They will look awesome when you are all done!!!!*****

Sweet Shoes!

Thank goodness I can't walk in slingbacks...otherwise I might have to make an impulse purchase! So sweet!

Happy Thought for the day

“The secret of attraction is to love yourself. Attractive people judge neither themselves nor others. They are open to gestures of love. They think about love, and express their love in every action. They know that love is not a mere sentiment, but the ultimate truth at the heart of the universe.”

-Deepak Chopra

National Stationery Show Standout

I only had a quick moment to run through the aisles at The National Stationery Show. When I did, one new line stood out above all the rest, Rifle Paper Company. Anna Bonds, Owner and Creative Director's beautiful hand painted designs are so intricate and lovely. Her hand lettering is beautiful. Actually, I don't even have words for how lovely the hand lettering is on her recently launched custom designs for wedding and birth announcements. When I saw her cursive hand painted lettering my mouth just dropped and I starred in awe for a few moments. ;) See pix below, but I must say, seeing them in person was so exciting as they were the most unique designs I've seen in a while. I look forward to seeing them instore soon!