Does anyone even read blogs anymore? I’m not sure. But either way, I’m dusting off these cobwebs and starting fresh!

I’ve recently rediscovered something and came to the conclusion that I have a desire to create. For those who know me well, you know that I love to paint and that art is very important to me. I never gave it up- I would still find opportunities to pull out my paints or my stained glass tools for a project. But it certainly hasn’t been my focus.

The past several years have been wonderful. We adopted our two beautiful kids- now ages 7 and 3- and I’ve been in the thick of mom-life. From changing dirty diapers, cleaning, cooking, kissing boo boo’s and tucking them in and singing them songs at night. Now it’s school pick ups and drop offs and taking my daughter to ballet and running to my son’s soccer games. The list goes on! It is a beautiful life!

But in this busyness of mom-life, I got myself in a bit of a rut and realized that I wasn’t taking much time for me. This year I have been determined to make some small changes and go back to my roots of what I really love, and that is creating. I’m taking just a little bit of time every day to paint. I’m teaching a watercolor class to some darling girls once a week. In carving out a little bit of time for this, it has made my life much more vibrant. And I’ve realized another thing. It’s made me a better me! I feel like I am a better mom and a better wife, because I am much happier and fulfilled.

I have been working on freshening up my website and made the cutest new logo. Isn’t it so me?! I also created an instagram page for my artwork, where I plan to regularly post my current projects. I’d love for you to follow along at @jamieanneblake.art.

What would you like to see in the future? I dream of continuing my social media presence on Instagram and have also thought of creating a YouTube channel of me painting with watercolors and the techniques that I use. Any ideas are welcome! I’d love the feedback!