This past month, I’ve been more intentional about cultivating beautiful habits in my own life and in the life of my children. Habits that will enrich us and those around us. Habits that will bloom into something lovely. Like painting every day, reading at night before bed, baking slow bread, gardening. Things that take time. Things that involve slowness. Things that develop into something more beautiful because of the time and the slowness involved.

One way I’ve been implementing this idea is making the time to paint [almost] every day, slowly working towards finishing my Meditation Tree Co. paint-by-number. In the morning before the girls wake up. In the afternoon during the kids’ nap and quiet time. In the evenings after the kids are in bed.

Always with a cup of coffee or tea nearby. Usually with quiet music on. Always slowing down, sitting still, clearing my mind. Thinking about nothing. Thinking about everything. Making the time to be intentional and feed my creativity. Making the time to, over the course of a month, produce a gorgeous piece of art to hang in my bedroom. It’s been so incredibly refreshing and rewarding.

My cousin Mickey introduced me to Meditation Tree Co. earlier this year, and I was immediately intrigued by their mission and beautiful paint-by-numbers. Dave, the founder of Meditation Tree Co., is a stay-at-home dad (holla!) with a background in graphic design. He loves home decor and has always been infatuated with vintage paint-by-numbers.

When he first started designing the paint-by-numbers, his original intent was solely for home decor purposes. Once he started prototyping designs and painting different versions, he realized that the intense focus and detail created a very similar feeling to his meditation practice. It helped clear his head and start the day fresh so he followed that path and he design became more similar to a mandala then classic paint-by-numbers.

Dave chose gold for the first kit because metallics have a living quality to them in the way the light interacts with it. He LOVES painting on a bright morning and seeing the gold shimmer in all different hues. It really helps him be mindful of what he’s doing because it’s constantly changing.

Head on over to my Instagram, and enter the giveaway to win a Meditation Tree Co paint-by-number! We’re giving away 1 set to 3 lucky winners!