I surround myself with  beauty.  

It's not so much intentional, as it is natural.

We (at the @gardenofeden ecovillage) love to create and co-create.

We are truly quite an expressive and inspired bunch.

Our lives are colored in vibrant offerings.  

Our handmade gifts we give freely for the benefit of the entire community.

It would take me many, many posts to share with you 

all of the things we make by hand, 

but I'd love to share with you  just a few right now.

First, a little taste of the things I do myself:

You likely already know about my custom designed one-of-a-kind salvaged wood floors. We get to walk with them under our feet everyday, knowing we diverted a lot of funds from a corporation that pays taxes, and instead repurposed and kept these useable resources out of the landfill.  Our space now is graced with hand-made floors, I improved my skills and learned new ones, I built my confidence, I finely tuned my focus, I implemented creative solutions, I held myself accountable to high standards, I created something really beautiful and purposeful, and I completely enjoyed the process.  Doing what I love that benefits me, also benefits the whole community.

I also make TrasHart out of trash.   (Available on PeerHub.)It adorns our boutique walls and really compliments the rustic floors.  I love making something from "nothing" and to show that art is free and needn't be made from materials purchased at stores. Nature and the ways of man always provide.

I indulge in expression through high vibe cuisine.  Nature is so perfect ~~ I am delighted to make a grand display of it.  It becomes edible artwork.  Doesn't it just make you feel good when you see it?  We can all benefit from it on many levels!

I make hand beaded jewelry to be shared through @quinneaker's medicinal jewelry line (also available on PeerHub). Creating and sharing stone combinations that have medicinal qualities helps to activate health and well-being in the wearer.

Together we have also made teeny tiny homes.  These homes are perfect for the simple life.   We transformed them from free shipping crates that were headed to the dump.  We gave them used windows and doors, mosquito netting, a solid fence panel roof and a paint job of recycled paint.  Free homes for our inhabitants and visitors/members too.  @rileyechard and Emet transformed one of these crates for the "I'm Joining a Commune" MTV episode to be aired December 28, 10 p.m. CST, which is now part of our teeny tiny home village we created together as a community.

@loveon's hand built this bowl 16 years ago, and it is now one of the many hand made pieces of pottery that adorn and get utilized in our kitchen.  Several of us have a powerful relationship with clay.  Our community receives the joys of Uber Dank High Vibe Cuisine made with love, served up in one of our own personal pieces of art.  (Uber Dank Pantry Items available on PeerHub.)

@inokalrutz designed and painted our front door with our logo (which she also designed) and sunflowers (like those that grow all over our land).  The door received a fresh, new, happy, cheery face lift and welcomes people into our Epic Threads Boutique.

Music often rings through the house -- as it is even as I compose this post.  Jordan has taught himself how to play the piano, as he did the didge, the drums and the guitar.  His ability to teach himself is astounding.  @andrewsen got in on the piano playing too, got free inspiration and ability awareness from Jordan, a playing partner, a mentor, an audience and lots of confidence.  We all get the benefits of their hand made entertainment --free of charge, spontaneous, inclusive, live!!

In taking pics of our handmade treasures, I wondered what I could take of @saramiller's creations. Her creative juices are poured into Steemit and other on-line realities.

The board behind Sara is a map of her creations!!!  You'll see a lot of witty and spunky Yogi Sara on Steemit, and she will likely be the one to send you a PeerHub or Website order in the mail as well.  We all benefit from Sara's creative juices.

Our life is incredibly rich at the @gardenofeden.  So much so we rarely leave the property except for matters we feel will enhance our reality.    We find that we love being around each other, so much so, that even when we go to events with lots of other people, we still choose to hang out with each other.   We spend our days with the people we love the most.  The kids are blessed to find their way, make their own fun, engage in nature and live their own creative hand made world everyday.  No purchased toys, events or entertainment required in a hand made life.

We also are incredible event coordinators.  This was a simple affair in honor of love and the beginning of new life.  A home made ceremony, music, flowers and feast~~perfect to share with loved ones with no debt or lingering bills to pay for this joyous occasion.  Wherever we are there is an instant party, and a reason to rejoice in celebration for simple abundance.

 @quinneaker harvested, hollowed with fire and finished this didgeridoo with a bees wax mouth piece.  This is one of the dozens of didges Quinn has made from agave and bamboo.  He finishes most of the didges himself with medicinal stones and nature's unusual treasures.  Quinn is a master didge player and facilitates the sharing of this primal sound.  This particular didge is hand painted by @kotamdickson, specially designed for the @gardenofeden.  

These are our home grown tea and smoke blends.  We offer them up as a fine sample of our collaborative efforts.  Many of us participate in preparing each bag of homegrown herbs --  all those who collect nutrients and build the soil in the garden, the gardeners, trimmers, harvesters, renderers, baggers, labelers, marketers and shippers.  If you have a cup of our tea or a smoke with these herbal blends, you will surely taste the love infusion made by many in this community.

@kotamdickson and @mmcrae have given their steady hands to painting our Steemit gear.  We have quite a collection of hats, shirts, pants, shorts, aprons, sweat shirts, jackets, and ties on @steemrollin's PeerHub.  We are big on offering sustainable solutions, even down to fashion sense.

@quinneaker oversees the building of this sustainable green house, as he does the entire operation at the @gardenofeden.  This green house is made from hay from our neighbors barn, used doors, tarps and carpet.    Bamboo cut from our own bamboo forest is used as stakes, hammered in by a hand-carved wooden mallet.  Our plants have a new home, we utilized materials destined for the trash, we incurred no expense, and we increased our abilities and physical well-being at the same time.

The energetic infusion of love and passion 

is what  activates this creative hand made lifestyle.

We are each activating our talents, engaging our passions, and sharing them prolifically.

Life gets easy when we help each other and give it our all.

So grateful to share a little taste of our hand made life.

Blessed beyond words to live in such beauty everyday.