If you haven’t already read the Spring Issue of Gatherings Magazine, now is your chance to view it FREE of charge until next Friday, May 4. This issue is chock full of inspiration from creative women around the globe. Hope you will take some time to flip through these pages before the membership site is reinstated. I’m doing a bit of a revamp here at “Heather Spriggs” and the new membership will include tons of special offers beyond just the magazine subscription. So excited to share with you!!

Help spread the word!!

Enter to Win a Free Yearly Subscription

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Free Advertising in the Summer Issue

Share on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter or your blog and leave a comment here with a link to your source, then a winner will be announced next Saturday May 5!!

all images: Spring 2012 Gatherings Magazine

Friends and Readers,

Thank you for your generous support and presence in my life and my blog. As some of you know we are still experiencing some technical difficulties that arose from a new subscription model for Gatherings Magazine. Hopefully all will be sorted out soon. Thank you for your patience in this process. Also, I am due to have our first born, a son, any day now! (Actually now 3 days past my due date)

My mind and focus have been in the throws of anticipation for this big event!

So I am taking some time away from blogging until I get more settled into our new life with our new family member. After that I hope to have tons of photos and stories to share with you.

Thank you for being a part and sharing in my story!  

Also, I will have a Gatherings Magazine special promotion later this week so I hope you stick around for upcoming news. 

You can stay in touch by following me on

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest in the interim.

photo: heather spriggs via Instagram

Dear friends and subscribers to Gatherings Magazine,

Thank you for your continued support and readership of the Spring Issue. As many of you know, we are having some technical difficulties with the new subscription model. Please know that I have tech support working on the issues as I write this. Hopefully within a couple of days all will be cleared up and running smoothly. If you have any questions in the meantime please feel free to email me directly here: hello@heatherspriggs.com

Hope you had a blessed Easter weekend. Thank you again for your grace and patience during this time.

Heather

image: tracy castro of fair morning blue seen in the Spring Issue of Gatherings Magazine.

The Spring Issue of Gatherings Magazine is finally here! Thanks for your support and patience as I near the end of my pregnancy. What a ride the last month or so has been! So much happening! Without incredible contributors, this issue wouldn’t have existed. It is my favorite so far. Each page is brimming with colorful ideas for your Spring… for feathering your nest whether it be at home or heart!

May this find you well and able to enjoy the fruits of the season!!

Gatherings Magazine is now available to view right here at HeatherSpriggs.com so CLICK HERE to become a premium subscriber for the rest of the year. That is only $4.00 (US) to read Gatherings online … $1 per issue. Once a member you can come back and read as many times as you like for one year!

If you are already a member then, start reading The Spring Issue!

The season of change is in the air. So much change in my life at present, with each new day bringing its surprises. One of those that came in this week was the launch of a new cozy home right here for Gatherings Magazine. Check out the new page! It is an invitation to become a Premium Subscriber to Gatherings for only $4 per year ($1 per issue). Once you sign up you have full access to a one year subscription as well as all past issues (now viewable here!)… and you can be the first to view the upcoming Spring Issue!  

Once you subscribe you will be given an account that provides you full access to Gatherings for one full year! All of your info is secured and you can even check your account details on the account page!

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe today and tell your friends to sign up to be the first to view the Spring Issue (to debut in only 10 days!) You don’t want to miss this one! More contributors, more interiors, more crafts than ever before!

+ A special thanks to David at ClickWP for making this new home possible.+

This weekend in the US we moved our clocks ahead an hour… “Spring Forward”  which gives us an extra hour of daylight to spend working in the yard, or just taking care of more business before darkness falls. I’ve been thinking about this phrase as I enter into my own Spring (which happens to be moving Forward at an alarming rate). Not only has Spring come early to this part of the country but the metaphorical Spring in my life is budding and about to birth forth (hopefully at the end of April) when we welcome our first child.

You may have noticed my lack of postings here and I must say that this month has been one of the busiest so far. Not only am I preparing to welcome a baby into the world (slowed to a turtle’s pace with this growing body), but have been working with a web designer to launch a brand new Gatherings Magazine site here that will offer a yearly subscription model for reading all issues starting with the Spring 2012 issue. There is still much to do  along with the work my team and I are doing for a very special client here in Nashville on her new home.

So I stopped by to say hello for now and I hope you will come back soon for the Magazine launch… Spring Issue due to be released March 26. 

In the meantime you can follow me on Instagram (@gatheringspriggs) as I still try to document the moments in my day to day life that offer inspiration (some seen above).

Bests of Spring to YOU!

The Spring Issue of Gatherings magazine

in process.

beginning to bloom.

Thank you all for your lovely support,

encouragement,

contributions and faith in Gatherings.

So many surprises in store!

images: debi treloar for Homespun Style, liz hanley, iris of irideeen, lillian chang of unstitched

Over the past few days I’ve been contemplating a quote I read from Steve Jones on authenticity vs. perfection:

“We human beings are wonderfully imperfect creatures, and we can only relate and bond with other wonderfully imperfect creatures. We can’t possibly form a bond with something that has no flaws because flawlessness simply doesn’t exist. “

The context was framed in a blog post about branding your business on Fast Company.

These words really struck a chord with me as I embark on a new phase of my business here that I want to share with you. So in the name of authenticity, may I treat you to a virtual cup of coffee/tea and let you know more about the happenings here?

As I draw closer to my due date, I’ve been making changes in my business plan to enable me to be a working stay-at-home mom. With this said, there will be changes in the format of Gatherings Magazine starting with the Spring 2012 issue.

This will be our first ever subscription based issue viewable only here on HeatherSpriggs.com. The online version will be available for $.99 (like an itunes song) with print and digital downloads offered as well. 

Over the course of the year, I have weighed my options for financing this dream project of mine. Your lovely responses to the first three issues enabled me to believe in Gatherings as something more than just a fun hobby. I have big plans for Gatherings, but my core mission remains the same:

To provide a virtual place to “gather” like minded individuals in order to inspire women to believe in their own creative giftings and encourage small businesses. 

With that said, I plan to keep advertising costs at a minimum in order to feature/promote small creative businesses. I love the idea of us all staying connected as a community without being driven by more corporate advertisers. What do you think?

Won’t you join me in on this new adventure? I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and reactions. We are in this together as friends. Would you be open to subscribing to an online magazine for 99 cents?

image: my inspiration board (photo by heather spriggs)

This Pretty Valentine’s Day Palette caught my eye from the handiwork of Debra Norton, artist and designer, of Vintage Paper Parade.  She and her daughter carved out time for crafting together this week. They pulled out watercolors to create lovely gift tags, decorated a paper lantern and made sweet treats. Don’t you love the pops of tangerine mixed with pastel pink, red and raspberry? Simply beautiful!

What a precious gift to make time with children for creative exploration!

I’ve noticed so many creative craft projects posted on Pinterest and Facebook this week, which foster daydreams about days ahead when I too may have time with my child to collaborate creatively.  This is a gift I rarely make time for myself. Maybe its more of a challenge to do something “just for fun” when you are in a creative career or working with deadlines, but its one thing I love about children. The reminder they offer to slow down and just play again.

What have you created this week? Are you crafting or reserving time to explore your own creative heart?

Wherever you are today, know you are loved. Happy Valentine’s Day!

+ visit debra’s etsy shop for more creative paperie

images: debra norton

There is a little yellow cottage in mid Nashville occupied by a sweet young family busy with grad school and bringing up baby. This pretty cottage needed a little freshening up and some rearranging to meet their new needs, so they called me to come work a bit of magic. After a couple of design consultations, I came this week with my paint brushes in hand.  After switching out the parents room to create a nursery, already painted this soft peachy pink, I painted a Cherry Tree blossom mural in between two windows to link the corner space and connect the crib with these architectural elements. Then my assistant and I whipped up a DIY magnetic chalkboard in the kitchen. Instead of just sticking with traditional black for our chalkboard we mixed unsanded tile grout with Benjamin Moore’s Wyeth Blue for a softer look. Framed out in a light green border, this family now has a place to jot notes, hang artwork, and let the baby (soon to be toddler) mark her own creations!

This was the first real work day at the cottage and there are more ahead. Next time I will bring my nice camera and document a bit better (instead of using my iphone on a rainy day indoors!) but hopefully these images will spark your creativity just the same.

Here is the link for the custom chalkboard paint recipe.

Happy Weekend!! 

images: heather spriggs