With 2020 on the horizon, I want to change things up a little bit here on melissaroserambleson.com. In fact, it’s not just a change on my blog site. I want to change my entire set of goals for 2020. You see, I’ve done a pretty damn good job sticking to my goals in 2019. I had a spring/summer garden that I maintained well enough, I have stuck to eating healthier and living a more active lifestyle, I’m even cutting back on smoking. I’ve not bought too many new things, except for what was absolutely necessary, oh, and my new dining room table, but that seemed necessary at the time. And most importantly, and what I thought would be most tough, is I’ve kept up with this blog for an entire year. I have 95 followers right now, which isn’t alot, but hey, I’m grateful for each and every person who has taken the time to read my thoughts or follow along with my life. In 2020 I want to challenge myself. I want to do something big. But I want to do something big that is in my heart and that has been in my heart since before I can remember. That thing is art.

I am a creative by nature. I love to paint, draw, build, sew, photograph, weave, cook, anything that involves creating. I enjoy using my hands, my heart and my mind in unison to design new things and ideas that make my entire being glow from the inside out. Sure, I create now, but this next year I want to do it with intention. I want to have such intention that everything I create is a little piece of me. I want a piece of my heart on my sleeve at every moment of my creative process. I want to become vulnerable in that creativity and let it envelop and develop me into the person I want to become. I’m getting older, and I’m beginning to realize more and more what’s important to me. And this is one of those things. I’ve given it up for too long, rushed through it for too long and acted like it was a burden, a waste of time, a nuisance. Not anymore.

Thistle and Rose is a name that I think came to me in a dream. I say I think it came to me in a dream because honestly, I can’t remember the specific dream or moment that it clicked. I just remember it – like I woke up with it on my mind. Thistle + Rose. I’ve recently used Melissa Rose, my first and one of my middle names, but I’ve never loved using that as a business name. It’s completely and utterly me while also not feeling like me at all. Thistle. I love this because the bull thistle is actually one of my favorite flowers. It’s sharp, it’s protective, it’s resourceful, while also being incredibly fluffy, soft and delicate at it’s vulnerable points. This is how I feel internally about myself. I’m pointed, jagged and sometimes aggressive, but those that know me and my heart know that I am mushy, I am emotional but also strong. Rose. Of course my middle name but also something so classic. Something so beautiful not only visually but in all senses. When you touch a petal of a rose it feels velvet and smooth. When you smell a rose each has it’s own distinct fragrance and story. This, in alot of ways, feels like me too. A teller of stories, a lover of stories. And so, Thistle + Rose Studios is born.

Creation with Intention.