dear Taking Flight,

it was two years ago this month that you were released out into the world. can you believe it? sometimes it feels like forever ago and yet sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday when we were staying up until the wee hours getting ready to ship you off to homes all over the world.

i hope you know you have been a big bright spot in my life. you showed me what i was capable of, that i had something worth saying, that i was passionate about writing, about dreaming big, about possibility, about the creative life, about sharing creative projects and techniques.

i love that i still get letters from good hearted people who have bumped into you at the bookstore. they write to say how surprised they were by you – how you not only showed them true blue mixed media techniques, but how you opened up their hearts, how you reawakened their creative selves. i always agree with these kind souls and tell them how you did the same thing for me. you really are special.

thank you for helping me and countless others discover inspiration. it’s been a wild and grand adventure, having you in my life. you were a lot of hard work to birth, but you’ve been worth every single moment. we’ll always be connected, you and me. and that makes me so very happy.

i’m so very very grateful,

xxo

kelly rae

ps: just in case you’ve forgotten, here’s how you were birthed:
1. we worked hard on your proposal (my heart was wide open)
2. and then our proposal was accepted (very very exciting day)
3. and then i went into a cocoon and made a lot of art for your pages
4. and then i traveled to the publisher’s headquarters to work on your how-to pages (scary but really good)
5. and then i wrote all of your content on a red couch, next to my dog, in a small apt in oakland california in a matter of weeks.
6. writing you sometimes felt light and sometimes it felt intense
7. and let’s not forget that day when i lost an entire chapter (chapter 2) due to a technology glitch. oh that was super super painful.
8. but through it all, i learned so much about life
9. and then, before we knew it, we were launching pre-orders for you!
10. and then you finally released out into the real world and you were even ranked #1 on amazon in creative reference and spirituality for a day or two (even now, two whole years later, you’re still top 10 in both categories – you go!)
11. and then i realized how vulnerable it can be to have your heart out in the world – but it was that vulnerability that taught me so much about how important it is to share our stories. thank you for giving me that gift of sharing my story. i won’t ever forget it.