{ Art from afar (DAY 489) }

It’s funny how connections are made.  Actions of seemingly little consequence add up to things that leave you amazed.  A few months ago I was scrolling through the followers on Instagram and I realized that one of them was an amazing artist.  I followed her back.  Her amazing drawings and painting kept coming into my feed and every single time I wanted to have them.  They were so beautiful.  Finally it got to me enough that I left a comment and asked her if she sold her prints.  Sadly I found out she did not but she was incredibly sweet and offered to send me one.  To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement… After corresponding back and forth via email about what print I would like (I asked her to please surprise me) Damaris said she would be shipping something my way!

Weeks later when it came I got a text that made me giddy, “You have a package….from the Philippines!” Yep, Damaris lives halfway across the globe from me.  Every little piece of the package had been thoughtfully attended to in the prettiest manner.  Holding her art in my hands was very exciting.  Both of the pieces were absolutely flawless and gorgeous.  Damaris is crazy talented and one of the nicest people I have ever written to.  The second picture with the girl and the balloon had this inscription on the back and it made me tear up: “This illustration was inspired by one of the outfits you wore for your 1 dress 100 days challenge.  I loved how chic and elegant it was and thought it would look great against a Parisian background.” 🙂  Not only did she pick one of my favorite pictures from the project without knowing it but she also put me in Europe.  One of my dreams is to travel to Europe and see Paris so this picture left me speechless and very happy.  It was the best surprise.

You should all go follow Damaris here to see more of her talent! Damaris, you are just lovely in every way.  Thank you for giving me these precious and stunning pieces.  I will treasure them for the rest of my life.

Also I want to mention in this post that if you have ever wanted to be a part of the project to help orphans in India now is your chance!  I’m looking for my 2014 fundraising team and since there is only 11K left to raise I’m hoping we will finish up the final goal by the end of the year.  So don’t miss this chance to experience fundraising for amazing young people who have lost so much and yet live life so gratefully! You can email me about this at misselaini [@] gmail.com (remove spaces and brackets).

(Paintings/Drawings by Damaris C.)