The Very Thing....

[caption id="attachment_817" align="aligncenter" width="987"] The Very Thing
Available for Purchase Here[/caption] The Very Thing You Are Trying To Avoid Is Exactly What You Must Face. (A Brand New Body Fab-YOU-lous Print!) So true. In this life we spend a lot of time avoiding things - negative emotions, changes in our jobs, relationship issues, internal conflicts, family dynamics....and the list goes on and on. Most of us have gotten really good at avoiding the hard stuff.  It's much easier to bury our heads in the sand and hope that things magically will change without action on our part.  Now don't get me wrong - I believe in magic...but I also believe that the magic lies within the process of facing down the things we most want to avoid. Most often we avoid things because we are afraid.  Afraid of the pain or hurt that may come with facing things.  What I have learned is that the fear of the pain I am avoiding is SO much bigger than the pain itself.  If you face the hard things - it might hurt.  But if you lean into that hurt, really concentrate on feeling it, the pain will soon subside.  And on the other side of that pain is a peacefulness that is beautiful. We also are often afraid of change.  If we face something, we may become aware of the need for change.  You can't un-do awareness.  Change can be hard.  It can mean loss or just as easily mean gain or success.  Either direction can be daunting.  I do believe that dealing with change is much better than dealing with avoidance.  In fact one of my mottos is: "This will make my life easier, more fun, and expand my possibilities". That mantra has gotten me through a lot of changes or situations that would have been much easier to avoid.  So to move forward or create any type of positive change, you must face the things you are trying so hard to avoid. A better future is possible, and it can start today by facing it head on!  

Body Fab-YOU-lous Love Notes...

[caption id="attachment_732" align="alignleft" width="298"] Believe In Your Beauty
Print Available Here[/caption] I delighted to share with you a new adventure from Just Mary Designs!  I have just launched the Body Fab-YOU-lous Love Notes - a daily email designed to help women find peace with their struggle with weight and body image issues.  The Love Notes will all include a lovely piece of inspirational art to brighten your day. I believe that peace CAN be found in the body you inhabit - right now - today.  I don't think you have to loose those 10 pounds first.  Or fit into those jeans.  Or attract the eye of that special someone.  Peace is waiting there inside you, patiently waiting for you to hear beyond the negative voice in your head and find it's whisper. I invite you to subscribe to our Love Note mailing list - do so by clicking here.  I would love nothing more than to remind you each day that a brighter future awaits you! The daily Love Notes will feature each feature an artist - both my Body Fab-YOU-lous series of work, along with inspirational art by a multitude of talented artists.  If you would like to be featured as our Artist of The Day submit your 72dp image, no more than 200px wide to mary@justmarydesigns.com.  Send me whatever is inspiring you in your life that you created, and include your weblink and any shop link you have.  I can't wait to promote your art while I spread my message of body peace and a brighter future! Take a peek at the first Body Fab-YOU-lous Love Note....
Welcome to the very first Body Fab-YOU-lous Love Note!
Body Fab-YOU-lous is all about helping women find peace and end their struggle with weight loss and body image challenges.  I don't care if you are a size 2 or a size 20 - the harsh and negative feelings most women have about their bodies are very real.  Sometimes they dominate our lives and do so for years.  I want to help show you a path towards peace with your body, which leads to freedom in your heart.
  How often have you looked in the mirror and had nothing but negative thoughts? "Ugh - look at my thighs!"  "My butt couldn't BE any bigger!"  "I hope no one notices how tight my pants are"  "God I'm so huge."  And on, and on, and on....   But the reality is - beauty and your body are not mutually exclusive.  You might know this logically, but most of us don't really believe it.  We think beauty is for other people.  Thinner people.  Happier people.   I'm here to tell you that the first step in laying down the constant struggle with your body is to start paying attention to the negative thoughts in your head.  First we have to notice the track that is playing in our own mind daily, and then we can begin to change the thoughts that fill up our own minds.   I hope this love note will be a beautiful reminder that a better future is possible - one filled with belief in your own beauty!  You truly ARE Body Fab-YOU-lous!   Warmly wishing you a brighter future, -Just Mary

Your Worth...

Your Worth - Click Here To Purchase

Your Worth Is Never Measured By A Number On The Scale. Isn't that the truth? So many of us measure our very worth by that tricky little number. We give the scale SO much power over us - over our self esteem.  Wouldn't it be nice if we stepped on a scale and what it reported back was that we were AWESOME?  GORGEOUS?  ENOUGH? It's time to stop measuring your worth by what you see on the scale. You are enough. Right now. No matter what the number on the scale is - you are enough! And the first person you need to convince of that is - yourself. Now I'm not saying that being at a healthy weight isn't a good idea.  It is.  You and I both should definitely strive for that for a whole host of reasons.  But I am saying that a healthy weight does not equal what you are worth.  And a healthy weight should never dictate your self esteem, your sense of self worth, and your own believe in your abilities to be awesome.  So take this to heart.  You are Body Fab-YOU-lous! Prints of this piece are available for purchase here.  They look like this!

To Change Your Body...

[caption id="attachment_613" align="aligncenter" width="692"] To Change Your Body
Purchase Here[/caption] We all want that magic pill...that miracle diet that will immediately transform our bodies into the icon of beauty that we desire to be.  The path towards that body doesn't start with anything external - it all starts with something inside of you.  Your thoughts are the key.  I learned from the amazing weight loss coach, Brooke Castillo, that your thoughts create feelings - and those feelings create actions - and those actions create results.  If you want the results in your life to be a body that is changing towards what you want it to be, you must start by changing those internal thoughts. Our internal thoughts sometimes are really mean.  So many women beat themselves up - for eating that extra cookie, for saying something dumb, for carrying that extra 20 pounds (again!), for somehow failing as a mother, as a wife, or as a friend.  If we are not busy beating the crap out of ourselves with the negative track that runs rampant in our heads somedays, then most of the rest of the time we are busy ignoring ourselves.  Distracting ourselves from things we are afraid to feel.  Sometimes we disguise distracting ourselves with being busy.  Or caring for others.  Or working too much.  Or eating. The path towards finding peace with your body all starts in your head.  Pay attention to your thoughts.  If you don't like them, find some new ones that you do like.  Some new thoughts that you can buy in to.  Thoughts that support the direction you want to go.  That support the fab-YOU-lous life and body you can have!

Alluring...Apple Bottomed...Amazing - Rock Your Look!

[caption id="attachment_584" align="aligncenter" width="692"] Alluring, Apple Bottomed, Amazing - Rock Your Look
Click Here To Purchase[/caption] We all have our look. Girl - it's time to ROCK IT!   Some of us are pear shaped women.  Some of us are hourglass shaped women.  And some of us are apple bottomed.  Whatever you are - it's time to love your look!  I believe beauty shines through more in holding yourself confidently rather than by the size of your jeans.  Enough with the message that we need to disguise our look.  Embrace your look! This is the latest painting I have done in y Body Fab-YOU-lous line.    The full line can be found here.  The Body Fab-YOU-lous line is dedicated to helping women find peace and end their struggle with weight loss and body image challenges. I create this line because it comes from my heart - from my own struggle over the years with finding peace within a body that is not model perfect.  You can too.  You truly ARE Body Fab-YOU-lous! Choose today to Rock Your Look!

Introducing.... the Body Fab-YOU-lous line!

[caption id="attachment_541" align="aligncenter" width="692" caption="Click here to purchase!"][/caption] It's finally here!  I am excited to unveil my new art line - Body Fab-YOU-lous!   The Body Fab-YOU-lous line is dedicated to helping women find peace and end their struggle with weight loss and body image challenges. We all spend so much time wishing for that thinner version of ourself to reappear. But here is what I have learned - it's not the thinner version that gives us what we want. What we want is to FEEL the way we think being thinner will feel. We want to be energized. We want to feel strong, lean, and alive. We want to feel beautiful. And we want to feel free - free from the struggle of weight loss and body image negativity. I don't think I have all the answers, and I am certainly not inside what I perceive the ideal body to be.  But I have learned how to find peace from what has seemed like a never ending struggle - peace right now as I am today. The key to ending the weight loss and body image struggles that so many women have begins with changing the thoughts that fill up our own minds. I hope my art in the line will be a beautiful reminder that a better future is possible - one filled with belief in your own beauty!  I want to help women believe - believe in themselves and that peace can be found right now, in the body you inhabit today. The full line can be found by clicking here!  Enjoy the images! Prints of my work can be purchased on my Etsy Store.  Come on over and have a look at the different inspirational weight loss art.  You truly ARE Body Fab-YOU-lous!