Amor Milagre Original Paintings for Sale, Non-Toxic Ethically-Made Artwork amormilagre.com
The importance of making/choosing non-toxic & ethically responsible art materials/supplies means health for: the artist, the framer, the customer, those in the artwork’s new home, and the earth.
Today, I’m varnishing some oil paintings for my shop. This is a lavender varnish. No carcinogens! My lungs don’t instantly collapse when using it, but it’s not as great as it could be. I still wear a mask and gloves. A while back, I happily switched over to FSC Certified non-toxic art supplies as the old ‘classic’ ones impaired my health. I also choose these healthy options for you! I do think that the makers of art supplies could do even more to help us all to be healthy art lovers.
Years ago, (before my decades-long non-voluntary social hibernation and severe illness due to the world’s pollution/abuse), my artwork would sell quickly. This was way before the pandemic, so I’m used to the hermit life. Most highly sensitive people, and those with chronic illness, have to be so until the world collectively chooses peace and non-pollutive lifestyles. Often, my pieces sold before I finished them, varnished any oils, or even got to take pictures. This is the first time that I’ve varnished my oils, and I’m glad that there are better options now. My watercolour paints have also been replaced with non-toxic options. The oils and cleaners have been changed, too. I am a lie detector for chemicals. I can tell if something is harmful right away. Chemicals are painful for everyone. You just might not realize it instantly, but your health will deteriorate with exposure. All of my papers and canvases are at minimum FSC Certified, including my stationery and art print papers. There was a time when I had set up a silkscreening studio. I was making my own recycled paper and using eco-safe inks and organic cotton tees (made in the USA). I’ve always been choosing the healthiest, most local, most sustainable options. When I cannot find what I need, I make my own. This was before it was a trend, and when customers would complain about the slightly higher prices. I try to keep prices low, despite the high costs of our modern world. The standard needs to be health first and affordability. I don’t believe in suffering for art or charging millions.
Note to Art Supply Companies: please keep going in the green direction. Artists need to be free to express…without our health/life being repressed. All paints, pastels, clay, brushes, and papers need to be helpful, not harmful to us, the soil, the water, the air, and the trees. We all deserve good health. Where the wood of your pencil comes from matters. Is it from a sustainably, responsibly managed forest? Our hands and lungs need gentle materials, not damaging ones. This is especially important for children’s art supplies. Start us all out right. We want to be making art…every day…for years and decades…and lifetimes. It’s what we do.
Now, to paint up some new loves!
All of my artwork is featured in my various novels and children’s books. I have some exciting new stories and art to release soon. Happy Healthy Autumn! Choose wellness. Love, ~ Amor Milagre
Evening Kitchen Dancing, Custom Interior Design by Amor Milagre. After/during the dance: licorice tea.
Do you dance?
I love dancing, playing piano and guitar, and singing…and after you haven’t had them near in ages, it’s all the more beautiful. Even without the floor and keys, even without a voice, the mind can play any time or place. Use the air. Imagine it. Nothing planned, no steps or sheets to follow, just play. Hear the notes? Feel the movement? Ramble along, wander, get lost in the senses of them entangling together…
Evening Kitchen Dancing, Custom Interior Design by Amor Milagre. Nightgowns are my favourite dancewear. Never pointe…but a safe balance of ballet and yoga…just dance barefoot. Our new cosy mats and runner rug all layered up feel cushioned and healthy for plies, cat/cows, and cooking/dishes, too. Stretch….and feel better…feel the vibration of the piano and violin strings…so alive…
Evening Kitchen Dancing, Custom Interior Design by Amor Milagre. Evening is a glorious moment. Peace.
Evening Kitchen Dancing, Custom Interior Design by Amor Milagre. Getting tomorrow’s cooks ready and dreaming up new oil paintings for large wall spaces in this new cottage kitchen. Prints of these paintings will be in my shop once made.
Now that we have finished our new kitchen, I continue my evenings of dancing there, with a farmhouse sink ledge for a barre, moving towards the soft notes and crickets.
I found some soothing piano by Joep Beving to add to my favourites. Hope you enjoy it, too!
Stretch, breathe, slowly strengthen, and feel…lovely. ~Amor Milagre
Morning Baby Kitchen Dancing, Custom Interior Design by Amor Milagre.
And dance again in the morning sunlight with the babies…
This morning’s Miniview answers a mix of some of your questions. They were the one-of-a-kinds, so I’ve grouped them together here. I will post another to answer one specific question soon.
Amor Milagre Garden Design. Soft cheeks, so kissable. Heavenly scented rose blooms…
Q: You mention the word ‘hope’ a lot in your books. How do you sustain hope during these uncertain times?
A: Yes, I love the word hope. To me, it means a possibility that we can choose and allow good energy to live, thrive, and spread. Hope isn’t a mere wish or just an idea. Hope indicates that peace is always there. We just need to choose it. Awareness and helpfulness are ways that hope blooms into a wonderful daily reality. Dream it and help it come true.
Amor Milagre Garden Design. Can you reach me?
Q: When will The Love Letter Diaries books be available in audio? Love the books, but also want to listen in the car on the way to work. So calming. Can’t wait for the next volume!!!
A: Thank you! All of my books have the audio option so far, except the Leona books as they are the longest. I am still editing those files, and I will have that series available as a digital download audio option this winter at the latest. Thank you! They are my favourites as well.
Amor Milagre Garden Design. As the blueberries fade out, the blackberries ripen. Everyone is young once.
Q: Are you still making organic cotton clothes? I’ve worn out that dress you made for me years ago. The cream one with the embroidery on the hem. We have some baby showers coming up and need more of those tiny outfits. Are you doing custom clothing orders still? I couldn’t find the option in your shop.
A: Thanks! Those were fun to make. I have sold out of that collection of the little suits and dresses, but a few graphic toddler tees are still available. I plan on releasing some new organic apparel collections after our atelier renovations are finished. I do have magical nursery artwork, stationery, and sweet children’s books available. They’re wonderful as gifts, and I can write a custom inscription, if you like. Message me! Thanks, Hannah. I do remember that dress!
Amor Milagre Garden Design. Party skirts sway in the breeze…
Q: Who are the artists that work for you? I like the varied styles, but I cannot find their names. Can I order a custom size? I’m interested in the person who does the pastels.
A: Thank you, but it’s all done by me, Emmanuelle, aka Amor Milagre. I am the original and authentic maker of my collections and I sign all of my artwork and books for each order. Depending on my mood, and the medium, the pieces may look a little different. I don’t believe an artist is limited to one look, style, or medium. Charcoal drawings have a different energy than landscape oils. You move differently with a special posture and time for each, but they all build on one another. The same goes for books, music, sewing, home design, dance, and photographs. I like to explore different forms of expression. It’s just what comes out in that moment. What does your soul need? How? They are all connected though, by me. Yes, please message me for your specific custom sizes. Over the years, I’ve made tiny to gigantic pieces. I have many new pieces coming up! Thank you.
Amor Milagre Garden Design. A sea of fern waves…
Q: How can I apply to work for your company? I am an art teacher, and I’m interested in what you are doing. Are you still holding classes? If so, I’m interested. I’m a bit rusty.
A: Thank you, but at this time, it’s just me. I have postponed all Amor Milagre classes and clubs until the pandemic is actually over. I might do a collection of video classes later on that customers can purchase in my shop. I was the only teacher when I held my classes, and I’m the only person in my company. I do all of the different stages of work for my company. I have plans for expanding my online shop to include a local New England shop later on. I’ll email you then.
As for the rusty part: Practice drawing every day. Begin again…as if you didn’t know any techniques or any art history. Use big, sweeping gestures to loosen up. Relax your wrist. Don’t think. Feel it, use your senses and intuition, let go of all expectations, and express… Use nature as your forever model and meditate there. (These are some of the things that I teach in my classes for all ages/levels.)
I encourage you to explore what you could offer in your own potential business. You can also teach online, make process/demo videos, sell your art, and teach/volunteer locally. Community centers and children/adults everywhere need good safe teachers. Building up a community of inspiring teachers and thriving students is important. Get involved in community projects…or start new ones. Support the arts. Thanks for your interest!
*This answer is also meant for any college students who asked if they could intern with me. We’ve been self-isolating to stay healthy, sorry! Hope you find that right fit for your credits. I know it’s not always easy to find. Stay safe!
Amor Milagre Garden Design. Dancers point toes to the sky!
I will answer more of your thoughtful questions later on in another one of my Miniviews (Mini Interviews).
In the meantime…
*Express yourself, paint with plants, and adore all of yourself. Love, ~ Amor Milagre
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. Getting lost in the intricate lace fairyland of the hydrangea blooms…
I love how a garden changes every day, season, and year.
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. One of my writing nooks. We also have lessons and picnics here…in the shade of the cream umbrella. The lavender and cleomes circle this garden. We renovated the gardens last year. Previously a lawn, this space is now full of flowering trees, perennial flowers, and herbs. Plant seeds of goodness for pollinators. It heals all. We even have some tomatoes up here, as it is the sunniest area of the garden.
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. Weeding a bit today, and I got my first ever bee sting, right through my glove! Not too bad…just put some ice on it. Bees love me…ever since I was little…they loved to explore my golden curly hair and just hang out… My Nonna used to say it’s because they think I’m a flower. I love that idea, and I paint flying pollinators into all of my stories. I always sat calmly with them, and then they’d move onto something with pollen. I must have tread on a nest. Sorry, little friends! Nature tells us important things. Listen. I usually do leave the ‘weeds’ as they’re a helpful part of the garden, but we do have some rather aggressive imposter vines that take over and under the garden. I do minimal editing and pruning. Plants have their own design plans. It’s fun to learn of their endless stages. Also, any broken or old pieces are just left in the garden to become a natural compost. After making the pathways last summer, the cleomes seeded everywhere, which is the intent, but a few had to be moved out of the gravel and back into the soil. These rhodies were quite ill when we moved in, so we cut them back hard and now they are full up with new green lovely leaves. They form a nice border hedge and create privacy with a dense leafy depth and height. Blooms next year, I’d expect. In pink!
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. I adore these mixed plant tangles… They’d make a gorgeous textile print. This one is mostly: Queen Anne’s Lace/Wild Carrot, Thyme, Sage, Salvia, Vinca, Clover, Anise… Babies love these little fairy nests.
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. The incredible Blazing Stars have just bloomed…grown from scattered seeds. Easy as tossing them into the bed. There are hundreds and the wildlife love them. Such fancy feathery dresses!
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. The front herb patch went wild this year, but we love to watch the pollinators favour this swaying sea of lace in the breeze so I will only tame it back a bit next year. The new kitchen looks out onto this stone garden that we made a few years ago. There was a bed of overgrown shrubs, too close to the house, and a paver pathway. We took everything out, painted the house a warm heavy cream, and made space for more meadow wildflowers and three Japanese boxwoods. The pathway was removed and recycled into the back pathway. We made a stone wall, new pathways, and steps. Soon, a mudroom door will go nearby. We have the kitchen door here, too. Little gardeners can pick some fresh sage for dinner! I am working on some lace-like snowflake/floral design stencils in the front doorway, which I will post about when finished.
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. Many greens…living together. Permaculture matters. Everything depends upon the next and the one before. Replace lawns and pollutive machines with native plants that form a perennial carpet to keep you cool, hydrated, and full of life!Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. Every window has a view of the garden! Wake up to nature, go out and converse with her, learn how to be peaceful, bid her a good slumber and get ready for bed… Sustainable life cycles for: you, wildlife, the anti-pollution layers of fungi in the soil, the air, water, and for all plants who connect in their own language and routines. Tread softly in nature. We are the visitors of the earth, be gentle.
Amor Milagre Organic Cottage Garden Design. Grow flowers from seeds to self-seed and spread each year! I love these large areas of various wildflowers. In the wind, the whole garden is alive and dancing. Drought-tolerant is the way to go with climate change, and we have always just let the rain water the garden. The plants grow stronger this way, and you can enjoy doing other things you love.
New blooms are coming soon…
Love to all of the bees who warn us to be more gentle.
Without you, I cannot think what we’d be. ~ Amor Milagre
A story as delicious as a good dinner… In my original plans for my company, I designed Café Amor Milagre. The idea is a plant-based, vegan, organic, European peasant-style, garden-fresh café to accompany my shop. As my store is online, my upcoming cookbooks will teach how to bring our kitchen to yours with simply delicious recipes. We adore this custom home café that we have nearly finished building at our Rose Cottage. I’ll keep my original company plans, perhaps to open up later on down the road. The world can really use more of this type of dining. We never eat out, so we made our own restaurant at home, growing plants in the garden for our daily food.
I love to lounge by our grand new windows that look onto the morning’s dewy flowers and herbs, write a new story, share a funny teatime with my family, and dream in the evening sconce lamplight. Simple peaceful pleasures build up a beautiful life…and story. I’ve written so many books this summer, and every day there are three more. Now, I just have to catch up on printing them all so you can enjoy them, too! I’m out of ink and journals, and my poor hand needs a break. But then, oh!
I will publish more treasury compilation-style books going forward as printing costs are high. My shop uses sustainable materials, which do cost more for me, but the preservation of nature is vital. In general, the cost of everything now is quite high. I design my products to be as affordable as possible. I don’t believe that high prices elevate works of art. I believe in equality. In making affordable collections, everyone is invited. With treasury books, my readers can enjoy many stories within one book. Quick, connected readers will really appreciate this type of book. Reread these new classics over again. This will be the new format for some of the children’s book collections and the Self-Health Novelettes. I do have some books that I’ll release on their own as they have specific illustration designs that need a certain book shape or size. Some novels, like The Love Letter Diaries, already contain four seasonal books within one volume. I will keep that style for the second year/volume of that series.
As our renovations wind down, I will release many new artwork and stationery pieces and collections. If only the computers could keep up with my brain, I’d be all caught up. That is my process though…true thought and handmade creative works, inspired by nature. Cherish the real, the natural, yourself.
Whole Foods Amor Milagre Organic Vegan Kitchen
Whole Foods Amor Milagre Organic Vegan Kitchen
Children’s meals are easy to assemble and beautiful with whole foods, such as these nuts. I love how the walnuts look like owls. The senses relish in the shapes, scents, textures, flavours, and colours of natural plant foods. Let children design their own lunch and flavour combinations. Little chefs always come up with something we haven’t tried yet!
Design Tip for A Calming Space: If you group ‘like’ items, or items that you use together, on a tray then the visual clutter goes away and you have a sensually pleasing atmosphere. Store unneeded items out of sight. Have a focal point, and let it be useful. Try it in any room. Do you feel more relaxed?
What is a soup? Easy. Add fresh vegetables to a pot, add some spices, add water. Cook. Enjoy! (My cookbooks include a few more details, but try it!) Last evening, I wrote a story near a simmering tomato fennel soup. Our custom kitchen design was intended for just this moment. For this one, I will puree it. For our regular weekly recipe, we don’t. These simply nourishing soups are versatile and help sustain your week. Delicious recipes, such as these, are featured in my upcoming vegan, organic, sugar-free cookbook. Enjoy soup every day of the year to boost health and relax, knowing that you always have a good dinner waiting for you!
Tomato Fennel Soup Amor Milagre Organic Vegan Cooking & Kitchen Interior Design Renovation. A New Kitchen-Warming Gift from my husband! This pot has locking safety handles and a strainer lid option. It’s just the right size for most of our recipes, but it uses more storage space with the handles. Overall it’s a great green design, but next time remove the click handle sound. We understand how to use it. Cooking designs can be made much quieter.
I love gentle rain showers and slow cooks. If a recipe is going to take a while, it can do it on its own. We’re quite busy, so minimal steps and a house filled with a gorgeous subtle scent is my design. The buzzing machines that I do not love do not live in our kitchen. They live on the other side of the door, in the pantry. We also made sure to research the quietest ones. The pantry, mudroom, and a full bath/laundry room are our next renovation projects to finish this fall/winter. Yes, every inch of the house and gardens… Sensitive design considers your whole health and how the senses work. I design to keep and boost energy, not zap it away. Even our clocks don’t tick, and why should they? Check back to see how we have done this to our entire Rose Cottage.
I’m happy that we are finishing up our last rooms. We deserve a break to watch the flowers grow and have little dates in our cosy café. Last night, we had a half-date half-measuring party. Just us two…and I do love it when my husband says…”I have a design question for you.” Get out the pencil and paper…let’s figure it out. Can you tell that we like a bit of a puzzle?
If your children need something to do this weekend, consider a little scavenger hunt with clues on notepaper leading to a surprise..or even just to breakfast! Our family loves to do things like this. The mind loves to learn and be useful. Recipes are a versatile way to keep your senses moving. Growing and preparing organic food is a wonderful puzzle to practice.
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design, New Stove Hood with Lavender Trug and Soft Sconce Lighting
August brings a new kitchen. What a lovely gift! We are fiddle-faddling with our favourite pancake flippers and arranging precious teacups in custom-fit drawers, newly handmade by my talented husband. We measured everything and designed special areas for each collection of kitchen items. The flow is important to get right. Ergonomics are vital to prevent pain. How splendid to unpack decades of patience into a beautiful, clean space! Everything has a home, and we can easily use everything now. This room used to be two, with walls missing and old floors, and the upcoming design reveals will show how much work it took to bring this calming, soft kitchen to life. Our Rose Cottage feels healthier every day.
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. Linen & Lavender are natural and calming.Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. We love summer days of watermelon and mint!Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. New space leaves room for dancing. Ironing dresses and blouses by the garden door in the evening is cool and crickety.
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. All ready for garden picnics with the teddy bear family!
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. We have little ironing demonstrations (from afar) by the Queen Anne’s Lace flowers. This door opens out to one of our kitchen gardens, the stone-lined herb patch. How nice it is to make things nice! (*Until adding heat to fabrics stops conjuring up clouds of toxic pollution, this is not a pleasure. It can only be an occasional thing to do with proper ventilation and a mask. The fabrics, iron-steamer-dryer, detergent and packaging all need to be safe and healthy to use. Remove the chemical coatings! The amount of toxins in a fabric is obvious by the instant headache and difficulty breathing. Prevent illness and redesign the world to be a healthy life cycle. Read more here.)
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. Bringing in the kitchen rugs and lamps today! All is ready…just waiting on the drawer fronts, which are almost finished! Just need a bit of sanding and painting. Design reveals are coming up this Autumn.
Amor Milagre Custom Kitchen Interior Design. Summer days are going by quickly. Little crows love to make echoes into the tarped sitting room, where rows of tiles are being removed. The new flooring goes in there next week!
We hope you are enjoying your summer lightning bugs and petals! Love, ~ Amor Milagre
Designing the garden to be as soft, natural, and perennial as the interior is something that I love to do. Outside, we have organic vegetable gardens, cottage flower mazes, and wildflower meadow borders. It’s as easy as painting with plants. Choose your colours, textures, seasons, and heights. Replace lawns with perennial flowering plants. Creeping thyme is a favourite bridge for plant gaps, and the pollinators love their dusty lilac flowers as much as we love to use it for cooking. Plant your desired seeds and enjoy all of their stages. Inside, cosy up by the window on a rainy day and sketch the blooms of the week. Go out for a dewdrop stroll to explore watery worlds. Arrange your teacups and dishes on wide heavy cream shelves, and lay down charcoal cacao floors to connect the inside to the garden. Your flowers and curtains can reflect similar colours and patterns. This encourages humanity to feel more a part of nature. By connecting indoor and outdoor spaces with sensitive design, one finds themselves going out more naturally to benefit from the air, blooms, and roots. Fawns love to wander in the meadows, too.
Meditate inclusivity, harmony, and peace. Love, ~Amor Milagre
Amor Milagre: Health Awareness: End Clothing Chemical & Scent Pollution
Did you know that clothing companies are making the world sick? There are hazardous, toxic chemicals in most clothing. Research products before you buy. Even the chemical safety certified clothes will often arrive heavily scented. Look at all aspects of their system to truly know if the garments are non-toxic.
We have given up on clothing companies, even the ones who claim to be organic. Everyone: We encourage you to tell clothing companies who send perfumed items to stop. Ask before you buy for clear answers. Ask: “Are there harmful chemicals in your products?” Research the best fabrics for the body. Demand real transparency and respect for the consumer. Return items, delete accounts, and send detailed messages requesting process and policy changes. Prevent illness and chemical run off into nature. Positive change is needed. It is dire. Illness is prevalent. Illness is preventable.
Most clothing is polluted with PFAS, formaldehyde, pesticides, and other damaging forever chemicals. Items are then sprayed with perfume to distract you from those chemicals. It is a toxic mess. Set boundaries. We cannot even open the box. We cannot even try it on to see that the designers are still not doing fit tests or proper colour matches. Suitable clothing is hard enough to find without adding dangerous chemicals into the mix. Yes, I worked briefly in fashion as a designer and did everything I could to make sure my designs would be healthy and fit real humans, but the big wigs wouldn’t adapt to my changes so I quit. They wouldn’t even do one organic fabric! They dare not order a single swatch. They feared a health-conscious revolution, and that would cost them. One must be proud of their work. The toxic office sensory environment issues and constant sexual harassment also made up my obvious decision to leave. The inhumane conditions and lack of pay/benefits for those making the products is a crime. Children should not be the work force behind our daily outfits. All of the industries need to be examined, held internationally accountable, and redesigned to benefit all involved.
The fashion industry is a foe. They are quite terrible. Research it. The messages are unhealthy. The warehouses are a dump. The waste is expansive. The lack of care is disgusting. The human form, and how we move and live, is rarely taken into account. The off-gassing from a roomful of unboxed shoes or outerwear is instantly damaging to the body. Even the poison exuding from one box of shoes or one coat causes immediate issues. Health is not usually even mentioned. They take no pride in their products. Department store shopping is like wading in a cheaply made sea of strings and tags. Boutiques and designer shops overcharge for the same bad quality sewing and continue to pollute their items. French companies lash out when you ask them to simply not perfume the items before sending, claiming that everyone loves their signature scent. We don’t. They don’t care. We don’t count in their view of everyone. They only count positive feedback and imaginary ideal customers. Even the well known organic companies pollute their clothes. They have sold out and have lost control. Fast or slow fashion, it’s all the same junk if you don’t take care to not pollute your designs. Storage is key as well. What scents and toxins do products absorb in storage? Every step in the process is important. The packaging materials also need to be non-toxic and unscented. Think of a shirt like a pear. Are they grown organically? How does it get from here to there? Is it intact? Is it still good when it reaches the customer? We are absorbing our surroundings…and we do not want to ingest pollution.
Until adding heat to fabrics stops conjuring up clouds of toxic pollution, this is not a pleasure to help your clothes look and feel smooth. It can only be an occasional thing to do with proper ventilation and a mask. The fabrics, iron-steamer-dryer, detergent and packaging all need to be safe and healthy to use. The iron itself emits toxins. The production of these machines is toxic as well. Remove the chemical coatings and replace plastic pollution with earth-friendly simple routines. The amount of toxins in a fabric is obvious by the instant headache and difficulty breathing. Prevent illness and redesign the world to be a healthy life cycle.
This poison and poisonous mindset does not listen to those of us who sense danger immediately. Personal safety is attacked by merely ordering a sweater. Chemical and perfume allergies are real and painful. Their products instantly cause sharp blinding migraines, an inability to breathe, and various painful long-term illnesses solely caused by air and chemical pollution. Asthma, cancer, baby issues, and skin conditions are directly caused by these chemicals. Highly sensitive people benefit the world. We are the truth tellers. Listen to us to prevent catastrophes. The stores won’t change anything and do not tell the vendors of the customer’s concerns or returns. Reviews online are false. The truth is deleted. You are wearing toxins. It’s back to sewing for us, but really…where do we get the fabric, as all of this is true of the textiles industry as well? They go hand in hand…spreading pollution as they ship poison around the world.
Redesign the world to be healthy. We deserve clean unpolluted fabrics and clothing.
When every day feels like a century, and every lifetime is quite a painful one, an old soul in their 30’s remembers youthful plans to move to the rainforest. There were too many years scraped by and deprived of my green family, The Trees. I had a list of what to pack for the journey. I planned for some sandwiches and water. I wouldn’t need shoes, just instincts. I do remember a lifetime when I did live there, long before they cut it down. Full of life, it was! Beautiful animals and fascinating plants. Colours and shapes and senses…everywhere! The jungle was alive itself, and her soul breathed for all of us.
The Jungle Book and The Baron in the Trees suited this long-limbed tree-climbing child. Travel photography was on my list of daydreams, and I practiced every day. My first tree dwellings were a success with tools and supplies tied to the higher branches, and me, safe and dry under the pine curtain designing my tree house. After a while, they noticed I was missing and I was yanked back into the airless box of dust and heavily-scented cleaners. A baby may be born healthy and strong, but modern homes, schools, and offices crumble our lungs and we reluctantly join the league of wheezing, sleepless dust bunnies.
New systems and ways of building need to include real air, but this means we need the basic right and resource of unpolluted air everywhere. What kind of air purifier could safely tackle the century of toxins hovering above and around us? You can’t merely vacuum up the clouds, seal them into the earth, and call it a day. The poison is engrained in the soil, water, air, and in us. Our cells are affected by pollution. It keeps moving in a loop. Many steps are needed. The termination of polluting systems and objects is vital. Plants are the enduring solution. Years ago, my thesis to preserve the rainforest cultures and wildlife through awareness was presented, but the coffee-in-hand crowd wasn’t listening, as they were too busy pondering more ways to sexually harass me. (A college review is coming up.) The answers are obvious, but they need to be implemented and nature preserved. Redesign the world to be healthy and sustainable. Get back to nature.
Although the ways of travelling are so much easier now (albeit stupidly pollutive), I haven’t been able to get there…to the land of leaves and green. Too much illness, caused by the pavement crowd, delayed me. And now…are there any leaves left? Humans, pollution must stop. Let the trees grow older than a hundred lifetimes. There are other ways of doing all of the silly things you like without harming the entire world’s ecosystems and life cycles. But, leave out the harmful things you think you need. You don’t need them; that was just your fear talking. Humans have forgotten that they are a small part of the puzzle. When a tree is cut down, the whole world feels it. You may not realize it like empaths do, but the loss is felt from the roots to the air, and we are less without it.
On mornings like these, when the rain soaks up the garden in a heavy hug, turning all in it a deep green, I remember my rainforest dreams…and I plant more seeds.
If I cannot move to the most natural places, I can make our place the most natural haven for wildlife and plants to live and grow, organic and unpolluted, and living all together. I draw the branches. I paint the trees. I collect and spread more seeds.
Grow green goodness all around you…and let the babies breathe…
On hot summer days, we make simply refreshing flavoured ice.
Sometimes mint or rosemary, often wild berry, and today…lavender!
Amor Milagre Organic Garden Lavender Ice
Homeschool is lovely in the summer. Explore all things botanical in the garden, come in for a cold drink, and let the mind soak up beautiful latin names, fascinating plant uses, and charming origin stories. Nature is the best teacher.
A few fresh books will be finished this month, and then it’s off to the printers!
Stay cool. Love, ~ Amor Milagre
A Gentle Life Collection
Coming Up: New Audiobooks & An Ethical Paperback Option
Ban Fireworks, Redesign Holidays to be Healthy, Amor Milagre Journal
We suffer through more sleepless nights…all throughout the summer, especially around the dreaded day, the Fourth of July. Something akin to the inescapable, unnecessary sounds and sensation of war, cannons and gun shots boom and shake our house for hours every night and without warning or an end. Could it even be so, in this uncertain time? This simulation of a bombing needs to be banned. Anyone who has survived any kind of war needs calm healing, not more sense experiences of threats and danger. Fireworks are highly insensitive and painful on many fronts.
There are more than ten thousand injuries caused by fireworks each year in the US. Some people even die. Such was the case at last night’s firework show in Michigan. Property damage occurs as well. Increased painful hearing issues, migraines, buzzing nerves, PTSD, and no sleep (which causes more illnesses) are our common effects from fireworks, and that is from inside our home with the windows closed. Babies and children are crying in their beds, and their routines are disturbed instantly and for the long-term. Pollution negatively shapes a baby’s entire lifetime. Sleep-deprived parents, with very early work times, are endlessly working more over time to calm the alarmed little ones while writing emails to town to ban fireworks. The town never answers us. They think it is their American right to pollute everyone whenever and however they like, no matter the effects. Spin-off sound/vibration pollution from random neighbours goes on until early morning with no signs of stopping, despite the curfew. This, as well as the horrible local gun shots, sound off all year. Why is this allowed? Why was this adopted? Who can change it? Who will? When? We needed it to never happen. Loud, intense sounds and vibration trigger PTSD, deepen a sense of unsafe conditions, cause illness, prolong insomnia, and prevent healing. As a young child, I was put on a river boat at night and had to endure being right under the fireworks for a long period of time. They thought it was a luxury, but it was abuse. This annual crippling nightmare caused permanent hearing conditions and chronic illness. All of this is preventable pollution. Stop the suffering. Stop endangering whole cities. Repay our sleep deficit.
To truly celebrate freedom means giving everyone the freedom of quiet peace to sleep and to do as they need, without harming others. This annual toxic terror needs to stop. It allows people who already behave disrespectfully to feel free to worsen and cause more havoc. Give us freedom from pollution instead. End war and remove symbols of glorifying war. Free us from your violent mistakes. Fireworks are also a terrible fire and safety risk, especially during these hot months when wildfires rage and pollute everywhere. Air pollution is already at a dangerous high. We don’t need more smoke.
Prevent illness and pain. Fireworks are cruel to highly sensitive people, all people (whether they are aware or not), and anyone with hyperacusis, migraines, autism, empathic senses, synesthesia, any illness, sleep issues, and hearing or nervous system issues. Everyone deserves quiet for sleep and personal sense of safety.
STOP! Just flat out STOP. Stop assuming people love fireworks. We don’t. Pollution is a hate crime against sensitive people, all people, and the Earth. Positive change is needed. There are already too many layers of pollution that need to be dismantled and discontinued. Fireworks need to be extinct. If you don’t think fireworks are loud, you may be deaf as many people unknowingly are. The vibration does affect you negatively whether you notice or not. The make and use of fireworks was never a good idea, and they are not even American. Research how to safely dispose of fireworks as they are toxic and can cause toxic run off pollution for land/water. Be considerate and respectful. Let everyone sleep and heal.
Alternatives to Celebrating Holidays with Fireworks : Listen to loud heavy metal with headphones for hours-make popcorn-and watch your screen saver explode in spirals (have fun healing that blinding headache, no don’t do that)….or….help someone who needs basic things. Which one will fill you with a sense of love? Also, a simple thank you to a person who has worked to do something positive for your country would be a good small way to appreciate how they made a big difference. Having a quiet day of silence is also a wonderful practice to celebrate holidays. Meditate peace. More joy and excitement can come from meditating and resting than from overwhelming the senses with senseless blasts of fire in the air. Let the birds rest. Let yourself heal.
I make awareness in my books for replacing toxic traditions with healthy positive ideas. Sage’s July calendar book page is mostly about this post. Leona’s town has a lot of seasonal fun, but only in healthy ways. What else could we enjoy during July? So many summery things…. What can you think of? There are endless imaginative ways to spend your holidays without harming others.
Give Peace Today. Make amends for harming the world. Redesign your calendar to help, not harm. Wake up to peace, because we’ve been awake for eons…
Wishing for Rain. Love, Amor Milagre
Update: After years of messaging various towns in Maine about the damages of continued pollution here, we have finally received a response. No apologies or sign of humanity. It was an automated response directing us to a page that we had already read. It briefly shows the town rules and says a town vote would be needed to ban fireworks. We have written back to them, and all levels of government, about the negative effects of fireworks and have requested a ban. We’ve also pointed out that the voters would need to be educated on the facts. As is it now, the vote would not be accurate as the voters are uneducated on this topic and are, like many people, de-sensitized and/or deaf from pollution. This kind of broken useless loop system, designed to deter anyone in need of change, is in denial and only provides a dead end.
Governments need to wake up to reality before it’s too late for everyone and more large scale damage ensues. Why isn’t the suffering of an individual enough to stop pollution? It is a warning that can save others from suffering, too. Look at reality. All of the little choices effect the entire world. It has been happening since the beginning of time. The damage to us is terrible enough, but they won’t listen. They hide from responsibility and no matter the issue, they refuse to change. They have stolen the energy we would need to fight this and many other issues, and that is their plan. We don’t want to fight anything. We want to live quietly. I don’t understand why humans make life as horrific as possible. After surviving so much, where can one rest? Where? We asked the town to change the rules so we’re not being polluted because it’s their job to protect the people in the town. We already have jobs. We’re not asking for anything new. Just stop. Don’t add more. Subtract. Stop doing negative things. Stop.
Maine is a state that I moved to hoping for peace and quiet, but instead I have had the most shocking danger and illness of my life due to the toxic, dangerous, sexist, stubborn old rules of the people who live here. And…that is saying something as I have survived many impossibles before coming here. They don’t care, and certainly not about women. Now, we are stuck…again. Does anyone other than us care…anywhere? What the townspeople, who are our disrespectful pollutive neighbours, don’t grasp is that we haven’t slept due to their pollution. They don’t even realize the damage it has done to themselves either, such as hearing loss. We haven’t been able to do our regular routines as we need to, let alone rally an effective peaceful protest that could sway this town’s way of thinking to care about other people. I send the town information, like this, but we are sick at home and cannot go perform speeches at town meetings. We support our town by paying taxes, following the rules, buying things, and starting positive community programs for free. Why can’t they support us by respecting our safety and health boundaries? Why are fireworks, leaf blowers, gas-powered machines, guns, motorcycles and trucks, chainsaws, and many other pollutive practices not considered a public nuisance that can be reported and fined? If someone broke into your home and banged pans together over you while you tried to sleep, that would be considered a viable issue. This is the same, if not much more invasive and damaging. To have to explain to children that they have no control over pollution and that we have to invent endless creative ways to get by is not right. The fact that these are the laws of humans is revolting and disparaging. This contradicts what we teach. So…we write letters and emails. This separates us from the town. We moved here because it seemed like a good family community. Nope. Well, at least we have our beloved Nature. No again. Not allowed to be in it or enjoy it. Too much constant pollution. The humans have devastated our world. Change it now. It can be good. We need nature to heal ourselves from the damage of pollution. Preserve nature and all in, around, through, and under it.
America wants fighting. They make you have to fight for your life every day and at every stage. It is disgusting and damaging, especially when you need dire help. We are just surviving every day’s endless and layered pollution caused by the town and it’s mismanagement of how people are allowed to behave. They have taken the beautiful gift of nature and ruined it to the point that sitting in your own home is too painful to bear. We planted flowers everywhere and cannot sit with them. It’s too polluted. Town outtings are rare, brief, and damaging due to pollution that prompts us to have to retreat home. This is one of the least polluted places. Think about that. This pollution occurs every day of the year. We’ve had to move many times because of this unnecessary pollution to our extreme detriment. Where can we go? It has cost us in every way.
*My message to you is: What you choose to do affects everyone. Are you helping or harming? At the very least, be neutral. No more fighting. Listen and help everyone to have what they need. Respect all kinds of people’s needs. They may be different to yours, but they are equally important. We need options and the freedom to make our own choices. Stop forcing pollution into our homes, surrounding us everywhere, and making us ill for the short and long term. If you think that you’re not affected by pollution, then you are simply in denial and are not aware of the effects. It is not that you are not sensitive enough to feel it. You need to wake up to reality and make changes for the better. Our outer and inner ecosystems need repairing. Prevention, preservation, life cycle redesign, and healing are vitally important for our future.
Now, after another night of fireworks, baby cries, and no sleep, I am even more ill. Getting everyone back to sleep will take months. PTSD is quite difficult to counter. I will leave you to examine the world’s continuation of negative choices and how you can make instant positive changes to improve daily systems and stop dangerous traditions for every neighbourhood and for all people. We have noticed that just this week a few US towns have banned fireworks for this year due to the threat of wildfires, which is good, but can they be permanently banned everywhere based on all of their negative effects?
What you do matters to everyone around you. Stop smoking. Stop sexual violence. Stop abuse. Stop fighting, killing, and damaging. Stop. Learn how to deal with your mental and physical health in positive, neutral, and peaceful ways. You can do this. The world can easily be a safe, wonderful, natural place for everyone…if you can realize it in your choices.
A table of earthy lavender feels real and full. So much of our modern world is fake, in denial, distressing, and all about the intended facade, but plants are usually pretty honest. I relish in the green air of my garden. The buds, the stems, the scents, the textures, and the flavours…
Bundles of twine-tied and dried bedroom bouquets, petals for dollhouse and wardrobe sachets, and savoured preserves for kitchen teatime potions adorn our Rose Cottage rooms this last week of June. Many blooms are left growing for the pollinators.
This spell is a simple one…scatter some seeds…rain…wait…and enjoy as your plants grow more lush every year! New blooms will come back soon after this trim. Our flowers bolted early from spring’s heat waves caused by climate change, and I am learning their new rhythms. Weeks of rain follow none at all, and I am glad we designed a drought-tolerant garden. The wildlife and pollinators adore the various intermingling plants. Glistening wings hover over large patches of colourful petals in a sparkling, humming cloud. Bliss! This is the ‘reality’ we love the most.
Roaming our rambling minty hills, we find inspiration. A handful of mint makes for a refreshing vegan shake. You can also mix the lavender and mint together in a fresh tea infusion to brew up a calming enchantment. Sit in the moment…feel that you are real and full of life! Grow goodness!
*New Green Witch books are coming soon. Check out my Lavender art pieces and books for more fresh air. Be truly you! Love, ~Amor Milagre
Amor Milagre Cottage Garden Design, Apricot Foxgloves, Planted to Match the Blush of Baby’s Cheek
This is the week of the foxglove, buttercup, peony, iris, pollinator-loving wildflowers, lavender, and the first rose bloom. The soft, pillowy petals are beloved by all wildlife. It rains, bathing fuzzy stems in shining dew. We visit each bloom as it unfurls. The flowers are helped by glistening insect friends and greet the clouded sun, “Good morning!” This is an especially magical time to study and write about the poetry of nature… and of the self. Our lessons are taken into the garden with a cup of tea and an umbrella.
Sense all around your lovely being. How do you feel? What kind of messages are whispering to you?
balance in the dance
Happy Last Days of June! Love, ~The Botanists at Rose Cottage, Amor Milagre
Amor Milagre Cottage Garden Design, Plant drought-tolerant wildflowers for pollinators
With each season, our garden renovation design grows in fuller than the last. We replaced lawns with perennial flowers and edible organic plant foods. We made fun pathways to explore under arches of towering stems and sweet blooms. The low buzzing hum increases, and new winged friends stay a while.
Scatter seeds and wait for your gorgeous surprise! Life awaits…
Amor Milagre Cottage Garden Design, Peonies
Let other flowers hold up earlier bloomers…they help as they grow…no prop sticks or twine needed!
Our first sense of the new flowering trees’ beautiful blooms! Stars! (Kousa Dogwood)
Amor Milagre Cottage Garden Design, David Austin English Rose
Sweet as June, an English Rose…heavenly scent…
Amor Milagre Cottage Garden Design, Plant for Pollinators
Planting beds of flowering, fragrant thyme with many pollinator-loving flowers in between is a sustainable way to replace lawns, enjoy your garden, encourage wildlife, and always have healthy organic herbs for the kitchen! July blooms are coming soon…but we’ll sit and hum with these first…
Visit my nature photography and artwork collections to browse more inspiration from our garden.
The Earth has been showing symptoms. We cannot ignore it. This affects everyone, every plant, every animal, and every drop of water. We are connected. What happens there…changes it here. The land is burning. She has a high fever. She has been asking for help. The new smoke adds even more layers of air pollution. We cannot breathe. Fresh air? Where? There is nowhere left to escape to. People are fleeing all kinds of danger. Elsewhere, her cries flood. More symptoms show. This trauma reaches everyone. The Earth is sick. Humans inflicted this pain. Let Earth heal, and all of us with her. Get back to Nature. Grow plants everywhere. Green will burst out of the concrete cracks, if you let them. This is not merely something to get through, but our world needs lasting, intensive healing. Stop polluting. Plants grow up by themselves, so let them be. They are here for a vital reason. We were never meant to live without Nature. We need to live on her, with her, because we cannot live without her. There are no weeds. Lawns can easily be replaced with perennial flowers. Let fields be wild and native, where trees can grow old, and they may be our steady guide. Oxygen needs to be abundant, not a rare luxury when it’s too late. Don’t cut nature down. Encourage her to be herself and flourish. She feeds us. Plants grow all together. They share a language. We can learn this. Plants need one another, just as we need them to live.
Redesign it all. Design for green movement. Sway in the wind. Plant healing seeds today. They will grow.
Live Peace. Begin the Plant Era…once again. Love, Amor Milagre
Amor Milagre Design: Rose Cottage Sitting Room Spring Mantle
Good Afternoon. Did you know that Peace is where Romance lives? This post is an excerpt from my healthy lifestyle book, A Gentle Life by Amor Milagre. I sense the world has long been in a tangle. To unwind and release from this static, each one of us may gently be our true self and connect naturally. This is how the universe may feel…just right.
1. Awareness for the Senses
Feel your skin, your body functioning, your heart exhale, and your electrons buzzing all around you. Breathe in…and out. Feel what you love and what you lack. Listen and give. Feel again. Smile with your entire being. Connect with the trees. Feel their energy. Connect with each other. Send and receive loving energy. This is you. You are love. Love your body, mind, heart, soul, energy, and daily choices. Heal the past, be in the present, and open to the future. Love the connections and find pockets of joy in how you can share and grow this love. It’s infinite…and it’s always there…everywhere…waiting to be kissed up and hugged up and embraced fully with every spec in the universe. Burst with love! Let love accompany you during your day. Consume love. Breathe love in…and out. Listen to love as your lullaby. Dream love. It feels good.
2. Date Yourself
Before you can be present and emotionally in tune with anyone else, you can choose to be eternally in love with your inner and outer self. Try out self dates. Go to a variety of places (safely) and become aware of what you love. You may be surprised what you didn’t know you could enjoy! You can easily date yourself at home, too. Even ten minutes is enough time to check in. Explore new experiences. Exercise in gentle ways. What kinds of movement feel healthy? Wander and sense what your soul connects with. Take your time to know and feel and process. Sort it all out. Nourish healthy habits and memories, and let go of all negativity. It’s too heavy to hold, so let go. Adore your body and the mysterious and magical things it can do. You are connected to everything in the universe. What would you like to adorn your web with? People, places, and nature that match your true energy will connect with you naturally when you are living as your authentic self. Connect within. The confidence, sweetness, and fun that you have when alone is felt everywhere by you being you. This is attractive to yourself and the world around you. This is where peace and romance live…within your authentic self. You are all you need to feel wonderful. Always stay aware of the messages from your inner self, your soul, and your body. You can date yourself all your life. It is important to keep up with this respectful relationship, especially when you have others in your life. Communicate in a love language within and with others for a peaceful day. You choose…everything.
3. Express Yourself
Dancing to music you love, singing in the bath or shower, daydreaming, helping others, laughing and playing, crafting and scrapbooking, drawing and painting, exploring, sewing clothes and toys, acting and reading, inventing and building useful things with natural materials, sailing out with oars to float and unwind, sowing seeds and bulbs, playing instruments, writing creative stories and love letters, decorating, cooking and savouring, simplifying, walking in nature, swimming and climbing, being still, and meditating are just a pocketful of ways to embrace your emotions. Be aware to not bother or neglect others while you are expressing. Feel all of the emotions, process, and release. This positive practice allows air to flow through your energy. Your senses are set free, and you are open to experience this new moment. What do your senses tell you?
For more gentle living, read my original book collection and these journal posts. Listen with your heart. It may tell you something very different than what you think you feel. Listen….and love.
Love, Amor Milagre
What is in your basket today? What spills out into your journal? Examine….and Live Peace.
How can one separate time when it is all at once? My memory is an ancient one, and I love to get lost in my earliest, most natural memories. I close my eyes and see green, sparkling green. My art translates a sliver of these images. My book characters also dwell here, some in mossy hillside homes, cosy in the Earth, and covered in wildflowers. Antonia’s Bakery is a such a children’s book. My Leona novels are from another series that bridges old and new days. An enchanting new book, featuring more illustrations of natural earthen homes, is coming soon! In my stories, many ideas for preserving and appreciating nature are shared.
Below is a video about bushcraft and loving nature that feels grounding for the viewer. I came across it this week while doing some research for our woods and cottage garden. These building techniques remind me of my family now, which is my ancient soul family. We lived with the Earth and we try every day to get back to that peace. Remember when building your homes, it is important to use the most natural, non-toxic, and sustainable materials and systems. This is not only healthy for you now, but for all of the universe in all time periods. Prevent pollution and heal the Earth. Grow goodness! Love, Amor Milagre
Here is another video by a talented woman who made a similar house. I’m not into the lights, but her techniques are wonderful to learn!
