Taking the e-Course, Flying Lessons, and how I met Kelly Rae Roberts !!

Flying Lessons online e-Course

We can all use a tune-up once in a while, and some good girlfriend advice – and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m taking Kelly Rae Robert’s e-Course, Flying Lessons. It’s a 5-week online course that provides tips, solid advice, and inspiration about growing your creative business. It’s day 5 and my head is spinning - - in a good way.

Kelly encourages you to listen to the whispers in your head, the voices that inspire you to be creative. I have been listening to my whispers to live a creative life for some time – as long as I can remember really. In fact, I’m not quite sure if there has ever been a time that I didn’t listen… but there were many times I tried to shush them, stop dreaming, and follow what other people said you were suppose to do - get a responsible J–O–B.

Meeting Kelly Rae Roberts

It seems it was fate that invited me in… keeping me energized and inspired... to push me past the hurdles. This is what led me to learn more about Kelly Rae, her positive outlook, and how she encourages others to accomplish their dreams and to be who they are supposed to be. Or maybe it wasn’t ‘fate’. Maybe it was my mother's quiet presence reassuring me to move forward. She was always my biggest cheerleader. I still feel like she’s a strong force in my creative destiny for sure.


I have been reading creative blogs for a long time and I’m not sure how I didn’t discover Kelly Rae and fall into her allure a while ago. It has only been in the past year. Weird, right? Timing really IS everything. So here’s the low-down on how we met. ;-)


I was working at an art gallery last summer. The whispers in my head to get back to my creative life were getting incredibly loud – suffocating really. I stepped out during my break to pick up chocolate bars for our afternoon snacking. (The girls at the gallery and I loved to indulge in really good chocolate). A new display of greeting cards was set out near the register. While I waited to pay for my items a card jumped out at me... I mean, it asked me to take it home. So I bought it. I had no idea who the artist was... nor did I really care. But I did appreciate the simple, thoughtful, folk-like simplicity of the image of three girls on the front flap.

This is a copy of Kelly Rae's card that I purchased

I’m not a shopper. I don’t own a lot of shoes. I don’t collect things. But, I do treasure images - - of all kinds. I love to be inspired and I have accumulated a ton of artists postcards, fabric and tile samples, photos of who knows what, business cards that are thoughtfully designed, magazine pages w/ classic photos of the life of Andy Warhol, Audrey Hepburn, beehive hairdos, children of the sixties and VW’s. I just love them all. And so it was... I added this charming card to my collection.

Did I mention while working at the gallery my whispers were YELLING at me. It’s time to move on! Take the risk! Do what you love! Make time for your creative dreams!  I loved working at the gallery... but I couldn’t think straight with all this hollering and pressure. I realized I needed to give notice at the gallery and I needed to figure out my game plan for reenergizing my business again. After knee surgery it had literally been put on hold (couldn’t manage the stairs = my studio was collecting dust). I began looking for creative business books on amazon – something to inspire me and put all the yelling in my head into action. A couple books caught my eye, one of which was Kelly Rae’s book, Taking Flight. I bought it and then totally forgot about it.

I am a super happy person… like all the time. On my dad’s side I have a large Italian family, everyone is happy, loves food, they tell great stories, and they laugh a lot so I guess I was just born that way – happy. One of my days off from the gallery I wasn’t feeling happy… just feeling down, overwhelmed, and anxious about rebuilding my creative life. I walked my dog Jetson and then poked my head in the mailbox. Oooo... a package! Still feeling out of sorts and really kind of sad... I made some tea, crawled back into bed an opened my box. OMG... it was THAT book that I ordered! It was the perfect, inspirational gift to receive on such a melancholy day. I opened the first page, read it, got sucked into Kelly Rae’s charming words and devoured the entire book that afternoon. It wasn’t until I finished did I put two and two together… she is the artist that painted that card I bought! Was it a crazy coincidence, a fluke – or was it something MORE?! I believe it was destiny – the stars were aligning because the voices in my head, and in my heart, were too loud to shush. I am happiest when I am in control of my own destiny and dreams; happiest when I put paint to the canvas and when I create my 'small works of art' – my jewelry, Carlentini Jewelry. This is where I am meant to be.

So this is how we met – Kelly Rae and me. And after reading and consuming all of her blog posts late at night we have now become friends. Thank you Kelly Rae – for helping me to have the courage to push past the uncertainty, to stay inspired and excited about what the future holds, and for introducing me to your e-Course, Flying Lessons. I’m thrilled to be a part of a creative community who is pushing past their fears to live a creative life, openly sharing ideas and opinions to find balance in their lives, to create art and to follow their dreams, while inspiring their children, family and friends.

'Pour your heart and all your energy into selling your art

one small step, and one goal at a time.'

AMEN sister! 
(Thanks Kelly Rae)