Sourdough Journey

The beginning

Lockdown Baker

Like many others, I found myself making sourdough bread during the pandemic of 2020. At that time, we were living in New York, and, oh, did I struggle with sourdough!

Building a healthy starter was a mystery, and no matter how much I researched, my loaves kept falling flat. I tried over and over, and just couldn’t get it to work. I felt as deflated as my dough was.

this is one of my first loaves from 2020

I QUIT!

Then we moved to sunny Florida, my first starter didn’t survive the move. So I gave it another go. This time I managed to build up a starter, but I was still fumbling through each loaf. At this point I threw up my hands and said ” I quit sourdough!”. Looking back and reflecting on that moment, now only a few years later I have to say I’m giggling a bit, since its truly become a passion of mine.

Change is coming

Not long after ( 8 months to be exact) we moved.. out of state… again…this time to beautiful North Carolina. Soon after settling in, I learned I was expecting my second child. I was in a new place, our closest family was a 12 hour drive, and we had only just been in our new home a month.

I would love to hear about how you got into sourdough! Let me know in the comments

Getting the hang of things

I need a hobby

With a new baby on the way, I knew I needed a grounding hobby to continue after his arrival. Sourdough came to mind, and I promised to truly learn it this time.

with a little help from my friends

I started a new starter, reached out to friends who were experienced bakers, and asked countless questions. Their guidance was invaluable; they introduced me to Little Spoon Farm’s sourdough recipe. With a bit more know-how, I finally started making progress.

A new lease on life

During this period, I had a challenging childbirth experience and recovery. I left the hospital with a renewed sense of purpose, determined to live fully and pursue my dreams. This commitment to “creative living” became my inspiration and compass.

What inspires you to live creatively?

Discovering Sourdough Artistry

you can do that?

One day, while scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled across some beautiful, intricate sourdough scoring patterns. I was hooked! I started experimenting with scoring techniques, replicating patterns I’d seen, and creating my own designs. Encouraged by friends and family, I launched a Facebook page and Instagram to share my work.

Making Connections

I connected with other bakers and tried new techniques who recommended The Sourdough Journey’s tools and so much more. I was amazed at the sense of community I found in the online sourdough world. I was even more amazed by just how much I was learning from my new found friends.

Discovering Natural food coloring

Then I discovered the magic of natural food coloring and began to experiment with various techniques for achieving beautiful marbling effects. This journey into the world of colors not only transformed my baking but also sparked a deeper curiosity about the origins and flavors of each hue.

so many options!

As I explored vibrant options like beet juice, spirulina, and turmeric, I soon started incorporating these colors into my loaves in many different ways, concocting ways to include color and adjust color. Each loaf became a canvas, allowing me to blend colors seamlessly and create unique patterns that reflected my creativity and passion for baking, leading to an exciting new chapter in my culinary adventures.

Have you tried any natural food colorings?

Marbling in colors is a really easy way to make a colorful loaf. I have a video about how I do it here.

Painted Loaves

happy accidents

During a colorful crumb contest I help host, I forgot to add color to my dough! So I used food coloring like watercolors to paint loaves. I fell in love with the idea of turning bread into an edible canvas.

heres a look at my first painted loaf

a whole new world

The vibrant hues and fun designs added a fresh wave of creativity to baking. Letting me express myself in ways I had never imagined. Allowing me to explore creativity, and sourdough science at the same time, which was exactly what I needed

I’ve always loved illustration, but I kept most of my work in my sketchbooks. Discovering illustrative scoring and painting with natural food coloring, unlocked a whole new world for me to explore.

how to set up your own palette, and what i use for mine

Want to know how I set up my sourdough paint palettes? Check out this video for a behind-the-scenes look at my process.

You can find everything I use on my Amazon store front . This list includes brushes, paint containers and the natural food colorings I use.

I may make commission should you choose to purchase

Colorful Loaves for Everyone

Since then, I have been experimenting with new techniques and have made videos and taken lots of pictures documenting my creative journey. I enjoy showcasing everything from basic color mixing, and scoring to more intricate designs.

My plan is to use this blog to show you in depth how you can do these techniques at home.

I encourage everyone to explore the artistic side of baking. It’s a wonderful way to blend art and culinary skills while also sharing delicious creations with friends and family.

Have you tried adding color to your loaves?

Click here to see a video of a wheat stalk and star pattern I designed. Or download the free pdf pattern that you can follow along with at home.

Falling for Flowers

My dream project

Alongside my sourdough journey, I had another dream project in the works: starting a cut flower garden and a small herb and vegetable garden. This project brought so much joy and fulfillment into my life.

Now I had tried gardening quite a few times, but to put it nicely, I had no idea what I was doing, but it was something I always wanted to learn.

So I hit the books! I began to learn the art of gardening, experienced the thrill of a first successful bloom, and found myself drawn to arranging flowers and creating bouquets.

small successes

Soon I was sharing these arrangements online, even selling a few bouquets, and integrating flowers, herbs, and vegetables from my garden into my baking and cooking.

This was such a joy for me, to see the fruits of my labor come to life, getting to know each plant, and selling my first bouquet was all so exciting. I took so much joy in seeing the look on my customer’s face when she saw the gorgeous flowers was amazing.

I loved hearing all about her plans to use them for an event, it had my heart brimming with happiness! Let me know if you have a garden, or would like to have one some day!

my inspiration

I first became interested in having a cut flower garden while looking through a copy of Magnolia Journal magazine.

I found this amazing article, about a beautiful farm in Washington called Floret Farm. They were growing gorgeous flowers and a have a really cool mission.

I saved this article and would often reread it, dreaming about the garden and flower business I wanted to have one day.

Must-Read Gardening Books You’ll Love

Here are some of the books I read to learn about gardening( Linked to my amazon storefront where I may make commission should you buy through the link) :

future plans for florals

The dream has only grown from there, I’ve signed up for the floret flower workshop and I plan to turn our yard into a small flower farm, a space that blends beauty, nature, and food in one. I’m so thrilled about these next steps of my creative living journey and I can’t wait to share more with you! What are your favorite flowers to grow?

Creative Living

Crafting a creative Legacy

When I was a child, my mom would whisk me away on magical adventures during our backyard explorations, turning mundane moments into extraordinary tales filled with fantastical creatures and whimsical quests. Alongside her wild imagination, we would create elaborate crafts like casting our toys in plaster of Paris and making melted crayon butterflies that danced in the sunlight. As she wove these stories and crafts together, I could feel a sense of wonder blooming in my heart, allowing me to see the world as a canvas of endless possibilities.

Art and DIY have always been in my blood. My mom was a huge creative influence on me. Always dreaming up fun crafts and projects that kept my childhood whimsical and imaginative.

I’m hoping to carry on that creative legacy. Not only for myself but for my kids and, hopefully, for you, my readers.

So what even is creative living?

Creative living is a vibrant and fulfilling way of approaching life that encourages you to tap into your innate creativity. It is about seeking inspiration in everyday moments and, fostering a sense of curiosity. Allowing yourself the freedom to explore ideas and passions without the constraints of perfectionism. (okay, okay I’m still working on the whole perfectionist thing but, you get the idea!)

why should you aim to live creatively

By engaging in creative living, you cultivate an environment that nurtures innovative thinking, fosters your personal growth, and ultimately leads to a deeper connection with yourself, your dreams, and the world around you.

Just as baking artisanal sourdough requires a blend of skill, intuition, and a connection to the ingredients, creative living is about experimenting and finding joy in the process. Embracing the beauty of creation, transforming simple elements into masterpieces that reflect your inner self.

Making that choice to actually do the things I have dreamed about, has brought me so much joy, but even more it has brought me freedom. It has helped to quell fears and what ifs, it has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and to be brave, to appreciate the little things, and find beauty every where. Why do you live or want to live creatively?

follow along for more

My passion for creative expression, in all its forms, runs deep, and if you’re here reading this, I have a feeling you might share that passion, too!

I hope that as you explore this blog, you’ll find a bit of inspiration, a new technique to try, or a spark for your next creative project.

Let’s dive into this beautiful world of art, bread, flowers, and the joy of living creatively—together.

I’d love if you joined my creative living tribe by following along, and please let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to reading about!