Updates

LONG time no update! I've had a super busy past few months, and I haven't really taken the time to sit down and update my blog with everything that's happened (oops!)

Back in late February, I signed on with an awesome art agent team Pink Light Studio, and I've been working hard to grow my portfolio, edit existing collections, and have lots of artwork ready for Surtex (which was at the end of May.) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to Surtex this year (hopefully next year!!) but I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have my work shown. It's so exciting finally seeing my work become licensed, such a dream come true! I'll definitely be sharing examples of my work on products whenever I have them available. 

So for now I'm still working away at new and revised collections and trying to stay inspired. (I plan on writing another super-honest blog post about the struggle I sometimes feel as a creator. I think other people in creative fields definitely understand this feeling as well!)

I'm going to be more consistent with blogging and sharing on social media this summer. I kind-of fell off the radar for awhile because I was so busy with getting things finalized for Surtex, but now I'm ready to get back out there and show everyone what I'm working on!

Here's to 2018!

Hey there! 

I hope you had a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy new year! I think I speak for all of us when I say that it's time for a new year. For a change. For some reflecting on this past year, but also for some goal-setting for this year.

I just got back from a loooong trip visiting family and friends in the south, and now I'm back in my little office, ready to tackle some planning for this new year. 

I've noticed in the past few years that people are starting to use specific words for the new year, not resolutions. I really like the idea, because...who actually follows through with a resolution?? It takes a detailed plan, daily determination, and specific goals to reach an overall goal. For example, if you want to lose weight in 2018, it isn't specific enough to say "My new year's resolution is to lose weight." It isn't even specific enough to say "My new year's resolution is to lose thirty pounds." Good luck with that. I know I'd fail miserably. Now, if you write down specific goals for each week like "I will go to the gym at least 3 times this week" and "I will give up fast food for this whole week" then you will start seeing some results that can push you further into your overall goal.

My word for this year is growth.

This is just vague enough to cover all areas of my life, but very specific when applied to specific areas that I want to grow in.

I want growth in...

1.) My business. I want to work with more clients, create more design work, and take on and complete new projects. I want to be even more authentic in my business because I am drawn to authentic businesses myself. (Of course I have even more detailed goals, lists, and plans for each of these areas. I won't bore you with all of that info ;) )

2.) My relationships. I want to nurture my current relationships and make new ones this year. I want to always be open to meeting new people and making new friends (online and in the "real world"!)

3.) My faith. I occasionally write about my faith on my blog, as it is a huge part of my life. I want to grow in my relationship with God and try more and more every day to live out the life He wants me to live.

4.) My creativity. I want to be creative just for the sake of being creative. I want to play around, experiment, and create without trying to tie it into making money or growing my brand. I want to create just for myself.

5.) My relationship with myself. This may sound weird, but I really want to grow in understanding myself better. I am a naturally anxious person (and I've recently come off of an antidepressant I was taking for a couple of years...another story for another day) so I need to find better ways to monitor my thoughts and feelings. I want to get into meditation. I want to start journaling every day. I want to read more psychological books to get a better understanding of my personality and why I think/act/react the way I do. (I'm an INFP in case you were wondering ;) )

6.) My health. I have been trying to cut out animal products for the past 4 or 5 months (and it feels great!) I want to continue to find creative (and delicious) ways to eat healthy foods that fuel my body rather than drag it down. I also want to be more active. I've been regularly going to the gym for the past couple of years, but I want to add in more exercise, more hikes, more biking, more yoga. Exercise helps my anxiety and helps my body at the same time!

7.) My contribution to the world. I want to find more ways to give and serve others. I'm currently working on a list of organizations I'd love to work with and contribute to. I'm also looking for ways to serve in my community and neighboring communities. We all have something to give, and I want to really focus on putting time and effort into giving back this year.

Those are the main ways I want to grow in 2018. I know..it's a lot. But I think that by getting all of that out of my head, I can begin to make achievable goals and action steps to get there, little by little.

What are your goals for this year?

Here's to an amazing, happy, loving, giving, creative, positive new year!

goodbye, 2017!

I can't believe 2017 is almost over! It's been a crazy year, and I can't wait to see what 2018 brings! 

I wanted to thank everyone who has supported me as I've been on this creative journey for the past couple of years. I've got big plans for 2018, and I'm excited to get to work and see these plans come to fruition.

We are headed to Alabama for Christmas later this week, so I've been finishing up some last-minute things over the past couple of days..including a printable calendar for 2018!

Click the image below to download a pdf calendar, as well as desktop and phone backgrounds. I hope you enjoy them!

Click the image above to download!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's been awhile...

Oh hey.

It's been awhile. 

I've been neglecting my blog for the past few months, but it's not because I haven't been busy. I've been gathering all of my designs together, categorizing them, creating mockup lookbooks, and really trying to get my work out there to potential manufacturers. It's been a long process, but now I feel very organized and ready to work with different companies. I've also revamped my portfolio on my website and added a password-protected section that shows all of my work so far. Now I'm working on a newsletter, so hopefully I'll have that started up soon!

I still want to do my weekly inspiration boards on here, especially for the holidays, so I'm going to start back doing that next Monday!

I've been getting a good amount of business in my Spoonflower shop, so I've added some fun new holiday patterns for fabric and wrapping paper. Here are some examples:

I want to start blogging more behind-the-scenes/real-life stuff on here as well. Although my main focus is graphic design and illustration, I really enjoy being able to open up on here and share about my life. I think that's a really authentic way to grow my brand and my business to more than just design. I really want to inspire others, but also show the real, raw, hard stuff that goes on in life. I find other creatives who do this to be very inspirational (not to mention successful!) 

So be prepared for way more activity on my blog in the future! 

For today, I have some photos from our Thanksgiving trip to Bend, OR. We stayed in a cozy cabin, ate LOTS of food, and did some Christmas shopping from local boutiques in downtown Bend. I even got to meet the oh-so-talented Katie Daisy and buy a gorgeous art print from her! We also did some hiking and I got some amazing photos of the mountains and waterfalls in Bend and Sisters. Those cities are beyond beautiful, and I can't wait to hopefully go back next summer so we can explore even more!