Thursday Thoughts: On Finding Your People

Everyone has "people" out there, but sometimes you need a little help finding them. One of the main reasons I started designing & blogging was to find my people, but I've realized the journey has only just begun. I have done a lot of soul searching, especially thanks to April Bowles-Olin's classes on CreativeLive, to realize what my business was missing. My People. I was selling to everyone, not the kind of people that got me and wanted the thoughtful things that I make.

While I don't have it all figured out yet, I'm excited to find my tribe through interactions here on the blog. I have already met so many awesome people through Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Finding just one person who is also Disney-obsessed or loves to write ridiculous captions about their pugs just makes my whole week.

Can you help me find my people? If you are digging these weekly thoughts and know someone else who would also enjoy them, I would love love love you to share it with them. You would totally make my day!

Don't forget you can also share the love by sending them a special card for Valentine's Day. Order yours today on Zazzle or for you DIY-ers, order an 8x10 print that can easily be sized to 50% for a card (then you also have an awesome print for your house!).

Don't hesitate to ask any printing/ordering/life-purpose questions you may have!

TTFN

Thursday Thoughts: On Getting It Done vs. Doing It Well

Does anyone else feel like this year is getting away from you, already? I've been hunkered down finalizing all the less glamorous details for the new Love Collection, and I'm finding the list is getting longer with more little details I had overlooked in my initial planning (note to self: plan a week of slush time for unaccounted things!). Of course that list is getting longer by choice, which is the struggle I think most soloprenuers face. Getting it done versus putting your best work into the world.

As a recovering perfectionist, I am constantly striving to find the balance between those two extremes. I wholeheartedly agree with this quote by Walt Disney (who I think had a little perfectionism going on too):

I think it's important to be proud of the work you produce, but also be mindful of wasting all day finding the perfect font (guilty).

The number one tool I've developed to help myself get things done is setting a deadline. Which is why I shared the launch date of my latest work with all of you lovely people.

I hope these thoughts help you strike a balance with your latest project. Now I'm off to wrap up photo editing... I'm on a deadline after all!

Thursday Thoughts: On Finding Clarity

If you follow my adventures on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen my reflections on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. His words were so powerful, they still ring true to this day. There were several quotes by Dr. King that I considered, but these words have stuck with me all week:

Sometimes you have to dig deep to the darkest places of your heart to find clarity.

I have been clouded in a heavy fog the last few weeks that I like to refer to as the "creative process". Starting from scratch, determining what my collection will look like is incredibly daunting. After struggling to even start a design (for fear that no one would like it...) I realized it was time to stop with the negative talk and have fun with it. I want my collection to be fun, inspiring and empowering. How can I expect that to come across when I don't even believe in myself??

That's when the stars aligned. Late at night (when my creative flow typically occurs) I just let the ideas that had been percolating in my head for weeks (really months) flow from my fingertips. No judgement, just fun.

I am so, so excited to share the collection with you all. Because I hope it reminds you to be hopeful in times of darkness, to be cheerful on a cloudy day, to reminisce in a moment of sadness and to celebrate every little moment of joy.

So if you're feeling a little darkness in your life right now, remember to look for the stars.

Thursday Thoughts: On Goal Setting + Q1 2015 Goals

Continuing on our goal setting trend for this month, I wanted to share this great quote by Walt Disney:

This Monday I participated in the Etsy Success Team Goal Setting webinar. I've realized how important it is to stay connected to a community with webinars and online forums; they go a long way to keeping me accountable and motivated.

While referring back to my goals, I realized I needed to make them more specific, more accountable. I'm also committed to revisiting these goals in 3 months to make sure they still make sense for my current reality. I'm working on some fun creative ways to track my goals (look for a goal tracker coming soon!) to help keep myself accountable as well.

In the meantime, I thought the best way to keep myself accountable was to share my goals with you all here!

1st Quarter Goals:

• Add 10 new products to my Etsy shop every month
• Watch one CreativeLive course or other webinar a month
• Visit one new place a month (restaurant, beach, city)
• Practice painting & hand lettering once a week (check out Pen & Peplum's page for this awesome weekly project!)
• Go to Disneyland once a week
• Blog at least every Thursday

Have you finished your goal setting for 2015? How do you plan to keep yourself accountable?

Thursday Thoughts: On Being Unique

Right now I'm digging in, developing my new line of art prints, and I've started grasping for inspiration in every direction. Bad idea. Falling into the deep dark tunnel of comparison is a sure fire way to end up feeling super crappy at the end of the day about everything I'm not doing and everything I should be doing. Especially as a seller on Etsy, you are bombarded with people selling something very similar to what you create. They are plenty of copycats out there who have jumped on the bandwagon of creating designs that look very similar to designers who have seen success. But that's not why I started my business.

So in a moment of majorly fighting self-doubt, I stumbled across this thought by Mr. Walt Disney.

I love Tigger. Really all things Winnie the Pooh (Some people plan their weddings; I've planned my baby room). I love how they face trials and tribulations. How they model great friendships and unconditional love, regardless of their differences. And Tigger is a great example of being proud of who you are, and sharing that joy with the world.

We are all a little different, and that's what makes us beautiful.

So, I'm digging a little deeper to stay true to what makes my designs, well, mine. I'm resolving to gather inspiration from my personal experiences, like visiting the happiest place on earth, flipping through my new Mary Blair art book, or simply getting outside with the pugs.

And most importantly, I'm taking time to appreciate what makes me unique. I hope you all find 10 minutes today to do the same.

Check back next week for sneak peeks of the new collection!