Free Valentine's Day Coloring Page

Coloring books for adults are one of my favorite trends right now, so I thought it'd be fun to turn these Valentine's notes into coloring pages! Get creative* decorating your Valentines for your Galentines and other Valentine recipients (*glitter is optional, but always encouraged).

If you're a Disney Parks lover, you may notice that each note represents a different land in the parks.

• "Our adventure is my favorite" for Adventureland
• "Arrr Matey you've stolen my heart" for New Orleans Square
• "You are my dream come true" for Fantastyland
• "You make my heart go boom boom my supernova" for Tomorrowland

I shared this coloring page with the Enchanted Type email subscribers at the beginning of the month, so make sure to sign up to be the first to receive next month's freebie!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your friends and loved ones!

How to celebrate Mardi Gras at Disneyland

Mardi Gras culture is woven into many areas of the Disneyland Resort, from New Orleans Square to the Princess & the Frog interactions. If you can't make it to the real New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, here's how to let the good times roll in Disneyland!

Tiana can be found in a few different locations around the park, occasionally accompanied by her companions Louis (the gator) or Prince Naveen (in human form).

• Soundsational Parade: Tiana has her own float in the parade with Louis, surrounded by very festive Mardi Gras dancers
• A Christmas Fantasy Parade: During the winter months, Tiana is a part of the royal ball float with Prince Naveen
• Mickey and the Magical Map: (Spoiler Alert!) Tiana shuts down the house with a fabulous rendition of Dig a Little Deeper during the show finale
• Meet and Greet: Tiana floats around New Orleans Square. You can find her by using the Disneyland app or by asking a Castmember in the park. Right now, you can find Tiana aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat alternating with Louis and Dr. Facilier (or as I remember him, the Boogie Man)

After the holiday decorations come down in January, the Mardi Gras decorations start adorning the meandering walkways of New Orleans Square. While I love every land inside of Disneyland, New Orleans Square will always hold a special place in my heart. It's where we always start our days, and it's home to my favorite restaurants (Cafe Orleans, River Belle Terrace). If you're looking for a taste of Mardi Gras, head to New Orleans Square for gumbo or some man-catching beignets.

See the gallery of images below for the Mardi Gras spirit found throughout the Disneyland Resort!

I hope you enjoyed this trip down the Bayou to celebrate Mardi Gras Disney-style. Princess and the Frog is one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, and I'm excited to bring some Tiana-inspired designs to the shop soon!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Valentine's Day Cards for the Young and the Young at Heart

This year, give your Valentine a card that speaks their love language. I don't know about you, but when my husband uses Disney references, I know he truly understands me. I also know how hard it is to find cards that fit our "unique" personalities. That's why I'm so excited to be offering my first collection of greeting cards, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Shop online now to find the perfect Valentine's Day card for your Disney loving friends and family. The first three cards feature Disney quotes, including "So this is love" from Cinderella, "You are my greatest adventure" from The Incredibles, and "You'll be in my heart always" from Tarzan.

Cards are packaged in a clear plastic sleeve with a pure white envelope, and delivered in a rigid cardboard mailer by USPS First Class mail. Orders will typically arrive within 5-7 business days. Shop now to ensure delivery before Valentine's Day!

Also available in the Enchanted Type Etsy Shop are coordinating art prints

All greeting card orders are packaged and delivered from my home office

Two designs available for pug lovers featuring my pug, Chloe

Offering physical greeting cards has been a dream of mine for some time. I'm thrilled to finally be able to offer these original designs in time for Valentine's Day. Look for more greeting card designs to be added soon!

Making Dreams a Reality in 2016

Goal setting for the new year is overwhelming. You read about why it's so important, and see all these other people you admire creating perfect, awesome goals. And I really do like the planning & goal-setting part of running my business. Despite my best intentions, the last two years have lacked focus in achieving what I set out to accomplish at the beginning of each year.

So on January 1st, I started outlining exactly what I wanted to accomplish, making sure my goals were S.M.A.R.T. (that's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based for those unfamiliar). But every time I started to write this post, I found a reason to change my goals. I was paralyzed by fear of not making the "perfect" goal. I was suffering from:

Shiny Object Syndrome.

Wow, her calligraphy is so beautiful! I should devote a goal to just practicing my handwriting!

Geez, look how successful she's been selling X! I should add a similar product to my offerings!

OMG she has so many Etsy sales! Maybe I should be focusing my energy on XYZ...

You get the idea.

To help avoid Shiny Object Syndrome (also in the same family as FOMO-Fear Of Missing Out), I have outlined my goals, printed, and posted them directly behind my monitor so I look at them every single day. I went a step further, thanks to a tip from Heart Love Always, and outlined the first 3 steps for each goal, along with a completion date. These are the goals that are important to me and my dreams for Enchanted Type. I don't want to be distracted by the dreams of someone else when it could take away from my own dreams.

To add further accountability, I'm excited/nervous to share them all with you, my biggest fans!

Show at 3+ Craft Fairs

This has been something that has always intimidated me. After quietly attending several shows in the last year, I'm ready to take the leap and apply for my first show! I'm hoping to show at a few of my favorite craft shows in the spring, then have a strong showing for the 2016 Holiday Season. Applications are starting to open, so this is already in action!

Start selling physical products + expand product line

You can't show at a craft fair with digital products! Again, I've been intimidated to tackle California sales taxes and managing inventory. But with all the experience I have working in retail plus mastering Excel in the corporate world, this is really a no-brainer.

I am happy to announce that I have ordered my first shipment of product from my fabulous printer in Santa Clara, and will be adding it soon to my shop! Several other pieces of the puzzle also fell into place recently, so this dream will become a reality very soon.

Establish Daily Schedule with workout & creative time

I have avoided following a "schedule" like the plague since the first day I became my own boss. After being told when I had to show up and clock out everyday, I relished in the freedom of setting my own schedule. But that's just the problem. I didn't set a schedule.

So while I've been accomplishing many of my business goals, things like working out and fitting in time to be creative have fallen through the cracks. And it's all catching up with me.

This goal is all about baby steps right now, including waking up at the same time and fitting in at least 5,000 steps every day. From there I hope to establish blocks of time to complete certain tasks like accounting as well as creative time.

Reach 700 sales on Etsy

My definition of "making it" on Etsy would be reaching 1,000 sales. While I originally made that my goal for 2016, but husband gracefully brought me off my cloud down to a more realistic number based on historical growth (I'm all about statistics, in case you were wondering). This also lines up with my financial goals for my business in 2016.

Add 200 products on Etsy

Part of this goal is about achieving my sales goal, but it's also to get my butt in gear with adding new products regularly to my shop. I'm notorious for having a great idea, sometimes even designing it, then never adding it to my shop. Case in point: this design, created in May 2015 for the Disneyland 24 Hour Party, added to my shop in January 2016. Oy.

To be fair, I did add the design to my RedBubble shop in May... so I could order our shirts...

I created a production schedule to go along with this goal, but I won't bore you with the details. Just expect lots of new seasonal products, as well as several new collections throughout the year!

Grow community of peers & followers

Finally, one of the main reasons I want to start showing at craft fairs is to see all your smiling faces! I miss helping people picking out products they love, which I got to do on a daily basis during my Paper Source/Nordstrom retail days. I hope to start interacting more with you, my lovely followers, so I can help you and get to know you more!

Plus, I realized how much I thrive by growing relationships with other small business owners. I plan to continue connecting with the amazing people I've met in my first year in California, as well as grow my network by attending my first ever conference, Craftcation, in April!!

---

Now that I'm thoroughly organized and amped for 2016, it's time to make these dreams a reality! Stay tuned for news about my first craft show (fingers crossed) and physical products coming to the Etsy Shop!

What dreams are you planning to make a reality in 2016?

A Fond Farewell to the Big Thunder Ranch

On January 11, 2016, we will forever say goodbye to the Goats of Disneyland, the other Circle D Ranch animals and the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. When I heard that these attractions would be disappearing forever from Disneyland, I was heartbroken. The Big Thunder Ranch is my favorite place to escape the crowds and get some goat therapy, and has always added that special "Disney" touch that no other theme park can touch.

During the different seasons, the back ranch area would be transformed to welcome the Easter Bunny & egg decorators for Easter, the Villains & pumpkin carvers for Halloween, and it became the place to meet Santa Claus during Christmas Time. The stage area welcomed youth performances from around the country, and the food carts offered special seasonal treats.

The Circle D Ranch has a history older than Disneyland, and a close place in Walt Disney's heart. The Big Thunder Ranch is one of those places that creates that special feeling that only Disney knows how to create.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan and couldn't be more excited for the new additions. But it would make so much more sense in Tomorrowland... Don't take our goats away! Unfortunately the ranch's fate is sealed, and new homes have already been found for all the animals on the ranch. The horses will be the only animals to still be "employed" by Disneyland. They will live off-site and be transported in everyday according to the Cast Members.

Many are worried that this closure included the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Rest assured, this popular roller coaster attraction is not going anywhere! The only area closing is behind the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The ride will (hopefully) stay open throughout construction of Star Wars Land immediately behind it.

So to say farewell to my favorite Disneyland Cast Members, here's some of my favorite photographs I've taken at the Big Thunder Ranch.

Thank you for helping me say farewell to the Big Thunder Ranch. It's always bittersweet to close one chapter, but sometimes you must in order to welcome what's next.

Before you go, I have one last treat. At the end of every day on the ranch, there's an event known as the Running of the Goats. It's where the goats run up the hill towards the backstage area for the night. They know that dinner lies on the other side of the gate, so they're very excited! I've captured the goats running on two occasions. My favorite is the second video where one of the sheep grabs a bite of the foliage before running after his friends.

Farewell Big Thunder Ranch! You will be missed!