weekly wishes

Summer work starts today! The anxiety is already in high gear...I've been more or less awake since 4 am this morning. I've come to expect this before any big event or work thing happens. No matter how zen I try to be the day before, how prepared I am, how many Melatonin I pop the night before...inevitably I will wake up between 4-6 during the night before. Che palle. 

Even though I know today will likely go smoothly, I think my anxiety is left over from last summer. Last summer I worked 8 weeks in a row between 3 jobs with no days off. To say I was a bit high strung is an understatement! I barely had time to create, but when I did I was too exhausted to do much of anything. 

So, this summer I'm trying to change things. I'm not going to spread myself as thin as I did last year. I'm also going to jump on the bandwagon of Melyssa's weekly wishes. I mentioned this on Friday, but you pretty much pick a goal/wish to accomplish during the week and link up to her blog. As well as visit other link-upers to motivate them with their weekly goals too!

In order to make sure I stay sane this summer and keep on track with my 25 before 26, I'm going to pick a small, relatively achievable goal to do each week or one from my list to make sure I'm setting some time aside for myself. And so! My goal for this week:

Spend at least 15 minutes per day just sketching or doodling for fun!

Pretty simple? Not always...my new schedule has me at work from 8:30 am to about 1. Then I'll have private lessons in the afternoon, and then come home to work on commissions. Easier said than done, but completely necessary to keep my sanity in tact! Want to join in? Write up a post about your goal and share it on The Nectar Collective! 

The photo up above? That's the latest mural installment at Los Alamos' 3rd Saturdays! This month's theme of course was fathers. So the little flower gal was joined by Paul Cezanne, the father of modern art! 

25 before 26 update

One thing I know I need to get back in gear on more is my 25 before 26 list. I know it has only been about 3 months since I started on this list, but I feel like I was farther along at this point with my list last year. I'm not sure why it is but I'm less focused on knocking out all of them out this year but hopefully this post will be a nice little boost to get me back in gear. 

Albeit some of them are a bit ambitious compared to my list last year.  Even though I haven't made much progress yet, I am able to check off a couple new ones from the list, and change a couple as well. Plus I still have 9 months to hopefully finish all of them...gulp...





25 before 26:

1. Travel somewhere new...hopefully remedying this one very soon!
2. Publish a book by myself or with a Publisher
3. Write 3 new children's books
4. Make better photos for Etsy/blog/website  still a work in progress tho
5. Promote Etsy shops more last month I experimented with sponsoring blogs, and loved it! I'm shopping around at the moment  for some new blogs for this summer. 
6. Finish one of my Grandma's quilts
7. Really downsize
8. Redesign/update business cards/shops/website 
9. Expand Etsy items both 8/9 have been taken care of...
10. Submit illustrations to magazines/sites...nothing has come from that yet unfortunately...
11. Learn to play guitar chords...my little sister is learning to play guitar at the moment so I may ask her to help me!
12. Hand-print a small edition...although this one hasn't been accomplished yet, I have been handprinting so I may revise this goal...
13. Get products in another store...I'm hoping to network a bit at the Art Market in Santa Barbara next month.
14. Find a new hobby I'm a little embarassed to admit it, but I joined a bocce team here in the valley. Yes, it sounds like a joke (which it is) but it is always a very fun and entertaining evening when we play! Plus, our team name: Sonofa Bocce. Win. 
15. Embrace change better
16. Shop wiser/invest in better quality clothes I have shopped so little these past few months! And when I have, I'm happy to say they have been smarter purchases!
17. Print digital photos
18. Make more artist's/blank books did you see my lovelies in that top photo?! I plan on making more too!
19. Turn Terzo into prints
20. Read 10 new books... a work in progress....
21. Blog more DIYs
22. Visit a craft show...I'll be participating in one next month! I think this goal can be revised! 
23. Keep in touch better
24. Procrastinate on lessons less...always a work in progress, but I have my workshops this summer to fully implement this one! 
25. Bind/fill another giant sketchbook

25 before 26

It's my birthday! Geez I feel old now...I'm heading to Las Vegas for a quick weekend getaway/surprise with the boy, HOORAY!  With the new year at 25 starting today, I wanted to share my newest list: 25 before 26! It was a bit daunting to pick 25 goals for this next year but the best part about them all is that (I think/hope) they're all obtainable. I stayed pretty focused with last year's list, and hopefully I will be able to cross out this entire list by January 26, 2014! This last year when by crazy fast and I'm sure this one will go by even faster...

1. With all the trips to Europe over these past few years, I still have yet to go to England or Germany or Ireland! I love you Italy but I need to branch out a bit more...

2. I've been working on getting Lumen published but without any luck yet. I will try the normal route a little longer and if nothing comes from it, I'm self publishing her!

4/5. I love my blog and I love sharing it, but my blog is not a source of income for me. I need to refocus my efforts in promotion. My Etsy shops need more love and attention, and better photos to help with that hopefully. 

7. Okay, I'm a bit of a hoarder. This needs to be remedied...

11. Aiming a bit more realistically this year with the guitar...last year I failed this one miserably, but this year I think my littlest sis wants to learn too. Might be better to learn together! 

12. I need to get back into printmaking, it's been far too long since I last made an edition. I'd like to try sewing some printed pouches too!

14. This one is already in the works, but more on that later...

16. I got a jump start on this one with a mini birthday shopping spree to Lucky! Ideally with better quality stuff, I'll spend less continually replacing all the cheaper and poorer quality clothes I have that wear out so fast. 

19. Terzo needs to be in prints big time. I need to work out scanning him asap...

20. I love reading, but I have the bad habit of only rereading my favorite books. 10 new books this year that I haven't read...any recommendations?

22. This goes along with promoting my Etsy better, I want to get involved with the crafting/Etsy community a lot more. 

23. Me and my procrastination habits need to be severed...especially with my art lessons! I'd love to be able to get a full night sleep the night before I teach, and be less anxious about them too. 

I'll do updates along the way as I try to knock out all 25 of these this year. Kind of a daunting list but here we go 25!