hello there! I have big news!

I'm alive!!! My little blogging hiatus went on a bit longer than I anticipated. The other weekend I was up in Big Bear for a family trip. I fully intended to do a big update after the trip but last week was pretty busy and filled with some insanely monumental decisions! Curious what went down? There's a lot to share...alrighty, from the beginning...

My family and I made a quick weekend getaway to Big Bear lake! We ate a ton of s'mores, stocked up on slingshots, rode the ski lifts to the top of the mountain and hiked back down and hung out in the cabin's hot tub.  It was lovely and relaxing and very much needed before all the big stuff about to happen the following week. 

Are you ready to hear the big news? The biggest news of the year for me so far! It's pretty monumental! Guess what... 

I'M OFFICIALLY A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER! 

Yep, you read those caps right! Friday I took the plunge and filed a fictitious business name in Santa Barbara County. Sketchy Notions is officially MINE! This morning I stopped by the local paper to start the publication step of this whole process and as of this afternoon, I have an EIN too! Things are getting big really quick guys. 

Because of these big changes and the need to keep things cohesive with the branding, the blog is going to get a big make-over, as well as the Etsy shop. Along with the HUGE makeover on my personal site and the creation of a separate online shop for all the good stuff to come! 

It took awhile for me to just come to terms with keeping Sketchy Notions instead of trying to pick a new name. It's been my name for so long and it was difficult to find a new name that I could love as much. This also brings some other decisions, one being to simplify the blog. 

Guys, I'm not a blogger. I've tried to do series and keep up with regular posting but it's not me. This doesn't mean I'm going to stop blogging, not the case at all! I love doing it but I need to make sure my time is channeled to my business more than my little blog. So, I've stopped offering free ad swaps on my blog. I loved offering them and swapping with others but for where I want my business to go, small ad swaps aren't helping as much as I need. I loved connecting with other blogs and doing my bit to spread some love across the interwebs so I might bring them back in the future, but for now they're on hiatus. 

I snapped that top photo when I was waiting in line to file for a DBA. The Santa Barbara Court House is a really pretty sight, not a bad spot to wait in line! 

This bottom photo is some other news too! I just hung up some work at Django's Coffee House in Ventura! This is also the newest location for some of my hand printed cards! If you are in the area you should stop by and check out all the lovely things there. 

The break in blogging doesn't mean I'm going to stop with the weekly wishes either! I'll still be doing my best to have a goal each week, which will hopefully simplify all these big changes. My last week of wishes was a success! I listed new items in my Etsy shop (and sold some!), I signed up for my next Local Artist Market, and I got my work hung up and displayed at Django's! So, my goal for this week:

Start re-branding and transforming my blog/Etsy shop and websites! 

It's going to be a busy week guys...I started teaching my art workshops today and the Snail Mail Collective has officially begun! Have you seen Remi's blog? She's my partner in this month's snail mail exchange! Pop on over and check out her sweet blog! 

weekend recap & more wishes

Hello there! I'm so disappointed that Monday is already here. This past holiday weekend was too much fun and so incredibly busy! Lots to tell!

Last week after work on the 3rd, I started/finished painting my littlest sister's room in blue ombre. Okay, anyone who has actually done this really needs to stress how freakin' hard this is to pull off! Especially during summer heat when the paint dries too fast to blend between layers, your tarp tears and naturally you spill paint right on the hole and onto your carpet. UGH. Needless to say, this will be my first and last ombre painting endeavor. It turned out lovely, but those 5 hours of stress were ridiculous. For the actual 4th, we were lazy and skipped all parading and festivities. Instead we opted to paint and face-lift the boy's living room and bbq. 

Friday was spent finishing my weekly wish from last week: prepping for my 2nd Local Artist's Market! I managed to get down to the cue first and snagged a killer shady spot. I'm so happy to share that this one actually went really well! I toned down my decor a bit so I had more room for goods on the table. And I actually had some decent sales. I sold: 2 hand-printed/bound artist books, 3 pairs of pearl snap earrings, a mini travel illustration and my last Lucca mini print! Not a bad day! And I managed to stay pretty optimistic throughout the day and week! 

The market had a lot less vendors this time around but I made some new friends and ended up with a lead for another market later this month. Plus, I may have found a new shop to sell cards and art in Ventura! Slowly widening the spread of my work...more on that another time. 

So, the goal for this next week. Now that the market is done, I have a bunch of inventory I'd still like to share and hopefully sell. It's another pretty simple goal but one I definitely need to get done with this week going to be so busy. So my goal this week:

List new items in my Etsy shop, register for my next market this month and prepare art/items for display in the new store! 

Fingers crossed for another successful week! How's your week looking? Any big goals? Make sure to share and link up with the Nectar Collective!

weekly wishes 3

Week three of weekly wishes with the Nectar Collective and going strong! Ish... I got a little ambitious last week, not that that's a bad thing at all. Most of them are half accomplished... So a recap for this week, my goals last week were to:

1. Post photos of my "Adventures with Grandma and Grandpa" commission book on my blog and website. Check for the blog, but I haven't done the website yet. 
2. Clean my Etsy shop and list new items. I was able to deactivate a few listings that were really just taking up space. But I didn't list anything new because I forgot I have another market this Saturday!
3. Scan the results from my week of doodling and upload to Society 6 and Spoonflower. Check for Society 6, I think the flower pattern looks awesome! Spoonflower is still a to do... 
4. Solidify some ideas for my logo and brand...yes-ish...I have more ideas but still narrowing it down. I'll share these once I have something concrete or need some help deciding which way to go! 
5. Print on fabric for new projects! Yep! So happy I got this one done! The photo below is from my little printing session. It's all just experiments right now, I need to invest in some nice fabric ink but I'm loving the patterns I've been playing around with. 

So my goals for this next week are much less ambitious and really just kind of what I need to get done this week:

Prepare for my next market this Saturday and stay optimistic about it

The last one of these markets I did, it didn't go very well. I had a lot of fun and made some friends but it didn't have the sale results I had hoped for after all the work I put into it. I was almost tempted not to do this one but I figured since I already have all the inventory ready, I might as well. Hence the goal to stay optimistic this week too. So, hopefully this Saturday is a success! If not, I'll have a goal next week to list some awesome new things in my Etsy shop! 

Don't forget to pop over to Melyssa's blog and check out all the other link-upers this week! There are some lovely and inspiring people out there! 

weekly wishes #2

Hello week two of weekly wishes! This is an ongoing weekly link-up over at the Nectar Collective, where you pick a goal to accomplish during the week and send some good vibes to other link-upers! 

First, a recap of last week. My first weekly wish goal was: Spend at least 15 minutes per day just sketching or doodling for fun. Overall, I was relatively successful! I think I may have only missed one day of sketching! Most of the times I sat down to watercolor, it turned into waaaaay longer than 15 minutes. On average, about 3 episodes of The Office (yes, that's how I gauge my time these days...) I didn't mass produce like I thought I might, rather I just did tedious little pieces, and I love the results!  I'm going to try to keep up the doodling daily, it was a nice little treat to myself at the end of the day. 

These little circles were my first doodle, they were originally going to be badges for Oh My Handmade Goodness...but I missed the deadline to submit! Now they're just pretty and intricate circle designs awaiting a purpose! The flowers were my second doodle, I kinda just added a few every day since they were so tedious. I'm working on editing it up now to add to my Society 6 shop! 

This week, I'm going to get a little more specific with the goals I want to accomplish. After chatting with my friend about branding/expanding, one of her biggest suggestions was to take care of a little bit each day so the big daunting tasks become manageable. So, my goals for this week:

• post photos of the "Adventures with Grandma and Grandpa" photo album on the blog and my website
• clean my Etsy shop, list new items and take down the less active ones
• scan the results from my week of doodling to create new Society 6 designs and swatches for spoonflower
• solidify some ideas for my new look/brand/logo everything
• print on fabric for new projects/products

It's going to be a busy week guys...

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!