crafty fanny

friday's confession: I am not my etsy shop

I am not my etsy shop. Or my blog subscriber number. Or my followers on twitter.

As an artist, and as a beginner, it's really easy to get caught up in the numbers. How many sales have I had? How many people heart me? How many blog hits do I get per day?

And then once you've figured all that out, it's even easier to get caught up in comparing your numbers to everyone else's. Why do I have less than her? Why are more people visiting her blog than mine...why? Why? Why?

But you know what, we are all more than these numbers. Sure, they might indicate something -- how far you're reaching, how far you have to go, how far you've come. BUT I am constantly reminding myself that -- this journey I'm on? -- these numbers aren't going to make or break me. They aren't going to determine if I'm a success or failure. They aren't saying anything about who I am as a person.

Can I say that again: They aren't saying anything about who I am as a person.

My friends, that is true for all of you as well. I promise.

affirmation series

I have really been digging affirmations lately. I listed these two on my etsy shop yesterday and will soon be offering them as a 3-print series with my trust love piece.

 

Both prints are available in my etsy shop

I'm going to work on more affirmation pieces soon. Are there any phrases you'd like to see turned into a work of art? Leave me a comment and let me know -- if I choose yours, I'll send you a free print of the finished product!

Oh, and I stated on twitter recently that I have a goal of having 50 items listed for sale on etsy by July 20. What that means for me is that I've got to GET BUSY! What that means for you is that there's going to be a whole lotta new stuff coming up very, very soon!

wednesday's inspiration

This poster might just be my new formula for success. (found here, thanks Dana!)

We've been talking all about the Law of Attraction this month over on SPRING. This is certainly a hot topic and one of my favorites to talk about. During our week 2 video (How do you use LOA in your life?), Jess Swift pointed out the great "Art of Success" podcasts by David Neagle (they're free, btw). I've been listening to them, and I have to say, there's some good stuff there. Especially if you aren't afraid of motivational speakers.

One of the big turning points that Neagle talks about in his own life was when he realized that he needed to start giving his 100% at work and treating everyone he met with absolute respect. It sounds like a given, right? Esentially, he needed to work hard and be nice to people.

But, it really does take effort. Lots. Of course, success is well worth the effort and, as a bonus, you might find that you actually feel better about yourself as a person when you give your all -- nicely. 

Also, our 3rd LOA video for June covers specific examples of how LOA has worked in our lives. Check it our to see how I convinced Tim to take me to Mexico for my birthday...before I even met him!

inspiration

I always wonder what it would be like to be the person who inspires artists, from songs, to books, to prints.

Wouldn't it be lovely to be the person who inspired this one:

And this is the point where I give a shout-out to all of my friends out there -- both from real-life and the internets -- y'all rock! For realsie!

Hope you're all having a lovely Tuesday!

(Print from the always fantastic Rockett St George)

happy solstice!

I just realized that today is the longest day of the year. I then immediately sent Tim an email requesting backyard cocktails after work. 

I think today is going to be a very good day.

Happy celebrating, my friends! 

PS. Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka is very good. It tastes like sweet tea. It will give you a headache if you treat it as if it IS  sweet tea. Moderation, folks, moderation. Trust me, I know. 

PPS. I have shockingly few photos of cocktails. I'm going to work on this...starting tonight!

friday's confession: I can't do it all

That's right: I can't do it all.

{Deep breath}

I can't do it all...and that's okay.

See, I've been feeling all this pressure lately. My etsy shop is up, which is awesome! But now I need to balance packaging orders (I made a sale to a stranger last week! woot!), producing new art, teaching myself photoshop, working on prints (which paper is best? what size? do I need mats? Aah!) with my life. Cause life doesn't stop. It just keeps on rollin' despite your new endeavors.

In addition, I've been taking Kelly Rae Robert's amazing (seriously folks, it's amazing!) e-course and have realized all the marketing type things that I need to get going for myself: a newsletter, new website, facebook fan page...and so much more!

I know I don't have to do everything right away all at once. I know that doing everything all at once is an impossibility. But these are all things I WANT to do. I want to grow my business. I want to get myself well-situated for success. I want to be able to do this full-time. That's my ultimate long-term goal.

This is no secret to any of you.

Now, in the midst of all of this (plus the life-juggling part), I committed to doing another Waves to Wine charity bike ride in September. Have y'all seen a calendar lately? Cause let me tell you: September is only 3 months away.

3 months. 150 miles.

But hold on a second, life. I barely have time to clean my house. When am I going to find the time to actually train for this (pretty challenging) bike ride?

I realized that I wasn't. I wasn't going to find the time. Something else would have to give. And I started thinking about my priorities. What I felt like my focus really needed to be on, where I really wanted to put my energy.

Side note: I have a very hard time letting go of obligations, but sometimes I have to say no, or back out, or just not do things. But if I've committed to something, it is like pulling teeth to get me to back out. I fight it. Hard. 

And so I backed out. I felt horrible doing it, but the more I thought about it, I realized: I don't really have much choice. And as I develop this part of my life, as I really put my focus toward being an artist full-time, I'm going to have to make these hard choices. I'm going to have to put other things aside, despite how important they may be to me. I am going to have to make concessions. And I'm going to have to be okay with that.

I'm thinking that it's going to get easier over time. I'm already starting to feel more okay with this decision.

McSweeney's Postcards!

Living in the Bay Area, I can't help but to be a fan of McSweeney's. It's just so clever and funny! Given this, I was thrilled when my friend Dana (hi!) showed me 2 new prints in her room and revealed that they were actually postcards (what!?) from the Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face: 100 McSweeney's Postcards collection.

Y'all! It's 100 postcards for less than $14, and we all know how much I like a bargain! These are great artworks and can be used both as correspondence and as home decoration. It's like a win-win! Dana said that she gave two sets recently as gifts and received postcards from both friends. It's a way to get yourself mail...and who doesn't love receiving real mail these days.

PS. For the record, I refuse to call it snail mail. It's just mail.

what home means to me

Good morning friends!

Today, I am participating in Pin-it-Forward organized by the lovely Victoria of sfgirlbybay. My mission (which I chose to accept) was to create a pinboard over on Pinterest (awesome site, btw) of what home means to me.

Shall we have a looksy and see what I came up with?

(print by Parada Creations found via the lovely Jessica Swift)

First and foremost, it seems that more and more these days, San Francisco and the Bay Area are feeling like home to me. But, honestly, I'm sure that someday France could feel like home too ;)

 

(Poster from Anderson Design Group & Paper Cutting found via Smashing Magazine)

Next up is color. You all KNOW that I'm tossing as much color into this mix as I can. I love everything about this image -- the colors, the books, the flowers, the whimsy! Ah! It's nearly perfect.

 

(Photo via Decor8)

Home also means comfort to me. And does anything else really say comfort like an un-perfectly-made bed? I think I could come home to this every night. And don't you love the duvet?

(Photo via sfgirlbybay)

And, of course, you've gotta have polka dots SOMEWHERE in the mix!!

 

(Photo via Sambellina)

  And giraffes!! You know I've got to have at least one giraffe ;)

 

(Photo via design is mine)

And finally, home is love -- somewhere you can just be with your friends, your family, yourself without feeling like you need anything else in the world at all.

(print by the ever-amazing Robert Ryan)

Thanks much to Victoria for organizing this massive endeavor! And be sure to check out A Modern Day Rapunzel tomorrow to see what home means to her! Many thanks, too, to Urban Mums who passed the baton to me.

Also, if any of you have any interest in checking out Pinterest (ha!) let me know. I have invites that I can send out -- it really is a fantastic program for saving photos and bookmarking things for later. Leave me a comment with you email and I'll send it out!

If I had a sponsor...

Sometimes, I like to think about the things that I might like to treat myself to when I'm actually earning more income and not pouring all of my extra funds back into my business.

Or course, I'd pick up some pretty frocks at Anthro. I've had my eye on this one lately:

I love how simple and gauzy and girly it is!

I've also had my eye on these adorable rubber stamp sets from Ink and Wit. The pricetag for each is a little steep (although I'm hoping they start selling them as separates!), but can you just imagine all the fun you'd have with these two sets? Giraffes visiting the Eiffel Tower? Yes please!

I'm smitten with both sets. Completely smitten. 

And finally, I'm falling more in love with these guys. They certainly aren't my typical style, but I think I could rock them out!

How about you? Anything fun and completely indulgent you've had your eye on lately?

friday's confession: I surprise myself

Here's what I realized a few days ago: there is now way that I could have planned out where I am in my life right now, at this moment.

Hear me out.

If you had told me five years ago that I would leave my good-paying with benefits job at a well-respected San Francisco non-profit where I was working as an Events Manager (my dream job, y'all) to take a retail job and branch out into the scary unknown of starting my own business and working for myself, I would have told you that you were straight-up crazy. Crazy!

And look where I am now.

If you had told me just six months that I would start painting (what!?) after just a single weekend retreat and that I would have an etsy shop showcasing said paintings and I'd be well on my way of becoming a professional artist and card designer, I would have told you that you were delusional. 

And look where I am now.

What I've realized is that I didn't get here by making some crazy leap. I got here by taking single steps, every day, one at a time.

Sometimes the big picture can be really scary. Sometimes looking at where you want to be, figuring out how to get there all at once, can by absolutely paralyzing.

Sometimes all you need to do is take just one step. And then one more.

You might just surprise yourself with how far you can go.