{#nationalcoffeeday}

You know I can't not celebrate National Coffee Day!

And one interesting fact about me...I can literally nap right after drinking coffee. I know...such a talent. 

Yesterday at the coffee shop I was literally nodding off while drinking a latte.

I should join the circus or something.

Cheers!

{monday morning mantra}

{Print available in my Etsy shop}

XO,

{new doodling class!}

Hello friends and happy weekend!

I have some exciting news to share with you today!

I am teaching my first class on Skillshare, Create Your Own Crazy Doodle!

Here is a peek at the project we'll be creating...

I started making these crazy doodles about a year ago, and they are such a fun way to relax and also practice lots of fun shapes. 

In the class, I'll lead you through drawing some simple doodled shapes, and then we'll connect them all together into the big crazy doodle you see above. 

Wanna join me?

Click here to get started!

If you are new to Skillshare, it is a fabulous platform with a TON of creative classes on just about any topic you could imagine, from design to cooking, knitting to home decor. It is 99 cents for your first three months, so a super low commitment. 

I would love to have you join me!

XO,

{hello FALL!}

Happy first day of actual, real, 
even though we've already had our 
decorations out for a month, FALL!!

I'm celebrating with a homemade vanilla latte 
and working on an exciting new illustration 
project this morning. 

AND offering you FREE SHIPPING 
on everything in my Etsy shop today only! 
(Use code FALLISHERE)



Print available in my Etsy shop, or if you are local, 
you can grab a copy at The Tin Cup or Roscoe's! 


XO,

{in my sketchbook}

Hello friend!

Are you ready for a new week?

Thought I would share a few recent pieces in my sketchbook with ya...

Finished piece...

And watch me draw this one!

And in color!

And here is a new pattern!

Speaking of patterns, I was interviewed recently by Jessica Swift for the Pattern Camp blog and you can read it here!

XO,

{felt leaf garland}

I'm in full on fall decorating mode around here. 

Pumpkins on every possible surface. That's a post for another day though.

Today I want to share a super easy DIY project with you. So easy that I debated even sharing it, but it turned out so lovely I figured why not!

Saturday I broke out my felt, yarn and hot glue gun to whip up a happy little fall leaf garland. 

I took a trip to Joann Fabric to pick out the felt - four coordinating colors that felt like fall to me and also matched my other decor. I free handed the leaves (used a sharpie to draw out the more complicated shapes), but if you need a bit of help with shapes a Pinterest search is super helpful. I even found a template here.

My first attempt at stringing them together was with a needle and clear thread, but it was a total fail. I wanted them to lay facing out when hanging, and that wasn't happening with the string. So I broke out my trusty old glue gun and some yarn. 

And it turned out perfectly! I might make another to hang over our kitchen window.

The fun thing about this project is you can cut out any darn shape you want! Feathers, acorns, pumpkins...and felt is super forgiving. 

Hope this inspires you to create some of your own fall decor!

XO,

{sweater weather}

Who doesn't love a good cardigan day?

I had a lot of fun with this one, and you can grab it now in my +Society6 shop on mugs, totes and other happies! (And they are offering 10% + free shipping this weekend!)

Click here to shop my mugs!

And you can grab the print in my Etsy shop here!

Hope you're having a fantastic holiday weekend!

XO,

{moving slowly}

I began writing this blog post with a horrible tension headache this morning. And for me a headache like that = major drama. Like the world is crumbling down around me, 13-year old drama. It is a bit laughable and a lot pitiful.

I can't handle a darn thing in a rational way when I have a headache like that. Is this a thing for other people? I hope so. 

Not that I want others to have horrible headaches, but the whole "my life is in a shambles because I can't see straight" thing. 

I don't want to be the only person alone in that crazy messed-up state. 

But I've come to figure out that my cure (most of the time) for these darn tension headaches is some drawing time + coffee. So after downing 1 1/2 cups of cinnamon coffee (my new favorite find from Kroger. YUM!) and creating some new lettering (up there), I'm feeling clearer and able to handle the day without teenage-like angst. The cool fall breeze is certainly contributing to my mood lift as well!

As a side note, I've been searching for those yellow ball thingamajigs up there for what seems like forever and found some at Hobby Lobby yesterday. Day.made. 

So now to what I really want to chat about...my sabbatical. 

I'm one month into the second half, and I feel like now it is really time to dig in and get to work. August was a total detox period for me. A lot of shedding and figuring out, and letting my intuition guide me a lot more than my to do list. 



One lesson this sabbatical is teaching me is what an immense joy, but also difficult challenge, it is to allow yourself to move slowly through life. 

Like forcing myself to cook eggs for breakfast this morning even though I wanted to grab something quick.

This sabbatical is showing me how much our souls and bodies were created for a slow paced life. One of savoring and paying attention. Two things I've been doing a lot of the past month.  

It is funny how having all of this "free" time works. Yes, technically I'm not at work. But life has a tricky way of filling up that time rather quickly if you let it. Despite the fact that I'm not punching a clock these days, I'm still finding myself overwhelmed most mornings, figuring out how I'm going to fill my time, and what tasks are going to take priority over others. Some days that can be a bit paralyzing. 

So I've decided to adopt a new way dealing with this anxiety. Instead of ignoring it, letting it take over and ruin my day, or taking a pill (which was what I used to do...believing it was the only way I could get through the fog), I'm acknowledging it, embracing it, figuring out what I can learn from it. 

It is magical in a way, when I do it right. 

Often my anxiety is tied to a very concrete thing that I can remedy by simply getting the darn thing done.  Like paying a bill, finishing a project, or changing the cat litter (that last one causes me way too much angst). But sometimes the culprit isn't immediately fixable...and in that case I rely on drawing, crying, praying, taking a walk...whatever helps to clear my head and find a new focus. 

I read somewhere recently that we can learn a lot from our jealousy, and I think that is also true for anxiety. Figuring out where it is stemming from can help us make healthy changes in our life. 

I'm learning so much about myself during this time which is equal parts exciting and scary. Enjoying this new rhythm of life some days so immensely that I don't know how I'm going to adjust to going back to work. But I know that I have to, so I will embrace that too. 

But I'll also remember how good and healing this time felt. 

And I'll carry that with me going forward. 

XO,