Week 17: Recent Failure

Photo Credit

I'm on such a positive high, but there are two sides to every coin, so let's talk about failures.  We all have them...  difficult days, tasks we don't complete.  It's human to encounter failures, and the best way to deal with them is to accept them, attempt to try again, or sometimes just move on.

1.  I have let some negative comments get to me, and there are a couple that got me questioning my worth.  It sickens me that some random person, who doesn't even know me, could affect me this way, but I'm human and mean words hurt.  Did you know there are people on YouTube whose sole purpose is to scour the web, looking for videos to leave negative comments on?  There is!  I sat and pondered how their lives play out in their head, as if I should be dedicating any time worrying about scum.  The sense of superiority and entitlement they must feel, deciding what should and should not be on the web.  Whatever... moving on.

2.  I haven't painted in quite some time.  I miss it, I really do, but the preemie clothing line, and brand building has been priority number one.  My hope is that sometime soon, after the website is built and my social networking schedule is laid out, I can spend some time in the studio... instead of behind a computer.  I where many hats, and my business bonnet is the one I have on now. 

3.  My studio is still not organized... after a year.  Like I said before, I've been busy.  *sigh*

4. My Eat Clean diet has been MIA, and I feel like crap.  I don't know why I do this to myself.  That chinese take-out was delicious, but I was regretting it the next three days when the salty bloat arrived.  Ok, too much information.  Moving on.

I think that's it for now... but we never know what tomorrow will bring.  What have you been procrastinating with lately?  Any failures you want to get off your chest?

Week 16: A Recent Success

Photo Credit

There are many points along my journey I would consider successes.  By the way, it's ok to be happy for ourselves.  We celebrate each other, so let's give ourselves some props.  We deserve it!  I talked about enjoying the little things in this post, but let me reiterate we have to celebrate the small steps we reach along our road to greatness.  Every little step counts… EVERY ONE.

Our life is made up of many successes, so why focus on one.  Here are a few of the things I'm proud of…

1. I'm figuring out how to build and maintain my own website.  This is HUGE!!  I'm not a technical person, and often have to turn to Brandi and Laura for help.  I'm putting on my big girl britches, and taking it on myself.

2. I haven't had another breakdown, since this one.  I set a schedule for myself, and I'm making it work.  The schedule isn't set in stone.. it's adaptable to the craziness that is my life.  We have to be willing to bend to life's will because there will be days when we can't stand to do anything, but sleep.  So sleep, tomorrow is another day.

3. I'm making tremendous headway with the Preemie clothing line.  There are times we get excited about little opportunities that cross our paths, and when the high starts to fade, so does the project.  The preemie line is NOT the case.  My heart and soul is in this project, and it's going to be incredible!!

4. My backyard is finally getting a facelift.  The weeds are being pulled as I type, we planted 11 plants this weekend, and have plans next weekend to start laying down bark.  Now I need a chaise lounge to enjoy my hard work.

What are you proud of?

Week 15... follow up on my goals.

In Week 4, I outlined my creative goals for 2011... and I had some big goals.  Well, we're in the 3rd month of the new year, so let's check in to see how I'm doing.

1. Design my website... We're starting off on the right foot because the website redesign in well under way.  I've nailed down my color scheme, started to sift through my "must have's" and "I don't wants" on my sidebar, and thanks to Laura, am creating my tabs/pages.  I've been toying with the idea of switching to wordpress, but am a little terrified of the upkeep.  Tara Gentile is offering her Website Kickstart Class again, and because I don't have enough to do... yeah right... I'm really thinking of taking it.  Does anyone have any experience with Wordpress?  Did you like it? Do they have the capability to host your own shop?

Graphic by Tara

2. Finish my first collection by the end of 2011... This goal, unfortunately, has taken a backseat to the preemie clothes, and the commissioned painting I'm working on at the moment.  Poor Claire has been in limbo, sitting on my drafting table, waiting for me to get it together.  Someday soon I hope to have a couple hours to spend with her.

3. Open my PeachHoneyLove Etsy shop by end of Summer 2011... To be honest I'm not sure if this is going to happen.  The PHP clothing line is taking up the bulk on my time, but once the prototypes are complete, and the shop is open, I will have a lot more time to devote to my paintings... I hope.

4. Open my PeachHoneyPreemie Etsy shop by the beginning of Summer 2011... This is definitely happening.  I have about 20 blankets and 10 fitted sheets complete, 8 blanket and 5 sheets pinned, and fabric remnant strips that need to be sewn into ribbons for packaging.  I am still working on the patterns for two more fitted sheet sizes, and I need to print some postcards to include in each order.  We're almost there.... Monday, July 11th is my target date.  Everyone cross your fingers.

5. Finish 5 PeachHoneyPreemie clothing prototypes by the end of 2011...  We are definitely in business.  We have two patterns down, and 3 to go.  I started calling companies for fabric samples, and Sacramento Contractors about producing my line.  No luck yet, but I keep trucking along.  I may have to just bite the bullet and take the trip to San Leandro.

6. Take an encaustic painting class...  Not yet, but I have just learned my local Learning Exchange offers multiple encaustic classes during the year.  Yay for me!!

Painting & Photo by  Judy Wise

7. Start a family... Unfortunately, not yet, but I do have this sweet little muffin to come home to.

Photo by me

8. Sketch more...  also on the back burner.  I wish I could find the time to balance everything that makes my heart go pitter patter.  Do you find it hard to balance everything you're interested in?  How do you manage the chaos? Oh, by the way, Check out Heather's blog!!  Her Sunday Sketches are amazing, and I hope to be half as good with some practice.

Sketch & Photo by Heather

Sketch & Photo by Heather

I think I'm doing pretty good... it's only March, right?  9 more months to go.  Don't forget about my 101 things in 1001 days... Hope to have an update soon.  Have a great week!!

Week 14: Longing for Spring

I'm still waiting for spring.  Craving and dying for spring.  Every day of cloudy and rainy mess is like a knife to my heart.  Shine, sun, please shine!! My rosemary plant is in full bloom outside, the brightly colored purple flowers greet me as I walk by the check the mail.  Good morning, Spring, are you there?

Daylight savings came and went, and now Spring cleaning is just around the corner.  My "Type A" personality loves to purge the unwanted and organize all the other stuff.  

Usually, it's my favorite time of year, but with everything on my plate, this annual event is turning into a huge fiasco.

I have finally started to decorate our house, after a year of living with blank walls and minimalistic furniture.  I need to make this house a home.  Our upstairs guest bathroom has been bare... completely bare.  Nothing but a hand towel and antibacterial soap.  Sick of the nothingness, I took a trip to the our local Home Goods store and stocked up on towels, a shower curtain, a floor rug, and a soap dispenser.  I hung a painting on the wall, and sat a vase full of white lilies on the windowsill.  So much better.  My downstairs guest bathroom needs a redo... with just a small window, and dark brown as the main color, I need a new color scheme to lighten up my life.  Usually when I decorate, I start with a neutral beige and white palette and add a splash of color here and there.  My living room color splash is a rusty orange, the upstairs bathroom is seafoam, and our bedroom olive green.  I'm so drawn to color... bright, pale, rich... they're all welcome.

I got me thinking about the colors that inspire the delicate loveliness of Spring.  Spring and Summer are my time for fresh cut flowers, and while grocery shopping I came across these dainty peach and yellow daisies.  This is my color palette for spring... so delicious and dainty.  Sure to inspire a calm a focused mood all summer long.  What are your spring colors, and where do you find them?

Other news...

I'm glad it was a unanimous decision to combine my two blogs.  This makes my life a whole lot easier.  I have already started the website redesign, now I have to figure out how to implement the finishing touches.  My friend, Laura, had a great post on how to create multiple pages/tabs through blogger... such perfect timing.  Time to grab my cup of coffee and start reading through her posts.  Any one have any other websites on how to customize a blogger layout?

Week 13: A topic dear to my heart.

Photo Credit

Mean people suck!!  Need I say more?  Well, I guess I do.  The other day I woke up to two comments on my YouTube channel.  Yay!... ummm, no!  Both comments were meant to hurt... purposefully hurt.  What?!?!  This is why I was so reluctant to starting vlogs.  I was afraid of this... criticism.  Painful criticism, from mean people.  Have I told you mean people suck?

I don't know why, or how people thrive on negativity.  It's exhausting, and soul crushing.  I went to the commenters YouTube channel, and shockingly he had nothing but videos complete with lots of negative comments.  Why?  Is this fun?

My answer to this "Negative Nick" is to empower each other, so here's a spotlight of recent ETSYshop favorites.  I'm fighting negativity with kindness, so here we go.

MandiMade

I recently bought a crapload of Amy Butler fabric from MandiMade, at a very reasonable price, and the owner, Mandi, was wonderful!!  She made a custom listing within the day, and I had the fabric in my hands within a few days.  She has the Sparrows in Bark collection, by Joel Dewberry, on PRESALE right now.  Yes, I bought just a few yards... ok, I bought 12.  Check them out!!

Romeo&Mae

If you're looking for some painfully adorable children's clothing patterns, Romeo&Mae is your store!  Your orders are shipped through your email, so big big plus.  The patterns pair perfectly with Amy Butler fabric... cute, cute, cuteness!!

Lovely Duds

I visited Lovely Duds while shopping for my cousin's baby shower gift.  This store is full of baby wraps, nursing covers, and their precious Just like mommy wraps.  These lovely, and soft, cuddle gifts are paired with beautiful, modern fabrics.  Loveliness.  My cousin loved her gift, and her baby girl loves being snuggled up with mommy.  

Let's empower each other!!!  No more negativity!!

Week 12: More questions asked and answered...

Photo Credit

Week 12 is all about questions, and boy, do I have a lot of them.  Questions about PeachHoneyLove, PeachHoneyPreemie, and questions about the future about this blog.  I realized that while I'm writing what I want on the blog, the traffic is not so great.  I know this will come in time, and it doesn't help I'm not really "out there"... no shop open, nothing to sell, etc.  It's difficult to write what's in my heart, while trying to make it interesting for my readers.  Does anyone else struggle with this?

Until now, my I've been an art student by way of online classes and books, but it's time for a slight detour.  I'm starting the Blogging Your Way class later this month, and attending the Bloggy Boot Camp in mid-March.  I'm determined to find my voice, and share it with you.

Some questions I need answered...

1.  What do you look for in a blog? (freebies, techniques and tutorials, etc.)  What attracts you before the post content?
A banner and color scheme will usually catch my eye before anything else.  My eye is drawn to minimalistic designs, with a splash of color (I'm working on getting my blog to this point).  White backgrounds with great colorful pictures.  Brandi and Ali are great examples of this.  Here are a couple of my favorite banners.

Brandi Girl

Freshly Picked

Sleep and her sisters

Jeannie

After design, tutorials and how-to posts usually get me to stay. I guess that makes me greedy.  Laura, Jessica Van Den and Blog Tyrant are my go-to business how-to blogs.  I'm also drawn to beautiful writing... I consider Kelly Rae to be the gold standard of passionate writing.  Her words seem to flow so effortlessly, especially after the birth of her son.

2.  I got a lot of traffic from this post, and it go me wondering... What posts bring the most traffic to your blog?
I have found my tutorials, especially the vlogs, bring the most traffic.  Funny, because I was so resistant to taping videos, and didn't think I had enough knowledge to offer my readers.  I guess I was wrong... don't tell my husband I said that!!  My favorite vloggers/tutorial masters are Tiffany D, Suzi Blu, and Donna Downey.  You can find me running errands, and watching their latest video upload on my phone.

3. I'm working on an Ebook for my email subscribers... What content would you like to see in an artistic Ebook?
I have yet to find a free artistic eBook... anyone know of one?  The eBooks I have in my possession are business and marketing how-to's.  I have got quite the collection, but my favs are from Blog Tyrant, Jessica Van Den, and Allyson Stanfield.

4. Oh, and I have a random question I need answered.  I am working hard to open the PeachHoneyPreemie Etsy shop this summer, and having some trouble making some final decisions.  This may seem like a random question, but should I use iron-on or sew-on woven fabric labels?


Answer in the comment section or email me at peachhoney@hotmail.com :)

Week 11: Customer Profiles

Etsy is my all-time favorite place to shop... baby showers, Christmas, birthdays, PHL supplies, etc... I have a weakness for cuteness at bargain prices.  I would rather support a small business owner, and fellow crafter, than go to Target a get whatever is on sale.  I've been buying a lot on Etsy, lately... Just yesterday I bought 28 yards, of 14 different Amy Butler patterns, for $6 a yard... umm, can you say SCORE?  Very very soon I will have a ETSY shop spotlight of my recent favorites... tune in for that loveliness.

Customer service is a big plus, and I love that ETSY provides one-on-one contact between the buyer and the seller... mucho importante!!  In an attempt to maintain positive customer service, I contacted two of my lastest customers, and asked them to give me feedback on their comissioned pieces.  Here's what they had to say.



Becca

My first customer is Rebecca, a friend of mine that wanted a handmade piece for her bedroom.  At the time we were both inspired by the changing leaves of the fall season, so I created "Miss Becca".  

"Jess had been telling me about her art work, and showed me several of her pieces. I commissioned her as an artist because I loved her use of mixed media, and whimsical style.  I enjoy buying hand made pieces for the unique look that I know no one else has.  I love my piece! We spent quite a bit of time discussing my preferences so it is exactly what I wanted.  The colors in the painting look beautiful and Jess really captured what I was looking for."

Mary

My second customer is Maija, a co-worker, who commission a one-of-a-kind piece for a charity event's silent auction.  I made "Mary", who has become one of my favorite paintings.

"The other team members and I were extremely happy. It reflected the cause (breast cancer) and the women who are dealing with it.  Jess's art reflects spontaneity and individuality. They are one of a kind. Handmade items have their own spirit."

Thank you ladies for taking time to answer my questions.  Don't forget... I do commissions!!! Contact me if your in the market for something new to spice up your life :)





Week 10: Studio Tour of my favorite tools

My MacBook

I don't know how I lived without a MAC laptop. Ever since it's arrival, I have been glued to it's mesmerizing screen. Every program is extremely user friendly, and their online tutorial library is extremely helpful. When I made the decision to start vlogging, iMovie helped ease my fears of editing my endless retakes. The Numbers program helped get my PeachHoney books in order, and iPhoto kept my photos safe and organized.

My Smartphone

My Droid Incredible has everything!! I'm not always by a computer, so having Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Hootsuite, YouTube, and a camera in my pocket is very useful. I can check up on the happenings of PeachHoney throughout the day, while at work, or while running errands. This means answering emails and responding the blog comments promptly.

My paintbrush

My paintbrushes are nothing fancy, cheapy ones bought on sale at local Michaels and University Art stores. They're mine, nonetheless, and they get the job done. Angular, filbert, round, flat... they're all mine. They smooth on my favorite colors of heavy body acrylic, messily apply melted beeswax, and smoosh around watercolor pencils and walter-soluble oil pastels. My little army of misfits are always at my fingertips.

Palette Knives

My palette knives sit next to my paintbrushes on my drafting table. I bought a cheap set of palette knives for an art class, with David Lobenberg, a few years ago, and they have never let me down. I use them to mix custom colors, spread on crackle paste, and to create marks in molding paste.

My Hands

They're always with me, never tire, and I can never replace them with another set. Covered in paint and ink, they represent the artwork in progress. Nothing would be possible without them.

Week 8... Something Seasonal

Photo Credit

I'm dreaming of Spring...

It's winter here in Northern California. The barren branches are haunting, yet beautifully stretched. Contractors are busily building the newest Tim Lewis community, effectively blocking my view of the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. My veggie beds are empty. All that is left is the decrepit carcass of a once beautiful tomato plant, and the brown remains of my extravagant asparagus fern. My grass is slowly yellowing, and my plant's growth spurt has come to a screaming halt. Although, we experience very mild winters here in Sacramento, I'm looking forward to Spring. Clear blue skies, 75 degree weather... heaven.

I have had two weeks off work, and I'm taking advantage of it. I'm dedicating myself to spending at least 6 hours each day to knock some important tasks off my To Do list. Joseph is worried I've been working too hard, and suggested I have at least one day to veg on the couch. Today was that day. I sat on the couch, with my cup of tea, and stared longingly out the window. I glared at the gloomy overcast sky, willing the sun to shine through the grey blanket of clouds. It didn't work. I had to snap myself out of my funk, so instead of wallowing in the weather, I went searching for signs of spring in my own home.

The orchid plant, my husband got me for my birthday this year, has remarkably started to grow a new stem and baby buds are breaking free....

I got out my 2011 Johnny Seed catalog and started planning my garden...

My sweet potatoes are thriving in the upstairs bedroom...

How is your winter going? Are you longing for Spring, or enjoying the the cold weather of your Winter Wonderland?

Week 7... Falling out of love...

Suzi Blu taught me the beauty of watercolor pencils.... she taught me how to shade a face using a heavy hand and the perfect variety of pinks and yellows. Ahhhh... the perfect skin tone. I liked the technique, but didn't love it. Like I mentioned in this post, I sketch and paint on a un-primed/un-gessoed piece of birch plywood. However, it doesn't offer a great surface for a smooth application for watercolor pencil. Not to mention, the wood soaks up every drop of water, so blending proves to be a very difficult task. The colors bleed, but don't blend out like I want them to. I ended up spending more time, than I would have liked, trying to blend with multiple layers of acrylic paint. So... I stopped using the watercolor pencils, and they sat, sadly, at the bottom of a basket for a very long time.

That is, until I started Monica Zuniga's Mixed Media Faces class and discovered this wonderful product once again. She used the watercolor pencils with ease and they seamed to glide on the paper, and blended easily with a little water. I realized it wasn't the pencils that were the problem, it was my painting surface, the birch plywood. I tried Monica's technique on watercolor paper, and was instantly in love. The pencils went on smoothly, even with a light hand, and gave me a sooth, yet mixed-media feel to my skin tones. My faces had great smooth shading, but the little bits of yellow peaking through gave me the whimsical look I was going for. The greatest part was that by sketching with a light yellow pencil, Icould make mistakes that were easily blended out when the water and a light coat acrylic paint. I could make adjustments to the shape of the face and features as I used the darker pencils. It made the face look messy in the process, but the end result was just what I was looking for.

... messy but colorful...

...beautifully shaded with a touch of yellow originality..

But what am I going to paint on? It seems as though my days of painting faces on cheap plywood are long gone. Don't worry, I have discovered Ampersand has a variety of boards, including their Claybord, which I believe will be perfect for my work. Dick Blick sells their 3/4 inch 12x12 Claybord's for $13... not too shabby... crisis averted. I will be practicing on these claybord's in the coming weeks, and will let you know what I think. Ampersand also has a variety of boards, so you know what that means... lot of tutorials in the future!! Yay!!!

I'm so glad I gave my lost love a second chance. Has this ever happened to you? What did you do?

Week 4 & Blog Hop... My Goals

I'm participating in a Blog Hop, thanks to Jess of A Creative Odyssey. For the entire month of December, close to 50 bloggers are sharing their Creative goals for 2011. Well, this is my day, along with Tracey and Kristen.

It was very clear to me, while thumbing through my TO DO Folder, my life is full of tasks and goals. This can be extremely inspiring and completely overwhelming, all at the same time. I was feeling very inspired earlier this month... I was interviewed for the first time by Laura Otero, started my new reduced schedule at work, and finally sat down to organize my business. Right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm organizing my studio right now, and before it could get better, it had to get worse, as I pulled out almost every art supply and placed them on the floor. Excuse me while I panic a little. Cleaning my studio was one of my many goals for this month, along with finishing my logo painting (which didn't get done... just waiting for the final touches to come to me), painting the two sketches from this post, starting a Flickr account, and trying some Eat Clean recipes for my husband. I digress... Let's get to the long term goals keeping me up at night.

1. Design my website... I bought a domain name in June, and have been obsessing over the details of perfecting my brand. I want everything to be perfect, and I'm hoping Laura can help.

2. Finish my first collection by the end of 2011... I've never done a collection before, just individual paintings here and there. I have an idea for my first collection, but it's gonna take some research, and I'm terrified it won't be perfect. Nevertheless, I can't wait to show you!

3. Open my PeachHoneyLove Etsy shop by end of Summer 2011... I'm debating on whether to open the shop with individual paintings, or wait until my collection is done. I have so many paintings in my head, waiting to become a reality, so I don't think I'll be able to wait. Any thoughts?

4. Open my PeachHoneyPreemie Etsy shop by the beginning of Summer 2011... Since the preemie clothes are taking a little time to produce, I have some ideas for some other products until then (Mattress fitted sheets, nursing covers, gel pillow covers, etc.). I just finished two prototypes of the fitted sheets and I'm taking them to work tomorrow to try them out... I'm dreaming of happy babies sleeping quietly on a coordinating bedding set.

5. Finish 5 PeachHoneyPreemie clothing prototypes by the end of 2011... this is proving to be a lengthy and difficult task, but one I don't mind doing. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is a sewing guru, and has taken me under her wing. It's been awhile since I took a sewing class, so I think it's time to sign up for a little refreshed course.

6. Take an encaustic painting class... I use beeswax to finish my mixed media paintings, and have always been fascinated with encaustic art. I recently bought a painting from Mikie Spencer, and fell in love with the swirls and metallic colors of the wax. She referred me to a UK based online wax store, and I'm looking forward to playing around with a new technique.

7. Start a family... unrelated to PHL, but a very important goal, nonetheless.

8. Sketch more... I just bought this book, hoping it would help me grow as an artist. I'm really trying to perfect my craft, so the more classes, the better. I hope you will join me as I work my way through the book's exercises and post my progress.

I hope the coming year brings all of you nothing but love and success in whatever your heart desires.

xoxoxo
jess

Week 5... Question to My Readers. Take a Survey!!

This post has come at a perfect time because I'm developing my PeachHoneyLove and PeachHoneyPreemie Brand. Week 5 in 52 weeks is about asking your readers a question. Well, I have more than one, so I have enlisted Poll Daddy to help me in my quest to get some answers. Although, this 52 weeks journey is geared towards PHL, I have some burning questions about the future of PHP. So, please please please take my survey and help me create a better PeachHoneyPreemie.

Take the survey!!

Thanks for participating!!

Week 3... Overcoming an Obstacle

Week 3 in the 52 weeks of blogging challenge is about an obstacle you overcame. I have to say the painting came easy, and my inspiration cup runneth over. There was always a multitude of classes and books to entertain my artistic cravings, and my drive to create kept me up until 3am most nights. My problem was finding the balance between my day-to-day reponsibilties (work, grocery shopping, laundry, etc) and my new addiction. As I sat on my stool, in front of my drafting table, or at Starbucks watching video after video on techniques, my laundry piled up and I dreaded going to work.


Now let me just say, I love being a NICU nurse. Taking care of babies and developing relationships with their familes is so rewarding. However, over the last 4 years I have slowly started to resent my job because my need to paint was taking a huge back seat. As of two weeks ago, I decreased my hours at work, and I now have 6 days off of work, every other week. Unheard of in my profession. My first stretch of days off, I taped 3 videos and got a week ahead of blog posts, finished up some business license tasks and cleaned my house. I was on a roll, but when the day came to go back to work I was as ready as I could be, and I felt better knowing I had made great use of my time. It was a risk decreasing my hours, but I had to do it for my own well being. It was a difficult choice, but one that I don't regret making.

In addition to cutting back my hours at work, I knew I had to create some kind of schedule. That meant not only scheduling my posts (52 week challenge on Mondays, artistic Fridays, etc), but also my tasks for each day I had off from work. For example, tomorrow is my day off and according to my "to do list" I need to tape a tutorial, and work on editing a couple videos I taped last week. If I get done with that, I can work on an art piece I have in the corner of my studio. I always schedule my tasks at least a week before they need to be done, so if something comes up... like Hank desperately begging for Mommy's attention... I don't have to worry about scrambling to finish on time.



I downloaded a calendar from Blog Guidebook (I also printed one for my gardening to do list), it's the perfect size to tote around with me, yet, large enough to hold my daily notes. I cross out the days I work (I don't get much done on those days) and then I write what posts are schduled on which days, and as I complete them I highlight them and move on to the next task. If I'm more than a week ahead, I spend more time painting the next couple days. All I have to do, in the morning, is grab my cup of coffee, consult my calendar and plan the rest of my day. It has allowed me to relax, enjoy my journey, and become extremely productive.



TO DO lists are extremely important for an organized life. I, however, am a little more anal-retentive, so I have a TO DO FOLDER (yes, that's right, an TO DO FOLDER). It's crazy, but it's helped to prioritize what needs to get done now, from what tasks can wait a couple months. In this envelope, I have lists of possible blog posts (for PHL and PHP), social networking tasks (sponsorship ads, blog buttons, start Flikr account), classes I want to take (Blogging you way, web design class), color schemes I want to try, possible PeachHoneyPreemie products, fabric I need to buy, etc . I also have goals in the folder... attend a retreat, show at art show/festival, plan a getaway for my artist community. If I ever feel like I have nothing to do... which is very infrequent... I can consult my folder, and I immediately have an endless supply of things to do. I love being busy, but crazy/unorganized busy doesn't work... organized/Type A busy works much better for me.

What was your biggest obstacle as an creative person, and how did you overcome it?

Hope you have a wonderful day... come back Wednesday for a post on the classes that are currently inspiring me to make beautiful art. Xoxoxo

Week 2... Prepping a painting

Yea, I was rambling a little bit today, but I hope it was helpful. I can't wait until you guys see my next few cravings posts. I hope you swoon over my goodies like I do. I can't tell you how much these video are helping my creativity... I get to play while talking to all of you. It's so wonderful!!
Here are some links to the products I talk about it the video...

Painting Surfaces
Birch Plywood
Stretched Canvas
Ampersand Gessobord
Golden Gesso

Mediums
Winsor & Newton Watercolors
Golden Heavy Body Acrylics
Golden Fluid Acrylics
Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels
Prismacolor Watercolor Colored Pencils
Ranger Adirondak Color Wash
Ranger Archival Ink
Ranger Distress Ink

ps... I made a little mistake... the mulberry color underneath the cerulean oil pastel was a watercolor pencil, not an oil pastel.

Week 1... Big Announcement!!

MISSION STATEMENT
My love for creating art was a welcomed accident. I was a scrapbooker turned artist by an art journaling class. I am inspired by everything around me, and my support group of artist chickies fuels my everyday. I create mixed media artwork using acrylic paint, watercolor, wax, stamps, paper elements and much more. PeachHoneyLove provides original artwork to the masses, and offers a home for artisic people to play, grow and share their passions.

LINKS
My community:
Laura Catherine with Strategic Marketing Online
Brandi Hussey with Catie's Blue
Maggie with Maggie's Angels

Vloggers I follow:
Donna Downey
Suzi Blu
Tiffany D

Other links:
52 Weeks of Blogging
52 More Weeks of Blogging
Kelly Rae Robert's Flying Lessons
Interview with Brandi Hussey

ps... I don't know why my forehead looks so big... I think I need to play around with the angle of the camera. Oh, and excuse my frequent use of the work "Umm," I was a little nervous :)