Adventure Time!

I am not what you would call an outdoorsy person. You won't find me jumping up and down at the thought of camping for a weekend in a tent on the ground. To me that would sound like you want me to sweat in a tent with no shower and bugs buzzing around my ear and biting me for three days and two nights...NOT HAPPENING.

BUT I am a lover of outdoors nonetheless. I love when the forest is deep green and I love looking at anything the woods has to offer. I like the many different trees, the fallen logs, the moss, the rocks, the stumps, the EVERYTHING!

If you invited me to go spend the weekend at a cabin by the lake near the mountains...I'd be all for it!! I love the beauty of the outdoors. I don't know why but I get so giddy at even the idea of going on a nature walk! It's even more exciting when I get to take my plush creations with me for a photo shoot! And that's what we did yesterday.

Before we even got to the start of the trail, I was so excited to find these trees! Look at how tall they are! They were so naturally whimsy. I'm almost 5'7" and my daughter is 4'4" so think about that when you think of how tall these trees were!

My daughter has become more and more obsessed with Adventure Time! and so have I. I think it's so adorabibble that she likes to go everywhere now with her backpack packed full of goodies she may need on adventures. We later found out that the backpack was actually pretty heavy for a 6 year old to carry as long as we walked. She's tough! lol

They had, I think, 3 bridges on the trail we took! And I think there's at least 6 trails on Fort Drum!

I don't know if you can tell, but this hill was SOOOOOO STEEP!  Going up my knees were pretty much hitting my chest and going down was so scary! I have bad knees as it is, so I almost made the decision to slide down. 

I love my sweet little Owie Pie! :) 

And last but not least a Merple sighting!

You can check out more photos of my creations on my Facebook page, by clicking this link: HinckleDoodle

I've been creating with the help of my daughter's doodles and imagination these new creatures that have totally captivated me, called Merples (like the one above) and a new creature called Gooblings.
We're trying to create this magical land together.
The land of HinckleDoodle is being reborn :) 

Oodles of DoodleyDoos!

I'm so so so pleased with my coloring books! I wish there was a way where you all could see them in person. I'm so happy with the quality and with the doodles that made Volume I!

These coloring books make me realize I REALLY need to do some craft shows. I can say how much work I put in. I can say how amazing they turned out. I can talk and talk and talk but I really think a person would be impressed with this handmade coloring book if they could just take a moment to flip through it.

I know it sounds weird, but a lot of times when I make something, I step back and think to myself, "Whoa that's really cool. Did I do that?" I love that feeling. That feeling of being in awe of myself. What other greatest fan can you have besides yourself? I mean really you're with yourself all the time lol.

I hope I'm not coming off as conceited. I'm far from that. I am just humbly proud of myself. This outlet of doodling and ink pens and even the scanning and printing and binding...but mostly the doodling, my Copic Liner Pens, and a certain kind of No. 2 pencils...ahhhh just pure bliss.

I also just received some Promarkers in the mail today and I'm quite impressed. I still want all Copic markers, but I'm hoping the Promarkers and I will form a wonderful relationship and help take HinckleDoodle to a new realm! 

I want to make bookmarks, greeting cards, stickers, prints, etc...It's "easier" (I guess you could say) to be able to offer these sort of products. It takes so much more time and effort for me to sew a masterpiece than it does to draw one. Not saying that you get any less quality. It's just a different process. 

I'm excited for this new venture and hope you all will grab a coloring book today! I tried to make them as affordable as possible. I'm still searching for other suppliers too to maybe be able to knock a couple dollars off in the future :) 

And maybe to entice you a little bit more...here's another page from Volume I that hasn't been shown to the masses yet :) 

You can grab one here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/103029434/the-doodler-volume-i-oodles-of  :) 

THANKS for reading!!!

xoxo 

Jess

I Love Adventures!

Like most young families, we tend to struggle. We don't do many things outside of our home to save on money, but sometimes you have to just go out and do something. No matter if it's big or small as long as you're with the people you love...it will be incredible! :) 

The past two weekends, we've actually went on little adventures around this area that we've been in for nearly a year but never really explored. It's been so much fun!

Recently we went to Sackets Harbor, NY and here's some of the pics from that adventure!

Makes me laugh at how high the soap dispenser was!

And look at how high the paper towels are! And Owen is 4'4"!

Waiting for her Grilled Sea Cheese!

What better way to kill time then to arm wrestle your dad?

And clearly we have victory!

I adore water! I'm not much of a swimmer but I can appreciate it's beauty :)

Gorgeous streets and walkways!

And then Owen shot some cannons...in a safe pretend manner ;)

Of course you have to end the warm summer day with ice cream! Drew got Coffee, Owen got Cotton Candy, and mine was the best: Black Raspberry Cheesecake!



It was such a fun day!!! 

Inspire, Inspire, Inspire!

Well, for me, I've been in the circus zone. A circus is all about wow factor and taking you to a place where the young at heart and the young can feel the same appreciation. I particularly like vintage circuses. The way they could capture whimsy in a time of black and white is just so impressive!

Here are a few of my favorite pics that I've come back to time and time again when trying to put myself in a circus-y mood when I'm trying to think of doodles for my circus and clown themed coloring books:

I would love to go to the circus!
I was sick when it came to town, but my husband and daughter had a blast. 

It was my kiddo's first time and she loved the dancing poodles!

What's your favorite thing about the circus? 

Life Mantra

Before I started HinckleDoodle, I think there was like a 3 year gap where I just stopped being creative. Not that I wasn't creative at all, but I just didn't dabble in my art as much. 

My scrapbooks sat around getting dusty. 

My sketchbook got lost under other books on the bookshelf. 

My easel was lonely in the back of the closet.

I'll admit during those 3 years I felt like I had some sort of quarter-life crisis going on. And again, not that I was so depressed and sad for 3 years straight. HECK NO! I couldn't with the likes of Drew and Owen always being in my company and our beloved pups. Just that period in life where you feel like Life itself lifts you up in a tornado and you don't know when it's going to put you down. And it won't unless you tell it to stop.

And I did...My husband was in South Korea at the time (he's in the Army). We were supposed to be able to live with him, but they were way over capacity. So Owen and I had to stay back in the states. 

He was gone for an ENTIRE YEAR!!! 

(And I feel like I should add...before my husband joined the Army. We had never been apart for more than 4 days straight and that only happened once because he had to and we weren't allowed to go. And we've been together for 6, almost 7 years!)

Finally, last June while he was away, I decided I'm going to get back in touch with my artistic/crafty self. And I've never looked back. It was part of me that was missing and begging to come back.

The point of this post is that I'm just thankful. 

I am thankful that I've realized that I wake up each morning so excited for the day. 

I am thankful that I have the ability to create and it's gotten me nearly 3600 fans on my Facebook page. 

I am thankful that my husband and daughter are so encouraging and supportive of me and HinckleDoodle.

I am thankful that today is another day that I get to do what I love. 

I send my husband to work with a kiss goodbye. I spend my morning with my daughter and send her off to school and sometimes she'll read me a book on the way to the bus stop. Then I come back and have coffee and get to relish in the knowing that I have a life full of love and art. 

We waste too much precious time worrying about what others think and say. I just don't anymore. 

Every one has an opinion and it's taken me 25 years to realize that no one can hurt me or bring me down unless I let them. Such a simple thought which I guess is why it's easily forgotten. 

It's one of my life mantras I established after leaving Missouri and I've never been happier!

Do you have a life mantra that you live by? 
I have several. 
I'd love to hear yours! Maybe I could add it to my repertoire. :)

Happy Monday, readers!
xoxo
Jess

Let's Ramble....

I can't help it. It is in my nature to be wordy and to ramble. So be prepared for a chaotic rambling of jumbled thoughts in my head. 


I've been thinking A LOT lately about my business. So many things ahead of me. 
(Which should be read as: There's rarely a time when I'm not thinking about HinckleDoodle.) 


I have always struggled with blogging, but it's something I think would be fruitful in the long run. It's all a matter of finding a balance between my available time and figuring out what works best for me--frequency and content-wise. 


Do you all blog? Any tips would be great! I most likely will spend hours researching blogs that interest me and try to bundle it all up to fit me and HinckleDoodle. But it would be much easier if you all just throw tips at me like beads at a Mardi Gras festival! So commence the throwing, I have my safety gear on.


Another thing I'm considering is setting up a Big Cartel shop. It's always interested me because it's so artsy-focused! I chose Etsy because of it's growing popularity and it is also magnificently easy to use. Though Big Cartel has no listing/sales fees! I would be much happier to be able to bundle blog and shop together and have it all handled by me and that's what Big Cartel offers for a reasonable month-to-month no contract fee. 
Or just branch off and start my own website...but I'm not THAT tech-savvy to do it alone! And I don't have any/enough upfront money to hire anyone. So if you're interested in helping me out of the kindness of your heart and you think you can capture the vision that is HinckleDoodle...I'd be MOST GRATEFUL!


So many things to consider....


OH and I'm SOOOooooOOOOoooOOOOooooOOOOO close to starting production of coloring books all hand drawn, printed, and bound by....
(pause for dramatic effect)....ME!
But Project: Color Me Badd (do you remember that group?) is for another blog post.


Conclusion: One thing I hope to fix with my blogging skills is my tendency to be lengthy lol. So for now, let the tornado of rambled thoughts settle you back down gently, and we'll call it good for the day. 


You've done well, blog reader. 
Maybe next time I'll have a more focused blog post the next time we meet.


Maybe.


xoxo 
Jessica -or- 
Jess -or- 
Mamma Jamma -or- 
J-Bone -or- 
That Girl


I have lots of nicknames.

Mood Music

Hollerado "Fake Drugs"

This is the kind of song that makes me dance really stupid like. Like it takes over my limbs and turns them to elastic. It's quite a sight, I'm sure!

I hope it jump-starts your energy for the weekend!

<3 Jess xoxo