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.

Bloggetha Revival!

With a few rounds of CPR and extra doses of TLC, my beloved Bloggetha has been reborn and has a clear cut path. I've been building HinckleDoodle for some time now and I still feel like a newb. I'm still trying to find the most efficient way to manage everything between my business and personal life.

I definitely have a grand appreciation for mothers who work from home. There's always something to do. I said last night before I went to bed to my husband at 10:30 pm..."I feel like I've been working for 24 hours." Any more so I'm exhausted by 7:30, but just push myself to stay up later to get more things accomplished. Then I push myself to stay up til midnight and I'll stay up until 2 in the morning...and wake up at 6:50 am to do it all over again. (Yes, I realize that's why I'm exhausted lol)

I'm always trying to implement some sort of organizing skill or schedule or checklist into my life to try and make it a little easier. And I think slowly, VERY slowly the benefits are starting to show.

So speaking of schedules, I have finally created one for my blog and for the past week have been trying to get 2 weeks worth done to give myself a head start :) And here you have it! I have designated subjects for the weekdays and given myself the weekend off from my blog unless something exciting happens that I just HAVE to share :)

Now I've given you the gist, let me put some pictures in...because everyone likes a photo!

Some of you may have seen the pony I've been working on...She was bald in the Creative Process photo album but she has grown some between that time and now :)

Ooooh and check out her button hooves! I did orange and green to bring out the colors in her accent fabric!

And now on to my million (not really a million, more like 13ish) other orders I need to fill!!! My fingers hurt!!! ;)

I've got these sort of animals ahead of me:

Llama, Frog Prince, Catfish, Dinosaur, Kung Fu Panda & Monkey... and not to mention I have got to make some headway towards holiday items!
I hope to be more prepared for Halloween and Christmas this year :)