Just do it.

Don’t @ me, Nike.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

I just renewed my yearly subscription to WordPress and I swear-to-glob that the past year flashed before my eyes. What have I created this past year besides more stress for myself?

Not much, to be honest. 

I think made a couple of spoonflower patterns, a paper doll, sewed a blanket or two, uploaded a few designs to Redbubble, drew a couple of things, and took a few Skillshare classes… But ultimately I spent a whooooole lot more money on my creative ventures than I made. I’m not joking. I bought a new embroidery sewing machine that I haven’t used, and an iPad Pro, among other things. I had all the best intentions but none of the energy.

It’s embarrassing.

I feel depressed (boohoo, I know). I’ve always been someone that needed to create. It’s my outlet and my biggest enjoyment out of life.

I’ve had this really strong urge lately to create my own “world.” Something to dump my (very little) art and writing knowledge into. A passion project of sorts. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I know this will never be something that I can do to pay the bills, but I would love to be able to create consistent content that people enjoy. Something to be proud of and give me purpose outside of my family. I’ve almost completely lost myself and I’m craving some sense of identity. Maybe what I’m really looking for is a way to escape this hell hole that we’ve all been living for over a year now.

So, that’s why I’m writing this jumbled mess this morning. I just finished my homework and I’m contemplating my life choices (lol). Sometimes I have to tell myself to “just do it” otherwise I wouldn’t create anything at all… Or clean my house.

I don’t know who will read this, but I love your faces. And I hope you have a great day. I’m off to get another cup of coffee and try to resist the urge to order another $25 in Door Dash. What are your plans for today / this week / this YEAR?

On the plus side, as I was writing this, my parental instincts kicked in and I caught my daughter opening paint before she created a mural all over her room. I guess we’re going to go paint now! 😀 

Send help.

-Linds

Art, Life, and Quarantine. “Where am I going to put all this food!?” Friday blog #3.

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have had an awesome week and stayed safe. ❤

It’s been a fairly low-key week in the Wheaton-Tenney household. Quarantine life isn’t much different from stay-at-home mom life, other than the added anxiety and even less shopping. As hard as it is I’m basically used to it by now, a decade later. Speaking of shopping, I did finally go grocery shopping and it was a trip, let me tell you. It took me over an hour and my cart was MOUNDED.

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  …Really brings out my eyes, no? lmao.

I must have looked absolutely ridiculous pushing this thing around by myself. Grocery shopping gives me such anxiety because I know I will forget something (nuts, bubble soap, my name), I’m taking too long, and social interaction is just hiding right behind the corner… Probably in sweet-little-old-lady form.

And of course, I *have* to check for clothing sales, clearance, and go to the craft section. I only do this every few weeks so I definitely milk it more than I should when I finally get the chance to be alone(ish). In the end, I bought $300 in groceries (whoops), a couple of books for the kids, and a larger crochet hook (still the wrong one I might add).

I was creative in a few different ways this week.

I reignited my passion for cooking and made my own chicken stock for the very first time, then used it for a chicken and rice soup. I also made a tiny apple crisp for dessert. When I wasn’t cooking or meal planning I was found sketching ideas for new designs. I definitely didn’t do as much for the website or online shops as I wanted… But that isn’t to say I didn’t accomplish anything this past week.

With the help of my wonderful fiance I installed my printer and cricut cutter. Then I designed, edited, and cut out my first real sticker sheet.

For us baking lover’s out there!

I know how silly it must seem but I have always wanted to be able to make kiss-cut sticker sheets (kiss-cut is when the top layer of paper is cut but the bottom , the non-sticky layer, is left intact). Then I took pictures of it and uploaded it to Etsy for sale on Monday morning. There haven’t been any bites yet, but that’s okay! I received a few views and views are potential customers, eh? I also updated my Etsy logo and banner to my favorite minty color. Someone did, however, buy 3 masks, THREE MASKS, from my Redbubble shop this week! I AM OVER THE MOON.

Thankyou so much, mysterious and kind local Mainer. I hope you love them, and thank you for wearing a mask! And I hope I see them out in the wild because that would be amazing.

Mother’s Day Shenanigans

I made my mom this flamingo card (see Instagram embed below) using watercolors and watercolor pencils. I also purchased the vinyl I need for her shadow-box, a now very late Mother’s Day present. Sorry mommy, I hope it ends up being worth the wait!

How have you been creative this week? Comment down below, I would love to hear about what you made/did! 🙂

View this post on Instagram

I can finally share this, yay! I turned this little painting into a mothers day card for my flamingo-loving momma. ❤ Materials: Winsor & Newton Watercolors and Faber castell watercolor pencils. 🙂 Hmmm, now to think about what I want to make today… #mothersday #watercolor #painting #flamingo #flamingos #art #cardmaking #artistsoninstagram #momartist #creative #mothersdaygift #winsorandnewton #fabercastell #drawing #creative #creativity #ilovemymom #lindsywheaton #birds #redbubble #etsy #entrepreneur #cute #happymonday #shop #diy #doityourself

A post shared by Lindsy Wheaton (@lindsywheaton) on May 11, 2020 at 12:25pm PDT

Things I loved This Week

My Fiance sat down with the kiddos the Friday before Mother’s Day and made these salt-dough handprints, and gave them to me along with a printed poem. I cried. Lots. They’re so beautiful and the thought behind them is so perfect. Time flies, and I have always wanted to do hand impressions of the kids… I just never think to order the materials. I never thought to do salt-dough! See, anyone can be creative… Even manly softball players.

Then I had a game from one of my favorite game franchises announced… PAPER MARIO. How adorable is the artwork? I wish I could hug the designers. Y’all did good.

SO. CUTE.

Well, folks, that’s it for this week. Next week I will (hopefully) be uploading more artwork. It’s incredibly difficult to balance all of this and having two kids running around, but I’m not going to give up! I’m thinking about starting a Twitch art/game stream on the weekends… And maybe some relaxing watercolor painting videos on YouTube. We’ll see. I’m a ball of anxiety when it comes to being recorded. 2020 is the year of being brave, and handling anything life throws at me… I CAN DO IT. Even if I’m sweating profusely the entire time. Anywho, thank you so much for tuning in to my ramblings. 🙂

Stay safe, friends. And don’t forget to get creative! ❤

Love,

Linds.

It’s FriYAY! “I’m an Affiliate!”| Weekly post #2

Hello Everyone! I hope you’ve had a fantastic week, home safe and happy with your Families. This quarantine stuff got real, real fast, and I’m sure you’re over it as much as I am. It’s more important now than ever to stay busy, take care of our mental and physical health, and try to channel positivity. And with that said…

Let’s start with some positives.

I was accepted as an Affiliate with Dickblick.com and Arteza, which I wast totally not expecting. This means that for every purchase someone makes using my referral links I get a small percentage of the profits. So, if you’re in need of art supplies and want to support a small artist, you can find the links in the shopping section on my primary menu on my website. Thank you to both Arteza and Blick for accepting me into your artsy family. 🙂

My brain was kind of rude to me this week. I’m just trying to get out of my own way and get some fun-work done. Though I definitely think I could have accomplished more since last Friday I’m so excited about the future and what’s to come. I bought a printer, and a Cricut cutter so that I am able to create stickers and photo prints of my artwork and put them up for sale on Etsy. I have a ton of ideas that I hope I can whip out in the near future. My printer is here and my Cricut should be here later today too, woo!

I only managed to get one project completed this week art-wise, but I am in love with this print! Although it won’t be available for several weeks on Spoonflower I did manage to upload it to Redbubble. ❤

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Weekend Plans

This Sunday is Mother’s day but where we are still under quarantine I’m not sure we are planning much of anything. Though, to be honest, that’s totally fine by me. I want nothing more than some quiet creating time. If my Cricut cutter arrives on Friday like Amazon estimated a week ago (which I doubt), then I’ll probably be making ALL the stickers. But first I really need to start pumping out some content… Did I mention I reaaallly need to get out of my own way.

What about you? What are your plans for this coming Mothers day weekend?

Things I Loved this Week

“Neon CyberPunk” – Courtesy of Griffyn Sawyer.
Thank-you for coloring the “Wheaton Kitties” coloring page, Griff! :))

This post by Daniel Sonderling. “The only way you can learn to write is to write,” and many more amazing quotes. I can relate so much to everything he says about making mistakes and creating. Definitely worth a read!

These carved ceramic cups made by Reddit user u/ForestCeramicCo. Seriously, how gorgeous are these? I think pottery might be one of the few creative hobbies left that I haven’t tried at least once. Maybe one day.

“Stripey” – Courtesy of WordPress blogger Roshaunda D. Cade

And of course, “Stripey.” He is the new Forky (see: Toy Story 4) and I love him. What I didn’t expect was the amazing mind behind such a simple act of creativity. This happy little paper-critter was made by a talented writer and teacher by the name of Roshaunda D. Cade. If you love writing, learning, and being creative, I highly recommend checking out her blog. She focuses on being creative a little every day and that is something I think we can all get behind. Keep on keepin’ on, Dr. Cade!

Have you been creative this week?

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Thank you, everyone. If you read my post, don’t be afraid to say hello down below in the comments! I hope you have a safe and happy Mother’s Day.

Much Love,

Linds.