balance

It’s June already. (Thank you, Captain Obvious). And while I’m really excited for June (planting my garden! First camping trip of the year! Hiking! The beach!) I can’t help but feel like as of last month things in my life started to feel off kilter. I’ve been (mostly) keeping up with projects, but in a very disorganized manner. I always feel like I’m bouncing around the house like a madwoman jumping from personal projects to playing with my little to housecleaning and on and on. I just feel out of order and out of sorts!

Lack of organization is a big part of it. I’m realizing that lately I fell out of the habit of making to-do lists, and I know that has a huge impact on why I feel so chaotic. Also, in classic form, every day I think of new projects and things I want to do without finishing up other projects. Constantly adding to your plate is really NOT an effective way to get things done. Clearly knowing this fact doesn’t stop me from doing it anyway.

However, despite feeling somewhat off balance in my life, I am still so content. I’m doing everything I want to be, even if it is in a messy and disorganized manner. Do I want to straighten it out a bit? Definitely. Am I going to stress myself out about it? Absolutely not. Instead, I’ll take the steps I can to try and refocus, and get the balance back where I want it. Starting with a to-do list.

So bear with me if blog posts are a bit random, not on any schedule, or rambly (coughthispostcough). Be on the lookout for a new look for my blog too! Working on lots of art for it – my one year ‘blogiversary’ is coming up at the end of June and I’d love to celebrate it with a new look for my blog, and a giveaway too! Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

January is coming to a close, and for the first time in awhile I don’t feel like time is shooting by and I am sitting back helpless, getting nothing accomplished. I’ve been keeping up with my art, crafting, and projects with my little girl. It’s something I’m really proud of since not too long ago (circa 2012 and early 2013) I didn’t have the focus, commitment, and balance I do now. It’s taken time, and work, but it’s been so worth it! I’m finally in a place where I feel decently balanced between being a mother, and having my own time as well. Some of this months projects:

Hired a graphic designer to work with me and revamp my blog – custom layout here I come!
Drew two portraits. One is for an upcoming blog series so I can’t share it yet! Here is the other – a portrait of a friend’s son that I did just for fun.

9×12, all graphite pencils. He’s a handsome little one!

Completely cleaned and reorganized my arts and crafts area, and am adding to my inspiration wall. I painted this to add to it – it’s one of my favorite quotes.

This was the best shot I could get. The background is a much nicer blend of blues and teals than this looks!

I have two new commissions.
I purchased my 1AM Promise indie buy. I was Ms. Indecisive this month and went back and forth about what to get for weeks. Then something new popped up and it was the perfect thing!! They’ll be a post on it when I get it in!
I made and began my first idea/art/doodle/thought journal. In addition to my regular writing journal. It’s still in the process of being decorated. I need more stickers.
Daily journaling – I’ve actually been keeping up on it!
Learning activites with my daughter. She just turned three in December and I’ve been doing more of a focus on ‘classroom’ type activities since ideally she’ll start preschool in the fall. She now knows all her letters by sight, can recognize and spell her name, and is well on her way to learning to count to twenty! We’ve also started writing practice. The rate she learns thing just blows me away.
I completed my first freelance job with a local maternity photographer! She wanted some basic pose sketches using her photos as references. This was SUCH a fun project for me since I usually work in headshot/bust type portraits. It was great to do something that was mostly full body!

Four of my favorite sketches I did for her.

That being said, I do want to be more organized in the coming months. I have the tendency to come up with a lot of ideas for things to do, but then apply zero organization or planning ahead and they either slip by, or become way too big of a project to take on. So I’ve finally made use of a daily planner that has a lot of room for notes, and between that and my idea/inspiration journal I’ve started I should be able to keep my projects in check and organized! Here’s to more productivity!