“What I Want to Accomplish in 2019” Gr8Blogs bloghop

My writerly pals and I are sharing our hopes - on the creative road and in our family life - for 2019 in our #Gr8Blog hop: “What I Want to Accomplish in 2019.”

Please have a read, and then visit the other #Gr8Blogs linked at the end of this post for more smiles and inspiration.

The start of a new year is like a blank slate, and we don’t know what will be written upon it, but to me that’s half the fun of it.

I promised myself not to tell the world about my plans before I did them as sometimes they go right out of the window! So there are some super exciting projects in the pipeline but, until I know they are definitely happening I am keeping my lips sealed.

The main big news that I can officially share now is that I have launched my online shop for Splatterink Art,  yes I am doing a happy dance. Honestly I have never known anything take so long  to put together. I felt like I was just redoing and correcting everything over and over again. Being a faffer has not helped, I have got to be more decisive!  Those with the more logic minded brain would probably have done it in half the time but me being me had to look at 5000 different options first only to stick with my first choice with pretty much everything I touched… sigh. Anyway it is done, woohoo!!

The main aim with this range is to uplift peoples hearts which is why the option of including a personalised message on all the products has been included at no extra cost. There is nothing more heartwarming than receiving a gift from someone you hold dear that is personal to you. I am hoping these products will create many happy memories out there and put a smile on peoples faces.

Setting the shop up was probably the easiest bit, now I have to market the bad boy lol. Which brings me to the next thing I will be doing this year, marketing! I am continuing to do my course and hope to complete it this year.

Sharing a big tip here that I encourage any business owner to do…. Pop down to your local university and ask to collaborate with students on your chosen field. I have done this with the business and marketing department and am going to be working closely with some students for a year starting in March. I cannot wait for this! I think it will teach me so much and hopefully they will find it highly beneficial too, it is a win win situation.

So basically they want to offer the students two projects to work with, my Splatterink art collection and relaunching my illustration’s website. They will pitch the projects to the students at the end of this month and then the ones that want to work with me have to put together a video presentation of why I should choose them. Then I go with whoever feels right for the job and then that’s it, got me a mini guru for a year. How super awesome is that!

Along with me doing my Richard Branson bit (a girl can dream right lol) I have several books lined up for the first half of the year so will continue to illustrate for others and I am putting together a proposal for an after school art club for a primary school. I feel I need to get out of my comfort zone again and this seemed like the right thing to do. I think it is extremely healthy to face your fears now and again, it really does push you in the right direction.

Outside of work I will continue to spend time with my nearest and dearest. My eldest is heading into his final years of high school now and has his work experience this year so important years for him now. My youngest has adapted well to high school and has seemed to taken up a musical passion lately which is lovely, she and my husband are bonding over their love for music which has inspired my husband to pick up the guitar again so our little home is a creation station at the moment. Both of them are excelling at school and are big dreamers when it comes to what they want to do afterwards. I admire them for having a vision and sense of direction at such a young age, those two make me proud every day.

I will be meeting up with my best friend from primary school in Zambia at the end of January, we haven’t seen each other for 23 years so it is going to be quite a surreal moment. I can’t wait to hear about how her life has developed since then. There is another big thing to look forward to but again not saying anything until I get the green light tee hee.
So there we have what I know is coming up, but like I say half the fun of the year are all the surprises that pop up along the way so who knows what weird and wacky little u turns might appear.

I am not sure if I will continue to run this blog for the remainder of the year as I will be doing newsletters and a routine blog through the Splatterink Art site so I will post most of my content on there from now. If you did want to sign up to the mailing list then you will be kept up to date with all the latest news / blog posts and any new products / artwork added to my shop not to mention the giveaways and discounts.
Thanks for stopping by! What do you want to tick off your bucket list this year? Please share in the comment section.

For more inspiration, visit my #Gr8blogs pals below.

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If you blog and want to join us on this hop, just add the family-friendly link to your blog post in the comment section. We’ll visit and give you some blog love-:D

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Cat Michaels

Sandra Bennett

Jacqui Letran

Julie Gorges

Shana Gorian

Rosie Russell

Carmela Dutra

Rebecca Lyndsey
Jim Milson

Finding your art style, sometimes it's best not to try so hard. How an accident turned into a blessing.

For years I have tried to find my style. Flitting from one medium to the next and generally feeling like a 'Jack of all Trades' and master to none.... know the feeling? Well last year I finally had an halelluah moment. and do you know what, it came about completely by accident!

I have been experimenting with my art for many many years now and have painted with all different mediums and in different styles to find that niche that felt right. I have loved experimenting, but I won't lie it has been incredibly frustrating as well! Hours and hours of work goes into trying to perfect your craft, and we are our own worst critics, so if it doesn't feel right we tend to beat ourselves up over it. I have always felt like a Jekyl and Hyde character with my art, one minute you can be all airy fair and little miss positivity and the next minute it's self sabotage / abuse and a heady mix of anger and frustration... or maybe that's just me ha ha

Anyway I have pretty much dabbled with all sorts of styles and techniques over the years, you would be forgiven to think that my work had been done by different artists as my portfolio is that diverse. I would always admire artists that had their style and just focused on that, it seemed so alien to me as one minute I would be drawing cartoon characters, the next a landscape, or a decorative piece and if I was feeling the need for a release, something dark.  Nothing seemed to flow at all.

Last year something changed all of that. I was going through quite a lull with things,  work had dried up and I had totally lost my art mojo. I had well and truly hit a wall career wise and wasn't sure where I was heading at all. I had been given some acrylic inks for my 40th birthday earlier that year but what with broken legs and hip replacements I hadn't had a chance to use them. So when I saw the official Inktober list appear in my newsfeed I thought why the hell not, what better excuse to try these babies out.  

For those that don't now the Inktober challenge is held every year and invites all artists to create something every day in October in ink and share it online under the hashtag #inktober

So I did a very quick study of a swift and popped it on Facebook and Instagram. I didn't really put any effort into it, it took literally half an hour and was a half hour of pure enjoyment for me. I just fancied trying my new inks out. So I posted my little creation online and what happened next blew my little mind, loads of people went gaga over it. That one little painting had more attention and sales than anything had done over my entire art career....crazy!  I started getting asked if I would sell prints, then I was getting requests to do inky creations for their own ideas. As each day went on more requests started coming in, to the point that I couldn't continue  with Inktober as I had a backlog of orders to get through. Then it went on to dog portraits and what with it coming up to Christmas I landed up doing loads of them.

Fast forward nearly a year and I am still painting with inks and still taking commissions, the latest being portraits. I have done some big  pieces now and experimenting with different backgrounds, but it is safe to say that these are staying! I just love working with them, and each piece is a joy to do. I  have opened up an online store to start selling them wider afield, but that requires a fair bit of marketing which is going to be my next challenge. I am not claiming that I am a hugely successful artist now, but what I can say is that sometimes it is best not to try so hard and just to go back to the basics of loving what you do. 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SplatterInkArt

Have you got a similar story of how you found your style? Curious to know if this resonates with other creatives out there :)

Can You Really Change Your Thoughts To Change Your World?

So here I am hitting yet another phase of the end of month struggles and frankly the novelty has well and truly worn off. So a bit of history as to what has moved me to pick up my writing again after 2 years ….

So just over a year and a half ago I decided to take the brave and what some would call a highly stupid move of leaving a well paid job and security to pursue my dream of becoming  a full time creative. So as you can imagine it has been a colourful period mixed with highs and lows. I didn't go into it completely fool hardy, I saved up enough to keep me comfortable for 6 months and within that time secured some illustration jobs and concentrated on getting my business Artypeace off the ground.

So as soon as I made that momentous change in my life synchronicities started to happen and people started coming into my life which were key to where I needed to go, everything was flowing beautifully and I felt unstoppable. However about a year in things took a downward dive and work dried up, I started getting into debt, I had to go job hunting and was applying for job after job and not even getting an interview. Things were bleak and I felt a failure. I could feel my energy changing and I didn't like it so I had a moment of enough is enough, this shit needs to change now! I started to really look at my relationship with money and tried a new approach. I pretended I had no financial worries, I bought the good quality food that I wanted my body to have, I signed up to a meditation library that I felt my mind sorely needed. I started reading affirmations out aloud every day and made an effort to appreciate everything I had rather than panicking about what was lacking. Guess what, things took a very surprising turn. I stumbled across an art style while mucking about with the Inktober challenge that suddenly took off online and orders started flooding in, a book deal I had been waiting on for months suddenly got the green light. Things started flowing again and I felt like things were on the up. More job offers were coming through and I finally felt like I was getting my life back on track.

Skip to several months later and I am back in the same boat as I was before, all these job promises that were there have gone quiet, debts are mounting up and fear is beginning to creep in again. So time for some more healing and self reflecting. This time I want to get rid of these blocks I have once and for all as there is clearly more work that needs to be done.  So I am going to do some deep work and am also looking into finding a life coach. So the first step I have taken is to do a life abundance course by Liz Barallon. I have just read the first steps for week one and am instantly compelled to write this blog post. I haven't written anything in nearly two years but I am hoping this kicks me back into it.

So the first thing I am going to tackle to start manifesting some changes is to change the way I communicate and stop complaining! Now I don't know about you but, I complain a lot! I seem to be constantly moaning about hardships, all the things that are going wrong or that frustrate me and I am beginning to realise that this could well be playing a big part in why I do have these times of struggle. So I am going to make an effort to quit complaining and if I cant say anything nice about my day to say nothing at all. So any friends or family reading this, if I start moaning slap me ha ha. This is going to be a huge test to overcome as I moan a lot, its funny because I am actually a very positive person and I love life yet what comes out my mouth tends to be negative and self sabotaging. I then started reflecting on all the people I hang out with and all the conversations that are had during the day and the majority is complaining about something, it made me wonder what conversations we would actually have if there were no complaints at all, would we turn into a bunch of mutes with nothing to say. Anyway I want to try this little experiment and see if it has any benefit at all on me and others around me as we do tend to mirror each other so I am curious to see what happens. I am looking forward to completing the course and I will try and share anymore little tips or insights that I pick up along the way when I can.

It would be amazing if it does help shift some blocks as when life flows effortlessly it is so much fun and I really want to get back on that road again, I know the detours help me grow and learn but I think it's time to just ride the wave for a bit now….. no more struggling. So can changing your thoughts really change your world? I am about to find out, watch this space xx

With special thanks to Jerry Sargeant at www.starmagichealing.com who's meditation library has helped me immensely the last 2 years and to Liz Barallon at http://www.sylaaustralia.com for offering her services freely through the life abundance course. I have already taken so much from it from just the 1^st week.

C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y - Fall Blog Hop

Brilliant foliage. Jack-o-lanterns. Apple cider. Fall is in the air! My writerly pals and I are sharing autumn moments in the C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y - Fall Blog Hop. Please have a read and enjoy. Then visit the other #Gr8Blogs listed at the end of this post for more Fall 2016 C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y inspiration.

Loving

Absolutely loving my new lifestyle. I took the leap of faith in August and left the dreaded day job to pursue creativity full time. It was the most scariest decision I have ever made and was not one I took lightly. However as stressful as it was, it is the best decision I have ever made. I am finally able to put more time into doing what I love and my art is coming along leaps and bounds with all of my experimenting. I have no idea how long this will last, but I am thoroughly loving the new lifestyle even if I do resemble a hobo most days due to the lack of makeup and permanent wear of jim jams and dressing gown ha ha. 

Reading
I am currently reading Jerry Sargeants book Star Magic. As most of you know energy healing and meditation has been a big part of my life since last Christmas after it snapped me out of a slippery slope to doomsville. It is the healing of Jerry Sargeant that has transformed my life and helped me find my true self. I was so lost last year, but after tapping into meditation and energy healing everything suddenly made sense. I knew what I needed to do, and most importantly I no longer let my fears control me. 

So much has changed this year, people have entered my life who seem to be key to my journey and opportunities are constantly coming in that all seem to be linked somehow. I just love this new game of life, it's like trying to piece together a very elaborate and colourful puzzle. I found my missing piece and now I just need to put it altogether, exciting stuff. I really need to write more posts about all of my experiences with this new “reality”. I am handwriting them all down in my journal and one day I will blog about it all. Anyway I am fascinated with Jerry's work and when I heard his new book was out I had to buy it. Its a very interesting read, quite nuts in parts but I love the unusual so it's right up my street. I am hoping it will help me understand more about it all and how I can use everything I am learning to help others. I would love to do one of his facilitator courses in the near future.

Listening To

Now that I am working from home I have been taking a trip down memory lane and listening to a lot of alternative and ecclectic sounds. I usually like my dance / house music but lately I have been listening to things like Enigma, Paul Oakenfield, Enya and a few tribal beats. I might do musicals next week, fancy a bit of Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera, although that was my Dad's favourite and might not be the most productive choice, never a dry eye when thats playing, stunning soundtrack though.

Thinking About

Gosh what am I not thinking about! Well I am still trying to get my business Artypeace off the ground so that takes up a lot of my thoughts. The latest thing I want to try this weekend is decorating candles so if that goes well I will run a little Christmas workshop for the kids again as I thoroughly enjoyed Artypeace's trial birthday party. There is still so much to do with the business but it's going to be such a slow process as the illustrating has to take precedence seeing that illustrating is what's paying the bills. I have recently handed a tonne of leaflets out for the painting party packages so I am hoping I will get a booking soon. It can be frustrating when things get stuck but you just have to keep going and think of different angles, it is one big learning curve! So far the workshops seem to be the most successful so I will have to plan more of them next year. It is fascinating seeing how much creativity does benefit people though, I am thoroughly enjoying all the experiences I have had through the company so far and am looking forward to all the ones to come.

Anticipating

I am off to Australia at the end of the month for my sisters 30^th. I will be going by myself so I am a little nervous about the flight, but can't wait to see my family out there again, I miss them so much! I am also going to meet an Art gallery director out there so I am trying to get a few story telling pieces together for it. Fingers crossed they will agree to have my work on display and hopefully we can collaborate in some way with bringing their concept to the uk.

I am also currently working on a spiritual themed range of children's stories at the moment which have been written by Jerry's daughter… see what I mean about the right people coming into your life! I am very curious to see how these books will turn out, there seems to be big plans for them and Jerry certainly is a man who makes his visions happen so I have a feeling that they will do just fine! 

Hot off the easel

Around illustrating, launching a business and the usual motherly duties I have been able to squeeze in some other artwork to keep the creative juices flowing. I participated in inktober over on Instagram which was great fun and I have painted several new experimental pieces, trying out different mediums and techniques. I am trying to incorporate everything I have learned over the past years and bringing them together somehow. My style seems to be slowly coming together, taken long enough! I have also launched an online shop through https://www.curioos.com/corrinaholyoake for prints of my work. Here are some of the things I have been working on......

Thanks for stopping by! For more Currently - Fall 2016 moments, visit the #Gr8blogs below.

And hey, if you’re pumped about writing your own Currently - Fall 2016 post, just add your family-friendly Currently link to your blog post in the comment section. We’ll visit your blog and give you some blog love!

Cat Michaels Cat’s Corner 

Julie Gorges, Baby-Boomer Bliss 

Carmela Dutra, A Blog for your Thoughts 

Auden Johnson,  Dark Treasury

Sondra Robbins Rymer Fairytales Imagery

Station Creation Blog Hop - Our Creative Spaces

I don’t know about you, but I just love seeing the work spaces of other creative folk…. from getting more of an insight into the lives of my online buds to being in awe of how the professionals have created their perfect workspace. This has inspired another blog hop between my writerly friends and I on sharing our creation stations with all of you.

So I would like to take you all on a little journey around my current workspace, going through how I have been working in the past, how I work now, to my dream workspace. Please also visit the awesome bloggers at the end of the post to find ideas and inspiration with how they create their perfect space to get their creative juices flowing.

Creative Space 1

So how have I worked in the past… well… it’s a good job I have a sense of humor that’s all I can say! My workspace has for the last 6 years, been, what one can only describe as a tip! I have literally taken over our kitchen / dining area and filled it with my endless supplies of art materials. Having a husband who is extremely laid back has been a god send as a tidy house is not something our family has been used to, between me and the kids we really do know how to trash a house in style.

Countless evenings were spent of me losing art materials down the sofa and wondering around the kitchen muttering a few choice words of where I had left the last sketch, rubber, pencil, tablet.. you name it… I could lose it. Then I had the delights of sitting down for all of five minutes and then being told someone was hungry, bored, had just been bashed over the head by their brother / sister. Yes, very hard to concentrate! I would paint on the easel in the kitchen, living room… anywhere that fits really…paint splashes would appear everywhere no matter how careful I thought I was. Yes our last house was very, very... erm lived in, shall we say.

Creative Space 2

Well last year we moved house and I had a spare room to use as an art studio but due to a complicated house move I wasn't able to use the room until last month. At long last, I now have my own room to create in and we have an area just for eating! The house is tidier, we sit down and eat our meals on a clear table and have more family meals together….it truly is a transformation.  I had always dreamed of the moment I would have my own private space to work in, but after so many years of working on a sofa I was convinced that I wouldn’t use it, thinking that it would take the pleasure of painting away, as it would then turn things more “worky”.  I think I just told myself that to appreciate what I had at the time. Well, I take back my words because I absolutely love it! I still need to put my stamp on my room, I want to dedicate a wall to all the gifts I have been given over the years by artist friends. Then It will be my little haven, it already has a lovely calming vibe to it.

Creative Space 3

I get so much more done now, with not as many interruptions or distractions, although the kids do seem to be hijacking my room quite a lot… lock on the door sorts that out ha ha! Seriously though, even the children are benefiting from it, my daughter has started writing again and my son has started doing his homework in there and even started sketching again. Not sure how long all that will last, we will see.

The next step will be to have a bigger space in the garden to run workshops, but that will be a long way down the line, or I might even look into renting a bigger space. It all depends how my new plans evolve, there are big dreams that I am working on right now. For the now I am perfectly happy with what I have got, it suits my needs perfectly. All I have to watch out for is not hiding in there too much, so I am trying to find the perfect work / home life balance.  I believe I will have this in oooh, lets say, five months ha ha. I will write a blog later on this year about everything that is going on in the background, for now I will have to go quiet for a bit while I put my plans into action.

So I shall leave this post on that cryptic little nugget he he. Will be back with more posts on inspiration, energy healing, living your dream, stepping out of your comfort zone, empowerment and taking control of your life later this year when hopefully I will have the proof to back me up.

Looking forward to seeing the work spaces of the other hoppers.

Thanks for stopping by.  For more ideas and inspiration about writerly work spaces, please visit these #Gr8blogs today.

Auden Johnson,

Dark Treasury

Cat Michaels

Cat's Corner

Julie Gorges

Baby Boomer Bliss

K. Lamb

K. Lamb, Author

Leigh Shearin

Leigh Shearin, Writer

If you have a PG-13rated blog about work space, we'd love to have you post your blog link in the comments section below, and we'll give you some blog loving!

Blog Hop Tour - A Letter To Your Younger Self

My writerly pals and I would like to share an open letter to a younger self.

So what would I tell a younger me, hmmmm…. Where do I start! I still feel like I am growing as a person but I am pretty clued up with where my life is heading now and there is a tonne of stuff I wish I knew back then! So here goes, come here my little mini me, let me enlighten you he he

Dear little Nean,

Well, what can I say….what a colourful little life you will lead! Your life will not be boring that’s for sure. You will do some amazing things and meet some great people who open your eyes to a different way of thinking. As each year passes you will gain more wisdom and knowledge, all of which will assist you in helping others. People will fascinate you and are key to your journey, and you will find that you attract a variety of people into your life with  different cultures and backgrounds, and they will all inspire you in their own little way. The child within you will never disappear, and as a result you will live your life to the fullest, enjoying every experience that is thrown your way. Laughter will be a big part of your life, and will get you through some tough times.

So what can I pass down to you….The biggest thing by far is, you must listen to your heart! You will always have a battle between heart and head but I tell you now, your heart knows so much more than you give her credit for. By following your heart you will have such a fulfilling and fun packed life. There will be times when that head of yours shouts to be heard or other people do the shouting for you, but you just have to trust your gut instinct and ignore the ‘rational’  thinking at times. It won’t always be easy and by living this way you will make mistakes, but these mistakes are key learning points. Never, ever look at a bad experience as a negative thing, these times are what makes you stronger, and what makes you grow. Things will scare you.. A LOT! But you are a tough cookie and love a challenge, so you will push yourself to do these things, because you know it will make you grow in confidence. You will always enjoy the experience, so never ever not do something because you are scared.

Your life will be abundant with highs but there will be lows…. and they aren’t great. There will be loss, heartaches, frustration, confusion and self loathing. This will be caused by a number of things, but no matter how lost or confused you feel about your life, trust that this stage is only temporary and that you need to go through the fog to get to the light.  When the time is ready it will all suddenly make sense and  you will realize that everything you have been doing is all part of your journey. You will look back one day and will be amazed by how mapped out everything has been. You will see signs throughout your life, do not shrug these off as coincidences, take note and keep following that heart of yours.

As a 38 year old woman I still have much growing to do but these guidelines have been key to my journey so far and I try my best to live my life by them.

Listen to your heart

Do not let others views cloud your judgement, only you will know what is the right thing to do. By all means listen to advice and take other peoples views on board, but at the end of the day let your heart make that final decision.

Learn to love yourself

You will have a lot of insecurities to deal with, but it is so key to learn to love yourself. Once this has been done you will find that everything is suddenly so much better  and you will find true inner peace. The older you get, the less you will care about how others view you and this is key to your development.

Learn to let go of negativity

Most of this is caused by you over thinking situations that don’t even exist. Yes there will be times when it is clear that there is an issue, but the best thing you can do is to let go of all these negative feelings. Learn to only focus on the good in people, ignore the niggly traits. You cannot change anyone so learn to love people for who they are and simply let go. If things do not improve then it is time to step back from these situations. Do not let others negativity get in the way of your happiness.

Stop worrying about the what ifs and the past, they do not exist. You cannot change anything that has been done nor can you predict the future so live for the now!

Love everyone with all of your heart

You have a big heart Nean and it confuses you at times, but just have faith in the fact that you are meant to love people. The need to help and care has a purpose for you and that will become clear later on in life. You have always known that a part of your jigsaw was missing  and it takes much self discovery to finally know what it is. When you do, you will feel complete.

Be Grateful

Be thankful everyday for all the good things in your life, you have so much to be thankful for, always remember that.

Work hard and never give up.

Keep working towards your goals no matter what life throws at you. Even if it is only a small step forward, all the baby steps will get you closer to where you want to go. Don’t ever give up and don’t stop loving what you do. As soon as the love goes away then it is time to rethink things and to step back. Take time out to take care of yourself and find the love again, when it has returned everything will flow perfectly.

Be kind to others

It is simple but so true, by making others happy it will make you happy.

Meditate and tap into energy healing!

A bit random but this will be the key to your self discovery and will give you that missing piece of the puzzle. I will go into more detail about this in next weeks blog. You have been warned ha ha.

Believe in yourself Nean, you know in your heart what you need to do, so keep following that path and the rest will take care of itself. Try not to get too frustrated, take one day at a time and have faith. Love every day of your life like it was your last, love life, love people, love nature and most importantly love you!

Namaste

Thanks for stopping. For more letters to a younger self, visit these #Gr8blogs today.

Auden Johnson, Dark Treasury

http://audenstreasury.blogspot.com

Cat Michaels, on Cat’sCorner

http://www.catmichaelswriter.com/cats-corner-blogging-about-books-writing-and-more

How a Forgotten Journal Helped Me Move Beyond a Painful Past

Cat shares excerpts from a journal written by her painfully insecure 15-yo self to OlderDarlin’ --- the adult she wished to become and hoped she would do proud.

Julie Gorges, Baby-Boomer Bliss

http://babyboomerbliss.netjuliegorges.com

Leigh Shearin, Leigh Shearin,Writer

http:/www.LeighShearin.Weebly.com

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On 1 February, two more #Gr8blogs share their letters to a younger self:

Carmela Dutra, A Blog for Your Thoughts

http://carmeladutra.com/blog-post/letter-to-my-younger-self/

Karen Emma Hall, Kid LiteratureBlogspot

http://kidliteraturetoday.blogspot.com