Tag Archives: small business

bird merch (launch day)

Exciting news: I’ve partnered up with Riley Mae and Mom to design some bird merch for Riley Mae’s YouTube channel, and yesterday we official launched it 🎉

I was excited to get to design some simple, straightforward birds that are now being printed on t-shirts, mugs, pins, hats, and more.

All of these designs were drawn directly from some of Riley Mae’s photographs, and then painted with black acrylic paint before I scanned them onto my computer and turned them into transparent PNG files that can easily be uploaded to all of our projects.

carolina wren, ruby-throated hummingbird, sanderling, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern flicker, turkey vulture

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wrapping up 2024

We got our first real snow on December 4th. We were only supposed to get an inch or two, but when I woke up and looked out my window it was a winter wonderland! There’s such a specific feeling to going to sleep with no snow and waking up to this beauty, and it cannot be explained. The fact that I have a friend who lives in New Zealand and has never seen snow in his life still boggles my mind.

Of course it was very heavy, wet snow which resulted in us losing power for a few hours, so I went outside and built a little snowman while we were left in the dark. He had a face on both sides: one for us and one for everyone driving by. The faces didn’t end up lasting long (the eyes very quickly started to melt out), but the snowman [incredibly] lasted for days. He defied all logic — and gravity — by bending completely over, while never losing his head. By the time he melted, his head was almost touching the ground, while still remaining firmly attached to his body.

I truly magical snowman.

when you wake up in the night to a snowplow going by your house, you know that you’re going to wake up to something beautiful in the morning

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creative flow

I’ve been giving a lot of energy to my Etsy shop lately, and creativity is going in multiple directions. One day I’m spending hours in front of the sewing machine, the next I have a paintbrush in hand. I’ve also been creating videos to add to many of my listings (adding optional videos to Etsy listings is a fairly new feature on Etsy, but I’ve never used it until now). I feel like my shop looks really good right now, and is successfully reflecting my current creativity.

The hardest part for me when it comes to listing new items in my shop is still setting the prices for them. Does it ever get easier!?

My first reaction is to always think that I’m pricing things too high, because you can pick up things much cheaper from Target, T.J.Maxx, and Walmart (although those are all mass-produced items, unlike everything found in my shop).

But when I deduct the shipping cost (I offer free shipping on everything, so I pay $4 – $12 shipping on each order, depending on the items sold), and the Etsy fees (6.5% of each sale), and the taxes…don’t ask how much I’m left with for the time I put into my work.

Finance can get tight when you run your own business (as they are for me right now!), but this is really all I want to do, so I make it work, and I’m excited to keep branching out!

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halloween

I didn’t have the idea to make any Halloween items for my shop until super recently, so yes, it’s too late to actually have any of them for this year’s holiday. But I figured that the real Halloween stans wouldn’t care.

I keep my Christmas lights up ’til March, so I’m not here to judge other people’s favorite holidays, or how long you choose to celebrate them for ✌🏼

I haven’t made any pillows in a few months, ever since I listed the first ones in my shop, but I’m back in the zone and I have a million ideas (winter/Christmas ones are next, but I also want to do some more non-seasonal ones: dogs, cats, seashells, mushrooms, etc.).

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ugly christmas sweaters?

The newest additions to my shop are extra festive — two Santa Claus sweaters have been added, and they’re super warm, heavy, and cozy for all the cold days heading our way!

Both of them are sewn from thrifted cotton blankets and they have a true classic Christmas™ vibe to them.

The first one is super vintage-y with this doll-like Santa, holly down the front, and gold/black/white fringe.

Click here to view the listing!

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latest update

To say that my creativity has been flowing lately would be an understatement — I’ve been having so much fun making things for my own enjoyment (Christmas quilts for me and my family!), and for my shop.

I’ve started to add a few new items to my shop (with more to come), some of which are quilted throw pillows (using my new favorite FPP sewing technique!).

every color on the butterflies — including all the small black lines — is an individual piece of fabric that is sewn together to create them!

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etsy shop expansion

I’ve expanded my Etsy shop! Now alongside my classic custom pet portraits, I also have some cardigans/sweaters, and spring coats for sale! I’ve been enjoying making these so much, and I have many more on the way.

The hardest part of this entire new endeavor has been setting prices. I’ve always tried to keep my prices as low as possible (to my detriment — I’ve never hit the minimum wage mark with my custom work!), but with this project I needed to actually start charging for my time and the material (the prices are still low for the amount of hours put into them).

this long, boho cardigan is currently my most expensive piece; from the material cost to the hours I put into washing and combing the vintage cotton trim, and putting it all together. The design, material, and color combo is just gorgeous!! I imagined it being used for something special, like an elopement wedding 🤍

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8 guinea pigs

I just finished my most recent rewatching of Grease (possibly my favorite movie of all time), which may sound like a pleasant thing, but alas, it typically means that I’m up late at night with something ailing me.

More often than not, Grease gets put on at 2am when I’m sitting up alone, drinking tea, and praying that the magic of Sandy, Danny, and the rest of the musical gang will lull me to sleep. It’s one of my top comfort movies, and it usually works pretty well — this time I dozed off and completely missed Danny singing alone at the drive-in. A tragedy, I know.

I’ve hardly gotten any good-quality sleep in the past week due to a persistent (and very tickly) post-nasal drip that has me continually clearing my throat and excessively swallowing. It’s stopped me from being able to comfortably lay down (pretty much torture for someone who greatly enjoys the pastime of laying down), which has made the nights feel endless. At first I thought I was getting ill again (just after I had recovered from my previous illness last month), but now I’m wondering if it might just be more allergy goodness (yay).

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floral mirror

I painted this mirror white in April of 2023, but I got the mirror from my step-gramma…well before that.

When I first got it, it was dark and moody and rustic — the total opposite of my vibe. My room is painted a light creamy/almond color, my valances are a sheer lace, and the picture frames and many of my plant pots are white. If I could walk into my room and feel like I was living in a cloud, that would be ideal, but since I’m not quite there (I only get the afternoon light through my windows), I do the best I can to brighten it in every way possible.

I love brightness, and airiness, and open space.

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recent work

Some recent pet portrait work!

I’m currently working on a couple art pieces to donate to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary’s Harvest Picnic Gala. It’s always nice to take a break from dogs and cats for a minute and paint some cows and goats.

❤ to see more of my work, click here

❤ to order a portrait of your own, click here