How do you relax?

Apple Blossoms by bluehour studio

 Last week my husband and I went off to Guerneville, CA to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary. It was amazing to have the ability to unplug for a few days and just stop. Stop working, stop worrying about work and try to relax. But it was more difficult than I imagined to take a few days off. I just kept thinking about all I should have been doing...

When you own a small business, we are expected to work all the time. Weekends are always there for us to play catch up with whatever we were supposed to have gotten done during the week. And truthfully, financially, it is hard to take a long vacation these days to really get away. So what does one do?  How do you get yourself to truly relax?

I've been pretty tense in the last few months after opening up my Etsy shop. I suppose I thought it would be easier to get my work noticed. (Basically, I've been super stressed lately.) During our getaway we had a masseuse visit us and she gave me a Swedish Massage. And, let me tell you, it was great. I was full of tension, and she worked it out of my shoulders, neck and back. She released tons of toxins that were stuck inside my body, which was great but now a few days later, I am sick and have a killer cold. Talk about my body forcing me to really stop for a few days. Yuck...

One thing I learned is that I need to get back to meditating and exercising. Do any of you have secrets to relaxing you care to share? What do you do do when you are super busy and need to relax at the same time? How do you find balance...

Ahhh...Balance. Does it really exsist? This is something I need to figure out in order to be a truly successful artist. I think my March quest will be to find a few techniques for relaxation and ways of getting closer to some sort of balance in life. I'll be sure to share what I find.

Something New...Victorian Children Portraits

I've been wanting to create some children's portraits as part of my Victorian Series. These will be illustrations of kids in all sorts of situations and with one thing in common they all live in a orphanage and are dying to get out.

The first portrait I've done is of Hattie. She is 8 years old and a bit of a wild child.

Little Hattie

Hattie in a frame

Hattie Closeup

I'm pretty excited about these new portraits. Hattie kind of tugs at my heart...I'm going to do a set of nursery prints too.

Sorry I have been a bit absent around the blog these days. I've been working on a bunch of new artwork, including some custom portraits. Woo Hoo! I think being too busy to blog can be a good thing, don't you?

It is my 4 year wedding anniversary and my husband and I are taking a mini break. I'm gonna come back
 refreshed and ready to get back at it. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!

FYI Hattie is now available in the shop.

New Work...Clouds

I originally created this piece for Uppercase magazine and their open call for artwork. I will admit I may have sent it a bit late and am not sure if I made the deadline. Boo! But I thought I would add it to the shop and share it with you, too.

The assignment was "Trends: Cloudy Days". I was getting inspired by the colors and darkness of storm clouds and those days when we all need a good cry.

I was also inspired by the Victorian Circus imagery of wild white hair...Aren't these folks amazing looking?

Victorian Circus Family via BohoCircus

I hope you like her.


BTW...The print is now available in the shop...

Happy Hearts...

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!
 

This lovely 1920's postcard via Maudelynn Menagerie

 I hope are able to spend your day with the ones you love. It will be a nice and mellow one in the Styer household tonight and I am so thankful to every minute with my amazing husband no matter what we do. Here's to everyone finding that perfect person.

Today's inspiration...

Need a bit of inspiration? Well, here is a little bit of eye candy that I found over at the Quite Continental blog today. You just need to mix in a bit of Coffee, London and  in the 50's and some incredible bursts of color.

It's Time for the February Meetup!

Silent actress Theda Bera looks to her future

I must say, it's been a pretty good start of the year. I still can't believe January is over. But my month was pretty successful, I've created a lot of new work (and even got some Valentines illustrations up)and  I've become excited about making new things in my shop and hopeful plans towards the upcoming year...

Here's are some of my business plans for the upcoming month...

1. Keep adding work to Etsy. I would love to get at least one new piece up a week.
2. Make a few samples for custom portraits on Etsy. I sold my first custom illustrations last week and am excited to do more.
3. Get new business cards done and printed. This is a must!
4. Design mailers for sending off to potential clients.
5. Start experimenting with my new illustrated jewelry.
6. Sign up for a local art fair.
7. Get a more stable schedule at New Bohemia Signs & practice my lettering weekly.
8. Take a little break away and enjoy my Anniversary with my lovely husband.
9. Work on getting myself out there on blogs and websites.
10. Work on updating my blog design. I would love to add many spots of some hand written type.

That seems pretty good amount for the next month. Super busy is good, right? Here's to getting it all done. Hope you all have a successful, creative and love-filled February!

What is the Meetup thing, you ask? It is a group of creatives that encourage each other each month to make and complete their goals. Join us...it is an amazing to watch the progress of others and yourself...
Contact Liz for more info here.