Do you ever get yourself gifts? I really don’t shop often lately. If you get a chance though, you gotta pick up one of these adorable bags from Stephanie Corfee, grab it! They are super cute and just the right size. Amidst the chaos that IS Halloween, mine arrived. It actually came earlier, but I didn’t know right away! It was a quick ‘cheer me up’ when I did finally realize it was there, in my mail box.  I’m a huge fan of upcycling! It’s the perfect bag to put my favorite pens in. Besides, one can never have enough cute pencil bags, especially if they are one of a kind!

Ooh, here’s a great find I had this week! I stopped by Joanns to pick up some glue and happened upon this book in the clearance! I’ve never had a travel sized, mixed media journal before, so I’m excited to give it a try. I’ll have to keep my inner perfectionist at bay since these pages don’t tear out. Did the cover in a more abstract style to set the stage for exploration. Whatta ya think?

Here it is opened. Lays flat, pretty well, and the paper is nice and thick. Do any of you keep something like this for your ideas or sketches?

If that goes well, I think I’ll get this vellum one next. I’ll let ya know how it goes!

Till next week!

<3 Vivayne

Check this little project out. I went upstairs to fix some of the kids clothes, cleared off my sewing desk and ended up making something else too. Looks like I’m gonna have to re wash it, couldn’t get those dang wrinkles out. But, it’s not bad, for scrap fabric, right! Not sure what it would be good for, maybe a bed pillow? It’s about 18 in x 14.

Anyway ya’all, can I just tell you how excited I am? I’m on this new artistic adventure! I feel like I just can’t contain all this creativity! Have you ever felt like that? I have all these ideas, and I can’t get ’em all out quick enough. I have to admit, I have been holding back a bit. I have tons of sketches that I want to turn into collections, patterns and artworks (for commercial use), but I’m concerned that I don’t have a style pinned down. I don’t want to do this half assed.  I need to figure out my brand values and make sure everything is cohesive… consistent. So, I have been busy taking business courses, branding courses, illustrator courses, everything courses! So much to learn! Right now I feel like I am expanding….I’m gonna burst! (not that way, I actually lost 10 lbs, yay me!)

Also, thinking forward: I’m wondering who would love my artwork most? Who could I MOST impact? and… How can I really make a difference? The more I think about it, the more I think of crafters, like me. This is causing me to think about what I can provide, that would help people be creative… Or, what would enable people to hand make beautiful things themselves, with my artwork. I’m not sure how I can move forward with this AND do commercial art, but it sounds kind of fun, right?

Right now I’m taking some classes on Illustrator, something I have put off for way too long. And I’m taking the Smart Creative Women class, to help me get my aesthetic pinned down. If you’ve been following my Pinterest, you’ll notice I’ve been pinning a crap ton lately. I’m trying to really curate boards of things that really appeal to me, so I can move forward with my business vision.

Some things I noticed so far:

I LOVE:
1. handmade, heart made, special
2. anything of or like nature
3. intimate settings, ambiance, low roar
4. grandeur, massive, amazing
5. beauty, pretty things, cuteness
6. vitality, fervency, energy
7. liberty, freedom
8. playfulness, silliness, fun
9. loyalty, friendship, togetherness
10. contentedness, satisfaction
11. adventure, exploration, wanderlust, discovery
12. inspiration, encouragement, faith, spiritual connectedness
13. light, reflection, bouncing rays
14. modern, simple, eye catching
15. feelings of nostalgia, vintage, aged, distressed, of another time
16. edginess, pushing boundaries, spunk
17. strength, bravery
18. cleverness, thoughtfulness, wittiness
19. intelligence, smartness, crafty
20. soft, dreamlike
21. excellence

Phew, that was a long list. But you know, it’s easy to say, ya, I really value that, in hindsight but until you really dig in, you might not realize what really resonates with you… maybe you value Assurance, Attentiveness, Giving, Entertainment, Fashion, Health, Extravagance, Justice, Obedience, Logic, Perfection, Truth, Stability.

Does something in that list resonate with you? I’m curious to know what? Leave it in the comments below 😀

Have a fab day!
<3 Vivayne

Hey guys!
How’s your week?  Oh my gosh, I have to share this with you. There’s a course, coming up I have to take! Maybe you wanna take it with me?

So, …. you know that I absolutely LOVE to create. Well, I ran across this course that April Bowles is teaching. You remember, I blogged about her from  Marketing for Creatives, that e-book? It was the bees knees! This course is called ‘Create Digital Products That Sell While You Sleep’.

That sounds awesome, right?! Who doesn’t wanna make money while they sleep? 😀

So anyway, it’s a live class and it’s free, but you can pay for it if you want to watch it later. I already clicked over and RSVP’d so I could get the workbook, plus I wanted the reminder. You should totally check it out. It might be something you would like.

Here are some ideas on what you could maybe sell:

1. books
2. digital art
3. printable art
4. craft projects
5. instructional materials
6. recipes
7. activities
8. music
9. apps
10. tutorials

Most of you already know that I have a background creating and selling digital scrapbooking stuff (pretty consistently before having kids.) At this point, my littlest miss, is in Kindergarten and I’m dying to get back to designing. So, I’m stoked about this class! I totally want to sell some digital art products and printables, for crafting and DIY.

Yep! Love all that stuff. You didn’t know? You NEED to check out my PINTEREST and get to know me better. 😀 This CUTE & CRAFTY  board is especially great for ‘do it yourself’ ideas!

Okay, so I had to share that with you. I hope you check out her class.

You HAVE TO share what you would sell! Or…. what you think I should sell! What kind of printables would you love to have access to? What will you create and sell? CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR from you! Maybe even drop a link in the comments below when you get your item up for sale!

Okay, gotta run, but if you’re in the live chat, be sure to say Hi!

<3 Vivayne

HERE’S WHAT APRIL HAS TO SAY:
“Are you ready to make your creative work more lucrative, stable, and sustainable in the long-term? Join April Bowles-Olin for an introduction to digital products and how they can enhance your creative business. This course will show you how to produce and position viable products for generating multiple revenue streams and passive income. RSVP right here to watch it live and get access to the workbook for FREE. This post is part of the Create Digital Products blog tour.”

OH YA:
Don’t forget to follow my blog so you get updates right to your email! Right there, below. Don’t worry, I usually only post once per week and it’s easy to unfollow 😀

Just playing around with some pretty colors. I love that song, makes me think lots about life…plus it’s a good tune 🙂

<3 Vivayne

A few posts ago, I posted a cool movie clip. It was based on this quote by Marianne Williamson. I wanted to share the proper version with you. Every time I read this quote, it just touches me beyond words.

This is for all of you who are SHY, all of you who are OUTGOING, all of you who don’t want to be noticed, all who do want to be noticed, all of you who are meek. Just a little encouragement to tell you that, however you are, it’s okay.

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ by Marianne Williamson.

Hi!
Hope you are having a great week. It’s Wednesday and you’re over the hump, hurray, only a couple days and TGIF.

Today I’m sharing a sweet little fox I painted on a rock, a month or so back.  Painted them with the kids, but they ran off with theirs before I could shoot pictures. Okay, I took a picture of them in the garden and posted them below.

and here is the other one I painted:

and some that my kids created, to include a painted donut! Eeek, it is so cute in person! lol  🙂

Aaaaand, in the spirit of Foxy Rocksie, I leave you with this link: FOXY LADY

<3 Vivayne

 

Aren’t these flamingos beautiful. I pulled these pictures from my Pinterest board to show you how much I love them and share some memories with you.

When I was a child, we would go to Disney Land the San Diego Zoo often. The first thing we would see, when we walked in, was the flamingos and their beautiful grey babies. It became a sort of tradition and they remind me of good times growing up.

I just love the baby flamingos, they are so adorable! Also, I just love the colors in the photo below, aren’t they gorgeous! Do you have a childhood memory, that makes you feel nostalgic when you see a certain animal?? Please tell me below in the comments 🙂

♥ Vivayne

Hi!

Hope you’re having a fab week. Either way, you HAVE to watch the video clip below!

But first, I need to ask you a favor! Please, if you could, take the time to vote for my GOOD friends who entered into a contest of over ONE THOUSAND entrants, creating art, under a specific brief. They made top 50!! It was amazing that they all made it through the first round, but please help them along to the next! I have submitted my email before to this site, they send aprox once per month and it’s usually just showing off adorable art! Also, easy to unsubscribe!

Please click the photos below to TOSS YOUR VOTE IN THE HAT and enter your email address to vote for them. You get 5 votes for each email address! I do hope you can help them out!

 

On another note, I just love this movie clip:

It further explicates what I was talking about in the blog post, Let it Shine.

‘It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us’ ~Coach Carter Clip (CLICK TO TWEET)

 

Hope you have a fabulous week.
<3 Vivayne

Hope you are having a great week. I just wanted to share my latest design with you. I named it Wild Abandon. The reason? All care has been thrown to the wind, for a fun and explorative graphic look at different animal prints, all mixed together. As you can see, from the different color palettes, it has been fun to play around with the colors too.

I really couldn’t pick a favorite, so you have to tell me if you have a preference, in the comments, below!?!  Back to “Wild Abandon,” I love that saying….

When was the last time you did something with wild abandon?? (CLICK TO TWEET)

When was the last time you were free spirited, care free and brilliantly you? (CLICK TO TWEET)

When was the last time you did something (besides eating, lol), without restraining yourself ?Yep, I just went there, haha…..

And I don’t mean Wreckless Abandon, that’s easy! haha. Have you danced in the rain? Went down a kids slide? Rolled down a grassy hill? When was the last time you said, screw society, I think I’ll have a little fun!?!  YES, I really want to hear from you, down there, in the comments.

My challenge: I’m a big girl.  I thank my precious children for that, lol… Working on it, but in the mean time, I say screw society, I’m still gonna have fun, in a bathing suit, with my kids, even with aaaaall this goodness, haha… so there 🙂 I hope whatever is holding you back today, you will have that same spunk!

 

Have a fab week. See you next Tues!

<3 Vivayne

p.s. I post weekly, so if you would like it delivered right into your email, click the follow button that is right below this post. If once per week is too much for you, it’s super easy to just unfollow….  And don’t forget to comment below! YES, I really do want to know, what you have done with ‘Wild Abandon’ lately!