Now What? The Dream Gets Real: Part 1

So...now what? I've been pondering that increasingly over the last few weeks (intensely over the last few days) as I am *finally*, fully transitioning to being a full-time illustrator. I have dreamed of this for a VERY long time, and now it's really here! Since January till now, the main focus of all my energy has been toward the remodel and the move. The move is of course completed, and though there are still 2 bathrooms to remodel, the main interior mobile home makeover is essentially done. Taxes and some other financial transition issues are out of my hair...that took up a fair bit of time as well as a bunch of brain cells. I've also done some decorating projects, because I can't stand blank walls, and though there's much more I want to do, I am slowing the pace of that as well...

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So...back to my original question..."now what?" What exactly does a full-time illustrator do...?

So far, I'm doing a lot of this...

Lots of sketching...lots of planning...lots of list-making...

But now, I need to do lots of actual illustrating. To help keep me on track, I am kicking off a new Just Bee 'n Me feature called "The Dream Gets Real". This step is actually inspired by my first-ever blog friend Holli Conger who kept a year-long journal of all the steps she took, month to month, to kick off her own illustration career. (BTW, you can read Holli's entire journal here - it's called "Becoming an Illustrator" and it is an inspirational and very practical glimpse into the real-life process of transitioning to a self-employed illustrator, and has a LOT of good self-promotion ideas no matter what your self-employment venture may be...)

With "The Dream Gets Real" I will share, as often as I have something substantial to share, my to do lists, marketing ideas, illustration ideas, business goals, and my progress towards all of these things. What I hope will come out of this is two-fold: 1) It will help keep me accountable. 2) It will provide a realistic look at what it is like to launch a full-time creative endeavor for someone who may be contemplating that for their lives.

For this first installment, I will keep it fairly short and simple with a basic To Do List for May:

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1. Create at least 10 new designs to submit to Universal Designs, Inc. (my first and currently only licensing client)
2. Send illustration samples to 2-3 new potential licensing clients per week
3. Create a new illustration weekly for Illustration Friday
4. Begin work on justbeenme.com, my new domain where I will host all of my websites, portfolio, the blog, and much more
5. Create a downloadable seasonal clip art/scrapbooking element collection for a popular online scrapbooking showcase/e-store (to be announced soon)
6. Launch my first foray into selling custom artwork online - although I am still working out the particulars, I can tell you that I will be offering something similar to this artwork below I did for sweet little Hope, our granddaughter, customizable to any name. I've had requests for these before and I think I've worked out an effective way to be able to do it...more to come!

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Sound ambitious (or slacker-ish)...? Maybe. But I need to make a real effort to get this endeavor off the ground and I want to aim high to keep myself plenty busy...but not crazy. We'll see how I how I do. I look forward to keeping you up to date, Lord willing, on the progress week to week...that will be a great motivator for me... Thanks in advance for your support and encouragement (and nagging when needed :o)

Illustration Friday: Theater

Wow, it has been a long time since I have participated in Illustration Friday...but the IF topic this week is "Theater" and I had just the illustration for it - I called this piece "The Drama Queen". I did this illustration back in August of 2006 for the IF topic "Play" and it was just right for this week as well. I generally don't like to repeat an illustration, but since this was ages ago and very few people saw it, I thought it was OK to post it again :o)

Now that I am pursuing illustration/licensing full time, I plan to participate weekly in Illustration Friday again. I can say without a doubt that participating in IF and starting a blog way back in June of 2005 (which I initially did primarily for the purpose of participating in IF), was the very best thing I could have done to get back into illustration after a 10 year hiatus. The weekly prompts got my creativity flowing and my brain and hands working in sync again, and the comments, encouragements and inspiration from other illustrators was exactly what I needed to spur me on...

I'm looking forward to meeting more "new-to-me" illustrators, visiting again with old friends, and being inspired by wonderfully diverse artwork in this unique interactive creative community!

Now...back to this week's topic, "Theater" - one of the things I always try to do with the weekly IF topics is to find a Scripture that contains the topic word and then illustrate with that Scripture in mind. That's not what I did this week because of the repeated illustration, but I did look up "theater" at http://www.biblegateway.com/ and just loved these verses I found there from The Message Bible. I hope they bless and challenge you:

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"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out."

Matthew 6:1-4 (The Message)

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If you've arrived here from Illustration Friday, please click here to see the rest of my blog if you'd like...Thanks!

"Grassroots Movement" (or "Celebrating Earth Day by Accident")

Today was a *green* kinda day at the Schultea place...that just happened to coincide with Earth Day...here's how we "celebrated" the day...

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Last weekend was a complete washout from three solid days of stormy weather, and the weekend before was Easter weekend, so on hubby's first day off we hit the yard...but I need to go back a couple of months to tell the whole story...

BEFORE

The following photo of our humble mobile home was taken early in February, right after we had the skirting installed. The skirting helped a lot, but this area was crying out for a little flower bed...

Starting this past Sunday when sweet hubby was at work and the rain finally stopped, my wonderful parents came by to help me start the little flower bed. They had given me some lovely flowering plants for my birthday, and knowing me, thought it would take their gentle nudging to make sure the plants actually made it into the ground. :o) How well they know me...

So, in the interest of recycling and keeping costs low (like zero), we made use of this pile of scalloped concrete edging that was left here years ago before my hubby ever bought the property...

This is a far as the folks and I got on Sunday...we dug out most of the grass, planted the plants, and started with the edging...that is a lot more work than it looks...the bed is actually 14' x 6'

Today, with hubby being off, we picked up where my folks and I left off Sunday...sweetie hauled the rest of the concrete edging over to the flower bed...

I dug A LOT more grass roots out of the bed and moved them out of the way in the wheelbarrow. (thus the title of the post...get it? :o)


Even Maddie got in on the act...she was supervising of course...

I finally finished the flower bed, got it watered really well, and stepped back to have a look...

AFTER

So far in the bed we've got 2 cana lilies, 2 day lilies, an hibiscus, and an hydrangea (that I brought from our last place)... I will have fun picking out several more plants to round it out and provide lots of color! The hibiscus is already loaded with lots of tiny buds and 3 big blooms...

Here are a few more glimpses around the rest of the property...


BEFORE
This huge pile of brush was leftover from the cleanup of downed trees after Hurricane Ike last Fall...and the construction dumpster was a real Godsend...we rented it for 2 weeks during the height of the remodeling activities, and it held ALL our construction waste...but ugh...it was a mess to look at...this was right outside our front door...

AFTER

When our son-in-law was here with the family for Easter 2 weekends ago, he and my hubby burned the entire pile of brush....and the dumpster has been gone for weeks...so the East side of the property is starting to shape up...

...however...we still have THIS pile of brush on the West side of the property, also leftover from Ike, that we will burning very soon...

...then ALL of the yard will look more like this...

I just love the dappled sunlight on the grass...it's such a pretty piece of land...one acre and 50 trees...We are REALLY loving it out here...we are so very blessed!!!
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So, here's a quick review of the this little corner of the mobile home...

Trashy...

...better, but blah...

...better still...but still a long way to go...

We still have to paint the mobile home and put in a whole new covered porch all along the front. But I am happy with our progress so far...the happy little flower bed makes me smile...

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I'll keep chronicling the Extreme Makeover: Mobile Home Edition process, and I'll let you know when we've made other improvements. It is really gratifying to look back and see how far we've come...makes all the hard work so worth while!!

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Scriptures for Earth Day - be blessed friends!

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"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
1 Corinthians 10:26

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"You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.
You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy.
The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!"
Psalm 65:9-13

Tea for Two-sday! Alicia & Karla!

Hello again dear friends, and welcome to another very special Tea for Two-sday at Just Bee 'n Me!! I started Tea for Two-sday as a way to introduce two sweet, creative souls from my blogroll to each other and to all of you dear readers. I try to select two friends who have different styles or use different media, or perhaps are from different parts of the country or the world, who might otherwise not meet.

For this Tea for Two-sday I am THRILLED to introduce Alicia Padron and Karla Dornacher!!

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I met sweet Alicia, an accomplished children's book illustrator from Venezuela, very early on in my blogging days when I was regularly participating in Illustration Friday. I kept being drawn week by week to her winsome, soft watercolor characters and critters who displayed such innocence, but who also knew how to have fun! Alicia is such a sweet soul...you can see it in every stroke of her brush!

I thought this way-too-cute tea party illustration of Alicia's was a perfect one to share for this occasion!!

(Copyrighted illustration courtesy of Alicia Padron)

I couldn't be happier for Alicia who has now illustrated two lovely children's books: I Love You All Year Round and The Wish Trees...both available for sale...



(Image courtesy of Alicia Padron)

These books are absolutely beautiful and the stories are very touching...

I love it that Alicia will sign and personalize this dedication card (below) if you'd like to include it in with one of her books when you give it as a gift...such a neat idea! You can find out how to receive one on the sidebar of Alicia's blog...


(Copyrighted illustration courtesy of Alicia Padron)

I just had to share this next photo from Alicia's blog because it touched me so. This group of children from Zambia are gathered around a copy of The Wish Trees. The author of the book, Andrea Koehle Jones, has been in Africa visiting children and donating copies of the book. Click here to let Alicia tell the story... I can only imagine how gratifying it must be for an illustrator to see her work being enjoyed by children from across the globe!

(Photo courtesy of Alicia Padron)

Oh yeah, you definitely don't want to miss this - please click over to Alicia's blog and scroll down her sidebar to see her Visual Stories section where she shares two of her illustrated short visual stories set to music..."Little Lost Fox" (seen on her main website too) and "Little Phillipe Longs to See the Big Universe". These are just the sweetest things...turn up your speakers, sit back and enjoy....you will just LOVE them both!!! And if you want a glimpse into the process Alicia uses to create her awesome illustrations, click here!

Please be sure to stop by and say "hi" to Alicia - I'm sure she would love to meet you, and I KNOW you will be blessed by her warmth, good cheer, and amazing talent!

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And now, I am SO pleased to introduce all of you to one of my heroes, and a dear friend, Karla Dornacher, who makes her home with her husband in the Great American Northwest!! I was first introduced to Karla's work when someone gave my Mom a precious coffee mug as a gift a few years back. This adorable mug was graced with Karla's sweet illustration of a garden angel with little flowers and seed packages all around, as well as a Scripture. (that is to this day the mug I always drink coffee from when I visit at Mom and Dad's!!) From then on I was hooked on Karla's wonderful work, found on any number of books, cards, and gift products!

Imagine my delight when Karla announced that she had started a blog!! I could now look in on Karla's world that she so graciously shares and hear the stories behind her illustrations, as well as get a glimpse into her comings and goings...and let me tell you, she is the real deal...a true sweetheart!!

You may be familiar with Karla's work from her wonderful illustrated devotional/gift books she writes...I encourage you to have a look (read details here)...they are so warm and insightful and beautiful...and they are very tactile too with lots of little dimensional extras like an envelope with a sweet note tucked inside. Best of all, they are filled with awesome truths from the Word that Karla has lived out in her walk with the Lord.

I have Down a Garden Path sitting on an end table in my living room - I just LOVE it. The gorgeous morning glory illustration below is from that book...(you know how I love morning glories)

(Copyrighted illustration courtesy of Karla Dornacher)

Karla has also created numerous sets of WAY CUTE clip art for personal use in scrapbooking, homemade gift and card-making, women's ministry gatherings, and a host of other uses! Her seasonal sets are currently available here at Aimee Asher. This sweet Easter set is her most recent:

(Copyrighted illustration courtesy of Karla Dornacher)

Karla has recently wrapped up almost all of the work on a new book she has written and illustrated coming out this fall (I believe) called "Give Thanks"...I'm sure it will be wonderful in every way!! The following illustration is from the book...and Karla sweetly shared the process for painting this gorgeous image:

(Copyrighted illustration courtesy of Karla Dornacher)

I also wanted to include a photo of Karla's studio that just got a makeover...I LOVE to see where artists create, and this room is a beautiful reflection of the sweet gal who creates here! See more of Karla's studio makeover here... You gotta love a makeover!!

(Photo courtesy of Karla Dornacher)

Finally, I wanted you to know about an aspect of Karla's life that you may not be aware of - she is a gifted speaker and shares her insights and testimony of God's goodness and unfailing love at numerous women's gatherings, retreats and teas throughout the year!

As a former women's ministry leader, I've seen how powerful it can be to have someone share from the heart about God's faithfulness in their lives!

I hope that you will head over to Karla's and greet her...she is an amazing woman and you will no doubt love getting to know her!

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Thank you dear friends for stopping by for this special occasion today!! I hope you have enjoyed meeting Alicia and Karla as much as I have loved introducing them to you! And please continue to stop by as I have more sweet creative friends over for tea...and you never kn0w...you might just be one of the next invitees !!

The No-Sew Project: Window Coverings

My "No-Sew" project is finally done - Yay! I wanted to share the steps I followed to create these frugal but fabulous window valances for our living room and hallway...

I started out with a king size cottage-y quilt with scalloped edges (on sale for $19.99) in fabric that coordinated with our living room furniture and colors....

(click any photo to enlarge)

...but I didn't just want to hang them on a curtain rod...I wanted something more substantial...something that would hold coordinating what-nots above the valance...I needed a shelf/valance combo...so I turned to a pile of scrap wood and found my shelves...

I took two long 1" x 6" scrap boards and measured/marked them, then sweet hubby cut them into four pieces the appropriate length to fit the four windows that I needed to cover...(yes, even my tape measure was thrifted for 50 cents as you can see by the sticker)

Hubby also spray painted the top and sides of the wooden shelves with heirloom white/satin finish...took a couple of coats...

Meanwhile I cut panels from the two shorter ends of the king quilt...as *luck* would have it, each end, cut in half, was exactly the right length to cover the sides and front of one shelf with a touch extra for "seams"...so the two ends provided four perfectly sized panels with neat, finished scallops on the bottoms and straight tops to attach to the shelves...


I "hemmed" the ends of the panels with iron on tape...no sewing whatsoever...

I wanted to provide a bit of interest along the top of the valance, plus I needed a way to attach the panels to the shelves, so I used inexpensive seam binding in a coordinating sage green, ordinary thumb tacks, a hammer, small pink ribbon rosettes, and E-6000 glue to accomplish the task. I folded the top of the quilt panel down to hide the raw edge, held it on the edge of the shelf, then laid the seam binding on top and held it in place with the tacks. Once attached, I glued the rosettes onto the tacks to cover them...

Maddie was doing her best to assist me with the seam binding...

...then proceeded to pout when I finally had to fire her from that task...

Once the valance panels were attached to the shelf boards, we attached simple metal corner brackets on either side of the window, held the shelf in place to mark where the screws would go on the shelf underside, drilled a pilot hole in each spot, then screwed them in place with a screwdriver...

And *Voila!* - no-sew window valances with shelves...

I've put a few items on the shelves for the moment, but rest assured I will be changing those around as I pick up thrifted coordinating pieces here and there...Oh, and I am going to paint the brown metal clock above in heirloom white to lighten/soften it up... I used bits of silk flowers and vases/pitchers that I had hanging around to create coordinating little arrangements...and as usual, I threw in a few china pieces for instant cottage charm...

This is the third window in the living room - it is right next to the "shabby little corner" that I posted about last week... BTW, I had to use a flash to get this side of the room light enough...so that's why it looks like cooler/lighter colors than the other photos...

The final valance/shelf went up in the hallway that leads out of the living room...I have yet to decorate the top of the shelf on this one...

So, here are the overall before and after photos of this portion of the living room...it has certainly come a long way...

BEFORE

(view into the living room/kitchen from the front door)

Freshly painted walls, new carpet, and my dream couch make this a much nicer space...but the windows were crying out for coverings....

AFTER

(nice new paint, carpet, and my dream couch, but no accessories...)

And I don't know if you've priced retail window coverings lately, but they are ridiculously expensive in my opinion...so in keeping with my new frugal lifestyle (and marked lack of sewing skills), this easy, cheap, no-sew valance/shelf project was just what I needed to dress up the space and add some height and visual interest...

AFTER

(the valance/shelves turned out great!)

(...a wider view, including the kitchen...)

Thanks as always for stopping by to see what I'm up to at Just Bee 'n Me...I can tell you this...I am having the time of my life!! Please stop by often because there are many more fun, easy projects coming up as part of our ongoing Extreme Makeover: Mobile Home Edition! I hope you'll join me for the journey..

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PS - there is enough of the king sized quilt left over for a number of projects...one of which will be a no-sew roll-up cover for the glass panes in our new cottage-style front door...stay tuned!!