Where do I start...?

(click any image to enlarge)

Don't worry - everything is fine here, but there's just been several things going on that I haven't had time to write about. So let me catch you up a bit on what's happening in my neck of the woods...

The image above is just a little taste of the design work I have been doing since I got back from the CHA show in early February. I am so happy to announce that I have received my first new art licensing contract from a manufacturer I met at the show!! I wish I could show you the design(s) and tell you all about it, but I just can't right now (it's a 2013 thing). Suffice to say the deal has pretty great potential and the products may show up in quite a few large retailers around the country! We'll see...  

I'm so excited, and very grateful to God for all the opportunities He's provided! One of the best outcomes of all this work I've been doing, and one of the things I am most grateful for is how much I have been stretched. I have been making some changes to my style that will make for better for product printing and more style diversity (and hopefully more cuteness!). Growing is great...learning new techniques is great...and the growth in confidence that comes from that is...priceless.

(our "Woodland Cottage")

In other important developments, my hubby and I and Maddie our dog are moving...back! We are moving back to the house we had to leave 3 years ago when my corporate job was outsourced (I can't believe it's been 3 years already!). For those of you new to the blog, hubby owned a paid-for mobile home on a paid-for acre before we got married in 2007, and it was there waiting for us when the need arose. We rented out our house in The Woodlands (north of Houston) and remodeled the old mobile home and moved in. Our little mobile "country cottage" has served us well these past three years, but it is so very far from hubby's job in Houston, and the gasoline costs are high and growing higher. The Woodlands house is half the distance to his job, so that right there will be a significant savings. Combined with refinancing and new income prospects from my art licensing and this move is now in the realm of do-able - Thank You Lord! It's still a pretty big faith step, but we know the Lord will provide every resource we need...

(we will keep the mobile home as a weekend place, and it's possible that we may rent it out at some point, but that's not on the radar at the moment)

 So, the next step after our current tenants are out of the house on March 19th is to assess the condition of the house, put new flooring in the bedrooms (probably just carpet at this point), paint where necessary, and begin the process of moving/decorating! The advantage we have now is that we can move at out leisure since we will remain at the country house during the make ready. That way we can go room by room and get it the way we want it before moving all our stuff in. And, for perhaps the first time in my life, I am going to go all out with my decorating style which I call "Colorful Cottage". You can take a look at my Pinterest board called "My Colorful Cottage Style" to get an idea of what I mean...

When I look at the board, I see a few common themes - color as well as black and white basics, painted furniture, lots of gingham, lots of florals, vintage goodies, lots of quilts, mis-matched china, a dose of whimsy, a touch of kitsch, and a ton of casual comfort. I can't wait take my inspiration and make it reality...on a budget...should be a LOT of fun!!

As I wrap up a lot of the design work that has had me working 7 days a week for a month or more, I will welcome the change of pace that will come with moving and redecorating.  I am planning to blog much more during the whole process of making out little "Woodland Cottage" come to life - lots of befores and afters, lots of thrifting finds (most of which will be from my own massive stash from my antique store days), and lots of fun DIY decorating projects...I can't wait!!

Thanks to all of you my dear friends for your support and encouragement to me in the various seasons of my life that have played out here on the blog! I treasure you all and can never thank you enough for the prayers, well wishes, and kind words! I am seeing my dreams come true and it is amazing and humbling and wonderful!! I am so very blessed...

To Do List: 1) Love, 2) Everything else

Hello friends! Before I share a few comments today, I wanted to share this great Daily Prayer for You from Sunday, October 11th... This REALLY resonated with me...

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"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:16-18 NIV

Loving and merciful God, I lift up to you today all who feel overwhelmed, anxious, and afraid of failure. I pray Lord, you would open their eyes and their hearts to reveal to them the priorities of your kingdom. As they see all that is before them to do today, may they hear your words and remember that the greatest assignment they have on earth is not to learn to do tasks well, but to learn to love well.

Thank you Lord that we may have confidence today for our future day of judgment, that you who tests our hearts, (not our job performance) will teach us to live in love. May we work to please you today-surrender our task list and our fears of failure--lay our weakness before you and receive the strength of your love. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)

(1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 John 4:12)

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These Scriptures and this prayer have presented a real attitude-challenge for me since I read them Sunday. I can't say that I have completely surrendered my task list and fears of failure, but I have certainly been soul-searching about my fears, self doubt, and priorities. Being "self-employed" since mid February of this year has presented an awesome opportunity for creative freedom and exploration, but it has also presented an unexpected challenge: fear of failure. My shiny new studio provides a perfect place to create and is brimming with possibiities, I have stacks and stacks of notebooks from years of planning and dreaming as well as piles of magazines that are chock full of would-be wonderful ideas, I have TONS of awesome supplies, and I have the blessed gift of TIME, which I have never had in this much abundance before...so what's the problem?  How come I haven't filled my new space at the shop with lots of awesome hand-crafted goodies? How come I haven't done one tenth of what I had planned to do by this point? What's wrong with me??

I can list reasons, challenges, and circumstances of everyday life that have played a part in the overall lack of productivity of late...all true and valid (continual rainy weather that ruins plans for spray-painting pieces outdoors, health scare involving my husband last week...all is well now, illustration work that needed to be done first), but really, when I am honest with myself, I see that I am actually crippled with doubts about my ability to create anything anyone would be interested in purchasing for their home or as a gift. I'm sure some of you are screaming at the screen saying "get over it...get on with it!!"...well, join the club :o) I feel completely self-indulgent and spoiled when I read these words that I am writing, but this is part of learning to be honest with myself and own up to my feelings. To get through this, I must take these fears and weaknesses to my Lord and lay them at His feet, and allow Him to fill me with His love and remind me of His priorities for me... So, I'm meditating on the Scriptures about love and fear and praying for divine inspiration and direction, and the ability to simply DO what I know He wants me to do...

I found the following entry in a journal that I wrote almost 10 years ago, and it is as true and applicable today as it was back then...

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"But WHAT should I create?  The eternal question....the answer lies not in "what" but in "why". The purpose must precede the product. Attempt to create much as you would with a friend or family member in mind. Strive to meet a need, offer encouragement, or share wisdom. The design and the medium will fall into place when you put purpose first!!"

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So, I am off to the studio with a renewed vision and adjusted priorities. God's heart is always about people and His love for them, and He has lovingly reminded me of that today. So, my efforts will be along the line of "what would I make for Mom that would make her smile", or "how could I encourage my sweet friend today"...and then create accordingly. Forget about what I think will or won't sell...leave that up to the Lord. Get out of my head and lead with the heart and see what happens...

I'll let you know what we come up with...

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Thanks for the freedom to share my heart with you...God is crazy about you and He has put that love for you in my heart too...and I am so very grateful that He has!! I hope you have a wonderfully productive week, with love as the first priority!!

Illustration Back on the Front Burner

Hello sweet friends! I wanted to give you a quick update on the illustration side of my creative endeavors. I took advantage of the soggy, muggy, sticky, warm, dreary weather this weekend and cozied up to my computer to *finally*  finish a new clipart kit for my neglected Just Bee 'n Me Digital Boutique at Aimee Asher - it's called "No Tricks, Just Treats" Clipart Kit, and it provides 30 sweet, cute (non-scary) fall "sticker-doodle" images, plus 5 colorful, textured papers for crafting or scrapbooking projects....all for just $4.99!

I also included a bonus image with the cutie scarecrow and a Scripture ("There is no fear in love." 1 John 4:18) that would be great for an invitation, poster, garden flag, fall festival flyer, whatever...

I have more kits on the way, and I'll post updates just as soon I get them into the boutique...

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Meanwhile, on the art licensing front, I am THRILLED that Universal Designs not only contracted with me to extend virtually all of our existing licensing agreements into 2011, they have also created this AWESOME collection of "Pass-It-On" cards and bookmarks for their line for Easter 2010!!  I love how they came out...can't wait to see them in person! I'm tickled and humbled that they did 2 complete Easter displays with just my art...  This is just too much fun!!!

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Folks, I'm sorry to say that I was so busy last Friday on my work day at Whispering Willow that I neglected to take photos of our space  :o(   ...plus, the space is still somewhat unfinished. If I can get a little dry weather here today,  I just might be able to finish spray-painting/tweaking some pieces that are destined to fill in the empty spots...and then we'll see about getting the photos taken. Thanks for your patience as usual!

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I can never say thank you enough for your support and friendship - I am so grateful that the Lord has brought us all together in Blogland, on Facebook, etc...what a blessing!!

Have a blessed day friends!!

From Storage Building to Art Studio

It's FINISHED!!!  I am SO happy to report that the storage-building-to-art-studio transformation project is finally complete! I have to give my sweet Hubby a HUGE round of applause and BIG HUGS for his tireless efforts through the late Spring and all the HOT Summer long to convert our storage building into a fully contained art studio for me. Wow - what a guy!! I LOVE you Baby!!! Thank you!!! (Thanks also to my Dad and a neighbor friend for their occassional assistance too!)

I thought it would be perfect to share this metamorphosis for Metamorphosis Monday over at Susan's place, Between Naps on the Porch...please be sure and check out all the other great transformations - it's always very inspiring!!!

Here's where the project began - a 12' x 24' storage building that we had buiult on our property back in February when we downsized from a 1500 square ft. house with a full garage to a 1000 square ft. mobile home with no garage...

It was a great storage building and held all of the STUFF we previously had in our garage as well as overflow from our previous home...

When it became clear that I would need more space for my art, illustration and crafting pursuits, especially now that I was focusing full time on those efforts, we decided to have an identical 12' x 24' storage building built on our property to continue to provide much needed storage, and then to convert this original building into a studio...so that's how the project began...

I have shared fairly detailed photos of the finish out work over the last few months on the blog, so for this summary post, I will only share a few highlights from previous posts as well as the newest photos of the paint and flooring...

The original building only had one window - Hubby added four more so the studio would have plenty of light...

After adding additional plywood decking to the floor, wiring for electrical and phone/data, and adding an air conditioner, the building was ready for insulation and radiant barrier - a real necessity for our hot Texas summers...

We started getting more excited at this point because the rafters, wall board and ceiling were next, which meant paint and flooring would not be far behind...

Finally, it was time to paint, and it was my turn to do most of the work for a change...and give Hubby a bit of a break...I love how the soft yellow turned out...

At this point, things were progressing really quickly and there was finally light at the end of the tunnel (6 of them to be exact  :o)

Then this past week we were ready for the flooring (easy-peasy laminate "tile"...no floor prep needed)...other than it being painful to his knees (even with knee pads), Hubby said this was one of the easiest of all the tasks and it brought a lot of satisfaction when it was done (about 3 hours for 288 square ft., and that was because of measuring and trimming). This is what we have in our kitchen in the mobile home...it is very comfortable to walk on and extremely durable...and it looks good too...

Once the flooring was down, we were ready for adding the baseboards (which we bought already white) and the corner moulding (also white). After nailing all that up and doing caulking and touch up this past Saturday morning, we were finally done...at least to the point that it is now ready to be moved in to (we still have a bit of trim work and painting to do on the windows, but that won't take long and won't stop us from moving in)...

Now, the REAL fun begins - DECORATING!!! We are going to start moving in boxes and furnitire this week and hopefully get the window coverings up, some pictures hung, and some of the fun accessories put out by this time next week.  Here's a little sneak peek at some of the furniture/accessories I will be using to dress up the studio...

This thrifted ($25) creamy-yellow dresser and mirror will provide a good amount of storage...

Big worktable from my former studio space in our previous home...

Fun yellow lamp and my kitschy 70s embroidery collection....

Hopefully we will be able to make substantial progress this week - if so, I will definitely be back next week to share the photos with all of you at Metamorphosis Monday!!  Thanks Susan for the opportunity to share with all of your readers and fellow participants - you are an awesome hostess!!

If you're still here reading this, you made it through a LOT of photos - thanks so much for your visit!! You are always welcome here at Just Bee 'n Me - I hope to see you again real soon!! God Bless!!

Introducing the Just Bee 'n Me Digital Boutique!

Hey friends!! It's finally here - my first digital boutique at Aimee Asher Elite! I am so excited and my head is absolutely spinning with ideas for new, upcoming graphic kits!! And these are not just for scrapbookers - these kits will have a whole host of uses for card-makers, crafters, altered artists, teachers, women's ministry leaders, children's ministry leaders, and so on!!

Here are the two thumbnails of my very first kit - County Fair Fun Clipart & More!
It is absolutely stuffed with colorful, fun images!

Here are just a few of the ideas I have for upcoming kits:

• Prayer Journal kit
• Back to School graphics kit
• Women's Ministry printables (notecards, bookmarks, etc)
• Recipe card and food gift label sets
• Bridal & Baby Shower kits
• ...and SO much more!!

I hope you'll go check out my shop and bookmark it - I will be doing my utmost to add new products every week! Plus, I hope you will comment and leave your suggestions for new kits to create - I would LOVE to get your input!!

Thanks to all of you for your support as I have worked to live out this dream of being a freelance illustrator. Your encouragement has meant the world to me!

BIG HUGS!!!

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)