So, I was browsing some "old" photos last night and came across this bedroom makeover project I did for my daughter last year around this time. 

Since before and after photos are never go out of style, I thought I would share the whole project with you. There are some totally awesome photos of the messy storage room we converted, so you can feel great about how clean your house is today. :) 

If you like that sort of thing, and want to see how I really did DIY a whole room by myself (almost) for under $200, just read here. 

Okay, I know I promised Halloween art. But this IS candy, and candy is Halloween, right?  I've ahd this idea sitting on the table for awhile (and even used it as inspiration for one of my party cups). Last night I decided to bite the gumball and get it done. 

I've loved gumball machines since I was a teeny tot. (secretly I prefer the ones with rubber balls or other cool junk.) A classic bubblegum machine is artistic, and classic. A perfect balance between fun and nostalgia without being melancholy.

Since bubblegum machines are still around, they can remind us of our childhood in a happy way. 

And who doesn't love happy?

Gumballs can also be motivational. Or at least the story behind gum is. The history of gum is rich with entrepreneurship, creativity and marketing. 

Here are some fun facts about gum, gumballs, and our beloved gumball machines: 

Are you counting down to Halloween? There is simply no way to describe in one post just how much my family loves Halloween. 

No room is safe from Halloween decor. 

Although we won't being going overboard with decorations this year, (because I have two very curious, touchy-feely toddlers), I'm excited that my girls are big enough to make a few Halloween crafts with me. 

Plus, I will probably be whipping up some spooky, holiday inspired artwork myself. 

Oh wait. I already did! 

Here's my newest creation. It's better than a Halloween decoration. Its Halloween inspired  wall art that can hang up all year!

Like it? You can get your own skully print here. 

Artwork created with help from PicMonkey photo editor. Try it today and rock your DIY Halloween decorations. (affiliate link)

The first day of autumn came in with a bang for us. Or rather a crash. 

As in, my daughter fell through one of our windows. 

The kid has some serious good luck. Even though the window broke into about a thousand pieces, all she got was a few tiny scratches. Maybe 3 little drops of blood. 

The true big sister she is, she wasn't worried about her wounds, but she was terrified that the twins would crawl out the broken window and get hurt. 

Naturally, this was after all the magic window replacement stores were closed,  so we had to patch the window as best we could until tomorrow, and reassure all of them that it was safe and secure for the night. 

It could have been a lot worse. But it was still a little more excitement than I was expecting for today! 

​Later she told me it was sorta my fault for picking the toys off the floor. If they had been down, she said, she wouldn't have been able to run across the room so fast. 

Lesson learned. And there is a great excuse you can use for not cleaning house. 

You're welcome. 

I still intend to march onwards with fall cleaning. 

Here are some great Halloween links to get you whipped into a decorating frenzy: 

Traditional Halloween Party Downloads

Upcycled Plastic Bag Ghosts

​20 Dollar Store Halloween Decorations

Sharesies: How excited are you for fall and Halloween and crunchy leaves and stuff? Do you plan big projects for autumn?

*This post may contain affiliate links. When you buy or sign up through my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read full disclosure here.*

It was cool enough today (finally) to turn of the A/C and open the windows. There's no doubt that fall is in the air. Although it makes me sad to know I will soon be freezing to death every minute of the day...fall is my most creative time of the year. 

Its also one of the busiest (and if you've read this blog, you know I'm not really a fan of "busy"), what with school, Halloween, fall cleaning, preparing for the winter holidays, yard clean-up, winterizing the house, etc. 

Still, I'm determined to create as much as possible while the mood is right. I've had to put art on the back burner for so long that I'm practically spewing ideas. (gross, huh?) 

Here is a check-in of some of my latest pieces. 

Happy Tuesday!

You absolutely need a fried egg today. 

Great news! You can grab this one for free. And it has no cholesterol. 

If the words sound familiar, then you've probably heard this song sometime in your life. 

However,  this song is the one I always think of when I need a little out-of-this world cheering up. 

Seriously...listen to it. It is impossible to be grumpy or sad after listening to these lyrics. I promise. 

I hope this reminds you to have a great day, and keep on the sunny side if things don't go as planned. 

Enjoy!

(Oh. And all you have to do is click the egg, save it, and print it.) 

Need a little extra motivation this weekend? I've got you covered! I just added this sweet set of  motivational printables to the shop! 

And I'm asking for your help with designing the next kit! But first, some shameless product description: 

As I've mentioned before (at least a couple of times), I like to combine fun art with words and helpful charts and stuff to help motivate and inspire my readers. 

I know, I know. Its not the popular thing to do right now. Everything is supposed to look all glitzy and chic. While I like those sophisticated and elegant designs as much as the next person, I just feel like sometimes we all need a dose of silliness.

Glamor is great, but sometimes it serves as an ouchie reminder that we haven't quite gotten where we want to be, yet. 

Instead I present a colorful kitty to make you smile while your killing it at goal smashing. This cat is too cool to sit on the shore and wait for the fish--she's used her noggin and come up with a way to get what she wants faster. 

I Don't Wait for Opportunities, I Make Them!

When you order the packet you get the art print, weekly dot journal pages, two lined journal page versions (that can also be used for writing letters) a dot journal page with no header, and a color-it-in goal tracker (the fish with bubbles). 

These can be used for business goals, blogging goals, art goals, weight loss goals, reading goals, even homeschool goals! My daughter loved the fish tracker so much that she printed out a copy to track her veggie eating. :) 

Want to Help Me Design the Next Printable Packet? 

What type of motif would you love to see on a set of matchy-matchy motivational printables or trackers? What other printable sheets would you find cool and helpful? Share in the comments below and get a FREE set as soon as they are available. 

That's it! I just want to know what would help you most, whether that is keeping you organized, kicking your butt into gear (gently) or just making you smile. 

Giving Back

First of the month around here means doing a little accounting. That means making sure the monthly budget is balanced out for the house, and setting up next month's calendar.

It also means tracking all of my online accounts and stats, doing a lot of math, and muttering under my breath a lot.

I'm happy though, since I sold a few art prints and items in August. We made our monthly "art donation" to charity (Princess D got to pick which one) yesterday, and my goal is to double that for September at least!

*Reminder: sales of products from my Zazzle shop with the Louisiana State shape still go 100% towards flood relief, etc. as long as needed. After that, those donations will be set back for the Red Cross.*

Organizing

I always plan on knocking out at least one big organization job in a month--and I barely managed for August. The task was sorting the writing and artwork on paper in my office and properly sorting it into files. 

DONE!

September's biggie will be sorting all the files on my laptop. Which will be a little bit more tedious and will require lots of caffeine and twice as much muttering. 

Relaxing? 

Today I did something totally rare too. I kicked off for a whole evening  and went to a friend's birthday party. I spent four hours sitting in a chair doing nothing but eating, talking, and doodling in my sketchbook. 

Of course, I will have to catch up tomorrow. We made our bi-monthly trip to the grocery store and I maybe didn't organize the stuff we bought. More like stuffed it wherever it would fit. 

Tomorrow I may spend all day cleaning out the fridge and filling canisters, but today I got to refresh my brain a little bit and spend some time not having a conversation about Peppa Pig. I'm full of fresh artsy ideas (and cake, haha)!

School

We start our official classes on Tuesday. We learn stuff everyday, so an "official" first day is just for the girls to have some cute photos of themselves. Like I don't already have a million of those!

I'm (sorta) all organized and ready. I have worksheets made, I've pinned lots of ideas, and I've pulled out the bento lunchboxes so afternoon munchies will low-stress. 

What could go wrong? 

​Famous last words, right? 

You might like my most recent post: 

• The History of Crayola

And here we have the beeeautiful month of September entering the room, already wearing some gorgeous fall colored accessories. The brutal daytime heat and some surprise cool snaps at night have caused speckles of gold and brown to appear among the (somewhat crispy) greenery in our back yard. 

Most of that gorgeous fall color can be found in our garden, sadly. 

Another thing that is sad? My Instagram account. 

I'm not sure what happened, but yesterday evening I tried to like a couple of posts and was given a message that I couldn't do so because I had a "bad link" in my profile. 

The only link on there was to my store, so I tried to change it. I was told I couldn't change the bad link...because I have a bad link in my profile. Its been there for awhile, so I'm not sure why it became a problem. I've tried to fix it, but apparently I've been spam blocked. 

I know I totally overreact to things like that. I'm always so careful not to spam that usually I just hang around quietly and don't interact with anyone on social sites. Since you are supposed to interact though...to like, build up a social presence, I do TRY to comment on posts, but probably only one or two comments per week, since I always check my account on the fly. 

 The introvert perfectionist in me wants to make everything all better and somewhat fix whatever horrible crime I committed.

 The evil overlord side of me says to just hiss in that general direction and move on to something more worthwhile. 

But darn it. I like Instagram. I just think it is insanely weird that they won't let you take out a link if they think a link is a problem. 

A Look Back at August
​

If you haven't been over here before (or just in awhile) here are some highlights from So Not Niche for August: 

Blogging Success--Writing Exercise With Free Worksheets
Self-Employment--Tips for Announcing Your New Career
10 Things Bloggers Need (That You Can't Buy)
Artist's Way Books by Julia Cameron
Cool Art Supplies For Your Wishlist
Free Motivational Printable

​Sunday already! That means a new week is about to start. So, I thought would toss this at you for a little inspiration. 

Is it corny? You bet. But its a sweet reminder too about how to regard events that take place in our lives. 

• Not all the fun stuff is really a blessing.  
• Not all the bad stuff is really a curse. 

As you slide out of the weekend and into those upcoming days of work or school, just remember that things might not always be what they seem, and sometimes the lead to better things.

Happy Sunday!

Like it? You can get it as a print on Society 6, or on  a magnet (more to come) on Zazzle, or on a variety of things on Redbubble. (journal!)

A digital download will be here in the shop soon too, if you want it faster than fast. ​

​Just a quick post today. Like many people this month, I've been checking in with friends and family in Louisiana as they've dealt with catastrophic flooding. 


I've heard some sad comments both on and offline about how it didn't "qualify" as a real disaster since the death toll was low, and there wasn't an actual hurricane. 


Natural disasters are horrible events that can happen to anyone in any state, and the victims don't deserve to be shrugged off because their disaster wasn't "epic" enough to suit the headlines. 


If you want to help, donations are still needed. There are a lot of people to shelter and feed, (and pets too!). Here is a site with a list of links to organizations that are taking donations to help Louisiana. Many of them take phone or internet donations, you don't have to be there in person. 


Also please remember that 25% of my art sales go to charities ALWAYS, but instead of dividing it this month for local causes it will go to help the flood victims. I'm also posting a collection of Louisiana state silhouette gifts on Zazzle. 100% of the sales will go to LA. 
​

Do artists still do the whole trading card thing? 

That's what I asked myself a couple of weeks ago. Then I found gobs of artists doing cards on Instagram. 

I remember when I first started seeing them, I thought they were so amazing and cool. I really wanted to get in on it, but couldn't seem to find my "tribe" so to speak. So, just for kicks, I tried one out this week to see if it was as easy as all the super-artists make it look. 

No. 

It isn't. 

And I sorta cheated here because I used a blank  index card for practice. Quite frankly, its pretty sloppy. I did enjoy the challenge of getting so much into such a small space though, so I am thinking of practicing more. 

I do think I will switch to either pre-made blanks, heavier cardstock, or sketch paper I cut myself. The index cards, while easy and handy, made a lousy canvas. And warp with ink, so not cool. 

I would still like to trade art cards, but I think I need a lot of practice first!

By the way, the art is supposed to be a lot of miniature cats being dumped out of a bag. My first "trading card", and the first time I've ever actually finished a drawing using just colored pencils. Love those milestones. Ha.

Don't forget to check out this Wishful Wednesday post, which just went live: "6 Cool Art Supplies To Check Out". 

What's New? 

I finally, finally got the first set of back-to-school printables in the shop, yay! 

This project should have taken only a couple of days, but it seemed like every time I picked up a pencil or opened the laptop, something happened that took me away. 

And uh...it didn't help that one of the girls climbed onto the kitchen counter and "accessed" my first drawings, resulting in damp, smudgy, crumpled messes. However, the fact that they have been carrying those around, loving on the little animal drawings is proof that these are kid-friendly, right?

 Also, today a new Back-to-Work Monday post went live. You can check that out here: 

10 Things Every Blogger Needs (That You Can't Buy)

We all want more blog traffic. Or at least we all want better blog traffic. We want easy ways to reach the millions of potential viewers that are out there idly surfing the web. 

There are thousands of posts and articles written comparing different social media sites and how they compare against each other. But the truth is, some platforms just work better for some people. 

(For example, I see loads of bloggers having great luck with Pinterest, but I'm pretty much the only person who ever looks at my Pinterest boards! 

I do however get a lot of traffic from Stumbleupon. But is it great traffic? I'll let you decided. I just wrote up some pros and cons about Stumbleupon for blog traffic, and the effect I see on my stats page. 

You can read it here:  Stumbleupon for Driving Blog Traffic--Pros and Cons

You might also want to check out: 8 Free Ways to Get Traffic to a New Blog

Just in the short time I've been writing online, things have changed a lot in the way of self-publishing. Sites like Helium, Squidoo, Yahoo Voices and Bubblews disappeared, and writers have turned either to their own blogs or freelance writing gigs. 

But Hubpages still exists, and it may just be better than ever. Especially if you are coming in fresh. In fact, if you are still on the fence about whether or not to start a blog, or just write freelance articles for others (or even publish your own books), Hubpages can give you an opportunity to get your feet wet, so to speak, and find your voice. 

Unlike starting with your own website or blog, it's free to join and publish, and you can build up a great community of friends. These can easily become your first blog readers when you decided to branch out. 

Want my full review of the new Hubpages? You can read it here. 

You might also like: Blogging Frugally: Tips For Saving Money While Building Your Blog

Say hello to "Brown Bear". He's the newest addition to the gallery, and he was really fun to complete. (except my hand did get a bit tired from all the fur!) 

To create Brown Bear, I used: 

• Prismacolor Premier pens in sizes 05 and 005

• A Bic mechanical pencil in size 07 mm (these are my favorite for drawing because the faceted barrels give a better grip!

• Daler-Rowney colored pencils 

• PicMonkey Photo Editor! (if you haven't upgraded yet, you should take advantage of their free Royale trial. The extras are awesome and addictive!)

​
I usually sketch right onto plain printer paper, but this time I used watercolor paper from my daughter's pad. Its the stuff from the kid art section, but its got a pretty nice texture for these keepsake prints.

And of course, I had a scribble from a teeny artist to work with: 

You can read about my process here for finding the hidden pictures and shaping them into a finished piece. 

And of course, commissions are always welcome. Just visited the keepsake art page for information and instructions, or go directly to the shop. 

I never had the pleasure of hearing "Brown Bear, What Do You See" by Eric Carle and Bill Martin, Jr.  when I was a kid. 

I found a copy in an abandoned shed (it's never a million dollars in a sack, always something like a book!) and since it was in great shape I added it to our bookshelf. There for a few months it was a favorite. 

This brown bear isn't based on that brown bear, but once I had the drawing done, the words to the book got stuck in my head, and I'm pretty sure any brown bear would love their own bubbles. 

"Hustle" is a hot word right now, and everyone wants to get in making a little side income. But what if you don't live in a place with a lot of opportunities. What if you live in rural or semi-rural areas? 

Is it still possible to start a lucrative side hustle if you live in the country? 

Sure! You just have to be a bit creative, and do some research. What works in one person's city might not work in your small town or country neighborhood. 

Want to know more? Here are 15 Side Hustle Ideas for Small Towns and Rural Areas to get you started. 

Some blogging humor for your day? 

Yes. 

Because I see soooo many bloggers taking themselves too seriously. Or worse, taking the whole business of blogging too seriously. 

Every other profession has some humor attached. Why does ours have to be so strictly formal? Sure, there is humor IN many blog posts, but its usually self-deprecating. Not really about the job, ya know? 

Let's face it. Blogging can be just as funny as any other job. We've seen weird stuff. We've met strange people. We've definitely had epic fails. 

And through all of this, there is one tool that we use over and over again to save our necks, our SEO, and our reputations. 

The backspace button. Read here why it's the best, most life-saving tool in our arsenal of necessary blogging tools: Note to My Backspace Button

Why I'm thinking about a Kindle, even though I prefer real books. 
Should  I get one or not? Here are the pros and cons as I see them. 

I'm really excited to announce that I am now accepting commissions for very special art projects. 

This is something I have done for lots of people over the years--taking a random scribble and turning it into a full piece of finished art. 

And right now, I'm doing this as a way to preserve first scribbles created by your baby or toddler. 

Browse the gallery here, for some before and after photos. 

If you would like a keepsake art print from your child's art, you can visit the shop page here, or comment below. Read more about the project here. 

Some days it seems like you will NEVER get caught up on your blogging tasks, right? Then suddenly, you have days when nothing is going on. Traffic is slow, emails are rare, social media sites seem like ghost towns. 

After the initial panic is over (no, you didn't suddenly become invisible!) you may wonder how to use this extra time in the best way. 

The most productive way. 

That is why today's article is all about getting you through a slow time. You can click here to read 7 Things Bloggers Can Do During a Dry Spell and use that free time to organize, build, and create something amazing for your readers.