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We shifted the old futon out and I began reorganising my books. And stuff. 



The first day was complete carnage. 

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This year, like many others, has carved new paths in my art career. I have two fairs now under my belt, Times of Future Past (a Cos-Play faire) and the Iowa Metaphysical Fair. All thanks to an amazing woman named Lisa, who has taken me under her wing in the affairs of selling your work at a craft fair.

I will also be at the World of Faeries Fair in Illinois this August, having been invited from the Times Faire. AND there is the possibility of doing two more fairs before the end of the year!

I have also committed to submitting my work to three SciFi Fantasy conventions; DemiCon, which was this past May; CONvergence in July, and ICon (Iowa Icon) in October.

It is crazy to think that I would be setting up tables and doing in person selling. I have been selling online for over 10 years because of my fear of small talk. Yet, I found selling in person rewarding in a new way...I got to meet the people, and they got to meet me!

I had a couple customers say they had either seen my work or bought my work online, and now they got to meet me! I would be so excited if I could do that with an artist I admired.

Once the weekend was over, I came home to this, the reality of life in the art studio. I too am a huge fan of looking at artists' studios....so preen and airy. But I fear in real life, it's a bit more like this....more often than not.

This Friday, June 12th, I will be having my second EVER flash sale. How many times until it becomes tradition? Well, I plan to have one every six months to help clear things out. So far, here are some peeks into what I have going up on the site.

What's different about this flash sale is it'll be on my website, www.sarabillustration.com, and everything will be listed at the exact same time. The page will go live at 3pm CST. There will also be special "peek a boo" items that will not be advertised, but available during the sale as well. 

So mark your calendar, set a reminder on your phone, tac up a sticky note, and get ready for a week of sneak peeks, and a fun sale at the end of the week! What a great way to start the weekend. :)

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End of the week, and believe it or not, this is when things get real busy. Our weekends are usually socially full with friends, family, and yard work. So on Friday I try to get one more big push to paint or draw.

Everything else typically gets pushed to Monday. Because of our weekend schedules working on Saturday or Sunday nights becomes quite difficult, so it becomes easier to just not work and give my loved ones my attention.

It was mentioned on Twitter that I create a fairy delivering coffee. I couldn't let it go, being a big coffee person myself, and on a weekly basis wish there was a coffee delivery service here in Des Moines. At that, I just got started and let other projects go to the side. When you feel it, you must go with it. That's how you know it's from the heart. :)

It wasn't raining either, so Norah and I did some errands to Hobby Lobby, Target, then some weeding out back to get some vitamin D. Loved watching her play in the dirt (helping mom weed) and pick dandelions.

I worked on the coffee fairy during her morning nap (2.5 hours) and in the evening (2 hrs). Brian and I finished the night off with an episode of Dr. Who. ^_^

Have a great weekend!

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As I grow older, and spend more time finding my true heart, my true spirit, and how to reign in all of the emotions I was gifted (yes, I believe they are a gift, not a curse), I have discovered how important it is to take time away from it all.

All of it. Shut off, close the door, sleep, and rest.

I fly so much, so often, that I always forget to stop and take a rest, and then the emotions take over and I have no control because I'm too tired. By taking a break, I regain my energy and my mental stability. It seems so simple, but so hard to do!

Every week it's a different day, but at least one day a week I give it up and just rest. It always looks different in how I rest too, but the important thing is to allow my mind a break from the "to do" list and the weight I place onto my shoulders in serving others, work, and realizing my responsibilities will still be met the next day.

Thursday, today, was my day. Last night was a deep, dark night within my heart, and when I was given the opportunity to have time alone from caring for Norah, and with hubby at work, I laid down and slept all afternoon, 3 hours! This time renewed my sore heart, gave my brain a break from all of the chatter, and my body time to heal.

As a creative soul, an introvert, a mom, a wife, a friend, and care taker of our home, I need to step away and rest. We all need this, and it is why I have been commanded to. Out of love for my soul I was told to take a day of rest.

It truly does amazing wonders when you allow yourself to be FREE from this world, and FREE to roam the heart and breath given to you. The day continues, life doesn't fall apart when we aren't attentive to EVERYTHING, ALL the time. I need that reminder, or this world will run me, instead of me running me as I walk this world.

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Made it to the middle of the week, and we're all still alive! Norah is getting some rest, and hubby stayed home, now sick too. Thankfully, I still haven't been hit with it, just a scratchy throat and runny nose..... allergies?

Wednesdays I try to make into web work days and painting if I can squeeze it in. I work on my Etsy shop if it needs attention, my personal website, and the Iowa Watercolor Society website...which I volunteer my time to do.

Today it was updating my Etsy shipping profiles to now allow calculated shipping costs. Yay! I really hate over charging people for shipping, and now I don't have to worry. Thank you Etsy.

I have also discovered today that I may need to invest in covered trash baskets.  >_<

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Monday officially sets the week in motion, and by Tuesday, I feel like I can best determine what kind of week it's going to be. Granted, things unexpected always happen, but this week Norah has a cold, which means a lot of play and a lot of snuggles. I need to keep my to do list simple and not expect to get everything done.

If she has a cold, I'm not too far from one, so self care (napping when she naps, eating well, etc) is just as important for me too.

Today I'm excited because I get to paint three lovely ladies sipping tea. I was going to do coffee (since I'm a coffee fanatic), but I wouldn't have been able to draw the wee tea flags that I adore so much. ^_^

Tuesdays are a day for creating. I do my best to reserve this day for painting or drawing. Sometimes if I am able, I will paint or draw Monday night to gear me up for Tuesday. Somehow that works for me.

Last night I was able to put 4 hours in (!!!) and got some Christmas art finished, and today is the reward by painting something fresh and new!

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I am always wondering how other artist moms, especially those with toddlers do it. This is my attempt to document what a week in my studio looks like on a day to day basis (thought I didn't have enough projects going).

MONDAY

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How much emphasis should be put on a productive working space? Personally speaking, the productivity and enthusiasm for the next 8-16 hours is greatly affected by my environment the moment I step into my studio. I can chug along, pushing through the day amongst disorganised chaos or be totally fired up, energised and extremely focused in an environment that is suitably balanced. My environment

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From back left to right: My reading/prayer corner; a place I really treasure. My office where I do all things Internet related. The easel is one of 2 I use in my studio. I have a box easel for field painting too hiding behind my chair. The tale in the foreground is where I do my drawing, watercolour and mixed media work. I had a request to see my studio space and you are seeing it after a BIG

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