Life Lately

Hi friends, I feel like there’s been so much happening in our life since last January. I thought I’d give you a little update of our Life Lately.

I actually was inspired to do this by my friend Michael over at Inspired by Charm when I read this post here. So much of what he said in this post resonated with me and it made me feel like I need to maybe share more about what goes on “behind the scenes”.

When I first started this blog 11 years ago life was a little different than it is now. I had two very little boys and felt in a creative rut. I started this blog as a journal. At the time people weren’t actively trying to be influencers or creators. The blog ended up being my creative outlet where I found a love for writing, photography, painting furniture and further down the line a love for watercolors (when Conor started kindergarten). The first year, I wrote blog posts every day and it wasn’t curated at all. The writing was okay, the photography and projects weren’t really that good…but writing the blog filled my creative need an inspired me to learn and try new things.

What started off as a hobby and side thing began a career.

Now, I usually write twice a week but I’m mindful of SEO which means Search Engine Optimization. I name my photos and hope to answer all your questions. I try and come up with new and exciting things but aware that I really like our home as it is. Sometimes over the last few years I’ve found myself and voice paralyzed by trying to figure out exactly what people want to read or are interested in following me for.

I feel like so much has transpired since the start of year I thought I’d fill you in and also answer some questions. So, let’s talk about LIFE LATELY…

Do you still paint furniture? Will you be writing another book on it?

Yes, I still paint furniture but mainly for my family. I actually have a table that is patiently waiting for me in the basement. So hopefully that post will be up at some point this fall. It will replace this table here.

I loved writing my eBook and it still is selling very well. If you don’t know it’s 150+ pages of tips and tricks from faux finishes, to distressing and decoupage projects.

In the future I’d love to write more books and possible illustrate one too!

I enjoy your website layout. Can you tell me more about it?

I often get asked by other creatives and bloggers if I’ve hired a website designer or photographer. Most of the photography is my own except for the portrait photograph which is by Kjeld Mahoney Photography. My site theme is by Restored 316 who creates beautiful and functional designs for the Kadence on WordPress. I also enrolled in Julie Blanner’s 6 Figure Blog course to help me better understand some aspects of blogging and SEO. This course was hugely helpful and highly recommend it if you have a creative business or website. Luke, my hubby, assists me with some tech issues as he’s a software engineer. We launched this new layout in January so I hope it’s been easier to find things. You may also notice our site is ad free. This is intentional as I think it gives the best user experience which means I’m reliant on making money through my amazon storefront, my shop, my eBook, and affiliate links. Those are my only revenue sources currently.

I love your home tours and blog hops, will you be doing more?

I love them too, but have decided to cut back on these so I can focus on my family and my artwork. I love collaborating with other bloggers but have found it hard to balance constant hops with family commitments and wanting to become a better watercolor artist. You will see home decor posts still and I’ll be taking part in Jennifer Rizzo’s Christmas Home Tour again this year.

See my home last year in the tour.

I miss your DIYs. Will you be doing more?

Actually, yes!!!! We actually have two big projects STILL in progress. If you follow along on on Instagram then you will have seen some sneak peeks.

The Deck Becoming a Patio

In May, we spent Memorial Day weekend tearing down our old deck and shed. This was our old deck. It was pressure treated wood from the 1960s and super splittery AND the wisteria had really taken on a WHOLE life of it’s one and was such a pain to get rid of.

We ended up having Joe Truglia’s team do our patio which is finished and is a beautiful 12 x 25 foot space, but the styling is not finished. A bigger patio area means we need a bigger table. I think Luke might build two tables we can but together to make a long entertaining table. We just hung string lights out there and it looks beautiful.

You can see this little reel of the space and here’s a peek at the unfinished space:

Luke’s Tool Shed

We built a shed in a week over the summer. It was actually 4th of July weekend and Luke, the boys and I built the shed. It was quite an undertaking but we finished in one week. You can see the reel here and a peek here:

I still need to paint it and once I do I’ll have a reveal up on the blog with all the sources.

Half Bathroom Update

I have a fun idea for our half bathroom. For a while I didn’t know if we’d be doing our kitchen area over but that’s gonna have to wait now for the foreseeable future, so I plan on tackling this fun project which will have either real or stick on tile and a moody blue wall color. Eeek! Excited to transform this small space which hasn’t changed much since we moved in.

I also have some plans to update our shared office which used to be our old bedroom.

Are you still doing interior design / e design?

I’ve decided for now to focus on my watercolor art and pattern design. I enjoyed working with clients but was feeling stretched too thin to do the online shop, blog, watercolor and now surface pattern design.

Ooooh, what’s surface pattern design? Can you tell me more?

This is an aspect of my business that is completely NEW and I’m so excited about it! At the end of February I enrolled in Bonnie Christine’s 8-week Immersion Course and learned Adobe Illustrator. This class was encompassing and you may have noticed a slight absence here on the blog as I tried to take in every single class and live Q&A. I learned so much about illustrator and also about the business of surface pattern design.

People often as me what it is. Surface Pattern design is the designs you see in many places like – tissue boxes, wallpaper, fabric, napkins, melomine plates etc.

Since the course finished I’ve been creating patterns and will be launching a line of wallpapers and fabrics on Spoonflower soon. Spoonflower is prints wallpaper, fabric and other home decor items on demand. I, of course, will share this on the blog when it’s all available, but for now here’s a peek! This is a pattern I designed in watercolor using photoshop:

Here’s another pattern I designed using illustrator. It’s a mix of found florals and watercolor:

Eventually I’d like to license my artwork to companies, such as: Capsari, Crate & Barrel, Garnet Hill and Target. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I love your watercolors. Are you self taught or did you go to school for this?

I’m completely self trained. The last art class I took in school was middle school as I focused on drama in high school and college.

When Conor started kindergarten I took my first watercolor and my first drawing class at South Shore Art Center in Cohasset. Since then I’ve taken classes at the senior center and on Skillshare. The positive aspect of the pandemic was it made me SLOW DOWN. Up until that point I was busy volunteering and driving everywhere and getting the kids to loads of activities. When everything shut down I found a quietness and need to create and I started painting the seascapes. Many people became interested in these and I turned them into note cards.

Where can I buy cards / your artwork?

Well, John and I launched our online store in November 2019. For the first part of the pandemic I didn’t push our cards but as things began to open up again we launched more cards, notepads, and then the 2022 calendar. I couldn’t believe we sold out! We just launched the NEW calendar and stickers. More cards will be coming soon.

Everything is available on our website but we also have a selection at the following 14 shops. :

• Joye in Scituate Harbor
• Buttonwood Books in Cohasset
• Acquire Good in Hingham
• Board143 in North Scituate
• Lucky Finn Cafe in Scituate Harbor (gift boxes of Lucky Finn cards)
• Frost & Found in Duxbury
• Locally Yours in Plymouth
• Wish Gift Co. in Sandwich, Cape Cod
• Scout Vintage in Dennis, Cape Cod
• You, Me & the Sea in Essex, CT
• The Little Book Shop in Beverly Farms, MA
• Rainy Day in Martha’s Vineyard
• Edgartown Books in Martha’s Vineyard

I am grateful to the shops who support me and John. I’m actively seeking wholesale shops so if you know a shop you think my work would be a great fit for / or if you own a small shop and are interested let me know!

Also, I’ve learned so much about Wholesale and I don’t know if this is something that interests readers. If you’re interested in learning more about it just let me know in the comments and I can write a post all about it.

Will you be doing any live events?

Yes! I’m so happy you asked!

Here’s some that are planned for the next few months:

Art on the Marsh, October 2nd 10am-2pm between the patio of Kennedy’s and Kjeld Mahoney Photography. There will be other artists and makers including Rising Tide and Where Watermelons Grow among others. So it will be a great way to pick up some fall decor and support local artists and makers.

Hingham Art Walk, October 23rd from 12-4pm at Acquire Good. I’m excited to be Acquire Good’s featured artist this year. I’ll have original paintings and gifts for the holidays along with cards!

SHORE Craft Fair, November 19th from 10am-3pm at Scituate High School. We are booth 26 in the front gym. There will be over 80 artists and free parking. I will have originals and our full stationery line and some NEW gift items.

New England Made Show, March 11th-13th 2023 in Portland, Maine. This show is for wholesale only. It is not for the general public, but if you’re a small shop or retailer it’s open to you! This will be our first BIG wholesale show!

Will you be selling originals online?

I haven’t sold originals online but I’m toying with this idea. Please let me know if it’s something you’re interested in by emailing me or commenting below. Also, do people prefer framed or unframed originals if buying online / an in person?

Will you teach online or in person?

This is another aspect I’m thinking about. I have never taught an online or in person class for watercolor but have taught furniture painting classes at conference and in shows. Through the blog I try to provide watercolor support and tutorials along with watercolor videos. I’m currently thinking of expanding to teach classes on Skillshare and maybe some in person classes. In time, I think a watercolor retreat might be fun too! Is this something that would interest any of you? If so, let me know either via email or in the comments.

I love reading your travel posts. Will you be traveling more?

I sure hope so! I forgot how much I loved to travel with Covid. This year we were lucky enough to get in a bunch of travel.

I attended the New England Coastal Creative Conference in Newport, RI and it was wonderful to experience a room full of creative people all at once.

March brought a trip to Cornwall to visit Luke’s mom and also attend our nephew’s wedding.

July was a whirlwind trip to Paris:

On the way to visit family in a villa we rented in Spain:

I shared all about our time in Spain and more about the design of the villa.

I love traveling – I learn so much about myself and it helps me feel inspired to paint and create in our own home.

Let’s Stay in Touch…

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little Life Lately update. I will definitely try to do more of these as I feel I’ve inundated you with information you may or may not have wanted, but I feel better as I feel like I haven’t been able to share the full picture of everything that’s been going on.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, let me know!

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