Smart Creative Women

OH! My Goodness! The proofs arrived, I love them and I think you will too! The Smart Creative Women Flourish Planner has made it's way over to Amazon and it is ready to purchase!! It is just starting to show up in the searches so I am going to give you all the links in this post! Watch the video to see how and WHY I designed this and so you can see the inside!

It's a soft cover 8. 5 x 11 16 Month Planner for you to Flourish and Cultivate Your Creativity! It has back to back monthly calendars in the front and towards the back are your sectioned off places to plan appointments, commit to one brave thing a day and a BIG space for ideas and lightbulb moments!! I KNOW as creative people we have so many thoughts and ideas and sometimes we don't jot them down, don't develop them and then they get lost. NO MORE! They are going to be right on your desk, right in your planner-on the opposite page of your list they remind you to go to the dry cleaner and email a client!

You have 3 darling covers to choose from for the planner and 4 coordinating sketch book/notebook/journals to choose from. Those are 6 x 9 and have a dot grid inside for you to use however you choose. You decide what looks best on your desk or in your bag! AND these are affordable at $15 dollars for the Planner and $6 for the little notebook. I think this set make a FABULOUS gift for yourself AND a friend (if I do say so myself!!)

Here are the links to the planners since they may be tricky to search for right away. When you get it, leave a review on Amazon if you like it-it will search better! THANK you so so much for your support!

The black and White Flourish Planner

The Floral Flourish Planner (it has cute polka dots on the back side!)

The Pink Stripe Flourish Planner

The small dot grid notebooks (all the same insides, different covers) can be found on my author page!!

FYI: I went " international" on this and did not include holidays on the calendar.

I have fun treat for you today, (ok and for me) because her art speaks right to the glamourous side of me -not the sweat pants side of me!! Holly Nichols is with me and she is sharing her rapid rise, how she went from student to full time illustrator in a very short amount of time. What was her biggest key to success? Finding what SHE liked to illustrate and leveraging Instagram! I just love it when someone younger than I am teaches me a new way of looking at things. In this interview, you will hear how she went from 1 k to 18k followers (now 19k since our interview) in under a year! Pretty amazing, right? She was disciplined BUT not necessarily in the ways you would expect so be sure and tune in. Holly was one smart cookie as she went about her posting her work and growing her following. It has led to some pretty EXCITING opportunities coming up in her future! Tune in to this episode to listen in to Holly's story!

You can see all her chic work on her website. You can follow her on instagram here. Check out her unique partnership with wedding store here. Buy cute prints and cards from her Etsy shop here.

I have been obsessed with calligraphy and hand lettering lately. When I ran across Molly’s Jacques Introduction to the Art of Modern Calligraphy on Skillshare, I realized I had been seeing her work everywhere, on some of Sugar Paper’s stationery and at Great Lakes Lettering. It was so nice to put a (pretty) face to pretty work. I also was blown away when she said that when she began, she spent 3 months at 40 hours a week perfecting her calligraphy skills…what?! I had to have her on! Tune in, she is tenacious and talented and that certainly makes her a Smart Creative Woman! In fact, I fell in love with her brushy script so much that I used it for the new 16 Month planner that I am releasing in a couple weeks!! Check it out below!

This is a really important message today! I really think this message is meant for someone today. I know when I had this ah-ha moment, it really changed my perspective on my own creativity!

You see flourishing is never a part of “just you.” It is a “so that” proposition.

SO THAT people can be encouraged, gardens can be planted, businesses can be run in original ways. As a creative person, the way you “see” and take things and how express them into ideas becomes your “so that” proposition.

It is time to tune into the personality traits that are innately given to you. I believe that some people gifts or talents can lie in how they see or perceive shape, color, form and function.

I hope this podcast will give you some clarity and sense of purpose as you grow in your creative journey.

As you head out into this holiday season, I want you to consider your gifts and talents and what you uniquely bring to the table. Let’s make this up coming year the YEAR TO FLOURISH! Are you in?

(P.S. I am working on a day time/planner for 2015-2016 to help you do just that! Woo-hoo!)

I have a special printavailable in my Etsy shop, in case you need a reminder of what the year holds!)

You are going to get some rich, fabulous and CANDID advice from this interview! I knew I needed to catch up with Claudine and ooooooh, I was right! She has recently reinvented her entire business. She talks very candidly about how she needed to officially break up with certain aspects of her past career. (Just like a bad boyfriend, ladies...)

Claudine tells us about the painful love-hate relationship she had with licensing her artwork. She is really honest about her hilarious epiphany on the Super Shuttle when she realized just what she needed to let go of! This is such great advice for anyone who has felt like they needed some ch-ch-changes and didn't know what to do. You will laugh and get great insight, so tune in!

Once you have listened in, help me spread the word!

Tweet: "Your customers will show you what they want." -@claudinetweets Listen to how she has reinvented her career!

Tweet: "Through the work, the way will be found." -@claudinetweets Fabulous, candid advice in this podcast!

Interested in the licensing business? Marty Segelbaum is laying it ALL OUT for you today in this episode! We cover everything you need to know currently about this business. Why do I emphasize currently? Because like any business, it is changing! Retail is changing, manufacturing is changing and if you are an artist who wants to get your art out on product, you need to understand those changes so you can make educated decisions about your own art business. We cover they way art is shown and licensed now. We also cover portfolios, working with or without agents, trade shows, that never ending question on whether or not to password protect your art. I even ask him about developing your own audience as an artist! I liked his answer! Marty has been in the art licensing business for a long time (sometimes I think he is even surprised by it, haha!) He and his partners at MHS Licensing know a thing or two about this business and how it as changed and what it takes to successfully navigate it. Whether you consider yourself a veteran or a novice, this episode is a must listen!

Today I am finally to pulling back the curtain on a BIG project that I have been working on. This is a big step of faith that I needed to do today when I realized how much I needed YOU!

Months ago, I gave myself permission to pursue a DREAM. It was an idea that I had mentioned casually on and off, you know, the “pipe dream” kind of dream?

This is how it has played out in my brain:

1. Wouldn’t is be cool if I could... (dreaming)

2. What I really want to do is... (hopeful)

3. Maybe I could do this... (optimistic)

4. I’ll just to test the waters... (scared)

5. I am going to commit to this... (resolved)

6. Am I really going to commit to this? (er, not so resolved)

7. This is waaaay harder than I thought it would be. (where's my EASY button?!)

8. Can I do this? (poop, doubt cycle starts all over again)

9. I am going to commit to this and am even going to tell people about it. (brave, scared, nervous, excited. leave town right after I share it.)

10. Growing is a good thing and I need my peeps (you all) with me to help me grow. (relief and gratitude)

I am still mid-lifecycle as you can tell. Taking action steps towards your dreams, turns out is a roller coaster of emotions and takes a large amount of perseverance (especially when it is a BIG JUICY dream)

Tune in (and find out what it is) and then tell me if you have struggled with throwing down your own roadblocks towards your dreams!

I am going on DREAM trip to Paris this week (big-late-birthday-insert-confetti) This will be my view below! You can follow me to Paris on Instagram or Facebook

While I am gone be sure and WATCH any videos you want to see, when I come back I will be working on “listen” mode focusing on podcasts and the video availability will come down.

While you are at it, follow The Armchair Parisian, who has a fabulous new website. She is my personal tour guide on my big trip! All pics courtesy of BJ Lantz, who I didn't even KNOW was The ArmChair Parisian when I first found it!! She has designed silk scarves in the spirit the romance she has with this great city!

Oh! This is a don't miss! Calcutta born artist Nidhi Chanani runs Everyday Love Art and you are going to love her! She started her art career with no role models insight yet she marches to the beat of her own drummer quite successfully. Don't believe highly illustrative art goes on walls? Don't tell Nidhi, because she is selling her wall art like gangbusters! This cute print below just landed on the set of Modern Family. Nidhi has quite the resume going on, including a trip to the White House for her art! This chick rocks, breaks stereotypes and is here to encourage you with her story! She has so much to offer as she shares the why behind selling her art. You'll get a kick out of all her advice including, "Don't pay attention to analytics and likes!" I promise if you tune in to this entire interview, you will walk away with nuggets of wisdom!

I am mixing it up with a podcast only message today! Tune in to see what's up with that! This podcast comes from a place of love as I talk about what I see missing discussing within the creative community.

My podcast today will help you understand the truth behind the myth that someone is juggling their life more deftly than you are. What has happened in the fast paced age of magazines and blog features is that no one is discussing the compromises and choices that are made during different seasons in our lives or the fact that there are different seasons. Different parts of your journey will produce different results, tune in as I talk about what I gave up to start Smart Creative Women. Lean in, lean out-let's talk about it all candidly!

Today I want to you understand why you need to know what it looks like when the curtain is pulled back. Why women need to share with each other so we are not left alone standing in the dark, judging ourselves or comparing accomplishments. You may feel like the sprint you are running is making you weary, so today I am talking about what to do instead. Tune in for a bit of wisdom and some encouragement in this special episode of Smart Creative Women. Join the discussion in the comments!

Ladies!! I have found bliss! I am interviewing a shoe maker today!! How exciting is that! Mother and daughter team, Caroline and Catherine are the brain power behind Caroline Macaron a stylish and elegant show that fit your needy tired feet! The original idea came about when Catherine did not want to give up wearing stylish shoes when she developed bunions. (I love French sensibility!) Her daughter, Caroline set out on making the perfect show for feet with "needs." (Hello! Don't all our feet have needs?) I learned so much in this interview, even why I used to be able to keep my pumps on my feet and why with new shoes I can't (hint: it's all in the back heel height) Tune in to this episode and learn what they did right and wrong with their start up and why they have such LOYAL customers! AND if you or a friend have a hard time finding elegant wearable shoes, you might find the Cinderella fit you need with Caroline Macaron