Carboardaholics!

As you can see, I did manage to add all my products onto here yesterday. If I had realised it was going to be so easy I would have done it ages ago, but never mind, better late than never.

I read back through some of my old blog posts yesterday and realised I was much more curious, inquisitive and lighter when I was younger. I feel like I spend my days now writing about how much I have to do, how tired I am and how much cardboard I need to buy. Hmm. No wonder no one ever reads my posts, I should have called it Cardboardaholics, not Holaholics! 

I have been thinking about the olden days, when I had a lot more time, used to receive no emails, sell nothing and be able to stay up late and not wake up in the morning with various aches and pains. I am not even anywhere near being classed as old yet, but I do miss the drive and enthusiasm that comes with being young. 

I am slightly worried at the moment too as I damaged my thumb three weeks ago and it doesn't seem to want to get better. I succumbed to putting ice on it today as it felt like the ache was moving up my arm and across my hand onto some of my other fingers. I could do without my career being over because I have 'broken' my hand. 

I am too internally self reflective at the moment. I think I am getting bored. I probably need to go on holiday but that is currently problematic. Oh well, I have had another commission quote to prepare on Artfinder and I may as well make my calendars. I am definitely winning on art consistency this year. Things really are steadily ticking over, even if quotes don't always come into fruition. 

I think the only difference between 'making it' and not making it, is the tolerance you have to not give up. Today feels like it has been a long ten years....    

Home where?

So, the new painting is finished minus a personal detail that needs adding and it getting client approval. The new painting logo commission thing I need to do is underway as well, with round one of the potential sketch ideas complete, also waiting for client feedback. So that is two things kind of sorted.  

I have also been thinking about my calendar for next year. It would be good to get this done sooner rather than later so I can be prepared for once in my life. I also have some points with my printer that I can use against the purchase. I am hoping I will have more selling power this time with a Facebook Shop and Etsy, so maybe I should buy a few more than usual. I did also contemplate a pre-order type system so that then I will only order what I know I will sell. I hate wasting things. Even more decisions to make. 

In the meantime, I really should concentrate on putting my masks up for sale, but I am 100% more tempted to add the home-ware sections onto here instead and by home-ware, I just  mean adding my prints, cushions, cups and puzzles onto here. They will  link back through to my website, which should help their individual page rankings apparently. It makes more sense to do the thing I am in the mood for as then I will actually do it, so everything else may have to wait for a while. 

In the meantime, online Zumba is calling my name as I have ants in my pants today. It seems like my patience with the 2020 Covid-19 experience is waning thin. I would like to stop feeling like I am being told what to do all the time today!

*Throws toys out of pram* 

  

Pinch and a Punch it's the 1st of the month

 And somehow it is September. 

Time this year seems to make no sense. Months drag on forever and yet time flies by. Lots gets done and yet nothing happens. Everything has changed, but it all seems the same. 

2020 is certainly not ordinary. 

I woke up this morning unable to remember what I am meant to be doing, which seems to be a classic at the moment. I did some overdue invoice and expense admin and rewrote my to-do list which seems to have helped. I have now highlighted 16 things that it would be good to try and do this week. I obviously won't complete them all but it means when I look at my list I have earmarked some things that it would be good to get done. For instance I have had 5 artist blog posts to do on my list for over a year. I really should just write them so I can erase them from my mind.

There are a few points like this, like adding a home-ware section onto here. I have all the images ready and raring to go so there is no excuse to not just getting on and doing it. Then I can have the beautiful zen feeling of knowing something is up together and behaving. 

I am also going to finish the commission I started the other day this evening, and design the sketches for the other one tomorrow to get that rolling. 

I also need to decide what to do with my Facebook advert. It seems to be stopping the rest of the posts on my page being shared properly. A cunning plan to make you spend more? Who knows, all I know is that it is annoying, so I may pause my advert and run it closer to Christmas, or just burn it out in 5 days instead of the 88 I originally chose. 

Endless decisions, decisions.  

Lake McDonald

Today, I mostly think all the decisions I have made are bad ones! 

I think I am just having one of those grumpy days where it feels like everything you touch breaks. I have sold 6 masks though and tidied up a few loose art ends. Creating my Facebook shop the other week made me spot a few website typos and I had missed a couple of paintings for sale off the link in the Paintings section on here. So that has been rectified. 

I also managed to put my new painting online which was a challenge commission by my sister. She found an amazing picture of Lake McDonald complete with a perfect mountainous reflection, still water and coloured stones. I wasn't entirely sure I would do a convincing job of it but it has come out quite well. I am almost tempted to keep it myself! 

So that will hopefully make up for the rest of the day, that and I am about to tackle another commission I need to do! I am not entirely sure I am in the painting frame of mind, but I am restless so I am hoping it will help settle me down a little!

Here's to hoping!

Decisions, decisions...

 I feel like I am running out of time again today. I am not sure if that is because I am about to go out for dinner, which still seems peculiar, so my evening is already filled, or because I have too much I want to complete this week and I am not sure I have time. 

I am also stressed because I just created a new Facebook advert. I completed my Facebook shop last week, and part of the reason for doing so was that they would give me a $250 ad credit to promote my shop. This equates to about £194. I was hoping this would mean that I could promote each section of my shop at a time for maybe ten or so pounds in the lead up to Christmas. But alas, I had to choose one thing to spend the entire budget on. Well, what am I suppose to choose? How long should the advert run for? What if I get too many orders to cope with? What if I get none?!

So yes, this is where my brain is at. In the end, I decided on Architecture prints for 88 days, and I have literally just had a notification through saying it is now up and running. I guess as this advert is free it doesn't really matter if it works or not, but it will feel like a wasted opportunity. That is the trouble with everything. I have just ordered a lot of face masks as I keep getting enquiries about the one I bought for myself, but how many should I buy, how much should I sell them for? Where should I sell them? What happens if I invest in a load and then have 30 masks sat in my house for the rest of my life?

Sometimes, all the endless decisions, risks, ifs and buts are a bit much. Half the problem is that with this kind of thing, the rewards are not always instant in delivery. Everything is an investment in time and money and belief that eventually, I will sell everything. 

So wish me luck, that the decisions I made today, were good ones!   

Insomnia

 I really feel like my last post wasn't that long ago! I kind of miss my lock-down discipline of yoga, blog post, work and brain space. 

That said, I am not really sure who I am today. I have already tidied up, had breakfast, posted on Facebook and completed a round of yoga and it is only 7.30am! Who am I!?!? For some reason I couldn't sleep at all last night so I just gave up and got up. It should mean I can get a lot done today assuming I don't fall asleep after lunch. 

I have a lot of art things on my mind at the moment. Two commission requests pending, one commission quote out, a possible distributor of some face masks in France, a painting in progress, and my Facebook shop to finish. 

I have a strange sense at the moment of needing to finish everything as soon as possible and I have no idea why. The world's current impending doom feeling, or just guilt for half having a couple of weeks off. Who knows. Hopefully it won't mean I get no sleep for the rest of the week or I shall look like a mess come Friday. 

My Facebook shop is looking good though, it really does look like I have managed to create my own 'brand.'

 

I am looking forward to adding my prints and then sending it live over the next few days. Maybe once it is finished, I will manage some decent sleep. 

Lighthouses

I feel like I may have lied about being back in business as another week seems to have flown by. 

I have finished making my prints though, and the Golden Temple print is being delivered on Tuesday. I also have a possible painting purchase enquiry and two more commissions to do.

The timing of all of this is perfect, as I have some time, and sales are always welcome. I also just checked my website stats. The performance, and rating of my website has gone up, but the page authority has gone down which is confusing. I need to get on and finish updating the rest of the pages. It is too hot to do anything other than melt at the moment though! 

I also need to share my latest painting, which I meant to do before! So here it is.....It is Slangkop Lighthouse in South Africa and a commission for a friend. Bizarrely I used to paint quite a lot of lighthouses when I was younger. I am not sure if this is the influence of being born on an Island or just a coincidence. This is only the second 'proper' painting I have created of a lighthouse though. The first being the 'pepper pot' lighthouse on the Isle of Wight which is more of a medieval ruin than what you would imagine. So who knows, maybe this will start a run of lighthouse paintings.