Encouragment Monday #3

Encouragment Monday #2

So hard.. and yet, so helpful!

What i LOVE Friday! - Lisa Congdon

Happy Friday!!

On Fridays I'll be chatting about things i Love aka things i think YOU'LL love too! Sometimes it might be a funny video to bring you joy [like in my newsletters] or someone i think is  AWESOME .

 It seems like it would make COMPLETE sense to talk about one of my favorite artists for the first 'i LOVE Friday!' so I'd like to introduce you to Lisa Congdon![although I'm sure most if not all of you know of her already!]

 

 Lisa is a lady of many trades! She paints abstract paintings, she does hand lettering, she's licensing her work, she teaches, and she's a great speaker - She's genuine and has a sweet voice. I've heard her lectures twice already, and i can't wait for the next one!

The internet is a place where it's so easy to feel inadequate because of how "perfect" everything is: the perfect studio, or cooking experience. Kids that look like they came from a catalog, and a house that's decorated to a Tee. One of the main things i want people to see about my journey is that it's NOT perfect. I didn't spend 40 minutes making my breakfast look like a magazine made it for me, ill just share it and hope that it inspires people the way it is. 

And that's why my ALL time FAVORITE reason i love Lisa so much, is that she is insanely honest on her blog. She doesn't make everything perfect. She shares her struggles, her anxieties, and her progress in a way that makes you realize she's a real person. 

Take a look around her website, her blog. Count how many different types of work styles shes has! It's amazing. :)

I hope you had an inspired Friday friends!!

-Jenipher

I'm teaching a class!! Yay!! :D

Hooray! Happy Wednesday friends! Today [and on Wednesday's] I'm going to tell you about the fun new things in Nightly Doodles land! I've been slacking telling you things AS they happen, so lets start NOW! :D

 

 

I'm teaching an doodle journaling class in Manhattan on October 1st, [eek!] and wanted to personally invite you all to come! There will be watercolors, and micron pens and experimenting galore!!

The class will be at an adorable little shop called "the Ink Pad" in Chelsea. It's going to be super laid back and fun, and the Ink Pad is just the CUTEST!!

I truely hope if you live near by you can come!! 

Have a beautiful day!

-Jenipher

Monday Encouragement! #1

I've been thinking about blogging consistently for YEARS. Years!! Isn't that crazy?! And it's time! For now, until the end of the year, my goal is to blog at least 2-3 times a week. Wish my luck!!

To get rid of the MOODY Monday's I'll post a happy, encouraging doodle, starting with RIGHT NOW! On Wednesday i'll share what will be in store for that day of the week. Hooray!

Have a beautiful day friends!

-Jenipher

Finding a moment to BREATHE.

Good Golly! 

Holy August?? Where did it go?! 

Hello September.

Hello end of Summer. [hooray!]

Hello cooler weather, pumpkins and warm cozy drinks.

My Favorite. :)

I'm finding lately in the hussle and bussle of life, that it's harder and harder to just take a moment to BREATHE. For me it's taking a moment to sit with a warm beverage [even in summer!], often a treat and my sketchbook. To jot down what the daily anxiousness's are, and to randomly make to-do lists to get things out of my head. [even though i already have them on my list at home!]

However that looks for you...i ENCOURAGE you to take a few moments for self care everyday. It really does make ALL the difference!!

My 'self care' has been watercoloring. :)
 

How about YOU? What can YOU do today to take care of yourself?

-Jenipher

Watercoloring, to-do lists, and ALL that Jazz!

Holy August!

Lately I've been struggling with super long SCARY to-do lists, and trying my best to catch up with all the things i feel like i 'should' be doing more often... like blog. It makes my heart sad b/c i really DO want to blog more consistently, but other things that need to be done ASAP come up and blogging gets set to the back burner. 

But on the BRIGHT side.. I've been working on an all new "30 Days of Doodles" and it's ALL original watercolor doodles. I'm OVERJOYED and have been happily working on it nightly. It's going to be so encouraging and beautiful and lovely! I would love for you to join me on this 30 days of encouragement if you're interested. :)

I'm going to keep most of them a secret until the launch but here is one of my recent ones on the front page of Women You Should Know's website.Yay!

Today i will CELEBRATE that i got a WHOLE blog post done!! [something off my to-do list! hooray!] ;)

What can you CELEBRATE that you got done today??

-Jenipher

Rest is IMPORTANT to FLOURISH.

Hi friends!! It's been a WHILE!

I just got back from Florida. I was visiting my family, and had the pleasure to 'meet' my nephew! Yay! 

While i was there, computer-less, i spent a majority of my time exploring my creativity in ways i don't often allow myself to do here in NY. My mom bought me a NEON EXPLOSION of fun crafty things! [sharpies, colored pencils and the COOLEST pencil pouch i've ever seen!!]

I spent time hugging doggies [they have three] and swimming everyday. I learned that computer FREE days are so IMPORTANT. I spent a lot of time just being with friends and family, but i spent a SIGNIFICANT amount of time writing, drawing, and coming up with new designs, and planning my current and future projects.

It's funny.. as artists we wish we had the time to work more on crafty things and less on business things... but this past week I learned that spending a TON of time using your right brain is EXHAUSTING. I guess the balance is okay for now... [even if i still wish i allowed myself to be crafty more often]

All and all it was a good trip and a good reminder how IMPORTANT rest is for not only my body, but for my career too!

Is there anything you've learned [about yourself] recently? I'd LOVE to hear about it! :)

Happy Wednesday friends!!

-Jenipher

It's time... to Believe in YOURSELF.

Dear Friend,

There are going to be moments where you heart will SOAR, the creativity will FLOW and JOY just oozes out of you. But often, bumps in the road will hit you when you're not expecting it, and when it does, i want you always Believe in YOU. 

There will be people who will support you along the way in your journey, but there will also be people who just think you're crazy. Sometimes, these people will be the ones closet to you, and like a quick rip of a bandaid...that will hurt the most.

During these hard times, it's MOST important that you BELIEVE IN YOU. Through thick and thin, believe in YOU. YOU can do this. YOU have things under control, even when you don't feel like you do. I have faith that things will all work out... in time. And BRAVE you.. you will PUSH through the hard times, because deep deep down inside... you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  

And on those days when it's hard, and you don't seem to believe in yourself.. take a moment, please take JUST a moment... to sit and breathe... and relish in the fact that you GOT this!!! In time... you SO got this!!!!

I hope you're having a BEAUTIFUL day dear Friend.

- Jenipher

Psuedo Cherry Pie + Giveaway WINNER! :D

For the last few weeks i've been CRAVING cherry pie. Like HARDCORE, craving it. Without having time to really make one from scratch [and not wanting to buy a meh piece of pie] i randomly thought of a pseudo version!!! 

AND IT'S DELICIOUS! 

So delicious that i eat it almost every day, and since it's healthy, i don't even feel guilty for having 'pie' everyday!! YAY!

You just mash up a graham cracker or two in a bowl with your fingers, add some honey, and spoon over some thawed frozen cherries. Stir Stir Stir and BAM! Amazing dessert that doesn't give you guilt. It's amazing!! 

A few weeks ago i asked YOU to tell me your favorite WEIRD super power, and a lot of you did! [either here, or on my other blog or Nightly Doodles Facebook page!] THANK YOU! 

And the winner is.... Angie!! Yay! Congrats lady!! I'll be emailing you today and James will be sending you your book shortly!

I hope you're all having splendid day friends! Doing anything fun? I hope so! :)

-Jenipher

Have a beautiful [not mundane] Monday!

I hope you are having a MAGICAL Monday!!

Here in Nightly Doodle land I'm having one of those days where I end up doing household tasks to ignore all the other tasks i have to do.

You know those days? 

There are SO many exciting things to do, and so many mundane things to do, that i feel caught in the middle sometimes.

Alas, putting on a movie [Today is a Kristen Wigg one!] and just DOING THINGS is how it's just going to be. Perhaps creating a new #CollegeMonster will help speed up the process... [actually, i'm so excited at the thought i better get to work!] Ha.

^This^ friends..is my new obsession! I call them Collage Monsters!

Perhaps making a collage monster yourself will help YOUR day too!

-Jenipher :) 

Happiness = a COLORFUL week.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know that this past month was a pretty hard time for me. BUT, this past week I felt a GIANT weight was lifted off me, and things were falling into place! :)

Last week was TREMENDOUS! I decided last week something i've been debating for YEARS... 

I'm going to take part in National Stationary Show 2015!!! Eeek!! And the funny part was that during the last few hard weeks when i was ignoring my actual work, [making a new logo, buying new colored envelopes] i was actually doing things to prep for NSS and i didn't even know it! Crazypants!

Other then that BIG decision, i spent extra time doing things that truly MATTER last week.. instead of just working all the time!! Boy had off from work for the Jewish holiday [and we had Cheesecake to celebrate!!] and there were lots of picnics and parks involved. All and all it was a SUPER great week! AND! I had SO MANY incredible posters last week for the #DoodleDream blog party!! Holy COW. It's such an honor. It really is!! 

I hope you're having a GRATEFUL week friends.

-Jenipher 

It's TIME for a GIVEAWAY!

It's time to share the love! And to give away a book!! Just comment below and tell with the COOLEST weird SUPER POWER you'd like to have!  Here I'll start!! I want the ability to shoot sheep out of my hands if i want to! So many friends to cuddle with afterwards! 

Yay!!

-Jenipher

Living LIFE with Body Image ISSUES.

Holy cow! It's week four already! Oh how time flies. This week is the glorious topic of body image!

It's funny... if i go through this blog from the last 6 years i have posted SO MANY super honest, raw posts about my battles with depression, anxiety and an eating disorder. Thinking about this now, it's NO WONDER i wrote a book about these SAME issues. :)

Here is a post i made on March 10th, 2011

" The worst worst WORST part about seeking help for my eating issues is finally truly realizing that binge eating WONT make me feel better...and starving myself afterwards is not correct 'punishment procedure' after a binge.

My coping mechanism for ANYTHING at all has always been eating, including right now. Consuming way more cookies then deemed necessary after eating a large meal i didn't even enjoy, doesn't logically make sense. ...Which is VERY interesting considering how logically i live my life is most other manners.

Could you IMAGINE how much we could do if we didn't feel any hindering emotions? If we didn't feel lonely, unworthy, over weight, 'stupid', inadequate? It sounds glorious doesn't it?

Now a days as I'm eating, I'm constantly aware that food won't change these horrid feelings; which in essences, takes away even the smidgen of 'happiness' that i used to feel from binge eating.

Add to the fact that there is NO REASON to stave myself or even take 'punishments' for my 'bad [eating] behavior'. All of this new reflection, awareness and change makes me feel like I'm drowning in a new way I've never felt before.

Coping, escapism, growing, learning, asking for help... My life right now is especially hard in ways I've always felt and never concurred.

There are days when i don't feel like it's going to get any better...that I've ever going to fully feel alive... but I'll just keep on swimming. The current has to slow down a little bit along the way, so i can at least coast until the next larger waves break.

Honestly and Sincerely,
Jenipher "

I also found this one on my blog a few months later about being THANKFUL for my hair after my eating disorder.

It's really crazy pants how much i LOVE food now, and just a few years ago i didn't ALLOW myself to enjoy food...

But alas! I am SO GRATEFUL i am able to enjoy food now! Yay progress!! 

-Jenipher

Friendship, NSS, and Being awkward, Oh my!

I spent this past Monday walking the National Stationary Show and Surtex, and it started off as a super anxious day. You wouldn't think walking an INSPIRING show you might want to do some day would bring you anxiety, but as someone who always feels 'not good enough' and like a burden.. walking a show full of talented, driven people showing their colorfully incredible work is intimidating as heck!!!  

And at the beginning, i stayed scared, walking about, babbling about cats to anyone who would listen.. which HOLY CRAP, almost ALL of these photos are of cats, i just realized I'm INSANE. But alas, i found my friend Jennifer, or actually she found me... because of my cat shoes i instagram'd that morning [oh the irony!] And the day got a little better!

At one point I was walking through a row and someone calls out "I know you! You're an Instagram celebrity!" Low and behold, it's THIS stellar lady, @lovejaccards!! 

She found me last year on Instagram by reading the same magazine I read! Lol amazing right?? We chatted and then I continued down the row to be stopped TWO more times!! All starting the same way.. "Hey! I know you!" It was indeed crazy, and wonderful and I bet Jennifer thought I was quite popular even though I'm pretty much an introverted hibernating (in my studio) artist. 

After a few hours at the show, and a while at a tea house to decompress, i had dinner with 27 other incredibly talented women!!  And even though i'm pretty nuts, and have a cat obsession... I spent the evening being 100% myself. My weird, quirky, bouncy human self, and you know what? They liked me!!!! How AWESOME is that? 

So moral of the story is be yourself, and hopefully some people will like you... YAY!!

Happy Wednesday Friends!!

-Jenipher

Rachel, Jaclyn, and Bee and Jen share about being YOURSELF. :)

Ahhh so many talented friends i have!!
I asked four friends to draw doodles for "beeee yourself' week and look at all the goodness i was sent! :D

My talented friend Jennie writes... "The tortoise and the hare is for 'be yourself' because when I was starting senior school at age 11 I couldn't read.  I was bullied because I was in the divvy group and you know what.......I caught up and overtook all those who bullied me in the end.  So the tortoise and the hare mean don't worry, you'll get there."


^ Bee Brown ^

click to read her full post :)


^ Confetti Monster ^


^ Rachel Olsen ^

Hooray! I can't believe "Being Yourself" slipped away from me so quickly! 

Next week is a tricky week!

Are you ready to be SAD with us?!?

Love, Jenipher 

Being Yourself is HARD WORK.

I'm not gonna lie... this week was a really hard one for me, and instead of being ANGRY at myself for not posting such pretty doodles people sent me, or to bash myself for not even posting my OWN blog post, i'm just going to tell MYSELF {and YOU} that it's okay... and i'm PROUD of you for taking time to feel better before posting.

As a work-a-holic i tend to FORCE myself to work even when i'm nearly in tears from anxiety. And this week, i didn't. I embraced {being myself}... my anxious self, and did 'fun' things that mean boss lady Jenipher never lets me do... like making art!!! Any art i wanted! [which happened to be work for my business but i still let myself choose!]

Your rest might look like a nap, or it might look like a walk, or even an art project. Any of those sound lovely! 

So... if 'being you' is tiring sometimes.. If you work yourself to the bone.. if you STOP yourself from having fun sometimes, i am GIVING YOU permission to JUST REST. 

Happy Thursday my beautiful friends,

-Jenipher :)

Jennifer Orkin Lewis {doodles} about feeling isolated.

Today's doodle is from my talented friend Jennifer Orkin Lewis. I am CONSTANTLY in awe of Jennifer's work. She paints masterpieces every morning in just 30 minutes and it's a delight to see them on my Instagram feed!

"I remember this sense of isolation in high school. Believe in who you are and be true to yourself. It'll {all} be OK."

Until tomorrow...

Don't LOSE Hope!

-Jenipher

Lets be UNpopular this Friday Morning!!!

Today's doodles are from the Super Awesome Confetti Monster, and Kerry Batty. Both ladies are posting more on their own blogs, but i wanted to give you a HEAD START to be inspired this morning! :)

^ Confetti Monster ^

Kerry says "In the 7th grade I got some of the best advice I ever had in my young life:

One day, you won't know any of these people. Maybe 1 or 2 of them. Your lives will move on & so will theirs. So don't worry about their bullsh*t. 

That came from my step-mom. If it had come from my parents I might have ignored it, so if you are an aunt/uncle/step-parent/person on the periphery of a young person's life, you are in a unique position to make an impact. Know that kids they are listening to you. Her words seemed a little long for a blog graphic but I felt they could be summed up by something my grandmother used to tell me all. the. time. This too shall pass. We all know that nothing is permanent - even if it feels like it."

There are THREE more posts happening this week, and i can't wait for you [and me!] to read them!! Yay! 

Next week is "Be YOURSELF" week and BOY do i have a lot of amazing contributors! Yay!!!

Have a great weekend!

-Jenipher

Top things i learned AFTER opening an Etsy Shop!

One of my best friends texted me yesterday SUPER excited about opening an Etsy shop asking if i could help her. So i decided to make her [and YOU] a blog post tutorial! :)

These are the TOP 10 11 things i've learned from having an Etsy Shop...

1)While getting ready to create an Etsy shop, look around a lot to see how you want to format your shop, what way you want to photos to look and your descriptions. 

2) Make sure you really like your name, b/c it's a PAIN in the A word when you want to change it! Trustttt me!

3) Try to plan everything out ahead of time so you have an idea of what you would like to sell, how you would like to display your pretty thing, and how much you would like to charge.

4) Keep your photos the same. You want it to look like a nice little cohesive shop so it looks nicer when all your photos are similarly shown.

5) Understand that you'll most likely find a better or more attractive way to do something AFTER you open your Etsy shop and you'll have to kind of start over. BREATHEEE, it's going to be okay!! 


^My photos USED to look like this^

^ Now they look like this ^ 

6) This one i'm TERRIBLE at, but consistently add new items. If you have the time, plan ahead and do a bunch of drafts and add them little by little.

7) Don't spend too much time looking at others pages. Don't compare yourself to other sellers. Everyone's journey is different. Some faster, some slower. Just do your thannng and people will be drawn to you!

8)And a piggy back off number 6, try to figure out YOUR style and work with that. If i spent hours agonizing, trying to make my images look really modern and clean thats not me. That doesn't fit my brand.

9) Don't COPY. EVER. It's ridiculous that i even have you say this, but it happens SOOOO often. Here's a good post from my Kelly Rae Roberts about whats okay and whats NOT okay.

10)It's rare that people will just 'find you'. You have to promote yourself. Get a twitter and Instagram and be consistent there too so people get to know you. People like buying form REAL people. Often they buy things because they connect with you and your story.

11) Use ALL the tags they allow you to use. Try to research what others are using. Perhaps that key word will lead people to find you in search. [i am NO PRO by any means in this area! SEO seems very complicated to me! lol]

Phew!! There are MANY more, these are just the first 10 11 that seemed most important! 

Good luck friends!!!
I have faith you're going to have a STELLAR Etsy shop in NO time!!
-Jenipher