Catching up in 2021: Find your Joy!

Yes, I know it's been a minute since I wrote a blog post, but who will agree that these last fifteen months have been like living in the Twilight Zone! Nonetheless, I hope and pray that everyone reading this is hanging in their and holding on to hope.

In the midst of lockdowns and COVID testing, I have started working in the garden and drawing more. As with many of you, I have been humbled by how fragile life truly is and I have searched for ways to normalize an otherwise abnormal situation. I will admit, at first my family and I were fighting major anxiety being cooped up together for three months straight. But then something amazing happened! We pulled out board games that had made their way to the back of the closet and we bought puzzles that occupied hours of our concentration. Yes, we had discovered the simple pleasure of spending time together! Oh, and did I mention that we SHUT OFF the news! It's so easy to become overwhelmed by everything going on in the world right now, and with the uncertainty of ones job, health scares, and being enundated with bad news, my family and I agreed to watch the news long enough to get the updates and then turn the news off.

Creatively speaking, I also put a lot of well spent time into working on my passion...my art. I completely redesigned my Etsy store and started creating fun, new artwork for my storefront. I am enjoying this process so much and I am so excited about the colorful ideas I have for my Etsy shop this coming Spring and Summer! Hint: watercolor botanicals🌸

I hope you take this journey with me in the coming months as we been to embrace the newness of Spring and the long, lazy days of Summer. I also pray that in the midst of our current world situations, that you find your creative spirit and spend time doing what brings you that sense of peace, normalcy, and joy.

Stay creative,

Yoli Fae

My Watercolor Summer

Summers in California always hit the high triple digit numbers but as a Cali girl, I am used to it. My favorite part of summer has to be the longer days. Yet, this particular summer with it's longer days is a bit challenging, as we all deal with COVID, and closed beaches, parks and our favorite 'hang out' stores.

As an artist, my favorite 'hang out' store is Michaels®️ Arts and Crafts. I could literally spend hours combing the aisles, and becoming inspired by all of the crafts I see. However, along with so many other stores now offering only curb side service, my favorite 'hang out' for a time, was off limits to me.

Creating has been my perfect therapy. It pulled me out of a deep depression almost 10 years ago. It brings peace, and centers me when things in life tend to spin out of control. To lose my power to create would literally be detrimental to me. So, after going into quarantine in mid March, I found myself painting more. I love all mediums of art, such as charcoals, oils, acrylic, and even digital art. One medium in particular that I am still 'mastering' is watercolor. You see, if things were 'open' now, I would have loved to take a painting course in watercolor at a local college, or craft store. But as mentioned before, this summer is a bit different for us all. So, I ordered some watercolor paints, and made use of Michaels®️ curb side service.

Fellow creatives, I want to encourage you to keep creating as we navigate through this COVID experience. Notice I said, 'through', because we are too resilient, and too brilliant to stay 'stuck' in this challenging time. Make use of curb side services and stay stocked up on your creative materials. Find your happy place within your home and center your creative soul. My happy place has been my patio. With some munchies, a cold drink, and my watercolor paints, I spend hours outside, mastering this fun medium, and enjoying just being outside.

"Painting these watercolor rose pedals challenged me to loosen up and 'let' the water and the pigment create it's own magic!"

My hope is that in the midst of this COVID trial, you take a moment and ask yourself, "What do I need to do right now to get back my 'center?' " I did not think I had a creative bone in my body, 10 years ago, until I picked up a paint brush and painted my way out of my depression. That's the beauty of art. It doesn't have to look good to anyone else; but only to the one creating it. The real beauty is in how creating makes one feel, and how it has the power to uplift and inspire.

I always search for savings to offer my readers, especially when I have found a HOTT item that I love using. These watercolor brushes that come in this MISULOVEⓇ Watercolor paint set are 'LIFE...lol!" Yes, I 💜 them! You can save 10% when you apply the coupon to this awesome offer below:

Stay creative my friends,

Yoli Fae

Instagram Storyboards & Highlights

As an artist, blogger and art curator, I want my social media pages to really stand out! I've recently become addicted to these storyboards and highlights that can be easily used on my Instagram profiles. But if you are also a 'pinner' don't feel left out, because you can also use storyboards and templates that are designed specifically for Pinterest! Hey, time is money and I'd much rather trust the aesthetics to the pros. So, is anyone else using them? What do you think of them?

Well, for this womanpreneur/BOSSBABE, I am hooked...totally!

Stay creative my friends,

Yoli Fae