What happened?

I guess you could say it was a whole lot of nothing and a ton of everything, all at once.

Firstly, we moved to a more rural community (read: the internet speed here is the pits!). Without a good reliable high-speed internet connection, editing and posting videos became a task I couldn’t sustain. I absolutely love teaching by demonstration but slow uploads just took all of the fun out of that aspect of CreativLEI. Fast-forward, right now four of our children are home for virtual instruction while we wait for the schools to fully reopen when safe.

Speaking of said children…

My kids started growing up!

When I first began blogging in 2006 (good grief that was the prehistoric age of mommy-blogs), I only had three children. They were young, I was knee-deep in the physically exhausting aspect of parenting, and sharing our stories was an amazing creative outlet for me and an excellent way to keep our family and friends clued-in to our daily life. We had a handful of more children and life got busier but we continued to share our stories openly.

But when more than a few of my children started getting old enough to create and manage their own digital footprint (and their lives started being more complicated than curriculum choices, extracurricular activities, and favorite hobbies), it became more important to me to preserve their right to be the primary sharer of their own stories.

If you’ve ever tried to talk about parenting without oversharing your kids’ potential blackmail fodder, you’ll understand why I could no longer “just” write about life.

Why don’t I just share art tutorials?

That would be the easiest solution, wouldn’t it? Well… If I’m being honest that would end up being pretty unsatisfying to me because I truly do enjoy writing. I’m a story-teller. I’ve kept diaries and journals for as long as I could remember. The challenge I have is to figure out how to write about life without sharing the aspects that should be preserved for the kids to tell.

Building my digital platform became unimportant.

For years I attended blogging conferences and webinars about how to grow.

Grow my following, my income, my reach.

However, each “right” step I took felt less and less like “ME” and became just plain exhausting.

Plus, with our move to a new community, some of my children started entering the local school system, I started spending more time helping at the local dance studio, our family’s schedule started getting fuller and more spread out. There just wasn’t as much time to sit at the laptop to write, edit, and post.

We became busy with life.

The funny thing about an evolving life is that you end up with a ton more to write about and infinitely LESS time to write it!

Face-to-face connections are irreplaceable.

I cannot tell you how much I value the ability of the internet to make the world a little smaller and connect people who might not ever meet “in real life.” But, there are some things that truly are best shared between intimate friends. Friends you see on good days and bad. Friends that pass the tissues when you’re crying. The friends that show up when you can’t leave the house. The ones who know the worst parts of your story and are your biggest cheerleaders anyway.

For me, this meant relearning how to invest in my “real-life” relationships during face-to-face encounters. A VERY tall order for an introvert who much prefers the self-controlled conversation that a blog provides. It’s ugly, but it’s true.

It is time to find a balance between the two worlds.

One of the (many) perks of two-thirds of my half-a-dozen kids now being teens (and one graduated from high school) means that they are more independent and require less of the physically-there momma.

This new-found flexibility has allowed me to explore more opportunities to grow my art throughout my community, to teach at the dance studio, and to build new and deep friendships. My next step is to get reacquainted with my keyboard. I have so much I still want to share with you!

More of our story (as much as my family is comfortable sharing), more of my art, and more of the tutorials that help YOU create art!

How did you first find CreativLEI?

I want to know more about you! Are you here to learn lettering (or other crafty things)? A young mom looking for a light to guide you through the exhausting tunnel of lots of little kids? An older mom looking for camaraderie among the like-minded?

Tell me a little about you in the comments!

The post When it takes three/four-ish years to overcome writer’s block… appeared first on CreativLEI.

I hesitated for a while.

I’m just not comfortable with public speaking.

Those of you that know me are laughing because you know exactly how outspoken I am. However, with a microphone in front of me, I can guarantee my face is flushed and my heart is racing.

After prayer, I accepted.

How could I pass up the chance to honor Miranda’s legacy by speaking of how great the impact her short life and too soon death have had on me?

I shared on Instagram early that day, to ask that you all would share a prayer or think of me during the time I would be speaking. Some of you asked if I would share my speech with you.

Thankfully, I was given a copy of the video of the Tribute Service, and it is my honor to share it with you.

*At the :30 mark a card will invite you to view the slideshow. Clicking on that will open it in another window (leaving me speaking in the other window) so you can watch the photos while you listen. 

Thank you for walking with me through the ups and downs that grief brings.

If you have experienced loss, I do hope some of these words brought comfort to you.

The post Speaking: From the Heart of a Grieving Mom appeared first on CreativLEI.

Can you commit to a month of FREE lettering videos and tips to help you learn to love your own penmanship and lettering?

Love Your Lettering was originally written in October of 2015. It is time for an update and now seems like the perfect time for a Love Your Lettering update!

My own love for calligraphy and hand-lettering began back in middle school and has never faded…

The goal for the Love Your Lettering series is not to teach you how to write just like me, but to develop the techniques you need to grow your confidence in your own unique handwriting and lettering style!

Whether you are looking to improve your penmanship for writing in your planner, sending out snail mail, taking notes, or you are interested in getting started with basic calligraphy skills and hand-lettering techniques, I can help you!

Disclaimer: I’m a left-handed letterer. I also can demonstrate proper grip with my right hand, so I won’t leave the righties stranded.

Why is Love YOUR Lettering free? What is the catch?

I am committed to giving you quality instruction that truly builds your skills and confidence, this series will give you full access to blog posts and instructional videos that give step by step guidance as well as live broadcasts to help answer your specific lettering and penmanship questions. The series is free because I understand that you may want to purchase the suggested supplies to follow along each week. I don’t want you to choose between having good tools and good instruction, I want you to have both!

What supplies do you need for Love YOUR Lettering?

I want to keep the costs of starting your lettering journey as low as possible without sacrificing quality, because using inferior supplies can be frustrating!

The Love YOUR Lettering series progresses through four weeks of introductory lettering techniques and habits.

While this is not an exhaustive list, the following supplies are the basic tools suggested to successfully follow along each week, links included are affiliate links (Please read the full disclosure policy for more information.):

Week 1: Basic Penmanship and Creative Lettering

Using a good pencil and/or pen we will look at our natural handwriting, break down the components of proper letter formation, revisit foundational letter forms, and introduce creative aspects of lettering. You will use the same notebook throughout the series. The Rhodia DotPad is my preference because of the paper quality, but a grid/graph composition book is a good start for a tighter budget. A good set of colored pencils are also helpful during this week.

Week 2: Broad Nib Calligraphy

Making use of a broad nib (or chisel tip) calligraphy marker we will discuss proper grip and angles for producing basic print and italic calligraphy hands. You will only need one type of calligraphy pen. I will demonstrate using a felt-tip calligraphy pen as well as a Parallel pen.

Week 3: Basic Brush Lettering

I know this is really why you’re here. Don’t worry, I love brush lettering too. We’ll dive into basic brush lettering and modern calligraphy using brush pens. The Fudenosuke pens receive my highest recommendation for beginning brush lettering. These fine nib brushes help to introduce the variations of pressure between up and down strokes while lettering. We will begin the technique with pencil to practice to help preserve our nibs.

Week 4: Watercolor Lettering and Combining Styles

During our final week, we take the basics and stretch our boundaries a bit while exploring lettering techniques with watercolor. The Tombow Beginning Brush Lettering Set contains a number of the supplies I’ll use throughout the series.

Do you want to receive a daily reminder for the day’s lesson?

Sign up here for daily emails during the series:

How will I receive the Love YOUR Lettering assignments?

Each day the full instructions will be posted here on the blog along with a YouTube video of technique demonstration (yes, all the old videos are finally being edited). You are welcome to subscribe above, so that you will receive an assignment reminder email Monday-Friday during the month, with a link to the day’s post.

Please join the FB group to share your work with others working through the series. You can also ask your lettering questions within the group to help with any techniques that you struggle with.

During the month of May:

Thursday evenings at 9:30pm (Eastern) I will be live on Periscope for your questions and additional demonstrations.

Friday afternoons at 1:00pm (Eastern) I will be live on Facebook for your questions and additional demonstrations.

I’m so excited to work through the series with you!

If you have any questions about what the month will hold, please email me, comment below, or post your question in our new FB group.

The post Love YOUR Lettering Update! appeared first on CreativLEI.

Lettering on a flat surface only requires to ability to create letters. When we move to alternative surfaces, like a pumpkin, river rocks, or a glass ball ornament, we need to consider the curves as we lay down our lettering. As a lefty, it also means I need to get creative about keeping my hand out of wet ink!

Disclosure: Many of the links used on this site are affiliate and referral links. If you click on and purchase through these links I may make a small commission (sometimes it’s literally pennies, but whatevs). That commission is at no extra expense to you, which is pretty awesome. I value your trust and only link to products I use, love, or am saving up my birthday money to buy. You can read my full disclosure statement for more information. Feel free to ask any question you have regarding these links.

Clean your surface to prepare for lettering.

I wiped down my pumpkin with a damp paper towel. Anything from nature that your lettering on will need a simple surface wipe so that you don’t damage your pens with dust and dirt. (For a glass ornament, clean it with a bit of window cleaner to make sure fingerprints are gone.)

Use chalk to plan your lettering design.

When I want to be sure my lettering will fit, I sketch out my design in chalk before lettering with the paint pen. While drawing monograms I’m more likely to just put the pen to the surface. I’m wild and crazy like that.

Use good paint pens for satisfying results when lettering on alternative surfaces.

I prefer the water-based paint pens because the color lays down nice and opaque right from the start. Oil-based pens tend to need a few layers of paint to stand out boldly, and take longer to dry between layers which is not good for a lefty.

Add doodles to pull it all together.

Simple frames or wreaths, or added doodles like spiderwebs, really help to pull the whole design into a complete look. I like to use a contrasting color with an extra-fine point for these final details.

Protect your finished work with a spray coating.

If you are keeping your decor outside, or if they are indoor decorations that you wish to store for another season (NOT fresh pumpkins), spray a thin layer of protective spray paint on your finished work. My preference is the clear coat from Krylon. Be sure to spray outside, or in a very well-ventilated area. 

Here’s a video demonstration of lettering on a pumpkin (and a foam craft pumpkin):

Some supply recommendations:

Find more posts in #loveYOURlettering: Part 2 here-

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