Crafty

2013 – My How You’ve Flown.

Well how about that, the year’s over, just like that. The past few months have been busy for me – finally opened up my Etsy shop – here’s a little preview – go check it out when you have a chance!

JillthePillDesign on Etsy

Just Joshin’

In October, I got to meet Josh Groban at his Seattle show (these pics come from my Instagram):

The Breaking Bad inspired Meet & Greet Pass.

The Breaking Bad inspired Meet & Greet Pass.

 

Me, Josh Groban, and a Box of Salonpas.

Me, Josh Groban, and a Box of Salonpas.

 

Sorry, you had to be there to get this joke. ;)

Sorry, you had to be there to get this joke. 😉

It was a brief meeting & greeting, but he was a hoot to talk to, and is always witty and entertaining during his concerts. For those of you wondering why the box of Salonpas, check Josh’s Twitter archives for background on that. 😉 Thank you, FOJG – it was a pleasant surprise to be one of the Seattle M&G drawing winners! Also saw his show in Salt Lake City, thanks to an online friend!

Old School Memories…

I revisited my old stomping grounds to say goodbye to the “Little Theater” that’s being demolished for the new FWHS, which was bittersweet, like stepping back in time where little has changed, venue-wise, but in other ways nearly unrecognizable elsewhere on campus. It was a great opportunity to say hello to my former drama teacher and let her know I’m still keeping the creative endeavors going to this day. If you ever have the chance, you should go back and thank those teachers who left an impression on you in life; it means a lot to them!

On the Creative Front…

Creatively, I’ve been juggling various projects in these final months of 2013 – new items for the Etsy shop, for one, and lots on the table for the coming year! I didn’t get everything I wanted to accomplish done just yet, some things shifted on the burners a bit, but I guess I should pace myself instead of racing myself. This has been a good year for taking time to nurture my creativity, learn new things, and journey ahead without looking back. It started out with greatly mixed feelings (as earlier posts indicate), but I’m glad I took this leap of faith. If I hadn’t taken a chance on new adventures, I know I wouldn’t be on the path to where I’m meant to be in life, so no regrets there. 🙂

That’s really about it – details on the mundane things in life aren’t worth going on about anyway, so these are just a few highlights until I post again. (This is mostly for me anyway, to look back and see the growth in myself, and share how life’s treating me for those stalkers curious folks out there.) 2014 has more in store, and I look forward to it!

May all be well with those reading this – and remember, it’s never too late to drop everything you know in favor of new, enlightening life adventures. 😀

Until we meet again – Happy New Year!

Preparing to Launch.

Hello! Consider this my August/September post, because I’ve been a busy bee as of late!

While I have been working on various projects for others this year, I have also been slowly tinkering away at getting my own “brand,” if you will, up and running as well. Just a few more details left to finish – the fun, business-side of things: loading up the online shop, writing up product descriptions and going over shop policies, making sure everything works properly, etc.. Yes, this means finally, for those who have been wondering when it’d happen, I have actual products in my hands, and just in time for those who might want to buy a few things as holiday gifts. You only have a few months left! 😉

It always feels good to be productive working for others, but it’s definitely another challenge altogether when it’s your own brand identity, that’s for sure. I am such a stickler for quality when it comes to my own work, though I am learning to go with the flow and not worry too much about perfection, focusing more on the art and craft of making each creation my own. I hope this will reflect in the works I will be selling – I’ve taken advantage of working outside on beautiful sunny days, and toiled into the wee hours over the past several months, and I feel like I have works of art people will really like. The hardest critic to please, as always, is the inner critic of the artist themselves, so you know if I’m content with my work, that’s saying something. I have learned and grown creatively, not just emotionally, and I am eager to share the fruits of my labor. Here’s a little sneak peek at a couple sticky note designs that will be available at launch (click the image to embiggen):

Sticky note design preview.

Tell someone to “stick it” with these notes! 🙂

My illustrative style is more on the cutesy side, although I am capable of doing sophisticated designs if people are interested. Being a smartass-at-heart, I can’t help being a little sarcastic and having fun with these initial designs, something you will definitely see regularly in my “Zom-Bee” creations. So, hang in there, it’s almost ready (I really mean it this time!), and if you have ideas of things you’d like to see, leave a comment here or drop me a note. 😀 You can “like” the page on Facebook, and comment there, too.

I’ve plugged it before, but in case you didn’t know, the design site can be found on JillthePill Design – that’s where you’ll be able to find a portfolio of my work, hire me to work on your own projects (I specialize in print design, but I can do more than that, just ask), and buy my creations as well. It’s not 100% ready, so just drop your E-mail into the form on the landing page there, and you’ll be notified when it launches – if you need incentive, I’ll be rewarding early adopters with a discount code!

Thanks for tuning in; things are getting exciting here! -Jill 🙂

P.S. – Here is a shameless plug for one of my client projects – my mom is also about to launch her fine jewelry design shop and site, VerLen & Sydney. It’s still in landing page phase as well, but you can sign up for updates, and “like” her page on Facebook, too. Thanks! 🙂

Time Marches On.

Wow, June has come to an end already. Half the year gone POOF? What is with that? Seriously, time…just slips away, no matter where you are or what you do. Let this serve as a reminder that life and time is short, so make the most of it! 🙂

So many things as usual on the mind, recently lost a beloved furry friend (R.I.P., Mr. Biddles), but I am finding, as time marches on, that things that were giving me worries and regrets earlier this year are no longer important enough to fret over, or rather, have faded into the past where they belong. Feelings of anxiety, emptiness, anger, frustration, sadness, all that is no longer hounding me, or very rarely these days. The time I have had to focus on finding myself in my element again has been good medicine, and surely a few of those who have been following along don’t want to hear that, but perhaps the problem isn’t really me, in that case. 😉 Finding what is going to make my life the best it can be (while the show is just me) is the main task for my life. While I am here to support and care for those in need (ALWAYS), and even those who don’t need it at this time, we have to look out for ourselves first and foremost; if you lose yourself in trying too hard to please everyone else, avoiding making waves to a point you become a pushover, blankly going through the motions, getting back to YOU can be a difficult journey. But honestly, I need not go on about that, because I have found peace in the process of moving ahead, and that is giving me motivation to tackle the things I had pushed aside for a long time. Don’t like that? Too bad; nobody’s making you read this anyway, and my give-a-damn’s busted. 😛

The coming months will be busier yet; over the past months, I’ve been working gradually toward making art my (eventual) full-time life; it takes time to get everything just right, with projects and client work on all sides, but it will be worthwhile for those who have been waiting ever-so-patiently to get things launched and up for sale in my design business. If you haven’t hopped over there yet, check out my business site at JillthePill Design (currently a landing page), and track the progress, answer polls and “like” the page over at Facebook; it’s nearly launch time, but before I unwrap the site, I’m working on getting physical goods made and assembled, while also helping my mom get her stuff going, too. (If you like one-of-a-kind, fine jewelry pieces, her stuff will be right up your alley!) My aim is to avoid any bumps in the road upon opening the virtual shop doors, so fingers crossed that works out!

Spring? Plants? I hate them. I made my zom-bees months before Grumpy Cat became a thing, but if the shoe fits, Tardar would hate these, too.

This is a Zom-BEEâ„¢. Don’t you want to own one of these “happy” fellas? I think you do…

Other than that, nothing of terrible importance to report at this time; once things have officially launched, I intend to get back into tackling those personal projects that have languished for far too long…yes, that means you guys, Mathnet fans. In fact, Mental_Floss recently posted an article that pays homage to the show, and we have dropped the ball a bit with keeping things updated. Enjoy things as they are now, and know that they will be revamped one of these days…we (the fans) really want to inspire enough confidence in the folks at Sesame Workshop so maybe they’ll finally bring Square One TV back – the youth of today could certainly use it!

Okay, that’s it for this month, since it’s essentially over now. Enjoy the summer (or winter, depending where you are), and I’ll be here to yap at nobody in particular (probably just myself at this point) at some point in July. Take care! 😀

Playing with WordPress and other Creative Endeavors

So, I got bored of the standard “2011” WordPress theme, plus I’ve been wanting to learn more about how WP works and can be customized, so if you’ve been here before, you’ll see I’ve modified the design a bit. As in, installed an entirely different theme! I didn’t design the theme, just trying to make it my own and figure out all the quirks. (For one: why is it centering all the smileys? Very strange indeed…) Graphic designers need to know these things to be useful to their clients, after all. 😀

I still have a million other things I’m juggling at the moment (well, maybe not a million things, but a decent amount), not the least of which is working on a collaborative rewrite of a screenplay! Yes, at last I am using those creative writing skills for good (not that I didn’t before). I was approached by Vernon “Eck” Eckleberry of Atlantic Pictures, LLC; he’s a classmate from a screenwriting class I took through Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and it’s been an exciting process so far! Since we’re several states apart, we’re doing the Skype thing (very useful service, let me tell you), and making some really great revisions to his original script, 10,000 Angels. His first film, Mattie and Meteor, is in post-production right now and is slated to air on OWN in the fall. Stay tuned as we go along, because I’m hoping it’s just one little step toward a very rewarding series of long-term projects! 🙂

I am also doing some artsy-fartsy things and trying to gear up for opening a little Etsy shop soon, but it’s not quite ready to go, so hang tight. If you like quirky critters made out of polymer clay, though (sneak a peek here), it’ll be right up your alley! And that’s all I’m going to say for now. 😉

That’s about it for today – check back now, ya hear?

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