Maternity Style // Week 28

Fall is in full swing and I'm so happy.  I'm having a little baby shower/blessingway next weekend and my mom and I have been testing out cake/icing flavors (and sort of unsuccessfully attempting to learn how to naked-ice a cake without making it look ugly).  We tested out this cake + icing recipe pair last night and it was super tasty, but we've still got some work to do on getting the icing to actually look like a nice naked cake.  Who knew a naked cake would be harder to do than a regular iced cake?  Not me.  

Either way, moral of the story is it's fall, so pumpkin cakes with maple cream cheese icing are totally in, which makes me a happy camper.  I'm actually not a PSL person (or a Starbucks person, really, for that matter), but I have always loved fall flavors.  My wedding was in November and we had pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (and red velvet cake, mmmm) and they were delicious.  The whole pies-as-wedding-cakes thing hadn't hit the mainstream yet, but in retrospect, I totally would've had pumpkin pie and apple pie at my fall wedding too.  Aaaand now I'm craving pie.

Tee (similar) : H+M | Jacket (similar) : c/o Lulu's | Skirt (similar) : Thrifted (Wet Seal) |
Shoes (similar) : c/o Seychelles | Necklace (similar) : Free People

Maker of the Month : Katie of Odd Daughter Paper Co.

I was introduced to Katie's rad business, Odd Daughter Paper Co. last year when I saw one of her amazing little prints in Moorea Seal's shop.  I had my eyes on it for a while and now the little cactus print is hanging on my wall.  Her illustration style is so quirky and fun and her cards are hilarious and perfect.  Hallmark ain't got nothin' on Katie's cute and totally relevant cards.

Get to know more about Katie (spoiler alert: she wasn't planning to become an illustrator and didn't go to school for graphic design or illustration!), her creative process, and how she ended up making cute cards for a living in our interview below!  And because you're gonna want to snatch up some of her cards and prints, you can get 15% off in her shop with the code "TACKY15" now until October 13th!

Tell us about your creative business!  What do you do? How did it start?  Where do you want to take it?

I'm a graphic designer / illustrator and I have a stationery line -- all under the name Odd Daughter Paper Co. Over five years ago I started painting cards one by one and selling them at a local farmer's market. I slowly started refining my style and after a while I began getting my designs printed.  I truly love seeing them screen printed, letterpressed and/or detailed with gold foil! I studied Interior Design, so this isn't the path I expected, but it is definitely the one I'm passionate about. 

What do you do to keep your creative juices fresh and flowing? 

My goal is to design cards that you'll want to give to your BFF, sister, husband/wife. With that said, spending time with friends and family helps to keep me inspired! Conversations and funny moments with people are often what spark my card ideas. I also try to get outside, spend time going for walks and practice yoga. 

What is your favorite part about having a creative business? 

My favorite part of having a creative business is being able to call my passion "work". Yes, there is a ton of work (admin, managing wholesale, shipping orders, etc) that isn't drawing/ designing.... but still. The fact that my job revolves around something that I love is pretty darn cool. 

Do you have a routine that helps you stay balanced?  If so, what do you feel is most important to your routine?

I've had a couple different routines since leaving my day job to work on Odd Daughter full time. At the moment, I'm working part time at a local floral shop. It helps by adding structure to my routine and schedule. I basically split time between the flower shop and working on design work at my studio. Aside from that structure, I still need to continue to refine my routine! 

What are the biggest struggles associated with having a creative business? 

My biggest struggles have been 1) Financial and 2) Getting stuck in the lie that "my work isn't good enough".  Still working on both of those! ;)

Other than what you create for your business, do you have any other creative pursuits that are merely for your own pleasure? 

Right now, I see my work at the floral shop as a creative pursuit that I'm able to enjoy for fun. Over the past 5 months (since starting work there), I've learned so much about floral arranging and love that the act of "designing an arrangement" complements my graphic design and illustration style. 

What other makers, creative folk, shops, instagrams, etc. are inspiring you at the moment?  

I'm currently listening to Joseph's song Blood & Tears on repeat. They are amazingly talented sisters and such an inspiration. I also love the shop Shorthand in Los Angeles. It has the best stationery / office supplies in all the land (aaaand they carry some of my work!). 

What was the path that brought you to where you're at with your creative business right now?  Any specific, notable moments you remember that led you to where you are now?

The path that led to where I am right now has been windy, difficult and rewarding. A significant turning point took place when I graduated with my degree in interior design; it was during a recession and I knew I wasn't going to get a design job. During that period (of working a slightly-design-related-admin job), I realized that I was more interested in graphic design and illustration, rather than interior design. I began poring over every design blog I could find -- and that was definitely the beginning of my journey. Leaving my full-time day job about 18 months ago was also a significant moment. I've since taken on some part time work... but that moment of saying "I'm going to choose to pursue my business and give it the time it deserves" was equal parts amazing and terrifying. 

Make sure you head over and check out Odd Daughter Paper Co.'s shop (and use the 15% off discount code, "TACKY15".  Expires Oct 13.), and give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook!

If you know of a rad lady who runs a creative business making super awesome stuff who you think should be our next Maker of the Month, submit them at the bottom of the page here!  We love learning about new BA Chicks making stuff, running business, and being generally kick ass and creative.

All photos c/o Odd Daughter Paper Co. by Marissa Maharaj

Maternity Style // Week 27

It's been fun returning to old photo haunts in Anchorage.  Many years ago, before my first Brave trip, I took photos at this spot with the Brave.  I was a couple months from setting out on a huge adventure, and that photo set is still one of my favorites.  Here we are again, a couple months from another huge adventure, taking photos in the same spot.  This time last year I was buying tickets to Paris, and now I'm researching strollers online... crazy how much difference a year makes.  But I like the change.  I actually find myself a little disappointed if, at any point during the year, I look back to 1 year ago and could've imagined myself where I am.  

The past few years have felt a little doldrum-y, doing the "normal-life" thing in Tacoma, and even though getting pregnant, moving back to Alaska, and living next door to my parents might not feel like the most adventurous of changes, I'm glad for a new life-scenery.  Getting un-stuck takes that first step of actually doing something new and different, so even if where I'm at in the present isn't where I want to end up, at least I'm moving towards it.

Tee : c/o Modcloth | Skirt : Thrifted | Jacket : Modcloth | Necklace : c/o Moorea Seal
Shoes : c/o Seychelles | photos by Dan

Maternity Style // Week 26

Welp, as of today, I'm 30 weeks pregnant.  Only 10 more weeks to go, and I'm almost caught up on posting these maternity outfits!  It's crazy to think I only have 10 more outfits left!  I might end up photographing more than one per week as the end approaches, just because it's almost a bummer only having 10 more bump outfits to rock!  Of course, in my final weeks we'll be in the throes of winter up here, so maybe I'll rethink that idea when it's below freezing and snowing outside...

Cardigan : c/o Modcloth | Top : c/o Asianicandy | Dress (similar) : Thrifted (Wet Seal)
Glasses : c/o Bonlook | Boots : c/o Minnetonka | Necklace : Free People
Photos by Dan

3 simple ways to invest in your creative self

Investing in your own creative self can be hard to focus on, especially if you're also running your own business, wrangling kids, working full time, or just getting through life in general.  Doing anything that fosters your own creative life can feel like a luxury that you just can't afford, but there are some simple little things that can help infuse that creativity into your life and help grow that aspect of yourself.  A lot of us spend too much time looking at other creative people and thinking about how green the grass of their creative lives looks, wishing ours was as lush, while we neglect watering our own creative grass.  It can feel daunting to even start watering when we look at the crunchy, ugly, brown grass we're sporting, so here are three easy, simple ways to begin caring for your creativity.

1. Journal every day

This one can be hard to stick to, but I find that it's much easier if I get into a routine with it.  I find that I like to end my day with a journal sesh, so I can decompress and hash through everything that happened that day, but I also know that starting your day with writing a few pages in your journal can be great too.  Having a blank slate mentally, without all the crap from your day cluttering your mind, can be really good for getting into your true thoughts.  I used to be a crazy good at journaling in high school and college, I have notebooks full of entries for years, but once I started blogging I pretty much stopped altogether.  I've been trying to instill this habit again because, honestly, blogging publicly is no replacement for having a personal, private journal where you can be 110% uncensored and really just get it all out there.  It's therapeutic and, even if you don't express yourself creatively through writing, journaling can really help a creative mind feel more fresh and inspired.  Maybe it's the process of just getting all the stuff out that's clogging our brains creatively.  Clearing the headspace and making room for creative thoughts to flourish.

If you have a hard time with figuring out what to write, or blank out when your pencil hits the page, having some prompts can really help get your brain flowing.  Googling "journal prompts" is a great way to find, literally, thousands of prompts to give you direction, and you can even search for more specific directions like, "journal prompts on creativity."  Sometimes it just takes a while for your brain to be able to open the floodgates, so you have to prime it a little bit and get the juices flowing.

2. Find your play

Creativity is inherently playful.  When you think about kids, they're SO creative, and SO good at playing.  They don't care about what something is supposed to look like or supposed to be.  There is no right or wrong way to play.  As adults we've un-learned this and become really good at feeling like we're doing things wrong.  A lot of us have to re-train our brains to be able to even accept playing, especially playing with no goal or purpose, as something acceptable to do.  I am incredibly guilty of this.  I feel like everything I do has to have a goal or serve a purpose and if it doesn't, then I'm wasting time that should be spent working one something.  It's hard to convince my brain to release that and to just do something purely for play.  But play and creativity are intertwined and squelching one can only squelch the other, so investing in things that are purely play for you will infuse your creative self with new life

3. Commit to actually making

With stuff like pinterest and instagram and infinite scrolling, it's easy to do a lot of "becoming inspired" and consuming of inspiring ideas... but never actually doing anything.  We want to do stuff because we're so damn inspired all the time, but it's easier to scroll through pinterest one more time than actually get off our butts and actually make.  Being inspired can certainly be great for creativity, but when the ratio of getting inspired time versus actually making stuff tilts so heavily in the direction of getting inspired, you don't actually do anything with all that inspiration.  I fall into this trap all the time, because being inspired kind of feels like making.  But nothing can take the place of actually making stuff when it comes to cultivating your creativity.  And while getting inspired by others' work can be nice, there's nothing that can replace making your own work for growing as an artist and honing your own personal style, regardless of what kind of medium you prefer working in!