Weekly Goals #35

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Happy Monday! Now that it's summer, Mondays are actually happy because they're my one day off! Seriously, I never understood how much I would love Mondays until I started working this job. Even though it's my day off, I still have some errands to run to pick up some stuff for the shop--it seems like there are always errands to run. I tend to put them off as long as possible because the nearest restaurant wholesaler is like an hour away and who has time for that? But then I ran out of napkins on Saturday so I kinda need to go...napkins are actually kind of important in ice cream shops, as it turns out.

Anyways, that's my day! This week should be more of the same old stuff. I'm working every night and beaching it every afternoon (I really do have a pretty sweet deal). One exciting thing: our town-wide barbecue and square dance is on Saturday! My town is super teeny but everyone gathers in the field in the park and we all have a big pork barbecue dinner together. It's really so much fun! I love living in a small town.

Last Week's Goals:

+ spend time being intentional with H when he comes to visit. I think we aced this! After he left, I realized a bunch of things I forgot to show him, but he still saw a lot of my life in those five all-too-short days. We had such a nice time and I miss having him here already! He would stay up for me to come home after work and we recapped our days before going to bed. Now it feels weird to come home to a house of sleeping people!

+ write all my thank you cards! Well I was totally up to date on this, but then I got two more gifts (not that I mind! ;). So I've still got a few to do, but I'm definitely considering this a success.

This Week's Goals:

+ Finish my tattoo calligraphy project. As I mentioned the other day, I was hired to calligraph a tattoo for someone and I'm struggling with it a little. As it happens, the one capital letter it includes is 'C' and my 'C' is so boring. I'm driving myself crazy trying to make it pretty. But I'm working on it.

+ Finish my print designs and order them! This is a big step for me since I only have a few designs done. I'm really sort of scared about this for some reason because it's the first real monetary investment I've put into this project! If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for preparing my prints for this fair, let me know!

+ Exercise. I've been SO bad about exercising since I don't belong to a gym here and I just get distracted whenever I try to work out. Or I get overwhelmed at the thought of an hour of exercise since I'm so out of shape. I've started doing the 7-minute workout to help combat this. This week, I aim to do 14 sets of the 7-minute workout--so only about 15 minutes a day.

That's all for today! I think I may go back to doing these every week since I'm posting more frequently these days. So for once, these might actually be weekly goals! What are your goals + plans this week?

DIY Design: Make a Font From Your Own Handwriting

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Over the last few weeks, I've been adding my own hand-lettering to my blog, just here and there. Personally, I think it adds a fun, personal touch! But what if you don't want to (or don't have time to) hand-letter every graphic you need for your blog? Fake it!

A few days ago, I downloaded the InstaFontMaker app for my Android tablet (which is free in the Google Play store!), just to noodle around with it. It turns out, it's ridiculously easy to make a font out of your own handwriting! Just take your phone or tablet, open the app and write every letter as it prompts you. Then, you can email it to your computer where you can open and install it like any other font file! 

Just a few tips: I found it was easiest to use on my tablet as opposed to a phone. It gave me more space for my wrist and it was easier to get a big view of each letter. I also used a stylus (just a plain old $12 Targus from Target/Walmart) and I found it made a huge difference in neatening up each letter. 

Just for fun, you can download my handwriting font, which I've titled Swirl. Have fun! If you make your own, I'd love to see it!

6 Good Things Right Now

(photo by Nick West for Unsplash)

Guys I've been so pouty today. My head hurts, my room is messy, I miss H and it's everyone's fault but mine. Even though he only visited me for five days, H leaving has really thrown me for a loop and I'm still in that short-term depression stage that comes right after visits in long term relationships. Sigh. 

Anyways, I'm gonna be an optimist today and talk about a few things that are awesome right now, even when a few things aren't. Really, life is pretty good. 

1. I got two really exciting hand-lettering jobs. One is making hand-lettered chalkboard signs for someone's 40th birthday....

2. ...and the other is even cooler. I'm working to calligraph a design for a girl's tattoo! Ever since I saw the tattoo that Rebecca Caridad did for her brother, I've loved the idea and I'm so excited to work on it!

3. Work is going smoothly. The 4th of July week is the very peak of renter season in my town on Lake Michigan and naturally all of those tourists flock to my ice cream shop at night to cool off. Good for business but not for my stress levels, so I'm glad that things are calming down a little bit.

4. I'm having a lot of fun working on my note card + print line (which will hopefully be out in the fall). I'm constantly scanning Pinterest and the internet for short, new quotes. I really like using short, simple maxims that you can remember easily. Some of my favorites for prints are...

"Good things take time."

"Wherever you are, be all there." (Jim Elliot)

"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." (Teddy Roosevelt) 

5. It sounds a little mean, but now that H isn't here, I have more time to read. Seriously, just trying to look on the bright side! I'm currently reading Revenge Wears Prada, the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

6. My tablet. It's an Android Venue and Android drove me crazy for a little while but now I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed. I got it as through a Dell promotion and it cam free with a laptop I was going to buy anyways. It's so much fun to use it for my hand-lettering and keeping my documents organized for work and all. Also, Netflix is so much better on a tablet than on an iPhone. Yay!

What good things are going on in your life?