Bubbling With Excitement!

With the internet throwing a hissy fit and refusing to work for two whole weeks, it’s been hard to keep up with posts here. But the internet gremlins can’t be blamed for all of the silence.

You see, I’ve been bubbling with excitement over my newest adventure! Here we are almost six months after I’d decided to Choose My Own Adventure and I’ve started a new project.

Yep, I’ve gone and opened a shop at Redbubble 😀

My thanks to Melissa Rose, The Anxious Canadian, for introducing me to this exciting site. Melissa also has her own Redbubble shop to print her delightful photos as postcards for her Postcrossings.

So, where did this whole Redbubble thing come from?

The whole long story…

Some of you might remember that the purpose of this blog of mine is to explore my creativity, push my boundaries and share inspirational thoughts, quotes, and ideas with you.
And that’s why I love blogging with posts that are a mixture of my writing and my design selves.

Going Further back in time: How Two Became One

Growing up, I didn’t consider myself creative. Back at school, only one teacher chose to showcase my art, my sister was the one doing portraits of Sting, and I could never transfer the image in my mind onto the paper in front me.
The only things I could render well were eyes (doodled all over my books) and trees…

…Until a really cool graphic designer introduced me to Photoshop! And Illustrator! And mock-ups! And so my career in video wobbled off on a new path, which was all to the good as I’m much better with static images than moving ones.

But creativity mixed with my nature is a strange thing. Working in a creative environment with other creatives taught me all the tools while also exhausting me.

Another career change into teaching allowed my writing and creativity to blossom, but simultaneously left no time or outlet for designing…

Another career change into writing and there was precious little time for anything, never mind doodling…

As usual, there seemed no winning for me…

….Until last year when I decided to consciously nurture my dwindling half which loved art and playing with colours, and LeennascreativeBox was born.

Back to the present

The problem with pushing my creativity with art and design is that my writing…well, suffers.

It takes quite a lot of time for me to layout visuals or create new images to illustrate my post; time I should be spending writing and selling a new short story.

In other words, I need my artwork to be as important as my writing and for it to have a similar earning potential to justify spending all that time on it.
Because much as I’d love to create both stories and artwork just for the fun of it, I still depend on them for my income…

And so, Redbubble to the rescue!

Now my artwork can generate an income much as my writing does. Now I can justify spending hours in the wonderfully meditative process  of painting across my screen, or on paper. And most important, I can feel more balanced and allow more fun into my life by cutting out the nasty thoughts that I’m wasting time instead of working on earning an income.

This last month has been much more fun for me. With my desire to create more artwork sated, my creativity is higher, and my writing benefits enormously too.

It’s a great feeling to be practicing all the skills I spent half my life learning and honing.
I can now share the images and thoughts that inspire me with more people, with the hope this will bring something bright and fun into their lives too.

And what new adventure can be better than that!

Find me on Redbubble and let me know what you think!
Leennascreative Portfolio
Leennascreative Shop
My special Redbubble Page