For the last couple weeks, I've been heads down grinding away at my Illustrator Essentials course (launching July 10th). As you know, I'm a huge advocate of balance in life and business, but even I can acknowledge that there's a time to hustle when things just need to get done. That said, I've found one thing is my saving grace when the deadlines and creative block come calling.

As creative folks and small business owners, we love what we do. As a result, it's hard to separate our work from our life, making it so easy to think that each to-do is make-or-break for our brands and any hiccups are the end of the world. When we're frustrated or blocked creatively, we spend hours banging our heads against a wall and trying to muscle through. But there's a better way.

I'm a firm believer in taking care of ourselves and avoiding the hustle-for-hustle's-sake culture that seems to be so prevalent in the business world these days. Hustle isn't a badge of honor, it's a means to an end.

I think we can all agree that now more than ever it's hard to find time for ourselves—whether that means getting your portfolio website up-to-date, finding the time to exercise, or making the time for that project you've been dreaming of starting. When our jobs and responsibilities and the world come knocking, our stuff gets pushed aside.

“I'll get to it next time,” you tell yourself. “Someday when I have more time.” But it never happens, does it?

One question I get constantly is how I come up with the color palettes for my branding projects. I find this to be amazing because it was only a few years ago that I really struggled with color, and found myself constantly scrolling enviously through the work of others I considered to be color masters.

Maybe you're in a similar position right now, hoping to really dial in that eye for color to take your brand or your own work to the next level. Either way, know that perfect palette is closer than you think. So let's break this color thing down, shall we?

Over the last few months I've been hard at work on this beauty behind the scenes, so I'm so excited to finally pull back the curtain on the Speaking of Space brand!

We start our days and our projects with the best of intentions. As creatives, it's easy to let our imaginations run away with us—visualizing our ideal scenario and just how amazing it could all be. But not every experience will be stars across the board.

I've experienced this quite a few times with projects (even recently), and thought I'd shed some light on what I've learned from these bumps in the road.

This past week I had the enormous privilege to return to Columbus, GA for my second Creative South! While the weather and Delta airlines gave us a bit of a hard time getting there (in varying degrees), it was well worth the haul to reunite with my creative family and connect with lots of new friends too!

Came as Friends

Beyond the awesome workshops and incredibly inspiring speakers, there's something so magical about connecting in person with other creative souls that really understand the struggles and victories we deal with on a daily basis, and to finally meet those friends from the internet.

Speaking of speakers, the line-up was killer and so full of insight, passion, and vulnerability. For those of you who didn't attend (and even those who did and just want to take a trip down memory lane), I thought I'd share my favorite quotes and takeaways from the talks this year.

As an introvert, networking events have always been the stuff of nightmares for me. I'm terrible with remembering the names of people I just met because I'm way too worried about having something to talk about next and—wait—is there something in my teeth? I've always hated the small talk and business jargon, and to be perfectly honest approaching random people just stresses me out.

Pushy sales tactics and a heap of business cards from momentary encounters put a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention the multitude of meaningless LinkedIn requests afterward that no one ever follows up. I never thought I'd be good at networking, and according to my understanding of what “networking” was, I didn't want to be.

I'm so pleased to finally share my branding and website work for Fertilust! Between its encouraging and playful feel to all of the symbolic depth behind this beautiful brand, it's one I can't wait to pull back the curtain on. So without further ado, I give you the Fertilust brand!