Category: Uncategorized

8 Tips for Getting through the Next Few Months

2020 has not held back. Any one else feel really tired and sad and angry and just not okay? Feeling like it’s hard to focus, get started on anything, and that making the bed feels like someone is asking you to lift an elephant? I’m here to share some handy tips that will help you get through these times of uncertainty.

  1. Make the bed: Get it done for Future You. Because she’s gonna be a lot more tired and sad than you are now. At least make the bed so she has a comfortable place to crash at 1pm when she’s given up on the day.
  2. Get your favorite book and blanket and hide for a while.
  3. Bake cookies and send them to your illustrator friends named Autumn.
  4. Stare out the window and sigh a lot. Focus on your deep sighs and then on your normal breathing. Clear your mind of intrusive thoughts like “AM I BREATHING TOO HARD? DO I HAVE COVID? AHHH I DON’T KNOW WHAT NORMAL BREATHING IS ANYMORE” and just breathe for a while until you feel the knots in your gut relax.
  5. Buy holiday presents early and sing “We need a little Christmas now!” as they arrive in the mail.
  6. Give yourself permission to be not okay. It’s a normal response to an abnormal situation, and the persistent stressor that is 2020 is definitely abnormal. Just keep in mind that if you start spontaneously screaming in the grocery store ” NONE OF THESE CEREALS ARE GOING TO FIX THE WORLD, WHY HAVE YOU FAILED US, BRAN FLAKES?” You may receive weird looks and be asked to leave the store.
  7. Focus on the beings you love. Don’t just sit and stare at them, that’s not what I mean by focus. Just remember that there are family, friends and pets who think you are awesome and are joyful to connect with. Then go connect with them.
  8. Get moving. Go for a walk. Vacuum the carpet. Cook dinner. Throw pillows across the room shouting “WHEN WITH THIS HORRIBLE YEAR END?!” Once you start moving, don’t lose the momentum!

I hope this gave you a laugh, and helped you keep going. If you are truly overwhelmed, please reach out for help from a loved one or a health professional. Stay safe out there, I’m rooting for you!

MUGS: Society 6 vs. Redbubble

Recently I posted this image on Society 6 and Redbubble for purchase.

I ordered mugs from each website. I’ve had good experiences with both printers as a customer, but I wanted to test the difference between the mugs so that I could say “This mug is worth the cost!” Especially in these frustrating times, I don’t want to be adding negativity onto someone who bought my art to cheer themselves up.

Society6 emerged the winner. No contest.

First off, shipping and packaging: the mug from Society 6 arrived in a timely fashion, about a week after ordering. Redbubble took an extra four days. Secondly, the society 6 mug was packaged in a styrofoam mold and arrived in one piece. Redbubble’s mug was wrapped loosely in cardboard and the handle had broken into two pieces away from the mug.

Quality of printing: The Society 6 mug was brighter, and had a crisper image than the Redbubble mug. It’s subtle, but the difference is clear to me.

Ease of returning: I wanted a refund for my broken mug, and Redbubble’s site was frustrating. I was offered a replacement item or a voucher for my next purchase. I had to write a separate note requesting a refund, and was told I’d hear back in about five days. Society6 offers refunds.

Here is where the difference was: Society6’s mug is five dollars more than Redbubble’s. But it arrived in one piece, with a clearer image, and faster. As a customer, it’s worth the extra five dollars to order from Society6 for mugs. As an artist, I definitely prefer the Society 6 mug. If you are interested in purchasing a mug or print of “Hey Guys!” Here is the link: https://society6.com/autumnseybert

Thank you

Society 6 Mug: intact, crisp and bright printing
Redbubble mug, broken, a bit blurred and dull printing

Pizza is always a good idea. I really want some now!

Happy fluffy sheepy. I’ve been playing around with different brushes in procreate app, and Much like pizza, fluffy sheep are fun.

How is everyone doing? I’ve been doing a lot of reading, playing video games, napping, and making rice krispie treats. Time has become a bit squishy in its passing. Even though things are opening up, we’re staying at home and only going to the grocery store right now.

It’s weird but this is settling into an alternative normal. Chores still need doing, work still happens, and the krispie treats taste just as good as during regular times. For a while, I felt like I was on pause, waiting for this to be over, but it’s going to be a while, and I don’t like it, but thats just the way it is.

I hope everyone reading this is safe and healthy. 💙

Baking Failures

For Miss Hale: May you accumulate many fantastic baking failures on your journey. They make the best stories, and make the baking successes that much sweeter.

Pizza

  • I tried making pizza dough a few times. Once I baked a pizza, and when I took it out of the oven it slid off the pan and landed on the electric coil and caught on fire. I ran around shouting “OH NO! OH NO!” and then grabbed it with my oven mitts and threw it in the sink. (not unrelated, I bought a fire extinguisher that year!)
  • Once I tried making pizza, and forgot to stab the crust so it expanded and all the toppings fell off my blimp crust.
  • Now I made delicious pizzas in very odd shapes because they always lose their shapes when I slide them onto the pizza stone. DELICIOUS FAILURES

Pumpkin Rolls

  • The first time I made a pumpkin roll, I was really worried about overbaking. So I thought “This is beautiful!” and flipped the pan over to cool the cake and half-baked batter exploded all over my kitchen. I found bits of pumpkin cake a week later!
  • The second time I made a pumpkin roll, I got the cake stuck on the towel that you’re supposed to roll it up in. Repeat for attempt 3 and 4.
  • Attempt 5 the cake was over done and just cracked into cake rubble instead of rolling.
  • Attempt 6 with cracking cake, I called my friend who had finished making her 4 pumpkin roll to give away to friends and said “HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS, YOU WIZARD?” and she said “Use wax paper instead of a towel!”
  • Attempt 7 I GOT IT TO ROLL!

Cack

I wanted to bake a cake for my mom’s birthday. I was going to make it FROM SCRATCH. There was going to be a nice raspberry coulee mixed in with the cake and what emerged was this gooey mess. I had to run to the store because we ran out of baking powder so after that, family started to arrive and distract me while I was baking. BUT I WAS DETERMINED. And what emerged out of the oven were these flat rubbery rings of not cake, but CACK. I forgot the baking powder! The whole reason I had to run to the store! My family loved me enough to swallow a few bites and we all had stomach aches that night.

I’ve made some really delicious baked goods for my family, and I’ve cooked amazing meals, but those failures are pretty memorable, and we have a good laugh over them, because everyone in my family has good “we messed this up!” stories. But when you get it right, it feels AMAZING because you know it’s not easy. 🙂 You got this! Keep going!

This wonderful doctor shared a video on keeping clean groceries during this pandemic.

Click here for the video

Pretend everyone outside is a skunk and keep your distance!

I’ve been cleaning a lot during these past couple weeks, and trying to relax with reading, playing the piano, and obsessively checking the news. 🙂

Since I work from home anyway, I didn’t expect a huge change in my schedule. But I didn’t realize how often I run errands! I seem to have a lot of time lately, and am learning to slow down and not rush so much.

I sincerely hope that everyone is healthy and stays healthy! ♥️

Peeved Pickle does not Panic

In light of COVID-19 spreading across the globe, lots of officials have been asking people to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus and avoid large gatherings

That suits Pickle just fine. He really prefers to be alone anyway. When the call came to self-quarantine, he was already well ahead of everyone else. He stayed safely in his jar and didn’t let anyone near him.

Battle Strategies Against S.A.D.

Winter is not my favorite season. It is so grey outside and gloomy. I’ve been posting pictures in social media, but I wanted to share a bit here too.

This is how I feel a lot in the winter. It’s really hard to get going and every year I promise myself, NOT THIS YEAR, but it comes back. S.A.D. is real and ferocious. And I noticed a lot of people are struggling this year.

So while I don’t have a cure for SAD, here are some things that help me:

Warm colors and spring themes are absolutely essential for me. Flowers, greens, yellows oinks*, I mean pinks, oranges..I have plants that are still alive somehow, and I usually draw something just to focus on the colors until I feel a sense of peace and contentment.

Warm beverages. Hot cocoa, coffee, tea are all wonderful. They warm up my hands and the steam from the mug just lifts the gentle scent and I imagine the heaviness of winter breaks away from me and is carried away with the steam to a magical place where goblins will eat it and enjoy its gloomy textures.

Sometimes when it’s really bad, I go back to bed. I dont need to sleep, I just close the curtains, turn on my lamps, and just appreciate the warm fluffiness of my pillows and comforter. Sometimes I read a book, but mostly, I just focus on the warm lamplight, and pretend my bedroom is a springtime fairy garden and everything is going to be okay. Sometimes I do fall asleep for a little while, and when that happens, it feels like hitting a reset button on the day.

I embrace the trendiest of winter fashions. Comforter chic is all the rage this season. Dont forget your fluffy slippers!

Things I havent drawn yet but are really helpful in the winter are

  1. Vitamin D3 supplements. I noticed a marked mood improvement when I take these.
  2. Exercise. My favorite is Fitness Boxing on the nintendo switch. Punching works out a lot of frustration and I find myself laughing by the end of it.
  3. Terrible jokes. The ones that are so bad, they’re good. My dad texted me one he heard recently: “A tyrannosaurus rex was arrested for selling handguns to the locals here. Apparently, he was a small arms dealer”
  4. Keeping up with friends and family. You need someone to share those terrible jokes with, and good company can be an excellent remedy for seasonal depression.
  5. Peppy music. When I feel really sad, I pay upbeat tunes. When its an emergency, I play this Song

*some typos are worth keeping

New Year, New Goals!

Are you making resolutions for the new year? This year I have two goals, and some steps to help me get there.

 

  1.  To get ready to query:
    1. Draw every day – Even on bad days, and sometimes especially on bad days. I want to push outside my “Aw, that’s really pleasant” comfort zone.
    2. Finish 3 pictures books WIPs- I have the ideas. I just need to finish them! I’m using an action planner workbook to focus on a task a week to get this done.
    3.  Submit to agents! I have a small list of agents I’d love to work with based on personal and online interactions. Once my WIPs are finished, I’m going to start contacting agents (and of course, following their submission guidelines)
  2. Get Travel Ready:
    1. Build strength, endurance, and flexibility for dream hiking, with exercise and hiking local trails 5 times a week.
    2.  Practice languages for places I’m visiting 10 minutes a day. Most people speak English, but I prefer knowing some of the language because it’s a languages are fun and a great way to connect to people.

 

Cecilia Yung had an amazing session at an SCBWI conference about goal-setting, and she stressed multiple times the importance of not setting goals that weren’t in your control. To say “I’m going to get an agent and get published this year” is a terrible goal, because I have NO control over whether I’ll get a “yes!” from someone else. But I DO have control over the work I do and submitting it. I still have a note from that session reminding me of this; it is wonderful advice.

 

This Fluff and Flowers was drawn with Copic Markers and color pencils. Copics are colorful and fun, but not my favorite tool to use. I’m not SURE what my favorite is, maybe by the end of the year I’ll have an answer for you 🙂

Fluff and Flowers