For the month of October, I'm going to be doing a livestream on Facebook every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m. We'll be doing 2030make (our creative challenge) together, and it's going to be fun! We'll tackle creative blocks together, talk about inspiration, and much MORE. Can't wait to do this with you. :)

2030make LIVE

Join me for 2030make live on the Little Girl Designs Facebook page during the month of October. It’s going to be FUN!

Hello, hello!

When I met 1:1 with a mentor during a conference recently, one of my chief questions was how to be authentic and build community in a social media driven blog world. For those of you who don’t own blog businesses, this might seem like a strange question to ask, but for me it is a real problem.

Have you ever kept a happy journal? It's not quite an art journal and not a regular writing journal. It's kind of like a gratitude journal but with a twist. Mine has done wonders for my life.

How a Sticker-Covered Book Makes Me Happy

Who knew a sticker-covered book would start me on this journey?

I was digging through our flat files one afternoon when I came across a small booklet. The sight of it immediately brought a smile to my face. It was completely covered with stickers from fruit I had eaten.

Opening the pages, I entered into a world I had forgotten. Tiny sketches of my life in Los Angeles filled the pages. At the time, I had been planning a trip to visit my family for Christmas. This tiny book chronicled my excitement as the day drew near.

One thing I noticed in that book was the joy. I couldn’t help but smile as I flipped through the pages. How had I forgotten these moments?

I love this idea! How to make a DIY spa in a box gift for a friend. So cute! I'd add my homemade sugar scrub and bath bomb; I know my friend will love this!

How to Make a Spa in a Box (Care Package 101)

Want to make your friend’s day? Make her a spa in a box care package! Here’s how . . .

Can I tell you how excited I am to share this DIY spa kit with you today? I recently bought a stack of small boxes to use this year for gifting and immediately thought how fun it would be to use them to send a spa in a box through the mail.

The idea for a survival kit isn’t new. Maybe you received a care package or two while you were away for college. Maybe you’ve even sent some through the mail. (Total side note, but if you want more survival kit ideas, you’ve got to check out Lauren Lanker’s gem of a book, Thinking Outside the Gift Box. It’s packed full of meaningful gift ideas like this one. K—back to this presentation.)

Well, I'm writing a book. Would you like to join me? I've been working on a new book for most of the year, but went about it the WRONG way. Here's what I'm doing differently.

I’m Writing a Book . . . Want to Join Me?

At the beginning of the year, I began writing a book. Except, instead of writing said book the normal way, I jumped into this project with three blank sketchbooks and began illustrating and hand-writing it.

Every day for months, I wrote four pages a day. I wrote until I had those three sketchbooks filled to the brim.

And then I stopped.

My initial thought had been I would scan all of those pages and add color spots to them as I had done for some of the pages in The Creative Retreat. The problem was, have you ever scanned hundreds of non-related pages? And the thought of color-correcting each and every one of them . . . Oh. My. Goodness.

Mentoring is a great way to grow personally and professionally, but what if you don't know anyone who can mentor you? No worries, you can still be mentored by some of the top leaders in the world. Seriously. This is how I do it. :) (P.S. This is a really awesome idea for introverts!)

How to Be Mentored by Anyone

Wouldn’t it be amazing to be mentored by your hero? It might not be as difficult as you think. Here’s how to be mentored from the best in your industry.

Years ago, I began noticing how leaders across niches and work spaces were talking more and more about mentoring. I wanted to be mentored too, but when I looked around, I wasn’t sure who to ask. Or what a mentoring relationship would look like.

I imagined sitting in a cafe with a seasoned writer, talking about our creative careers, and hashing out what was holding me back. I imagined homework, because my personality type loves homework.

I love these journaling prompts, especially the ones with ideas of what to write and doodle in my bullet journal! A great list for bullet journaling, art journaling, and for those time when writer's block hits. Using these for my next creative retreat! :)

40 Awesome Journaling Prompts

I love these journaling prompts for all occasions. I use them in my bullet journal, for art journaling projects, and to get rid of writer’s block!

Don’t you hate it when you can’t think of anything to write? Maybe you’re new to journaling and feel intimidated by all the blank pages in your journal. Or maybe you’ve been writing a while, but need an extra spark.

Sometimes when I go on my personal creative retreats, I bring along a prompt or two to get my creative juices flowing. Often the questions or words in the prompts are things I wouldn’t regularly write about, and it’s interesting to explore something new to me. I don’t know about you, but I always liked it when teachers gave us good prompts back in the day for writing assignments. Something about the constraints of a specific word or question makes my imagination soar!

Get organized and inspired by these bullet journal layouts created by students! Use a bullet journal to take notes, journal, keep track of goals, and more!

13 Bullet Journal Layouts For Students

Get inspired by 13 bullet journal layouts for students! LOVE these ideas!

How I wish the idea of a bullet journal had popped into my head when I was in school. I used and decorated the standbys that everyone bought at the store. Kind of boring. Knowing my lifelong adoration for stationery supplies, I can imagine I would have spent quality time writing out my notes and schedule in a blank book.

I love how creative these students are . . . Hope they inspire you!

Want to learn how to dot journal? The concept behind a bullet journal is simple: it's your go-to place for your planner needs, to do list, and journal. But does it work? This author shares her method and so far, I've been loving the ideas I've learned!

How to Start a Dot Journal

Are you a planner girl? A list writer? A journalista? I am all the above but when I saw the dot journal movement start up a couple of years ago, I kind of, um, rolled my eyes. I LOVE to create and make things so you would think that creating layouts for my planner would be super fun.

But when I scrolled through the bullet journaling (also called dot journaling) images on Instagram and Pinterest, all I could conjur up was feelings of overwhelm. I have to use a ruler? These pages are PERFECT and GORGEOUS and wow, I don’t have time for that.

So I put it off.