Monthly Archives: May 2018

Congratulate your grads with style and heart 🎓❤️

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Hi there friend,

Is it just me or does the time go by waaaaay faster as you get older??

With a wholesale event coming up in July, I’ve been working hard on my fall/winter collection.

Having a deadline really helps me focus and be more productive.

And, prioritizing art making has been good for my soul, too ✨

Sigh.

I’ll share some sneak previews in the coming weeks! I think you’re gonna like what’s coming for ya 😉

But let’s get back to what’s important right this minute…

May is almost over, and that means graduation season is upon us.

Do you have special people in your life who are graduating this year? Do you need cards and gifts to celebrate their accomplishments?

I’ve hand picked some graduation gift options for you that will make your grads feel proud and be ready to tackle their next adventures 💪

First up, don’t forget to send them a congratulations card!

{ 1. Sail On, Happy Graduation card | 2. Cats High Five card | 3. Pink Poppies Congrats card }

These art prints will send an encouraging message to your special grad, too (not to mention an awesome wall decor!)

{ 1. Sail On giclee art print (8″x10″) | 2. You Are Exactly Where You Are Supposed to Be giclee art print (8″x10″) }

Life changes are exciting but can be scary, too.

Let them know they’re good enough even if they may be feeling anxious or unsure about their next steps.

{ You Are Enough vinyl sticker }

And, who wouldn’t love a good list??

Help them get organized as they adjust to a new phase in their life.


{ 1.Eat a Rainbow Market List | 2. Succulents To-Do List | 3. Rooster Friends Notepad }

Last but not least, if your grads are moving away from either Seattle, Spokane, or Tacoma, gift them the city art print so they can take a piece of their home wherever they go.

{ 1.I ❤ Seattle giclee art print | 2. Vintage Seattle Chicken Garden giclee art print | 3. Hello Spokane giclee art print | 4. Tacoma giclee art print }

I hope you’ll find the perfect gift for your special graduates!

xo

p.s. You just wanna browse my shop? Go here!

p.p.s. And don’t forget my Honeyberry Studios 2 pop up shop if you’re looking for deals. Supplies are limited.

Sweet giveaway is happening at Geeky Girls Knit!

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Hi friend!

Let me introduce you to C.C . and Dami, the sweetest mother-daughter co-hosts of the knitting podcast, Geeky Girls Knit!

I met C.C. a couple of months ago when Tara Swiger (she does an awesome podcast for small business owners) was visiting Seattle.

We met for coffee and donuts (oh that raspberry donut from Mighty-O Donuts, tho! 🤤) and chatted about our businesses and self-care.

C.C. has this warm, super friendly energy to her and was very generous with sharing her own experiences with business.

I liked her immediately (it’s pretty instantaneous when I like someone 😀), and we’ve been friends online since then.

(BTW, I’m also obsessed with their new kitty, Pink Purl (I know), who makes a regular appearance on their Instagram feed.)

I’ve never met her daughter, Dami, in person yet, but she also is a generous, kind person from what I can tell 💕

So I was thrilled when C.C. asked me if they could do a product review for me and host a giveaway on their show!

You can watch/listen to the episode here.

The product review happens towards the end and don’t miss the information about the sweet giveaway there!

(The giveaway closes at the end of Tuesday, May 22nd, and the winner is announced on their show on the 24th.)

Enjoy 😊 Hope you win!

xo

p.s. In case you missed it, you can watch their podcast episode here.

What I did during my last mini sabbatical week

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Hey friend,

I took my mini sabbatical week off a couple of weeks ago.

In case you’re wondering what that’s all about, I’ve been taking every 7th week off to rest and recharge since October 2015.

(The concept of mini sabbaticals isn’t mine: I’ve been listening to Seanwes podcast for creative businesses, and that’s a brilliant idea I learned from him.)

Every sabbatical is different – sometimes I work on projects I don’t normally have time to do. Other times I just relax and veg out.

Most of all, I just try not to have any deadlines or other people’s priorities drive my decisions if I can help it.

So here are some highlights from my most recent mini sabbatical.

We purged.

To be more precise, we went through my clothes and books and got rid of about 80% of them.

I read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up“ by Marie Kondo a few weeks ago and was totally inspired.

I grew up in a somewhat of a pack rat-ish household, so the clutter’s never bothered me very much before.

But it bothers Dave, and as my business grows, our small apartment has been bursting at the seams with all of the boxes of products and shipping supplies, I knew I needed to make more room.

To follow the KonMari method described in the book, you must go through your belongings throughly and discard what doesn’t spark joy in you.

Thank goodness Dave was here to help because it was so tiring and overwhelming!! 😅

After a day of sorting, we took BIG piles of my clothes to Goodwill and some of the items went to our neighborhood consignment shop.

It’s AMAZING to walk into my closet now!

Much more spacious and every piece of clothing and accessory I actually want to wear 😆

It’s true what Marie talks about in her book – it’s not just the physical space you’re reclaiming in your home – it’s really more about the mental weight you’re shedding by discarding what doesn’t bring you joy any more.

I’d held onto SO MUCH for so long… sigh.

I did the same process for books and other papers (documents, receipts, etc.) on that Sunday by myself because Dave was working, and got rid of most of my books/papers.

We sold some books and DVDs and rest was donated and all papers were shredded.

Now I only have the books that I truly enjoy, which turned out to be comics and arts & crafts books!

This method helps you strengthen your intuition and gives you a permission to let go of what’s not serving you any more.

It’s no wonder her students don’t rebound and start collecting things again. I love the space I tidied up so much that I’ll be so selective about what to add in the future.

I also feel more content and peaceful.

It’s funny how your “wanting mind” quiets down as you get rid of so much stuff.

It reminds you that you actually DO have everything you need at this moment. What a wonderful feeling!

(We’ve continued to purge over the last week and can’t wait to finish going through rest of our stuff! I’m definitely addicted 😀)

OK, so here are some other fun things I did during my sabbatical!

I’ve been working on these kitty ornaments in my pottery class.

I made a few pet ornaments for friends who’ve lost their pets lately.

They were so cute that I decided to make more for my shop!

I still have some work left on these new kitty ornaments, but they’ll be available for purchase in the next month or so!

(Note: if you want the first dibs on these cuties 🐱, be sure to sign up for my newsletter!)

Speaking of adorable, I visited my friend’s new puppy during my sabbatical.

Meet Nelly.

When I met her, she’d just turned 8 weeks old.

A tiny, sweet, sleepy puppy.

Puppies can turn any day into a happy day, can’t they??

Oh, and I finished my new Tacoma art during my week off.

It’s work but it’s fun work 😁

To tell you the truth, for a small business owner like myself, sadly the art making time is actually pretty limited. So when I get to spend hours just making art, it’s pure joy.

I’m really happy with how it turned out and am glad a bunch of Tacoma friends have approved it so far 👍

I’ve become quite charmed by Tacoma as I spend more time down there this year – it’s got art, history, and plenty of quirkiness.

Do you love it? Know someone who would? It’s available as art prints and notecards in my shop 😘

It was a really nice sabbatical. Productive but felt so restful at the same time.

Can’t wait to do it again in June!

xo

Spring & summer craft fairs are coming 🌸

Shop,

Happy Sunday!

I took a week off during the week of 4/23 for my mini sabbatical (concept inspired by Seanwes).

I did do some work, but over all, it was super mellow and relaxing.

And I have a lot less stuff now because I purged the heck out of my belongings.

(I’ll tell you more about that next week!)

Meanwhile, I’ve added a bunch of new craft shows to my calendar in the last couple of weeks.

And I put together this handy (and pretty) list for you!

I’ll be a very busy lady this coming months 😀 but if you ever wondered “when would I see Yuko?” you know where I’ll be!

I hope to see you at one (or more!) of these events soon. It’s always nice to see familiar faces 😊

You can visit my events page for links to each event. I’m regularly adding new events to my calendar, so don’t forget to check back with me.

Have an awesome day, my friend!

xo

p.s. reminder – last day to place your Mother’s Day card/gift order online is TODAY if you’re in the U.S.! Go visit my shop here.