Have you gotten my new digital wallpapers yet?

Freebie,

Did you know that I have an e-newsletter you can sign up to get my news and updates?

{If you’re already on my list – THANK YOU! I appreciate you :)}

If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, you might wonder – why do you need to be on the email list if you already follow me here and on other social media platforms?

Well, I follow many people on multiple social media platforms, but I don’t always see what they post.

Let’s face it, social media decides what they want you to see, not necessarily the other way around! It’s so annoying 😦

I like getting emails from people I admire because it’s a sure way to learn what new products they offer, get inspirations, and just to find out what they’re up to in general. I don’t need to wonder what might be coming up or go to their social media feed to find out what I may have missed – I simply don’t have the time for that!

I love the convenience of getting important stuff delivered right in my inbox. Even if I don’t read every email in full detail (yes, I often skim!), I’m less likely to miss something that would benefit me.

If you didn’t know or haven’t signed up, yet – I create digital wallpapers for your smartphone and desktop and offer it exclusively to the friends on my e-list!

For example, I recently sent my new wallpaper, “Watercolor Circle Flowers” in red, purple, and blue, to my email subscribers:

circle-flower-repeat-pattern-square_300px
I created a repeat pattern that’s fun and organic. The motifs are from one of my new drawings for the 2017 calendar!

 

watercolor circle flower red, purple, blue on smartphone screen
It works on your smartphone ❤
watercolor-circle-flower-desktop-wallpaper
And your desktop!

If you’re a subscriber, you should’ve gotten it in your inbox earlier this month (if not, just let me know at yuko (at) honeyberrystudios (dot) com, and I’ll re-send!)

For new subscribers, you’ll get them instantly delivered to your inbox once you follow this link to sign up! I promise it’s quick and painless 😀

Thanks friend! I hope you enjoy the new look on your devices 🙂 I certainly feel calm and relaxed when I see mine ❤

p.s. My email subscribers will be the first ones to hear about the new winter holiday collection release – if you don’t want to miss it, be sure to sign up today 🙂

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

Creative Process: Mindfulness Calendar Illustrations

creative process, New Products, , ,

I showed you a sneak preview of my 2017 Mindfulness & Gratitude wall calendar a couple of weeks ago in this post.

Let me take you on a behind-the-scenes tour and show you my creative process today.

I started creating illustrations about mindfulness and gratitude after I came back from the 10-day silent meditation retreat earlier this summer. It was deeply healing and I wanted to make art about it as a reminder of that experience. (You can read about my reflections here.)

All-beings-be-happy-sketchbook_1000px
May all beings be happy, peaceful, and liberated.
live like you have everything you need meditation watercolor drawing
Live like you have everything you need.

Once I started to make a few of these drawings, I thought, why not create more and make a calendar that encourages people to live mindfully every day? 

What does “living mindfully” mean to me? It means that I can hit a pause button in my mind when I’m in a stressful situation and think “oh, this situation is stressful.” I remind myself that whatever is going on is only temporary, and I bring my focus back on my breathing. It helps me stay calm and respond to a situation more thoughtfully rather than reacting.

Of course, I’m a regular human being and not a Tibetan monk :D, so I still react to situations.

I get mad when someone cuts me off in the traffic (without the turning signal on even!!). I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night worrying about how my business isn’t where it should be and can’t get back to sleep. I get so jealous when my husband devours slices of super cheesy, gluten-and-carb-filled pizza or a big piece of custardy Bosc pear tart with a scoop (or two) vanilla ice cream and does not gain an ounce.

Believe me, I’m not above it all!

But I try. Every day is a new beginning and you can only try, right?

For the calendar, I created 12 new drawings with watercolor, gouache, and pen on paper.

Many of the drawings are inspired by nature and seasons. I also incorporated some everyday objects like these tea cups and pots:

 

I also hand-wrote positive messages for each calendar page to encourage mindful living.

I gathered these simple quotes and sayings from the instructions of the meditation practice or advices my wise friends gave me in the past. I also included some of the things I tell myself when I’m feeling off-centered.

its-ok-if-only-thing-you-did-was-breathe-wip_lores
It’s OK if the only thing you did today was breathe.
there-is-enough-for-everyone-wip_lores
There is enough for everyone. I worked on this illustration on my parents’ dining table while I was in Hokkaido, Japan.
you-can-always-start-again-wip_1000px
You can always start again.
you-can-always-start-again-wip-cu_1000px
Close-up.

Then I scan my hand drawn art in to Photoshop to edit and design the layout for the calendar pages.

Working away on a tiny table at an airbnb we stayed at :D
Working away on a tiny dining table at an airbnb we stayed at 😀

Here is a couple more sample pages for you 🙂

It's OK if the only thing you did today was breathe.
It’s OK if the only thing you did today was breathe.
You can always start again.
You can always start again.
Be gentle with yourself.
Be gentle with yourself.

Do you know someone who can use a little positivity boost? This calendar makes a great gift for the holidays, and it will be available on my Etsy shop early November!

Be happy,

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Watercolor food drawing tutorials!

Food, Tutorial, Video

I recently made several drawing tutorials for Sakura of America, and my watercolor food drawing tutorial series are now available on their YouTube channel!

1. Let’s Draw Vegetables!

2. Let’s Draw Berries!

3. What’s on Your Plate?

I hope you check them out and let me know how you like it!

If you share your work on Instagram, please tag me @honeyberrystudios so I can enjoy your beautiful work!

Do tell me in the comment below what tutorials you’d like me to work on next! I’m always looking for ideas 🙂

Thanks friend! xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Sneak preview! 2017 mindfulness & gratitude wall calendar!

New Products,

Confession time: I’ve been a bit out of sorts the past few months.

On top of the usual summer busy-ness, I traveled to North Carolina in August, dealt with an illness and the loss of our beloved kitty, Sheppie, and took a trip to Japan in September.

And just as I thought I could finally sit down to focus, we had another pet emergency with our parakeet, Gerty, over the last weekend (she seems to be recovering ok), so I had to hit the pause button again.

As much as I want to believe I could do everything like my life is normal, my work had to take a backseat through these planned and unplanned events.

Life happens. And I’m trying to remind myself that things have always worked out in the past, and this will also pass.

With that being said, I’m slowing making a progress on my winter holiday products and am very happy to see how they’re coming together!

Here is a sneak preview of my 2017 Mindfulness & Gratitude Wall Calendar:

I'd rather be here and now watercolor illustration calendar
I’d rather be here and now.
may all beings be happy, peaceful, and liberated watercolor art calendar
May all beings be happy, peaceful, and liberated.
Live like you have everything you need watercolor art calendar
Live like you have everything you need.

In addition to the wall calendar, I’ll be releasing new art prints, notebooks, and holiday greeting cards in early November. 

I’ll keep you posted on when these will be available on my Etsy shop! Stay tuned 🙂

Thank you, friend! Have a wonderful day 🙂

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

You’re making a difference even if you’re not making money.

Growth & Development, My Thoughts,

yes-you-are_1000px

{First of all – THANK YOU for responding to my “What do you enjoy reading about the most on my blog?” survey! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how you feel. If you missed it, you can still share your thoughts with me here :)}

I recently posted this video on Instagram and it resonated with a lot of people.

You are making a difference even if you are not making $

I often get anxious when I’m doing things that are not actively paying the bills, like gardening, making food from scratch, and taking my mini sabbaticals every 7 weeks.

I could decide to let them go so I can spend more time on growing my creative business (and I almost did give up on gardening a couple of years ago). We only have 24 hours a day, and if we wanted to create time for something important, you just need to say no to other things.

But really, I often get my creative inspirations from doing things like gardening and cooking healthy meals from scratch.

Gardening gets me in touch with the seasons and nature. It also gets me outside of our house regularly. I’m a homebody and would stay home for as long as I care to admit if I let myself 😀

I also feel empowered knowing that we’re able to meet at least a tiny portion of our basic needs ourselves.

Eat a Rainbow Colorful Summer Vegetable Illustration by Honeyberry Studios
Eat a Rainbow, watercolors & pen on paper.

Making food from scratch might take longer and could actually be more expensive than buying prepared or processed food, but it also helps me feel good in my body and mind.

Cooking is a very hands-on creative activity with an immediate reward (well, most of the time anyway) and gives me a break from a lot of thinking and computer work, too.

This beet walnut hummus recipe is not only tasty and healthy, it's beautiful!
This beet walnut hummus recipe is not only tasty and healthy, but it’s beautiful!

I also feel annoyed by other household chores, like cleaning and grocery shopping, but if they don’t happen, my working environment wouldn’t feel as good and productive.

Yes, as a creative business owner, I need to be making money and maintain a strong focus to achieve that goal.

I constantly think about how to create a life where I still enjoy the craft and have a sustainable business doing what I love. I need my life to be meaningful and joyful so I can continue creating work that brings others joy ❤

These other things, though they don’t seem to be directly helping me bring in the big paycheck, are part of what keeps my creative reservoir filled. And it’s my professional obligation as a working artist to do so.

If you ever felt guilty for taking the time out of your day to attend to “other” needs, think of how those activities are helping you to stay well-rounded so you can focus on your goals.

Remember, your creations have values. It makes people happy and feel warm and fuzzy. It makes them laugh out loud. It makes them think or cry. People are moved by what you create. It’s truly magical!

Keep putting yourself out there even if you don’t feel it’s making a difference today. Believe me, you’re making a difference by doing what you do!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Can you help me? I need your opinions!

Uncategorized

I'm-all-ears_1000px

Hey there friend!

I share lots of different things on my blog and often wonder what you enjoy reading about the most.

I can sort of gauge from your “likes” and comments but it won’t hurt to just ask, right? If I knew exactly what you like, I could deliver more of that thing. Sounds good, yes?

Here are 10 general categories I have for my blog posts.  Would you tell me how much you like (or not like) them via this quick survey?

  1. Behind the scenes creative process
  2. Drawings from my sketchbook
  3. New art and products for sale
  4. Self-care tips
  5. Tips for creative motivation
  6. Small creative business tips
  7. Illustrated healthy recipes
  8. Sabbatical reports – what I did/made during my time-off
  9. Information about my classes, workshops, and tutorials
  10. Tools and apps I love and recommend

Thank you so much in advance for your time!! In case you missed the link to the survey, here it is!

p.s. If it’s easier, you can also tell me your preferred topics and any other comments/feedback you have in the comments below! I love reading all of your comments 🙂

Have a wonderful day ❤

Yuko

My Food Journal Drawings from Japan!

Food, Mini Sabbaticlas, ,

I just got back from my Japan trip on Friday, and it was awesome ❤

I doodled while I waited for my flight to Japan :D
I doodled while I waited for my flight to Japan 😀

In this visit, I didn’t actually go home. Instead, I visited my parents in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, where they spent the summer this year.

my parents by the Lake Mashu. It was the most beautiful and peaceful lake I've ever seen!
my parents by the Lake Mashu. It was the most beautiful and peaceful lake I’d ever seen!

Hokkaido is so big and spacious!

They have a huge commercial agriculture and farming industry up there. I felt like I was in Montana or somewhere in the midwest half the time 😀

This was a typical view while we drove around.
This was a typical view while we drove around.

The nature was absolutely breathtaking. My parents took me to see some of their favorite spots.

Lake Mashu, Ashoro, Hokkaido
Lake Mashu, Ashoro, Hokkaido
A Garden at Takushin Kan, Photo Gallery, Biei, Hokkaido
Beautiful cosmos at Takushin-Kan Photo Gallery, Biei, Hokkaido
Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido
Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido

Pretty magical, isn’t it??

And another highlight of my Japan trip was, of course, the food! Hokkaido is known for many foods, like potatoes, corns, beef, pork, and seafood to name a few.

I ended up drawing what I ate every day during my stay. Here are some of my favorites!

(I had plenty of meat-y dishes, and they were all good. But I want to highlight more seafood dishes here because I think turned out prettier :D)

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My parents and I had dinner at New Chitose Airport the first night I arrived. I had to try their seafood donburi. It was delish!!
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What I enjoyed the most was a simple meal with rice, grilled fish (here I had Hokke) pickled veggies, and miso soup. I appreciated they offer a wider variety of fish in Japan!
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We stayed at an onsen (hot springs) inn in Ashoro. Onsen inns typically serve you dinner and breakfast that consist of seasonal local foods in tiny dishes. I love these tiny dishes ❤
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Here is what we had for breakfast at the onsen. So simple and delicious ❤ I wish we could’ve stayed there longer!
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My mom and I went shopping in Asahikawa and ate at the same restaurant I had the simple grilled fish earlier. They’d started serving Sanma, which is a very common fish you get in Japan but not in the states. Sanma had just come in season, and it was GOOD!
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We had sushi at the airport before I left. Yes it was at the airport and it was the conveyor belt sushi (the conveyor belt sushi is actually pretty good in Japan) – BUT we thought it was the best sushi we ever had. WE ATE SO MUCH. I was high from all the glorious sushi for hours afterwards.

I can’t believe how quickly 10 days went by. It’s always so hard to say good bye at the end of my visit. My mom and I usually can’t get too many words out of our mouth because we’re crying… 😦

Mom!
Mom!

I also noticed we’ve gotten closer as we got older.

Maybe I’ve become more mature? and am more compassionate towards them… I think my daily meditation practice also helped me stay calm every time they pushed my button 😀 Oh parents.

I hope we all stay healthy and get to enjoy many more visits together! Thank you for the lovely vacation, mom and dad! ❤

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

 

Behind the Scenes: How I create my recipe illustrations

Food, Recipe

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I love to cook and eat simple and healthy meals.

I enjoy sharing the recipes I love, and illustrated recipes are a great way to combine my two passions! 

I shared this Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Sauce recipe last week and documented my creative process for the Instagram Story (BTW, I’m really enjoying this feature a lot!)

It was fun to share the process with my followers and thought you might enjoy a little peek, too!

Zucchini pasta recipe creative process
I usually work with pen and ink on paper. Here is the lettering for the title. I’m using a Pigma Micron pen (black, size 01) and Canson Mixed Media sketchbook here.
Zucchini pasta with avocado sauce illustrated recipe process
I have a rough layout in mind when I draw my recipes. Recipes that don’t involve a ton of ingredients and steps are easier to create. And those are recipes I love to cook anyway!
Zucchini pasta with avocado sauce recipe illustration process
I hand write all the texts. I try to make it legible and easy to follow.

Coloring the drawing with my favorite markers: Sakura Koi Brush Pens!

Zucchini pasta with avocado sauce illustration recipe process
Coloring done! I like to use only a handful of colors to keep it simple. For this illustration, red and orange tomatoes look great against the green tones.

Then I scan the image in to edit/manipulate it in Photoshop. This is why I don’t stress too much about layout and mistakes when I draw my recipe on paper. Thank you Photoshop 😀

And it’s ready to post! Hooray!

Hope you enjoyed my behind the scenes creative process today 🙂

p.s. I’m leaving for Japan tomorrow to visit my parents for two weeks 🙂 I’ll be taking a break from my blog next week but will give you my travel report  when I get back!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Illustrated Recipe: Zucchini Pasta & Creamy Avocado Sauce

Food, Recipe, , , ,

The day has finally come.

I’m a proud owner of a spiralizer!!

I’d been dreaming about having a spiralizer for a while now. I try to avoid refined carbs as much as I can, and a spiralizer would make it easy for me to substitute pastas and noodles and add more veggies to my dish.

Dave got me this spiralizer from Paderno as an early anniversary gift! And I’m so in love ❤

spiralizer
Oh spiralizer, how I longed for you…

I saved this Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce recipe on my Pinterest a few months ago and decided to make it the next day I got my new toy.

It’s been super hot here, and our apartment overheats really easily, so I’m happy to have recipes that don’t require me to turn on the stove after, like, 10am.

It was really easy to assemble and use the spiralizer. Making my zucchini noodles was a breeze!

 

This recipe is so simple. I was eating my zucchini pasta with avocado sauce within 10 minutes.

Zucchini-Pasta-with-Avocado-Sauce_Illustrated_Recipe
Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce. It’s a light and tasty dish perfect for summer lunch!

I had a bunch of cherry tomatoes and basil from our gardens, and they made a nice addition to this cool summer dish.

Zucchini-pasta-photo_1000px
So refreshing and healthy!

It was so good, I practically inhaled it!! 😀

There will be more spiralizing happening in my future for sure! Do you have any favorite spiralized vegetable recipes? If so, please share in the comment 🙂 I’d love to hear!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

I quit my day job one year ago!!

business, Growth & Development, My Thoughts

July 31st was my one year anniversary of quitting the regular day job! Whoa!

Happy first birthday to an-independent-artist/entrepreneur-me 🙂 I’m still here, alive and kickin’!

cupcake_watercolor and pen drawing

I honestly can’t believe it’s been a year, and I just feel so grateful and privileged to be able to pursue my passion every day.

When I left my day job, I gave up a steady paycheck and good benefits. And in return, I gained the freedom to create work from my passion and decide how I’m going to achieve my goals.

And, I love being my own boss. For the most part anyway.

But one of the hardest part of being my own boss is – well, not having a boss.

What does a boss do? They give you a guidance, direction, support and a feedback. Well, at least they should, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have bosses who did all those things 🙂

And it can be extremely difficult to do that for myself sometimes.

Especially when you work so hard and don’t see the results right away, not getting that constant validation and encouragement that your’e doing a good job can be tough.

You're-doing-a-great-job-sketchbook_1000px

I’d imagine many entrepreneurs feel this way. Or if your’e a parent or a boss’s boss. It gets lonely up here!

You know another thing I miss about the day job? An annual performance review!

Is that weird? I always felt so refreshed after my review. It’s a wonderful opportunity to sit and reflect on all the things you’ve accomplished and set an intention for where you want to go next.

So I wanted to review my last 12 months and share with you what I’ve learned.

What I’m proud of:

  • Started taking mini sabbaticals every 7 week. I believe self-care is super important and wanted to put a regular self-care practice in place to prevent burn-out.
  • Did 5 art shows
  • Ran the Creative Coaching 4-week email course and a pilot program
  • Have been meeting with 2-3 accountability partners regularly to stay focused and motivated on my goals
  • Consistently writing & posting blogs and newsletters
  • Launched my first art collection, Eat a Rainbow, this summer
  • Started teaching Introduction to Block Printing workshops locally
  • My revenue grew almost 5x from the same time frame between 2014-2015
  • My work was featured in Seattle Magazine and Uppercase newsletter (and a couple more in the works! Yay!)
  • Created my first video tutorial and taught in an e-course, the Journey Within
  • Partnered with Sakura of America to produce 5 tutorial videos (launch dates TBD)
  • Participated in 10 arts & craft shows
  • Made 4 times more sales on my Etsy store alone
  • Grew my social media followers by 200%
  • Joined the gym and consistently working out
  • Went to a 10-day silent meditation retreat and continuing my daily meditation practice
  • Started selling my products at 5 retail store locations

What I could do more or better:

  • Create sustainable cashflow strategies & implement it!
  • Create a better, more streamlined system for marketing
  • Explore new social media platform (e.g. Snapchat etc.) so I can interact  with my followers more deeply
  • Continue prioritizing my health and wellness and take regular sabbaticals
  • Allow time for reflection and long-term strategies (every quarter or 6 months?) even if everyday busyness seems more urgent.
  • Narrow down my focus
  • Become more comfortable with taking a risk, don’t be afraid to make a mistake, and if I make a mistake, don’t dwell on the negatives. Learn the lessons, and move on!
  • Prepare better financially for slow times (e.g. In-person teaching is super slow during summer so maybe do more shows to create a better cash flow).
  • Expand my wholesale capacity and partner with more retail shops
  • Expand my teaching offerings both in-person & online

What I want to learn:

  • Research and learn more about product business/manufacturers/wholesale, to make my biz more profitable
  • Effective social media marketing strategies & apps
  • How to make better videos and shoot photos
  • Sewing and more fun creative projects for myself!

Next Step:

  • I’ve made an appointment with myself later this week to sit down and do a planning session for the next 6 months. I’m going to figure out timelines for my goals, break down my goals into baby steps, and make a plan of attack!

I was surprised that it didn’t take very much time to make a list of my accomplishments. It’s so nice to remind myself that I am moving forward even if the progress seems slow.

If you don’t have a boss to give you a performance review, I highly recommend you do this with yourself at least once a year. I bet you’ll feel inspired and motivated by how far you’ve come, too!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot