It’s a Wednesday in late June and it seems like as good a day as any to take you along on a day in the life of an illustrator, me!
9am
After the morning rush and school drop off, I’m home. Time to make a pot of peppermint tea, check my Etsy and online shop for orders or inquiries. I’m going to spend a little bit of time this morning finishing off a new illustration to share on Instagram. It’s about ‘hope’ and where you can see it.
10am
I decided to draw and have tea snuggled up in my green armchair, so now I’m off to the studio. My studio is a space we built in our backyard. My hubby also works from home. Today I am printing off orders, stamping envelopes and creating custom cards. Then a spot of hand lettering names for custom star map prints, using astronomy software for plotting the stars to the date and time the little ones were born.
11am
Creating and sending digital mock ups of custom prints and cards to customers. I export a jpg of the illustrator file and then place this into a photo in photoshop. Then a bit more drawing on the iPad as I had an idea!
12noon
Now I’m writing a letter to my subscribers. I send this out roughly every month. Though I have been a bit slack so this one is a bit late! Also uploading my free printable monthly calendar to my website to include in my letter.
1pm
Time for lunch and another pot of tea. I’m an avid tea drinker and only have one coffee a day, which is decaf. If the weather is nice I like to sit in the garden to eat lunch and then check on the veggie patch to see if there are any pests. We’ve struggled with caterpillars and rats eating our produce this winter.
2pm
Printing and packing orders! Today I have a few custom cards going out in the post. So I print, cut, hand crease, fold and then package cards in tissue paper. I also like to include a handwritten note with the order and a copy of my latest monthly calendar too!
3pm
Orders are all ready for the post office run and now off to pick up Harry from school. I like to listen to a podcast on the drive to pick him up, it makes the daily routine of school pick up more interesting. I’m loving Nova Reid’s podcast at the moment.
4-6.30pm
All the daily things like dinner prep, unpacking school bags and reading. In winter I like to close all the shutters and turn on our lamps to make the house cosy! We like to eat dinner together as this is a way to chat about our day and share stories.
7pm
Bedtime for Harry! We usually journal together using my Happiful Journal so he can pick a daily page or an activity to relax before bed. Sometimes if he doesn’t want to journal we read a book and then when snuggled up in bed, I ask him some of the journal prompts and then make up an activity idea or share a quote. We like to call this our verbal Happiful Journal!
8pm
Now I like to make a cup of Chamomile tea with a bit of fresh ginger. I’m going to snuggle up on the couch with my iPad and do some drawing. I don’t do this every night, sometimes I just like to watch Netflix or do some yoga.
10pm
Bedtime. I like to do a guided meditation on the Calm app for 10 minutes before bed. Then reading my book and sometimes if my brain is really active I like to journal my thoughts. Then off to sleep!
I hope you enjoyed a look into my daily life as an illustrator and mum. If you have any questions for me, include them below and I’ll answer them!
