It's time for your monthly dose of random facts, behind-the-scenes updates, and deeply personal stories I may or may not regret oversharing. This one has everything: pirates, rotary cutters, my dog Jim living his best leash life, and a full-circle moment that happened at a book signing event.
Did you know the word "hello" wasn’t originally meant for greeting people?
Back in the 1800s, it was basically the Victorian way of yelling something like “HEY WHAT'S THAT NOISE?!” It only caught on as a greeting because Thomas Edison suggested using it when answering the telephone. BUT…
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This history lesson deepens here, and for an entertaining reason: Alexander Graham Bell was pushing for "ahoy!" Yep, like a full-on pirate. So really, we could’ve been saying “ahoy” every time we picked up a call. Total missed opportunity for pirate vibes 🏴☠️
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I love it when I find a good ware. The things I didn't know I needed until I found them and now fully obsess over them. From essentials to splurges, these are my picks for wares this month…
- I don't do a lot of print on demand for products other than art prints, but I have selfishly wanted to put my art on my favorite t-shirt brand (Comfort Colors 🥰) for my own dang self, and I happened to discover I can with the POD company I'm using right now! 🥳
I'll share my shirt that I ordered with Cats Cats Cats Cats Cats Cats Cats etc… soon. #itsthelittlethings
- I got this leash (the coral-red one!) that can be worn like a belt or around the shoulder for Jim's walks about the town. I have two hands free now. I don’t know who I am anymore.
- If you use rotary cutters, specifically Olfa (my fav), you know how expensive those blades are. I didn't even mean to but I was reading a sewing forum and came across a thread about these rotary blades that work just as well, if not better, and they fit Olfa perfectly. 11k good reviews for a reason!
Color is my forever muse. I love seeing how everyone uses and interprets it. It's one reason why I ask the question: What color are you feeling today?
This batch of roses contain a handful of the color palettes that Erika curated in my newest class, Procreate Palette Builder, where I have students create a signature color system using a color workflow that creates consistency in all of their art 🎨
Aren't these stunning?! 🌹
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“This class really helped me create color palettes using colors I've never thought would go well together, not to mention it becomes addicting creating palette after palette!” - Erika Rose
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This weekend, I’m going back to where it all started — calligraphy for beginners! It’s been 8 years since I first taught this class, and it still gives me the same level of excitement when I get to share these techniques with people.
🗓️ DATE: Saturday, June 7
⏰ TIME: 9:00 am PDT
📍 WHERE: Zoom, where pants are optional
Vulnerable and long (and slightly sweaty) story time…
Before I share about this photo, let’s rewind to a few years back. I’d just released my third book — which should’ve been a major mic-drop moment. But instead of fireworks and confetti and screaming fans (or like, at least one balloon), it kinda... flopped.
Why? Well, in hindsight: me. It was mostly me. 🙃
You see, up until that point, I’d done it all myself — self-publishing, designing, teaching, dancing with literal fire (yes, really), bartending, doing hair and makeup, you name it. I ran my own show. I was feral in the best way.
So when a traditional publisher came into the picture, I thought: “Finally! A team. Structure! Systems!”
Except, plot twist: I didn’t play well with others 🤦♀️ I didn’t know how to not do everything myself. I was so used to running solo that collaboration felt like losing control - and instead of leaning in, I leaned out. Hard. Not just because of my 'tude, but because at the same time, I was fielding DMs left and right from companies that wanted to “work with me” and by “work,” I mean: slap my design on some low-quality thing they make and have me pitch it like it was the second coming of sliced bread.
There was one company that nearly got me but they called me a "content creator" during onboarding. Multiple times. Even after I corrected them 😵💫
(if you’ve ever had your entire career boiled down to a TikTok trend, you know the feeling).
(if you’ve ever had your entire career boiled down to a TikTok trend, you know the feeling).
*pause for deep internal cringe*
Like, no.
I am not your swag bag.
I am not your swag bag.
Needless to say, I turned that one down.
Spoiler: I am not a marketer. I am an artist with an aggressive pen collection and trust issues.
But all of it — the noise, the self-doubt, the inbox full of people who wanted me to promote their thing while I was busy trying to make mine — left me feeling so off.
And I didn’t talk about my book.
At all.
At all.
Even when my book signing was scheduled at Powell’s Books — the largest independent bookstore in the actual world — I didn’t share about it.
I showed up... and five people came (five amazing people, but still, five.)
And I stood there, looking out at a sea of empty chairs, feeling like a total fraud. That moment lodged itself in my brain as the moment I got it wrong, and it lived rent-free in the back of my brain for way too long
⏩ Fast-forward 8 years.
I've found my voice, learned how to be a team player for the right reasons, and this time, it felt different from the start: I was heard, supported, and actually part of the process.
My latest book release was a beautiful project with a dream time. We had marketing meetings. Real ones. Collaborative ones. Human ones.
And then... Powell’s came up again 😳 The bookstore I had quietly bombed at. The one that haunted me a little. Okay, a lot.
And suddenly I was back in that brain space — wondering if it would all go wrong again. If no one would come. If I’d regret trying again.
But I agreed to do it. And First name / friends? It. Was. Incredible.
I got to teach, chat, laugh, connect. I was fully in it — nerves, joy, all of it. And afterwards? Multiple Powell’s employees told me (unprompted!) that my event was one they've had the most fun with.
Apparently, there's a shortlist. And now I'm on it. 🥹
So this is a reminder:
Even if something flopped.
Even if you ghosted your own goals.
Even if you were disappointed once (or a dozen times)...
Even if you ghosted your own goals.
Even if you were disappointed once (or a dozen times)...
You get to try again.
And trying again? It just might be way better than the first time.
Grace. Growth. Glitter pens. That’s what we’re about here.
Anddd photos 2 & 3 are fun too but let's keep it brief now that I've just pulled you away from the group and poured my heart out in a stupor 🥴
2: We spent a few days in New York and then took a little road trip to Atlantic City to see Kelly Clarkson and OMG she is incredible.
3: This was easily the biggest spider I've caught in our house (small in comparison to some travel, sure, but still). I made sure to pick one of the blurry ones so not to trigger anyone's arachnophobia.
And that’s the roundup this month! Whether you’re here for the artsy finds, the student glow-ups, or the emotional rollercoaster that is me processing past failures via newsletter... thanks for showing up.
What’s something you tried again — even when it felt scary? Leave a comment and tell me. I want to cheer you on like a fully caffeinated art camp counselor. And don't forget that the new edition of Peggy's Playground will come around before you know it, so sign up here to have it land directly into your inbox!
