Wow. It’s October.
I feel like I’m just coming up for air as Summer jumped right into the start of school and Printopia. All while I’ve had two rounds of submissions on my thesis and am in the final stretch. I don’t think I’ve even had time to really acknowledge how close graduation is because it’s felt so non-stop.
This weekend, with almost all my deadlines caught up, I just stepped away from packing orders, and Backerkit updates, and writing things, to breathe and take a day. Do I still have things to do? Of course. Are there still projects I’m woefully behind on? Also, yes. But I have learned over the years that the misery of burnout just isn’t worth grinding any harder than I have been.
I have the rest of the month to wrap up my thesis and Backerkit campaign orders. My personal goal going into the holiday season is to have nothing left of this year’s agenda on my plate. Today, it feels like a big challenge, but that’s because I’m in what I like to think of as my “accountant” mode- but instead of analyzing and budgeting numbers, I’m looking at projects and goals: trying to figure out how to get out of this deficit without going grinch by Thanksgiving. Lol.
Speaking of projects and goals, Between Stars & Shadows successfully funded through Backerkit, and I’m very excited to be putting this zine together. I already signed up for Pintopia in 2027, that has been such a fun campaign to participate in the last few years, and I’m excited to bring back the skeletastic pins with a new idea for the pins and a new theme.
If you’re not familiar with the former Pintopia runs, Skeletastic pins are a line of pins featuring kawaii skeleton characters. I started the set with the goal of making something positive and spooky-cute.
I was also looking to try new materials for pins, so I went with wood pins from Zap Creatives. They turned out so good, that I returned to and expanded the set with even more positive skeletons in Pt. Deux last year:
I took some time last week and went through all the campaign remainders, they’re now available for sale in my etsy shop, along with the accompanying stickers. Just in time for spooky season!
This year for Pintopia, I was ecstatic to fund the completion of my original enamel pin launch, the Kawaii Lunar Zodiac- so when the invitation went out for next year’s event, I decided to return to this idea, but with a new Fantasy RPG inspired theme and new material. Instead of wood pins, I’m going with the same printed metal I used for the Ghost Cafe pins. I won’t give away too much now (mostly because I don’t have any visuals other than the logo- again, part of the current creative workload), but I think it’s going to be pretty awesome.
In addition to the Skeletastic pins, the Etsy shop has also been updated for Halloween (you guys know how much I love spooky season and my birthday is in October!) and campaign for the Ghost Cafe pins have also been listed. I just have to list the macaron earrings set, and I think I’ll be all caught up with new listings.
On project news, there is so much. I’ve just wrapped up a few zine art submissions that I can’t wait to share with you guys, and I’ve had short stories accepted into TWO literary magazines. I couldn’t even post this update on Friday like I had wanted to, because my jaw was on still the ground from the second acceptance. When the issues I’m in are published, I will definitely be sharing.
Have a fantastic October everyone!
