The Creative Collection is my new shop. Over the past year I've had quite the creative burst of energy and it's time for me to share some of this creativity with you. Inside the shop you'll find an array of finished products that I've created. Just like my creativity, these finished pieces will be quite diverse. To kick off the collection you'll find my first set of Acrylic Keychains. I'll slowly be adding to the collection with different pieces that I'm working on. What would you like to see next? Custom orders are available. Just email calleypate@gmail.com with your requests. ... [ Read More ]
5 Key Steps for Branding Your Social Media Accounts
Your social media accounts speak for your brand - does it look like your brand? These tips can apply to influencers or any brand or business with a social media account. These tips work on any social media platform - Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. Branding your brand starts with your website and your logo. Many of us spend a lot of time making our website look beautiful and our social media accounts should mirror the look and feel of your website. Versatile Logo - Is your logo versatile? Will it work on all of your different platforms? You'll likely need several different sizes and orientations of your logo. You may even need it with a transparent background. If you're working with a professional designer they will be able to guide you to creating these different versions. If you are starting small and creating your own branding and logo you can use websites like Canva or PicMonkey to look professional and high quality. These websites can give you ... [ Read More ]
Meditation Tree Coloring Page
This latest coloring page was a request from a dear friend that I've know virtually (and in person) since I began writing here on my blog. We have met on numerous occasions at blogging conferences and have remained friends virtually. She's teaching a meditation workshop at her church and reached out to see if I could design a coloring page for the attendees to use during their meditation exercises. She shared some of her wishes and items she'd like to see in the coloring page and left the rest up to me. This is the first time creating this style of coloring sheet and it was so relaxing to design! I took inspiration from nature around me and this is where it lead me. I am so pleased with the design and hope that you can use this in your meditation practices as well. I've made this print available in my Etsy shop. SHOP MY COLORING PAGES ... [ Read More ]
Christmas Activity & Coloring Pages – Digital Download
Download the entire 32 page Christmas Activity & Coloring Pages today. Available year-round in my Etsy shop. SHOP NOW I have been dreaming of this project for several years and I finally made time for myself to create a fun activity book and coloring pages for Christmas. I designed all of the artwork and pages on my iPad using an Apple Pencil (think digital sketchbook and pencil). Who this was designed for: Parents to keep their kids entertained over the holiday break or while quarantining at home. Teachers to use in their classrooms for holiday parties.Scouts & clubs to use with their students around the holidays.Adults to use to unwind from a busy day. Some of the pages are simple designs. There are a few "finish this" style designs where you or your child and finish drawing the character, decorate the Christmas tree, or design the perfect gingerbread person. Others are a little more time consuming collages of different design elements that will take longer to ... [ Read More ]
Natural Slime Recipe with Psyllium Husk Powder
Post contains affiliate links. A few weeks ago I received a new essential oil subscription box from Simply Earth AND their bonus box. They asked me to join their #squad and share my experiences with you about their program. I've owned several different essential oils over the years but I've never gotten into all the brand oil clubs. Honestly, I'm just now starting to learn how to safely use these oils and incorporate them into some fun DIY recipes around the house. If you'd like to see what's included in the Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box (and big bonus box) click over using this referral link: http://bit.ly/2XfM77e. If you use coupon code BACKTOCALLEYFREE you'll get a bonus $20 gift certificate! If your kids love making slime like my kids do, they will LOVE this recipe! This recipe does require heating the ingredients so make sure a parent helps and make sure you let this cool down for at least 20 minutes before letting your kids play with it. It gets very hot!! ... [ Read More ]
My Creativity This Week – Episode 1: Funky Florals
Are you a creative person? Do you struggle with finding your inner creative spirit? Sit there staring at the blank canvas or journal page wondering what you'll work on next? This series is something new to me where I'll share what I'm working on this week. I feel like my creative spirit is ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE and I'm always trying something new each week. That doesn't have to be a bad thing because it's broadening your inner creativity. This week I've been working on Funky Florals. One of my favorite Instagram creatives to follow is Megan (@MakeWells) and her awesome Funky Florals. I love the bright colors and the use of mixed media in her work. I love that she works on canvas, paper, wood, walls, and more! She is seriously inspiring to follow. View this post on Instagram I’m thoroughly convinced that I will never run out of ways to paint flowers. The possibilities are just endless people! I may have a ... [ Read More ]
Under the Sea Coloring Pages
Color with me!! I've created a new set of coloring pages full of some of my favorite sea life characters. This is a set that I've been working on for months and I'm so excited about how it turned out!! PS: The whale sharks are my absolute favorite. The set includes 7 different pages that you can print from home on 8.5" x 11" paper. The great thing is that you can print the files over and over again anytime you like! Do you enjoy coloring? Do your kids? Do you color in your classroom or when you have spare time in clubs? I use these mostly in the evenings when I want to force myself to put my phone down and do something creative with my kids. My daughter is my little artist and loves to color and create so it's the perfect activity for the two of us. We don't get many evenings when we're not bombarded with homework, sports, or clubs. Here's a sample of the pages that you'll get in the download: ... [ Read More ]
What Are You Thankful For?
How is it that Thanksgiving is NEXT week? This year is flying by so quickly that I can hardly keep up. My kids just keep growing, life keeps moving, and our schedules keep getting crazier and crazier! If you don't follow me on Instagram you may have missed a few of the recent things going on our in our lives. Like.... My daughter is a Junior Girl Scout this year and is really blossoming into a wonderful leader. My son is 15, learning to drive, got his first job, and opened his first bank account. My latest doodles and designs; like the one shown above!! It's hard for me to get excited about Thanksgiving; which really isn't any different from any other year. This is the most hectic time of year for our family and for my job. We host a huge Black Friday weekend sale and it's very time consuming and exhausting to plan; however it's a great reward when the weekend arrives and our customers flock to our store looking for deals!! My "work day" on Black Friday actually starts ... [ Read More ]
Creating Layers with Tombow Pens & Markers
These Tombow pens are just too much fun. The colors are so vibrant and I keep reaching for them in the evenings when we're drawing. Today I'm going to share with you my process for applying layers with the markers to achieve depth with only a few colors. I only have ten dual brush pens and twelve twin tone markers so my color palette is pretty limited. Applying layers helps me blend and create more colors. Supplies: For this project I used marker paper, Tombow dual brush pens, Tombow TwinTones and the Tombow Mono pencil. You can find all of these in my Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/backtocalley (referral link) I found this picture on Pinterest as my inspiration (sorry the source is unknown, the pin leads me to nowhere). I loved the colors and the texture of the sea urchins. I started with a pencil sketch on marker paper with the Tombow Mono pencil and then outlined the shapes with the dual brush pens or twin tones. They both have one tip that is very similar in size ... [ Read More ]
Writing on Painted Rocks – My Favorite Markers
Affiliate links are present in this post. In the past I've usually stayed with paint pens on painted rocks but when I'm writing inspirational quotes I actually prefer markers. I've tested several different brands and styles but I'm in love with how the Tombow markers worked on painted rocks. I've been collecting and testing out the different Tombow markers for doodling and hand lettering this summer; but decided it was time to give them a try on rocks!! I love the bright colors and fine points that you can find in their different markers. All of these were on top of rocks that had been painted with acrylic paint and sprayed with a crystal clear enamel. "You are ENOUGH!" was one of the quotes in the 30 Days of Quotes painted rock challenge. I used their Mono Twin permanent black marker on this one. It has two tips; one fine and one broad. I used the broad tip on this rock. It's a really deep black ink and doesn't smear at all. If you just need a black color this is my ... [ Read More ]