Just a Little Intro...

Wow! How have I never thought to create this blog post? Me? Writing blog posts? * Cue the dark Phantom of the Opera music* 

I've been thinking about blogging ever since I began teaching back in 2015. I thought for sure I would start teaching, create a blog, run a TPT business, have my own YouTube channel and still have time to really work on school. I was quickly proved wrong. As a teacher, I consumed myself in teaching and school and occasionally would work on my TPT store. 

Each year was little different in the classroom. I wish I could say that I enjoyed each year teaching, but honestly, I didn't. The first year? Kindergarten teacher. Loved it! But, didn't feel supported as a beginning teacher (which actually became a trend over the next several years). 2nd year? 1st grade. Loved it! That was probably my strongest year and my kids were absolutely amazing. 

3rd year? THE HARDEST year in my teaching career. I could list out more than a dozen reasons why that year was the hardest, but the biggest struggle was losing my dad unexpectedly. I've always been a daddy's girl, so my mental health went bezerk. That year challenged me in ways that I didn't think I could face. But, that can be another story for a different day. 

4th year? I got pregnant with my 1st little girl, Emma. So teaching 1st graders with a bowling ball strapped to me all day drained me. And I mean I was pregnant with Emma from September all the way to June (so the entire school year). 

I made the decision after having Emma to stay home with her and be a SAHM for a while until I decided what path to take next....

Fast forward to 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit. I wanted things to go back to normal quickly, but the world had other plans. 

So I started exploring graphic design in fall of 2020 and began revamping my own TPT store. This is when I realized how much I enjoyed working on the design aspect of my TPT business. I fell in love with creating cute covers, TPT store graphics, photography, Pinterest pins, changing my logo, and changing my brand colors (probably more than I should). But that's the thing about brand colors. They don't have to stay the same forever. You're allowed to change them, y'all. You change, right? Then why do brand colors have to be permanent? 

Next, I began working for an author creating a few products to accompany her books for elementary students. But it wasn't until March 2021 that my graphic design business took off. 

* Enter Jillian Fernandez *

Hey, Jillian! 

Jillian is the founder of Thriving Teacher Academy. She's genuine and such a queen! She helps guide you along to start your Teachers Pay Teachers store. She'd seen a bit of my graphic design work and trusted me enough to re-design her re-launch course graphics. I created several Instagram posts and stories that she used during the duration of her re-launch. 

Jillian shared my info to several friends and I began working on logos, TPT store graphics, course graphics and websites shortly after! I consumed myself with graphic design work and, y'all... this made my heart so very happy. I wasn't stressed about school, 25+ kids and I could make my own deadlines (got to keep the schedule in place!) 

Now, it's October 2022 and I'm still making logos, TPT store graphics, Instagram graphics and websites for clients. But my next big step is COMING SOON! I can't wait to get started on it and share my knowledge with you all! Are you a TPT author or a TPT newbie? This will be for you.... stay tuned!