Teresa Robeson's Blog, page 9

A lovely review of my latest picture book! 🤩

Clouds in Space: Meet Nebula!

Fun newsletter + a kind shout-out

I always enjoy my dear friend, and fellow author, Tanya Konerman’s newsletters…this is another fun one and she gave my latest book a lovely shout-out!

Tanya Konerman’s September 2024 Newsletter

R.O.I. will be my why going forward

I love to help; I really do. I’m generally volunteering for something or another (over a quarter century, from being on the helpline for our states home educators network to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). But as I get older, I’ve become less energetic, while at the same time I still want to try out new and different interests (such as surface pattern design) or get back to old hobbies (such as playing the ukelele), I don’t have time to do it all.

Even worse sometimes, the help I offer is wholly unappreciated. It’s not like I seek out glory or monetary compensation, but just knowing there’s a bit of gratitude for the time I put into something would be nice. Twice in the past month, I have put much effort into a couple of things with zero acknowledgement. And this was a busy month with lots of vegetable processing, book deadlines, and taking classes.

The veggies, book deadlines, and classes are a great return on my time invested. The other 2 things, not at all.

So, henceforth, I will give up volunteering for pretty much everything.

The exception? Being a writing mentor. I have mentored three people so far and they have been really rewarding experiences. I genuinely care about the careers of the writers I coached. So, I will, as time permits, continue to mentor.

Do you find yourself saying yes to too many things that aren’t giving you anything in return? Tell me about it at my blog!

Got talent? #FunInSun participants do!

A couple of bold souls from the group that participated in the inaugural Creative Fun In The Sun challenge are letting me share their beautiful creations. I’m so proud of them for attempting the prompts!

For the challenge, I sent out a prompt every other day for a total of 7 days. People could interpret the prompts in whatever creative way they wanted–by writing, art, dancing…the sky’s the limit.

amerryheart6 shared her touching, raw, and honest essays that not only offer a glimpse into her heart but also delve deep into the nature of being human. Read more of her writing on Instagram!

And Myriam shares her spectacular and whimsical art with us! She and I have been friends for a number of years now. We first followed each other’s blogs and now we’ve transitioned to Instagram where her art and comments always brighten my day. Be sure to check out her account.

Notice that she also wrote the cutest Lewis Carroll-esque poem for her adorable owl!

I hope you love these as much as I do and will consider joining me in next year’s Creative Fun in the Sun Challenge.

(To see this post and to comment, pop over to my website blog!)

More Creative Fun in the Sun 2024 creations

I was so busy with a book deadline after running the #FunInSun2024 challenge that I completely forgot today is Friday and I need a blog post (for the 3 people, maybe, who read my blog posts…LOL…really not kidding).

The Challenge turned out to be most enjoyable, at least for me and, I think, two other participants. Here are a few more things I ended up making for the prompts:

The earrings and bracelet are both for sale. And I may make prints of the mock strawberry blossom as well.

I have enjoyed doing art versus writing lately and plan to make more time for it.

Next week, I will share the work of those who participated in the Challenge…hopefully more than one person will want to share…and also announce the winners of the prizes.

Hope you will join us next year!

(You can also find this blog post over at my website.)

Creative Fun in the Sun 2024 art

I’ve been busy trying to keep up with the #FunInSun2024 challenge this past week. Here are a couple of pieces I created for the first two prompts. They’re in an  illustrative style which is something I want to do for children’s books.

The paintings are done on 4″x4″ wooden Art Boards that have holes in the back for easy hanging (or you can just stand them up like so). The one on the left is a Common Eastern Firefly while the one on the right is a Black Firefly. I think they would look great in a nature-loving kid’s bedroom!

Each piece is $30 or you can get the pair for $50. Leave a comment or use the Contact Me form on my website to let me know if you’re interested in them!

A reminder: I’m phasing out my WP blog and moving over to my own website, so I’d love it if you subscribed there. Thank you!

Creative Fun in the Sun 2024

It’s started! But it’s not too late to join. Since WordPress won’t let me post a video, and I’m trying to transition over to the blog on my website, I will direct you over there.

Genna Blackburn 30-Day Drawing Challenge part 3

These are the last 10 doodles I drew for this challenge (see part 1 for an explanation).

As I mentioned in my post last week, I had so much fun with this challenge, I decided to run my own challenge in August. The theme is Creative Fun in the Sun. It will span 2 weeks and the goal is to create 7 pieces of art or writing total, so I will email you with a prompt every other day. I’ll also share what I created for each prompt. It’s a low-stress challenge meant to inspire you to be creative, so no masterpieces are expected. But if you happen to love what you created, great! You can also go back to revise and edit to make it a finished work.

If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, please join me! Just fill out the pop-up on my site’s News & Events page and you’re in.

A wonderful tribute to an author friend

GIVE SOMETHING AWAY DAY 9TH ANNUAL BLOG POST In Memory of Katey Howes By Kim Pfennigwerth

Genna Blackburn 30-Day Drawing Challenge part 2

Here are the next 10 doodles I drew for this challenge (see part 1 for an explanation). And, hey! Did I mention that I had so much fun, I’m running my own challenge in August? The theme is Creative Fun in the Sun. It will span 2 weeks and the goal is to create 7 pieces of art or writing total, so I will email you with a prompt every other day. I’ll also share what I created for each prompt. It’s a low-stress challenge meant to inspire you to be creative, so no masterpieces are expected. But if you happen to love what you created, great! You can also go back to revise and edit to make it a finished work.

If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, please join me! Just fill out the pop-up on my site’s News & Events page and you’re in.