In the beginning…

So I have CLEARLY never ever done a blog before but I thought it would be a fun way to connect with y’all and organize thoughts, share some of my favorite things and reminisce over some fave projects! I shared a bit about me and the back story of Magnolia Paperie previously, but wanted to give a little more of the story.

I started this little side gig allllll the way back in 2015. J and I got married in May, moved to Philadelphia 8 days later; and I knew no one in the huge city except my husband and the guy that hired him. Did I also mention I never lived anywhere besides Kansas up until now? Yep. Culture shock, But, I have always been a creative person (stay tuned for some fun flashbacks of my high school projects!), so I took advantage of this time to channel my energy into learning something new. Eventually, I found a job I loved doing project management for a marketing agency, and met even more artsy people I connected with.

Hand lettering was my first endeavor; and I remember ordering a million Tombow brush markers because obviously that would be the magic key to me being amazing at it. (I also remember the price of that order from Blick and #yikes) So much practice and frustration, I eventually turned to Pinterest to look up some hand lettering artists and the tutorials they offered. That led me to copperplate calligraphy which I truly adore even to this day; my first calligraphy kit was a Speedball starter kit from Hobby Lobby, and I printed every single practice page I could find on the internet.

About 9 ish months after our big move to Philly…. we moved again LOLZ. Off to Wisconsin, again, knowing no one. We absolutely loved living in Green Bay and the rising tide society and fellow creatives there are still some of my absolute favorite people. I was blessed to be chosen (and trusted!) by a fellow creative and dear friend, Linsey Goodson Photo, to create her custom wedding invitations and calligraphy envelopes. It was my very first wedding project and special for so many reasons. Side note, make friends with other creatives, you might still be close friends 8 years later and have all your babies the same ages! Three years in Wisconsin helped me expand my business and grow my own creative talents more than I could have imagined (because what else are you gonna do when it snows 3 feet in April?) I started learning watercolor during this time, but really only touched the surface. I was lucky enough to launch styling boxes, work with non-profit CASA of Northeast Wisconsin, do my first bridal show with a prominent wedding planner and obviously, create some beautiful stationery for wonderful couples.

Once again, on the road again, this time to Cleveland, Ohio. We were much closer to my husbands family, which was a huge blessing since I got pregnant with our second child during this time! I used this time to focus on our family and enjoy the special time and took a hiatus from Magnolia Paperie for a bit, but still worked on my watercolor skills and bought my first watercolor workbook; I highly recommend Jenna Rainey’s books for new painters! This break was definitely a good choice because of course, one year later we moved again! Off to Dallas, Texas and I cried big fat happy tears of joy!

My Dad is from Dallas and I still have lots of family here, it’s also where my “creative gene” comes from. In fact, my second calligraphy pen was my grandmothers that she used when she learned calligraphy to address my Aunt’s wedding invitations. We arrived in Dallas with a 6 week old baby, excited to be a close(r) trip to my own parents in Kansas; and 3 weeks later COVID shutdowns started. I was so thankful our family stayed healthy and we were able to still play outside, but again moving without really knowing anyone was hard! Technically still on a break from Magnolia, I still pulled out my lettering tools to play and relieve stress, and like the rest of the world I bought a stationary bike to workout at home on Peloton.

Two years after we arrived in Dallas, I had a health crisis and was diagnosed with epilepsy. This is completely under control now, but obviously a shock to the system getting this diagnosis so late in life and having it come fairly out of the blue. After any seizure, you are prohibited from driving until you are cleared by a doctor. So, no driving meant lots of time at home = watercolor painting for a creative outlet. I also became a crazy plant lady but we will save all those fun details for another post! I purchased countless workbooks, brushes and paints. made my darling husband take me to Blick, and thankful for the Amazon man who came almost daily with new supples. What originally started as a passion project, turned into the relaunch of Magnolia Paperie. Mostly focused on goodies and gifts, then expanded back into wedding stationery and party things.

The Lord was looking out for me when He put us in Dallas because despite the chaos of our ever-changing lives, I found a renewed and refocused passion for my creative side, and an amazing group of people to support me, hype me up, and ground me.

Check out some of my first projects, Linsey’s wedding invitations, and my first head shots in Green Bay.

Thanks for reading this first post! looking forward to sharing more, let me know if there’s anything you want to see!