Rome Wasn't Built in 2 and Half Weeks

This has been a good past couple of days for Fanciful Faron.  Last week on Thursday I got approached on my Goodsmith's account to create a custom card!! I was over the moon!  The card was for a woman named Kim who has her own shop on Etsy.  After alerting her to fact I too have a shop on Etsy we decided to carry out the rest of the order there.  I was so nervous.  This was the first custom made card that someone was going to pay me to make for them.  It was for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law which meant it was a family present, even more important.  When I came up with the initial design I was shitting bricks over what she would think.  What if she hated?  That would have been a serious downer, but thank little baby Jesus she loved it.  I made a few changes and had it printed before leaving on the family trip to Disneyland.

Then yesterday on the second day of our Disneyland extravaganza, while walking to the park, my phone alerted me to the fact payment had just been put into my Paypal for yet another card order (over on my Goodsmith's account).  That makes two... count em'... TWO sales this week!!! 

This morning when I woke, I packaged and listed the custom card, got the files ready to print the other card ordered as well as some new designs for cards I made to list in my shop.  I also had to whip together a card for my Sarah and Stephanie's dad's birthday.  I told Sarah I'd make a card she could give him and she loved it!  I did too actually so I'll be listing it in the near future, with my next batch of listings. 

My Steve's birthday card.  It'll be available in the shop within the next week and half.

After I packaged all the cards, I printed my precious Etsy Shipping Labels and out they went.  Out to their new homes for their owners to give away.  It's quite beautiful if you think about it.  

I also took some time today to update my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages with new photos of behind the scenes work and some shots of my kickass weekend.  Not to mention, the time to sit down and write this blog post. Tonight I've still got to sit down and work out a lot of logistical functions of Fanciful Faron and make sure everything is on the up and up.  I ain't tryin' to deal with no poe-poe. I've been quite busy today, but its all work that I love.  I'm so happy to see things might be gradually picking up a little.  I'm a big dreamer and already have some awesome plans for when things start to get really moving.  With the start of July coming tomorrow, I have to think about some goals I'd like to accomplish, and while I'd love to see this thing of mine grow over night into something huge, I'll just settle with slowly making a few sales at a time. 

 

Today's tiny production.  Cards package and sealed, Mr. Steve's card ready to hand over to Sarah, and my newly designed cards ready to be photographed tomorrow. 

Things are happening slowly over here, but their happening.  I'm so happy I've decided to share this journey :) 

Til Next Time 

xo Ensley

Family Time!!

This weekend the family hit Disneyland as a pack for the first time in years!  This time my sister brought along a friend, so we packed for the weekend and hit the road.  I've been Disneyland quite a few times in last 3 years- between having friends who've had passes and my Senior Grad Nite being held there, I feel like I've almost had my fill!  But who can resist the happiest place on Earth?!

Me, Kjia (my sister), and her friend reppin' sunglasses on Main Street & of course my mom is mad photo bombing. 

As excited as I was for this mini family vacation, all visits in recent years, made me skeptical of spending an entire two days in the palace of joy and kid-ish wonder.  Something about the constant music and smiling employees just really starts to mess with my mind.  But it all turned out well and I was able to spend the majority of the two days in bliss with my family with minor altercations between me and Kjia- always a win!

Just a selfie takin' fool.  Don't think those faces could be more attractive if I tried.

Of course me being my normal forgetful self, half way through the first day I remembered, that I needed to finish the last part of a homework assignment for a summer class.  Random, yes I know, but none the less it needed to be taken care of.  So around 11:30am I made the hour and half drive back JUST to finish the last part of a homework assignment.  But don't worry, in case you are concerned, my grade should be fine. 

I finally made it back to my family around 5:45pm and we were able to finish the rest of our day in normal Disney spirit.  The second day went by without a hitch, we decided to spend most of it at California Adventure.  We tried to do everything we could, but the day definitely started to get the best of me around hour 10 and Kjia alerted the rest of the family she want to be at the park until MIDNIGHT!!!   So around 9:30pm I called it a day and decided to go take a nap.

By far my favorite rides of the day were California Screamin' and Grizzly River Run.  Choice made by the fact that I've always been a huge roller coaster fan and the fact it felt like 100 degrees outside!! MY GOD! I've never been so happy to walk around all day with wet shorts.

1. Daddy and I preparing to be total badass on California Screamin'  

2. Daddy and Kjia hamming it up in line 

3. Mom's only roller coaster ride of the day.  What a trooper.

For shits and giggles I thought I'd include some of the on-ride snapshots from the weekend.  Sorry ahead of time for the crappy quality.  Enjoy! 

                                

The new Cars ride in Cars Land is actually pretty good! And then there's my mom's picture.

California Screamin' is always my favorite.  I think my mom's face explains why she only went once.

                        

And finally Hollywood Tower of Terror!  Always a joy!  I look a damn fool in the first photo haha!

And that was my weekend in a nutshell! It was a lot of fun. 

Til next time 

xo Ensley 

Me, Myself, and I

I've recently made a promise to myself to do things for the benefit of me.  I have a tendency to do things to either wanna prove someone wrong or because I feel like it's something I should do, but very rarely do I do things out of my pure interest for them.  I find myself always compromising on my own desires and ambitions to make other people feel more comfortable.  Maybe thats why it's important to me that I'm starting my own business doing things that I honestly love.  While I do enjoy trying to help other people when I can, I've decided I need to keep in mind that I'm my no.1 person.  In honor of doing things for me, and my slightly impending birthday, I've made a list of things I'd like to accomplish by this time next year.  In my last year as a teenager I'd like to:

1) Take on more creative challenges
2) Observe life around me
3) Become a healthier human (Run my first 10K)
4) Take more risks
5) Put myself first

These are all things I'll be working towards in the next year and I'll be coming here to update on my progress.  I already have plans of how to kick off number 4 with a big bang :)

xo Ensley

Mini Adventures in San Diego

If there's one thing you know living as a San Diegan within a stone throw of Pacific Beach, it's that THE Baked Bear is BOMB!  For those of you who may not be aware of The Baked Bear and all it's awesomeness, let me assure you it has nothing to with drugs or getting high (that's what I first thought when someone told me about it).  But on the contrary, it's this popular ice cream sandwich joint right next to a Urban Outfitters and Brandy Melville- heaven am I right?  There's a plethora of options to choose from, whether you want your sandwich made with two red velvet cookies and peanut butter fudge ice cream, or strawberry cheesecake ice cream sandwiched between one snicker doodle cookie and one waffle (my personal favorite).

I made a trip to this little slice of heaven with two of my closest friends Stephanie and Sarah (you'll most likely be hearing a lot about them in my stories) at the prime time of 10pm.  I wasn't really sure if I was up to the trip considering I was in the middle of designing new wedding and engagement cards for the Etsy shop, but I'm so happy we did.  After doing last minute window shopping in both Brandy and Urban, and promptly proceeding stuffing our faces with hot and cold delicious goodness, we decided to make a run to the near by CVS to buy some water- not paying $1.50 in the store just to hydrate myself.  

On our way home, since I'm the driver, of course we would get lost.  Getting lost was the best thing that could have happened to our night.  We ended up making a wrong turn that eventually led us up hill through a gorgeous neighborhood of what was surely million dollar homes, that hill somehow led us up another to the La Jolla Scenic.  The view was SPECTACULAR!!! Watching the San Diego city lights grow smaller as we continued to climb was breathtaking.  So breathtaking we decided to pull into a parking spot, get out of the car, and take it all in.  Watching the freeways busy with cars, and seeing my favorite landmarks, like The San Diego California Temple, light up in the distant night was amazing.  Turns out the big cross on the hill was the Mt. Soledad Veteran Memorial, its was beautiful. 

I was surprised that in all my 18 years of years of calling this wonderful place home, I've never taken in this sight.  Since it was so dark I couldn't snap any pictures, but Sarah and I already have plans to go back, so I'll definitely hook you guys up with some kick ass imagery.  

This night made me realize how luck I am to be living to life I am, with the people who mean the most to me.  I have beauty all around me and it's time I soak it all in. 

xo Ensley

Hello There!

Hi! Ensley here!  I thought I'd take a moment to introduce who I am, what I'm about, so we can be  properly acquainted.  Seeing as how it's the middle of the summer, I'm currently in the transition from being a college Freshman to a college Sophomore at Syracuse University, in the exciting state of New York.  I'm a honor student in the Communication Design program and I'm hoping to pursue a minor - in what? I'm not exactly too sure yet...

When I'm not at school I'm back home in my hometown of San Diego.  I have to admit, no matter how much I want to travel and experience all the world's treasures, San Diego will always be my heart.  There's just too much family, friends, and love here for it to be any way else.

I started this blog for a myriad of reasons.  One- I've always loved writing, and I think I'm quite good at it... at times.  Two- I can tell from this point on in my life there is going to be a lot of changes (call it a gut feeling).  I have a lot of personal goals and dreams, and I want to be able to share them, along with the little moments of my life that I just can't replace.  And third and finally-  to talk about my new adventures trying to become a (VERY) small business owner.  Within the last two weeks I've started my own shop on Etsy called Fanciful Faron where I sell funny and unique greeting cards.  It's formation stemmed out of my two passions- to earn my own buck and to design and create.  If your wondering where I came up with the name "Fanciful Faron" well... Faron is my middle name, pretty straightforward there, and Fanciful is another word for whimsical which has consistently been one of my favorite words.  To me it means being different, spunky, unique, and a little childish.  All qualities I think describe me two a tee.

I'm hoping this blog challenges me to step outside my comfort zone, to craft more, to do new things, and to become more organized (God knows I need to haha).  I hope to share all my loves- my family, my friends, my hobbies, my travels, and now my new (and still infantile) business.  There's a lot going on and I hope you're down for the ride.

xo Ensley