August was a roller-coaster. A good roller-coaster.
I started the month by installing new shelves on my Studio. I did it by myself and I'm quite proud of that (although at least one of them is very crooked).
Since I started to make screen printing that my studio has to serve a lot of purposes, I had to make sure that everything had its place, easy to reach but also easy to put back where it belongs.


I started a new drawing project. The goal is to draw at least an hour every day for 100 days. It might be sketches, finished illustrations etc. You can check it on my drawing account on Instagram.
I started to plan a few late summer new products and also the Autumn releases.


I created a few new illustrations and patterns for the 2019/2020 and 2020 planners. I created and released new planners. (I will write about them soon, but you can check them out in the shop already).


At last, I was able to release two T-shirt designs and one Tote bag. All of them screen printed in my humble studio. This was probably the highest point of my month!! (will write more about it one of these days).

In July I had to do a few constructions works in my studio so I would better apt to do screen printing in my workspace (you can see a few images of it on my stories on Instagram).


During the month I got a new printer, an inkjet printer that prints A3. I've been playing the idea of offering more prints and reproductions of my illustrations, and this printer will help me doing so. I also wanted to stop depending on other printers, I become very particular about colour in my work, and sometimes it's not easy to make sure that the colour I picture and use is the one that is printed. I think this will help me to make sure the colour I print on Nuts for Paper works are colours I intended them to be.


During July I was still learning to work in screen printing and with my new tools. You can see in a photo one of the failed screens. Learning screen printing has been a lesson on patience and also a lesson on how to work clean and methodically. I was surprised that despite the slowness of the whole thing I continued excited throughout the whole process.

June was Nuts for Paper 6th Birthday!
I started to (slowly) launch a new branding image for the Brand. I felt after 6 years I need a little refreshment in the image. The implementation will be slow because I still have cards and other merch items that I want to use before creating new ones.
Did you notice that the logo of the brand changed?

June was the month that I actually started to understand a bit more about screen printing. In May I had bought a kit for beginners, and despite I learned a lot with it, it didn't have the most appropriate tools for what I intended to do. I was so excited and I wanted to launch T-shirts and Tote Bags, but I had to delay the making of these things until I have a more appropriate workspace and tools.

June was also marked with two visits to Lisbon's Book Fair, an event that I love to go and explore.

My personal library | Gallery wall on my home studio

May was a month full of important decisions but especially I felt that there was a change of mindset and priorities.


In May I launched three new organizational Notepads
A4 MONTHLY PLANNER | LIVE IN THE MOMENT
BUSY CRITTER TO-DO-LIST - PLANNER NOTEPAD
LIVE IN THE MOMENT - A5 WEEKLY PLANNER

At the end of the month, I decided to learn, by myself, screen printing.

New adition to my cactus collection

A functional monthly organizer
Live in the Moment - A4 Monthly Planner

A quirky to-do-list notepad for all the Busy Critters out there
Busy Critter To-do-List - Planner Notepad

A notepad to organize your days.
Live in the Moment - A5 Weekly Planner

Quick April re-cap
In April was my birthday, I got a fresh haircut and colour in my hair.
I took some time to think and re-think the projects that I was working on. And I started to draw a lot, but to draw with some purpose...

Day 25 | How it's made
Last year I share a few vlogs on YouTube about how made some products. Photos of the process are harder to have, I'm usually so taken with the making and process that I seldom remember to photograph it. This is a halfway process of making pin badges. This was an older design that it's not available anymore.



Day 28 | Packaged
I try to only use paper on the packaging of Nuts for Paper products - kraft paper or tissue paper are often the ones that use along with baker's twine. I learned with a friend to enjoy the process of wrapping things, it's almost like each thing that I do and wrap it's a gift from me to you.


Day 29 | Most difficult to make
All hardcover notebooks, planners and journals. Especially because it has been a while since I did hardcover notebooks, and there are minor things in the cover that can make or break the final product. This only means that I need to make more of them!!

March Meet the maker 
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Studio | Week 4 | Week 5
...
March is the month of the March Meet the Maker created by Joanne Hawker
This year I decide to participate and share on both of my Instagram accounts some of the prompts.

Day 19 | Dream collaboration
It already happened - my dream collaboration was to design/illustrate books. Recently I designed and illustrated two activity books for young girls for a national publisher. Previously I had the opportunity to design a couple of books, but these two where the first fully illustrated and designed by me.
- O meu Diário Superfixe
- O Diário das Melhores Amigas
Published by Booksmile - 20|20 editora


Day 20 | Design Process
From paper to product/notebook
Everything starts with a pencil, paper and an idea. Then it's tested, and coloured on the computer. Then printed and checked if it works. This was part of the design process of last year Bloggers Camp exclusive journal.


Day 22 | Proud of
I am proud of Nuts for Paper
This year my brand is going to make six years and I'm very proud of everything that I did and achieve with it. (The brand birthday is on the 5th of June if you wanna mark it on your calendar ;))


Day 23 | Top tip or Advice
Make time in your schedule to rest and do other things not work-related. I learned it a little bit too late to avoid a small burnout. Nowadays I'm learning to balance both things: work and leisure

March Meet the maker 
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Studio | Week 4 | Week 5
....
March is the month of the March Meet the Maker created by Joanne Hawker
This year I decide to participate and share on both of my Instagram accounts some of the prompts.