life i design: The Podcast

Welcome to Episode 18 of life I design the podcast. This episode is all about my advice from growing as an artist but the evolution of being an artist, and mindset and everything around that! Before we being getting into all of that, I have to share that this episode will be our last for this season - Season 1! 18 episodes and some great information so far! I’ve look at the episodes I’ve created to-date and am really happy with what I’ve shared so far and now it’s time to plan the next season and what direction I want to go with not only topics, but even bringing in guests and having some great conversations. I’m not sure what season 2 will look like yet, but I am open to any suggestions from you about what you’d like to hear more about so please do comment, email, and let me know your thoughts! Starting this podcast was a passion project of mine, and I’m just really happy to have been able to share my story and experience with you. If you’ve been tuning in so far, thank you again for your time, attention and I hope that you've been inspired along the way to follow your creative passion and to be light and free with how you express your artistic side! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Watercolors Made Simple https://www.watercolorsmadesimple.com for my newest class!

So excited to share more watercolor tips with you in this episode! If you haven't tuned into episode 7 where I share my first round of watercolor tips, go ahead and listen to that one first! If you have some experience with watercolor painting and want to know what you can do to grow your skills, I'm sharing some of my favorite tips here! If you are new here, welcome and thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; My Newest Watercolor Class: https://www.watercolorsmadesimple.com/nicki-special Registration is now open Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

You’ve spent years on a subject that you love. You’ve had success, experiences, good or bad and now you’re thinking about teaching others. I say go for it!! If it’s on your mind, you have real life experience with what you want to teach and you’re being called to share your passion, knowledge and ideas with others, then do it!! Welcome to episode 16 of life I design the podcast where I’m going to give you some personal insight into figuring out if you are ready to teach your craft! Press play and let's get started! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

Ever stare at a blank page and feel apprehensive, or intimidated to start making marks on it? Maybe you cracked open a new journal and instead of just writing whatever comes to mind, you close it and save it for something more meaningful or special. Or maybe you bought a new stretched canvas and it’s been sitting on the easel for months because you are unsure of how to approach your next masterpiece. There’s something about looking at a blank page, and being apprehensive about committing. Is it starting that scares us? Is it the pressure of whatever you are working on won’t be good enough? It’s just a blank page, why do we fear it so much?!! This podcast episode is all about how to approach a blank page, a new journal, or a blank canvas so that you can release yourself of all commitment issues, break the funk of not being able to start, and just let go of the outcome so you can embrace the process of creation and have it be fun, easy, enjoyable and playful. Click play and tune-in to this week's episode! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

In this episode I am sharing some of my favorite tried and tested tips to using Pinterest to market and grow your art biz! I share everything from how to set up your profile and boards properly to what is hot on the Pinterest app at the moment! Click play and listen in to the epsiode. Follow me on Pinterest here https://www.pinterest.ca/nickitraikos Tools that I use and recommend in the episode are; Canva - for creating graphics Tailwind - for scheduling your pins. Note: I am not an affiliate for Canva or Tailwind, I just share what I personally love and use! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

In this Epsiode, lucky number 13, I am going to share with you my process for how I welcome in a new year, set goals, make intentional plans, and resolve to tweak and adjust. Whatever label you want to use, I am going to share with you the process of how I plan for the new year – it has changed dramatically over the years. I’ll tell you what worked, what didn’t work and why! I’ll also talk to you about how you can set goals, create intentions and plan for experiences you want to have, things you want to do, whatever it is that you want to welcome into your life and how to do it so that it suits your personality. Are you ready for the first episode of 2021?! Let’s do this!!! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

Episode 12 is here! I can't believe how quickly time has passed!! This is our last episode for 2020 as we are taking a short break in December so we can plan more episode while taking a closer look at what you enjoyed most and what topics to cover more of! So I hope you enjoy this episode and while we are on a break, maybe go back and revisit episodes that you may have missed, or re-listen to ones that you enjoyed and want to hear again! Now onto this week's episode. Books for me are ways to learn of course, grow most definitely, and to be inspired to keep going - most often! For our first "creative book club" episode, I am sharing books that have in some cases, changed my life and defined my creative business. Now, before you click play to listen, I have stacks and stacks of books that I can recommend, this first episode is a nice pile of books ranging from creativity, to personal growth to pure artsy pleasure! Enjoy the episode and I've listed the books that I mention for you to reference below. Nicki Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work, by Austin Kleon. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards Atomic Habits by James Clear Collage, by Danielle Krysa Not a book but a magazine that helped me on more than one occasion and one that I was lucky to be featured in years later Where Women Create Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

Episode 11 is going to inspire you to look at ways to create both passive and active income streams to sell your art and make money go from hobby to business! SO maybe you’re new to having a creative business, or perhaps you’ve been selling your art for a little while now and are working on ways to create a diverse stream of income. Regardless of where you are at, I’m sure you’ll be inspired to pick a few ways that you generate revenue from your art and make sure to have a balance of both passive and active income streams! Episode 11 is all about the beauty of making a living from your art and even making money while your sleep. Or paint. Or binge your favorite Netflix show! For years, I have taken multiple online business courses to help me grow and build my business so that it suits my needs, my schedule, and my income goals. Now, I haven’t always had success with what I’ve planned to do in my business, but when I find something that works, I feed that stream as much as a I can! Creating passive and active income streams is something that I’ve blogged about, taught in a few of my classes and now am talking about here on the podcast because I believe that if you have a creative business, especially have a presence online, then you NEED to have a diverse income stream to help sustain you year around. Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

I'm so excited about this episode!! I shared a lot of my personal story in episodes 1 and 2 of the podcast, so you may know this already, but up until I was 40, I was totally out of alignment of who I was! I also didn't even realize how far out of alignment I was until I became "in alignment" with my artistic spirit, creative nature and followed my passion for art. In this episode, I'm going to share a few stories with you and also inspire you to work your way into alignment and hopefully help you find your creative calling! Click play and let's get into it shall we!!? Here's a link to Episode 1 in case you missed my story https://anchor.fm/life-i-design/episodes/Episode-01---life-i-design-from-the-very-beginning-ehqmcl https://anchor.fm/life-i-design/episodes/Episode-Number-02---The-prettier-pancake-eiciarand here's a link to Episode 2 so you can hear about the prettier pancake

Episode 9 is all about creating a productive workspace at home so you can paint more, create more and enjoy your time spent on your craft. I give you my best tips for how to be more productive after you've set up your perfect workspace and even how to approach your time creating to help with productivity! Sharing all about making the space in our environment but also, looking inward to allow yourself to make space is just as important! Press play and enjoy! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for art classes, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

Episode 08 - This episode is a quick one that I hope inspires you to start diving into a new topic, passion, or area of interest! I'm sharing with you my passion for learning and my Top 3, easy ways to start learning something new today! You are never too young or too old to start. Click play and have a listen. Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for art classes, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

Episode 07 - In this episode I share with you some of my best watercolor tips to help you get started with watercolor painting! Beginning is often the hardest part so in this episode my goal is to arm you with encouragement and tips to help remove confusion and frustration around watercolors and getting started painting. If you are new to watercolors and need some direction as to how to get started, make sure to download my free guide and checklist! Visit www.lifeidesign.com/watercolorpainting to grab it! Enjoy! Nicki Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for art classes, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

Episode 06 is all about art supplies! One of my favorite things to shop for aside from handbags and fashion jewellery!!! In this episode I'll share my philosophy around art supplies - yes, I'm very opinionated about art supplies - and what I can't live without! I'll cover supplies for calligraphy and lettering as well as watercolor painting and more. Hit play and let's chat about art supplies! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

Episode 05 is all about starting a home based creative business. This is the first of many business episodes where I hope to inspire and teach you how to go from Hobby to Home Based business. If you having been working on your art for a while and are wondering if your work is good enough to sell, or even how to get started with selling it, this quickie is for you! Click play and have a listen! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

Episode number 04 is a bit of a retrospective on the eve of my 49th birthday. I share more insight into my journey of starting life i design, lessons learned, and what the plans are for the next decade. A little different than our regular episodes, but one that may inspire you to make a bucket list, try something new or dream bigger! I hope you enjoy this one as I get a little personal. xNicki Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

In Episode 03 of life i design - The Podcast, I am sharing with you my best advice and biggest tips for finding your artistic style. Whether you are working as an artist, letterer or designer, my tips and takeaways will help guide you to finding your personal artistic style... even if you have a number of interests and work in a variety of mediums! This episode is for you! Enjoy! Nicki Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;

Welcome to Epidsode 02 of life i design - The Podcast! This second episode is like that second pancake you make when you’re cooking up a batch of yummy, golden, fluffy pancakes! With each podcast we record and edit and upload, the better they get! In this episode, I'll give you my top 3 tips to finding your creative spark and creating joy as you do it!! Be sure to listen to get all the tips, inspiration and even make sure to download the freebie that I created for you over at www.lifeidesign.com/pocast and look for episode 02! Let's get started shall we?! Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my best tips, advice and encouragement! To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes.

Welcome to Episode 01! ooooops! It's live and wasn't meant to be! In all transparency, this podcast is still a work in progress. I didn't change the date that it was to be released so it is raw, needs to be re-edited, but it's live so I am going to roll with it! I hope you enjoy my story, the life messages I've shared in the process, and the fact that life is messy, unedited, and still very beautiful! Happy first episode eeek!! Nicki x Thank you for joining me, your host Nicki Traikos. I am an artist, instructor and creative business owner. I started and built life I design in 2012 from home, while raising a family and learning how to juggle it all! The podcast is my way of pulling back the curtain and inviting you to step into my home studio so we can get candid about all things art, business and life, to help YOU create a life that YOU design! I hope you subscribe, press play today and tune in as I share my story with you here on episode one. To learn more, please visit... Website: https://www.lifeidesign.com for blog posts, shop, current offerings; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeidesign/ is where I spend my time being social; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeidesign for my best watercolor tutorials; Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/nickitraikos where I teach bite size art & calligraphy classes;