GLOBES

                                                                      

           

                   

                                     

GLOBES... Since the end of October, my life has revolved around globes. (All my friends on snapchat can tell you this is 100% true haha) I decided to take the next step and really pursue my hand painted globes because of all the super positive feedback. I put myself out there and started prepping to sell my globes (plus a few other prints) at pop up shops/markets. Let me tell you, I learned A TON! I spent countless nights watching parenthood and painting until 4am... And while at times I thought I was in over my head (I mean I'm a busy high school student)and just wanted to give up, I'm really glad I didn't. By the end I had a room filled with 45 hand painted globes! It felt amazing to finish what I started. 

My very first pop up shop was on small business saturday at the Oh Hello Friend store in Fullerton.

That prepared me a ton for the Mermade Market in Dana Point. 

                 

                                 

I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities I've had so far, and I know better now that hard work realllly does pay off.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FOR TRAVEL

When I first brought up the idea of going to Europe this summer with my parents, their initial reaction was like "uhhhm no." I then used my fantastic convincing skills (which I actually learned from them) and explained how there are a million pros to me going and only one con...

Paying for the trip.

They told me they would give me $500 towards one flight and the rest I would have to pay for on my own. I immediately began planning it all out. Luckily I have the hardest time spending money and seriously have every dollar I own saved since like 6th grade. With the help of my savings, I made an executive decision to only buy my flight using that money and then work to earn the rest. This also gave me more motivation to find the cheapest flights possible, and I ended up getting both flights for extremely good prices thanks to Norwegian Air ! NO BACKING OUT NOW.

After much calculation I figured out I needed to make about $1200 in 7 weeks, which I assured them I could easily do. I started making lists of all the random things I could do and my thoughts seemed to revolve around job opportunities. SO I am going to share tips along with how I am successfully funding my  trip to Europe! 

1. SELL YOUR OLD CLOTHES: The first step I took was going through my closet. I thoroughly went through all my clothes, took pictures of what I wanted to sell, made an instagram account, followed a ton of people, & BOOM. Easy money.

2. USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO YOUR ADVANTAGE: I used Facebook, Instagram, and twitter to post about job opportunities and sell my products! I got tons of references via Facebook.

3. CONTACT: Use your family and friends to help you spread the word. Text people you know asking if they need help with anything, it could be as simple as driving their kids places or cleaning out their garage.

4. BABYSITTING: In my opinion one of the most fun ways to make easy cash. People ALWAYS seem to need sitters and since I love kids so it doesn't even seem like work!

5. ETSY: I have my own Etsy called The Curious Life Shoppe and love using my artistic abilities to earn money. If you have talents in crafting, sewing, etc. and you love to make things why not sell them!

6. CUSTOM GLOBES: Since I cannot seem to afford an Anthro globe I decided to make my own and sell them! They are surprisingly in high demand and I've been able to get a ton of orders.

7. GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS: I designed the card below and had a blast receiving the card in the mail!

8. VIDEOGRAPHY: I'm tellin ya this is an extremely fun way to make money. People love cute videos and will pay to have them made for them. It's time consuming but well worth it.

9. ODD JOBS: Ask your neighbors if they need someone to walk their dog, drive their kids, clean out their garage, etc. People have lots of things on their to do lists and need someone to help them get it done. 

10. SEEK MENTORS: If you know someone who is successful in an area you want to be, ask them if you can work for them! It may be simple tasks at first but it gives you an opportunity to be mentored, gain experience in a specific field, and make money! I was able to make some signs for Shop Strands at a local market they had, it was super cool and great advertising!

Anyways, do not let money stop you, if you work hard you can get whatever you want!!!

much love,

Jessica

MAKE IT HAPPEN

When my family lived in Brazil, my parents learned a Portuguese phrase that has become our family motto in a way. Dar um Jeito. Basically it means "Find a way" to make it happen. Our family believes you don't get what you don't ask for, and if there's a will, there's a way. So when my oldest sister asked me if I'd go to Europe with her, I was like "DAR UM JEITO" I WILL FIND A WAY.

After MANY debates with my parents over me going, I finally got their approval and swore I would earn the money before I left. (or at the latest by the end of summer) Since then my sleep, school, social life, and everything else seems to revolve around me making this happen. I found cheap flights and then found even cheaper flights, and in a month from today will be walking the streets of Europe!!!

9 countries in 10 days. Needless to say, IM STOKED.

much love,
Jessica

THE CURIOUS LIFE OF A CURLY HAIRED GIRL

ELLO!

I justify my use of that word because I was born in England. Although... I was raised in Brazil, Singapore, Canada, and California... so technically I could have started with:
OI! or SUP DUDE! but I feel like ELLO! is just the most fitting.

As for my use of all caps, I generally don't like to use them as much as lower case letters, however I'm excited to be starting this blog and nothing says excited more than all caps! AM I RIGHT?! But enough about my four letter greeting...

Oh, and before you read any further you should know the following:

1. I tend to get super off topic and ramble on about random things (eg, see the first two paragraphs)

2. I have a serious obsession with pens and any other kind of "weapon of mass creation" as I call them

3. I am super sarcastic, silly, and if you haven't already caught onto, weird

4. I have super curly hair and I commonly refer to it as "the fro"

5. I am a cat person (all the dog lovers probably just stopped reading this)

but the most important thing you should know about me is this:

7. I have a strong desire to help people, to travel the world, and to create beautiful things.

My motto is the title of one of my favorite Coldplay albums  "VIVA LA VIDA"

(woops, there I ago again with caps lock) it means "LIVE THE LIFE" and that is exactly what I plan on doing. My goal is to live a life filled with service, adventure, and creativity.

My sole purpose for this blog is to be able to share my artistic abilities, travel, and all the little things that make life lovely. If I am able to accomplish this then I will have "VIVA'D LA VIDA" or "LIVED THE LIFE"

much love,
Jessica