Lettering for Mental Health Sale thru Sunday, 8/16

8x10 print - “Comparison is the Thief of Joy”

To celebrate World Calligraphy Day, I am hosting a sale in my Etsy shop thru Sunday, 8/16 of my three mental health lettering prints. Modern calligraphy and lettering have been such a source of joy and stress relief for me so I'm happy to celebrate this medium today. Prints are $8.40 each (no code needed).

 During this challenging time, I hope you are staying well, both mentally and physically. ⁠

8x10 print - “The world is a better place with you in it”

Growth Requires Embracing Fear - Free Printable Lettering

The closer we get to the end of the year, the more I reflect on everything I’ve learned this year and all the learning and growing I still want to do before 2019 ends. With that in mind, this month’s printable celebrates growth by getting out of your comfort zone.

Download it here. For personal use only. Link expires in 30 days.

National Suicide Prevention Month: Free Printable Lettering

All month, mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies, and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. I’ve sadly lost too many loved ones to suicide and want to be part of the movement to give others hope and to try to take the stigma out of discussions of mental health. It’s something that I still really struggle to talk about, but it’s something that so many people struggle with and I know I’ve benefited so much from people who are brave enough to share their stories. I’m lucky I’ve had a lot of support, both from loved ones and by slowly learning to advocate for myself and others in the healthcare world, something that used to terrify me.

To help raise awareness this month and for anyone who needs a reminder, I’m making this print available as a free download. You can download it directly here or you can join my newsletter to get the link sent straight to your inbox. I send out monthly downloadable prints to subscribers and would love to have you as part of our community.

You are loved and you matter. The world is a better place with you in it.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support via phone or chat for people in distress, resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Includes information on finding your local crisis center. Phone: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Website: http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

LIFE II 18 in 2018 Progress Report

Desert 2 District Design II Progress over Perfection

Happy Thursday! I am trying to keep myself on track with my 18 in 2018 list by doing these periodic check-ins. I am a forever perfectionist so it's hard for me to be OK with incremental progress that isn't 100% perfect 100% of the time. This mantra helps me. 

Here's where things stand since my last check in:

It looks like I haven't added much, but the one I checked off last was a HUGE one for me--launching my online shop!

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I've been intimidated by the technical aspects/little tasks that are all part of launching the shop--setting up Paypal, getting a postage meter, taking and editing photos of my artwork. But I chipped away at my mountain of tasks and gave myself a deadline by announcing my shop launch. And somehow... it came together! 

So even though I don't have much else to update, checking that one off the list was a huge accomplishment for me. I've just got to keep repeating my mantra above--progress over perfection.

LIFE II 18 in 2018 Progress Update

Desert 2 District Design II Stay Sunny

If you found this blog through my instagram, then you probably know about my fondness for list-making and goal-setting. It's probably not a surprise that I'm a Virgo. Although I've always loved goal-setting, I haven't always been the best at tracking my goals, especially long term goals. I often set grand goals, make progress, and then decide that I did enough or I'll lose interest and move on to the next project. 

This year, I am trying to see my 18 in 2018 (AND my new 30 before 30) lists through. So, to give myself a little accountability, I'm going to do periodic updates on my progress on both lists. Tackling my 18 in 2018 list first...

Desert 2 District Design II 18 in 2018 progress

I actually surprised myself a little with the amount of progress I made so far this year! I've made the most progress on my art and home-related projects, with a huge amount of help from my sweet and handy husband. I have my new art space all set up (which I LOVE and use daily), we made new side tables, and after a ton of deliberation and months of searching, we also finally ordered a new couch to replace our $50 IKEA couch that we've had for 3 years. 

I've also made a little progress on my travel goals--we went on our first international trip in years last month, spending a blissful three days in Playa del Carmen. 

I'm making progress on my monthly and weekly goals as well, although I'm doing better at some vs. others. Date nights have been a wonderful new tradition. I don't know if any of you are as obsessed with Google calendar as I am, but they have a new "GOALS" feature where you can tell it you want to set aside an hour (or any amount of time) for a goal once a week (or whatever frequency you want) and it'll find time on your schedule for you and create recurring appointments. It really made finding time for date nights easy for me, as an overly scheduled person, and we haven't missed one yet. 

I've also been doing my at least monthly spin classes thanks to Classpass, but injured my shoulder fairly seriously in the last month and am finding it hard to get back into my routine now that it's finally starting to heal. I am also really struggling with the bedtime routine. I'm great about it for a couple nights and then I'm back to somehow staying up until one in the morning and slogging through the next day.

Do you have any ideas for how to get back into a workout routine after injury or how to make a bedtime routine stick? If you have a list, I'd love to hear about your progress too!

Have a sunny weekend!

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

I'm Heidi, the creator and owner of Desert 2 District Design. I moved to D.C. in 2015 after spending most of my life in Arizona. I absolutely love D.C., but found myself a little homesick and missing some of my favorite desert plants (cacti, of course), the endless sunshine, and the laid-back vibes of the Southwest, so I started painting as a way to unwind and to bring some of the desert to my new home. It's been almost a year since I started my Instagram account, and I've been so surprised and grateful to find this beautiful and supportive community of artists and art lovers. 

If you know me from Instagram, you probably know that I love to paint (mostly watercolor), letter, bullet journal, and collage. I'm hoping to share more of my art here, but to also share more of myself--my love of travel, reading, cooking delicious vegan food, and yoga. 

I hope you'll follow along and say hi!