“Anne, I registered for your Doodles Coaching Week, but now I'm second-guessing myself. It's only ten dollars. Is it actually good?”

Have you ever stood in a fabric store aisle, running your fingers along bolts of cotton, and thought — why can't I ever find exactly what I need?

A few years ago, Kyle Young set up a booth at a church craft fair. She brought along products featuring her bold, hand-inked designs. Three hours later, she'd sold over $1,000 worth of products.

If you've been following along with me over the last couple of weeks, you probably noticed my name popping up in your inbox quite a bit. Like... a lot a lot.

Spring is the season when we throw open the windows, clear out the closets, and let go of things that no longer serve us. So I've been thinking — what if we did the same thing with our mindset?

I'm blocking off my calendar from February 17 through February 24. Again. I'm dedicating these days to support Bonnie Christine's annual Surface Design Immersion open enrollment. And honestly? I don’t want you to miss it.

Eight years ago, I typed "surface pattern design classes" into Google. I'd just learned how to create repeating patterns by hand but I knew I needed to learn the digital side of things.

It's a beautiful morning here, and I've been thinking about what it really takes to build something from nothing. 🎨

It was 2018, and I was sitting at my kitchen table, completely mesmerized by what I was watching on my computer screen. What came next changed everything…

Last week I wrote about not feeling ready for January's hype. About being tired. About questioning whether I had the energy for another fresh start when what I really needed was rest.

I thought I’d be writing an inspiring blog this week about surface pattern design. Something motivational. Something that makes you want to leap into action. Not so much…

I need to tell you something that might shock you, especially coming from someone who teaches surface pattern design for a living. My first pattern was absolutely terrible.

I need to confess something embarrassing about my younger self. When I was a kid, I was absolutely convinced that having a December 30th birthday was the universe's cruel joke.

My sister called from Massachusetts recently after their first snowfall. "Anne, it's snowing! The whole world looks like it's been painted white!" And then she laughed. "Have you seen Pantone's color announcement? They basically picked snow!"

Here I am, on a Sunday, working on this blog post. I tell myself I'm just "getting ahead" for the week, and my blog doesn't really count as work-work. But if I'm honest, this is exactly the pattern I need to talk to you about today…

Last week, we dug into your 2025 wins (even if your tracking was less than perfect), and I hope you discovered some surprises in that review process. Maybe you realized you created way more than you thought.

There's a moment at the end of every year when you sit down with good intentions to review what happened over the past twelve months, and suddenly you're hit with a wave of frustration. You didn't track things as well as you meant to.

My mother and I used to be the family party organizers, the ones who would coordinate all the big holiday gatherings for our extended family. She had this beautiful house in San Francisco with a spacious living room and dining room…