I saw these quotes on www.ourmindfullife.com and it made me think about my own mind and some of the ways I try to stop myself from overthinking and being in my own head.

So this isn’t really an ‘arty’ post but I wanted to share a few simple I do that help me when I’m feeling down, stressed or worried - just incase it might help someone else.

(Saying that, I have illustrated a few pictures to accompany the words, I feel like I can explain myself better with them! )

Being stuck in your own mind can be a scary place to be sometimes.. to me it can feel like falling backwards into an endless well with all your thoughts and worries surrounding you as you fall. Or sometimes it can feel like sitting in a dark corner of a room and your worries and thoughts are filling the rest of the room until there’s no space.

It’s hard to snap out of, and I don’t know about anyone else but I’m also an over thinker so even the littlest, silliest things will bother me for days!

Anyway.. these are the things I find helpful when I’m feeling this way.

1 - Showering

As soon as I jump in the shower and get under the water I instantly feel relieved, it’s like the worries whirl down the drain as the water runs.

Warm showers can bring down your anxiety levels, induce relaxation and also reduce muscle tension.

I’m more of a hot shower person but there are also benefits to cold showers too, I’ve added a link below where you can read more about the science behind both hot and cold showers.

Hot & Cold Shower Benefits

2 - Cat Cuddles

I have two cats, anytime I’m down or stressed they always sit on me. They just know every time, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without their beautiful little fluffy souls.

Spending time with a pet can release “feel-good” hormones like serotonin and dopamine.

Anyone that owns a cat will understand how soothing and relaxing their purrs can be!

3 - Tea & People Watching

There’s no science behind this one, just a good cup of tea can instantly make you feel a bit warm and better inside.

4 - Candles, a Blanket, a Hot Water Bottle & a Book

I know this may seem a bit much but I’m always cold so I love to be extra warm. Everyone loves a bit of cosiness, there’s something about being under a blanket with the soft light of candles around you.

I read anything depending on how I’m feeling. Sometimes it’s a true story and sometimes it’s a comfort book. I recently got a book by an author names Matt Haig, it’s actually called ‘The Comfort Book’ - It’s a mix of philosophy, quotes, and stories. I like to just read a page a day and I love how random it is and every time I read it something will stick with me.

The Comfort Book - Matt Haig

5 - Drawing & Listening to an illustration podcast/videos on YouTube

Drawing is obviously one of my favourite ways to clear my mind. I usually stick on a podcast or a YouTube video and just draw. And even though I’m not a talker, It definitely helps listening to other people talk, even if it is just about art.

6 - Cleaning

This one is actually the most effective for me, especially when I just can’t get myself to relax. I’ll spend a good hour cleaning my flat and I still might be worrying and thinking while I’m cleaning but by the end of it, it almost feels like I've wiped and hoovered most of the thoughts away.

Apparently cleaning can reduce stress, lift your mood, and make you feel more in control. If you want to read more here’s a link below to a guide which explains more.

Cleanliness & Mental Health

Some of these things may seem really simple but they can be effective!

I’m quite a reserved person, I’m not really one for talking and sharing (which probably isn’t a good thing) maybe that will change as I get older..

- If you made it to the end, just know I appreciate it and I hope it helped if you needed it ♥︎

I’d love to know what everyone else does when they might be feeling a similar way, please feel free to share.

Thank you for reading

If you’ve enjoyed this letter and would like to show your appreciation,

you can treat me to a little cup of tea ☕️

♥ However - tea or no tea, your support means a lot. ♥

Buy Me a Cuppa ☕️

Every share, subscribe and like is greatly appreciated

☺️🫶

I took a bit of a break as I had other commitments, but I’m really missing fine art!

I started drawing portraits about 13 years ago, at first I was drawing characters from movies, celebrities and musicians..but then I started drawing animals and that’s where I fell in love!

I haven’t been to any kind of art school or taken portrait classes, so I have only one technique - look and copy as close as you can! 😂👀 lol

(and of course you can use your finger to smudge - I got told off for this by my art teacher at school BUT I’ve still sold a few portraits so… 😌💅🏽)

I’ve been lucky enough to have had so many pet portrait orders and I’ve had the honour of drawing all these beautiful animals.

I can’t remember how many I’ve actually done but here are the ones I managed to remember to take photos of!

✏️ The materials I use for my portraits are mainly graphite pencils ranging from HB-6B and graphite powder as an under layer.

📔 The paper I use is Winsor & Newton Extra Smooth Bristol Board.

Then once the drawing is complete, I’ll spray it with Winsor & Newton fixative to reduce smudging.

I also do portraits with multiple pets, here are a few of my favourites that I’ve done over the years.

The drawing of the two King Charles Cavaliers was a special one; the Cavalier on the right was from a photo of the owner’s dog who had sadly passed and on the left was from a photo of their new puppy, they’d asked me to draw both of them together. 💛

I was reading through my messages and I remembered how lovely it felt and it was to be able to make someone smile with just a drawing.

The pet loss portraits were sad to do, but it felt nice to be able to give the client a special memory that they could keep with them forever.

I will be writing another newsletter later on my ‘People portraits’ because there’s too many to fit in this newsletter 😅 I’ll be including photos of those too.

If you or anyone you know would like to commission a pet portrait by me, head over to my Etsy shop - Portraits by Lini

I have a special discount link below for substack users and anyone reading this newsletter…

15% off any item in my shop! 😊

Enjoy and thank you for reading!

✨ Discount link ✨

15% off Portraits by Lini

(Once your item has been added to the basket you will be able to see your discount 😊)

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If you haven’t seen this challenge already over on instagram, the host will post a list of birds for each day of the month that the challenge is in.

There is also usually a shorter version where its every other bird, incase 31 days is too much!

Enjoy the video and the smoothe sounds of Mr. Marley 🎤

I gave myself half an hour everyday before I left for work in the morning. Although sometimes if I wanted to use watercolour or gouache which required water, I’d roughly paint a splodge of colour on a page the night before, then it would be dry and ready for pencils in the morning 😊
I used flimsy sketchbooks for this challenge so I wasn’t worried about being too neat and tidy.

Below are two photo collages of all the birds incase my video was too quick!

Materials used:

I really love this challenge, it forces me to use colours I wouldn’t normally choose, some of the birds are so vibrant and their textures are so fun to draw!

I would highly recommend joining in! It’s usually around the beginning of the year.

I’ve added a link below to the instagram page where it’s hosted each year if anyone would like to join!

Birbfest Challenge

Thank you for reading

If you’ve enjoyed this letter and would like to show your appreciation,

you can treat me to a little cup of tea ☕️

♥ However - tea or no tea, your support means a lot. ♥

Buy Me A Cuppa ☕️

Every share, subscribe and like is greatly appreciated

☺️🫶

Me and my partner got Icky first, then Max two years later - one is a typical cat, the other thinks he’s a dog. I don’t know how people can say they hate cats (Sooome of them can be a bit arseholey) but I do think if a cat genuinely likes you, you must be good person because they don’t just go to anyone!

And anytime I’m unwell or I’ve had bad news, they ALWAYS sit on my lap like little comfort blankets.. melts my heart every time.

Max has an obsession with toilet roll and likes to stand up sometimes.. and Icky has a bottle cap addiction. We’re working through it.

So this is basically just a post of appreciation and adoration for my little fur friends, we don’t deserve pets!

Side note (incase the dog police come for me) - I adore dogs too - no hate here I love all animals! 🫶

What weird things does your pet do??

I’d love to see your pets, photos please! 👇

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I’m not sure why I chose the Longest challenge out there for my first one though… 🧐

I picked dogs as my subject because did you know there are around 360 breeds of dogs! So I had a lot of choice which meant no faffing around, I could just pick one and draw.

There are a few sketches I wasn't too keen on in the book but there’s also a lot that I love - plus now I have a catalogue of characters!

I’ve made a video for anyone that wants to have a peek and I’ve added some soothing music too, enjoy.. 😌

I won’t lie, around day 30 I nearly gave up because I was getting a little bored of it! But I just switched materials to make it more interesting and that did help.

🖍️ I used a mix of watercolours, gouache and coloured pencils.

📔 The sketchbook here is Talens Art Creation (A5)

It did wrinkle a little with the use of water but once it dried it was fine!

This project taught me discipline and to not be so precious about every drawing.

And as I only had about 20-30 minutes in the morning before work, they were nice and quick!

These are a few of my favourites.

I would definitely recommend joining the 100 Days project, it can be 100 days of absolutely anything.

I’ve added the link below if you’d like to read about it.

📎 100 Day Project

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Thank you for reading

If you’ve enjoyed this letter and would like to show your appreciation,

you can treat me to a little cup of tea ☕️

♥ However - tea or no tea, your support means a lot. ♥

Buy Me a Cuppa ☕️

Every share, subscribe and like is greatly appreciated

☺️🫶

I’ve picked the title Petite Post for two reasons:

1 - I am 4”11

2 - I want my newsletters to be short and sweet (like me 💁‍♀️ well just the short bit)

I’ve drawn an illustration (below) to accompany my newsletter and I want to live in it.

In my newsletter I’ll be sharing short posts about my illustrations, daily life as well as sharing my art process and other interests.

I’ve made a few points of subjects I may be writing about.

• Pets/Animals (I may have a slight obsession)

• Illustrations

• Experiences

• Sketchbook tours

• Art Challenges

• Illustration Process

• Tattoos

• Portrait Art

• Online Shop

• Resources/links I find useful

• Art Materials

• Trips/Events

• Nostalgic Waffle (Born in 1991) ⚠️ apologies, there may be a lot of this because I just can’t let go.

If you think you or anyone you know may enjoy reading about any of these subjects, please share, follow and subscribe!

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My name is Lini and I live in Essex, London.

I live in a little flat with my partner of 9 years and our two cats!

What am I doing here, you ask? 🧐

Well! I’m starting a newsletter to share things and also connect with more people, I’d love to make more creative-minded buddies.

I feel like substack is a refreshing platform with some genuinely nice people on it. And from what I’ve seen, there’s no competition, no filtered selfies and no nonsense ads.

I’ve been scrolling daily on here for the last few weeks and I’ve been learning so much from some lovely illustrators and creatives, who have kindly shared their wisdom and knowledge!

I’d like to do the same (Not sure I have much of either) but I do know I want to get involved!

So, I'll be sharing experiences, day to day life, work, materials and more.

I’m very excited about all the waffling and hope you’ll join me!