I cannot believe we are half way through 2026! I have not written on my blog for a while because I have been busy becoming a mum! I have always been told that having a baby is life changing and only now do I fully understand what that means. It has been an incredible journey so far and I am so proud of what my body has done over the last year.
One of the big challenges I now have is juggling my career and my new little human. I am blessed to be self employed and to be able to work around my daughter but I am still finding my feet. In the UK employed people are allowed a whole year of maternity leave. I have had three months and it is time to get back to work! However I do believe that having my work is linking me back to my old self and greatly helping my mental health in these early days. My career has always been a big part of my personality and I have had to work hard to move away from my workaholic tendencies over the last few years but I would struggle to step completely back from it. Having a baby has meant that I need to slow down even more and focus on the parts of my job that mean the most to me.
I am in the beginning stages of creating a simple story book. This project is pushing me massively out of my comfort zone and I know it will need a lot of tweaking along the way. I have never considered illustrating for children before but I am having so much fun creating this passion project. I have the outline of a story (a very simple board book story!) and I have a draft of my main character so far. I am sure I will share more of it in the future but it feels like a very vulnerable project at the moment.
I am so inspired to keep building my brand and portfolio so that one day my daughter can look at what her mum has achieved and feel proud. My wishes for the rest of the year include working on more book covers with lovely authors and publishers, creating a story book for my daughter, and improving my skills and style.
I hope you have a fabulous rest of 2026!
