Angela Hamilton

career

On “doing it all”.

by

How was your first day of spring? It was such a beautiful day yesterday that I thought I’d share a few of my recent instagrams. Last week in Seattle I visited my family and experienced 20-hour-straight rain before things cleared up a bit on my way back to LA (typical). Then I got to experience the official first day of spring here on a walk with the flowers sprouting all over the neighborhood.

Looking toward downtown Seattle on a very wet Sunday.

Exploring a bit of the east side with my family, near Snoqualmie, WA. After a weekend of rain, this view reminded me what I missed so much about the Northwest!

I’ve been walking around LA since I got back. It was 80 degrees the other day (so, summer?!).

After walking, I made a list of all the things I want to do and started planning how to get there. Right now–this year, this month–I have a major opportunity to actively grow my work, including crafting, blogging, and writing. It’s exciting and scary; the biggest thing is turning this inspiration into action.

I drew connections among my passions, finding common threads between seemingly unrelated things. I’ve started freelance writing this year, and building project after project truly excites me, but also forces me to think about how to continue to practice crochet, learn about my craft, and make that a viable source of income as well. I’ve always known that I’d be the type of person to sort of “do it all”, but I never knew I’d feel so all over the place, like I’m trying to make too many things work at once instead of just focusing on one (or two…). At the same time, I think some of us, usually creatives, are just that way. We just like to pursue our passions until they aren’t just hobbies anymore but are ways of life. We like to build upon one thing until it becomes another and another. I keep seeing women who write, design, sell clothes, take pictures, own a store, and countless other things all under this all-encompassing umbrella of “self-employment” or “business-owner” or “artist”, and it reminds me that it’s possible. Sometimes all the things I like to do don’t contain clear connections but I know that through experience, as my hobbies and career and art changes and evolves, I’ll forge a path that’s unique to me. 

By working through this I realized a few things (that will hopefully help anyone who ever feels stuck between wanting to do it all but not knowing how to start, too—):

  1. Even if you can’t do it all, you’ll find that the important things fall to the front.
  2. Everything is connected in some small way, even if it’s just that they are equally important to you.
  3. There are many people (just scroll through your bloglovin’ feed if you need a refresher) that look like they’re doing it all by themselves, but the truth is, it’s a combination of ridiculously hard work, aspiration, goals, planning, and support, all coming together to create that brand or career.

In what ways are you “doing it all”? What aspects of your life involve different paths? 

March resolutions

by

This month, I find myself with a little more time than usual. Yet, my list of things to do is like water–it spreads to fill whatever space of time I have, no matter how small or large. That’s why, what’s on the list needs to matter.

Instead of thinking of them as goals, which are more like plans, I think of them as resolutions: a microcosm of the habits I hope to form in 2014, wrapped tightly and packaged into one 30-day period. We are creatures of habit, and I think that one month of following my own resolutions isn’t quite as scary as an entire year. I mean, can you believe we’re already in March? I’m determined not to let it go by unnoticed.

I have 12 spring resolutions for this month, in hopes that I’ll form habits of things I actually want to do regularly, as opposed to those things I put on the to-do list and sigh about. January and February were months of much forced creativity. This spring, I resolve to act; to turn challenges into opportunities for something new. Here’s 5 of the 12 I’ve written down, in either daily or weekly installments… Let me know if any of these are on your March goals, too!

1. Read a new book or magazine each week.
2. Eat a healthy breakfast daily.
3. Go somewhere new each week.
4. Make/do something new for the apartment each week.
5. Step outside of my comfort zone each week.

Inspiration is a funny thing

by

Last night I had this conversation with my dad about starting a business. He used to own a business and we talked about the freedom + frustrations that come along with that. About organization and preparation, but also being able to just do what you want. His situation is very different from mine — he’s at a point where he’s deciding what he wants to do for the next few years. All inspired, he turned the spare bedroom into an office, like it used to be years ago. 1200 miles away, I’m thinking of what I want to do. Inspiration hits me the same way, even though it’s about art and crafting and writing. But freedom + frustration comes along the same way. The funny thing about inspiration is that once you have it, it can motivate you through to the next chapter — it’s kind of a breeze if you’re running entirely on inspiration too — but it usually fades when the harder things come along, that don’t take so much creativity, but just have to be done. The business of things.

I put together a quick collage of inspiring things because when I need creative energy, it helps to envision my space — whether it has elements of the now or is just future dreaming. Mint + lavender with hints of gray + pink is very calming. What kind of space inspires you?

How to get thrifty with your craft supplies

by

Last week I wrote about my art wall and the 4 places I always go for art prints. One of those places is a thrift store and one of those prints is a 18×12″ map of the USA. When I headed to the the thrift store one afternoon, I knew I wanted a new book to reuse and a 1940s atlas was just the thing. Here’s the latest from my vintage maps, and a few tips on getting thrifty with your craft supplies:

1. Save all Scraps. You may think you’re doing this now–but you’re probably not. Just because you save large pieces of paper or a few yards of yarn doesn’t mean you’re doing all you can. Sure, when your friends come over you’ll probably have to explain your borderline hoarder lifestyle (or just learn how to organize craft supplies), but saving TINY pieces of scrap paper–like a fraction of business card size–and cut up scraps of fabrics not only save you major $$, but they force you to really get creative with your crafts.

Did you know that there are some pieces of paper too small to recycle? There goes years of filling up bags of unwanted scrap paper just for the recycle–that’s one reason I reuse it if I can.

2. The “misc.” section of your local thrift shop. When looking for beads, buttons, sewing supplies, paper or yarn, it’s usually tucked away in an obscure (and probably creepy) section of your local thrift store. Last summer, I entered the twilight zone of thrift shops–a literal hole in the wall in Reseda that had a dark, dimly lit upstairs lined with tall bookshelves. While I was pretty afraid to march up those creaky steps, I knew I couldn’t leave a thrift store without combing the whole place. It turned out there was a whole library of books priced $1-5 (sure, a bunch of them read L.A. County Library) for me to choose from. One book = many months of paper for crafting.

3. Go in with a list, then forget it. I always write lists when I’m going to the thrift store. If I don’t, I’ll forget the treasures I am on the hunt for–like vintage lace for a headband or a field guide for a photography backdrop. But a thrift store is a thrift store so by the end of my trip I usually have more to ADD than to cross off. That’s okay, but it’s good to keep in mind what you went in for, because you’ll probably still need it. If you don’t find it after searching a few shops, it’s probably time to head to the craft store.

4.Look in unlikely places. The cardstock in my gift tags is from an adorable paper pack I got for $1 at TJ Maxx. Don’t rule out discount stores, gift shops, or even hardware and specialty stores in your hunt for new supplies–you just might find something unique on the cheap.

I made these gift tags from just a couple pages of vintage maps and a pack of scrapbook paper, with left over yarn and lace trim. I also saved the confetti-sized circles from my hole punch and used it in a home décor project. I really do save everything, and it means far less trips to the store (as fun as that is).

Where do you find your craft supplies?

What to do when you’ve had a shitty day

by

When I left work yesterday, I wasn’t feeling so hot. Physically, I was hot – my cheeks were red from sitting hunched over my desk all day, jaws dropped in awe at the problems popping up like ads on the computer screen. I like my job, but it was just one of those days. As I descended the (almost) million steps down from the office I thought to myself (or mumbled, whatever), what can I do to make this better?

The problems I was experiencing, and will continue to experience, were little specks upon a week, a month, a lifetime. Websites crashing. Low views. Emails not responded to. Ideas not coming together. Demanding clients. They’re so little. But like most of those little things, I felt that nagging feeling of them adding up – continuously piling high as the steps I climbed down from.

That’s when I thought I should of writing this: a step-by-step guide (because who doesn’t like those?) to follow when I’m having a bad day. And because we’re all different, you can read my tips and then swap them out for your own…

What to do when you’ve had a bad day:

Talk it out – but not too much. I share everything with my boyfriend. It calms me down to go through the day’s events – good or bad. But lately I’ve noticed that if I get it off my chest and then be done with it, I feel a lot better. Be as detailed with you need to be – with your friend, boyfriend, mom, whatever. But make the decision to tell your story and be done. 

Brew a warm cup of whatever comforts you. Confession: Sometimes I drink coffee late. I tell myself it’s the warm, delicious beverage that lifts my spirits, not the extra dosage of caffeine. I know it’s not the healthiest, but having a little comfort food/drink will help pull you out of your slump. For me, a little coffee, some sugar, and a lot of cream, goes  a long way. Then I can move on and focus on the night’s projects: the blog, shop, writing, reading, whatever – with a perkier outlook.

Instead of coffee you could choose a caffeine free tea, cider, or whatever else makes you happy, and just relax for a little bit. Consider it the in-between period as you rise to the surface of your shitty day and breathe in a different air.

Go on a walk. I love to walk. I feel antsy when I don’t walk at least one place everyday. If you work in an office all day, sitting at home at your desk will feel like an imitation of the days’ events. Even if you’re active all day, going on a leisurely walk around your ‘hood will feel like…a walk in the park, so to speak. When I was younger, I walked everywhere alone (thinking back, I don’t know that that was the smartest choice), I loved being on my own to clear my head. I find that when I’m walking I don’t think of my day so negatively, I think of solutions, of new ideas, and new ways to execute them.

Clean it up. Even if you can’t control the circumstances that created the bad day, you can often control your surroundings. Falling asleep surrounded by a mess of laundry and cat toys (those kittens are way messier than I expected) always spells bad news come 6am. When you’ve had a bad day, follow steps 1-3 and then get to tidying things up. It will make for a more relaxing night ahead and a better morning.

Get a good night’s sleep – or try to. I get so worked up when I’ve had a bad day that I start to panic about how the night’s going to go, how my sleep will be disrupted, how the next morning I have to get up and do it all again. Talk about pessimistic. When I’ve actually given myself time to get over it, go on that walk, and hop into bed at a normal hour, things start to fall into place. It’s nice if I can dim the lights a bit and get a good few minutes of reading in, too.

Luckily for me, my bad day ended just in time for me to follow my own advice – but this doesn’t happen all the time. To that I say, pick the option most important to you (and it’s not cleaning) and use it to relax, refresh, and get ready for a better tomorrow. Here’s to doing bad days, better.

Non-toxic nail polish

by

Over the last two years I’ve become increasingly aware of the ingredients in just about everything. Swapping my beauty products for nontoxic brands has been a lengthy battle and I’m not yet there. The first hurtle was realizing that there are unhealthy preservatives, fragrances with who knows how many chemicals, and other scary ingredients in most of the products I absolutely loved. 
I wanted to share my experience trying to go natural, starting with nail polish…

This article on the daily green is helpful in understanding natural beauty. 

Going green can be very expensive and confusing – but once I found out that there are possible carcinogens in my makeup, I had to change! You can’t unlearn that! This site is helpful for finding natural makeup. And this site will scare you with the long list of “ingredients to avoid”. Note: I pay attention to what I wouldn’t want on my skin personally – some have warnings because they cause skin irritation that I don’t get, but some have been shown to provide danger to everyone.
While I definitely don’t know everything there is to know, I take it one step at a time. This summer, I swapped my nail polish for brands that are nontoxic. The upside is that some brands that were toxic have changed their formulas over the years. Many are proudly 3-free (and 5-free). 
What I’ve learned is that if it doesn’t advertise as nontoxic, it probably isn’t…being eco-friendly is trendy and a brand would market it as such if it were (and sometimes if it isn’t!)

one recent mini shopping-spree 🙂

My collection is MUCH smaller and does contain more “high-end” brands, but over the past year I’ve spent WAY less money on those products I’d normally buy just because I love shopping or they were pretty or smelled nice, especially now that each trip takes thorough investigation. You can check your products here.
Here are some nail polish brands that I either like or have read good things about – let me know if you have any recommendations! Especially less spendy brands. I can’t wait to learn more.

· Scotch Naturals 

· Julep
…many, many more.
angela hamilton logo mark
Copyright Angela Hamilton © 2025 •
Made by Wallflower