visionary dreams

This spring I’ve been doing a ton of work on myself both personally and on my business. As a result, my dreams — which are already very elaborate, or as I like to call them, major motion pictures — have become incredibly insightful.

A few months ago (July 12th) I had a dream that’s message was so strong, I ended up waking up & video recording myself talking it out so I wouldn’t forget it:


visionary dream from willotoons on Vimeo.

And it helped! There are details I said in this video I had forgotten even a few days later. Pretty cool. Since then I’ve had more amazing dreams… one of which was even an incredible visit through past lives, which was wild.

I haven’t recorded anymore yet, but I’m posting this as sort of a kick off, because this is the first of many videos where I am going to be sharing with you exactly what this dream suggested. I am going to attempt to share with you some of the challenges I’ve had in my business, lessons I’ve learned, mistakes I’ve made, etc. I am also looking forward to asking you all questions, as I know I have sooo many incredibly intelligent friends & readers out there, and two heads — let alone hundreds — are better than one! :)

The biggest reason I want to share more of this process is to speak more about how by starting my WilloToons line I am following my dream… and how much I wish for everyone that they listen to their heart & do what they love!

Thank you for continuing to read & for all of your support. xo

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For those of you who might be curious… in this video I am wearing my (WilloToons illustration) ‘kitty face’ scoop tee & (handcrafted) owlie the owl earrings! And here are photos from the Renegade Craft Fair that I talked about having a table at in the video.

willotoons tees on pleasedress.me!

I’m proud to announce that I’m a part of a new t-shirt search engine site called Please Dress Me!

And, check this out…. this article (all in spanish!) featured all of my ‘geek’ tagged tees in the screenshot! yay!

So fun… thanks & a big hello to all who are finding my site & the WilloToons Shop from PleaseDress.me!

photos from my family trip back to indiana


Mothers & daughters!, originally uploaded by Willo.

My Mom’s from a little town called Warsaw, Indiana and so our entire family is still there… all my aunts, uncles, cousins & their kids!

It was an absolutely gorgeous Labor Day weekend and I loved spending time with my fabulous family in the midwest!

We played a lot of cornhole…
darrin throws

Relaxed on the lake….
my view

And it was great to hang out with my sis!
me & my sis! yay

»View all the photos from my trip »

congrats to the hearns! <3


the hearns! , originally uploaded by Willo.

Ali joined me for a wonderful drive up through wine country & a visit to St. Helena where we attended Helen Jane & James’ Welcome Party for their (now 2 months old) newborn Nora Lea.

She’s absolutely gorgeous, naturally, considering her Mom & Dad are the most smokin’ hot couple I know! :)

It was an absolutely lovely day, beautiful venue & so nice to catch up with them & meet their new little one.

Many blessings & love to you sweeties! xoxo

View all the photos

Camping Trip 2008!

A bunch of us went camping up near Bodega Bay, at a campground called Bodega Dunes this weekend & it was such a blast!

After breakfast on Saturday morning we all took a little hike out to the beach & hung out there for a few hours… so relaxing!

chillin & chattin at the beach

After getting back to our camp, we busted out the cold beers, guitars & (innovatively) BBQ’d the night away! Super fun times!

View all the photos & videos from our Camping Trip!

Mach Schnell!


Mach Schnell!, originally uploaded by Willo.

Custom illustration – view larger – for an old friend (Geoff Gill) from high school’s relay running team doing the Hood to Coast next week! Their team name is Mach Schnell, which means Faster in German. ;)

These are going on Heather Gray AA t-shirts & 4 magnets (for 2 cars) during the race.

See more WilloToons Custom Illustration here

Vote on my SXSW Panels!

Guess what? This spring I have the opportunity to be on two panels at SXSW!

Deal is, it’s all about the panels with the most votes (voting ends on Aug 29th!), so if you would please take a minute to check out what we’re offering the SXSW Interactive community, login or register (super easy & quick!) and give us your 5 star vote, it’d be greatly appreciated! Feel free to leave your comments or questions, too.

  • Snappy Strategies for Selling Art & Crafts Online < click here to vote
    Today, social media sites like Facebook, ecommerce sites like Etsy.com, and the endless mash up of ecommerce ingredient applications have made starting a successful business for independent artists and crafters a snap. Learn what online tools work best, how to drive traffic, successful strategies from current independents and more. 
  • Digital Dating: Are the Internets Killing Your Game? < click here to vote
    Dating has never been this complicated. Once simply “boy meets girl”, we now live in a world where “boy meets girl, friends them on Facebook & Twitter and texts their way into (hopefully) Happily Ever After.” How do you navigate the murky dating waters of Love 2.0?(FYI This panel will also include Tara Hunt, Aubrey Sabala and Steph Agresta, as well as a surprise panelist speaking for all the guys out there!)

     

I’ve actually never been on a panel at SXSW, so I’m very excited about these two & feel I have a lot to offer on both topics. Note that, although I’d love for you to be there & see them, you can still vote for me even if you’re not going! :)

Thanks so much!
xo

my adorable baby niece!


sylvy & auntie willo, originally uploaded by Willo.

My brother, Max & his lil’ family (my awesome sister-in-law, Samara & my baby niece, Sylvyanna) and Max’s long time pal & business partner, Christopher & his family (wife Courtney & daughter, Maya – just 2 months younger than Sylvy!) all came up for a day to hit the SF Int’l Gift Show.

Max & Christopher have a huge import business & retail store in Santa Cruz called Om Gallery, so they needed to place some orders. And I went along to do research on potentially having a WilloToons booth at a trade show.

gorgeous eyes

It was so awesome to see all of them & spend some quality time. My little niece Sylvy is just getting more & more beauuuutiful every day!! Seriously, isn’t she just adorable!? Those eyes! *sigh* I’m smitten. :) She’s so smiley & cute. I just want to gobble her up!

Click here to see all the photos & videos from their visit!

cute overload!

Sunday night Ali, Ian & I drove down to Woodside for Eric’s Birthday BBQ! The BBQ was held at Eric’s Aunt’s house, but he recently bought the house right next door, which he is completely remodeling.

I was so happy to see other good friends that hadn’t been able to make it to the Thursday night gathering at Randy’s last week (on Eric’s actual bday), and to spend time surrounded by a foggy dense forest… so cozy.

Also to my delight, turns out Eric’s Aunt has two new baby kitties! I felt like it was *my* birthday or something! :)

yay double kitty love!

*le sigh* I love kitties!

arms stretched out totally passed out

Not only did I eat up the cuteness of these sweet kitties… but we had yummy cake & cobbler, too!

happy birthday eric!

group photo!

Great night with good friends & lots of kitty playing & sweet snuggles.

Happy Birthday, Eric! We love you! xo

View all the photos from the party/kitty lovefest

sea kayaking in sausalito!

On Friday we all played hooky & headed up to Sausalito for a little nature adventure!

We saw lots of amazing birds and got really close to a bunch of swimming & lounging seals while we paddled our way through the sailboats & houseboats in Sausalito Bay.

Afterwards we went for a tasty freshmex lunch complete with margaritas!

yay so fun

It was an incredibly gorgeous day & so fun to spend some QT time with my fabulous girlfriends!