This is a story all about how...

...Leslieanne Made It became what it is now!

March Meet The Maker, brainchild of the ever lovely Joanne Hawker starts again today - yay!

I love this challenge, because I always "meet" some new faces & get to know a bit more about some old favourites 😃

Day one's prompt is "story" & since I couldn't edit mine down enough for an Instagram caption, I decided to share it here on the blog instead

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin!


Once upon a time there was a girl called Leslieanne. (Hello! 😃)
She was an arty little thing from a young age, never without a crayon in hand, always making *something* (...often a mess!)
She had big dreams of going to art school & becoming an illustrator, brightening up the world, one doodle at a time, like here heroes Jim Davis & Dick Bruna & Roger Hargreaves...

But, life happened.
Stuff got in the way & she wound up retiring her pencil case after a miserable two years doing an Art A Level at college squashed her creativity *cue sad music*

She wound up working in a nice office, with nice people.
She'd fallen in love with a very handsome boy & life was good!
But she did miss making things.

She found a place called Etsy, and started making cards & jewellery, sold them for pennies to buy more materials - it was FUN! ...but she wanted more.
She wanted to ditch the office job & make things all day! ...but she was scared. There were bills to pay after all!

Then she & the handsome boy had a tiny baby! How Exciting!
She took a year off from the office for maternity leave & by the end of it, she really didn't want to go back.

So, she dipped her toes in the world of freelance writing & it was great!
She said goodbye to her office pals & set up a "desk" at her kitchen table.

Freelance life was loads of fun - being able to stay home with her tiny new best friend and still contribute to the bills - she was living the dream!
After a while though, it got kinda boring ...writing about other people's businesses only made her daydream more about having one of her own!

She wanted to show her little boy how important it is to follow your dreams, to build a life you LOVE!
So, she dug her pencil case out of retirement & started doodling again!

Gradually, she wound down her freelance clients, took a deep breath, and on May 23rd 2016, Leslieanne Made It was officially born!

She hasn't looked back since!
Sure, it's a perpetual work in progress, and she's a way off following in the footsteps of her heroes, but she likes to think she's getting closer every day, and she's loving every moment of building her tiny empire.

The moral of the story?
Don't give your up daydreams - EVER!
(Even if a mean old art teacher tells you you're not good enough for art school )
((Actually, especially if anyone tells you that - work hard & never give up trying to prove them wrong! ))

If you've got this far - go get yourself a cuppa & a snack - you deserve it!
(& just be glad I didn't post the first draft, which was even longer - we'll get into how the critters came to be another day!!)

P.S. Would you like a little bit of happy in your inbox every Friday?
Add yourself to my list right here!