How Much I Spend in a Week Living in Chiang Mai, Thailand

My "digital nomad" lifestyle means that I'm location independent, although I've been living on-and-off in Chiang Mai for the past six months.In the spirit of full transparency, I've put together a breakdown of how much I spend during a week period living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I'm a 29-year-old illustrator and graphic designer and earn 90% of my income through licensing my artwork. I primarily work in coffee shops and cafes throughout the city and consider the price of a coffee my "rent" for free wifi + a temporary workspace.

Komodo Dragons in the Wild - An Adventure in Indonesia

My travel bucket list is filled with difficult-to-obtain goals, usually involving remote locations, perfect timing, and a stroke of luck. I had the opportunity to check off a big one when I visited Indonesia: ✔️ See a Komodo dragon in the wild. These are the fastest, largest and strongest lizards on earth and they're only found on a few tiny islands in southern Indonesia. Their remote isolation only increased my desire to catch a glimpse of one in its natural habitat.

My Skillshare Debut / Creating Art that Sells: A Working Artist’s Guide

My first class is officially live! I teamed up with Society6 & Skillshare to create a course dedicated to teaching artists + designers tips to boosting their passive income through selling artwork. After months of prep work, shooting in NYC, and working through final edits from across the world, I'm so thrilled with how everything came together. My course is FREE & open to anyone who wants to learn!

Digital Nomad Life: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Last summer, my apartment lease in Kansas City was about to expire and I had to make a decision: renew, find a new place around town, or store all my belongings in my brother's basement and move to Thailand. I chose the latter.

Travel Like a Boss: Podcast Interview

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Johnny FD about my life as an artist-turned-digital-nomad. Johnny hosts the Travel Like a Boss, a podcast about how to travel like a boss by being your own boss. "Digital Nomad" is a term for those of us who are location independent and use technology to perform our jobs. We work remotely thanks to accessible and cheap internet access around the world.

Double Feature in HGTV Magazine

I've been traveling through Asia for the past few weeks and I just got a text from a friend that made my entire month. "CAT. You're in HGTV magazine!" Needless to say, I was ecstatic.

How I Earn Passive Income as an Artist

I recently had the opportunity to partner up with Society6 and Skillshare to teach my own class. The topic: How artists can boost their passive income. The online class is packed with information for artists and designers looking to broaden their revenue streams. I thought it would be helpful to include a summary of the basics. Enjoy!

Letter to My Younger Self

Society6 invited me to participate in their artist blog with a letter to my younger self. It gave me a chance to reflect on how my past and the events that led me to where I am now.

Pop Up Shop in West Elm

West Elm does a fantastic job engaging the local maker community in KC. They invited me to set up a Pop Up Shop in their store on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which was perfect timing: Small Business Saturday!

Feature in Dr. Oz

I was thrilled to see my work on Dr. Oz's The Good Life blog! "Life can be stressful, but these adorably optimistic posters make it a little better." Couldn't agree more! Huge thanks to the Dr. Oz team for including my work in their latest write-up!

Otter Swim

It's no secret that I'm mildly obsessed with otters– they're like little water kittens. So when this video went viral, my jaw dropped. The clip features Stephanie Arne (of Omaha's Wild Kingdom), swimming in a pool with baby otters in her arms. Between her laughter, she managed to gasp, "I'm so happy! This is the most amazing thing! You guys have to come here!" I took her up on her advice and ten minutes later, had reservations for my first ever Otter Swim.

Featured: Society6 Gift Guide

Every year, Society6 puts together an insanely-awesome Gift Guide. S6 curators pick through thousands of artists' designs and compile collections based on the person you're shopping for. The collections range from general interests like Animal Lovers and Gifts for Geeks, then hone all the way into that one specific person, like Wine Loving Yogi Moms and People Who Love to Cuss. This year, I was thrilled to see my own designs peppered throughout the Society6 Gift Guide. Thanks for the love, S6!

DIY Tutorial: Gouged Unicorn Princess

Every Halloween, my friends and I embrace the gory side of Halloween with our group costume. This year, we wanted to weave some cuteness into the macabre. We decided to be pastel princess unicorns... with a twist. Check out the full tutorial for a step-by-step on how to achieve the look!

Hamilton KC's Grand Opening

I had the absolute pleasure of designing the branding Kansas City's newest and trendiest retail space, Hamilton. Thursday night was their grand opening party and it did not disappoint! It's always so exciting to see the fruition of hard work paying off, and I was all smiles for Hamilton's big debut.

Creative Ladies of Instagram: 5 Favorites

These ladies are totally killin' it with their creativity. These are some of my absolute favorite Instagram accounts to follow and I want to spread the word about these talented ladies in the creative field. Enjoy!

Digital Nomad First Stop: Boulder, Colorado

The lease on my Kansas City apartment has expired, I've moved all my belongings to my brother's basement, and I just drove eight hours to Boulder, Colorado. My plan is to remain on the move between now and April 2017. My rough itinerary that includes five different cities in Colorado and then a jump over to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Zulily x CatCoq

When the Zulily gals reached out to me about debuting my art prints on their site, I was thrilled. I've been looking for methods of reaching a wider audience, and with hundreds of thousands of unique web visitors every day, this was the perfect opportunity for me.

Exclusive Interview with Moshery

Moshery's founder and chief editor, Meredith Schneider, reached out to me with an array of in-depth questions about my creative process. It wasn't until we spoke that we realized we're both Kansas City residents! It was great to meet another KC-local entrepreneur who is absolutely killing it with her blog.

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