The Christmas Pop-Up Shop

BEYOND excited for this little online pop-up shop! The #connarjoychristmasshop is purely Christmas themed and I'm fa-la-la-la-ling in love with every single product offered.

Below is a summary of the products offered.

1. Shirts

Everybody needs a handful of festive Christmas shirts for the holiday season. These happen to be the actual cutest Christmas shirts I've seen.

"May your days be Merry & Bright" is a long sleeve Comfort Colors, so it's extra thick and extra comfy. Like, if you and a friend are both wearing this shirt and you happen to be out in the cold, you can look at each other and sing, "our cheeks are bright and rosy and COMFY COZY are we" and it will actually be true. Comfy and cozy. This shirt is v festive and I'm a big fan. Pair it with tights & tennis shoes for running Christmas errands. Or running. But, who runs during the holidays? You should be shopping or eating or watching Hallmark Christmas movies. You could also pair it with jeans, boots and an infinity scarf. Girl, you're already looking good and I can't even see you.

"Let your heart be light" is super soft short sleeve v-neck. I don't know y'all, I think this might be my favorite graphic tee I've ever owned. It's different from any Christmas shirt I've ever seen, and I'm 100% contemplating wearing it year-round. I live in Texas and you never know when you're going to get a 90° December day, so short sleeve comes in handy. If it's a chilly outside, I'd pair it with a cardigan or jacket, statement earrings, and booties. You literally can't go wrong.

Either way, these two shirts will be my uniform for the entire Christmas season, so don't you worry about me worrying about what I'm going to wear every day because I already know. You should already know what you're going to wear too. Hint: these shirts. But only buy them if you like receiving compliments.

2. Christmas Prints

I love a good print and it's time for you to deck your halls with these CJC Christmas prints! Frame or stack these festive prints in a vignette with other Christmas decor in your home or go minimal and simply hang a print on a blank wall. Put one in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, office, etc. Make a gallery wall out of these babies. 'Tis the season to be jolly and go all out, y'all. The possibilities are endless on what you can do with a cute Christmas print. Or six. These also make great gifts! Each print is locally printed on ultra thick, very high quality stock and come packaged with chipboard in a clear sleeve. You can't find anything like these anywhere else but in the Connar Joy Christmas Shop.

3. Custom Calligraphed Christmas Prints

There's a very limited number of these for a reason. Something this good takes time. I'm offering completely custom Christmas prints and we're all pretty excited about it. Whatever you want, in six words or less, I will hand calligraph it on the print of your choice. These are on a thick watercolor paper. The process is super easy and turnaround time is just a couple days! Below are two different reasons you should buy these:

1. Make it real personal and it becomes an instant heirloom keepsake that you take out at Christmas for years to come. Think about next year when you're getting your Christmas out and see your custom piece-- you'll 100% let out a squeal and then pat yourself on the back for this.

2. Best gift ever? Yes? Yes. Everybody loves personalized things, so hook them up during the holidays. This is what they'll (probably) say upon receiving-- "WHAT! Wait. Wait. Hold on! You hired a CALLIGRAPHER to make me a CUSTOM Christmas gift!?!? AND I can use it for the rest of my life as Christmas decor?! You are unreal and I don't deserve you as a friend. I don't deserve you as my Secret Santa. How can I repay you?" Then you will say-- "Don't worry about it. The process was insanely easy. But you can surprise me and order one for me. Here's the link... connarjoy.com/christmasshop."

All in all, the #connarjoychristmasshop is lit. Lit like the most festive roof on the block.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my products! I'm excited to offer this little pop-up shop as a glimpse of what is to come in a FULL shop in 2018. I will be packaging and shipping as fast as I can, so you can get your Christmas goodies as soon in the season as possible! Merry Christmas and Happy Shopping!

Xoxo, Connar

Fall freebies!

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd throw out a couple freebies. Desktop background AND a phone lock screen! Happy Fall, y'all!

So, pick one of these (or both!) frame it, set it as your desktop wallpaper, phone lock screen, post it on social media- whatever you want, it's my gift to you!

The images are below.
Right click if on a laptop or desktop, or if you are on your phone, hold down on the image to save! 

EnJOY!
Xoxo, Connar Joy

the best is yet to come! + free phone wallpaper

happy 2017, friends!

i love when the new year starts because it is filled with so much excitement and hope! so many goals, visions and resolutions being sprung into action.

i am so thankful for this YEAR (on january 13th) of officially launching my website and all the support and encouragement i have had since. it's amazing! i still don't consider it work and i very rarely refer to it as my business.

2016 was a great year and i am looking forward to more growth in 2017. it's been an honor being a part of your weddings, engagements, birthdays, events and christmases. i am always thrilled to provide personal pieces of hand-calligraphed art for your living rooms, nurseries, offices, homes and more.

i am looking forward to all 2017 will bring! grab your laptop and take a look around the website... you'll notice a new look and some new features and offerings. i have butterflies as i type this because i am just so excited about where we are headed! let me tell you, this has been brewing for over 3 years. stay tuned for lots of fun as i let you in on the direction connar joy calligraphy is going!

the best really is yet to come!

enjoy this free phone wallpaper digital download! simply hold your finger on the image to save, then set as your phone background. if you are on a laptop or desktop, simply right click to save!

xoxo, connar

2017 word of the year | wait.

Personal post! I won't personally blog much, but if I do, it will be here. My business and my personal life are so intertwined that it would feel inauthentic to share my words any other way.

Instead of making resolutions in 2016, I chose a word. I chose "courage" - basically whenever I felt God had placed something on my heart, I was going to courageously follow through. Not just dream. Do. "Don't just stand there. Bust a move."

So I did. In the first month and a half of 2016, I had launched my website and got a "real job" in addition to owning my calligraphy business. Sidenote- I still have a hard time grasping the Lord's faithfulness in placing me in the job that I'm in. It is the best and I am just in awe that i get to work there. The rest of 2016 had lots of ups, a few downs, but was overall a pretty great year. I actually have been too busy to even think about the word for 2017, so that's why I'm writing this at 2:30 am on January 3rd. ;)

The word I chose for 2017 is wait.
I have been thinking on what it really means to wait on the Lord. Spoiler alert: I've been doing it all wrong. There are certain things in my life that I regularly ask God for and He has continued to place me in a season of waiting. Sometimes, I am so selfish in my prayers. They come from a place of so much frustration and hastiness in my heart. "Dear God, show me Your plan for this. Better yet, give me this. Please. Don't You see? If I just had this, then I would be that, and ultimately I could serve you better, Lord." Wrong! Other times, I really do feel like i am being patient. You see, I think I am waiting patiently, but what I am actually doing is passively waiting. I'm just letting time and my days pass by without actually seeking after His heart.

I think waiting on the Lord means to serve Him; to literally wait on Him. I'm picturing a waiter or waitress here. It is to seek His delight, rather than what He can do for me. In actively waiting on the Lord, we are forced out of our complacency, worry and anxiety, and filled with His peace. His direction. His alignment.

"Seek His face, rather than His hand."

So, my word of the year comes with resolutions that I am going to be intentional about sticking to.

• Dive into His Word daily; studying ALL parts of the Bible... not just the verses about His infinite love and grace, but the nitty-gritty and hard to read parts too.
• Praise Him through worship and art
• Spread the Joy of the Lord to others through encouragement and service
• Spend time in silence and prayer - resting in His presence
• Community. Find a church home. Join a small group. (My legitimate excuse for not doing this already is that I was out of town for about 38/52 weekends this past year)

So I will be strong, have courage, and wait. And this kind of waiting is definitely not passive!

Here's to 20... wait for it... 17! Lol #wait

canvas cleanse.

so, i have good news and bad news. usually i go for the good news first, but i'll start with the bad this time.

i've decided to stop offering custom canvases. when i first started my business, 90% of my orders were for custom hand-lettered and hand-painted canvases. canvases were a really great starting place for me to learn the ropes of selling my work. over the past several months, i have taken a step back from canvases and moved almost completely towards other things. even though i don't post many canvases on my instagram anymore, i still get canvas inquiries weekly. SO for those of you who are all about a canvas with your favorite verse, quote, name, lyrics, etc... this is your chance. here comes the good news!..... i used to be a canvas hoarder. but now they are just in stacks all over the place. so, in cleaning out inventory to make way for new + exciting things (2017!), i have decided that the month of november will be all about commissions for hand-lettered, hand-painted canvases at a huuuuuge discount!

sizes + pricing:
each price includes a white, hand-lettered canvas with 15 words or less. other factors will add to the cost. these factors are: canvas color, number of words, flourishing (scrolls, swirls, vines + florals done with paint pen) & other artistic elements (flowers, vines, other hand-painted extras).

lettering colors available: black, white, gold, silver and red.

8x10: $10 (sold out)
9x12: $11 (sold out)
11x14: $12 (sold out)
12x12: $13 (sold out)
12x16: $14 (sold out)
14x18: $15 (sold out)
16x20: $16 (sold out)
20x20: $18 (sold out)

*i have anywhere from 2 to 16 of each size available. i will update & remove the size when each canvas has been sold.

additional costs:
paint a canvas a color other than white (8x10 - 12x16): $3
paint a canvas a color other than white (14x18 & bigger): $5
more than 15 words: $3
more than 25 words: $6
flourishing: $4
painted vines: $5
painted flowers: $8

example:
this canvas is 16x20, painted mint green with flowers.
size $16 + canvas color $5 + flowers $8 = $29. usually the price for this would be $55.

to order, email connarjoy@gmail.com OR use my form. when ordering, please be specific! include wording, size, canvas color, lettering color and if you want any flourishing or other painted elements. also, tell me your vision for what you want it to look like! i will then ask you any follow up questions, give you a final price, get your approval, and send a paypal invoice your way. once paid, i will begin your custom piece!

all orders will be shipped before december 10th. cost of shipping is not included in these prices! please estimate $5-$12, depending on canvas size. if you are local to lubbock, i will deliver your canvas to you to avoid shipping costs.

christmas is coming up and these make the perfect personal, custom-made, thoughtful gifts!  xoxoxoxoxo