August 2015 Free Printable Calendar Planner

The August calendar is purely black and white so that you can add a bit of your own personality to it with some colour! You might enjoy this if you're into adult colouring books :)

Like it? Let me know! ;)

Get your copy now and share this post with your friends!

Get your calendars earlier PLUS extra exclusive freebies 

by subscribing to the Happiness is... Lucky Packet!

I love when people share pics of their calendars in use! Share yours via twitter, facebook, instagram or pinterest using the hashtag #happinessis_calendars. 

Enjoy your calendar, get your plans on there and have an amazing August! 

---

Follow Happiness is... twitter • facebook • instagram • pinterest • bloglovin'

---

The most beautifully designed chocolates I ever did see: Compartés Chocolatier

Compartés Chocolatier is a handmade chocolate company run by renowned chocolatier, Jonathan Grahm. He's known for his over 100 varieties of gourmet chocolates and was named one of Forbes "30 Under 30". Based in LA, the idea was to bring European chocolate techniques, recipes and artistry to the United States. The premium organic gourmet chocolates are all made in house from scratch daily using all natural ingredients at their LA factory and store.
But now, all that info aside... Just LOOK at them!

These are the most beautifully designed things ever. Every time one of their pics comes up on my Instagram feed I'm in awe, either because of the design or the incredible flavours...

In their chocolate bar range you'll find flavours like Donuts & Coffee, Cereal Bowl, Biscuits and Honey, Apple Pie, Japan (white chocolate/ matcha green tea), Vegan Zen (healthy kale dark chocolate bar)... just to name a few. Apart from their chocolate bars, they also have truffles, jams and artisan bars...

Can you even handle?! And yes, that donut is made with their chocolates. Go check out their site to feel the full force of deliciousnessness and design awesomeness overwhelm.

---

Follow Happiness is... twitter • facebook • instagram • pinterest • bloglovin'

---

3 years of self employment + a new blog series

Hi, friends! I've just passed the three year mark of being my own boss! I had an immense wave of overwhelming gratitude when I realised this: it blows my mind that I'm able to work the way that I do, and I'm incredibly grateful for that, every day. It has been a really interesting three years: the growth and learning curve have been amazing and I've loved every second of it. Here's a throwback to my original launch post back in 2012.

I often get asked questions about freelancing, working from home, etc, so thought I'd start sharing my experiences to help others who may be in the same headspace I was in when I took the plunge, and to let you into the behind-the-scenes of my world :)
I'd like to announce the launch of a new series...

This series will share info on my experiences and things I've learnt so far. If you have questions I'd love to hear them, and I'll try my best to address them in this series, too. Drop me a mail with any questions you may have at happiness.is.info@gmail.com with the subject "Freelance Queries". First post coming soon!

Here's a look at some work I've done over the past three years, with much more still to be uploaded (click the images to see more)...

---

Follow Happiness is... twitter • facebook • instagram • pinterest • bloglovin' 

---

25 Podcasts you should be listening to

As the beginning of a somewhat new chapter for this blog where I'd like to share more informational posts with you all, today I'm sharing some of the podcasts I listen to regularly. Podcasts have recently started gaining more popularity, and if you haven't tried them out before these are some good ones to get you started. If you aren't quite sure what a podcast even is...

podcast     (noun): a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

The most popular apps to use to subscribe to podcasts are Stitcher and iTunes. You can also listen to them online without subscribing, usually on the podcast's website or wherever the specific podcast has been made available, often sites like Soundcloud. (subscriptions on iTunes and Stitcher are generally free)

So the podcasts I listen to fall mainly into two categories: creative business and entrepreneurship, and background listening. I've shared a pretty large mix of both categories here and have linked to each podcast's webpage because they often have other great content beyond the podcast, and also so that you can choose your preferred listening medium. Click on the pics for the links! I listen to these while I'm working, so if I'm doing stuff that requires more thinking I'll listen to the background listening stuff, and if I can spare some attention to actually take in some info I'll go for the creative business stuff.

Here are my top 5 most often listened-to podcasts:

Gary Vaynerchuck runs a huge digital agency, has invested in many of the largest social media platforms, and is an all round dynamic and charismatic guy. On the #AskGaryVee podcast and the matching Youtube channel Gary provides huge value by taking questions about social media, entrepreneurship, startups, and family businesses. It's super interesting as well as entertaining.

Sean McCabe is a hand lettering artist and designer who runs his own business. On the Seanwes Podcast he shares great advice on creativity and business, professionalism and marketing within the design industry. A must for freelancers for info on pricing and how to deal with clients.

The Being Boss podcast is about creative entrepreneurship and is run by Emily Thompson of Indie Shopography and Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative. They share useful advice and interviews, and I especially like the dose of what they call "woo woo" that they add into it, meaning looking at things from a more emotional and spiritual side.

This American Life is an award winning weekly radio show. Each week has a theme and the show interviews all sorts of different people in each episode who have interesting stories relating to the theme. Their archives go back to 1995, so there's a ton to go through if you get into it.

TED Radio Hour features fascinating ideas, new ways of thinking, inspirational people and great speakers, based on the popular and often awe-inspiring talks from TED conferences.

Entrepreneurship, Business and Creativity


Background listening - Talk Shows and Storytelling

Do you already subscribe to podcasts? I'd love to hear what you're listening to! Please share your faves in the comments :)

---

Follow Happiness is... twitter • facebook • instagram • pinterest • bloglovin'

---