The Tale of an Encouraging Toucan...

Want to encourage yourself
(or someone else) with this toucan?
Tap or click here...

Hello there

And as ever, I hope you're well and flourishing in these crazy times.

Here, I had so many " Spring wildflower" intentions for you. And this post is the tale of how they got overtaken, by a toucan.

He (and he is a he, because, as I found out, they seem to have have brighter beaks and feet than the females), came flapping into my mind, full of life and joy, about a week ago.

Apart from checking online how many toes toucans have, and their beak size relative to their bodies (answer: huge) this image is pretty much that which I "saw" in my mind's eye from that first evening...Which definitely doesn't always happen. :-).


At first...

At first, I thought this was an entirely private thing, great for sending a boost to a friend. then, as this bird absolutely wouldn't leave my mind, on he went onto some products to inspire and cheer.

Here he is on a fridge magnet...

Being great on a greeting card...

And absolutely rocking it
on a tote bag...

But when he still wouldn't leave my thoughts, I modified this image, and a new toucan pattern was born. So if you're up for happy toucans on, for example, a mug, or cushion/throw pillow, here they are.

Happy toucans on multiple mugs...

And yes, this is how much a toucan throw-pillow

or cushion can brighten up a space...

So...

So, adorable cute and joyous though he undoubtedly is, this is one toucan that clearly wants to multiply, and bring as much joy to people as he can. If he floats your boat, please make him happy too, and grab some toucan joy here.

Finally...

As you can imagine, the "problem" of having an unexpectedly happy toucan is an absolutely excellent one to have. But if you're craving considerably smaller birdy/ easter type designs, if you tap or click here, you should find a selection of all my previous offerings on that theme.

I'm not sure whether they'll be a post next week-it's more likely to be the week after.

(Update on April 9th: Yes, the next post will be on or around April 16th. But if you need even more toucan joy until then, this toucan has joined friends and made his way onto fabric...

Happy Toucan Fabric,
available on Spoonflower.Com

But in any event, and whether or whatever you're celebrating or not at the moment, I wish you lots of joy (whether toucan-related or not) and send you huge love and thanks for being here.

More soon.

P.S To get details of new posts by email, please join the newsletter here. Many thanks.

And a PPS update on June 4th 2026. You just can't keep a happy toucan down, can you? Here he is on a new encouragement card at Zazzle...

Toucan Encouragement Card: You Too Can Do This Card
by BoundingSquirrel

___________________________

Free Inspiring Quote Image and Ecard: You Can Do This...

Let's face it, life continues to be various kinds of weird for a lot of people at the moment. Which (maybe) is why this illustration popped into my head. This woman *is* managing to balance her strange and heavy load at the moment. Maybe the message, "You Can Do This..." that goes with it *is* all she needs.

If you know someone who would appreciate this, it's fine to tap, click or right-click (according to your device) on the image on the left and send it to them. Please leave the web address and signature on it, though.

Also...

Also, if you'd rather send them something more physical (or have some encouragement yourself), I have greeting cards, magnets, badges and more that carry the same message, available on Redbubble.

(You can see what some of them look like in the images below).

Buy on a tote bag here

Buy as a sticker here

Buy on a greeting card here

And whatever you do or don't do, remember that you too can do whatever is in front of you. And that, better yet, you have the power to let other people know that they can, too.

Hope this helps anyone who needs it. More soon!

There Are *No* Art Police...

If you draw, write or create anything at all, you'll probably identify with this feeling...

The time when you wake up and feel (for whatever mysterious reason) that you're a failure, and/or will never produce anything good at all/ever again.

That feeling has been creeping up on me for ages. And this week, it was time to Deal. With. It.

What I didn't realise though, was by 'fessing up to the situation  in a social media group, I'd get quite such an outpouring of support (thanks everyone), mostly from other people, saying either that they'd been to that place often, or were there right now.

Which led me to feel that I really had to do something about this now, not just for myself, but in order not to leave a loop open that was clearly very emotive for a *lot* of people.

The solution I came to was obvious and fun for me, and though it's had a lovely reception in that group, I have no idea yet whether it would ever work for anyone else.

Basically, that solution was to personify an imaginary inner critic, have them throw all my worst fears at me in a drawing and then, simply, erase them.

Which is the story behind this cartoon/four-panel comic...

The *really* interesting thing was that the act of erasing this heartfelt felt but fully imaginary "art policeman" felt incredibly cathartic. In other words, I really do feel free from a ton of inner criticism.

Hope helps for you or someone you know, and/or has given you some fun.

More soon.

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