Author: Ari October

Disabled stay-at-home mom, partner to my favourite woman in the world, and doodler :)

No Buy 2026: What, Why and How

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment
Small poster made from an index card reads: NO BUY 26 Jan 15 2026 through Jan 15 2027 Clothes If you need it sew it you have plenty already. Art supplies Markers, pens, pencils, paint use up your stash pan it. Fabric Get it for free at the library Books use the library, Libby Dolls and toys Appreciate what you already have
This is a mini poster I created for my closet door as a constant reminder of what I’m doing and why. Also makes a good TLDR for this post!

What

This year I will not be buying anything from the following five categories:

  • Clothes
  • Art Supplies
  • Fabric
  • Books
  • Dolls & Toys

Why

First of all, it just so happens to be convenient timing that I am starting this challenge at the beginning of the year. It could have been the middle of August and I still would have chosen to do a 365 day No Spend Challenge given the circumstances I had put myself into. This No Buy started on the 15th of January and will continue until the 15th of next January.

Let’s talk about the circumstances that led to me taking on this challenge:

I realized that I had prioritized buying little plastic women over my physical needs, when it occurred to me how much trouble I was having sleeping on my old mattress. With no money left to address this issue, I hit a rock bottom.

Debt is something I have feared for most of my life after seeing my parents struggle under the burden of it. So the fact that I got into even a small amount of debt in order to pay for a DOLL of all things absolutely baffles me. Retrospectively I really can’t believe I did that!!

One shouldn’t use pay-in-4 for a piece of plastic. Going into unsecured debt for things we can objectively live without, especially novelty items, is honestly ridiculous. I am really glad I realized this before I had done even more damage.

And while I do love many of the dolls I purchased, I could have purchased them slower and more sustainably. It would have been wiser to spread out my purchases in order to fit them into the confines of my small budget, instead of stretching my budget to fit my voracious appetite.

Not to mention how spoiled this was making my daughter, since I share my collection with her. I saw it affecting her too. She got used to frequent shopping trips and would influence me to buy even more. I’ve had to explain this No Buy to her and apologize for my behavior. I’m grounded, I told her! Surprisingly, she has taken this quite well.

My goal is to deprioritize shopping and no longer have it be a hobby for me. I am sick of feeling like anything short of prowling through thrift stores is boring, and I’m running out of space for more stuff anyway!

Most importantly, I want to embrace an abundance mindset and appreciate what I already have.

How

Not buying things isn’t always as simple as it sounds, so I had to make a plan of action. Each category has its own plan so I will break this part into five chunks.

Category #1: Clothes

Not only do I have more clothes than I actually wear on a regular basis, (despite having a notably smaller wardrobe than practically everyone I know,) but I’ve also spent much of the last year learning machine sewing and the basics of garment drafting and construction. If I am truly in need of something I can ask around or sew it myself.

I believe this category will be extremely easy. I will also not be needing any new bags or accessories. Shoes likely won’t be an issue either because I already have a backup replacement of my everyday shoes waiting in my closet. My hardcore minimalist phase taught me I need significantly less clothes than I had originally thought.

Category #2: Art Supplies

I’ve done this before. I only made it to the end of October, but 10 months of not buying is still a big deal and a huge victory in my books! However, I am confident in my ability to stick it out through the whole 12 months this time.

In my opinion I have not been using what I have enough to justify how much I own. In fact I’ve actually been continuously on a Low Buy since that initial No Buy, and I still feel like I have way too much, even after many rounds of decluttering.

I feel like I make more art when I’m limited to just one art supply, like a single ballpoint pen, which is kind of what I’ve been doing lately. I tried Inktober again this year, and for fun I decided to make it Pinktober. I was only allowed to use pink art supplies. This mostly resulted in me only using a pink ballpoint pen. I am still working on that challenge and that sketchbook!! It might take me all year but I will get it done eventually.

I am going to count jewelry making supplies in this category as well. Findings can be purchased if necessary to complete a project, but any beads or charms will have to wait. I have plenty already. And I have polymer clay, as well as resin, to make my own! It’s even more gratifying to make something completely from scratch anyway.

Category #3: Fabric

This one is a little more complicated, because I am still very much allowed to acquire fabric, I just can’t be spending any money on it. This is because my local library has a fantastic fabric swap, apparently we have a huge local quilting community! There is so much fabric I can acquire for free, there’s really no good reason for me to spend money on this category.

Notions can be purchased as necessary to complete a project. However, I’m required to shop my stash first and see if there isn’t a suitable substitute.

Category #4: Books

Quite simply, I do not read physical books enough to justify buying any more, and I am running out of room to store them!

Thanks to the ADHD I’m far more of an audiobook person, I process books better and remember them more clearly when I’m listening and doing something simple and repetitive with my hands. Like drawing, or hand sewing!

I have a fantastic library system at my disposal, that comes with a large catalog on Libby as well. This is a privilege denied to many. It’s not like I don’t use it though, more than half of the books I’ve purchased come from my library’s book sale!

Considering my very limited income, it’s silly that I’m spending any money on books that I don’t even read when I could just check them out instead. Libraries are awesome!

Category #5: Dolls and Toys

Ah yes, the category that started this whole thing! It was really hard for me to add this, everything else is so easy in comparison, but it is probably the most important category for me to tackle. It sounds so silly because mass manufactured toys, mere fancy pieces of plastic, are not at all essential.

The fact of the matter is that I was being influenced into purchasing more than I really needed to. I have noticed it has been quite easy not to buy dolls because I have significantly cut back on my doll related media consumption. When it comes to dolltube, I only watch restoration and crafting videos now. I am not allowed to watch shop-with-me, hauls, unboxings, or review type content anymore.

Even though my YouTube channel about my doll hobby originally started with thrift haul restorations, I have decided to change my focus but keep making videos. I am going to make the kind of content I want to see, doll appreciation videos that do not center around buying and accumulating.

Primarily I will be restoring dolls I already own, sewing them clothes, and crafting accessories for them. I will also openly discuss my No Buy whenever it feels relevant. I have stopped calling myself a doll collector and moved towards the label of doll enthusiast instead.

In conclusion

I really just need to de-center shopping as a hobby and pastime. I already see the benefits and it hasn’t been that long. At the time of writing this, it has been 21 days since I’ve made any purchases in any of these categories. I’m past the acute withdrawal stage, I no longer feel a burning desire to go to the mall or hit up a bunch of thrift stores. I blocked eBay and Mercari on my phone as well, so that I would not be tempted by scrolling. In fact, I have these websites reroute to the shopping addiction subreddit using a site blocker add-on for Firefox!

Place your bets now! Will I succeed with a home run? Absolutely no purchases in any of these categories? Will I have just a few slip-ups here and there, getting right back on the horse every time I fall off? Or will I throw in the towel before Spring is over? Only time will tell!

Wish me luck, and hold me accountable, I’m going to need it.

The blog is back!

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment

I found that I miss blogging about my art and crafting endeavors very much, and I’ve considered returning many times, but I haven’t set aside the time to do so.

The “cocoon project” as I called it, in which I stopped posting any art online for a year, did have its benefits, but it went much further than the one year I planned on. In the end there was a point in which it stopped being beneficial, and I found myself needing to share my work again. Maybe that means it’s finally time for me to break out of my cocoon and try out my new wings.

I restored most of my old posts, culling only what I truly didn’t want in my archives anymore. I had thrown them all into my drafts. I couldn’t bring myself to really delete all of them, and I’m glad that’s the case. I painstakingly made sure to keep them in their original post order, though unfortunately in some cases the true original publishing date or time is off by a bit. WordPress makes it a little too easy to mess that up!

Recently I have found myself becoming a little bit of a YouTuber. I’ve been making videos about restoring dolls, which includes some sewing. Machine sewing is a new skill I took on in the last year. I found while learning sewing I felt a strong desire to blog about the process of learning this brand new skill I have wanted to acquire my whole life.

I’m also taking on a 365 day No Buy challenge of certain 5 categories of items, which includes art supplies as well as dolls and toys. The need to blog about this has been eating at me! Sharing my journey strengthens my resolve and gives my challenge purpose.

So yeah, I’m back. I have to be! This blog is the closest thing I ever had to a consistent journal and in retrospect I can see the tangible benefits of maintaining this blog during the time I did. I deeply regret that I ever left. I know I was feeling overwhelmed, but a simple smaller hiatus would have sufficed.

More to come, hopefully quite soon. But for now… I need a nap! See you later!

The Cocoon Project

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment

AKA: Why I haven’t posted in 6 months, and deleted all of my old blog posts.

It came to my attention that I was feeling overwhelmed by sharing my art online. So I decided to stop, and not just for a little while, but for an entire year. My intention behind this act is to take time to “cocoon” myself and my work from the outside world, to just focus on making self-indulgent art, so that I can better get to know myself as an artist.

Someone, probably a YouTuber, said the way to find your style is to just draw the things you love drawing. Style emerges in the way we solve problems, the way we tackle capturing a subject. Because I focused too much on appeasing my audience, I couldn’t find my style, as I wasn’t focusing on drawing only what I love.

Believe it or not, you don’t actually have to be capable of rendering any subject thrown at you in perfect photorealism in order to be an artist. It’s actually okay if you only ever draw anime girls. You can still be a successful artist by focusing on the subjects that actually capture your attention. Especially if you change the way you measure success!

…

Note from January 30 2026:

This post was never actually published. I let it collect dust in my drafts. It’s unfortunate that I left without explanation, but I was just so burnt out I didn’t have it in me to finish this post.

(Since I don’t know exactly when I wrote this I will guesstimate 6 months after the post that preceeded it and make that the publishing date!)

To continue off what I was saying and bring this post to an  actual conclusion:

…

If sharing your art is overwhelming you to the point where it makes you afraid to create in the first place, you don’t have to. It’s okay to keep some or all of your art to yourself. It’s okay to only make “comfort art” and stay in your comfort zone, it’s okay to never actively try to get better at art despite all the pressure from the art community to do so. Simply showing up and making stuff for the sake of making stuff will give you far more than all the forced practice and study that you don’t even enjoy and eventually give up on ever will.

This wasn’t relevant at the time of the original post, but it is now: in a world where pictures can be generated at the click of a button, all human-made art has significantly more value. What you create is special because it is uniquely yours. Just because there are significantly less job opportunities for artists now doesn’t mean we need to lay down our pens and brushes in defeat. Continue to create as an act of resistance. Splatter paint, doodle stick figures, throw random found objects together… All in the name of expression and communication from your unique human soul.

In retrospect, there is something so special about sharing your art with a tiny audience. Find the people that will love and appreciate what you make exactly as it is in this season and don’t bother trying to appeal to the masses. Be yourself and the right people will come.

Touching just one person deeply matters so much more than barely skimming the surface of millions. I have found that the genuine connections I make with a little handful of people is so much more important to me than clout and fame ever could be. The heartfelt conversations we’ve had mean the whole world to me! Rather than parasocial acquaintanceships, I can build actual long distance friendships.

Some of my most favorite songs, illustrations, YouTube videos, etc. come from TINY creators with virtually no following! I am so glad they shared their work in spite of that. And besides, everyone starts somewhere. Sometimes you start niche and then fame happens randomly, but you’ll never know if you never start.

I’m reviving this blog because if I can help even just one person, that is more than enough for me. I have seen it happen, I have done it before, and it’s been done for me. Being niche is not a failure.  Sometimes it is even a huge asset.

See you soon!

We now have a dedicated craft room!

~ Ari October ~ 1 Comment

Sparing the gritty details and drama, my dad-in-law and his girlfriend broke up. Since she and her 3 kids all moved out, a lot of room has opened up in our house. The best part is that we have been given permission to use a room with not one but TWO built-in desks! This is now officially our craft room.

These are my Before pictures, I took them before touching anything in the room.

Already looks pretty tidy right? Well… Yeah that’s an illusion. All of the clutter is hidden away into every storage compartment in the room. In every drawer, behind every cabinet door, and lurking in the closet is LOADS of unsorted miscellaneous stuff. A lot of it is trash, and the rest needs to be donated.

It’s a lot more work to declutter other people’s things than I expected. Even with absolutely no emotions involved, there is so much physical labor in pulling everything out and sorting things into donation boxes and trash bags! Not to mention the mental labor from the amount of gross stuff that needs to be touched. Yuck.

Once everything is cleared out and cleaned up, only then will I start moving our art supplies in. Then I will try my best to organize everything in a way that not only looks good but functions well too. I look forward to sharing the finished product with you all!

I do not wish to cause anyone envy, so I apologize if this post comes off as braggy. That was not intended but I suppose it’s somewhat unavoidable. I do recognize how privileged I am right now because I haven’t always been. I grew up in severe poverty and so a desk shoved into a corner is all I’ve ever been able to call my “studio” up until this point! I am just very excited and simply cannot contain it. Please allow me to share this journey with you, as I wish the same amount of luck and fortune for you as well!

Until next time, take care, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Intentions for 2023

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment

Rather than resolutions or goals, I prefer to set intentions. Feels more open-ended and flexible.

My art related intentions for the coming year are:

  • Try to fill at least one sketchbook from each category, yes including watercolor! (If I manage to do this in 6 months, I’ll shoot for 2 of each category!)
  • Carve out time for watercoloring. Yes, it’s more difficult with a toddler, but she does go to school now so I really don’t have an excuse anymore!
  • Speaking of carving… Work on those linocutting skills!
  • Practice my lettering often!

Have you set any intentions, goals, or resolutions for this year? Let me know, I’d love to hear them!

Until next time, take care, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Officially lost count of how many sketchbooks have been filled!

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment

We’re either at 12 or 13, the most recent number I wrote down is 10. I’ve filled 2 for sure but maybe 3 since then.

I can’t recall when the travel sketchbook I finished up recently was completed, but I know for sure we finished up two (a medium white and medium black) in the last few days. I’m pretty sure we’re at 13 but I won’t know for sure until I go through the finished sketchbook bin and count!

This is such a funny milestone to reach. Only 4 years ago I had never filled a sketchbook from front to back in my life, now I can’t recall for certain the number of books I have filled.

Here is a small sample of some favorite pages from the 2 sketchbooks we just filled up. I say “we” because my partner and daughter both draw in my sketchbooks too! This time around there’s a lot of Beastars studies. I’ve been drawing from referencing the manga, I love Itagaki’s style and I’d love to emulate it in my own anthropomorphic work!

I want to make an attempt at doing sketchbook tours in video format in the near future. A lot of people are moving out of our house soon which will free up a lot of room, I’m hoping to have a place to record in private. All I have is my phone, I don’t have any fancy equipment, but I figure it’s worth a shot either way! Stay tuned…

Until next time, take care, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Learning to Letter

~ Ari October ~ 1 Comment

These aren’t my best work, but that’s the point! I’m learning a new set of skills: hand lettering and brush calligraphy.

I’ve never had good handwriting. It’s usually quite legible, but it’s not neat and tidy. So many girls I went to school with seemed to have beautiful handwriting by default, while my handwriting was more like that of most boys.

However, I was lucky enough to be taught cursive by my mom when I was in kindergarten. My generation wasn’t taught cursive in elementary school, but those times had been recent enough that they still had the instructional banners on the classroom walls. So I never forgot how to write in cursive and I think that has been a huge benefit for present me who is trying to learn brush calligraphy!

Drawing letterforms has always interested me so I have dabbled in hand lettering before. I’ve also been fascinated by design and typography for a very long time, so it’s something I have an eye for even though I’m not yet skilled in doing it myself. When I make something that looks good, I know it. But the same is true for when I make something bad, which is far more often currently! But that’s the point of learning, and the point of shamelessly making bad art, one day my skill set will have grown to the point that executing my ideas properly will come more naturally to me.

I think I will include something to do with practicing these skills in my New Years resolutions for 2023! I’m not sure what exactly that will be yet, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

Until next time, take care and have a wonderful day!

Meet the artist!

~ Ari October ~ Leave a comment
For the record, if you get confused easily like I do, >25 means older than 25. I did not want to reveal my full date of birth.

If you’ve ever been on social media, you may have seen people posting these introductory memes. My friend recently redid their take on this one, so I decided I would give it a go as well!

This ties into something I’ve been meaning to talk about too, I’m trying to create an avatar of sorts to represent me since I want to remain anonymous. The author of a manga I recently finished represents herself with a pigeon, and such things are very common among Japanese creators. More and more people are using personas to represent themselves online and I am very much here for this trend! Privacy is very important to me.

So far I’ve come up with this snowshoe cat character. I want to refine this design and try a more detailed style of drawing them. For now though, this Animal-Crossing-inspired “chibi” style will have to do. Even though I no longer play video games, I’ve spent so much time drawing Animal Crossing fanart that it’s just become second nature to me!

I consider this a thumbnail sketch, it’s very preliminary. This is my very first time attempting to draw this character, so some details may be subject to change! I think I’d like to add some asymmetry to the facial markings for a more distinct look.

Why a snowshoe cat? Well, I have a classic tuxedo cat as well as one who looks like a purebred Tonkinese cat, but they are sisters from the same litter! Snowshoe cats have the perfect cross between these two coats. I also have a separate fursona designed by the same friend I mentioned earlier, and that one is a hummingbird. Perhaps I can get permission to post it here sometime…

That’s all for now. I hope you have a wonderful day, and I will see you again soon!

Inktober 2022

~ Ari October ~ 1 Comment


To view all 31 illustrations, click here to visit the Google Drive folder!

Well folks, I did it. 31 illustrations in 31 days. Some took several days to complete, some of them I only spent a few minutes on. Either way, I got it done. Now I am exhausted and never want to look at another micron pen for the rest of my life! (Just kidding.) I’ve already complained enough about how hard this was in the previous post, so I will focus on the positives now.

I really did learn a lot from this challenge, and even walked away with more confidence in my abilities! The prompts helped me come up with ideas I never would have thought of on my own, and I got several illustrations I love out of the deal. Noticing which illustrations I enjoyed making the most was very enlightening, and I will definitely be using that knowledge going forward.

For the record, I got most of my references from Pexels and Unsplash. Some were also referenced from my own photos, (such as the shed,) and a few were referenced from my imagination or memories! Another thing I’ve learned from this challenge is just how important building a visual library through mileage is. The more you draw from seeing, the more you’ll be able to draw from muscle memory! I’ve found that I really like drawing my own memories.

While I’m really grateful that I finally completed Inktober for the first time, I’m not sure it’s something I’m going to do every year. By the time next October rolls around I’m sure I’ll be considering trying again, but I will be more willing to drop it if I feel it is doing me more harm than good.

If you have any questions or comments about any of the illustrations, please feel welcome to leave a comment! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Inktober Burnout

~ Ari October ~ 1 Comment
On day 27 I did a very low effort sketch and filled the rest of the page with journaling about how burnt out I was feeling.

Undertaking any art challenge comes with the risk of burnout. Inktober is a 31 day challenge that asks you to create 31 inked drawings in that time period, and even assumes you will work at a 1:1 day to illustration ratio. On top of that, it is probably today’s most popular art challenge, meaning you have endless options for art to compare yours to, which adds a significant amount of pressure to make each illustration good.

Inktober is the perfect recipe for burnout, and many artists acknowledge this. Some artists simply refuse to do Inktober for this exact reason. I decided to take it on anyway, knowing full well the potential consequences. Thankfully I took steps to make it easier on myself, and I know I would not have completed the challenge otherwise. Despite my efforts to streamline the challenge, I am still left feeling incredibly drained! Even as someone who draws almost every day for pleasure, Inktober really pushed me to my limit.

Currently, I don’t even want to take photos of my Inktober drawings. Looking for a place with good, consistent lighting and then setting up my desk easel and then meticulously framing each shot… It all sounds like too much for me. I’ve also been waiting for a sunny day that probably won’t come, November is very cloudy and rainy here, so I will end up having to settle for subpar indoor lighting and photo editing. More work for me!

It really doesn’t help that problems in my personal life have come up at the same time as I was working through this challenge. Even without a day job, I find myself overburdened with responsibilities. Currently I am juggling: Raising a one year old, caring for three cats (including one who is elderly and terminally ill,) house chores, running errands, countless appointments with Doctors and the like, caring for myself, my romantic relationship with my partner, and a primarily text-based social life. It is important to note that I also struggle with physical and mental disabilities! I think the fact that I completed all 31 prompts within the 31 day period is nothing short of a miracle.

Honestly, the truth of my victory is messy. Sometimes I would push off my other responsibilities until the next day, or stay up too late and sacrifice my sleep so I could work while our baby slept. Ironically, I seem to do my best work while tired, so this worked both for and against me. I often had to sketch ahead of time to account for the days I would just not be feeling up to creating. Sometimes I would just count starting the illustration as a victory and then work on it little by little in the days following. This experience has made me incredibly grateful that I don’t sell my art for a living, and especially grateful that I rarely take on commissions.

Now I question if I will ever do Inktober again. Maybe when our daughter is older, and by then we will also have less cats. While I am extremely satisfied by my success and all that I learned through this challenge, I’m not sure if it was worth the blow I took to my mental health.

I am excited to share what I made with you all, but please be patient with me while I heal and rest. Take care of yourselves, have a wonderful day, and I will see you again soon.