This episode felt like a fireside chat in all the best ways — the kind where you leave your to-do list at the door and finally take a breath to reflect.

Our annual co-hosted Christmas special on the Creative Juggle Joy podcast has become a tradition I treasure.

This year, Kaylie and I dove deeper than ever — into the chaos and clarity that shaped our lives and creative work in 2025.

From snowstorms in Manitoba to coffee spills in Wales, it was a year full of change. There were launches, late nights, live classes, new hires, holiday shows, big feelings, and even a few happy tears.

Lessons I’m Carrying Into 2026

This year, I finally embraced that planning isn’t the enemy of creativity — it’s the container for it. By building true systems around my studio schedule, recording rhythm, and membership offers, I found more energy (and actual margin!) to teach, create, and show up for my community.

I let go of trying to carry every student result on my shoulders, and started trusting the power of consistent structure — from our rinse-and-repeat monthly rhythm to our more streamlined course onboarding.

A highlight? Launching the Affinity Designer Foundations alumni program completely from student feedback. That spontaneous pivot became one of the most meaningful parts of my year.

The Holiday Season Looked Different This Time

We didn’t go to Florida this year — and honestly, staying close to home was exactly what we needed.

Terry has been recovering from a concussion, and the slower pace helped us reconnect.

One of the most special moments?

Seeing my grandson on stage at our local community Christmas party, where my own kids once sang Jingle Bells.

Three generations in one room — and for once, I didn’t think about work at all.

It reminded me why I do all of this in the first place: for freedom, for connection, and to help others carve out creative lives that truly fit.

What’s Ahead in 2026

I’m recording ahead for the first six months of the year so I can create from a calm place — with Procreate, Affinity Designer, and membership classes all mapped out.

We’re continuing to strengthen the systems behind the school — refining our onboarding, tightening our content calendar, and exploring what the next phase of student support looks like.

I'm also excited to co-host the next Profitable Artist Summit with Vanessa and explore some fresh collaborations.

Most of all, I’m entering 2026 with more softness and spaciousness. I don’t have to do it all myself. I finally have the team I always dreamed of — and the energy to dream a little bigger.

Share Your Wins With Us!

We’re creating a community collage of 2025 creative wins in January — so if you’ve had a breakthrough, big or small, send it our way. Send us an email to me at delores@deloresart.ca or Dm me on Instagram  @deloresartcanada

🎧 Listen to the full episode: “Creative Wins, Whinges, and What We're Leaving Behind in 2025” — on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you tune in.

From my snow-dusted studio to your cozy corner of the world, happy holidays and thank you for being part of this journey.

 

TRANSCRIPT:
Co-hosted-XmasSpecial2025

Kaylie Edwards: [00:00:00] Hello, lovely creatives and welcome back to a Festive and let's be honest, slightly chaotic episode of the Creative Juggle Joy.

I'm Kaylie chiming in from a little village in North Wales where my Christmas coffee table cloth has staged a mutiny and keeps trying to trip me up since, Rhys put it on the table on the weekend, school events are in full swing and I'm still tripping over moving boxes like it's an extreme sport at the moment.

Delores Naskrent: And I'm Delores. I'm joining you from snowy Manitoba. We had a blizzard yesterday, our first blizzard of the year. My coffee is piping hot. The snow banks are higher than my holiday ambitions, and the to-do list is pretending it's Santa's scroll. This is our Christmas and year end special, a tradition we started last year and one we both absolutely love.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, it's our cozy fireside moment to reflect, laugh deeply, maybe groan a little, and celebrate the wins of [00:01:00] 2025, including hitting over 9,000 podcast downloads this year. We are beyond chuffed thank you for listening, sharing, DMing, emailing, and just being part of our creative family.

Delores Naskrent: This episode, we want to go a little bit deeper than we did last year.

So it's, it's honest, maybe too honest, a little bit warm and funny, occasionally a little bit unhinged and full of real stories about juggling, creativity and life. Because 2025 gave us both plenty to juggle.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, so grab a cup or something sparkly if you're in full holiday mode.

Let's talk about the creative wins and whinges of 2025 that we're leaving behind and what we're carrying into 2026.

Delores Naskrent: Let's start with the big one. Our biggest lessons of 2025. I think you should go first.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. Let's just rip the bandaid off, shall we? This year did not tiptoe in gently it barged [00:02:00] carrying a multipack of germs flu with norovirus Aston conjunctivitis.

Yeah, it was going around. We probably had it. We spent the early part of 2025 in a revolving door of illness, me Aston and Rhys taking turns, feeling like damp cloths. My workload nose dived deadlines drifted my signature course where well, such a good intentions of finally finishing it, but never did it.

Got pushed back on the burner again and again. One of the biggest lessons this year slapped me with Was your business cannot run at a hundred percent when your life is running at 40. Yeah. And also rest is not a reward, it's a requirement. Mm-hmm. I kept trying to run my business as if nothing had changed, as if my energy, my health, my family situations were still at full capacity and that doesn't work.

Nope. You burn out. You feel like you're constantly behind on a plan that never once asked you how you actually are. [00:03:00] Mm-hmm. And then, because apparently I thrive in chaos, I dove into a rebrand right in the middle of all this.

Delores Naskrent: I thought you were crazy

Kaylie Edwards: shifting from Spellweaver Digital Solutions to Spellweaver Creative Studio.

It was the right move. Yes. Every fiber of my branding feels more like me. Now. I'm more aligned with the creatives and business owners that actually support not just the tech support, but creative business, mentoring and strategy. Wow, the timing. So questionable.

Delores Naskrent: Oh my God,

Kaylie Edwards: why my brain decided it was so good of an idea to start just after putting an offer in on a house.

I do not know. So my biggest lesson, alignment over speed and realistic capacity over fantasy timelines. What about you, Delores? What was one of your biggest lessons from this year maybe around energy pacing launches? How you hold space for your students and for yourself?

Delores Naskrent: Gosh, Kaylie, I still can't believe that we made it through those first few months.[00:04:00]

It's so hard when you get sick and you are your business. You are the person like just you. So thank goodness I dodged most of the illnesses that went around this year. I was literally like putting a bubble around myself because that kind of thing just throws such a wrench into everything.

I really felt your pain. For this year, I think I look back and I think how on earth did we manage that first five Card challenge and the Procreate Foundations launch without pulling our hair out?

Kaylie Edwards: I know.

Delores Naskrent: Wasn't it nuts? It was just madness and we learned so much. But the best part of all this is that all that chaos led us to create the systems that will make this year early 2026 run so much smoother.

We've built a strong foundation. Now, you know, the workflows, all of the, sequences that you built, the templates, the calendars, all of it. I am so grateful to have you beside me, Kaylie, through all of it, because I mean, I don't [00:05:00] even know how I could do it without you. Without you and people like you behind the scenes.

It would not work. It just would not work for me. Each launch, I know it looks really tidy on the outside, but inside it's hours and hours and hours of moving parts. And as entrepreneurs. We're always learning. I think that the biggest thing for me this year was realizing how much better things get when we slow down just a little bit.

Just long enough to plan, review what worked, fix what didn't, and then do it smarter the next time. So I think we've got everything in place, much better for this year. So the summit, those early launches, all of that really solidified what the school offers and how we can rinse and repeat. Let's hope with less chaos.

Far less chaos. Let's hope.

Kaylie Edwards: Oh yeah, yeah. I love how you put that, especially the part about slowing down. Just a [00:06:00] plan because you think, oh, I just don't have time. But then when you really actually just have a break. You have to have a break and you just need to do it.

And I think we both learned in different ways that sustainable creativity doesn't mean doing less. It actually supports your life right now, not your fantasy life. 'cause Yeah, your real one with family health and everything else. Yeah. Just planning's. So needed.

Delores Naskrent: So needed and just so cathartic when you really do it.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: So why don't we talk about what we're leaving behind as we step into 2026. I know for myself, I'm letting go of the idea that planning is restrictive. I used to think that, nah, I don't wanna plan all that. That makes me feel less creative. But really, I was completely wrong about that. For me now, having a schedule actually gives me more freedom, believe it or not, because I'm not constantly overcommitting or pushing through those low energy periods [00:07:00] and I've realized I can't carry every student result on my shoulders.

I can't, I should say I can't do that. I have to, continue supporting them. But I preach all the time that perfectionism is a crutch and I've had to call myself out on that with the planning and everything. I just had to say, Hey, stop it. I flexibility, so I can feel creative within our structure.

Now that we've got 2026 fully mapped out in advance, I see how much smoother everything runs, and next year I'm even building in the rest time.

You're gonna see it on my schedule. I've actually planned in holidays, so actual breaks written right into my calendar.

Kaylie Edwards: Oh, yes. I feel that for me, I'm leaving behind a few big things. Perfectionism, like you said it, it's been escorted outta the building. No severance, no apologies. Bye-bye, mum. Guilt when I just [00:08:00] need a break and spend an evening laughing and crying at films and TV shows instead of being productive.

Mm-hmm. I need to get rid of that guilt yeah. It's not even just mum guilt, it's guilt for my business. It's like I'll sit down and I think I should be working now. Aston's in bed. And then I'm like, no, I need to put time in. 'cause I was really, especially when I had that flu, like, oh my God, it knocked me on my ass.

Really Did this, the last couple of weeks. Wow. Like so bad. And then over responsibility, I had taken on too much and not having enough boundaries, especially in business and home life.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah.

Kaylie Edwards: And then trying to squeeze 12 months of work into one week every time life gets hectic. That's a habit of mine, which I need to let go of completely.

And I'm also leaving behind the idea that everything has to happen right now. Spoiler. It doesn't, some things can belong to next year us or future version of me who actually has childcare energy and a nervous system that is not on fire.

Delores Naskrent: That's a big [00:09:00] mindset shift for you, isn't it? Like it's been really huge for you, learning to trust that pace instead of pushing every boundary.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: It's been really inspiring to watch you loosen your grip and still keep moving forward. It really has been.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. Thanks.

I'm just like learning to trust the pace of things instead of trying to bully life into cooperating with my Trello board and my clickup and everything.

Okay. Well, let's talk tech and timing. Mm-hmm. Because I feel like I earned a badge in what not to do this year. Right. After deciding to rebrand, I also decided, you know, what I should do while I'm buying a house and moving completely change my website platform. So I moved from FEA Create to Neta Talmor's No Hassle, website 4.0 built on WordPress with Smart Creator press and smart form builder plugins, which helps me move my membership and my courses and digital products all over.

Delores Naskrent: Right.

Kaylie Edwards: Spoiler. The new setup is brilliant and so aligned with where Spellweaver Creative Studio is heading, but the timing zero. [00:10:00] How to 10 do not recommend doing that mid move. So there was migrating content, rebuilding my digital home, my website completely being changed, wiring in all the tech bits, while also waiting on house paperwork constantly in limbo.

Delores Naskrent: I remember that.

Kaylie Edwards: I keep it up probably to your work as well, and it's been an ongoing project. I'm only just finishing up this month.

Delores Naskrent: Wow.

Kaylie Edwards: One of my big tech lessons this year was just because an idea is good doesn't mean it has to happen a second. Sometimes later is the most strategic option for your business.

Delores Naskrent: Oh gosh, I remember that season for you. Like I, I feel the pain. I remember when you were in full limbo energy 'cause you were waiting on that paper one thing to get into your house and you were between platforms and gosh, you were right in the middle of mastering surface pattern design launch, which meant that you were right in the middle of the surface pattern as well.

The summit, chaos. All that chaos, [00:11:00] remember? Mm-hmm. And the mistakes I made, we're not gonna talk about it, but we're gonna at some point have to talk about it. But the end result, for us, the end result is gorgeous because your new site completely reflects where a Spellweaver creative studio is heading.

It's gorgeous.

Kaylie Edwards: Thank you. I'm proud of where it's going now, but that season was, a little spicy.

Delores Naskrent: Mm-hmm.

Kaylie Edwards: What about you? Have you had any tech changes or, let's not do it that way again, this year

Delores Naskrent: I've had both. Yeah. Honestly, this year I did feel like it was all about refining everything, not reinventing it.

So we, you know, you helped me a lot. We focused on tightening up what already worked instead of overhauling everything. We were fixing our funnels and cleaning up those automations, and I think that made a huge difference.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: The Summit brought so many new people into the school, especially through the Mastering Surface Pattern Design course, which was our biggest launch yet.

[00:12:00] Yay. And yes, that happened right when your life was in complete transition. So somehow we pulled it off. How, I don't know, like I honestly don't know. One of the most unexpected wins though, came from student feedback when we were creating the Affinity Designer Foundation's alumni program. So we had no plan on doing that?

It was just like we, we just pulled out one out of a hat. We had two or three people mention it and then we're like, I know what, let's just record a bunch of new classes and have an alumni edition. So somehow we pulled all of that off.

We did get 11 signups for that, which was just fantastic. They rounded out that live sessions so beautifully. And really that's kind of what it's all about for us, is helping us shape what comes next. So for us, we'll look into the future of an advanced affinity series that will bridge design and the business side of art.

Hopefully. Just me. Big fingers crossed.

Kaylie Edwards: I love that [00:13:00] this drops the bomb shell whilst I with the call. Yes. I'm worried she likes doing this to me.

Delores Naskrent: I do. I torture her. It's one of my pet projects.

Kaylie Edwards: Uh, yeah. But like, listen to students and turning feedback into new opportunities. Sometimes the smartest move is just simplifying what already works.

And that is something you do very good of is listening to what your students tell you and how to like bridge that gap for them. And I see it time and time again, so many testimonials of students and people telling me about it as well, whilst I'm talking to them and it always comes up and I'm like, yeah, I know, I know I've worked

over two years now.

Delores Naskrent: Yes. It's just, it's amazing.

Kaylie Edwards: It's magical watching it.

Delores Naskrent: Oh, that's really nice. Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you. So let's talk about your move just to change the story a little bit, because that story really needs to be in here, I think.

Kaylie Edwards: [00:14:00] Oh, my days. Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: And that was crazy.

Crazy times. Because you started out with a holiday, right?

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Yeah. So in June, well it was like the 30th of May. We were heading off for the holiday, so we were going for two weeks on holiday. So obviously I did plan a lot of stuff in my ahead of time for that. And then right before we put an offer in on a house, that's Rhys's idea because a house came up in the village's parents, lived in, which was only 20 minutes down the road from the city, but obviously it's a little village doesn't have any shops.

Mm-hmm.

But the school is literally down the road from the house. And it had lots of outdoor space for Aston big driveway for multiple cars. So we thought. You know what, we should do it. 'cause at least then we do have the family around the corner if we desperately needed them.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah. Especially with Aston, with Rhys working nights. Yeah. So it was just, it was a thing that we just wanted to do. You really went through every transition at once. [00:15:00] I can't even believe it. A new house, new school for Aston that same time. Right. You were moving in just before the weekend and then on wednesday, right. He was starting a new school, which meant for a 3-year-old, you know, new routines and all of that. Everything that goes along with that. It's gotta have been a little bit scary for both you and him and then your whole new business set up. That's a full life reset right there.

You're gonna look back at this and you're gonna be like, how on earth did I even think that was possible? But you did it.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, I did do it. Yeah. And to be fair, Aston took it really well. Yeah. I was quite surprised. I thought we were gonna have a lot more tantrums, but it took to it quite well.

It was only the one day. Me and his dad took him down to the school. Um, I think it was the week after or a couple of weeks after. And he had a tantrum, like he did not want to go, but it was so windy that day. I think that put him off wanting to go in and he just had a floods of tears. Wanna go home? Mum wanna go [00:16:00] home mummy

Delores Naskrent: Oh God. Oh dear.

Kaylie Edwards: But that was kinda like the one, he's had a couple little wobbles, but he's usually all right now he'll go in, but he wants me to hug him before he goes in now. Whereas when I first started, I was like, I'm not gonna tell him I love him. I'm not gonna say anything. Just go. He's gone in through the door.

Delores Naskrent: If he looks back, I'm, I'm gone. Yeah. Otherwise, he will just, break down and I was just like, just need to quickly go. Yeah. But now he's gotten better. He wants me to say, I love you. He wants me to give him a cuddle before he goes in. So that's real growth.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Yeah. And yeah, it was just a very hectic season.

Delores Naskrent: Very hectic.

Kaylie Edwards: Can we talk about apps like, oh my god,

Delores Naskrent: yes. I think a lot of parents after this little story that you just gave us are nodding right now because no, nobody warns you about the invisible admin that load, that kind of, we were just talking about this stuff that you have to do when you [00:17:00] have school age kids.

And you were telling me all these different apps that you have to be like, aware of and doing, and that's over and above all of your whole, like, regular work job. So this is like craziness now.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Because why does a primary school need this many channels to communicate with you? We've got Seesaw app for photo updates and teacher messages, payment platform to book school meals and pay for everything. And then a separate system to book additional hours, if I wanted to stay longer a Facebook page, a newsletter, and then in my school app for other notifications, like, why do I need all this?

Delores Naskrent: Oh my God.

Kaylie Edwards: Like I'll get same notification in three places. And then something important only in one place. And then random posters about village events and local businesses. Apparently I'm, I'm meant to go and support and buy from, I love being involved with the village and things, and it's a community and I like that.

I still like that. But you also [00:18:00] love not getting six inboxes of things. I have to keep checking every day.

Delores Naskrent: No doubt.

Kaylie Edwards: I'm like, so I got an email, what was it? I think we were at a family event or something. It was like 10 o'clock at night and I had an email from the school to let me know the headmaster was leaving.

why do I need to know this at 10 o'clock at night? I was like, I don't care. Oh, just put it in the newsletter bulletin. I don't care.

Delores Naskrent: Yes. No kidding. That is such a relatable reminder that business growth just doesn't happen in a bubble. It's always tangled up with our real life.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. All of that obviously affected my routines.

Delores Naskrent: Oh, I can totally relate. My routine is actually simplified over time, so I get it.

Right now because I have no kids at home now, just me and mom next door, we've fallen into a rhythm that really works. It gives me time to, you know, batch my recordings to plan membership content. Recording time like we [00:19:00] have now, and to still be there for my grandson for before and after care because he pops over in the morning after his parents go to work.

It's really nice. I'm hoping to spend more time off the grid next year, so I have planned that into my schedule. So more camping and relaxing, enjoying our outdoor spaces, and especially since we're staying north this winter because of Terry's concussion recovery.

Kaylie Edwards: yeah. You never told me about that.

Oh, I thought I had, I think I literally just got a message about, oh, Thursday I'm taking a Terry to a specialist for concussion. I was like, what?

Delores Naskrent: Well, he had a concussion at work, got hit by a very heavy metal door that knocked him down to the ground. Oh God. Yeah. it's not been easy for him.

So we have decided not to go, to Florida, and we've sold our place there. So it's. Kind of a moot point. So taking this year off is, it's kind of worked out perfectly because I don't think he would've been good for traveling 'cause [00:20:00] he a lot of, recurring dizziness and queasiness and stuff. So, you know, one day he'll be fine and then he'll spend three days not so it's kind of good.

Oh goodness.

Yeah, I know. He'll be okay. He's, yeah, I think he is getting better, but you know, they had told him it would be eight weeks or more and we're just at the eight week mark now, so hopefully now it's uphill.

But yeah, you know, like my life has, now given me the freedom to work on My work, you know, so after all these years with, the membership planning process, everything is second nature and I finally have the right people around me. So between you and Che, doing my video editing and Keeping our launches beautifully organized, Abby keeping us on track and Lindy supporting us in the community. And even now I have a VA that processes things like my live session, the Thrive meetings. And the live sessions from the courses. I [00:21:00] was one of those people, I can do this.

It'll save me money if I do it myself. But it's freed up several hours every week. And now really for me time has become the money, you know, so it's sometimes just easier to pass that off to somebody else to do. So all, those little pieces add up and it's made my creative time a little bit more calm and more focused and honestly a lot more fun.

'cause I'm back to focusing on the parts that I like to do, which is the projects and the recording and stuff.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. I love how intentional steady your approach has been with that now. Yeah, like it's starting to actually show like I'm getting less email. It was like daily emails, do this, do this, do this.

Where do I find this? Oh God,

Delores Naskrent: yes. It's better. Way better now for sure.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. Sometimes I'm like, is Delores okay? I haven't had anything in a few days, but it's such a great example for the listeners, like showing that whether you are at early chaos stage or [00:22:00] the seasoned rhythm stage,

The juggle just changes shape. But it's the need for compassion for yourself and for others, and the flexibility never disappears. You just need to change and flow with a different way. And find systems that work for you. Exactly. Okay, I want to flip the spotlight for you.

Delores Naskrent: Okay. Well, it's definitely been a shift, you know, for years I was trying to do everything myself, as you know, and it was honestly unmanageable, seven days a week.

I was working 10 hour days. A lot of times, coaching and sheer desperation taught me that delegation, like I was talking about earlier, isn't optional anymore. It's survival. And I don't know what magical fairy dropped you in my lap because had you not. Shown me that by being as indispensable as you have been, I don't know how I would have [00:23:00] actually made it this far in my business.

And I, you know, it's two years. We've been working together for two years now. That's, yeah. Crazy. Like over time I have refined everyone's roles, you know? So your role, my role, those other people I mentioned earlier, I've let go of a few things. So things I thought only I can do, I've added support where it mattered and now it finally feels sustainable.

I honestly was one of those cheap people. I was always saying, well, I'll just do it. It'll save me money. But I've learned it costs so much more just because of the time and the energy. And that's where you get that burnout because like you're, you're trying to get through that stuff so that you can make time for this stuff that you really wanna do.

Mm-hmm. So now I truly love having a team. I can't believe I have been so lucky to have gotten this wonderful team around me now. [00:24:00] I am so thankful for all of you. It still feels surreal to even say that I have a team. You know, it's like I'm whispering it. I have a team, me, a boss with a team, but it's a dream come true.

Kaylie Edwards: Yes. Yeah. And like the good part though was with everything that we've both been going through this year and even like the follow on from last year, this, yeah, 2024 was, see that was like a on fire year for us. Like we were just putting out fires all the time and trying to get planted in, but we just couldn't, 'cause we were just going from one lunch to the next launch and creating more content.

And then this year we just leaned more into building the routines and building in time. And even though we had all this going on, we still were able to do the planning that we needed to do. And that's what's great in that we've got the planning of this year as well. So it's around the seasons of our lives.

Yeah. You know, uh, things like batching content. [00:25:00] When energy is higher, because like I tried to do that before, I wasn't very good when you were trying to do it like half asleep. And then letting some weeks be maintenance, only working in smaller sprints instead of pretending I have eight hours of deep focus days.

'cause I don't, and being okay with micro pockets of creativity instead of waiting for the perfect uninterrupted day that never comes.

Delores Naskrent: Yes, absolutely.

Kaylie Edwards: And then I just, I just love your intentional steady approach that you're becoming into now. I think our listeners really need to hear this from both our sides.

You know, you with grownup kids and grandkids and a long established business. And me with a little one just starting school and a business that's still evolving and reshaping. It doesn't magically get easy one day. The juggle just changes shape and yeah.

What does Christmas look like for you this year, Delores?

Have you been involved in any community events, family things, seasonal projects that you've, you know, is there anything you've done this year [00:26:00] that felt particularly special or maybe simpler, more intentional than the past years that we've had?

Delores Naskrent: We aren't going south, so everything is a little bit different.

We used to always participate in our community Christmas party, and we haven't gone for several years, but we went on Sunday and it was wonderful. It was really, really wonderful because of course we had a table of eight because my daughter and her family, and Boden, my grandson, my mom, Terry and I, and I had a niece visiting from Toronto.

We all went down and it was so, so nice, seeing our old neighbors and things Three generations at once There was just something really cool about it and we felt really like we were reconnecting with old friends and my grandson on stage absolutely glowing. When Santa arrived, they all got up to sing everything from toddlers to, you know, eight year olds were up there.

And I didn't think about my [00:27:00] business once that evening. Not even once Kaylie. Which was the gift in itself, seeing the next generation on stage where my own kids would have stood 30 years ago singing Jingle Bells It just had me like weepy. It was so funny. I turned to look at my mom at one point and her eyes were all red.

My eyes were all red and I was like, Aw,

Kaylie Edwards: that's so

Yeah. But this moments like that, that like, it's like Aston had his first Christmas show this morning. Oh, like he had his first Christmas show and it was like me and his dad, like his dad had to go and work later today. But, you know, it is nice that he got to be there as well.

And then Rhys's Nan, um, was also there. So Aston's great gran. We call her Gigi. And she got to watch it as well. And 'cause she's talked about it for like over a year, like, oh, he'll be having his first Christmas show and, and things. Wow. And like obviously that's her great grandchild, [00:28:00] so it was very special for her to be able to see that as well.

And yeah, he played the inn keeper he only had the one line and he'd been practicing it for like a week straight and it was so cute. We were trying to get him to say it louder. So at home he was saying it really loud, but then when he was start, stood on stage and the teaching assistant Linda was there with the mic and he was just going.

Delores Naskrent: That's cute. But he was barely looking at the camera and I was like, I can't see him. But

Kaylie Edwards: yeah, it was really cute. It was only like 20 minutes, half an hour. It's long. Um, but yeah, they all went back to school, but it was, yeah, it was beautiful. Um, it's moments like that, yeah, it just makes everything worth it, doesn't it?

Delores Naskrent: It does forever. Yeah. Got it. Forever.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. And you've also been deep into batching a recording ahead for your membership. Is it planning six months of classes and content or is it shorter than that this time?

Delores Naskrent: It is my favorite time of the year because I love planning and recording and dreaming ahead.

[00:29:00] I've only recorded. Three, I think as of today as we're recording this episode, but I've got all of it scheduled out. So I've got all of the procreate classes and affinity designer classes for the next six months. So I should have till, June all recorded. I am hopeful that when the new versions come out that I won't have to change too much.

Yeah. most of the time people can adapt, you know, they can still learn the content even if there's a new version of the software. But I'm actually just taking one step at a time. I've got the list of things I have to do. I've got all those new membership videos I have to record to, but I am really proud of how structured the membership has become and how every month now has a rhythm.

How we in 2026 are gonna have a live session or a guest. Speaker or feature for the first week, and then week two will be Class week three will be template club, and week [00:30:00] four will be affinity designer. So it's what we've always been doing, but we've added that live workshop once a month that I think many of my members have been asking about.

So I hope that consistency will help everyone, including me, just getting focused and excited and pumped, you know, like just excited about what comes up every month.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. And next year you've got big things coming up with the Profitable Artist Summit again with Vanessa for 2026. can you give us a little sneak peek of what's in the works, or what are you most excited to explore?

I am really excited. I can't tell you very much, we are changing up the format and we're gonna be hosting it on a new platform that Vanessa and her husband have found. The lineup is looking really, really fantastic. I can't spill too much about it. We're not announcing anything and we're not even

Delores Naskrent: Approaching people yet. So we're not saying who's gonna be in it, but we have some sort of soft, confirmations from [00:31:00] people that we know are gonna be a part of it. So it's gonna be super good. I'm sure it's gonna be as good as last year. And we are both just so energized for this round.

We're excited.

Kaylie Edwards: Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah. I'm so glad that that came about. And I remember you, when I first mentioned collaborations to you, you were like, Nope, I haven't got time.

Delores Naskrent: It's too hard.

But then I met vanessa, so my mind changed.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, it just happens sometimes it just happens that you meet people that, that just compliment everything you doing Yeah.

And you and I have also spent time this year refining onboarding and evergreen systems for your courses.

Yeah.

Slowly but surely tightening up the pathways or what's been the biggest mindset of practical shift for you there? Has anything surprised you about how much smoother things feel with better systems?

Or what are you most relieved not to be doing manually anymore?

Delores Naskrent: Well, I love that we have this, courses all [00:32:00] set up on Evergreen Systems now. I think that's been a total game changer for me. It has, it's taught me so much about the backend structure too, and how to create better and real pathways for students.

So whether they joined through a challenge or they've joined because they've found me on Pinterest, they've found a self-paced course or they are really into live coaching, there's. Pathways that fit every learning style, which is really, really important. I totally get it because, you know, for me it shifts.

I could be sometimes in a self-paced course and it's 100% perfect, but I also love being in a course where there's live interaction with the coach of a teacher. So yeah, seeing how many people thrive in the self-paced versions has honestly surprised me. So to me, it's proof that meeting people where they are is what works.

And the biggest [00:33:00] relief has been passing off some of the live session uploads to my VA Jill. So that has. that pressure off from doing the live courses. 'cause the thing that was the hardest for me was keeping up with, you know, just the content and everything else that goes on in the business on a day-to-day basis.

And then taking a huge chunk of time every week to process the live video.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. And

Delores Naskrent: then uploading it as quickly as possible for the people who couldn't have attended. That was such a load lifted off. When I finally let go, I finally let go of that. So that has been an absolute game changer. That, and also just learning to use my, Zoom sessions, my live sessions properly.

 

Kaylie Edwards: know, I remember when you just like, it was when we did that, that first live workshop. Oh my God. And then we found out. Afterwards that it hadn't recorded your screen, [00:34:00] the iPad. And I was like, oh God. And it was just flipping back through. I was like, oh, that's a whole hour of like, well, it's now an hour and a half, I think it was, wasn't it?

And I was like, oh my God.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah. You live and learn.

Kaylie Edwards: It's not the first time it's happened to us either. Is it like where we've had to rerecord something? Yeah. It's so soul crushing. It was soul crushing. But at least, you know, we learn from it. And when you eventually figure it out, like Yeah.

It's helped you so much.

And I love hearing that because I think sometimes listeners see the polished front end and don't realize how much behind the scenes evolution is happening for everyone. Even very established artists and teachers like you. And while all of that was unfolding for you, I had a personal milestone this year too.

Very recently, I restart learning to drive this month.

Delores Naskrent: That is so amazing. Kaylie, I'm so happy for you. You're gonna love that independence once you're drive again. I remember you talking about, I think you were taking Aston to one of your niece's birthdays or something, and it was [00:35:00] like a marathon.

Three different buses. this is gonna be such a game changer for you. I'm proud of you and thank you. Yes.

Yeah. I restarted Learning. And it's been about five years since I last had a lesson, the car is now officially in my name and I'm insured as a learner again.

And my partner Rhys, very bravely, has taken up the role of unofficial instructor for now. 'cause he thinks save money. Not gonna have the official lessons yet until you are ready. I was like, okay. So my first lesson, the other week was a dark industrial state at night in a manual car because apparently I needed the extra challenge.

And surprisingly some of it came back. I only stalled the once, which I'm very happy about. But I did have one moment that properly spiked my heartbreak for the rest of the lesson. We started down this very quiet, dead end road just practicing, moving off and turning around. And on the way back, I checked my mirror and I glanced behind and I swear my heart jumped into my mouth behind the fence.

At the end of the road, I saw what [00:36:00] looked like a big ghostly figure. I know it was very cliche, like a person in a white sheet kind of thing, and it was dark. My anxiety was up and my brain went straight to what's on earth, is that when we came back down the road later? It was still there. As I got closer, I realized it was a massive concrete cone behind the fence.

Oh, and obviously very practical, very normal. But in the shadows, my brain turned into a ghost whilst I tried to figure out how to drive again. Rhys who doesn't believe in anything ghostly at all, just laughed and chalked it up to me being dramatic, but my nervous system for that rest of that lesson. So shaken, I bet.

Like an hour of driving around this industrial state and I was just like thinking about this stupid cone. And I was like, what? So still I'm back to learning. It's slowly and hopefully safely.

Good for you.

Kaylie Edwards: in the new year, we'll see how I get on. But reclaiming that independence, like you said, especially now I live in a village where no shops feels like a big step towards a sense of freedom again.

That I really [00:37:00] want.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah, I think you're gonna find that it's really helpful just to be able to. Jump in the car and go get something if you need it.

Kaylie Edwards: Yes. Yeah. Like I have to like either get on a bus and go to the next village and then it's taking time out of my morning of doing work. or I have to I've become friends with one of the moms in Aston school and she sometimes goes that way.

But it's only a couple of days of the week where I actually see her 'cause she's got a uni, so she sometimes takes me into the next village if I need to.

But yeah, it's, it's, yeah, that independence will be great. So I've got my little Kia Rio chill called on the drive at the moment with learning plates on it.

Nice.

Delores Naskrent: That's great. I'm proud of you. Good for you. Thank you.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. So in the middle of all chaos illness cycles, how moves and platform migrations, I did hit a point where I looked at my tech stack and my time and my energy and I thought. I need that support that doesn't add more burnout or more bills, [00:38:00] because my expenses have been going up this year.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah.

Kaylie Edwards: So I've been dabbling with AI agents to help speed things up and automate parts of my business. I created my own custom AI twin in chat, GBT called Kaylen, who's kind of my new AI co strategist. Business help and personal life help. And I went really super deep with the setup.

I've never done it to that extent with chat, GBT knows me very well, knows my business very well, my audience very well. But I've never gone so deep with it that it really knows me and like my time constraints and everything, my past, my circumstances, my goals, my patterns. And so she really understands what I'm trying to build and what my life actually looks like.

So she can create systems for me that I can actually work with. 'cause I haven't been tested for A DHD, but I swear I've got it.

So she

helps me now start to [00:39:00] simplify my offers, my funnels, plan, financial goals for next year, organize projects and timelines and make decisions that support both my business and my family and my creativity.

'cause I'm trying to get that back in again. 'cause that's very much gone out the window. This year, and I'm still at the beginning of this experiment, but the clarity and detail coming out of those sessions has been mind blowing. I literally give it massive rambles. I use the, , audio yeah, in the chat and record myself rambling on for like 20 minutes, near enough.

And I'll send it to them and I'll be like, I dunno if that answers your questions. 'cause it just comes back with a load of questions for me to re-answer. So I just ramble on and it will just distill it down to like the essence and it's like, wow, you really do know me. And it's helped me see like where I can buy back time and energy and save money as well because like my expenses just went out the roof.

So I actually do the creative work [00:40:00] hopefully next year and, you know, go back and be a person, mum and a partner again. So, yeah, there's a new thing that's started to happen and it's obviously starting to work out really well.

Delores Naskrent: I love that you're using it so thoughtfully. You're not replacing your voice, but you're using it to protect your energy.

And I think more creatives need to see it that way as a supportive tool and not a shortcut.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: Conversation we had with Lisa was so great when she was talking about that too.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, exactly. And for me, it's not about doing more, it's about doing things smarter and gentler. Mm-hmm. And more aligned with you and not holding everything in your head anymore.

'cause I still do it. I have task stuff at everything listed out. I even got another task thing that I can start writing in. It's like, yeah, doesn't work. It just doesn't work for my brain. I can't cope. So my AI twin's helping me figure everything out, especially [00:41:00] around Rhys's shifts because they, they change each other week.

So it's very difficult to plan a lot of stuff 'cause he is got a short week and a long week. Yeah, so trying to fit everything on a flexible plan is much easier than trying to block everything in. Yeah. So let's do a little round of create wins and whinges.

Delores Naskrent: I have to look that up.

Kaylie Edwards: Whinges.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah. My wins definitely include running the live courses and showing up more for my students, even though there were. Yeah, those couple of please let the floor swallow me up. Moments kind of, some live workshops were super rough. We had tech hiccups, like I had tech hiccups. You guys probably could have run it with your eyes closed.

But for me there were lots of mistakes and just things I just didn't know. Like you don't know that you don't know it until it happened, right? No. That worst one was also right after the summit when hundreds of people were watching and everything was going [00:42:00] sideways. Oh, that was awful. And then remember also the time that I accidentally deleted those 172 members.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah.

Delores Naskrent: It still makes my stomach like just, yeah. And I say it out loud, but. Thank goodness over the long run, everything, everybody, or as many as I could possibly get back, had come back, thank goodness. But boy, that one really stung because it was right during a launch, which was just

Kaylie Edwards: awful.

Delores Naskrent: It was so stressful. I just had to put it behind me. One of the bright things that happened this year was being invited by Erin Kendall to teach an affinity designer workshop right after their big announcement.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. So

Delores Naskrent: for the Power Sellers Academy, I did a workshop and for me that was a huge win.

It brought new students into my world and it reminded me how much I do love teaching live. Once I got past those, really horrible live sessions, I'm actually much better at it. And I'm okay with the actual. You know, the [00:43:00] demonstration, whatever I'm doing, I really get into it and I love doing it.

It was just the technical stuff that was making me crazy.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. It's always on to like the tech, it always comes down to tech. I'm tech literate. Like I know how to deal with it, but then it's when it doesn't wanna bloody cooperate with you. Yes. or it decides to break and you're in the middle of something, it's like, this is the worst time you could really break down for me right now.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah, all the behind the scenes kind of chaos that we have to deal with is really worth it when you have a few wins, that's for sure.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. Like for me, 2025 wins were rebranding to Spellweaver Creative studio and feeling like my business finally matches who I am and Who my audience are.

And even though it was a very, wrong time to do it, but still,

Delores Naskrent: and then that's, You're done. Now you've done it.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah. Yeah, it's done. And I can move forward with that now. And then landing a lovely new client, thanks to you, and I'm really excited about working with her and helping her bring more of her business online in the sustainable [00:44:00] way for her, which is really good.

So that, that's another thing. And then quietly building a new offer for early next year that I'm bursting to share, but I can't yet. It's very aligned with helping creatives move from juggling everything to having more structure and support, and then a bigger personal breakthrough with ai. Obviously really leveling up how I use chat and building my AI twin Kaylen like that is gonna help me so much that next year.

Yeah, I finally took the plunge and paid for four years of hosting for a new product based business to start setting up a home to sell my stories, art and merch. Yay. I've already created the bare bones of the website with ai, literally like, took me 20 minutes. So it's up, it's there. I just need to obviously put everything on now and I'll be recording the process to go into my signature course, which obviously means finishing as well.

Delores Naskrent: That sounds so exciting.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah, so there's a lot going on. But I'm, with the AI [00:45:00] helping me to actually plan this out in a strategic way and not where I'm trying to jump in straight away and do it, which is something I like to do. And then whinges of the year, school admin, house admin, global migration admin, and basically admin everywhere.

Like,

 

just everything to do with just organization and, and everything you've gotta do in life now. Yeah. But yeah, I love like your side. I love that we're, we're being honest about both sides, the glitter and the gray days because the truth is juggle includes both. I did the thing moments and please let me lie on the floor moments

because yeah, this year's been up or down very much.

Delores Naskrent: Well, if you could send one message back to January, you, at the start of the year, what would you say?

Kaylie Edwards: I'd say rest sooner. Rest more trust the timing as well. Like the move will happen. The website will get done. You're [00:46:00] not behind. You're building a foundation.

Spend the time to level up with AI so it can work for you, not just with you. Simplify. You don't need to tweak everything or make every piece of bloody content designed perfect. 'cause that is my. Biggest floor mm-hmm. Is tweaking designs. I'm like, Hmm, no. That color's not, not right. Mm. That font needs changing.

That placement needs moving like done is kind and is better than perfect I recently watched a a YouTube video, by Sunny Leneduzzi, and she showed actually the sign behind the scenes of her, like very big successful business. She like basically uses Google Docs for everything.

And I was like, what? Amazing records all her lessons with Google Docs and I was like, I, I spent hours and hours on slides. Yeah. But then I found chat GBT with the AI agents can actually create slides for you. Perfect. And I was like, oh my God, this is a game changer. I need to do this. So that is a new thing.

I will be starting with ai. So [00:47:00] your turn. Delores, what would you tell your January self?

Delores Naskrent: Oh God. Well, I would tell myself to trust the slower pace and to, you know, for once, just prioritize rest and reset and focus on what really matters and stop trying to be everything to everybody and let go of that self-imposed pressure.

And remember that good things don't fall apart when you pause. They just don't, we can actually take breaks.

Kaylie Edwards: Yeah,

Delores Naskrent: often that break is what helps things to fall into place.

Kaylie Edwards: Oh. And if only we listen to our future sales sooner. Right. I know. Oh, before we wrap up, a huge genuine thank you to our amazing listeners.

over 9,000 downloads this year. And it'll probably be more by the time this comes out. Wow. Like we see the numbers on the dashboard, but behind there are real creatives in real [00:48:00] life doing brave things in tiny pockets of time. we're super proud of you. Yes. And ourselves as well. Like we should be proud of ourselves of what we've achieved this year.

In between all the chaos

Delores Naskrent: we have done a lot. That's the one thing, when you look back at January, you would have ever foreseen what we would've accomplished in this whole year. All the stuff that you and I have done collectively. I'm so proud of the fact that we've had 9,000 downloads and I wanna thank everyone in my courses.

I'd like to thank everyone in my courses and membership and everyone in Kaylie's Spellweaver World, your dedication to creativity, even when life is full and messy, it inspires us daily. We are so honored to be part of your journey,

Kaylie Edwards: and we want to bring you into this reflection too. So here's your little Christmas homework.

Send us your creative wins of 2025, big or small. Maybe you finally opened a shop or sold [00:49:00] your first print, maybe even carved out one protective creative hour a week, or made it through a brutal season like we did and kept your art alive. DM us on Instagram, email us, or reply to our newsletters.

We're going to create a community collage of creative wins in January to celebrate you in our first episode back.

Delores Naskrent: Yeah, As we head into the holidays, we hope that you will find pockets of rest and joy and maybe a little bit of quiet to dream about what's next.

Kaylie Edwards: Yes, Merry Christmas from our slightly chaotic, deeply creative homes to yours.

Keep juggling, keep creating, and most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.