I have been a creative person for as long as I can remember, so it’s only natural that I found my passion in life doing it for a living and blogging about it. I used to be very laid back when it came to my work, but what started out as a hobby grew into an obsession and then quickly became a full time career which landed me in a perpetual loop between my computer desk and the craft room. I love what I do, but it is very time consuming and I often feel like I’m chained to my computer desk for the majority of the day. Luckily with all the new gadgets and apps out there it seems like anything I want to create is right at my fingertips, but I felt like I still needed a device that would help me get out from behind the computer while still letting me get my work done. Guess what? I’ve finally found it!
A few months ago my friends at Lenovo sent me a brand new YOGA Tablet 2 Pro tablet to check out, and oh.my.goodness I’m in love! This thing is an all in one force of awesomeness and I love that it has a huge 13 inch screen because I have never been a fan of the small tablets. Seven inches is not much better than my phone screen, and believe me, I am not going to conduct my business on that tiny thing. It might be good for a few apps (hello Instagram!) but I’m not about to squint over my 300+ daily emails. The new Lenovo YOGA Tablet 2 Pro runs on the Android system and features a projector, a kickstand, and even a hook for hanging anywhere you want. These guys have seriously thought of everything, right? Oh yeah, and it was designed by Ashton Kutcher so it’s got that cool factor. I can’t say enough about how much I love this tablet, so let me take you through a typical day and see for yourself how it helps me work smarter and with more creative freedom.
After I wake up, I spend some time with the kids and hop on to check out my blog stats, new reader comments, answer emails, and really just get ready for the day ahead. Before the YOGA I would be limited to my desk for my morning work catch-up, but now I can kick my feet up and relax while I start checking off my to-do list. Speaking of to-do lists, I MUST have a good color coded calendar or I will lose my mind!
I grab some breakfast and head into my office for some brainstorming and creative planning. I love checking out what other creatives are up to, and Craftgawker is of course my first stop. I make lists of things that inspire me, colors or designs that catch my eye, I look through my craft books, and I make lists of new projects I want to work on. I research and write down ideas for upcoming client work and if needed sketch out basics and make lists of supplies.
After that I set up my work area and start on that day’s tasks. Most days my tasks involve setting up a shoot, going through tutorial or recipe steps multiple times, capturing images of each step at each angle, switching out props or backgrounds, editing images, and so much more. Seriously, the list goes on and varies from day to day. I love it, but whoa. Sometimes Judah likes to hang out in my office while I work, but he gets bored pretty easily so lately I hang my YOGA on the wall with its built in hook and let him watch movies. How cool is that? And just look at that picture – I feel like I’ve never seen a movie pause so crystal clear on a tablet before!
By this time it is well into the afternoon, I may or may not have had lunch yet and I am more than likely in the middle of a craft project. Today I am experimenting with printed t-shirt designs for kids, and thanks to my YOGA I can work on it anywhere in (or out of) the house depending on my mood! Since I’m a photographer I wanted to make some cute camera shirts for the kids, so I took my favorite camera graphic and added on some watercolor to make it pop. I sized and printed it onto some heat transfer paper, then loaded it up into my electronic cutter and ran it through – all this was done on my YOGA. Amazing, right? With this tablet I can design, edit, and print out anything I want. I don’t edit photos on it because my professional program doesn’t work on this tablet, but it is great for fun, creative things like this and it really gives me the freedom to move around the house!
Once my design was printed and cut I just ironed it onto a white t-shirt and it was ready. Check out Kaia modeling the finished product – she looks adorable in it!
And now it’s almost dinner time but I’m still going strong and so is my YOGA. Did I mention it has a 15 hour battery life? Because whoa. I set aside my work for a bit to eat and have family time, and on special nights we watch movies. Remember when I mentioned the projector feature? Well here it is. (Please excuse the image quality here, it’s super hard to take a picture in the dark!)
After that it’s bed time, and then back to work writing, editing, and preparing for another day. I couldn’t be happier with my new YOGA tablet, and I am still finding new things to do with it! Want to check out what other creative bloggers are saying about theirs? Head over to the Trend Hub now! Want this awesome tablet for yourself? Check out what Lenovo has to offer here. You can also shop this specific tablet here.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
