Pretty Little Paintings

Every time a birthday or holiday comes around, I love to make my gifts and cards (when time permits!). This spring I made cards for Mother's Day and my sister's college graduation. I was heavily inspired by the work of the amazing Katie Daisy. I adore her whimsical paintings, so I put brush and paint to paper for these two cards. I really enjoyed creating these, it was very "stream of consciousness" painting for me. These are just for personal use, but thanks to Katie for the inspiration!

I heart paper!

So, last fall and winter I was on a crafting spree. Seriously. We couldn't use our kitchen table for months, it was so covered in fabric, beads, ribbon, paper, glue, paint.....I was a woman on a mission. There were a couple of craft fairs in our area that I participated in, and I couldn't stop coming up with ideas! I still haven't gotten around to posting all the leftovers on Etsy, but you can find these earrings in my shop.

    

The paper beads were made by gluing together 1 inch circles punched out of a vintage french textbook. It was tedious work, and they are very delicate (they have been sprayed with copious amounts of a shellac to protect them from tearing), but they are quite stunning statement earrings.

These cards aren't in my shop yet, and honestly, I love them so much, I may just use them myself! I saw this place card DIY from Design*Sponge, and thought they would be just as adorable as notecards. These were super cheap to make because I already had all the scrap-booking paper on hand, and I only had to buy some cardstock and envelopes. A few hours with an x-acto knife and my sewing machine, and voila! 

2011 Update

Well, I really didn't mean to let a year go by without posting anything....but here we are! So much has happened since I posted last, in my creative process and my career goals, and I'm so excited for any new ventures that lie ahead. I don't know my exact plans at this point, but I rediscovered printmaking last December, and that kind of blossomed into something I didn't expect.

This stationary set was a gift for my mom last Christmas. She loves writing letters, and getting handmade gifts, so I got out all my supplies from printmaking class and got to work. She loved it, and it was an eye opening project for me.

Throughout making this gift, I realized that I loved the delicate and beautiful art of carving print blocks. So, from here on out, I am going to explore this rediscovered medium. I really enjoyed my printmaking class in college, and I'm hoping I can take some more classes one of these days.

Besides that, one of the biggest things I've been involved with lately is doing a regular DIY post over at Glamour and Grace, the most unique and inspiring wedding blog, run by the talented and lovely Megan Acosta. If you are planning a wedding (or just love wedding stuff!) definitely check it out! For this month's DIY, a jeweled cake stand, click the photo below:

Freelance ahoy!

So, it's been two months since I've had a full time job, and I'm finally starting to get around to doing some art again. I'm hoping to start working with some print vendors, and I thought I'd get an arsenal of prints started. I was inspired by the yummy Tupelo honey I put in my tea the other night, and ran with it. I think it would be great for some big soft pajama pants :)

That's all for now. Just wanted to put a little update and share the latest!

Suwanee Day 2010

Greetings readers, and happy July! It has been a sweltering summer so far, down here in suburban Atlanta, and all it makes me want to do is live at the pool. Not having to be at work everyday sure does make it easier to slack off!

I do have a couple of illustrations to share today though (yay! finally!). Beginning of June, I submitted some poster designs to the Suwanee Day poster contest, and since the winner has been chosen (not me, better luck next year!) I can finally put them up!

I did the illustration for this about 2 years ago, and went ahead and finished the text for it for this year's contest. I used a train because Suwanee used to be a little railroad depot, and you can drive through the very small main street and see an old fashioned rail car that has been set up as a kind of landmark in the old town area. I wanted to bring some of that vintage charm to my poster, when people road the train and women wore long dresses and big hats.

My second submission is a little more whimsical, with some Carter's influence. When you spend 40 hours a week drawing cute baby animals, it tends to come out in your personal work. I had a ton of fun drawing this one. All of the type (in both posters) was hand drawn in illustrator as well.

Well, you win some, you lose some, right? It just gives me 365 more days of practice until next years festival. And speaking of winning....

Please take one minute and go vote for my dear friend Megan's blog, Glamour and Grace! She is a finalist in the Wedding Channel Best Style Blog awards, and she needs some love! Just one click is all it takes, no signing up, no surveys, just click a button! Easy, and you can count it as your good deed for the day! Go here and make your vote! Thanks everyone!

And the nominees are....

My wonderful friend Megan and her AMAZING wedding blog, Glamour and Grace, is getting great exposure and is the newest source for all brides to be (and even those of us who already tied the knot, but still swoon over all things wedding) to find unique inspiration and style ideas! Her fabulous blog is so beautifully done, I think each and every one of you needs to hop on over to Wedding Channel RIGHT NOW! and nominate her for their "Best Wedding Style Blog" award. It's so quick and easy! Just click the link below, and make her day!

Best Wedding Style Blog

PS. I am a terrible blogger. I know it has been AGES since I have put anything remotely artistic up, and I feel like a schmoe. I recently finished my internship with Carters, and I'll be able to devote more time to freelance and personal work in the near future. First things first though-my inner Monica is going through a cleaning/organizing/ocd frenzy, getting this apartment back up to speed (a full time job out of the home a messy house makes)! If it isn't clean and glistening, I can't make pretty art. Stayed tuned, my (hopefully) loyal readers....I WILL be back. Promise!

How does your garden grow?

Spring is here! I'm so excited! Finally, things can start growing again, and I can wear shorts and flip flops, and the sun doesn't go to bed before I even get home from work!

Dave and I celebrated the coming of Spring by taking a walk up to the nursery to get some stuff for planting, and came home with a strawberry plant, some assorted seeds, some soil, and a new window box for our teeny balcony all the way up here on the third floor. I spent a very happy (and sunny) evening planting all my new seeds and turning our little space into a potted garden.

Since I have so many things growing from seeds (and because you know I can never resist a new art project!), I just HAD to make some markers for each pot. I love the ones being sold on Etsy, by shops like MonkeysAlwaysLook, but I just can't afford that right now. I mean, the cat's gotta eat, ya know? So, crafty me, I decided that vintage forks from a thrift store would make great holders for my little laminated labels, created on my trusty Mac! Here's a sampling of what I came up with:

I've been obsessed with my new/vintage Spirograph lately (my amazing husband found one for me for Christmas!!) so I took it digital, and voila! Unique, creative, and personalized garden markers at a fraction of the price. It felt good to do something fun and artsy, and useful. I can't wait until my little plants start sprouting and we have some yummy veggies of our very own!

I'll leave you with this picture of our friend Totoro, who is helping Mei and Satsuki grow their own little seedlings. Here's hoping our neighborhood Totoro pays us a visit too :)