a week in instagrams and more spring preview

This week flew by, but lately it's been feeling like that every single week. I've been continuing to work on my "Spring Collection" of greeting cards. I had some samples printed this week and got really excited at how well the colors + paper choice turned out. All of my paper comes from French Paper Co, and for this collection I'm trying out a different type. I try to always use recycled paper and this one has lots of nice little specks in it. I'm loving it so much that I might transition to using more of it in the rest of my products...

I just got a shipment again this week and wanted to share with you a picture of their packaging. Yes I am in love. My sister (also a designer) and I could go on and on talking about paper. The way it smells, the way it feels....and so on. But now that I've written that out, it does kind of sound weird and I know for sure it will to those who don't work with printed paper things for a living. Whatever.

I also ordered some Moleskine notebooks that I will illustrate and sell in my Etsy shop. I really enjoy lately designing things by hand without the use of a computer at all. Getting your hands dirty seems so retro. I received pretty pink nail polish in the mail too. That of course has absolutely nothing to do with my work. But it's pretty. These all arrived at the post office on the same day making for a very lovely afternoon of goodies.

This week I also had time to be a little social, which was a nice change. Unfortunately when I get really busy, my social life is usually what I cut first and I know that's not a good thing. I try to remember that getting out and seeing people is a really good break to stay sane, even when work things feel overwhelming. This week I had a nice lunch date with my mom, and there was also a surprise birthday party for one of my closest friends. Surprise parties are actually very exciting for the birthday haver as well as the birthday party throwers. It was just as fun as how it looks in the movies! I illustrated part of an E.E. Cummings poem to give as a birthday gift to my friend. She is always kind enough to accept a growing collection of my hand drawn work.

Spring Preview

Welcome to my newest home on the Internet! I've wanted to make a blog like this for a long time now, and then I FINALLY did it. And I am so excited you are here! I always love getting a peek into the personalities and daily lives of other artists that inspire me, so here I'll share mine with you. This is the main place where all of my thoughts, creativity, baking adventures, and daily life bits will be combined. I used to have just a food blog, but then I realized I wanted a place where I could combine just about everything. There will still be plenty of recipes for baked treats and sweets, but I'm also going to show more about my design work and creativity, as well as little bits and pieces of normal day-to-day things (expect LOTS of cat and food things). Anyways, welcome again and I hope you come back often! So on with the blogging! For the last few weeks I've been busy with freelance projects, and have been itching to get back to creating more products for my Etsy shop. Valentine's season felt very successful and motivating for being my first, and I've been looking forward to creating a Spring collection of cards and 8x10 prints next. So here's a little peek into what will be showing up in my shop soon!

With Spring so close, I feel myself longing for everything colorful and bright. See my new favorite nail polish color? I recently bought a purse of the same color. While I am in love with this minty blue-ish green right now, I remind myself to put it in more design work than wardrobe pieces now that my hands and bag coordinate.

I've also been in the mood to be more hands on with drawing on materials lately. My process usually involves drawing everything by hand, and then moving to the computer to refine and add color. But recently it's been satisfying to practice some hand lettering right on my Etsy packaging materials that I mail to my customers. Right now, most of the envelopes that I use are made of recycled cardboard, and using colored pencils to add color to the ink drawings looks really fun with that natural texture and color of the paper. For me, the feeling is similar to having coloring books when I was little. Actually, I don't see why those are limited to children. Everyone should be given coloring books regularly, right?