blog anniversary

February marks my blog anniversary, four years I can't believe it! I've made a lot of progress on some of my projects others not so much but I'm excited for where this year will take me and what I can get accomplished :)

I started this blog to share my progress on my creative endeavors and my thoughts on fashion and baking so here's what I'm excited about now

I'm trying to move out of my comfort zone I really like girly dresses in theory but in reality don't like my legs too much, my solution tunic with leggings perfect for winter or whatever were having this season ;) I really like this printed one I got on sale  at old navy. I love happy bold prints :)

Im trying to take the time to celebrate the seasons I got into Valentine's day by designing cute little valentines with corny messages

And I drew my dogs in cartoon version and made a strawberry cake with sprinkle designs - hello cookie cutter as a stencil hack :)

Oscar season is upon us and while I'm behind on my must see movie list I was so happy I got the chance to see Brooklyn the costumes are a dream and Saoirse Ronan gorgeous in the clothes of the era and gives an amazing performance! It inspires me to do a retro drawing project :)

Girl Scout Cookie season has snuck up on me. I'm trying not to bust into my thin mints just yet, I love them from the freezer nothing like frozen minty chocolate-y goodness and this week in particular I think thin mints really do make everything better :) Here's the link 

That's what's new with me. I hope to write better content this year, more DIY posts and fashion round ups and fun recaps of new projects!

What's new with you?

Christmas in Review

Hello again, I've been away for quite awhile but I'm back and brimming with things to share!

How was your Christmas? Mine was wonderful so nice to bake, spend some down time with family, take a nap and not have to go anywhere for a little bit.

1.We discovered some really great Christmas lights it was 2 houses combined to make a great dual presentation! The blue house was so captivating and beautiful you just wanted to stare at it all night.

 

2. We got a new little tree this year and we just bought some retro baubles for it and also decorated it with little mini stockings, I think it turned out great :)

happy tree

3. We went to the Dallas Arboretum to see the 12 Days of Christmas installations, one for all of the 12 days. I wasn't sure what to expect really, and I wasn't really excited to go, I knew nothing would be as good as Chihuly at the Arboretum. But it was really cool to walk around to each installation, they were animated and had Christmas music playing, they were very detailed, I couldn't imagine trying to plan and assemble such a thing. In all it was very fun and put me in the Christmas spirit :)

The collage picture shows the swans swimming. Here's the 5 golden rings installment with twirling rings. (My 1st video upload wahoo! )

4. Christmas baking! I had a few things I wanted to bake but only managed to bake peanut butter cookies with kisses on top, they were good but I have some more stuff to cross off my list like these by next week. :)

Grandma's Christmas cookies <3

I also made my Mom a snowman apron for Christmas, it was pretty fun to come up with a concept and not be 100% sure how it was all going to come together but that's my typical process when it comes to sewing. Hurry up and finish so you can see what it looks like, I really need to be more patient in that area, I'm gonna work on that in 2015 ;)

I also got to sketch some I made gift tags and worked on a Christmas doodle with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus wearing beanie hats with pom poms .....warm, cozy and happy for Christmas :)

christmas tags

I have more to share so stayed tuned :) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Did you do anything fun?

I think you're a hoot

Hi, just a quick Valentine's drawing. I've been experimenting with different brushstrokes.

Of course it's my go to animal....owls :)

I'm enjoying experimenting with procreate all the fun brushes and pens. I painted the girl owl first and then painted over it with blues and greens for the boy owl

i love bright colors

 

I kind of want to do some Valentine's themed baking, like these heart shaped pies maybe?

But possibly with a different take on the icing.

 

photo and recipe here

 

 We are getting small break from the winter weather here in Texas.

Never realize how much you miss the sunshine until you haven't seen it in a few days. I'm tired of a chance of ice every week.....I'm dreaming of a spring wardrobe.. more on that later :)

Halloween Recap

So we decided to have a last minute Halloween party at work. I thought about making just a regular cake and decorating it with candy corn. It turned out kinda cute for a last minute idea.

 Most of my time was spent thinking about critter shoes and how I could interpret the idea into a Halloween costume idea.

 Inspiration wasn't too hard to find, this time of year I always get to thinking about one of my favorite movies: Nightmare Before Christmas!!! I can't believe this year is the 20th anniversary of the movie, it has brought me so much joy over the years. I love the music and the story..... that we should accept that everyone is different but that's what makes us special and we shouldn't try to be something else we should be ourselves. Anyway critter shoe inspiration + printable fabric = Jack and Sally shoes!

We're simply meant to be <3

So even though I have been a huge fan of this movie for a very long time, I've never drawn the characters because Tim Burton's style is so exaggerated and complex, I knew I wouldn't be able to come close to where I wanted to be. But since I have been drawing on a more consistent basis I'm happy to say I was up for the challenge. I kinda approached Sally a little differently I elongated her and interpreted her in my normal drawing style. I kinda want to complete the drawing and add the rest of the bodies, but that's another time. So I spent a few days drawing a few versions of the couple and then printed on the fabric paper!

I love when an idea becomes tangible

After I printed the shoe appliques I cut them out and then used double sided fusible bonding and iron on the shoes. It's pretty addicting, I would say buy some shoes you know are comfortable but are cheap enough that you won't be mad if they get ruined in a creative mishap :)
What trends have you been wanting to put your own spin on?

Birthday Fun

It was my coworker's birthday, and I wanted to try something a little bit different for the cake, so I made strawberry cream cheese frosting with yellow cake. It was easy and really tasty. I looked for a recipe and it said to add 1/2 cup of mashed strawberries(drained)  and blend into the cream cheese frosting. It was so nice to bake something again, I love being in the kitchen :)
I added bits of chunky strawberry in between the frosted layers of cake and had fun with a little heart shaped garnish.

strawberry goodness

I used a small paring knife to make the heart shape. I think I will make more fruit shapes in the future it's just too cute :)


I also had a drawing in mind for a card, that I spent a couple days sketching out by hand, and after many failed attempts, I did a quick digital sketch and was finally happy with the result.

I just love birthdays and making people feel special. Have you made anything fun for friend's birthdays lately? Happy Tuesday to you!

Special and Loved

Making people feel special and appreciated is one of my favorite things to do. Luckily, there have been some parties and birthdays so they have gotten me in the baking and drawing mood.
I made a card for my coworker, she's getting married soon and her favorite cake strawberry!

owls in love

When it comes to a cute couple in love my go to animals are owls. I am still pretty obsessed with acrylic paper and colored pencils. I love the awesome blending effect.

so happy together

And here is the strawberry cake. I decided at the last minute to top it with a fresh strawberry design.
I love a pretty garnish  to finish off the presentation. Which automatically makes me think of one of my favorite scenes from "You've Got Mail" 

 "What are you doing?! That caviar is a garnish!" lol (scene starts @ 2:15, having trouble embedding sorry )  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAQogHJ529g

party goodies

strawberry goodness

the bride to be

We had a great time celebrating with our coworker. I got her beach mats with a built in pillow. They are a cute patchwork print and come in his and hers colors. From Target of course!

I've got some birthdays coming up and I'm dreaming up the perfect things to make some of my favorite people feel special and loved! What are you up to lately?

Summer is here

My extended mild Spring is officially gone, and has been replaced with humid and hot with a constant chance of stormy showers. But there are upsides to summertime.. even in Texas :)

Summer flowers for example, I love Zinnias they come in many different varieties and they are about the only bright and happy thing that can hold up to the summer heat. This pink one has extra large blooms, it's a Champagne Toast variety. I also love to plant Zinnia seeds and watch them come up, it's low maintenance gardening......my favorite kind :)

Summer dressing is always a nice change, easy and breezy layers. It's too hot for skinny jeans now and I love how easy skirts and dresses can be. But finding a great summer dress that you can throw on and look great in is hard to find. I have started my search though, and can't wait to share more in some upcoming outfit posts. I did order this dress, on a whim this past weekend, mostly just to get free shipping on shoes lol. But it's really cute in person, I was pleasantly surprised. I love the color of the print, and the piping and pleating detail in the bodice. The back has elastic and a zipper closure, and the skirt flares out and is has a nice little twirl too it. But I'm still on the fence lol

                                       The pattern is brighter in person than on the website.

Summer movies are always highly anticipated but I really like movie marathons at home too. I got to hang out with a friend last week and we watched You've Got Mail and Silver Lining's Playbook, an old favorite and a new favorite. My friend is aware of my love for Anthropologie and she gave me the cutest mug ever! I love the cute little dachshunds :)

spots and stripes

cute little closeup

Summer baking is high on my list. I want to experiment with fresh berries and peaches and cobbler and tarts. I'm really excited about the possibilities and to use my fresh garden carrots in a carrot cake :)

a butterfly cherry pie from a few years ago

What are you excited about this summer?

Fun Stuff

I had a fun weekend watched some movies and hung out with friends.
I watched one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes series, the BBC version with Benedict Cumberbatch, he plays the bad guy in the new star trek movie. I'm pretty excited to see it because of him.
I also found this awesome feature on the guys wardrobe on Gatsby, the costumer designer did a collaboration with Brooks Brothers.This is my inner fashion nerd coming out, I've always loved costume design.

I went to Target and I just happened to see this place mat on the summer end cap.

It was so happy and bright and adorable, it totally made my day. I'm kind of an octopus fan. There is a fun turtle print too.

I got to hang out with my friend yesterday, and she knows I love the bake and got me the cutest book!
I've seen it in the store before but I never would look at it, I thought it was all cupcakes, clearly if I had read the title I would have known better lol

It uses a lot of candy and pre-made items, but I think it really enhances the presentation of the baked goodness and they have colorful instruction pages and templates. I'm really excited to get started.

so cute!!!

 You should definitely check it out they have a lot of the book available to look at in the preview mode on Amazon.

We've been lucky to get another crop of broccoli before the weather gets too hot. It's so nice to have fresh veggies from the garden. They taste so tender and fresh! I forgot how quick and easy dinner is  when you're making veggies, just slice and steam. We've even got full size potatoes this season, I'm pretty excited that all our plants are doing well. It will be interesting to see how the green beans go....

Ok so that's all with me lately, I'm off to work on some drawing projects, Happy Tuesday to you :)

Weekend Wrap up

This week was pretty busy, crazy and difficult. You know when sometimes situations aren't so great and you're frustrated and then it gets incredibly worse, and you think to yourself, "Wow, I guess things were not so bad before." That's where I'm at this weekend, it's been a struggle to focus on the positives but I managed to stay productive.

 I watched a food documentary, Step Up to the Plate, about French chef Michel Bras passing his restaurant down to his son. The restaurant is in the French country side but it's a very modern building and so is their approach to food. I'm really interested in chef's techniques and the cinematography in this film is amazing. The country side is so beautiful and it's entertaining to hear their story and watch them create.

I started reading Mindy Kaling's book. Her show has become my new favorite on Tuesdays. If you are familiar with her at all and like her work, I think you would probably like this book, her language is a little more colorful than on tv, but her take on things is pretty hilarious.

I've been trying to get back into painting, I bought some smaller canvases, I thought maybe I could do a series.  Here's the first one :)

Since I am a bit of a computer nerd, I was pretty excited to experiment with the new pattern tool in Adobe Illustrator CS6, for anyone that does graphic work this tool is a game changer! Basically before you had to draw the pattern piece once or enough for a repeat them build the pattern and duplicate it, it's hard to get sprawling patterns to match up, but this handy tool does it for you.
This makes me so happy!!

 I see Spoonflower fabrics in my near future! Here's some patterns I've been playing with.
Happy birdies and flowers I'm kinda obsessed with gray and navy mixed with pastel colors.

Earlier this week, I attempted to make a key lime pie, I used the wrong kind of milk, sweeten condensed is what you need, I was quite dejected. I really wanted pie, so I decided to correct my mistake and try again, with farm fresh eggs, I plan to have some for breakfast YAY!

So yeah, things could be better, and sometimes I feel like wallowing but getting things done is so rewarding. I'm going to keep focusing on the positive and start baking and creating more often.
How was your weekend?

1 year blog-iversary

Today is my 1 year blog anniversary! The time has definitely flown by, it's crazy how things become a part of your everyday routine.

I wish gummy bear balloons actually existed

 What a wonderful year its been. I wanted to have a creative outlet to share my artistic side and other stuff I'm excited about like crafting, baking, and fashion.
I really love to write about things I'm passionate about and I love seeing what all is going on in the blogosphere. But my main goal was develop my drawing style and open a shop and while I was just enjoying the creative process and make things on a regular basis. But now I need to see my goals through to completion. I finally made a list of things I want to focus on.

1. Using Spoonflower to make detailed illustrations on fabric.
I love drawing I love fabric it was only a matter of time before someone came up with tools to print your own designs. This is happening very soon!

I love floral prints

2. Do some illustrations inspired by songs. I love music, I can't work without it, it makes me happy, relaxed and focused. What could be a better inspiration than that?

3. Create my own T shirt designs. I've always been interesting in screen printing, I found a really great company and I'm coming up with a swirly, colorful explosion something awesome that I can wear to work. This is a doodle, don't take it seriously lol

I love stars and purple

4. Create and explore characters. I love to explore animals with human nuances and I love coming up with random wild monster creatures too. I'd like to see where this could go if I gave it the right amount of attention.

I am very excited to see where these projects will take me, maybe I will come up with other ideas along the way that I love even better.
I hope to focus more on my art projects but also discover and discuss more food, fashion and DIY this year. I hope you continue on this journey with me :)