ch-ch-ch- changes

Spring is always a good time for changes and rebirth:  The new website is up!   Please follow me there on my new blog!  I'll have a few more of these posts up at Emu Attacks.  I'm also onto the 3rd round of The Printed Bolt's REPEAT competition!  Now there are only 6 of us left.  Thanks again to my supportive family and friends for getting the word out and cheering me on.  It means a lot!

  Signs of spring are emerging all over the neighborhood.  Outside our bedroom window is this beautiful tree.  When it blooms in the spring it makes me feel like we are living in a tree fort.

Every year I forget to photograph it we've been living in this apartment for almost 4 years now...Today I finally remembered to!

After spending a weekend in DC with my family it was nice to get back and see the tree in full bloom.  Providence is not the most international or coolest city but it feels like home.

Industrial Revolution-REPEAT Round 2

Thanks again so much to everyone for voting for me in the first round!  I really appreciate all of the support.  The second round of patterns are up http://theprintedbolt.com/!  This month the theme was the Industrial Revolution.  Which seemed tricky initially...  As usual I went through the 5 stages of creative development:

1) Panic- What the hell am I going to do?

2) Excitement- Start doodling things, this is so much fun!

3) Frustration- I hate how this is looking... It's horrible!

4) Determination- I'm going to figure out why I don't like it and make it better!

5) Acceptance- I tried to push myself creatively, fix things that were bad and now its out of my hands.

I blogged more about my process and ideas at the REPEAT blog!  Go check out all of the entries and make sure to vote by Sunday the 15th!  Hurrah! the patterns from last round are up for sale on Spoonflower!  Also, the blog is moving so update your feed, bookmark whatever to my new blog and website! 

April Etsy Shop Update!

 I just added some fun new Spring items to my shop!  April 2nd- April 30th all proceeds from my Etsy shop will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Robin and I are crazy, so we've committed to biking 100 miles around Lake Tahoe a second year in a row!!!! We will be riding in memory of Robin's Mom, Mary, who passed away last August.  Here you can read about us riding and fundraising last year....  We were able to raise over $9,000!  

Veggies

 bikes, cabins and trees in blue

 bikes and succulents in pink, and peach

red cabins, cherry blossom trees and cupcakes too!

The weather is getting warmer and this weekend we start our outdoor rides and a lot of fundraising events too!  If you would like to make a donation, please check out our site.   I can't wait to get out on my bike this weekend!

California Sun Turkey Sandwich

Hello bloggy readers!  It's been an exciting month full of contests and hard work redoing my website.  I can't wait for everyone to see it! (hopefully by the end of the week)  I also wanted to share a new recipe I finished over the weekend.

 It's for another awesome contest put on by Salli and Nate over at They Draw and Cook!  They asked artists to use a recipe featuring a tasty Kraft product.  I had a fun time working on this and in particular using a spring palette.  I've also started experimenting with making my own brushes to create textures = super satisfying!  There are a lot of beautiful entries this time around and I can't wait to see who wins the big $$$   


Later this week I'll have an update on the REPEAT contest.  I've made it to ROUND TWO!  Thanks friends and family members for making an effort to vote for me in the reader's choice award!  You guys are the best!

First round of REPEAT

Phew!  I got my "Tiny Dwelling" patterns done at the last minute.  All of the patterns are up and there are some amazing submissions!  Go check out the patterns and vote for mine now!  Here's a little glimpse into my process... A photo from one of my favorite books:  The Deep!  It's full of amazing photographs of deep sea life!

I also got a chance to use my handy dandy Spoonflower color swatch chart to match my digital colors to printed samples.

Inside my sketchbook some ink drawings for the Tulip Hill pattern.

Here's "Sleep with the Fishes"

 and "Tulip Hill"

I'm very happy with how they turned out!  Voting is open today-Sunday the 25th so please go vote for me!

REPEAT

Woo Hoo! I've been selected as one of the 10 finalists to compete in The Printed Bolt's REPEAT competition! The Grand Prize Winner will get a trip to the International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas! In addition a quilt will be made out of the winner's designs and displayed at the show. How cool is that?

Each month we will be given a design challenge and a few designers will be eliminated (Project Runway style) This month the assignment is "Tiny Dwellings."

Here is the awesome care package I received from organizers Ellen and Madeleine.  It included a Spoonflower color chart, delicious smelling tea and A Field Guide to Fabric Design by Kimberely Kight, who is one of my favorite bloggers and will be a guest judge in the competition!  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Is it Spring yet?

It feels like Spring today, so I've opened all the windows in the studio!  Yay!  I thought I would share this succulent  inspired ditsy pattern I made a few months ago!  I wanted to experiment and see how watercolor drawings would look printed on fabric.  Here's the color sketches in my sketchbook.

 I scanned these and played with the colors, repeat and scale in the computer for awhile.  I couldn't wait to see what it looked like so I ordered a swatch test from Spoonflower.  The texture of the watercolor didn't print as well in spots were it was painted very lightly so I decided to darken some of those spots so they would read a little better.

 I had it printed again and this time I was much happier with the results!

 I made a little pencil case and it's for sale in my Etsy shop today!

I've got some exciting projects on the horizon including the launch of a brand new website!  More about that next time.

Killer Guac!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you're spending it with friends, family or someone crush worthy!  This is one of my favorite recipes to make when I have friends over or I'm visiting my family.   I've been playing with some new textures and hand lettering.  What do you think?

If you want to see more illustrated recipes head over to They Draw and Cook! It's an inspiring site full of illustrated recipes from artists around the world.  I always end up finding a new dish I want to cook or a new favorite artist.

February Sketchbook peek

I love seeing other artists work in progress, so here's a few shots of a new recipe I'm working on. I've been itching to incorporate more hand lettered text into my work.

And more pattern... always more pattern.

These colors make me very happy.

By now you've probably guessed what this is a recipe for... I'll have the final posted sometime next week!