You Amaze Me: Wind

It may sound silly, but I find wind inspirational. It's true! Invisible, and yet completely beautiful. Yesterday I was able to drive with my windows down, and my mood instantly lifted ten points! A fresh breeze on your face, the sound of the wind in the trees, the clouds floating through the air...I think you could agree that wind is amazing.

There's the wind in your hair...

 

this weheartit image is how wind makes me feel

The wind to make new flowers grow...

(via weheartit)

Wind energy...

 

I find wind turbines mesmerizing...(via Google Images)

There are the colors of the wind...

 

That's right, it's a great song. (via Google Images)

And beautiful windmills, designed to grind grains for food....

 

From our trip to Greece...I have a serious windmill crush.

It's with us everywhere, and I love it. I'm going for a hike today...hopefully I'll get some good wind time ;) Happy Sunday!

[PS: Exciting news tomorrowwww ;D]

Busy Saturday

Wow, I had a really busy Saturday! The hubby works Saturdays, so it's my time to catch up on what I need to do.  First off, I finished up this little guy and did a photoshoot. I am getting much more efficient with both shooting and editing, which makes me really happy :) Hubby still says I spend too much time on it, but I want to make sure they looks good.

Then I packed up this embroidered heart and mailed it off. A little sad to see it go, but excited that it's going to someone who will love it!

 

After weeks of putting it off, I finally got my bangs trimmed! After all the hair chatter lately, I kind of want to dye it red or cut it short! But I really like my color, and I'd probably look like a boy with short hair >_< Not sure how long I'll keep the bangs. I've had them since...December? Maybe another couple months.

I'm SO excited to announce that I bought cupcake tins :D:D:D The husband mentioned that he wanted to make cupcakes, and (can you believe it??) I've NEVER made them before!! So I picked some up, and I'm super excited to get started! Let me know if you have a yummy cupcake recipe :)

 

(cupcakes from weheartit)

AND I recorded with Renee of Robo Roku for an Easter Egg tutorial! I'm very happy to spread the inspiration. Easter Eggs are sooo much fun! You don't have to be limited to stickers, crayons, and single colored eggs ;) I'll let you know when it's up in a couple weeks, and give you a few extra ideas.

Then it was Kenpo with the hubby (day 13/90 in P90X!), followed by dinner at Nuevo Leon with his family :D (I also ate a table over from Britt Daniel of Spoon - my college roommate was obsessed with him!)

You Amaze Me Sunday post coming soon!

Etsy Crush: Prints

I love how many original illustrations there are on Etsy. And luckily for people (like me) who have smaller pocketbooks, there are tons of prints of original illustrations :D Here are a few of my recent favorites...

First, there's the lovely "Seduction" by HidenSeek,
whose prints are spooky and beautiful:

 

Then there's this awesome "Ukrainescape" by Cowface:

  

"Deep Sea" is one of many alluring prints by Kecky:

  

"Let Me Fly" by KelliMurrayArt is simply wonderful:

  

 I love prettylittlethieves's style, especially in "could be anything:"

 

Hmm...I need more wallspace.

Thursday Threads #1

Originally I was thinking of starting a Wednesday feature called "Wardrobe Wednesday," but I really like the sound of "Thursday Threads!" We'll see what sticks ;) Anyway, I figure this weekly feature will include something to do with wardrobe, be it what I'm wearing, what someone else is wearing, or just a certain type or clothing. I'll start it off with a drawing I did of my outfit last Friday :D It's done in sharpie pen, pigment liners, and Copic markers.

I really enjoy drawing what I'm wearing when I think I look cute. I feel kind of awkward taking full-body self portraits (maybe I'll be better when I finish P90X ;)), but I LOVE drawing! I'm hoping to be able to do at least one of these a week. And I'm so happy to feel like I can put together a cute outfit - even a casual one :) Anyone else do self-portraits to record their wardrobe?

New banner!

I worked so hard on my new banner :D Do you like it?!?

And, for your amusement, the reason my coworkers now call me "Willy Wonka"

I ♥ cheesy glasses.

New ACEOs

I finished a whole bunch of new ACEOs! I am very excited to announce that they are now in the shop! I tried two different types of paper, and I'm still experimenting. For those of you who have done your own, what's your favorite type of paper to use?

I hope they aren't too cheesey >_< I just had fun with them. Generally I think that's the way to go ;)

Brisk Blue

I painted my nails today. I'm not a big nail painter - maybe a couple times a year. Usually if I do my nails, they're pearl. I save the bright colors for my toes! THIS TIME however, I painted my nails "brisk blue." I kiiind of love them. I like that it's a matte finish, so I'm not completely distracted. Wonderful! Okay, enough about that, onto beautiful blue photos! Enjoy ;)

(me, sky, hair, headband, shoes)

Blue makes me happy (especially paired with green and/or purple!)

Hope these pretty pictures brighten your day!

Torch, Mustard, and Fuzzy.

Check out my latest huggles! They all make me happy in different ways.

Torch is awesome like a volcano.

 

Fuzzy has the most awesome ears since Dumbo.

Mini Mustard...well, he's my new favorite. He's so little and cuuuute!!!

  And there are more in my shop! They all have their own little personalities. Can't wait to get started on more :) Which is your favorite?

You Amaze Me: Carnaval

I missed the Austin Carnaval celebration this year, but some friends went and I know I'll see some great photos. It's such a beautiful celebration! The elaborate costumes, the samba music, and the excitement!! Just the sheer amount of work put into the outfits is amazing.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Did I mention color? Oh how I love a colorful celebration! Hope you do too ^_^

Etsy Crush

I just wanted to share with you some of my latest etsy crushes :) (On an unrelated note, my birthday is next month ;D hehe)

 

Happy Camper Shirt by the amazing Squid Ink Kollective

 

Embroidered Eames chair pair by Moxiedoll

 

I Like People Who Smile When It's Raining Print by heidiburton  

Merit Badge for 'being smart as a cookie' by Lee Meszaros

 

Cream felt flower headband by Lou and Lee

So pretty... Wow, you can really see what I love in just these few items! Amazing how that works, isn't it? Who/what are your latest crushes?

Felt Flowers

For Style School, we are supposed to make a photo garland to string up with embellishments. Truth be told, I'm not much of a garland girl. However, I have my awesome postcard wall:

 

Alex recently replaced my yarn with wire, so it looks even cleaner - straighter at least. (See the before here.) Eventually we'll probably replace the clothespins with silver binder clips. Then it'll be really slick!

Anyway, I decided to just embellish my postcard wall with the flowers like so:

I really enjoyed making these flowers. I like the creativity within the same canvas - They all started as a purple felt circle, then I added buttons and embroidery thread. And they're all different and fun! I made something similar before for hair clips. I may actually use these flowers to attach to a headband like this one! Wouldn't that be cute?

PS: More photos on Flickr.
PPS: WOW! I have 50 followers! Thanks for the support, everyone :D Just in time for an upcoming giveaway, too....;D

Just Go For It

I started working on my first ACEOs ("Art Cards, Editions, and Originals" or Artist Trading Cards)! I've always been a little wary of trying, because I wasn't sure what to do for them. Then I thought, just go for it!! And I did. And I'm glad. [If you're looking for a good mantra, "Just go for it!" is really helpful.] Some are silly, some are sweet. Overall, I'm happy with them. It's nice just to be able to get the creative juices flowing, don't you think? :)

These two are my favorites:

 

 "Don't stop believin'" will eventually have embroidery on it

What do you think of the middle one? I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, there you have them :) And I've got ideas for more! I'm going to try a lot of different styles and then see what I like best. Or maybe I'll like having tons of styles! Will you tell me your favorite?

What are you working on right now? What are you unsure of? (Just go for it!)