Best Wishes for Mr. & Mrs.

I just finished this new greeting card featuring an original watercolor illustration.

Perfect for the happy newlyweds in your life.

Available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Pretty Discoveries: Summer Breeze

Well I broke 10,000 pins on Pinterest last week so I thought I would start sharing some of my boards here. I'm currently loving this color palette. Reminds me of summer beaches, warm breezes and tropical flowers.

See more Summer Breeze inspiration and image sources on my Pinterest. And feel free to follow me too!

Palm Springs

We are home from Palm Springs and I thought I'd share some photos I took while we were there. It was a very fun, very quick trip (we arrived home yesterday morning). It was so special to witness his grandfather being honored on the Walk of Stars and to be there to celebrate his 80th birthday. 

Me and Marylin. "My, what long legs you have!"

James' grandfather's star on the Walk of Stars, Palm Springs.

James with his dad and grandfather.

A Quick Trip

James and I are on our way to Palm Springs today to celebrate his grandfather getting a star on the Walk of Stars! His grandfather, Don Luster is a singer/songwriter and long time performer. During the Korean War he wrote 'The Lonely G.I.' which drew the interest of Elvis Presley and made the charts in Boston in the mid-1950's.

To prepare for the trip I decided to make a Palm Springs mood board. Can't wait to feel the heat of the sun and join in the festivities.

Sources: 1. Vintage Pinup 2. Sunset 3. The Saguaro 4. American Airlines 5. Palm Springs Girls

Also check out my Palm Springs inspiration board on Pinterest.

My First Pattern

This week I decided to try and learn how to make a repeating pattern! I purchased Michelle Fifis' class, Ultimate Guide to Repeats months ago and finally watched the videos and gave it a whirl. I chose to create a pattern based on my Mother's Day card design. It took way longer to do than I had originally anticipated, but I guess that's what happens when you are first learning anything. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and that I was actually able to get it to repeat. I downloaded a trial version of Illustrator CS6 which has an amazing new 'pattern maker' tool. I'm sure I'll be so spoiled once the trial is up that I'll have to break down and make the purchase.

I've been really inspired by Helen Dardik's work and love how she creates beautiful patterns based on her illustrations. This might be something I continue to experiment with too!

Sketchbook Doodles

I took a break last week from working on specific projects and did some doodling in my sketchbook instead. It's feels good to draw without a plan and just see what happens. I sorted out my markers and chose just the pinks and purples to work with and had some fun.

Vintage Stationery

I decided to dig out my vintage stationery to share with you all today! This is one of my favorite collections. I just love finding colorful new pieces when I'm out thrifting.

 

 I was so excited when my mom found this piece of Lisa Frank stationery.

 Saving the best for last - here are my three favorites! Love the retro floral patterns.