amazing capes!

I bought these amazing capes from a local etsy artisan LiveBeautifulbyDee. Denise is also a friend and custom makes super hero capes for that super kid in your life. My boys have a lot of fun in theirs. I love how the capes inspire their imaginations!

Denise has a sweet little boy diagnosed with Leukodystrophy. She took a long term leave from teaching to stay home with her little guy for therapy, doctors & time for lots of lovin. Her etsy site contributes to her son's medical expenses. Shop LiveBeautifulbyDee in support of Leukodystrophy Awareness.

the orange tree

Here is my last illustration study for Sara & Josh's wedding invitation, this session I focused on the orange tree, oranges and orange blossoms.   

The young girl stood beside me.
I Saw not what her young eyes could see:
- A light, she said, not of the sky
Lives somewhere in the Orange Tree. 

~ from The Orange Tree by John Shaw Neilson

roses are free

More illustration studies for Sara & Josh's wedding invitation, this session I focused on roses.  

Don't believe the florist when he tells you that the roses are free ~ Ween

june biz goals

They say when you put it out into the universe, the universe answers. Last month I said my hope was to act on my inspiration and boy did I. As a person who goes to extremes, I was wrapped up in a flurry of creativity all month. I did quite a bit of painting and beading and listed a bunch of new items in my shop! Now I'm ready to go on summer vacation :)

May Goals

• S&J wedding invitation design - I began working on floral illustration studies.
• baby nursery painting - ahoy painting done, mailed to Colorado and super cute!
• design jewelry with resin art pendants - Created a necklace for a giveaway this month on a super awesome blog which I was really happy about, but I was hoping to get more done.
• complete 1 new painting - 2 paintings in progress which is awesome, willow tree with tire swing and a small abstract design I still need to blog about.
• add artwork page to this blog - I added "artwork" and "design" pages and I am feeling fairly comfortable with them. I'm not confident with expressing myself with words and end up over-thinking it a lot. How do you stop editing and decide it's good to go?!
• get involved with creative every day theme  - I didn't work on the theme but, I did check in and see what other artists are up to and am really happy I did.
  
• family art play time - we played with beads
• setup monthly meal plan - ugh forget it. This isn't happening. 
• movement - family walks, yoga and dance - I worked yoga into my schedule more this month then I have in a long time, also got to Zumba class last week. It feels good to move.

 June Goals

• continue work on S & J wedding invitation
• post new beaded necklace and 2 art resin earrings in shop
• creative every day challenge check in
• enjoy two weeks of summer vacation with our families!!!

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.
- John Lubbock

If you would like to join in the Meetup biz goals fun, head on over to Athena Dreams to read more about how we support one another and how to join in.

new items in my shop

With a new month upon us, I wanted to share some new items in my shop plus, let you that I'm having a Summer Vacation Sale! Enter coupon SUMMER20 to save 20% off any order now thru June 5th.

Set of 6 Wood Art Coasters - Made to Order

Delicate Multi Strand Necklace

Recycled Leather Teardrop Earrings

 Nautical Blue and White Necklace

Eco Friendly Braided Bracelet

 

Bejeweled Retro Recycled Magnet Set

Alphabet Bunting Painting - Made to Order

the earth laughs in flowers

My dear friend and long time coworker, Sara, is marrying to her love Josh later this year and I am working on their wedding invitations (yay!).  They are planning a beautiful wedding in their garden so, I thought a good place to start would be with, well, their garden! Lucky for me Sara has shared loads of flower pictures from their yard on their blog so, that's where I went for inspiration. 

Above are Sara's pictures and below are my first round of digital illustrations.

These flowers were truly a joy to draw! I have a few favorites for sure. It has been so nice to have a reason to illustrate. They have lots of orange trees and rose bushes which should be in bloom for the wedding so, we have decided to focus on those two plants in particular. Stay tuned for round two of sketches. I love weddings and flowers so this project is a win-win as Sara & I would say ;)

 Earth laughs in flowers.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

peek into my sketchbook

Flowers

Vines

wild carrot

Spooky ghost drawn by my son last year when he was 3 years old

ahoy painting

 

I just shipped this sweet little sailboat to Colorado. This was a commissioned 8x10 painting made for a baby boy's nursery based on this Ahoy Mate NoJo bedding set.

 

Here is the progress from start to finish.

At first I was thinking about a border and using the words ahoy! but quickly decided I would simply paint the sweet little sailboat without cluttering it up.

the great balancing act

I wrote about the great balancing act of being a working mother and an artist yesterday over at Soft Flex Company's blog. Click here to read my guest blog post.

what i'm up to

 Happy Monday! Here's a little bit about what I'm up to this month ...

• working on this weeping willow painting, a sailboat painting for a little boys nursery, a painting for a special project I can't tell you about yet and a friend's wedding invitation suite
• listening to The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You
• reading Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World
• practicing yoga 10 minutes a day with this facebook group challenge, maybe you'll join me?
• loving my husband 

So, what are you up to? A link or description in the comments is welcome.