September 2013 : Desktop Calendar - Free Download

I'm so glad I waited to design the September calendar until after our mother/daughter/daughter camping and canoe trip! I'll be honest, it is getting well into the month and I wasn't sure I was going to pull a calendar design out of my hat this time but after a much needed weekend away with my mom, I came home with just the right amount of inspiration to create what is my favorite design of the year (so far)! 

So, momma, this one is dedicated to you. 

September 2013 Desktop Calendar

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Our little setup by the river at Mohican Reservation in central Ohio. 

Glamping! Sweet little vintage camper. We call her Gerite.

Mom's morning coffee. Everyday should start like this.

365 Portrait Challenge with Studio MME

Megan, from Studio MME, is undertaking a HUGE artistic challenge for the year. To help her become a better portrait artist, she will be drawing one portrait a day for the next 365 days.

A few week ago I saw an open call for photos and thought I would be fun to send a few of our wedding photos. Our photographer, Boko Photo, did an amazing job at not only catching detail, but capturing character and personality in our photos. It was a hard decision, but in the end, I sent Megan 3 photos, one of each of us.

Here are the 3 photos I chose:

Here are Megan's Portraits!  She did a wonderful job and handled our curly hair beautifully! :)

All 3 portraits are copyright Megan and Studio MME

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Want to participate in the 365 Portrait Challenge? Megan is always looking for submissions! Send your photo to megan@studiomme.com. Solo photos work the best and the bigger your head, the better. Know a big blogger, artist, or all around cool person who’d like to join in? Spread the word!

Lilla Rogers Studio School’s “Make Art That Sells”

I did the most amazing thing I could do for myself yesterday - I enrolled in Lilla Rogers Studio School’s “Make Art That Sells” e-course and I am SO crazy beside myself excited! Lilla's course is 10 solid weeks of inspiration, industry tips, design briefs and art direction. 10 solid weeks of community, support, appreciation and portfolio building.  10 solid weeks of pure creative goodness and connection.

My creative entrepreneurial soul needs this. *sigh*

I thought long and hard about the course, whether I was ready, what was holding me back and whether or not I have the time to dedicate - but in the end, I decided that this is the best investment I can make in myself, my work and the future of our family and I'm just going to go for it! Besides, I would've kicked myself if the course sold out (enrollment is limited) before I even made the decision! So, I footed the bill and let myself feel the rush of excitement!

Poor Gavin, when I get excited, I'm a one track mind. It's all I can talk about or think about right now!
He's a patient man.

Last week, I ordered Lilla's book "I Just Like to Make Things" and I'm expecting it in the mail any day now. I can't wait to start with her book and move onto the course in June! I feel like I have a lot to do in order to show up ready and open. Lots of new work coming in the next few months!!

Birthdays Galore!

Get this - my mother, my husband and my mother-in-law, all celebrate a birthday 3 consecutive days in a row - February 20, 21 and 22nd. I'll tell you, that made for a busy week last week!

Here's a quick photo recap of our week:

Cleveland's Historic Westside Market re-opened last week after a terrible fire at one of the vendor stands that closed the 100 year old market for three weeks.  There was a great local effort by several companies, including CLE Clothing Co. (yep, got me a new t-shirt!) to raise funds for help the market vendors. The restoration job was done beautifully and the Market sparkled like it was new!

So, Mom and I went down on her birthday to do a little shopping.  We purchased everything from fresh fruits and veggies, to fresh meats and sweets.

Momma J scoping out the cupcakes!

For my husbands birthday, we took off for the afternoon and went to visit the Western Reserve Historical Society (sooooo up his alley). The Western Reserve Historical Society is the resource for history, artifacts, archives and events for Cleveland, Akron and all of Northeast Ohio.

All these beautiful artifacts that document the history of Cleveland and it's impact on American History and all I can do is baulk at the graphic design.

I also had an eye out for pattern inspiration.... Can't wait to get started working from these!

The typography on the old maps just took my breath away.  Needless to say, the historic society had both of us at "hello". 

Late night birthday love.

And then Saturday morning, to celebrate all family birthdays, we all met at Nick's Diner in Cleveland for brunch amongst the work of local artist "The Sign Guy".  Food was fine, nothing to rave about - nothing to complain about - the atmosphere was superb and so was the company.

And lastly, to round off the weekend right, Gavin and I decided to go thrifting and we stumped upon the most truly awesome Suite Lorain.  I'll admit, a bit sketchy from the outside, but inside?  Oh.... you're in for a surprise!

Picture this: 8,000 square feet of a Vintage Department Store with items from Deco to Mid-Century

1920's to 1970's

• Vintage clothing for men & women

• Costume jewelry, hats & purses

• Vintage fabrics

• Books, records and magazine

• Ceramics & glass

• Kitchen kitsch

• Home furnishings & decorative accessories

• Collectibles

• Clocks, radios & small appliances

I ended up purchasing this vintage wooden desk chair with the teal blue seat. I've been needing a new chair for some time as my back has been aching and I thought a good ol' sturdy vintage desk chair might do the trick. All the lumbar supports, wheels and fancy hydraulics of my old chair seemed like it was doing more harm than good.

I wish I would've taken more pictures.... next time (and yes, there will definitely be a next time!) This spring I've got yard sale on my mind so I justify going back!

And there you have it - Happy Birthday to my family!!! Love you all.

Craftcount : Etsy Top Sellers

Ahhhh!!! SO cool!!!

Etsy sellers: have you ever used Craftcount?  As stated on their facebook page, Craftcount tracks Etsy top sellers via the sales count in every country and category, updated every 24 hours. The information is restricted to track the top 100 sellers with over 1000 sales in each category except the main categories of All, Handmade, Supplies, Vintage and Mixed.

If you're a numbers or a stats person, this is interesting information to check in with every now and then.

I was doing just that last when I happened onto the Craftcount website. I registered my shop and started to search.  Wanna know what I found?

I am listed as 36th Top Seller
on Etsy in the Handmade Art category!  

For real????  You better believe it! Check it out here.

And while you're at it, take a look at some of the shops that are top on this list. Tons of talent and proof that it can be done!

February 2013 : Desktop Calendar - Free Download

Finally, it's February.  I like February - it doesn't seem to drag out like some months (eh-hem, January....), Gavin and my mother share this birthday month so we're going to get to celebrate a little AND the Near & Dear Etsy shop is always super busy which means most of my day is spent interpreting all your love stories!

Plus, I've been working on a new series of hand-drawn patterns. I'm not quite ready to release the new collection yet, but here's a hint:

February's Desktop Calendar is just one pattern of the many new surface pattern designs I'll be releasing later this year. You can see a small preview of what I've been working on in my Society 6 shop where you can purchase iphone covers, ipad covers, throw pillows and stretched canvas' showcasing my patterns.

FEBRUARY 2013 Desktop Calendar

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Surface pattern design and incorporating hand drawn elements into my work is new for me this year. I'm learning to think about design from a different perspective and I'm quite enjoying the challenge! It's been a little while since I've had a clear direction on my artwork (where do I go from here?) and I think I'm slowing honing into that answer.

The color palette is new for me, the hand-drawn motifs are my own illustrations (which is also a new technique I'm liking) and I've also revamped my signature logo. I would appreciate any feedback you might have on the direction of this new design.

Thanks so much and happy month of loooOOOooovvveee.....

November Desktop Calendar

Boy, October sure flew by!  I have so many updates to post - about the wedding, our "mini-moon", new designs, some DIY wedding adventures, new holiday ideas in the Etsy shop etc. - but nothing is more pressing at the moment than my November Desktop Calendar! :)

In fact, I've had 4 of you inquire and request I do this quickly as your desktops are outdated!  That just warms my heart. :)

Hurricane Sandy set us back a few days here in Cleveland, but now that power is restored and the internet is in full swing, I present to you my November Desktop Calendar.....

Free Download Here

Thank you everyone for all your support and understanding throughout October.  We had a helluva month and I can't wait to share with you! More to come soon...

October 2012 Desktop Calendar Download

I was feeling a much needed "design break" so I put together the October Desktop Calendar download today!  The inspiration - imagery and color scheme - has been inspired by our upcoming wedding on October 13th!

It was kind of hard to pin down a color choice for the desktop calendar since the wedding will consist of dried flowers and wild flowers of all different colors and tones - but Olivia's dress is like an eggplant purple and this week I'll be dyeing my petticoat to match her dress (more on that after it's complete!). We're also using a lot of dried lavender throughout the wedding because the lavender flower is supposed to represent good luck, success and devotion.  Sweet, right?

Taking all that into account, I settled on a dusty purple and goldenrod yellow along with the white silhouette of dried flowers feels very much like the decor I've been diy-ing and collecting to pretty up
the farm for our big day!

So, here it is, the most special calendar month of all....  for me anyway. :)

Free Download Here

Enjoy and keep your fingers crossed for an indian summer!

Business: Year One

No doubt, the first year of being in business for yourself is a rough one!  The info graphic below explains all the ups and downs of the roller coast ride!

If I had to pick the top 3 that I felt the most, it would be:

1. Discover how brilliant and strong you truly are.
2. Make mistakes that will turn out to be strokes of genius.
3. STOP SLEEPING.  ha! (so VERY true!)

Graphic by Makeness

I'm in my 2nd month of my 2nd year working for myself..... and here's to another great year filled with education and inspiration!  (as I lift my coffee in a solo toast!)

Warrior Princess : Fall Inspirations

Just a little inspiration as we all patiently await cooler weather... I swear, I was a Native American Warrior Princess in my past life.

1. Backpacker's Organic Shampoo and Body Bar : 2. Vintage Archery Arrow : 3. Geometric Fall Hair Accessories : 4. Authentic Handmade Suede Moccasins : 5. Under the Dipper

I'm in love with a fishtail

A while back 20 Best Twenty posted on their blog a nice little tutorial on how to do a fishtail braid. I thought it was exactly what I needed since my hair is long, curly and basically a mess most of the time.

yes, I have a slight crush on Chipotle

I often wear my hair back in a low loose braid to keep it off my neck, out of my eyes and from getting caught in my seat back, but this fishtail thing adds a nice twist of style to the already classic braid.


Here's the full blog post:

image provided by 20 Best Twenty

Here's the tutorial:

And, of course, I immediately loved the hair ties by Mane Message on Etsy.  So many colors and great combinations!  A must have.  So I ordered The Frolic Tie Dye Hair Tie Package - 6 Elastic Tie Dye Hair Ties and absolutely love them!!

image by Mane Message

I wear them all the time, fishtail or not, and they are adorable on my wrist when I have to let my hair down.  They are a quality dye (didn't fade in the washer) nor have they frayed at the ends. Packaged real cute and shipped quick! 

A+ for hair ties!!