Illustration Friday: Geeky

bookworm girl & her dog
micron pen in a moleskine sketchbook

illustration friday

Peacock Drawing

This is a peacock drawing I'm working on right now. It is obviously still in the beginning stages. The pencil on the taupe colored paper camoflauges the bird. under normal circumstances the (male) peacock stands out, so i thought this was a good fit for this week's topic

Happy Father's Day!

a pencil drawing I did several years ago. although it was a gift for my mother, I think it is appropriate for father's day as well :)

hand painted bangles

hand painted bangles
Originally uploaded by platinumblondelife

My latest batch of hand painted bangles are complete. One with a Pear design and one with a cherry design. These are painted on wooden bangles with a darker hue than the apple set. I decided to try out the Pear version for myself and I've already received a ton of compliments. I mailed off a bunch of apple bangles yesterday, so I'm excited to hear their feedback. Anyway the latest bangles are currently available in the shop

love photo duo

love duo
Originally uploaded by platinumblondelife

"An Apple A Day" Hand-Painted Wooden Bangles

Hand-painted "An Apple A Day" Wooden Bangles $15 each available here via my etsy shop

photo duo: paws

left: paw print in the sand
right: sophie close up

Handmade Photo Album

I made this photo album to add to my little sister's birthday gift. The pages are hand-cut, the front cover is a letter press sunburst print, the inner pages are a light pink color, I used a heart punch for the pages and tied close with a hot pink polk-a-dot ribbon. I really liked how my previous albums turned out, so I just expanded on those with a few extra touches. Now, I should make one for myself! ;)

Inspire Me Thursday: World Traveler

This week is just a quick one. I did a Paris drawing not too long ago, and I thought about just finishing it and using it for this but that felt a bit like cheating. I think I took a less obvious approach to this topic. I am using this simple painting as a background to one of my journal pages. Here it is:


acrylic paint
inspire me thursday

loving yellow

both photos via the platinum blonde life on flickr

inspire me thursday journal: outside my window

outside my window there is a whole world out there that is a mystery to me...

here is a photo from outside my window

inspire me thursday

Inspiration Du Jour: Blue On Green

left: blue wellies on green grass
right: blue ball lying in the grass

photos via platinum blonde life

Cool Website: One Word

The idea of the website is simple. The site gives you one word as a creative prompt, and then allows you 60 seconds to write whatever it is that word brings to mind. The instructions are simple: "Don't think, just write". It is a fantastic exercise that can really inspire you...it is great for journaling, sketching, or just jump starting your morning.

Start writing at: One Word

Illustration Friday: Paradise

girl walking on the beach
water color

my idea of paradise is a place where one can relax, reflect, & revitalize with few interuptions.

i think the above illustration captures that well...a peaceful walk along the beach...day dreaming, thinking, drawing with your foot in the sand--now that is paradise. :)


illustration friday

Inspire Me Thursday: Roots

“Everything you see
has its roots in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
yet the essence remains the same.
Every wonderful sight will vanish;
every sweet word will fade,
But do not be disheartened,
The source they come from
is eternal, growing,
Branching out,
giving new life and new joy.
Why do you weep?
The source is within you
And this whole world
is springing up from it.”
Rumi

acrylic paint on paper...5.5 x 8.5

A friend once told me that he would not have guessed in a million years that I had grown up on a farm. It wasn't that I hid this information from him or anyone for that matter. I always have said grew up in rural Iowa on a family farm. I think he thought I was exaggerating. Everyone makes fun of you when you say you are from a place like Iowa. Most people from Iowa didn't grow up on a farm, but the first question you always get after you answer "Where are you originally from?" is "Did you live on a farm?". The second question always comes with a laugh, because the person asking is really only half kidding. When you answer yes, they think you're joking. This is my experience. I'm sure I would have a completely different experience if I showed up looking like a stereotypical country girl with a southern drawl (Enter the American girls from "Love Actually"!). My friend didn't believe me until he visited the very house I grew up in. It was a typical you have to see it to believe it story. He always knew I was telling the truth, but he couldn't place the person I am now--wearing my designer clothing and long blonde hair in the middle of nowhere doing what farm girls do. The truth is I couldn't picture myself doing any of that!

I always felt isolated there--even as a young girl in elementary school I felt this way. I wanted out...I felt trapped in so many ways. I was determined to do everything I could to get away. I'm competitive, driven, and focused. I channeled all of my energy into one thing that I knew would get me out of there--my education. Neither of my parents had attended college, and being the oldest child I was determined to break the mold. It paid off for me because by the time I was in high school I had a 3.9 GPA, I was involved in Softball, Cross-Country, Track & Field, every honor society & organization you could dream of. With the help of scholarships I was able to get out of the state...I went to college near Chicago, I interned in Washington D.C., after graduation I lived in Chicago in the Wrigleyville area for a little over a year and then moved to New York City where I have lived for the past 2 years. NYC is the antithesis of my hometown. As I'm sure you would imagine, there are zero similarities.

The odd thing is that you can work so hard to get away from something...to erase it even, but it always stays with you. You can never really escape it even if your life is essentially the exact opposite of what it once was, your past is apart of you--it shapes you whether you like it or not. I don't know if I was necessarily trying to "escape my past", but I suppose in many ways--perhaps unconsciously-- I was trying to do just that. Something must have led me to charge forward until I found myself living on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I appreciate the beauty--especially the scenic beauty-- of Iowa now that I moved away. The openness, the smells, the clear skies, the unobstructed views all went unappreciated when I was living there. If I step outside right now and look north I will be able to see as far as 59th street. Back home, when you drive on one of those narrow highways you will be able to see for miles-literally. I had to leave to be able to appreciate the beauty of that. Too often you take the things that are directly before you for granted. I never would have seen the beauty in a barn with peeling paint & a weathered roof if I hadn't left.

girl with balloon doodle

red & black micron pens on paper