Work -- times two

Well ladies and gents, I've officially been employed for one whole week! The one week hiatus from my blog can only be explained by the one solidweek of on the job training I just received (aka becoming one massive sponge who cannot make room for even one more measly drop of water - system overload). Despite the usual stresses of starting a new job, I am really excited and loving each new person I've met. Even better, I'm feeling extremely lucky to have landed where I have. So now the real work begins and I can't wait to see where the future takes me! Enough of that, and I promise the work-speak will be kept to a minimum on the blog. It'll be the last thing I'll want to talk about I'm sure!

I may not have had the energy to blog all week but thankfully I was still able to make some time to finish up a couple new pieces for the shop. Thank goodness chevron is still so popular, because I am still l-o-v-i-n-g it. See below:

 
P.S. I am making a personal commitment to continue painting in whatever spare time I'll have outside of the new job. Now that I've had the last few months to get some good work in, I couldn't imagine letting it go. It would just break my heart! Anyone else out there working a full time job and selling on Etsy who might have some helpful hints on work life balance? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Til next time folks, and have a great week!
 
Top Image Source: Etsy Hey Paul Studios - embroidery hoop- So cute!

Wanted: Lavender Skinny Jeans

I am hot on the hunt for a pair of some lavender skinnies. Something about this soft shade of purple has me smitten, and I can't get them out of my head! Sometimes you know exactly what it is you want, and nothing can stop you from finding them. I've found a couple options, and am curious which one is your favorite? I think I'm leaning towards the Forever 21 pair, or the Target pair.

1. Forever 21 $24.80

2. Old Navy $19.00 (on sale!)

3. Target $22.99

Before I commit to any of them, I gave the lavender shade a whirl on my nails. After trying this color out, now I KNOW I have to have them in a pair of skinny jeans. I spotted this polish in the checkout line at Forever 21, and it was destiny. :) I'm officially in love.

New Art, New Job!

 
My two latest pieces made their way into my Etsy shop this week, and me without a single post about them until today...such neglect! Since my previous hexagon piece sold, I wanted to give it a new spin with a new color combination. I love the yellow and teal pops of color! The green mod piece is definitely fun, but a bit more dreary than I originally intended. Painting without a real plan sometimes takes me down paths I didn't expect, and I'm always glad for that process. Somewhere out there, there is a room begging for both of these pieces to call it home!

I plan on beginning a new piece tonight in hopes of getting two or more pieces added to the shop before I begin...

You heard it right. The interviews went better than I could have ever hoped, and I was lucky enough to receive an offer shortly after. I couldn't be more excited to join the working world again, although there was a certain joy in taking a break from answering to the man. Perhaps someday I can rely solely on Etsy and my blog, but until then mama's gotta help pay the bills! I kick off my new endeavor on Monday as a Marketing Coordinator for a privately held, medium sized company in Overland Park, KS, so I plan on having a full weekend of painting before then. Thanks again for all of your good luck wishes, it must have helped. :)

Till next time folks...

Who Wants A Cupcake?

Happy Monday friends! This weekend I had the opportunity to try an absolutely, positively, to-die-for cupcake recipe. Just try to say The Perfect Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Icing without drooling. Props to you if your mouth didn't water.

Now I am not one to bake confections from scratch. If there is a shortcut, I generally take it because that's just how I roll. However this weekend I was feeling a little...ambitious. Every element of this cupcake was made from scratch right down to the caramel used in the icing, and although it took me a bit longer than expected it was worth every minute, dirty bowl, and dusty counter top. These cupcakes are everything. There truly is a difference in cupcakes made from scratch, my husband can attest to that as much as I can. :)

A big thank you to the Chef In Training for sharing the recipe on her blog (where I found it from Pinterest). Just don't judge my final product against hers, because I couldn't quite achieve the cupcake boutique icing job with even remotely as much skill. :) No matter, this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Wanted: This Necklace

It's a rainy, dreary day here in Kansas, and this necklace is just the thing to brighten my day. I am in total lust with this sea foam green two tone chain necklace from Nordstrom. Perfect for spring, don't you think? What makes this necklace even more amazing is its attractive price: $14.00 people! Dress it up, dress it down. Pair it with neutrals or with colors. Versatile and inexpensive are a winning combination every time. You can find this necklace on my Most Wanted--Fashion board on Pintrest, along with lots of my other favorite fashion finds. 

P.S. Thanks for the well wished on the interview last week! It must have worked, because I was asked back today for the last interview! Woo hoo! Wish me luck just one more time. :)

Today, We Celebrate!

Image Cred: Flickr
 
The last 24 hours have been BIG my friends, and we have much to celebrate! Let's review the awesomeness:

1) The Blog

2) The Etsy Feature

3) The Etsy Success

1) THE BLOG: 
Have you noticed the killer blog updates? I mean, it's practically a whole new blog! In my eyes, a great blog is a combination of good design, amazing photos, and interesting content. My previous monstrosity was missing two out of three, and sometimes even all three. Now I've got a clean and focused design, incredible photos, and I promise that I'm working on the content part everyday. :)

To whom do I owe for all of the blog/photo help? My uber talented, uber successful sister Rebecca Haas, owner of Rebecca Peters Photography. Having a professional photographer in the family has had it's benefits, not gonna to lie. She always has a camera ready to capture important, or even unimportant family moments (which when shot by her, are sometimes are even more memorable). Her photo prowess coupled with her html and graphic design experience, and being the great sister that she is, she offered to help me with the blog overhaul. I'm indebted on this one for a while, wouldn't you say? There are not enough thank yous in the world. Love ya sis!

2) THE ETSY FEATURE: 
Last night, something major happened. Something I wasn't sure would EVER happen...one of my pieces made the front page of Etsy.com in the handpicked items! My Colorful Hexagons piece was there, and I took a screenshot to ensure I never forget the glory. Can I just say that I've never had more traffic to my Etsy store? Wow:

3) THE ETSY SUCCESS: 
Nothing short of 30minutes into the Etsy homepage glory, The Curious Yellow Etsy store received its very first order!  Not only am I overjoyed to have made my first sale, but it has really opened my eyes to just how much the added exposure really meant to my budding little shop. Now that the excitement of my first Etsy success has been dialed back a notch, I've got to not only get back into the studio and paint my little heart out, but work on some SEO and networking to boost my exposure. More treasuries, more circles, more artwork, more blogging....Gameplan, GO!

Add a Little Love to Your Mantle

Etsy: Valentine's Day Geometric Heart from The Curious Yellow

Above is a piece I worked on this morning, perfect for a little Valentine's Day decorating. Whether you want it for you mantle, bookshelf, sideboard, or otherwise it's the perfect size to add a little Valentine's Day love to any room.

I don't typically do too much decorating for Valentine's Day myself. I go all out for Christmas, Halloween, and some Thanksgiving, but even then I really need to cut back. If my living room looks as though the holiday exploded inside of our home, it may be a tad overkill. Just sayin'.

Just for fun, I put together an Etsy treasury full of some of my favorite Etsy Valentine's Day decor finds. Etsy is so full of incredible things, you just never know what you'll see. You can go check out my Valentines Day Decor treasury here. For a little preview, I featured some of my favorites below. Maybe I should reconsider my decision to not decorate for Valentine's day. :)

 

Etsy:  LOVE pillow from Alexandra Ferguson

 Etsy: Valentine Heart Dish from Susabella

Etsy: Red White Pink Paper Garland from Fanciful Chaos

Dressed for Success

Job interviews...you gotta love 'em. Even the most seasoned professional surely is a ball of nerves during a job interview right? So it's not just me? 

Today I was lucky to be asked in for an interview for a marketing position I'm actually really excited about.  I was even more lucky to make it through the entire interview without a single social blunder. That in itself is a nice removal from previous interviews I've suffered through. Perhaps I've finally learned to listen to that little voice in my head that says "You should stop talking now." Truthfully, the interview actually went well, really well in fact. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they agreed and I'll be asked back! If not, at least I have a great interview outfit to use on my next victim. :) Wish me luck!

 Blazer: Love Culture (similar)
Blouse: Old Navy (It was $7.49 on clearance in the store!)
Necklace: Old Navy - $9.95 (not available online)

On To The Next!

I shared the below pic of my latest completed piece on my Instagram last week, and I couldn't be happier with how it came out. 

 

Pink, Blue, Gray Hexagons is available in my Etsy store.

Could this be my new favorite piece? Quite possibly! I wanted to send a little shout out to all of the people who took the time to offer positive feedback or like the piece. A little validation goes a long way, trust me. You just never know where inspiration is going to take you, but I've learned to trust my instinct and go with it. 99.9% of the time, I'm happy with the result. As usual, you can find my new favorite piece available in my Etsy store. 
 

Lately I've been toying with new ways to incorporate fashion trends into my artwork. Not only does it challenge me creatively, but also taps into multiple passions of mine. I've already got some ideas brewing for my next pieces. Neon accents, pastel shades, bold patterns, and more are rolling 'round and 'round in the ol' noggin. Intrigued? Stay tuned... It all makes me very, very excited to paint, and even more excited to shop for spring! :)

image creds:       
Neon Accents: Milli Millu London        
Pastels: Piperlime       
Bold Patterns: ArdenB

I Love A Cheap Fashion Find

When a fab pair of black moto ankle boots are on sale for $12.49 at Target.com, you buy baby, buy! Looks like the black is now sold out, but they still have brown available at a still very reasonable $17.49! I'm in love, and the price tag didn't hurt either.

Colorful Hexagons

How did Thursday get here so fast? 

This week has been super busy with everything but painting, but it's actually a good thing. Anytime you can spend time with family, you absolutely must! I was lucky enough to spend an entire day with my mom and sister doing what we do best: running around town shopping (when I say an entire day, I mean it. We literally spent nine hours shopping. We have a problem and are not denying it). Add on some intense job hunting, and making some major progress on planning my best friend's bridal shower and bachelorette parties, I'd say that's a successful week so far! 

I thought I'd share a progress pic of the Color Me Inspired piece I mentioned in my last post. Despite my busy week, I was able to spend a little time working on these colorful hexagons. This piece is really making me happy so far. I'm still totally in love with the colors.

Last but definitely not least, here's some good news this week. I was lucky enough to be featured on the Kansas Etsy Team Blog as one of the team's newest members! It's my first official feature, so please do go check it out!

While you do that, I'm off to the work room to paint! :)

Color Me Inspired

Happy Friday everyone!

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling especially inspired today. I absolutely love days like this; days where you feel like you can do it all and then some. Why the sudden feeling of motivation?? I was totally inspired combination of colors I recently came across on Pintrest. Let's be honest, sometimes the littlest of things can create a madwoman in me. :) Check out this unique and modern quilt:

This very cool quilt came from a gorgeous blog called See Kate Sew featuring all things sewing. She has great tutorials and associated images so if you are looking for sewing inspiration, you absolutely must check this blog out! 

So back to the inspiration. Sometimes these things just sing to you and you know something must be done to satiate this need to play with the color combination, and this one has done just that. I'm planning on starting a new piece exploring the calmness and contrast of these lovely tones (I swapped out the black for a warmer navy color to cut back on the contrast just a touch).  

I wish you all a well weekend, and hope you get to do something, big or small, that totally inspires you!

 

Craving a Crafternoon

Sometimes, a girl just needs a crafternoon.

Crafternoon
/kraft er noon/
 noun: an afternoon devoted purely to crafting. 

I came across this DIY bracelet idea on Pintrest, and I can't stop thinking about all the gorgeous color possibilities. At under $5 a piece, I think maybe I can afford to make a few.
The tutorial is linked below!


Time to schedule a crafternoon STAT.

DIY Wrap Bracelet Tutorial

Etsy Love

My Etsy shop has been feeling the love lately, so thank you to all my followers out there who have Favorited my shop and/or my items! My shop feels the love, and so do I.

Here's a snapshot of the new piece I've been working on. It's been nice watching this little guy take shape over the last day. I hope to have this one up in my shop by tonight or tomorrow:

Though I've experimented a bit with patterns and geometry, I can't seem to help myself from the pull of creating nature-inspired paintings. The heart wants what it wants. :)
 
In other news, one of my pieces was recently featured in an Etsy user's treasury which is always a great feeling! If you are unfamiliar with treasuries, a treasury is collection of items any Etsy user can create highlighting their favorite Etsy items. These items can be selected based on a theme, color, or concept, or with no rhyme or reason at all. Etsy.com may elect use any treasury on its homepage so being featured in a treasury is always a great opportunity for exposure.  

I've created a few treasuries of my own. It's a fun thing to do if you have some time to browse through the millions of items offered on Etsy. There is really some amazing stuff out there! The below treasuries are created by me, and you can follow the links to view the treasuries in their entirety. Leave me a comment over on Etsy if you like it! If you've never created a treasury, I urge you to give it a try and share it with me. I'd love to take a look!


Yellow-The Happiest Color On Earth

 Everything's Coming Up Rose Gold

Feeling Good...Finally!

Nothing can spoil a vacation quite like a stomach bug. It was a great trip to Arizona, don't get me wrong, complete with warm weather, great food, plenty of beers, some good football, and even mountain climbing.  The pics below were taken at Camelback Mountain on the Echo Canyon Trail.

It was all going so well up until the final night. That stomach bug hit me and it hit me with a one-two combo. BAM and I was on the hotel bathroom floor for the entire night. Lovely. One extra day in the hotel and a couple of changed flights later Jared and I finally found our way home via the red-eye. That was a loooooooooong trip home to say the least.

After getting home the fun continued and I was hit yet again, only this time with a nasty sinus infection. A quick trip to the Dr. and one Z-pak, coming right up! FINALLY, after one full week of being just plain sick, I am feeling back to normal. Fingers crossed that I won't be sick again until 2014 because I have paid my dues!
 
Now, back to painting, job-hunting, and do anything outside of the house! :)