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! :)