I know summer is popular, but fall is my favorite. For one thing, it is too dang hot here in Florida. I know August, and honestly September too, still feel like summer, but at least I can see cooler temps on the horizon.
Back to school time always brings this wonderful feeling of new possibilities and excitement for the school year ahead. I’ve always loved it, ever since I was a little girl. School supply shopping, planning out what sports and activities we’ll be doing, prepping lunch supplies - it may sound mundane to some, but to me, it’s a magical time.
Packing lunches is a labor of love and a creative outlet for me. I often share pictures of our lunchboxes in stories on Instagram. And this year, I linked most of the supplies I use to make opening lunch at school day a special experience.
I had a lot of fun with my client work in July. I’m so grateful to all the cool people I get to work with! Stationery holds a special place in my heart, as do the ideas of the sweet family who hired me to create mercat unicorn gymnastics invitations. I’ve been wanting to try out a die cut wavy edge finish, and it turned out as cute as I imagined!
NYC folks should check out my sis-in-law Jane’s pop-up at Caputo’s in Brooklyn next week! The menu is a tomato girl dream night!!
I also loved creating a yard sign and label design for a new Destin honey business. There is so much meaning behind this design and it was a delight to work on.
I’m learning how to use a new animation application - Procreate Dreams - and I started with this loop of my kids going on an adventure. Hopefully more animation to come as I continue to play around.
Some fun stuff I did with the kids this month:
TRIED to add some structure to our summer days with illustrated schedules/plans for each day. Sitting down and brainstorming with the kids every morning all the things we wanted to do really helped me to not get overwhelmed by all that open time.
I also started creating “brain booster” pages for quiet mornings or afternoons for the kids to work on. I got this idea from Kaitlyn Rowe. She has lots of good examples on her page.
We really enjoyed creating sun prints using watercolor paper and cyanotype liquid. (Here’s the kind I used.) Simply mix the solutions the day before. Early morning before the sun comes up (or in a dark room), paint the solution on watercolor paper. Once it dries, keep the papers in a dark place. When you’re ready, lay the papers out on a sunny spot with whatever items you want to make prints of on top. Leave them for 5-15 min. Then bring them in and rinse them off with water. I love how these turned out and I’m excited to do this project again and again.
Chatham and I snuck away to New Orleans for a few days, where we ate as much food as possible. We came back full, happy, and inspired. A few favorites:
tomato sorbet at Commander’s Palace
the front porch plants and architectural details of some of the fabulous New Orleans homes
the new Central Grocery and their beautiful chalkboard created by “the manager’s wife”
vinca flourishing in the crack between a fire hydrant and the sidewalk
some upcoming events!!
August 23 - Harbor Docks annual charity auction - I’ll have a painted champagne bottle in the silent auction, so come out and bid if you’re local! I’m not finished with it yet, but planning to cover it in red snapper paintings.
November 16 - I’ll be teaching a canvas stocking painting workshop for kids at Alys Beach Crafted. Very excited to participate in another event with the wonderful team at Alys Beach. I think these kids stockings are going to be super cute too.
Return of Craft Club - to be announced in the next couple weeks! Stay tuned!
Helping people turn their art visions into reality brings me so much joy. Please reach out if you need any help with artwork for a gift, for yourself, or for your business. I’m so grateful to get to draw for you!!
