{hello friday}

Happy Friday friends!

I'm off work today and the boys are on fall break which makes it an extra happy Friday at the Ford house. We've been soaking up every bit of fall possible around here including a trip to the orchard this past weekend...

Oh how I love those goobers. Ben is such a poser and it cracks me up. 

I can't help but take lots of photos of the beautiful colors in nature around here
...especially the area around my office. It is just gorgeous this time of year!

The gingko trees are my absolute favorite...

And the view out our front window this morning was a pretty sweet greeting...

I've also been working on some more patterns including this cute owl one...

I'm having so much fun with these!

I also started a new doodle series I'm calling #mugmessages, because I like to think my coffee gives me compliments. :)

I think these will make a fun set of notecards!

So here's to the weekend friends...I hope you have something fun planned!

XO,

{patterns!}

Pattern camp update! 

I'm only a few lessons in, but I'm already so excited about turning my doodles into repeating patterns. It is addictive!

Here are three of my patterns so far....of course the first one is coffee themed. :)

None of them are perfect and could use some tweaking here or there, but I'm still super excited and proud of myself for taking the leap to join this class and learn how to do this. And I still have a lot left to learn so get ready for lots more pattern sharing. 

Yay for patterns!

XO,

{ooh baby designs scarf giveaway}

Scarf weather is here!!

This makes me just a tad giddy. Do you love scarves as much as I do?

To feed my habit, my sweet friend Stephanie, owner of Ooh Baby Designs, sent me a gorgeously soft and warm flannel number a few weeks back and it is one of my new favorites...

It is like wearing a blanket around my neck and makes me want to go to a high school football game and drink hot chocolate, even though I could care less about high school football. :) 

Not to mention she included the adorable monogrammed messenger bag up there. 

I'm dying over how cute and roomy it is, which are two of my top priorities when picking out a new bag. Cute + roomy = perfection. 

AND it is lined in matching turquoise fabric which makes me smile every time I open it. 

That Stephanie sure knows how to spoil a girl!

But enough about me friends, what about you, you ask?! 

Well, Stephanie is offering one of my lucky readers a choice of flannel scarf from her shop! I'm partial to my turquoise and grey one, but she has some other great color choices in her shop...

Enter below and good luck friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



XO,

{new tricks}

So I'm one of those weird people that loves to learn new things, but at the same time gets super anxious about starting because I worry that I'll fail.

I know...kind of weird. Or maybe not so much?

Is there something that you really want to learn or do, but you are scared to take the first step because it might not turn out the way you expected, or it might be harder than you thought? 

This art journey has given me lots of those "anxious to start" moments, but thankfully I'm such a hopeful go-getter that I keep doing it anyway. 

Like right now I'm in the middle of a really awesome class offered by artist Jessica Swift called Pattern Camp. She's teaching lots of artists how to turn their art into repeat patterns to be used on anything from fabric to wrapping paper to items like journals and mugs. For as long as I can remember I've been obsessed with patterns, especially on paper goods. I've even created a few of my own lately like this...

But I'm almost completely self-taught in Photoshop and Illustrator, and I know I've been doing a lot of things the hard way. I didn't even realize until this class that I could use Illustrator to color my doodles...total newbie I tell ya. 

And I was scared to sign up for this class, and honestly I'm still scared as I begin each lesson. But so far I'm loving it and I've learned how to create my own color palettes using photos and other images as inspiration...

And I colored my first doodle in Illustrator!

My mind is completely blown...it is SO much easier and the result is SO much better than what I was getting using Photoshop to do this. And I haven't even gotten to the pattern-making lessons yet. Super excited to see what I can come up with and share it with you!

And remember...even if you are scared, do it anyway! :)

XO,

{fall favorites giveaway}

How about a fall giveaway?!

My friend Alyson has put together an awesome team of bloggers & handmade shop friends to offer a fun fall giveaway with fall themed prizes like a $55 Gift Card for Starbucks, a scarf, a zipper pouch & key fob, a fall print from my shop, an arrow clutch, and a fall sign! SO many awesome prizes, you could keep them all or share with a friend, maybe use one to gift at Christmas? 

Keep scrolling to see all of the prizes and good luck! 

Happy Fall Y'all, print from me!  This Girls Doodles

Arrow Clutch from The Barefoot Seamstress

Navy Blue Infinity Scarf from Forgotten Cotton

Fall Sign from Prim & Proper Signs

Fun Zipper Pouch & Key Fob from Little Ms Fancy Pants

I really wish I could win, because, wow! Lots of really great stuff. And, $55 to Starbucks?! That's a LOT of coffee & tea, or some super cute mugs. A total value of over $150. 
Good luck and thanks for entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

XO, 

{happy mail day!}

So today = one of the best mail days EVER!

I came home to a ginormous box filled with 32 sample canvases from my art licensing company, METcolors. 

32!! 

Most of them are 8x8 inches...don't they look like a bunch of little pizza boxes all stacked up? :)

A few of them are larger like this one which is 16x24...

It has flecks of gold in the background which is so pretty.

And these three are my definite favorites...the colors and patterns turned out so perfectly...

They are all SO gorgeous and I'm so happy with the quality. They have a painting process that makes them look hand painted and it is really beautiful. 

Here are a few of the cute 8x8 sizes...

The photo quality isn't the greatest on some of these because of the dim evening lighting and my crappy camera phone, but this just couldn't wait. :) 

So if you see me in person soon you'll probably notice my feet aren't touching the ground. I'm hoping to have definite news on where you can shop for them soon too!

Eeeeee!

XO,

{hello friday}

Happy Friday friends!

Today is a bit dreary and I'm fighting a head cold so I drew myself a little sunshine. :)

Yucky weather and stuffy nose aside, there are so many good things going on around here that I can't wait to share with you...I'm so amazed at how far my doodles have taken me in a year. Lots of fun stuff coming so stick with me, OK?

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

XO,

{around here lately}

Hey there, October!

Can you believe it friends? 

October is my favorite month of the year for many reasons. Our wedding anniversary is the 11th (11 years!) and everything fall just makes me happy. Like walking through a crunchy blanket of tiny yellow leaves. And wearing comfy sweaters. And cuddling on a chilly Saturday morning on the couch with my boys. 

I want October to be a slow month.

But the reality, just like every other month of the year, is that it isn't. While I'm so thankful for my full time job, it is always super busy in the fall with events and extra meetings and it is frustrating trying to balance that necessary busy with my need for slowness and time to savor every tiny yellow leaf and couch cuddling session. 

I'm currently reading The Best Yes, and it has showed me how even though I can't get rid of all the busyness, I can say no to things that, even though they are good, they aren't the absolute best way for me to spend my time. I said no to some custom doodles recently that was a really hard no, but the relief I felt when I didn't have those orders looming over me was beyond worth it. 

Sure, I have the literal time to do them. But I don't have the head space. I've become hyper aware that I need a lot of margin, or white space, in order to be happy, calm and available to the really good things in my life. 

Like taking my boys on a date to the coffee shop and making silly faces in the bathroom mirror...

And noticing the awesome animal train they made in the family room and not being annoyed by the mess, but instead being in awe of their creativity...

And finding joy in sorting their socks which ALL had a match...

miraculous I tell ya.

And take some time to pretty up our entryway...

I'm also super excited about some ways I'm working on my art these days. I'm working on my first line of Christmas/holiday cards (EEEK!) and taking an online class to learn about turning my doodles into repeat patterns. SUPER exited about both of these things. 

I'll be sharing more about the holiday cards soon but for now here is a fun sneak peek...

And of course if you follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook you'll get lots more updates in real time. :)

So here's to an October we can live as slow as possible!

XO,