{logo design}

I'm excited to share another finished logo project with you today, and a bit of the creation process. I was contacted by Metro Flea NYC, a three-location flea market in downtown New York City, to create a new logo and branding for them. 

I started by creating some sketches for them including a few lettering styles to choose from and background images... 

A few extra O's up there for good measure. Such a simple letter but gives me fits sometimes!

Here are a few of the initial designs I showed them...

I think my favorite thing is the little "NYC" flag. 

They wanted to go with a more traditional NYC skyline which changed it to this...

And then decided on a fully black and white color scheme. Here is what the finished piece looks like...

So there's a peek into how the process from sketches to finished logo. It is definitely a challenge working through email with a client you've never met in person, but knowing they are excited and happy about the finished product makes it all worth it. And I learned quite a bit from the process as well!

XO,

{a day late}

Forgot to post this yesterday...

Happy spring friends!

What are you most looking forward to about this season? For me it is seeing everything turn green and being able to drive with the sunroom open. Heaven!

XO,

{in my sketchbook}

When my mind is scattered, anxious, or I just can't focus, my go-to are these "crazy doodles" as I call them. This one was huge therapy for me.

I started it at home and finished it up at my office these days, my favorite local coffee shop...

If you are at all a doodler (or even if you aren't!) I really recommend trying this exercise. Pick a few shapes and fillers and don't think too much about it. You'll be amazed it what the finished product looks like...I was with this one!

XO,

{weekend goals}

Hope your weekend involves coffee and crafting!

XO,

{new pattern}

The pattern camp group I participate in on Facebook has a weekly pattern challenge going on, and this week the theme was "portraits". I decided to do some portraits of my favorite letters to doodle. 

This pattern reminds me of junior high when I would fill my notebook pages up with doodled words. Oh the memories. Do you think kids even do that these days, or are they too busy texting? Sigh. 

Do you have a favorite letter to write or doodle?

XO,

{4 tips for working through creative fear}

I periscoped for the first time from my art studio today and shared four tips for working through creative fear. 

Honestly it was mostly a way for me to give myself a pep talk, but it was helpful to others as well, so even better!  

You can still catch it here within 24 hours, but if not, here's a bit of a recap with my tips...

I was facing a huge attack of creative fear this morning. I have been working on a painting for a local art auction for the past week, and was stuck about halfway through. 

I loved how it looked so far, but I was absolutely terrified I would screw the thing up if I added one more stroke of paint. 

That white spot in the center felt like the grand canyon. 

So as I was drinking my morning coffee and talking myself out of a panic attack, I thought, "What the heck am I so scared of? 

A canvas and some paint?" 

Yep...it sounds so silly but I totally was. I was also scared of having my art viewed in public by lots of amazing people I admire. I share my art every day online but never have to see other's opinions face to face...there is a huge security in that!

I needed someone to talk me out of this anxiety spiral. 

So I messaged two of my very talented painting friends with an SOS and asked for advice. 

While I waited to hear back from them I worked on a few other projects (not art related) which was a good distraction. 

By the time I was ready to work on the painting, one of my friends had replied with some great tips and encouraging words. Turns out she faces the same fear in her creative work. Who knew?! I think this is universal which is good news for all of us. 

I took her words of encouragement and decided to grab some scrap paper, paints, and a brush, and practice a few ideas. 

First I tried hand lettering. That is HARD with paint! And the letters weren't turning out as crisp as I wanted.

I ended up with a few decent attempts but decided...nope...I was not going to try to hand letter a quote on this thing. 

The other idea that had been floating around in my head for a few days was a butterfly. I had noticed butterflies showing up all over the place...on TV, on Pinterest, in a book I'm reading. So I decided to practice a few of them, and liked what I was seeing. 

So I took the plunge. 

I sketched one out lightly with pastel and then went crazy mixing paints. And for a gal that hasn't done much painting in her creative career I'm darn happy with the result!

I'm super excited to submit this for the art auction, and I'm also going to scan it for a print!

Here's a recap of my four tips for getting through creative fear:

1. Ask yourself "What am I scared of?" - deconstruct your fear into less scary parts.
2. Seek out the advice of a friend who has experience with what you're working on.
3. Do something else for awhile...take a walk, watch a show, work on another creative project.
4. Practice! Make that scary thing your friend! 

I hope this helps you a bit with a creative project you might be working on!

XO,

{an experiment}

Now that I have all of this time to dedicate to my art, I'm finding my curiosity and interest ALL over the place...one minute I want to doodle, another I am pulling out my paints, and yet another I'm grabbing my pastels. 

Yesterday I was inspired to do something geometric with pastels and so far these two pieces have been the outcome...

Excited to do a few more in different colorways!

XO,

{a reminder}

Take a deep breath

enjoy coffee or tea in your favorite mug

give yourself a manicure

dive into a new book or magazine 


Gentle is the new hustle.



XO,

{new patterns!}

Oh this pattern making sure is fun. I've been playing around with different motifs and color palettes...I could do this all day!

The rainbows make me happy and remind me of childhood, and the kitchen pattern has a midcentury vibe which of course I love. 

I've added these to my Spoonflower shop and they'll be available for purchase as fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap soon!

XO, 

{free printable intentions worksheet + cards}

Happy Friday friends!

I want to talk a bit today about intentions and how I'm setting some for myself during my sabbatical. I shared earlier this week about how having all of this free time has felt scary and paralyzing, but now that I'm a few full days into this break, I already feel lighter and know I'll be able to make wonderful use of this time. 

With that said, I'm not a huge goal or list maker. I tend to follow my intuition and what feels right for me on a given day. So instead of making a ginormous list of goals or tasks for my sabbatical, I'm writing down my intentions - areas I want to work on like practicing my hand lettering, branching out into different areas of illustration, pulling out my wacom tablet and trying more digital drawing, exercising, cooking more, and spending more time with my boys and husband.

Each day I want to be aware of these intentions and focus on the ones that come up for me the most strongly that day. 

To help me along in that process, I've created an Intention Worksheet and Intention Cards that I also want to share with you! 

If you follow me on Instagram I gave you a peek into the doodles I used to create them a few days ago...

I'm having lots of fun with new lettering and used some of those new styles in these. 

The finished printables are colorful and I hope they inspire you to set some intentions!

{click on the images below to download}

You can use these daily, weekly, monthly or any which way you want to help you focus on your intentions for your life, work, or creative goals.

Pin the worksheet up over your desk, in your kitchen, next to your bathroom mirror - wherever you need a reminder of the things you want to be intentional about with your time.

Fill out the individual cards and choose one or two each day to focus on. 

I would love to see how you make these your own. You can tag me on Insta and use #thisgirlsintentions to share how you are using them!

Wishing you a March full of fulfilled intentions and time for rest!

XO,