A Picture A Day

Good morning sweets, fun plans for Labor Day weekend?

As much as I'm still loving summer and am going to enjoy the last true weekend of my summer season I just can't help to be looking to fall. Fall, I love it! I spent all day yesterday drawing fashion illustration after fashion illustration. It's like my way of planning my outfits out when it's to warm to actually be wearing them... a little crazy, I know, but I just get so excited.. and so, this is how I will be dressing for fall.

What do you think?

A Picture A Day

The last two weeks have been especially busy for me. And sometimes when I'm busy (or should I say most of the time)  I get so into all of the current projects and clients and I stop drawing for myself.  I tend to look at it as, "well, I must be doing something right" so it's no big deal. But in a way it can be a big deal because this entire blog and my success is due to looking for new inspiration everywhere. And over the last six months I definitely lost site of that... so with fall fashion as an inspiration... I found some time to draw for myself and it felt wonderful... what do you think?

Fall Wish List

leather 1 / 2 / 3, Tweed 1 / 2 / 3, Booties 1 / 2 / 3 - Louis Vuitton Fall 2012, Jewel Tones 1 / 2 / 3

I don't know about you but the clothes in the fall are always always my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I love spring and summer, and even winter, but the fashion in fall just takes the cake!

Do you agree?

Anyway... this year is no exception and my wishlist is rapidly growing with each and every September issue I read! The top four things that I "need" though include anything leather. It's everywhere and I just love it. A tweed jacket so Jackie Kennedy but the ones they are showing for fall have a little edge to them too. Booties!!! I would like a western style pair, a more feminine pair, those gorgeous Louis Vuitton ones, and I'm absolutely loving the Vince Camuto motorcycle ones although they might be a little to rocker for me / I don't know if I can pull it off. And lastly jewel tones. I'm loving magenta and plums and burgundy. Such flattering colors.

What are the things you are dying to purchase for fall? Any particular style you are loving?

Diary of a Freelancer

Top left original bathroom, top right tile, hard to tell from the photo but those diamonds are green and had to go, middle left the "skeleton", middle right the "carnage" or our old bathroom (whichever you prefer), bottom left the new walls and subfloor are ready for tile, bottom right the new shower tile going in.

Maybe it's because I work from home but lately I seem to be nit-picking every aspect of my house. All of the rooms I don't like. All of the chipped paint spots or weird colors or just not quite right decor... so now my poor husband has to deal with me telling him everything wrong in the house and the huge house renovation list I have created... but he did, so graciously, agree to update our bathroom (maybe it was just to get me to shut-up for awhile but either way it's happening)!!

When we moved into our house two years ago it was basically move-in ready. All the changes were cosmetic and mostly just involved painting the walls. That being said two of the rooms that really bothered me, and continue to bother me, but that we couldn't really fix right away were the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen. Since the kitchen will take a lot of time and money and, when we re-do it we may want to expand it, that has to be on-hold for a few years. BUT our bathroom, on the other hand, we can re-do the bathroom!

The existing bathroom had a cheap vanity and mirror, ugly tile floor, a disgusting glass door to the tub/shower... the list just keeps going... well after this weekend they were all removed!! My hubby literally demo'd the bathroom down to it's skeleton and is now rebuilding it. In the end we will have a much more modern vanity with double sinks, gorgeous glass shelving above it, long narrow modern glass and stone tile back splash, two new sleek mirrors, and a gorgeous grey slate looking floor. A major upgrade if I do say so myself. I can't wait!

And while my hubby spends the next few weeks upgrading our bathroom in addition to working crazy hours at his day job I'm continuing to work on websites, and logos, invitations, and prints... :-) And I may even join in the home renovating and paint the bedroom. Love being a freelancer... Love my hubby who deals with me even more!!

Have a wonderful Monday Sweets!
xo

A Picture A Day

I'm sure I've mentioned this before but in case I haven't I need to share with you how much I love fashion illustration. I seriously have for most of my life. Drawing cute characters in incredible clothing... nothing makes me happier. And when the wonderful Sylvia contacted me looking for a fashion illustration for her styling business I was over the moon! She was so much fun to work with, absolutely gorgeous, and her style is awesome :-)

Below is the illustration I created for her.

New Logo for Sylvia C. Hall Personal Stylist

 And below is the business card she created incorporating the new illustration...

Business card design for Sylvia C. Hall Personal Stylist

Check out Sylvia's website here.

What do you think? I really like it! A new favorite of mine I think :-)

Have a wonderful day Sweets! And to Sylvia a HUGE thank you for choosing me for such a fun and exciting project.

xo

Diary of a Freelancer: Part Eleven

It's been one of those incredible summers and I can't believe it's already August and it's almost over. I think week to week and day to day I have been up and down the East Coast from PA to Boston and now I'm at the Jersey Shore. And as much as I love and can't wait for fall (I've already started fall shopping ... guiltily...) I'm currently sitting at my laptop on the upper deck of a beach house and so happy it's summer and I'm a freelancer and can work from anywhere. I've been working on incredible projects lately. They range from blog and facebook headers, to a Vegas themed wedding invitation, to fashion illustrated logos. I'm also working on my photography skills and updating my etsy store. And I'm working with a wonderful friend of mine on a great new project that I can't wait to tell you more about in the future! It's been an amazing ride. And I feel so blessed. So back to summer... and a day in the sun... and continuing the progress of these awesome projects.

Have a wonderful day sweets!

Currently Reading: Summer Reading List

Amazon.com

It's been three months since I've listed books I've been reading. And it's not that I stopped reading it's just that it's taking me longer to read books then it used to since I'm not on the train everyday and I've still been terrible finding a balance between work and play. All that being said I have read a few books this summer. I *shamefully* and *guiltily* read all three of the Shades of Grey books... really enjoyed them too... I just got to curious, everyone else was reading them and I had to see what all the fuss was about. There was a really interesting plot once you got through all the erotic parts... but that's all I'm going to say about those three books.

The next book I read was Paris In Love by Eloisa James. The book was wonderful and is without a doubt one of the best books I've read. I was a little skeptical about it at first. The concept of the book is that it is almost like a diary, tweets, and emails that were sent by the author during a year she spent in Paris. But it was so well done. It was told without all of the hash tags and email signatures. Just like little small blips, observations, and short stories.  It was charming and humorous and made me desperate to get back to Paris. She was honest about events in her life, her family, and her friends and you literally fall in love with them and the city. Go read it!