next steps

I realize it's been awhile since I posted – mostly because I was trying to figure out the next step. Continue to blog? Take the blog in a different direction? Etsy? Portfolio site? Video? Or simply... take a break? And then, I blinked, and a year had gone by... pretty unreal. 

But even though I haven't been blogging, I have been keeping busy with other creative projects. Below is a sampling of illustrations, videos and even a few photos from the gallery opening where three pieces of my art work were chosen. I have to say, It was a pretty cool year.

Even though I don't know which direction my creative passions will take me, I know I'll keep exploring, experimenting and learning. In the meantime, you can find me and more of my projects here:

Behance   •   YouTube   •   Society6

Thanks for all the encouragement, support and best wishes to everyone,
Christina

instagram watercolors

I recently returned from my annual Craft Retreat get-away. It was my third year attending and it did not disappoint. I met amazing girls, ate tables of incredible food, tried new drinks and walked away with tons of new artwork. win, win, win and ... win. :)  

One of my projects was exploring the idea of using a few of my favorite instagram photos and extending the photos with watercolor. Hope you enjoy. :) 

NYC Anthropologie Window Display Photo

Banana Pancakes - inspired originally from one of my favorite songs and artists

Downtown Chicago

Check out some of last year's Craft Retreat creations. 

Finerminds & some SoulPancake

FinerMinds by Mindvalley has been such a great resource for me lately. It's packed with uplifting advice and cute, pull-on-the-heart-strings videos. Articles about happiness, wellness and personal growth. It's the best pick-me-up tool I look to on an almost daily basis. 
I wanted to share this poster on some advice given by Arianna Huffington. Some of the steps you've probably heard before but I figured it doesn't hurt to get a reminder from time to time. :)  

source (and to see larger)

Here are two incredible videos also found on Finerminds by SoulPancake. If you're in need of some quick warm-fuzzies please please check them out.

Capture Your Joy

Amazing Happiness Experiment

choose happiness

Lately my life has involved a lot of inner dialogue that goes something like this: “breathe Christina… breeeeeeathe… deeeeep breaths.” I know deep down things will eventually be fine and I DO realize things could be worse, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the roller coaster of emotions that’s involved with divorce. Sketching and reading positive books/articles/quotes has been a HUGE help. This one below is a pencil sketch I did with my own watercolor incorporated in the background. Hopefully you will find a bit of the serene-sunny-tranquility combination in it that I do.

wave collage

Last weekend I got the opportunity to meet up with 13 awesomely talented girls and for 4 days and 3 nights we illustrated, created, quilted, collaged, scraped, designed, photographed and wined & dined. We slept in, caught up on our books & mags, went running (or not ;), and took inCREDible uninterrupted showers. (for Mom's with little ones - this is as good as gold). 

Cherry on top is that you actually get a ton of stuff done during this weekend. I finally wrapped up a project that I've been working on and off for way way too long: filling some blank frames on my wall (See first initial brainstorm here). I ended up going in a different direction (with thanks to my RoXy and Quicksilver catalogs), but it was fun to collage and it's great to finally have a little more color up on the walls. 

floral + denim

I definitely miss my days of being able to wear jeans to work, but there's still a few ways to incorporate denim into my work day. I'm on a mission to put this ensemble together. I need to first find a thin, soft, denim/chambray buttondown shirt and then a great floral pencil skirt. I just love the balance of feminine florals with the masculine denim. Depending on the skirt, there's a few different way to accessorize, which I love. You can also find some awesome denim + floral pairings here.

My illustration and Inspiration from Wendy's Lookbook

Set 1

Set 2

https://www.obaz.com/lookbook/3695

Tanya Burr Inspired

I've been watching Tanya Burr's beauty makeovers and tutorials on YouTube for a few years now. It's been SO exciting watching her become more and more popular and well known because she's such a genuinely sweet person. Watching her tutorials completely confirmed and re-energized my love of makeup. Seriously just listening to her say (in her awesome british accent) that a product was "comPLEEtlee lov-lay" and I was scribbling it down on a piece of paper and heading to the store. :) 

But super cool accent aside, she's very talented and beautiful so it only made sense that she would be my next illustration inspiration. :)

Watch more Tanya Burr videos HERE. :)

adding color

My walls have been pretty bare and boring since we moved in so I was really happy/relieved to finally get to this project this weekend. I was lucky in that, I already had an old canvas that I had painted, that was framed and ready to go. It was just a matter of painting something new overtop. See some of my inspirations here. It feels SO SO good to get some color in the room. :)

Awesome pillow here. Great wood frame here. 

SeeByChloé Perfume

Let's be honest. I don't need more perfume. Yet, the nose wants what the nose wants and right now that is the new fragrance, See By Chloé. I loved my time sketching this because I had the magazine tear off under my nose the whole time and it was.. amazing. It's a playful, floral, fruity scent that's PERFECT for spring. Apple blossom, vanilla and jasmin notes are mingling in there too and in typical Chloé fashion, it comes in a gorgeous glass bottle and have I mentioned it smells amazing? Because it does. ;) 

get glowing

One of my favorite makeup looks is that luminescent, gorgeous glow. Minimal yet radiant. I know water, sleep and exercise are key factors to get this naturally, but sometimes it's not that easy. Here's my go-to tips for cheating reality a bit and achieving that look.

LC (source)  •  Highlighter  •  Blush

When in doubt, one tip that I’ve found really helpful is to study photos of your favorite celebrities in their most radiant moments. Notice where their cheeks are flushed, areas that catch the light and how exactly their makeup is done. 

white linen love

My apologies for posting so many warm-weather inspirations when we're still trudging through the slush up here. When I sit down to sketch or design - that's just where my head goes these days. *guilty shrug & smile * :) 

Something about white linen anything... that is just the epitome of sophisticated summer ease. A blouse at AmericanEagle caught my eye the other day (see #1 below). It's a little more bohemian with billowy 3/4 sleeves and also super playful with a polka dot detail. Just.plain.CUTE. Might have to be mine very very soon :).

1.AE eyelit top  2.Boden style  3.Top worn by SincerelyJules  4.Another favorite from Pinterest

surfer girl style

There's no denying that I'm dying to try surfing. I may be a pale, Wisconsin resident, mother of two that has never set foot on a surf board. I may be really REALLY bad at it and it JUST may be at the top of the list for super cliché things to have on your bucket list. BUT. I don't care. I want to surf :) 

And whiiille I'm there, I want to live barefoot, for a week minimum, on the beach, cutting up fresh fruit for my family, lounging on the front porch of a little beach cabin, reading books and magazines. And then when we're rested up again, grab our boards and head back into the water...  Not that I've ever thought about this before... no, nah, never ;)

Anyways, back to the point, here's some surfer-girl inspirations and styles that keep me going.

RoXy

1. Surf T   2. Roxy Bikini & Shorts  3. Victoria's Secret Open Back Dress
4. Victoria's Secret Bikini (no longer available)  5. Doutzen Kroes gorgeous sunhat
6. Volcom Look Out Sandals  7. Multi-bracelets (no longer available)

Blue Crush (trailer)

Surf Hawaii

Here's my surfer girl (post shred;) illustration and also my very first attempt using a Wacom Tablet. Lots of fun to use and excited to try it out more.

evolution of an illustration

I don't claim to be a professional illustrator. It actually takes everything I've got to not let all my sketches look like the The Little Mermaid. But I definitely would love to figure out what my style is in the fashion illustration world. Here I had a lot of fun playing around on paper and, even more so, post scan-in. It's very cool to see what can evolve.