holiday glow

I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! The season is finally winding down here and we feel so lucky to have so many great friends and family surrounding us. We've enjoyed our first Christmas in our new home immensely. If our house wasn't "warmed" at our housewarming party, it is now :)

Here's a little card I photographed and designed a little bit ago. In an odd way, it kind of makes me excited for 2013. :)  

Sending lots of warm wishes out to all of you!

Christina :)

leather handbag love

I'd been searching for the perfect leather handbag since...since forever it feels. A sophisticated, quality, rich brown, leather handbag. And then I started a new job and wanted a new handbag even MORE. 

Here's a bunch that I'd been lovvvving - but unfortunately - most were WAY out of my range *tear* ... so I kept on searchin'.

Lotuff Leather Working Tote • $750

Fossil Vintage Revival Satchel • $298 

Chloe Bag  •  (no longer available)

Stuart Weitzman Flaptote • (no longer available) • $595 

Prada Handbag • (no longer available)

omg, I drool over that last one every time I look at it. *sigh* 

I also did a little pencil/watercolor sketch, modeled after the Fossil Satchel:

Happy ending to my little handbag story. I recently found an amazing bag on eBay for a mere $55. It's that perfect worn-in, soft, brown leather. It's a convertible (both short straps and adjustable cross-body strap) and has tons of pockets and fits my work binder. It's a little more on the masculine side but I still adore it. The color is somewhere in between the shots I've taken - which was is so nice because I think it's really hard to find a darker brown leather that's not too cognac or chestnut. And the smell - UGH - you can't beat that awesome leather smell. :)

easy berry branches

This is our first holiday season in our new home so I've been having a creative blast figuring out how to decorate and make the house festive. :) So many ideas!!! One of my first decor projects is adding a little something to the large vase/terrarium I have in our living room.  I started off with a mini mood board.

1. Old PotteryBarn ideas   2. beautiful photo from ania   3. West Elm Recycled Glass Jugs

Luckily I already had picked up a great vase a couple months ago. I found a terrarium at Antiques Americana, a local antique shop, for only $40. Which was a great deal compared to what I've seen out there for even half the size. I had a really hard time finding branches long enough that weren't crazy pricey for each branch. So instead, I bought small faux berries for $3.00/ea bundle at the always awesome, Target. All that was left was collecting a few branches from our woods. :) Tip: grab clean, dry branches that are plenty long. You can always snap them shorter as you design your arrangement.

Simply add the sticks to your vase, break and arrange to your liking. Then break apart the berry clusters (you will probably need a small wire-cutter). Bend the berries around the upper parts of the branches and throughout. These Target berries worked great because I was able to use the corkscrew part when wrapping them around to the branches. Super easy!

I was actually thinking it might need a little bit more. Possibly some greenery or lighted branches like these. I decided to experiment a little in photoshop and this is how it could POSSIBLY look: 

Lots of options! What I love the most is that I can easily switch out the berries or other greenery to match the seasons or my moods. I like to change things up throughout the year and it's nice to do it on the cheap. My total cost thus far (not counting terrarium/vase I owned before) was only $15. Not too bad. 

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.

lucky MAC girl

I asked my mom how long I've loved makeup and she said she first noticed it when I was 3 years old and she found me on top of the table, carefully attempting to put on mascara :) (I think there MIGHT be a photo out there of this event). Anyways, so it was no surprise, I felt extremely lucky to win a raffle basket of beauty goodies late this summer. Included was a MAC eyeshadow palette and also a set of MAC cosmetic brushes. It's one of those things that you think "eyeshadow is eyeshadow - brushes are brushes".. well, not to this girl anymore. The eyeshadows are buttery smooth and the brushes are so soft and luxurious - like feather pillows for the face. I feel a little bit pampered using them. :)

Below are the color swatches. It's a great neutral set and I really love when a palette includes matte colors along with the shimmery ones. 
yep, I'm a fan :)

lit up

Wow, how do I even start this? My first post. It's a little scary and honestly, really intimidating (there are some AMAZING blogs out there, right?). I think I will start with a few things I'm passionate about: art, design, maps and lights. I hope you enjoy my art work above and hopefully we can make this a regular thing :) yeah?