pattern january!

i'm pretty excited that anika starmer is celebrating "pattern january" again this year on instagram and facebook. i'm planning to play along as often as possible. here's what i've done so far:

day 1: tea party

here's a secret: i'm really interested in handlettering again, so for the prompts where i'm not immediately sure what to do, i'm going to do something in the text art arena.

(i find a "default mode" HUGELY helpful when embarking on a daily challenge!)

day 2: wood grain

just in case you're wondering, you can get a really great wood look by painting alternating patches of burnt umber and sienna colorburst with a flat brush, letting it dry and then adding grainy details with a pretty dry fan brush in slightly darker versions of both colors... and maybe a little lamp black, as well. ;)

day 3: nocturnal

i had a lot of ideas for this one, but only one EYE-dea, lol!

day 4: prism

or... in this case... more of a prism break. definitely not my favorite in the series, but the nice thing about a daily challenge is you get another chance every single day!

day 5: sushi

more colorburst fun facts for you: a 3:1 mixture of pthalo green and lamp black gets you the perfect shade of nori; while 2:1 peony and lemon yellow is really very shrimp-like! :) 

ps: EVERYONE can play, all media are welcome and you needn't participate every single day. check out a is for anika on instagram for the prompt list and some really fab inspiration! ♥♥♥

Let's Go to the *HOP*!

This weekend, the Eyelet Outlet design team is participating in an Instagram hop with the design team from Pink and Main. What does this mean? Well, for one thing, a chance for YOU to win a $25 gift card from each company, not to mention a boatload of inspiration on how to combine P&M stamps with EO brads, tape and bling! What do you have to do? Just complete the entire round of hop participants, following each IG account and commenting on each post, by Sunday night. Easy peasy!

I chose Pink and Main's Candid Moments stamp set, and once I started playing with it, I found I had too much inspiration to make just *one* card, so this post shows off not only my official IG Hop card, but two others, not to mention links to all of the products I used!

My IG card used one of the sweet cameras from the set, and one of the sentiments. Though I confess that the latter started life as a stacked sentiment and midway through I decided it needed to be one long strip for what I had in mind. The nice thing about clear stamps, however, is that you can often take scissors and carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrefully snip the stamp apart to rearrange the phrase the way you want it. Which is what I did with "Have a picture perfect day". Then I used brads and some tiny once-inch squares of patterned paper to make the "pictures" in question. I used: Mini Butterflies, Truck Brads, a Flamingo and a Tall Palm Tree, the Eiffel Tower, Sun and Cloud Brads, a Beach Umbrella, a Pine Tree and a Moose Brad!

I really love my first card, but I have to confess that one of the reasons I chose the Candid Moments set is that I knew I had EO Camera Tape, which also features some fanciful, slightly bohemian, patterned cameras; in fact I used them for inspiration when coloring the P&M camera stamps! But I didn't quite manage to work the tape into the design of the first card, so clearly I had to make another! This time I made a background with the tape, colored a different camera to match, and stamped "Oh Snap" on the label shape that holds the camera.

Having made a tape-centric background, I started thinking that a stamped one would also be cool. So I took the "Smile" stamp and about ten shades of Archival Ink, and wound up with this fun handmade patterned paper. I colored one more camera... mounted it on a strip of Pink and White Dot Tape, added a few Pastel Enamel Hearts and called it a day!

I hope you'll click over to the Eyelet Outlet Instagram account and join the fun, I;m confident you'll find it's well worth the trip! ♥

hand lettering, anyone?

i've always liked type. i have more alphabet stamps and stickers than any other category, and don't get me started on computer fonts. but the last couple of summers during ICAD i've really enjoyed doing little bits of hand-lettering on some of my cards, and this year i discovered quite a few calligraphy and lettering artists i like on pinterest. there are even some pretty cool challenges on instagram... so now and again, when i've got a little "sketchbook time" at the end of the evening, i will do a bit of hand-lettering. here's a bit of that now:

the fall lettering challenge, hosted by @inkcitra and @letteringbymhel runs the entire month of september and features (as you might've guessed from the name) a distinctly autumnal flavor. this might be my favorite entry for that so far, mostly because the finished piece looks almost exactly like the picture that was in my head. 

(gotta love it when that happens, right?!)

i do most of my lettering with tombow dualbrush pens. i've tried other brands of waterbased brush markers, i've got some copics, and occasionally i even treat myself to a fancy lettering pen. but 95% of my every day marker-ing is done with the tombows, and i have to say that if i was only going to own ONE BRAND, they'd be it. because they're good quality, come in LOTS of colors, and function well in pretty much any situation, on any type of paper. they are, in sports terminology, a true "utility player" imo.

most of my outlining is done with faber-castell's pitt artist pens, specifically the XS (.1mm) and S (.3mm) nibs. they have fairly durable tips, (admittedly, i'm a nib-killer) and i find them to be the *most* smear-proof of the major brands. they are not, however, as permanent as, say, a sharpie. so i tend to outline last (as in OVER my marker or watercolor) whenever possible. i do like sakura's micron pigma with the .005 nib, too, because it's such an amazingly light line.

more fall lettering challenge prompts, obviously. i've been experimenting with different letter shapes and styles. and every once in a while i manage to resist outlining in black, lol. (but, no, not all that often.)

"full harvest moon" is lettered with tombows over a background i watercolored using ken oliver crafts' color bursts, and the lettering has highlights done with liquid metals. in real life it looks soooooo much cooler, but for the life of me, i could not capture that in a photo. 

aaria baid, known on instagram as @surelysimpleblog is another of my lettering and doodling heroines. i especially love her short IG videos, one of which inspired this wreath, using her "geometric roses" technique. 

yep. another FLC entry. the pumpkin is watercolored with colorbursts and then the letters are tombow. again. because that's the way i roll. ;)

 

what's this, you ask? why, it's a sunflower rendered in blendy shades of colorburst, with tombow lettering on top. made for the FLC. what are the odds, people??!?!

 

amanda kammarada is a tombow brand ambassador, and yet another lettering star on instagram. i admire her amazing talent, of course, but i'm also impressed by how friendly she is, and how generously supportive she is of other letter-ers, especially beginners. she is a true "encourager" which i admire tremendously!

(if you want to absolutely marvel at her skill, check out this video in which she does a much more impressive version of "galaxy lettering".)

H2-OH-my-gosh... there's MORE??!

sorry if you're getting thoroughly tired and fed up with watercolor, but the month's* almost over, so bear with me, k? ♥

day 17: squares

may have gotten a teeeeeeeny bit carried away with the doodles... 

(this actually fills a sketchbook page, lol)

day 18: song lyrics

i sing along with the radio or a playlist ALL DAY LONG, 

but if someone says, "write down some song lyrics" i go 

***...utterly blank...*** 

day 19: yellow

hey lauren, didn't you notice that the next day was going to be 'yellow' when you did a bright yellow sun for song lyrics?

(...NO...)

day 20: alcohol

many thanks to @foxandhazel for showing a little demo of a technique of dropping rubbing alcohol onto wet watercolor... and hello, new obsession! 

day 21: purple

eerily enough, this was the totally coincidental, pre-set-far-in-advance prompt on the day that prince died. 

day22: tulip

i was going for a bit of a "realistic" shading effect which realllllllllly didn't turn out AT ALL... so i downshifted into funky illustration mode, lol.

*i've been playing along with @foxandhazel's "30 days of watercolour" via instagram; everyone is welcome to join in --for as many or as few days as they'd like-- and those days COULD take place in may or june instead of april, for that matter!!! i'm finding this to be a great way to stretch my skills and try new things, but it's flexible enough for beginners or even kids who want to try out their paints in a fun way! check out fox and hazel's blog or instagram account for details!

top ten* reasons last week ♥ROCKED♥ in a big, big way!

the amazing stephanie

met me in new york for a few days of serious revelry. which is already hard to beat on the fun scale!!!

new york's architecture

never, ever, fails to amaze me; a fact of which anyone who's seen my instagram feed is surely already aware, lol. grand central was only a few blocks from our hotel... (the affinia shelburne) ...as was the chrysler building, and the empire state. i've seen most of these iconic landmarks on a regular basis quite frequently for the past few years, yet i still never tire of 'em. i kind of hope i never do. :)

street art

this life-sized wall painting was on ludlow street, just below delancey. it's not a banksy, though there was one quite nearby. thematically, this sums up the week, but we saw so many amazing examples all over the city, it was almost overwhelming. in a GOOD way!

dim sum... and other extreme yumminess

this particular day featured lunch at the golden unicorn on east broadway, in chinatown, but basically every single meal we ate was glorious! from burgers and frozen custard at shake shack, to upscale indian fusion at devi, to the killer view and awesome goodies at the museum of art and design's restaurant, robert, we ate like queens the entire time!

front row

the museum of the chinese in america is a little gem, generally, and this exhibit was one of our faves. this luscious anna sui dress would even make ME consider giving up jeans. 

all the submarines of the united states of america

chris burden has all five floors of the new museum to himself at the moment, and has really made good use of the space, with large-scale, thought-provoking, conceptual installations like this. 

photo ops EVERYWHERE you look

about the only thing better than stopping 1,000 times to take pictures en route to any new york city venue, is traveling with someone who never thinks that's weird or inconvenient. just one of the MANY things to love about stephanie!!! ♥

xenobia bailey

the artist-in-residence at the museum of art and design on the day we visited was the amazingly talented, inspiring and friendly xenobia; i suspect she makes most of the people she meets to want to crochet colorful, whimsical creations... or just watch while she does!

shopportunities galore!

two big favorites: the strand bookstore for funky used books and periodicals; kinokuniya for washi tape, maps, tiny neko cats, and other fabulous japanese goodies

the subway 

yeah, it can be confusing, not to mention crowded; but you can pretty much get to anywhere in the city from anywhere in the city, for $2.50. and there's some rather awesome art to see on the trip, such as this gorgeous lichtenstein mural near the 42nd street shuttle.

crochet, crochet, crochet!

being on vacation means extra time to play with yarn; and being in new york city means you're only a short journey to union square's awesome lion brand yarn studio. so let's go!!!

daniel craig

although we did not encounter him-- not even cinematically-- being in the same city at the same time totally counts. totally.

the art of the brick

nathan sawaya's amazing LEGO art, at discovery times square. one of the best art events i've ever attended. and yes, i'm completely serious. if you're going to be in new york before january 5th, you MUST go... with or without children! you can thank me later.

*or, strictly speaking, as it turns out, top thirteen reasons. what can i say, it was a REALLY good week; i probably could have done a "top 50", so just be glad i'm this restrained, darlings! :)

why this tuesday was the best one of the whole entire summer!

i can sum it up in two words: amy tsuruta*!!! ♥ yep, she was in new york, and we got to meet up! she and her awesome kids came to the metropolitan museum of art with me, where we caught the utterly fab PUNK: chaos to couture exhibit. then we headed up to the roof for a few photos:

yes, i know, i have a goony expression. i always have a goony expression in photos! i'm also *literally* a foot taller than miss amy. in this pic, i am half-sitting on the parapet... and i've still managed somehow to loom! ah well. nothing can dull my enthusiam for what i feel must be pretty close to the PERFECT summer day in nyc. even the weather, which can be (and has been!) seriously humid, was lovely!

also on the roof of the met this summer, is imran qureshi's amazing painted floor! a different artist is commissioned each year, and the art is always bold, but this is almost breath-taking, in a number of ways! it's also the back-drop for what i think is my best shadow self-portrait to date:

while on the upper east side, of course i couldn't resist showing off the guggenheim and the (currently being renovated) cooper hewitt museum. to have two such remarkably lovely... and remarkably different... pieces of architecture within a block of each other always blows my mind!

as does the gelato at ciao bella, though admittedly in a completely different way! did i mention it was the ♥PERFECT♥ summer day in new york? well, it bears repeating! thank you amy, and thanks also to the girl and to the boy, for sharing a little piece of your vacation with me, what a pleasure to hang out with you guys! come back SOON!!! ♥♥♥

*in case you're wondering, "is she as lovely and friendly and amazing IRL as she seems online?" the answer is, "nope... she's actually EVEN NICER!" so now you know!!! ♥

there's really NO bad time to visit the high line!

case in point: yesterday was overcast, and autumn is not necessarily even the ideal season (i'd have to go with late spring) for the actual gardens in new york city's most innovative and awesome (imo!) public park.

the high line was built on the dis-used railway freight line above tenth avenue, originally built to serve the meatpacking district.

i've been there at least a dozen times, and yet, whenever i find myself near that part of town, i'm always willing to walk a couple of extra blocks, if necessary, so that my trip from 30th to 14th street (or vice versa) can be made through the park instead of at street level.

i allow extra time because despite numerous trips, i still ALWAYS want to take photos! there are new plantings or bits of art being added... whether "official" or not...

...and then there are certain things i snap away at EVERY SINGLE TIME, regardless... frank gehry's IAC building being foremost in that category. i bet i've taken a hundred shots of it, and it still fascinates me.

on the way to or from the high line, you might see some cool street art...

...and there are starting to be some high-end designer shops in the area, as well. of course chelsea market is always fun, as well as offering a lot of quick and cheap (ish... by nyc standards...) lunch options.

don't fill up, though, because grom gelato is only a few blocks' walk from the southern end of the park... and trust me... you'll want to have that virtuous feeling of having got some exercise, so that you can indulge, guilt-free, in the best ice cream to be found outside italy. if you'd like a bit of an alibi, tell your compnaions they just have to see the lovely neoclassical building which houses our lady of pompei catholic church on the corner of carmine and bleecker streets... and then suddenly "notice" the gelateria across the way! ;)

as long as you're this close to soho, you might as well keep walking, and check out a few galleries. i like the campton a lot, one reason being that my favorite collage artist, jane maxwell, shows there semi-regularly.

the exhibition that is on right now is her best to date, which is saying something! (i believe it ends on halloween though, so you'll need to hurry! if you're not local, robert mars has a few lovely photos here!) btw, purlsoho (for fabric and yarn) and kate's paperie (for... well... paper, obviously!) are literally just around the corner from the gallery, and worth the trip!

finally, if at any time during your day, you find yourself near a reflective surface; for example, a window, a shiny building, or perhaps the mirror in the ceiling of an elevator (seriously... whose idea was this...?!) be sure to take a cheesy self-portrait for your blog!  preferably one in which you are making as goony a face as possible, lol! :) :) :)