Tomato

I made a new bestie recently for The Employee Lounge blog. I started a new feature over there called Friday Fun Day to motivate myself to get away from the computer and make art. I think everyone has the ability to be creative and I'd love to see more people not be afraid of it like I once was. After being rejected for a special art program in elementary school, I thought, art must not be for me. Isn't it crazy that I let a small thing like that determine who I was for so long? But I found art again in college. I walked past the design program projects in the halls and just like that, I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I usually name my besties, but this one is just called Tomato. Made with felt, buttons, thread, tulle and poly-fill.

Korean Drama

It's no secret that I'm addicted to Korean dramas. Even though they're sometimes ridiculous, I can't stop watching them. But like any genre, once you watch or read enough, you start seeing patterns. This is just an ode to my favorite shows right now. While I was "researching" why Koreans always took out their cell phone battery instead of just turning it off, I found out that I wasn't the only one who was deconstructing all the insanity in the world of Korean dramas. You can read a great list of fun facts here while this post explains they why of the cell phone battery thing. 

Baby Connor

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My photog friend Beth got some new lights and a new nephew she can adore through her lens. I had to share some of the great photos she took recently - I really love the light, the textures and the sweet sleeping poses. That said, newborns are probably my least favorite stage of childhood. I just don't think that most newbies are that cute. So I say very obvious and stupid things like, "Oh, look! You have a baby!" My second least favorite age is when they have buck teeth bigger than their faces, like awkward beavers. To all my mommy friends, I'm sorry, but it's my truth. I will love them all dearly when they are at least 9-months-old and can look me in the eye and smile and gurgle. As for Connor, the mouth puckering one was pretty stinkin' adorable.

All photos used with permission, Elizabeth Cook Photography.

Hoot! Hoot!

I swear my friends are still getting pregnant and having babies left and right.

Even though I continue NOT being a fan of baby showers, I am, however, always

delighted to design their invitations. As usual, they don't stifle my creativity with

a lot of restrictions or rules, just the event details, the rest is left to my imagination.

For this invitation, I did know they are having a baby girl and

her room would be decorated in an owl theme.

Before I worked at Gear, I bought a lot of vector stock files because it was faster and

easier than illustrating everything myself. But I learned some tricks on the job, including

learning how to use the pen tool better. Now I can make those illustrations myself!

This owl was based on a vintage trivet I own but modernized with stripes and a fresh

color palette. The font is Napa which I love and got free from here.

Usually, I'm not very good at creating designs that work for more than

one person or project. But I can see this one working as a template with some

color changes for semi-customization. So what do you think?