bits & pieces...over the past few months...

Ciao everyone! 

So...I must admit, it's been quite awhile since I last posted on this here blog. Spring was a bit of  a frenzy between getting the Spring Collection launched, trying out some new markets, finishing up the school year, Spring wedding MANIA, another year of I Madonnari AND getting prepped for our 2nd year of Bellissima Art Retreats in Italy! 

To say things were hectic is an understatement. 

But, now I'm back in the bubble and rested after some down time cruising through Italy with some friends and family at the end of our 2nd retreat. 

I've got some secret projects I'm currently working on (more on that as soon as I'm able to share) and new Holiday designs are in the works too! I'm slowly collecting photos from some recent weddings as well and hopefully I'll get my newest sketchbook Sesto photographed soon. Until then, here's a quick catch up on some highlights you might have missed (if you follow along on Instagram, you've already seen most of this!).

I spent my last few days in Italy this summer sketching across Rome! Hot and sweaty and oh so much fun! 

I also was able to make a quick trip somewhere new -- VERONA!

My last wedding right before I left. This guestbook was a floral beast!

My 2017 I Madonnari piece of Burano, Italy! I'll share more about this monster soon. 

Chalk by Chels has been staying VERY busy lately!

VERY busy! These are from another friend's wedding back in May. 

I tried out the Jackalope market in Pasadena this spring too, and brought the little sis-tern along to help! 

Mural paining with a local elementary school with Arts Outreach! 

This was a dream wedding -- GEODE SLICE PLACE CARDS!! 

Some logo work for a new tasting room in Los Olivos! 

Sketchy Notions, then and now

This past weekend, I had my last big market of the year. It was the most expensive market I've ever applied for and also the most successful market I've ever had. I first started selling at markets over 3 years ago, and it's kinda crazy to look back and see how far my products and booth has come. 

Below is a photo my friend Kelly took of me and my booth on Saturday after we got everything set up for the Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles! Last year was my first time at this show, and it didn't go too well at all last year. I still ended up applying for it this season since it was such great exposure and fun to meet all my favorite makers in person. 

My location at Renegade this year was much better, even though the spot was a little strange and lumpy. In the end, it actually worked to my advantage and turned into my most profitable market ever. 

The photo above is from my market down at Rolling Greens Nursery in LA. This was a really fun market since they invited me to come and it was a beautifully curated market. So many warm fuzzies. 

Here are a few photos from one of my first markets ever, that didn't go quite as planned. Albeit I was doing some pretty cheap markets back then so a bad day of sales really wasn't all that bad considering. I've had some pretty awful markets over the years so it's really amazing that this year has been the first year of consistently killer markets! 

There are some little bits and pieces that have still carried over to my current booth displays but I love how clean and fresh my booth feels now compared to 3 years ago! I've changed and updated and tweaked my displays so many times, I've lost count. SO much has changed with my booth, particularly the size. There's no way I could go back to just one table, my inventory has grown too much! Plus one of my friend's made me the amazing wooden card racks in the top photos, which were a game changer for my booth. 

Over all, I'm really proud of how far Sketchy has come. I love where it was, I love where it is, and I'm excited to see where it will be this time next year. 

bits + pieces + news

Hello blogosphere. Oofah. Last night was the first night in almost two weeks that I actually got a full night of sleep. This morning was the first in who knows how long that I was able to sleep in a bit. I repeat, OOFAH!

It's a good oofah though, very good. I started some volunteering for a local group (more on that below). The Holidays are in full swing around here with custom orders for Christmas and markets. I had my first Holiday market of the season yesterday and it was the best market I have EVER had! I'm still a little shocked by how well it went. It's a nice boost of confidence going into my second Holiday season with my business. Makes me feel like I'm on the right track with this art as a business life I'm building. 

In other business-y news, I finally started an Official Sketchy Notions Newsletter! It's high time I finally did it and I'm working on the first post to be sent out this week. I'll be sharing the latest news from the shops, upcoming markets and some special coupons for you special folks. If you would like to sign up, there's a link on the left sidebar or you can do so right here at this link! 

Here's a visual peek at everything that's been happening around here lately. If you can't find me here on the blog, chances are there's proof of my still being alive over on Instagram. 

1. My newest seasonal card collection! I'm a bit in love with that Thankful card (it was one of the most popular items at the market yesterday!)
2. Halloween is my favorite Holiday so I tend to go all out on my pumpkins. I carved this beast with my linoleum carver. My costume was pretty good too, I was grumpy cat. 
3. This is one of three Mini Traveling Sketchbooks I've made, all of which SOLD in the first few hours after listing them. WOW. I'm in the process of making some more too so keep an eye on the Etsy shop! 
4. I had never made a photo of all my own traveling sketchbooks together until recently. These are all my babies. 
5. My mentor Laura-Susan Thomas and I have been meeting at Bob's Well Bread in Los Alamos lately. It's pretty much the highlight of my day when we go there. So good! 

6. I recently had some of my Instagram photos from this past summer in Italy printed through Prinstagram and I LOVE the results! They're so fun to just tape up on the wall. 
7. My most recent mural for the C Gallery in Los Alamos. The theme was blackbirds. 
8. I spent last weekend at Camp Roberts in Paso Robles for the Youth & Government T&E 1 Conference. It's a mock legislature program for High Schoolers. I participated when I was in High School and I became an advisor for our local delegation a couple months ago. It's pretty inspiring being surrounded by over 3,000 politically charged high schoolers! 
9. The sunrise yesterday morning as I was getting ready for the market! 
10. I may not like Christmas much but I do love being able to decorate my booths up the wazoo for the Holiday markets! 

How's everything going for you guys? Find any cool goodies at any markets lately? 

weekend recap & more wishes

Hello there! I'm so disappointed that Monday is already here. This past holiday weekend was too much fun and so incredibly busy! Lots to tell!

Last week after work on the 3rd, I started/finished painting my littlest sister's room in blue ombre. Okay, anyone who has actually done this really needs to stress how freakin' hard this is to pull off! Especially during summer heat when the paint dries too fast to blend between layers, your tarp tears and naturally you spill paint right on the hole and onto your carpet. UGH. Needless to say, this will be my first and last ombre painting endeavor. It turned out lovely, but those 5 hours of stress were ridiculous. For the actual 4th, we were lazy and skipped all parading and festivities. Instead we opted to paint and face-lift the boy's living room and bbq. 

Friday was spent finishing my weekly wish from last week: prepping for my 2nd Local Artist's Market! I managed to get down to the cue first and snagged a killer shady spot. I'm so happy to share that this one actually went really well! I toned down my decor a bit so I had more room for goods on the table. And I actually had some decent sales. I sold: 2 hand-printed/bound artist books, 3 pairs of pearl snap earrings, a mini travel illustration and my last Lucca mini print! Not a bad day! And I managed to stay pretty optimistic throughout the day and week! 

The market had a lot less vendors this time around but I made some new friends and ended up with a lead for another market later this month. Plus, I may have found a new shop to sell cards and art in Ventura! Slowly widening the spread of my work...more on that another time. 

So, the goal for this next week. Now that the market is done, I have a bunch of inventory I'd still like to share and hopefully sell. It's another pretty simple goal but one I definitely need to get done with this week going to be so busy. So my goal this week:

List new items in my Etsy shop, register for my next market this month and prepare art/items for display in the new store! 

Fingers crossed for another successful week! How's your week looking? Any big goals? Make sure to share and link up with the Nectar Collective!

bits & pieces according to instagram

So many things have been happening these days. Summer is speeding by and things are only getting busier. I have another art market this Saturday in Santa Barbara, and at the end of the month I will have my printmaking and bookmaking workshops on top of swim lessons! Lots to do...These are some bits and pieces of what's been happening around these parts lately. 

1. Those cute little notebooks?? They're hand drawn and watercolored! I'm working on a small batch of them for the art market this weekend but I definitely want to make more! I'll have 5 for this weekend but whatever doesn't sell will be heading straight to my Etsy shop!

2. I gathered up a bunch of sea glass I've found over the years. It's my favorite souvenir from any beachy place. I have sea glass from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Monterey, Carpinteria, Sorrento, Barcelona, Nice and a bunch of other places. My littlest sister and I found that gigantic abalone shell in Monterey last spring.  

3. I had the most EPIC day of thrifting! Littlest sis and I hit my favorite spot, where I found a pair of Minnetonka moccasins, some terra cotta pots and a wire basket I can use at the market this weekend! At our next stop, I found this leather Fossil purse for $25. Luckily the store was having a sale so it was only $12.75! Then, after investigating the torn lining inside at home, I found $6 hidden at the bottom! So I pretty much got a leather purse for $6.75...WIN!!!!

4. The boy and I and some friends ventured down to LA to try Restaurante Guelaguetza. They specialize in mole sauces and authentic Oaxacan food. So tasty! We heard they are ranked in the top 25 best Mexican restaurants in country. Definitely worth a visit if you're in LA. 

to market!

Saturday was exhausting! I was up til 11 the night before inventorying everything, packing it all up and even fitting in a couple more mini illustrations. Then I couldn't sleep so I was up before 5:45 am...slowly packed up, made some nice photos of the morning fog and hit the road at 6:58! I was the 2nd person to arrive for claiming spots so I managed to snag a nice shady one near the front next to some lovely people! 

Overall, the market did not go very well. There wasn't as much foot traffic as everyone had hoped for the day before Mother's Day. I was really disappointed, I still am a bit. I knew it was a small market but I still hoped it would be a profitable day. But it was a fun day with great weather and I made some new artsy friends. Plus, I got to finally use all the ideas/things I've been making for displaying all my goodies! Including a lazy susan... 

After the show, I zoomed up to the C Gallery where the Cell Phone Photography show was opening! Two of my photos made it in...but I'll share those another time... Also on the very bright side, I have a fully stocked inventory of goods for the Etsy shop! I'll probably make some photos sometime today and spend the rest of the day lazing about, sipping Thai tea and listing all the new stuff. I'm also contemplating a mini SALE in the shop to give me a sales boost after the meager results of the market so stay tuned for that...

There were over 20 vendors at the market, with a good assortment of creations

My little booth! With a hand stamped table cloth and a butcher paper bunting banner

All the long scraps from making business cards were finally put to use as backgrounds in whiteboard frames! I reused some old woven baskets and spruced up some tiny berry baskets too. 

So. Many. Things. Overall the inventory wasn't too necessary with keeping track of sales (unfortunately) but it was very useful in making sure I still had everything with me! I love that big mum in the little green vase towards the top right

This weird looking thing is a lazy susan serving contraption my mum got for Christmas! It worked PERFECTLY to display my Pearl Snap Earrings! Plus it twirled...and had a lovely vase of flowers in the middle. This was probably my favorite part of the whole booth!

Mini mini illustrations...I cranked these two bitties out the night before the market! 

a moment today

Day 9 in the Blog Every Day Challenge! Today is a photo of a moment from today. It has been a busy morning! I managed to crank out six watercolors for framed mini illustrations for the market on Saturday! Still so much left to do but it's a nice feeling to look at all of these lovelies spread out. There's also a new illustration of Lumen in there too...something is in the works...but alas, it is time to get back to work. So news on Lumen another time! 

an artful day

It's always a nice feeling when you have a fantastic day after a rather crappy one...or two in a row. Yesterday was completely exhausting, and the day before was just as crummy and wretched. Between misbehaving students and near misses on the road, this happy day was very much needed! There are three reasons why today was so lovely, and all of them are art related!

The first one being that I received a package for the market next Saturday. Guys...I have buttons!!!! I was originally thinking about getting stickers made until I saw the button option and I was sold. I had this batch made through Zazzle and I love them! They also got them done crazy fast...I put my order in Monday evening and got them this afternoon. Cute buttons in a 5 day turn around, Zazzle, you have me intrigued...

The second reason why today was a lovely artful day was because I got the flyer for another event I'm participating in later this month. They decided to use my Santa Chiara Revisit piece for the flyer! So excited! 

And the third reason that today was wonderful and artsy; I finished another commission and delivered the final piece today! My friend asked me to make an ocean themed photo album for her little son. I'm going to do a full post on this book probably over the weekend but here's a little peek of the cover (my favorite part of the book!)

market prep & murals

To add to the summer mayhem, I'll be doing some markets. I have my first one on May 11 in Santa Barbara and there are a couple I still need to research and sign up for. I'm feverishly making cards and printing prints and making earrings. As well as plotting what I want my booths to look like! I really like the look of Amanda of Whit and Whistle's booth from a show she recently did. I love how simply she organized everything but still kept with the overall aesthetic of her work. 

It's hard to decide what I want my booth's appearance to be. I have watercolor accents on my shop banner and business cards which makes it pretty playful, but then I also use mandalas on my blog and website. I don't think they'd conflict too much when together but I want to make sure everything is cohesive. I'm hoping to stamp out a table cloth with my carvings and I have some baskets/containers ready that I've hoarded but I still need to figure out signs and such.

This past weekend was another 3rd Saturday Fest in Los Alamos. The theme this time was "farmers," so there was a mini Farmer's Market. I was able to test out some displaying ideas that I've had and test run some of the new goodies.  I love my green bottle collection with fresh flowers, and the little berry boxes I spruced up. I'd love to get my hands on some galvanized tin boxes or make my own wooden boxes out of old pallets. What do you think?

The mural this time was also farmer oriented too. It's pretty funny how the older ones are still pretty visible. The branch from my mural last month is still there, and the "contest" from last year just won't go away. I'm excited to do next months mural, but also curious to see what condition the canvas will be in.