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! 

Kelly's Embroidered Navy Wedding Guestbook

Hi blog...long time not talk. This year has flown by, which unfortunately included any free time to sit and post an update over here. I just finished up a local Holiday market yesterday and now I'm gearing up for Renegade in LA this next weekend! The home stretch! 

I've been making a lot of new things, including temporary tattoos, lots of calendars and quite a few traveling sketchbooks. In the midst of stocking the shop, I've also had some really amazing commissions pass through the bubble. There's one that I CAN'T WAIT to share! 

And there's this gorgeous book I made for one of my favorite people that got married in October! I just got my hands on some of the photos, which were taken by another favorite, Rebecca Rivera. How gorgeous are these photos?!

I'm seriously in love with this guestbook. 

On the cover, we did an all over navy watercolor wash. For their names, I painted them in silver ink and outlined them in mint embroidery. Inside we went with a watercolor floral frame on each page so guests had their own space to write inside. I posted a video on Instagram after I finished it up where you can see all the pages inside. Hooray for clip on phone tripods!

Okay, time to get to that lengthy to do list. If you're in the Los Angeles area, I'd love to see you next weekend at Grand Park! I'll be in booth 43 with all the Sketchy goodies (and even some Cursive Cursing...)

Still having craftbacks to this wedding guestbook I made a few weeks ago. I hand painted and embroidered the cover first. Then every page inside had a printed watercolor frame of the brides flowers. One big beautiful beast! If you have a friend, besties, fiance, sister, cousin or mom looking for a custom one-of-a-kind guestbook for their special day, send them my way! I have a few openings left for late fall and winter guestbooks and photo albums.#soloverly

A video posted by 👻SKETCHYNOTIONS by Chelsea (@sketchynotions) on Oct 13, 2016 at 11:54am PDT

Tracey's Expanding Indigo Wedding Guestbook

This big, blue, beautiful beast was such a challenge but I love the outcome of it SO very much. 

Tracey needed a big, dip-dyed indigo book to use as a guestbook for her wedding. They were planning on having their guests add Polaroid photos to it from the ceremony and therefore needed a book that could expand as the pages were filled with photos. 

We also dip-dyed the edges of the pages which was a GORGEOUS effect. Blue ombre covers, blue spine and just a touch of blue inside. 

I also incorporated some vintage Mother-of-Pearl buttons that belonged to my Grandma. Something blue and something old all in one spot! 

It's been a LONG time (about 8 years when I was taking my first Bookbinding class in college) since I last did a concertina binding, or an expanding spine. I was such a challenge but it was a nice change from my usual coptic stitch. 

I was pretty enamored with the final product too. When it was all done, I couldn't help just flipping through it and playing with the expanding spine. It was such a departure from my usual wedding guestbook commissions and stepping back from it when it was all done was just such a nice, satisfying feeling. 

Katherine & Eric's Chicago Firehouse Guestbook

Hello again blog! The other downside to a lack of blogging and no access to my computer this summer is that I'm terribly behind on sharing my recent projects! Albeit, a few of my most recent project couldn't be shared until after my departure day. There were a couple that I finished right before I left that I absolutely love the results of! 

This wedding guestbook was such a fun challenge. Katherine contacted me about making a custom guestbook featuring the refurbished firehouse in Chicago that they'd be getting married at! It's such a gorgeous building, I couldn't resist.

I love painting buildings, particularly older buildings covered in brick. We decided to do a purple skyline of Chicago across the inside spread as well to go with their wedding colors. I really loved how this building turned out. I always love to get a project where I can just channel all my focus into the cover and a few small personal details.

Tequila + Tapas Photoshoot

A couple weeks ago, some lovely and talented ladies I know organized a little photoshoot. The theme was Cinco de Mayo and I was asked to make a chalk sign, a guestbook and a mock invitation suite. 

I was so excited to participate in this photoshoot but I had no idea how gorgeous the whole day would be! 

The amazing photographer Rebecca Rivera and the talented stylist and coordinator Maria Irwin from Wunderland Co. were the masterminds behind the whole day. 

Every little detail was perfect. The hair, the flowers, the wardrobe, the venue. It was all stunning! You can find all these lovely ladies and their work over on Instagram too:

Styling + Set Design: @wunderlandco 

Photography: @rebeccariveraphoto + @bri.burkett.photo 

Wardrobe:  @plentyboutique +@wendyfosterlosolivos 

Jewelry: @plentyboutique 

Hair: @angelamichellegillishair 

Makeup: @tylerannholladay 

Florals: @rachellewittdesigns 

Cake: @sweetbaking_co 

How gorgeous are all these photos?! Becca and Bri are such talented ladies. I'm so completely enamored with all the colors and details that Maria brought together that day. Fingers crossed I get to collaborate with them again in the future!

Dhvani & Vineet's Travel Wedding Guestbook

Guys...I'm in love. I love my job. Absolutely, head over heels, in love with what I do. The sweetest people across the world ask me to create something one-of-a-kind that they'll cherish for years to come. My customers are the most thoughtful people. They're so patient with my terrible emailing/updating skills. They're some of my favorite people, that I've often never met in person. It's a pretty incredible thing.

A lot of the time, I have to keep my projects secret so as not so spoil the pretty details until after the surprise, wedding, shower, engagement or birthday is done. And more often than not, in the process of keeping it a secret, I forget to share what I made entirely! This album is one of those cases...

Dhvani and I met in Italy years ago when she was a student at Santa Chiara, the study abroad center I worked at. We first collaborated last year when I watercolored some illustrations for their wedding invitations. She then commissioned me to create a guestbook for their special day this past May! 

Oh man, I loved this album! This was a hard one to mail off. An entire book filled with passport stamps, how could I not love it?! We also alternated the stamps with flowers they used on their invitations. 

I'll eventually share some more photos on my website but that's under serious renovation and remodeling now. The blog will be too! Everything in fact... profile photos, shop platforms, prices, bios, overall brand aesthetics. EVERY-DAMN-THING! 

The Etsy shop already had a BIG name change this week! I'm hoping to have it all done and launched by mid September. Want to stay on top of the changes? Sign up for the Sketchy Notions Newsletter or follow along on Instagram! And if you've had your eye on anything in either the Etsy shop or the Sketchy Notions Shop, buy it now before prices go up! 

Michele & Reneé's Tuscan Wedding Album

I think a lot of girls that study abroad in Italy have had a day dream once or twice (all the bloody time) of having a picturesque Tuscan wedding. In an old church tucked in an old town, celebrating in a villa surrounded by vineyards, with wedding photos complete with rolling green hills. Oh yes...that is a beautiful daydream...

It's a little crazy to actually know someone who has had that dream Tuscan wedding. Meet Reneé and Michele. Michele and I became friends a couple years ago during my internship at the study abroad center in Castiglion Fiorentino. Not long after, Reneé was studying abroad at the same center and met Michele. The rest is pretty romantic as you may guess. 

So when Reneé asked me to create a custom wedding album for their insanely gorgeous photos, I had to say yes. The photos were unreal! Their photographer Taylor Abeel did an amazing job at capturing the special day. This project was pretty unreal too, having piles of gorgeous photos to work with and the sweetest couple to collaborate with.  It may be the closest I get to a dreamy Tuscany wedding, but it was definitely the dream wedding album project to be a part of! Here's a peek and you can see more photos on my website.

Brittany & Brad's Wedding/Honeymoon Album

I have been waiting to share this project for months...MONTHS! It was by far the largest commission I have received and, hands down, the sweetest thing I have ever been asked to create. I have received sweet commissions before but this was beyond words...

Brad contacted me way back in September with a special gift in mind for his soon-to-be wife. They would be married in December and he wanted to have a sort of journal/album to give to Brittany on their honeymoon. It would have illustrations and details inside spanning their dating, proposal and wedding with a lot of space at the end for photos and notes of their honeymoon and early days of marriage. Wow, just wow!

In the end, this album was huge: 13 signatures and 104 pages front and back, with a faux leather cover and velvety drawstring pouch to keep it safe. We filled it with illustrations of their special moments, inside jokes, engagement photos, invitations, their church for the wedding, maps of the Caribbean for the honeymoon and so much more. It was such a huge undertaking and it was so hard not to share the progress! Here's a peek at the album and there are more photos on my website.