Show your sew

The always lovely Martha Stewart website is having a great giveaway for a chance to win a copy of her Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric craft book. All you have to do to enter is submit a photo of your favorite sewing project over here. I just dropped by and submitted my T-shirt quilt. Crossing my fingers...I could spend countless hours pouring over this book!

Room to Grow

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am entering a new phase in my life. I'm looking forward to coming home to someone who's company I wholeheartedly enjoy, where we can create a meal together and end the day sharing in daily stories. A few of you requested to see some photos of my place when our things are mixed together. But we are planning on living at my place until my lease is up at the end of June, in which then we'll be relocating to Chicago! So we are planning on saving to decorate our new apartment in the city together! Which I am so looking forward to because we share similar design aesthetics. We are drawn to modern mid century pieces with industrial, naturalistic, and cozy accents. (okay, the cozy part is mostly me :) This is totally new territory for me, so I am mixed with overwhelming emotions.

On a different note: I'm currently loving these lace Photoshop brushes that I incorporated into my succulent photo. You can get 'em for yourself here, and they're free! I've included some of the designs in this fresh minty green color that I love. They remind me of old lace remenants that I sometimes find at the bottom of my mom's sewing drawers.


Psst: Wanna learn more? Here's a great link to learning more about how to upload, create, and organize your Photoshop brushes!

Wednesday Wishes (coming true!)

Thanks for joining me, Kellie, Courtney, and Katie for another posting of this weeks Wednesday Wishes! Mine are short and sweet this week, as one of my major wishes has become a reality. I am more than thrilled about my new toy and will be for a long long time.

1. Schooled. I wish to become vigorous about learning new design programs, like I once was when I was in school. Things are a changing and I wish to keep up!

2. Crafty fair dreams. I wish to have my own booth at a local craft fair sometime in the near future. It's always been a dream of mine :)

3.Making room. I wish for patience, love, and making room for extra storage for all of Joe's things. The move (into my place) has begun and I hope there are more hugs than kicks ;)

A few weeks ago, I wished and wished out loud to myself for a new iMac. I've scoured craigslist for the past 2 months keeping my fingers crossed. I was only looking for a 20 inch but the deal on the 24 inch screen was too crazy to pass up :) I'm in love all over again with the sleekness and functionality of this beautiful piece of machinery...aahhh bliss.

Featured on Lovely Clusters

I just wanted to announce real quick that my lil shop is being featured over at the creatively inspired Lovely Clusters website! This lovely site is a place to browse and shop beautiful handmade and vintage items from artists and designers from around the world. Thank you Rachel for bringing this all together :)

Photographer: Vee Speers

I couldn't take my eyes off this photographers new work. Vee Spears is an Australian born artist. Her newest work entitled The Birthday Party is a series of short stories linked by the theme of an imaginary birthday party. It is partly a self portrait with themes linked by the artists own childhood. I'm drawn to the starkness and colorless of her subjects. As well as the uneasiness their blank gazes portray. How interesting this is when artists use there own childhood experiences in creating new works of art. Do you find yourself ever thinking back on your own childhood for inspiration?

Free Font Saturday!

I had a lovely day off yesterday, which is why I am posting my font of the week today :) Inspired by Earth week, this weeks font pick is Pinewood! This bold, knotty font makes a great pairing alongside nature inspired photographs. Have a great weekend!!

Earth Day Love

In honor of Earth Day's 40th celebration head over here for some eco-friendly crafts you can create using materials you might already have on hand!

Wednesday Wishes

Hooray, it's Wednesday and time for another fresh batch of wishes! I hope some of these come true sometime in the near future!

1. YUDU. I wish and am wanting this amazing piece of equipment called YUDU. It's a large screen printing machine that you can print on pretty much any surface.

2. A home cooked meal. I get lazy (most days) about making dinner. I usually only prepare something when my boy comes over but when he doesn't I'm pretty content with serving up a bowl of cereal of making scrambled eggs.

3. Job security. I wish for my sister to have a job this summer. Her company is doing yet another round of layoffs and I hope she is not included in the bunch. It's a scary feeling of insecurity, but I keep my hopes up for her. When one door closes another one surely opens.

4. Magazine organizers. I wish to find the perfect magazine organizers , that is easy on the budget, so that I can finally organize my favorites by subjects.

That is all for this week. Make sure to sneak a peak at Kellie's, Courtney's and Katie's blogs to see what they have in store for wishes this week :)

Color Crush

Today I am feeling totally inspired by some color and pattern! My current color crush has to be yellow and teal together! Which is why I had to share these pretty lovely wallpapers created by the oh so creative talented Free People. I am part of there Flickr group and I love everything they create and share there. What colors have you been crushing on lately?

Shop Update

Hello! I'm excited to announce my newest shop update. It's your pick of any of my favorite posted 4 x 6 photos and includes a fun white photo frame that is sure to make a great addition to any creative nook :) Looking for a unique gift? I'd be happy to ship directly to the address of your choice. I'm a firm believer that everyone should be able to own a piece of art without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. Enjoy :)

4 x 6 Prints for you to pick from:

Loving: Japanese craft books

While browsing online yesterday I came across a most lovely shop filled with paper goods, stationary, wrapping papers and much more. UGUISU SHOTEN is an online shop with goodies that are either made in Japan or designed in Japan. Simple beautiful designs that are within budget too! I couldn't stop looking at these craft book covers that are for sale. Even though I can't read the language, I sure know good inspiration when I see one :)

Clockwise from top left: Craft Making with Masking Tapes.
Masking Tape Ideas. Tokyo Handmade. and Scrapoholic.

Spring Inspired Posters

I'm feeling a bit foggy on this partly cloudy Monday, so I went a seeking some lovely spring inspired posters to help brighten my mood and lighten my spirits.

Dig into Spring

Rain, Go Away

Walden Pond

Free Font Friday

My weekend cannot get into full swing until I post about my favorite font for the week. It's a goody too! Part futuristic in appearance with clean thinly smooth edges makes Happy Squid my free font pick this week! Enjoy :) Join me next week for a few fun free downloads I'm putting together along with some new additions to my shop!

Shop: DIY Craft Supplies

The Chicago Craft Mafia is hosting this crafty trunk show this weekend. Where you can purchase new and almost new craft supplies from Chicago crafters :) It's also a good place to stock up on business needs like boxes, envelopes, and plastic bags. Plus admission is free! If anyone is in the Chicago land area this weekend, I'd love to meet up!?

Loving: Illustations by Kiersten Essenpreis

For this weeks loving post, I thought I'd share some illustrations from a very special artist (and former middle school art classmate), Kiersten Essenpreis. She is a freelance illustrator/ gallery artist who lives and works from her home studio in Brooklyn, NY. Some of her clients include GQ, The New York Times, LA Weekly, Paper Magazine, Nylon Magazine, and Coach Handbags, to name a few. This gal is such a talent! Her drawings, paintings are so original, fresh, imaginative, and sometimes a bit frightening at the same time. Here are a few of my favorite picks of her pen and ink line drawings which are available for purchase on Etsy. To read more about this artist, check out the interview she did over at Evolve Happy. Congrats on all your continued success Kiersten!

Wednesday Wishes

Happy Wednesday to you and thanks for joining me for another week of Wednesday wishes!

1. Bike tune up. I wish to get my biked looked at (it makes funny noises when I ride it), so that Joe and I can hit the road for an afternoon adventure of biking along the Prairie Path.

2. Soak in a language. I wish to travel to Central America (El Salvador is where my parents are from) for 6 months to really get a grasp on the spanish language. I can speak it, but I don't practice much, and I wouldn't really say that I am fluent. But I wish to be someday.

3. Donations. I wish to gather the things I want to donate for the year and drop them off at Goodwill. This is usually the time of year when I like to do this. My closets are the ones that get the most overhaul.

4. Attend games. I'm not a fan of any sport, I like to think of myself as a Chicago fan (but I still don't watch any games :) The games I wish to attend soon are my niece and nephew's soccer/baseball games. I love cheering them on from the sidelines and watching them run. I'm definitely one of their biggest fans.

5. Posture work. Lately I've been noticing (and feeling) slight lower back pain. I wish to be more aware of the way I sit and sleep. I sleep on my stomach most nights and just found out from my chiropractor that this is the worst way to sleep , it puts lots of stress on the lower back. So I'm trying to sleep on my back or side :(

That's all for this weeks wishes. Be sure to stop by and check out Courtney's, Kellie's, and Katie's wishes for today! Wanna join in on the fun? Post your own installment of Wednesday Wishes and let one of us know, so we can tune in weekly too! If you'd like to use the image I use for this weekly post, let me know and I'd be happy to share it with you :)

Ruche Wallpapers

Ruche a modern online boutique with a touch of vintage flair has free desktop wallpapers that are just lovely and totally dream worthy! I just added the first one to my work computers desktop. Couldn't you just image decorating one of your walls like this? They also have a charming blog to boot. Oh, and there Spring look book is a must see too!

A BIG Thank You!

This post is way overdue, but it is never to late to say thank you to everyone who continues to support me, my work, and those who continue to inspire and motivate me to keep at it! I'm very grateful to have such a great connection of blog readers, your comments keep me smiling and excited to keep blogging!

Creating Vintage Effects

When I spotted this tutorial on how to turn ordinary photos to look like they have seen better days, I knew I had to try it for myself! Although this tutorial (by Veerle) is a bit lengthy, meaning it has a lot of steps to it, I'm really thrilled by the outcome and the way it added a touch of vintage flair to my photos! It's kind of addicting and each result is different, which makes it even more exciting to try out. See for yourself...I bet you can't apply this effect to just one :)

Free Font Friday

It's Friday and time for my favorite font feature for this week! Rounding out this weeks top pick is one of the first fonts I downloaded as soon as I discovered the land of free fonts and that is Marcelle Script! It's beautifully old school cursive lettering and worn out style throughout adds a touch of vintage charm to any project! Happy Friday to everyone ;) Have a lovely Spring weekend.

Film Frame Download

Inspired by so many creatives who welcome others to download their printable goodies for free. I've put together some of my favorite film frames for you to use in your scrapbooks, craft projects, or to give your digital photos the film treatment! You can find this download and others under my free downloads for you section of my blog. Below are some of my favorite free downloads available in blogland now. Aren't they the best! Enjoy and remember to spread the creative love!

The Bright Side Project

Little Paper Dog

Lovely Design

Wednesday Wishes

It's Wednesday and it feels like it should be Friday! Funny how the week just sneeks up on you like that phew....

1. Yoga. I wish to find a yoga studio nearby for some relaxing of mind and body. I'm thinking this would be just the cure for this and more.

2. Plant seeds. This season is a time of new growth. I wish to celebrate one growth of sorts by planting seeds. I'm not sure what yet, but is it too much to ask for to find organic seeds?

3. A Social Life. Most people don't need to wish for this, but I do. I wish to meet up, catch up, and hang out with more friends, family, pets. Believe it or not but I am an introvert by nature. I am a total home body and if given the choice I would stay in on a Friday night than venture out.

That's it for this week, ladies! Short and sweet ;) If you'd like to start your own post of Wednesday Wishes and would like to use my photo, please let me know and I'd be more than happy to send it to you. Make sure to check out these lovely ladies blogs to see what's on there wish list's for today.

Courtney of You Will Won't You?
Kel of On the Brink of Something Beautiful
Katie of Unkamama

Blog Redesign Complete

New background, header, tabs, and button....oh my! I'm proud to share with you the my completed blog designs for my friend and lovely Interior Designer, Amy Leafblad. I'm so thrilled that she is happy with all the designs and I hope she feels more confident to start promoting all that inspires her to keep designing new interior spaces. So stop by and take a look. Oh and don't forget to check out her awesomly redesigned home photos too! I am in lust for her open layout kitchen and master bathroom suite! Thanks again Amy and happy promoting to you as well :)

If you know of someone who is looking for a redesign of any kind-blog, web, or print. Feel free to send me and email to evphotogal (at) me.com to discuss your design ideas!

Studio Tour

We just got the news early this morning at work that the people from American Eagle are stopping by for a tour of our photo studio this afternoon...eeekkk! I've been preparing all morning, finding samples of our last clothing client we had Justice. It was fun going through the racks and racks of photo samples and I miss the steadiness of work we had when I was shooting for them everyday. Below are some style guides my team of stylists and I put together for them. Wish me luck on my presentation to try to get more stylish accounts like AE.