Makes Me Happy - Nautical

 

Ahoy there, matey! This week's Makes Me Happy post is about all things Nautical. Looking at lovely nautical inspired art makes me want to put on a red and white striped shirt and go sail the ocean blue. I'm even sharing one of my designs this week - the anchors print in the top right is one of mine, licensed to Design Design for use on beverage napkins. Below are the links to the art you see here and to see more of my nautical loves, here's the link to my nautical Pinterest page.

 

Surface design art by Rebecca Jones 

Design Design napkins by me! 

Here Fishy Fishy pattern by Maeve Parker 

Seagull with Pipe  

Nautical art by Monster Riot on Society 6

 

Makes Me Happy - Gnomes!

What makes me happy this week? Gnomes! Who doesn't love a cute little gnome? I especially love the modern take on gnomes, seen in these uber cute gnome dolls from the Etsy shop, Warm Sugar. I also really like the little felt cone shaped gnomes from Etsy seller, Little Dear. Here are links to all the photos above or you can see all these, and some more, on my Gnomes Pinterest board, right here.

Stuffed Gnome dolls from Warm Sugar

 

Cone shaped felt gnomes from Little Dear

 

Gnome fabric collection

 

Gnome and Mushroom Stationery from A Little Lark

 

Michael Miller gnome fabric

 

Tired Gnomes photo

 

 



Doodle Dreams Blog Tour

I few weeks ago, I was asked by my Facebook friend, Jenipher Lyn, to do a little something for her Doodle Dream Blog tour, to help promote her new book. I said YES right away, because Jenipher's book, "How Being Stubborn, Depressed and Unpopular SAVED My Life” is written for tween and teen girls who are struggling with issues such as body image, eating disorders and depression, to name a few. Jenipher is open, honest and encouraging as she relates some of her own struggles and how she overcame them. And, her book is filled with colorful, fun "doodles" and Jenipher's own quirky good handwriting.

This week, the Blog Tour's theme is Gratitude, for the last chapter in her book. Here's Jenipher's banner for this week (so CUTE!),

and here's my illustration for the theme.

 

The link to purchase the book directly from Jenipher is HERE or it is available on Amazon, too, right HERE.

 

makes me happy - succulents!

Working in the field of art licensing means that I need to keep a lot of the work I'm doing a secret, until it is licensed and out in the stores on products. That means a lot of time can go by, from the finished art and when I can share it. So, my little blog is often neglected because I can't really share what I want to share. Therefore, I decided to start a regular (hopefully, weekly) feature called Makes Me Happy, so I can post on a timely basis and also share things that I like and of course, things that make me happy. There will be posts about trending topics in the illustration and fashion worlds, posts showcasing other artists work that I admire, posts about color palettes that are swoon worthy and posts that are just fun, happy things.

With all the bad news in the world, sometimes you just need to take some time to focus on happy things and happy thoughts. I hope the things that make me happy will make your day a little bit happier, too!

My first Makes Me Happy post is all about Succulents! Here are some fun photos and illustrations of wonderfully, unique succulents. The links to these images are listed below and to see more succulent love, visit my Pinterest Succulent page.  http://bit.ly/Txlqpr

 

Art by Loris Lora

Spoonflower fabric pattern

Pattern by Lisa Congdon

Art by Paper Moon

Photo on Etsy 

Wedding invitations

Throw Pillow on Zazzle  

Notebook on Etsy 

Photo by Sanctuary Studio

FREE Mother's Day Printable card

For all the wonderful Mom's out there - a FREE printable card just for them. You can download it right here. Nina Seven - Mother's day printable card 2014

trending - home is where the heart is

I recently starting following the super talented surface designer, Kristina Kraemer, on Instagram and on her blog. Today, she did a great post on her blog, regarding a trending theme in illustration and pattern design, that she calls Home Sweet Home. She has some great photos of the trend on her blog, which you can see, right here and on Pinterest, where she created a board for it. You can go here to see the board.

I've been seeing that trend as well and recently did a couple of collections that featured some of those elements. Here's a little peek at them. As usual, for any licensing inquiries, please contact my rep at Pink Light Studio.

This one is from my Black+White+1 collection

 

 

These 2 are from my Happy Town Collection

 

Photo a Day

Hello lovely blogger friends

For the past few months, I've been participating in a Photo a Day challenge hosted by Chantelle from the blog Fat Mum Slim. It's so fun! You follow the prompt for the day, which is posted at the beginning of every month, take a photo of something that you think fits the prompt, then upload the photo to your Instagram account, with the hashtag #fmsphotoaday. By clicking on the hashtag, you can see what people from all over the world have submitted for the challenge. It's a great way to document the little things in your world, have fun with your camera phone and connect with other people across the globe, who are doing the same thing you are. Here's a little collection of some photos I've taken recently.

 

And here's the list of April word prompts, if you want to join the party. Happy photo taking!