Color: the 'new' red white and blue

Ok, so I have fireworks and greasy food.... oh yeah and patriotism... on my brain tonight! Being just a few days away I thought I would point out one of the best variations on red white and blue. Do you ever feel like if you dont wear clothes in the 'holiday colors' you won't fit in? Red and Green plaid for Christmas time, pink shirt with a heart on it for Valentine's Day, orange and black knee highs for Halloween. Well this color palette, of a 'new' red white and blue, will leave you feeling summery, trendy, and WAY cooler then everyone else who put on their standard red white and blue. Not to mention the 3 shades look fabulous together!

Dress from Anthropologie
Bag from Etsy
Necklace from Etsy

A red with a very orange base accented by a soft ivory and a very soft blue is a color combination everyone should try!
~erin

Inspired: The Sketchbook Project

I just can't seem to get my Monday post, posted on Mondays.... last night I blame it on my poor little sick Beagle, Pugsly. He wasn't feeling good last night and his sad little puppy eyes got the best of me. My night was devoted to petting and cuddling with him. Needless to say Max (my other dog) was a little jealous :)

However, I do want to share this oh so creative project with you today! I found out about this organization from a post on another blog and it has me giddy with excitement. I am ordering my sketchbook today!

The Sketchbook Project involves purchasing one of their sketchbooks and then pretty much making it YOURS. You also select a topic that you base your creativeness on. I am in need of a regimen like this! Of course there are rules, but for the most part 'the book is your oyster'. The cool thing about these books is that they barcoded/ assigned a number. Once you complete your sketchbook you ship it back and it travels around the US! They have shows where people can go and visit all of the books! The artist gets notified when someone checks out their sketchbook to view. How cool is that!

This has inspired me to do more artsy creative things .... hope it inspires you as well!
Buy a SketchBook!
~erin

Project: Cutesy Kenzie

What a week! Hard to believe it is yet again Friday. Though the week was busy busy busy I allowed myself a little creative hiatus and created a brite yet calming design. I named it Kenzie. Cute name for a cute pattern.

I saw a photo with the poppies and pods in a magazine and sketched them out. Then the search for the perfect color palette began. I didnt want to do the usual red or orange poppies so I looked for another combination that would have a green and a different warm color. I came across various inspiring color combinations with magentas in them..... gorgeous! I loved the vivid magenta paired with a pink with a yellow base for the flowers. By placing the very yellow green behind it the flowers jump right off the page. The pods were meant to be more subtle so I left them just the taupe line art with a white knock out and overlapped them in differing ways. Then I pulled in a great cool neutral color in the coordinate pattern. The blue grey calms the boldness of the flowers perfectly.

Being the cloudy day that it is ..... I think it is the perfect day to spend in my studio. Time to be inspired!
Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here on monday
~erin

Color

Today I was longing to sit out on my deck with an iced latte and a good book (preferably Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos which has been sitting on my nightstand waiting for me to indulge)...... but the rain prevented me from doing that. Thankfully the weather cleared up a little right before my monthly book club meeting!

As we were munching on our chicken sandwhiches I was thinking about how lovely the orange flowers coordinated with my orange and green outdoor pillows. The orange is quite a striking contrast against all the natural greens of the foliage. Don't all of these great outdoor items from 3 of my favorite stores pull the oranges into the outdoor spaces just wonderfully??? The wonderful grey of the lounger is a great neutral to pair with orange. Everyone should have a little orange on their deck!

From top left clockwise: Olivia Star Pendant , Striped Rug , Herbie Herb Planter , Wood Slat Lounger , Alfresco Natural Cafe Dining Set

I will update you on my weekly project on friday... till then surround yourself with some orange!
~erin

Inspiration

After a weekend surrounded by other engaged couples (120 to be exact) how can I not be thinking about my upcoming wedding! My fiance and I attended a marriage retreat through the Catholic church in St. Paul. Inspiring is a good word to describe all of the speakers that passed on advice and knowledge to us about being married. The whole retreat was just a wonderful reminder about how excited i am to be marrying my man!

With that said..... I thought i would share a website of a wedding planning company whom I adore! There mission statement alone makes me swoon....

here are a few of my fav snapshots from their website! I LOVE LOVE LOVE  Mi Mi Design

 
COLOR post coming tomorrow .... untill then... enjoy the sunshine!
~erin

Project: Lila

As everything around me is blooming this month I have been particularly inspired to draw flowers. I see so many beautiful gardens when I take max and pugs for their daily walks that it makes me yearn for some extra minutes in my gardens every day. This week I sketched some daisy like flowers (inspired by my little tangerine gerbera daisy potted on my deck) and named them Lila

 

The color pallette I chose is a little more muted than I am used to. I chose to assign the grey shade for the linework to keep that soft so that the flowers stand out from the rich eggplant color of the background. Though I already created many colorways for each pattern, if you would like to see a different color combination just let me know!!

 
Check back with me monday to see what inspired me over the weekend!
Till then.....
~erin

Color

Little pops of color for a cloudy day....

I am daydreaming about wearing these great outfits from Anthropologie
The names of the colors are perfect for the soft muted colors:
Hibiscus & lemon, radish & eggplant, blush & root
and then they are each paired with a slightly brighter accent color.

Can't you imagine wearing these as you shop and sip your coffee by a lake in MN!
ahhhh.... love it!

~erin

Ellyn Graduates!

Today I will help celebrate my little sister's graduation from Highschool!  I am so proud of her and I am POSITIVE she will go on to do many wonderful math related things in this world :)

And in honor of Ellyn's graduation I will post the cute little pattern I named after her! The simplicity and fun nature of the dots totally fits Ellyn's personality! Pair it with a simple black and white daisy floral and you have a great timeless pattern collection. You can also purchase stationery products with the Ellyn pattern on them on Gina B. Design's website.

I am off to pick up a yummy cake from A Piece of Cake Bakery for her party...mmmm!
~erin

Paige

Don't these rooms scream trendy feminine luxury??? The colors are definitely not my taste for decorating but they seemed like the perfect match for my Paige collection.  I love the mixture of clean modern and traditional.

The soft sweetness of the pinks rounded out by the cool hues of the dull mint green and lavendr accents.

I also loved how this color pallette uses the same soft pinks and purples but adds a modern twist of flare with some bold accent colors! Classy yet edgy.

Doesn't my Paige collection of designs capture all of the above elements?
I started out with the soft hues and gradually added bold color combinations accentuating them.

The fabulous ladies at  Clothworks  slotted these designs for a fabric collection to be released March 2011!

hello

Well everyone .... I am going to dabble with this blogging thing a little bit.
I don't know how frequent it will be but check back every now and then for a little peak at my creativity!
If you have any suggestions about the theme of the posts (besides using it to showcase my designs of course) let me know.... otherwise enjoy!