enviable envelopes

naturesmyfriend — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:06:02 +0000

Since moving to the Kootenays I seem to have gone in an ebb and flow with my mail art. It is a hobby that I love, but is also one that’s easily neglected when shows and other pressing matters arise. The beginning of May offered me a bit of time to get caught up on replies! Above is the pile of results, below are closer shots of a few packages that graced some of my friend’s mailboxes this week. Sent with ♥ to Hera Fraser Sent with ♥ to Nick Oostyen Sent with ♥ to Jane Murray Sent with ♥ to Helen Young Sent with ♥ to Kathy Dahl

Filed under: Mail Art, Philatelic Tagged: cool mail, decorating envelopes, envelopes, fancy envelopes, helen young, hera fraser, jane murray, kathy dahl, letter writing, letters, Mail art, nick oostyen, pen pals, philatelic, postage, snail mail, stamps, vintage postage, writing letters to pen pals

recharging

naturesmyfriend — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:28:43 +0000

Hadn’t really taken a little break since the spring show season, and I haven’t been on the road with my fiance since December. This past long weekend offered up to opportunity to head to one of our favorite places on earth, my family cabin in Invermere. We soaked up the gorgeous scenery, indulged in way too much good food, threw back a few drinks, laughed and chatted with dear friends and family, swung clubs on the golf course… basically just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. John was deserving of the time off, and I feel recharged and ready to tackle the end of spring!

Filed under: Family, Food, Inspiration, Travel Tagged: cabin, invermere, long weekend, recharge, relax, roadtrip, time off, travel

too good tuesday #8

naturesmyfriend — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:42:11 +0000

This was too good to me today, and it’s the only thing I feel like celebrating right now. I woke up feeling awful (mostly due to recent stress and sickness), so I decided to take a rare day off of working out early, to catch some more well-needed z’s. I awoke exactly 3 hours later; good things come in threes. Sometimes it is the simplest things that can make us the happiest.

Filed under: too good tuesday Tagged: count your blessings, happy, optimistic, too good, too good tuesday

things organized neatly

naturesmyfriend — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:06:24 +0000

I posted this picture a little over a month ago on instagram after doing a giant grocery haul upon our return from One of a Kind Toronto. It was inspired by a hashtag I stumbled upon called #thingsorganizedneatly… my heart stopped. It is a beautiful feed; one that I now check regularly.

Filed under: Uncategorized

too good tuesday 7

naturesmyfriend — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:00:09 +0000

YAY, too good tuesday is back! Lots of things to be happy & thankful for: It was my birthday last tuesday! And it was too good: festive army balloon, epic pulled chicken tacos, scrumptious a la mode brownies, raspberry inspired cocktails, purple tulips and a happy and jingly chloroplast. I also got many messages or calls from loved ones and a few belated gifts arrived too!Getting the bikes tuned up and hitting the hills! My parents buried dearest dexter‘s ashes on a beautiful hill on the family cabin’s property: offering him a mighty fine resting spot, and hopefully further closure for all of us. A return to childhood with healthy snacks: ants on a log! The top row was the 1st test with hummus, cracked pepper & basil; no clever name for it as of yet though, nor the other “log” experiments I am dreaming up.A fantastic “may the fourth be with you” kegger party, which I made an epic t-shirt for. Geekery and alcohol will always prevail.

A lot of time was spent with my sketchbooks last week too (as I mentioned in my post yesterday). Any too good things happen lately that you’d like to share?

Filed under: bicycle, Family, Food, too good tuesday Tagged: ants on a log, biking, birthday, counting blessings, dexter, happy, positivity, recipes, star wars, too good tuesday, tuesday

spring sketchbook snaps

naturesmyfriend — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:18:45 +0000

Last week consisted of a lot of spring cleaning, but it also yielded tons of much needed creativity. Because of this, my sketchbooks saw a lot of love. I’ve been trying to just doodle and sketch more, as I tend to over work a lot of drawings due to my obsession with detail and texture. Simplifying my illustrations has been fun. Although of course, I can’t stay away from meticulously drawing animals, and so a few more excessive renderings have started to emerge. Some new pieces in my ongoing collaborative sketchbooks with Anika Starmer, Patterns & Paws, have started to come together. Stoked to finally have a bit of time to devote to these beauties so I can mail them back to Maryland soon. What have you been drawing in your sketchbook?

Filed under: Birds, Drawing, journal, Journals & Notebooks, Sketchbook Tagged: anika starmer, artist, birds, collaboration, drawing, drawings, illustration, illustrations, journal, mushrooms, patterns and paws, sketchbook, sketchbook drawings, visual journal

getting back to my roots

naturesmyfriend — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:31:21 +0000

I have been home in Castlegar for only 5 days, and time has flown by with unpacking, organizing and socializing. I managed to do some doodling over the weekend and also enjoyed some delicious meals. With the start of a new week, I am getting back to my roots: I want to delve deep into my studio and create some new work, as I have spent so many weeks just focused on the business side of my art. I need to filter, distill and archive all of the thoughts that have crossed my mind during these spring shows and with this I hope to grow and expand with new product/business ideas as well as solidify some exciting future studio opportunities that involve traveling to new places. I also have tons of beautiful things that will soon be uploaded to etsy. Fun things to come, sorry to have been quiet for so long.

Filed under: Inspiration

Make It! Vancouver Edition

naturesmyfriend — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 01:44:23 +0000

That’s right west-coasters, get your party boots on, and get your booty down to the Croatian Culture Centre on Commercial Drive RIGHT NOW for Vancouver’s MAKE IT SPRING SHOW! This weekend is going to yet again prove that Make It is the coolest craft show out there, so if you’re in town come visit me: Friday from 4-9, Saturday from 11-7, and Sunday from 11-5! You can find the nature’s my friend booth right by the stage, so you can check out the animals and enjoy the live music at the same time. Oh and don’t forget to also bring me a pint (YES, that’s right, the event has a liquor license)! Hope to see you party animals there :)

Filed under: Exhibitions, Travel, Uncategorized

a secret something (part 2)

naturesmyfriend — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:14:15 +0000

I began talking about this special commissioned piece yesterday, and I am so excited to finally share it with the world. It is a 22″ x 28″ drawing, created solely with graphite pencil. Yesterday, Teddy (my fiance’s friend who commissioned this piece) was finally able to present the newly framed drawing to his daughter. My heart practically melted when I saw the photograph!
How sweet is she, and how great does the piece look all matted and framed up! Thank you again to Teddy for allowing me to create such a wonderful memento that will be cherished by this sweet girl for life! What do you guys think of my stern owl and squishy squirrel?

Filed under: Uncategorized

a secret something (part 1)

naturesmyfriend — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:15:14 +0000

I started a little project months ago, for one of my fiance’s best friends, Teddy; he wanted to get something meaningful for his daughter Autumn’s second birthday (not just another pile of toys that would eventually get left behind). After seeing my grizzly portrait that hangs in my family’s cabin, he knew he wanted to commission a large graphite drawing from me. The other two points of inspiration, came directly from his daughter: her nickname “squishy squirrel”, and this stern look that she often gives her dad (reminiscent of a very serious owl). We talked a bit about imagery, but Teddy basically left things up to me… Since we were staying with his family for the OOAK show, I decided to double to size of his commissioned drawing, as a thank you for hosting us. Today I am sharing a couple process photos, and tomorrow I will share the finished piece, along with Autumn’s reaction!

Filed under: Adorable, Beasts, Drawing, Human, Inspiration Tagged: art, autumn's owl, baby, birthday present, custom animal illustration, custom graphite drawing, custom pencil illustration, drawing, graphite drawing, owl drawing, pencil drawing, teddy