inspire/invite

I'm really starting to get into stationery, folks. A few wedding invites under my belt and now I want to do it all. It allows for hand drawn type and fun colors and cute things. So yesterday I decided I was going to challenge myself by making a small trend board for a theoretical party and then create an invite to go along with it.

It was so much fun. SO MUCH FUN, this is the kind of thing that I think is fun. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

Just kidding! Nothing is wrong with me, I just like drawing fun fall harvest party things. And hey - if you're planning on hosting a harvest party you're in luck, because this baby has a nice big empty box for you to fill in the details via photoshop/word/mspaint/a pen.

Download the hi-res file here here (sorry for anyone who encountered a broken link! I fixed it. -Emma From the Future) for all your pumpkiny party needs! And then invite me to the party so I can try that roasted veggie pizza!

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table setting

Hooray! I've finished up another project from the freelance files that I can now show to you. The Heavy Table is my go to blog for all things food related in the Twin Cities - I trust their opinion dearly, going so far as to order the flavor of ice cream they liked from the ice cream place around the corner. They're also behind so many exciting food related projects, the most recent one being the Secret Atlas of North Coast Foods. It was already fully funded on Kickstarter (woo!) when I got the call to supply some spot images of random foods found all across this fair land. 

 In the book these babies will probably be black and white, but I find it easiest to start in color and adjust the greyscale after everything is all finished up. Does that sound crazy? It sounds crazy now that I'm typing it.

Whatever, HANDS IN THE AIR DON'T CAREEEE (insert appropriate emoji here). How about you just enjoy this sampling of some of the images that I included on my website and buy that dang book as soon as it's out! And then hire me to make some food illustrations for you, because IT IS SO FUN.

cel style (#4)

click image for source

Woops! It's been quite awhile since I've done one of these fun little Miyazaki inspired outfit posts. I've been focusing quite a bit of energy on my freelance work and this ol' bloggy has been pretty clearly reflecting it. So let's take a little break, shall we?

Spirited Away! Even though this is a pretty popular Miyazaki movie, I'd been avoiding doing an outfit post for it because Chihiro (the main character, another great multi-faceted heroine who grows with the plot) spends the entire movie in very childish clothing OR a salmon colored garment. A little much, either way. However with the oncoming late summer/early fall weather I think I have something figured out - even with a little nod to Yubaba's totally amazing earrings and Chihiro's adorable soot buddies.

earrings / scarf / dress / boots / bag

pie chart

Last week I got an e-mail from Annie asking me if I wanted to help her make typographic pies. How could I say no? Lettering and desserts... it's too good to be true!

So I came up with some designs on the fly and made my way to her adorable apartment in Minneapolis and we scrapped some fancy pies together! 

A pro tip to everyone who wants to try this at home: maybe try a simpler design than I came up with at first, or try something on a flatter pie. The peach and apple pies were ever so difficult to get perfect.. and don't get me started on the intricacies of baking the negative spaces inside the letters separately!

Instead let's just admire all the gorgeous photos that Annie took...

We gave up on the pie above after having tested a few others - this one would've been impossible to read if I had cut out the crust, so we dusted it with cinnamon! WIN.

bonus! some behind the scenes photos I took on my phone...

 

fair enough

After reading Annie's round up of her day at the fair (she got some DONUT BEER, so jealous) I figured I might as well do a little one of my own!

If you're not from Minnesota you, as I did when I moved here, might be scratching your head in confusion. "The state fair?" You might be asking yourself, "People go to those? Isn't it just a bunch of cows?" I mean, yes, it is a bunch of cows. BUT THERE'S MORE. Minnesota takes its fair VERY seriously - the fairgrounds are on a permanent stake of land, not a field like all the county fairs I'd been to in Michigan. There are PERMANENT buildings. There are REAL STREETS, you can see them on google maps and everything! Maybe other states do this as well, but in Michigan they don't even have a state fair anymore, so I can't exactly speak on the matter.

But really folks, the most important part of the fair is getting the weirdest food you can, drinking beer, walking around, people watching and maybe playing some arcade games. This year we went late on the very last day, so all the animals were already gone... but it was nice and cool, and the crowds were down. You could even hear the vocal stylings of Toby Keith wafting from the Grandstand.

 

waiting in line outside the grandstand for our fried olives / first beer of the day

In case you were curious, here is a list of everything I tasted on that day. If you're into healthy food you  might want to skip this portion, otherwise you may experience heart palpitations.

-cheese curds

-beer (3)

-comet corn (illustrated above, these were like.. liquid nitrogen soaked, cap'n crunch flavored nuggets)

-fried olives stuffed with cream cheese (worth the amazingly long wait)

-a piece of fried banana

-corn dog

-cronut dosant 

-minneapple pumpkin pie and cinnamon ice cream

   

clockwise: the last fried olive / alex goes for the gold / giant jenga sits alone / alli and her dosant haul

We also went down the giant slide, which was more fun than one might think.

 

inside the agriculture & horticulture building / kidway at dusk

tool time

I find it hard to believe, but it's quickly nearing a year for me as a freelancer. It seems like yesterday that I started out on my own. It hasn't been easy, but I've learned a lot along the way - and there's still so much more to learn! For instance, if anyone has any tips on how not to panic every day during a dry spell PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I think I'm finally coming out of it, but it's been a little scary these past couple months.

A year, I realize, is hardly anything in the scope of a career, but since I've made it this far I wanted to celebrate a little.... and what better way than to highlight some of my daily routine and favorite tools?

breakfast /  It's the most important meal of the day, doncha know? It's also my favorite meal, there are so many different options! Pancakes! Hashbrowns! Bacon! Fruit! Coffee! Mimosas! But of course, during the work week I try to keep it simple (and non-alcoholic!). 

This week's breakfast "jams" (haha):

-Iced coffee, made from Trader Joe's cold press concentrate. It's making my life so much easier guys.

-Yogurt! Nom nom nom.

-Toasted baguette with my secret raspberry jalapeño jam that I only ever find at Kowalskis.

pens + pencils /  Years and years of buying art supplies leads any artist to become weirdly specific about their drawing utensils. Personally I like mechanical pencils - there's something about that always sharp point that I cannot get enough of. 

other favorite drawin' tools:

-my wacom bamboo (pictured)! Works perfectly, and the tablet has a touchpad feature that you can turn on and off easily... which is nice when you accidentally leave your mouse on all the time and it runs out of batteries... not like I do that or anythingggggg

-Staedtler Mars plastic eraser, for all those mistakes 

-Pigma Graphic 1, a beautiful felt tip pen with archival ink that is perfect for consistent line quality.

-Kuretake Zig Letter Pen (pictured). Here is the thing about Japanese pens: THEY ARE AMAZING. This pen has a dreamy slightly flexible nib for varying line weight, AND you can buy different body colors and different ink refill colors! AH what a dream.

computer things /  When you don't work around other human beings it's good to have the aid of your computerized friends!

-NETFLIX. If if I don't meet a friend during the day to work at a coffee shop or to chat over lunch I will generally turn on a TV show over lunch. It's a nice mental break, and I'm able to catch up on shows that Bryan wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.... like FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. How did I live so long without this charming program in my life?! Landry (for the lols) and Riggins (for the hots) alone make it worth the watch. 

-Clocked is the result of my exhaustive pouring over every single time keeping app in the app store. This guy is simple to use, not too many bells and whistles to mess me up and pretty to boot! It even reminds me to take a breather ever once in awhile... and has made keeping track of my hours so much easier.

-Spotify! This one is a no brainer, right? I am not a CD collector by any means, so Spotify is the best way for me to keep up with new music AND satisfy my need for some good ol' bad top 40 tunez.

-89.3 The Current, aka my other way to listen to music without buying CDs. Wherever my life takes me, I will be a lifelong member of Minnesota Public Radio because of this little station. Even if you don't live in Minnesota you should give their livestream a try.. the scope of music they play might surprise you!

Do you work from home? What keeps you on task and excited every day?

full moon

Okay children of the VHS era. (and beyond, I suppose), how many of you had a movie that you always put on when you stayed home sick from school? Like chicken noodle soup and a couch full of blankets, it's something comforting that you know you can count on when you feel like crap.

The NeverEnding Story was definitely my sick movie. My mom probably realized that it had the great combo of being long for a children's movie, excitement, fun creatures, and a pretty princess. What else do you need?! That's all I could think about when the Silver Screen Society asked me if I'd do a piece based on the movie for this month's series. Sorry Atreyu & Artax, I know you guys are the tops but the Childlike Empress is totally my jam. I mean, just look at this shot from her set. THAT DRESS. I die.

I also sized this piece so you can print it out and use it as a BOOKMARK. OOOOH, AHHH! Just in case, you know, you want to go out and read the book version. Download the hi-res bookmark file here.

Since it's Friday and maybe you need some tunes to jam out to, here are a couple songs I listened to in order to get into the Moonchild state of mind.

clogs - cocodrillo

the dirty projectors + björk - on and ever onward