Hi Reader! The refrain-on-repeat in my house right now is "I'm sooooo excited for Christmas!". I wonder how many times I'll hear that between now and Christmas morning? 1,000? A million? Infinite? I still remember that feeling so well from when I was a kid – the bouncy, tangible anticipation so huge I could barely stand it. Waking up in the middle of the night on Christmas to sneak into the living room to stare at the presents under the tree in awe. Removing one torturous ring each day from...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, What a day here in the United States. I took myself for a long walk earlier today to absorb the news and to wrap my mind around the huge changes coming our way that will impact us in the months and years to come, both here in the USA and around the world. Wherever we each fall on the political spectrum, we're ALL on the human spectrum, and I think most of us can probably agree that there's a lot of darkness in the world right now. A lot of division in this country, and a lot of...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader! The other day I mentioned the Art Bundles For Good giveaway, and I wanted to send you a quick note today because the giveaway is officially open, and I don't want you to miss it if you love online art classes! If you've never heard of the Art Bundles for Good, this is the 9th bundle and it's a really cool thing! The creator and organizer, John Bardos, has gathered more than 80 artists this year (including me) who are contributing 90+ art courses and resources with a total value of...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Every other Tuesday I spend a couple of hours with my friend Becky Hershey and the ladies in The Inner Magic Art Club, and my favorite way that we describe what happens inside the club is that it's "always exactly what I didn't know I needed". We gather together to take a pause from our busy lives, to show up for ourselves and for each other, to make art in community, and then to talk about it. But I feel better after every single time we gather. Sometimes it feels hard to make the...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader! I've spent the last couple of days doing a product photoshoot with my wonderful assistant Emily in preparation for the opening of my holiday shop on November 12th, and oh my goshhhhh I'm so excited to show you everything!! The calendar photo above is my FAVE, but I also can't resist showing you one more: Ornaments!! I mean honestly. Could this be any cuter? What's most interesting to me about these photos is that historically I've always thought of myself as being a "bad...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, and happy October! This might be my favorite month of all the months. I love when summer turns to fall. I love the cozy weather, and the sweaters, and the extra blankets on the bed, and the leaves and the light changing, and the pumpkin everything, everywhere... There's something so inspiring about this time of year! Do you feel the same way? The painting above is a bit of a nod to the spookiness of this season, with all those little white ghosts floating above the trees, in a...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I'm so excited to share with you that my Pattern Camp course is happening again next weekend, October 5 & 6, and registration is now officially open! 🎉 >> Get all the details right here << I taught a free workshop yesterday called Fall in Love with Illustrator, because that's exactly what happened to me when I taught myself how to use Illustrator and to design patterns. It was slow-going and frustrating for me for a long time, teaching myself how to use Adobe Illustrator back in...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, Happy September! My GOSH was August a wild and chaotic bonanza of experiences in my world! I taught Pattern Camp, had a birthday (and a birthday sale!), camped at the epically beautiful Crater Lake, my son started 3rd grade, and I spent this past weekend in Colorado with my kids where we went to a college football game, did a super hard hike, spent a lot of time with my whole family, and I even got to go see my very favorite musician, Gregory Alan Isakov, at Red Rocks (with seats...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Enrollment for Pattern Camp is closing this Friday, August 2nd! Hey Reader – Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having an awesome week so far. :) My kids are in camp this week and I'm spending my days in the studio putting the final finishing touches on my Pattern Camp course that's happening this coming weekend, August 3 & 4. I'm so dang excited about this course! Watching students go from frustrated to confident using Adobe Illustrator, from patterns being a mystery to being able to design them...
5 months ago • 2 min read