happy weekend

Today I have been super busy working on  the french project I mentioned yesterday. It's left me ready for the weekend.  Lucky for me, it's shaping up to be a fun one. I am going to a baby shower and bbq. And I will get to see some out-of-town friends. Plus, the weather is suppose to be great. Enjoy the weekend!

little beans

It's been a busy couple of days. I finished these two little beans. The print is now available in my shop. And I am also working on a project for all of the french speakers out there; which I hope will be ready early next week. So far, its been a pretty good week!

wedded bliss

Photography by the amazing Connie Grosch.

Last night Mister and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. So naturally,  I have been thinking a lot about our wedding. 

It was important to us that the day feel truly personal, so we committed to making as many things as possible. I did the designing and Mister and I printed, cut, glued and tied our little hearts out! We had a ton of fun, and a few moments of stress, making everything. I thought I would share a few of the things we made.

First up, our programs. It was crazy hot that summer so we decided to make them into fans. I think our guest were pretty glad for it. Next is the cake topper. We chose to do a mound of cookies, shaped like a cake, since Mister is nuts about chocolate chips cookies. And finally, our favors. There was a honey element in our ceremony so we thought it was a nice tie-in to give our guests honey to take home. It was the most beautiful day of my life, and I am so grateful to everyone who was there to be a part of it!

inspiration monday

There's nothing like starting the week off feeling inspired. So, I thought I would share some of what sparks my creativity. And, who knows, with any luck this might become a regular Monday blog occurrence. 

This Monday will be the music of Elizabeth Mitchell. While she is not a visual artist, I find myself listening to her albums over and over again while I am sketching or painting. I relate to the sweetness and simplicity of her songs. Her voice is so pleasing and light. The above illustration is direct result of listening to her album, You Are My Little Bird. And the print is now available in my etsy shop.

blog love

Image courtesy of barrett all. © Patty Barrett 2010.

two happy apples got some blog love yesterday! You can read the post here.  barrett all is a fun & witty blog written by, my dear friend, Patty Barrett. She is a wonderful writer and hysterical improv comedienne living in Botston. Also, if you are considering having a dance party I strongly recommend inviting her, she is the best dance party dancer ever.

woo hoo!

I had a fretful morning. I had just announced the opening of my shop when I realized my website was down. My host was having some type of server error. Not much I could do about that, so Mister took me to the movies to get my mind off things. We saw Inception. It was twisty, tense fun and I totally recommend it. 

Anyway, once we got home I raced right to the computer to see if the server issue was fixed (it was). And lo and behold, while I was away, I made my first sale! I printed & packaged and skipped the whole way to the post office. I was (and still am) on cloud nine! I have spent so long working to make two happy apples a reality, it is really exciting to watch it come to life.

two happy apples store, yay!

www.twohappyapples.etsy.com

After a full day of cropping, image resizing, typing, typing, and more typing the two happy apples store is up!

two happy apples website, yay!

www.twohappyapples.com

The website is up and running. Check it out!

bookmarks

As a way to say thanks, I have decided to include bookmarks in each two happy apples order. While I was away on vacation, the package containing my bookmarks arrived. It was a pleasant surprise, and I am thrilled with the way they turned out!

i'm back!

 

 

Mister and I got back last night from a very relaxing vacation to aruba. The beach was amazing! The sand was white & soft and the water was so warm and clear. It was the perfect escape from New York City. We took a couple of snorkeling excursions which were really neat. I think my favorite part of the trip was swimming in the ocean. We also spent a lot of time reading on the  beach. My beach read was The Passage by Justin Cronin, which I would definitely recommend. 

My second favorite thing about the trip was our animal encounters. There were funny iguanas all around the grounds of our hotel that made me think of Herzog's Bad Lieutenant. And then we got a real treat, watching baby sea turtles hatch! Which we were so lucky to see, because they rarely hatch during the day and it happened on our last day there. It was an amazing thing to witness. And I can now say without a doubt that newborn baby sea turtles are just about the cutest things ever. All in all, it was a fantastic trip!

mr. postman

I love getting things in the mail. Letters are very nice, but packages are especially exciting.  And yesterday the mailman brought me a really great one, my business cards! Despite being nervous about the printer I was using, I am satisfied with how they turned out. I can't wait to meet someone new and whip these little bitties out. In fact, I was so excited about the possibility of pulling a card out of my bag that i picked up one of these!

the start of it all

 It was just around three years ago that the idea for two happy apples came into my mind. I knew I loved to doodle and make gifts for friends and family, but I didn't know exactly what to do about it. So I went back to school for fine art. By that time I knew that I wanted to be a full-time self-employed artist and felt that studying art would help me refine my skills and hone my vision. Several years, another bachelor's degree, and an intense foray into painting later and here I am ready to launch the business I have dreamed about for so long.

My biggest hurdle, by far, has been self-doubt. wondering if my work is good enough. If I have the discipline to be self-employed. If anyone will buy my art. I have spent long enough worrying that two happy apples might fail. It's time to take a deep breath and do all I can to try and make it succeed. So here I am to share my life, work, and all things two happy apples!