NARBC 2014 // Popcorn

Alright, so yesterday was one of those super-fantastic days that had it rained would have been perfect.

• I got to sleep in.
• I had a Peanut Butter smoothie (aka Nectar of the Gods...seriously) from Smoothie King for Breakfast.  I've never tried anything else from Smoothie King because I just can't pass this one up when I go in there.
• Matthew and I went to the NARBC show (North American Reptile Breeder's Conference).  The NARBC is the "big show" in Texas that comes around twice a year on a Saturday and Sunday in Arlington.  There's a smaller one ( that comes around every couple of months that we're going to this coming Saturday (October 4th).  I debated and debated on taking my DSLR to the NARBC show, but knowing that it was going to be packed and that I was looking to get something, I decided that I'd take it to the smaller show in October instead.  As you can see from the photo above, I came home with the prettiest little Albino Ball Python!  Her name is Popcorn and I. Am. In. Love!!!  
  
• We had lunch at Hooter's and I had their Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.  That thing is amazing.  Seriously, I would kill for that thing.
• I came home and set Popcorn up in her new home, and gloated over how pretty she is.  
• I took a much needed nap.  It's amazing how lots of excitement will wear you out and make you sleepy.  I never take naps, but I was pooped.
• I woke up in time to catch the mid-season finale of Outlander.  It's quickly become one of my new favorites, and I ordered the hardback of book one after the episode.  I have a feeling that I'm going to tear through those books and finish the entire series in no time!

Have you ever been to a Reptile Expo?

P.S. If you're interested in going to a Reptile Expo, but don't know when or where they're held, you can check HERE!

Shop Update: New Illustrations!!!

I have been working my bum off on so many cute designs over the past 10 days, and I am so proud of how much I've accomplished in such a short amount of time!  I'm getting closer and closer to my shop launch which is October 11th in case you missed my last Shop Update post!

Here's a sneak peak at all of my illustrations so far:

I've been turning them all into magnets, and I love seeing the collection as it grows on my fridge :)  I'm super excited that I've finally discovered a medium and a style that I love to work with: Watercolors!!!  Not only have I been testing them all out on magnets, but I've uploaded all of my designs to my Society6 Shop which you may have seen on my sidebar :)  Some of my favorite items from there so far include:

Which design is your favorite!?  I'd love to get some feedback and welcome any suggestions on characters or quotes you'd like to see!  I'll keep you guys updated on the process of preparing for my shop launch, and I hope you're having a great week!

Galaxy Nails

A couple of weeks ago I tried doing Galaxy Nails for the first time, and aside from a couple of blunders I feel like they turned out pretty good!



You can find the tutorial that I used to create these over at Aubrey's blog!

Nature Photos: Here & There

A few nature photos taken here and there with my iPhone.  Enjoy!



The caterpillar a couple of photos up was dangling from the temperature gauge and over the course of an hour or so he had set himself up in a cocoon!  I didn't have the patience to sit and watch from start to finish, but it was neat going out there every now and then to check the progress.  So neat!

Man Crush Monday // Chris Pratt

Okay, so Chris Pratt is quite possibly the most adorable dude on the planet right now.  I mean seriously, I'm not sure I could find anyone more suitable to start off this Man Crush Monday feature than this guy.

If you've never seen Parks and Rec, which is what I first saw him in, here's one of my favorite clips of him as Andy Dwyer:

And if you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy yet, I think you should see it as soon as f*cking possible :)  Aside from Chris Pratt, this film has a crazy string of totally awesome lines.  From Jackson Pollock references to "Pelvic Sorcery" to "Don't ever call me a thesaurus"...this movie really does have fantastic quotes. 

On a recent trip to Target, Matthew was kind enough to snag this bad-ass Star-Lord doll for me and I love that it repeats sooooo many lines from the movie.


I would totally be lying if I said these photos didn't make me more excited to see Jurassic World than the dinosaurs...and I LOVE dinosaurs!

 I mean come on!  Holy Jeeez right?!

P.S. He and Anna Faris have got to be one of the hottest/most fun couples ever right?

Shop Progress: Getting Closer

I'm so excited you guys!  I'm launching my shop in October!  I've been working on new designs and illustrations lately and have finally found my niche!  Over the past year or so, I've gone through all of these internal battles with myself over opening my Etsy shop.  I seem to always have some sort of excuse for delaying the launch.  Sometimes I feel like what I'm creating isn't original or artsy enough and other times I tell myself that I don't have a wide enough range of products or not enough products at all.

I'm going to just throw all of those excuses to the side though, say fuck it, and just do it.  I'm setting my launch date to October 11th because it's the first Saturday in October that I'll be off work, and I know I won't be able to concentrate at work if I'm constantly wondering how my launch is going.  I'm not going to obsess anymore over how many designs I open with or anything else like that.  Whatever I have ready by October 11th is what I'll open with.  I'll always be adding new items so that's fine :)

I recently purchased a set of Concentrated Watercolors and everything else I needed to start watercolor painting, and I have fallen head over heels in love with it!!!  I've decided that all of my products will originate from my tattoo style watercolor paintings of Pop Culture favorites, quotes, and trends.

"Pretty Bird" was my very first Watercolor Painting and I love the way it turned out.  In case you didn't catch it, it's from Dumb & Dumber :)  The "Forever and Ever" one is my favorite!  The Shining is at the top of the list of my favorite Horror films, and since I'm launching in October, I thought it would be perfect to start a series of Horror genre illustrations!  

Here's a look at what they look like as Magnets or Buttons:

So what do you guys think?  If you have any requests for designs you'd like to see just let me know and I'll see what I can do!