Coupon Code!

Hello Friday!

Since I'm going on vacation next week and won't be able to ship orders until the 8th I thought I'd be nice and leave you with a coupon code present. So everything (yes everything) in my Etsy shop is now 20% off thru Sunday the 7th with code: VACAY20

I've also added automatic Thank You Coupons that will be sent to all buyers from now on thru the end of the year.

Because I love you! and as a huge thank you for supporting my work.

What's Up!

Oh man I think I'm already obsessed with the new video feature on Instagram. I think it's going to be really fun to share little tid bits from my illustrating process, my environment, and even me (if I dare.)
I've already created a handful which you can view here, but this one pictured I created today.

This week I've been working a little bit quicker than usual. Plus I've had a few more projects than usual. (Hence the blog silence still.) Next week Johan and I are taking a quick 5 day vacation, and I'd like to have the majority of my projects finished by then so that I can relax and not feel so guilty about missing work. I've been working on a few What's in my Bags, several blog headers, a logo, and other custom illustrations. I can't wait to show them all off once they've been published!

We're off to Gotland (the island between Sweden and Finland) on Monday. I'm pretty dang excited since I've never been and I've heard such great things about the island. Such as there's always nice weather and it doesn't really look like Sweden... even though it is. We're going to take our car and try to see as much as we can. Hopefully take a million gorgeous photos too. Feels like we haven't gone on a photo adventure in a while.

It's going to be great to get away from my computer screen for a while, and just enjoy another side of Sweden.

Midsommar!

This weekend, or rather on Friday, was one of Sweden's biggest holidays Midsommar. Johan and I packed our weekend bags and headed out to the country where we met up with friends, their adorable son and Johan's parents. The weather reports stated no rain, and we had the most gorgeous weather all morning and for the majority of the day. It of course rained just a bit (in Midsommar tradition) but we were happy all the same. We dressed the Midsommar pole in wild flowers, had a delicious pickled herring lunch, and possibly a few too many snaps. It was nice relaxing weekend, and I sure had fun playing with this little dude.

Here's to a new week!

Blogger WIMB: Ann of 'A Quirky Lifestyle'

Long time no see blog world! I've been busy trying to get our apartment in order and it's just taking much much longer than I could ever have thought. Before all my free time just went to extra work and blogging. Now all my free time goes to shopping for home appliances, setting up shelving units, unpacking boxes, organising and reorganising installing appliances and all that fun home owner kind of jazz.

So I've been slacking on my Blogger What's in my Bag series. How dare I! Not this week though. I brought out a fresh piece of crisp white paper and drew the fashionable and quirky bag items of English blogger Ann of A Quirky Lifestyle. If you haven't heard of this girly you really should check out her blog where she covers everything from food, fashion, travel and her love for allotments.

I bet you can tell I enjoyed drawing that bedazzled IPhone case (I did) and that gorgeous alligator Alexa (sigh). Got to admit those Moschino white heart shaped sunglasses gave me hell. I had to redraw them about 5 times (and they're still a bit wonky!)

As always you can see the entire series here on Pinterest...
And you can get one for your self in my Etsy shop here...

Thanks so much for following along and loving my illustration!

Week 23

Hello Friday! I'm so happy you're here!

• It's been a great week and my studio is finally becoming a bit more cozy. I've only got about 1 more box to sort through and unpack and then just get some art up on the walls and it'll be finished (as finished as can be). I'm also considering curtains because I think that will look rather romantic and pretty. Even designed the curtain fabric myself (go me!). All I need now is to bite the bullet and order a swatch to make sure it's perfect and then get a few yards.

• So happy to finally share my guide to Stockholm this week. If you some how missed it, you can read it here in issue 5 of Pouf Magazine.

• I've got a bike! A really rusty old thing but it's still nice and it'll be great for taking a ride around of pretty neighborhood with the boyfriend on sunny summer nights. p.s. We've been having the most gorgeous summer weather for a few days now. Sure hope this holds up all summer long!

• And a few other details from my new workspace. I'm loving the hanging shelves I got at IKEA. Still kind of in shock that I have an entire room to myself. Happiness.


Lastly, I have some rather disturbing news... Someone has stolen one of my scarf designs (only changed background colors, or a few colors) and is selling them across the United States as their own. I haven't licensed the image, so it has definitely been stolen, plus you can see from the images below that it is quite obvious that the design is mine. (I also recall the hours and hours I spend creating it too, so this is just so very devastating.) Just makes me soooo sooo soo very sad that someone would steal my work and I'm definitely taking action (with the help of attorneys) to sort this horrible matter out.

My design:

(At this time I won't be publishing the company name) Their cheap copy:

Why? Oh well, I'll keep you posted on the progress. Until then I hope you have a really great weekend.

Stockholm Map

Thought it would be fun to take a closer look at my map of Stockholm. If you still haven't read my Stockholm Guide where all of these places are outlined you can find that here...

Stockholm is so gorgeous, and absolutely my favorite city so it was pretty difficult from keeping my guide from being a million pages long but I tried to keep it down to just a handful of great places spread out around the entire city.

Stockholm is split up into 7 very different sections and I like them each for their own unique style and vibe.

• Södermalm: I spend most of my time (and feel most comfortable) in the southern part of Stockholm because I live around this area, and do most of my errands here. Södermalm is a little more casual and arty than the rest of Stockholm and I know my way around this area the best.
• Östermalm: As much as I'd like to fit in to super chic and elegant Östermalm it's just a pinch too stuck up and expensive for me. Window shopping is the best here though of course.
• Norrmalm: The inner city area is all hustle and bustle but not so much so you'd get overwhelmed or lost. This is where I like to do my shopping if I've got some money to spend. There is seriously a H&M on every corner.
• Vasastan: This is a part of town which is really unfamiliar to me even though this is where my Father grew up. It's mainly a quiet residential area (boring if you ask me, sorry Dad.)
• Kungsholmen: Also another area of Stockholm I unfortunately almost forget about. This is too bad because this part of town is actually really gorgeous especially along the water of Norrmälarstrand.
• Djurgården: I describe this island as Stockholm's Backyard as it almost feels like you're out in the country. Great for long walks or a picnic. I especially like to take the ferry instead of the bus. Really feels like your taking a trip, though it only takes about 10 minutes.
• Gamla Stan: The cosiest and most historical part of Stockholm might seem like a tourist trap, but definitely shouldn't be ignored. I'll never get tired of exploring these tiny old quirky streets. The Royal Castle is pretty okay too.

Have you ever been to Stockholm? or do you live here too? What's your favorite part of town?

Goal-Getter

I just finished reading a really inspiring blog post by blog maven Joy Cho of Oh Joy about "The Art of Being a Goal-Getter." I adore how honest and open she is with her readers about her success and how she works. (Why are so many people so secretive?) Joy really is such an inspiration. Her style is incredibly cute, her blog posts are always immaculately put together and she has a way of collaborating with the most amazing brands on really lovely projects. Of course I'd love to be little more like her.

I wouldn't describe myself as a goal-getter but I'm not a lazy bum either. I never got straight A's in school but mainly B's and I was definitely no Class President; I didn't even partake in any school clubs. (Remember I was a ballet dancer, not a loser.) I'm somewhere in between... I wouldn't be running my own business if I wasn't a pinch of a goal-getter and I have achieved quite a few things that I'm really proud of. I just think that I don't get as much done as I could or as much as super-dee-duper overachieving goal-getters get done. (Does that even make any sense? How could I possibly even compare myself to these sorts of people? Should I even compare myself to them?)

There are a few projects that I've dreamed up and then they've just been left on the back burner. I'm not even quite certain what it is that's holding me back.

So... How can I become more of a Goal-Getter:

• I think I should work on creating more structure in my work days. If I allotted specific times to do specific things I might get more done. Right? I've never really tried this out because I'll start drawing and it will lead to more drawing and then it just doesn't make sense to stop and start bookkeeping or something or other. I might try it again though. But I do need a little more structure and discipline from reading blogs for hours or staring into space aimlessly. I don't think it has to be so structured as planned down to the minute or on a ticking timer, but a little organisation of my work day couldn't be a bad thing.

• I absolutely know I need to pitch my work and ideas to companies, agents and other creatives way more often than I do. I seriously suck that this part of my job. I am so wimpy, and almost scared to get in contact with people it seems. I always have to really really push myself sometimes to write the simplest of emails. Suppose it's the fear of rejection, or that they'll think I'm silly. (I am silly for thinking so.)

• Be like Nike... and Just Do it!

Are you a goal-getter? 

Pouf! Issue 5

The 5th issue of Pouf Magazine went live yesterday. Yay! It was gorgeous as always and included a handful of my illustrations, but this issue is a little more special as I created an entire Stockholm Guide telling my Stockholm love story and sharing a few of my favorite spots and tips. I'm so proud of how it turned out and hope you'll turn to page 34 to check it out here...

Hope you like it! I've been wanting to share a few of my favorite spots in Stockholm for a while now, and Pouf was such a great platform.

Back to Work

Alright, it's been over a week since we moved and I'm finally getting my workspace/life together again. It took a little longer than I had imagined because we had to wait for painters to make my new space nice and white, and they weren't available until later than we had planned. Plus we've had to go shopping for quite a lot of furniture which takes forever. Actually everything is taking much longer than I remember moving takes. We still haven't unpacked the majority of our boxes. Only the kitchen is pretty much finished, and we only set up our living room yesterday evening. We've also only managed to hang two pictures (just about 40 more to go.) I can't wait until all the boxes are unpacked and everything is in it's place.

A few Instagram photos from how our new place is coming along...

• My new studio space started off with really dated brown floral wallpaper. Super cute and vintage but not really my style. I want something a bit neutral so that I can have a clean pretty light space to work and create.
• The living room was also waiting for a fresh updated coat of white paint (instead of grandpa stripes) so I temporarily set up my computer on an island of boxes and furniture in the middle of the room.
• The kitchen was first to be set up and we've already enjoyed a few great meals here. Only one little set back, our new oven doesn't work. Got to get that fixed asap!
• My studio is finally painted white and I've got all my furniture set up and built. I think it's really coming together!

Can't wait to show you the rest when it's all ready!