My Summer Stamps at Impress

Yesterday, I swung by Impress in Tukwila to see their wonderful samples, and see if I could snap some pictures of any cards they made out of my latest stamps. I did some Spring images that I just love (and haven't blogged about yet...), and my Summer designs just hit! It was fun to see their store front display utilizing my designs of lemons, citrus slices, summer drinks, and flip flops!

One of the many things I love about Impress is their clean, modern take on stamping and paper crafts. Their company is infiltrated with talented people who dream up fantastic samples, classes, and new uses for the latest products. Their owners and employees are also very up-to-date with the latest trends in tools, supplies, colors and the like. Every time I go in there I just want to make beautiful stuff and find a reason to throw a party so I can hand-make the invites.

These citrus colors make me SO ready for Summer! I also love the combination of the graphic zigzag with the black & bright yellow.


If any of you are paper-crafters head over to Impress' website and Facebook page to learn more about fun projects, classes and to make a purchase.

Just Dandy Interview & Give Away at Fat Quarterly Blog!

{Blog header I designed for Fat Quarterly Blog for the spirit of the interview & give away}

Head on over to the Fat Quarterly Blog to read my latest interview and to enter to win Just Dandy fabric bundles! Robert Kaufman is giving away Just Dandy bundles to a few lucky readers. All you have to do head over to the Fat Quarterly Blog and leave a comment, letting them know which is your favorite print from my Just Dandy collection. They will randomly select a winner some time next week.

If you aren't familiar with Fat Quarterly, it is a new e-magazine written by modern sewists for modern sewists. Fat Quarterly is released 4 times per year, and each issue features a vibrant mix of content by some of today's most exciting sewists. Fat Quarterly has a blog, an e-magazine and a newsletter. Pretty fun stuff, don't you think?

With the interview, I was asked to design their blog header, which was a lot of fun! Head over to learn more about my design process & to enter to win!

Good luck everyone!!!

What's Your Path?

{This photo is from a hike Jake and I went on earlier this week - one that is about 15 minutes away from our house. That's the beauty about the Seattle area - nature's all around you and right outside your doorstep! What's great about this trail is that it leads down to a rocky beach and ends right at the ocean. I love how trees on all sides surrounded us!}

Recently I had the opportunity to catch up on visiting some blogs - not pretty ones, but informational ones. I first went to Scoutie Girl (I haven’t been there in years!), and then found myself clicking here and there for hours, discovering the rest of them. I got something out of each of these so I thought I'd share them with you, just in case they have the opportunity to inspire you:

1. SCOUTIE GIRL - Where passionate creatives connect, converse & commune

2. WHITE HOT TRUTH - by Danielle Laporte. Because self-realization rocks

3. TARA SOPHIA MOHR - Wise Living. Life Coach

The common thread between the above influencers is that they each dedicate their lives to living them with purpose and to be wholly who they are, and to help others determine what their true gifts, strengths and calling are. To stop trying to be someone else, figure out who you are, and be the best you, you can be. Each one of us has something unique to offer this world in a way only you can - to the people who are around you, to a small platform or a large one.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for Myers-Briggs or Keirsey personality profiling. Just mention it a little bit or start questioning your life's purpose around me and you've got my attention for hours. Oh my poor friends! If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend taking the 20 minute test through Keirsey and then reading your profile to see what resonates with you. I also recommend taking the test Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham who has written a series of awesome, life inspiring books - one of my personal favorites being Strengthsfinder 2.0.

{from A Thoughtful Place blog}

I get quite a few e-mails and direct questions here and there about textile design. What’s interesting to me is that many people think they want to be a textile designer, but have never drawn in their life, or they want a quick answer and don't want to put in the time to learn it or become great at it. It seems they may perceive the life and job of a textile designer to be glorious and therefore want to be/have that even though it's not who they are and not their true passion.

I’ve even had conversations with people who decide to take the textile design path, but when I ask them what their true passion is, they tell me and it’s completely different, and something quite uniquely them and wonderful. But they are afraid to take that path and follow their heart and don’t know how they could make a living doing it because they have not yet plugged in to people from that industry or done the research.

{from Pennywishes on Etsy}

I guess, on a lighter note, haven't we all done that? Haven't we all looked up to someone or some profession and just admired and longed to be that? I know I have, to be honest. But there comes a time when it's time to stop dreaming and DO. To realize who you are, what your gifts and strengths are, what makes you excited and what drains you, and to find a career, purpose or mission that suits YOU.

{originally found on Kind Over Matter}

Blogging for me is quite uncomfortable. I'm such an introvert and not good at small talk when I meet with people – and I really dislike ‘tooting my own horn’. I feel fake, and I don't do fake well. I live with honesty in my heart and being, and have to believe it in order to be it. I live with conviction. I'm more the girl who enjoys sitting with a friend and talking about life and hard things that are going on, for hours. Depth. Meaning. Purpose. So, after some soul searching I have found that in order for blogging to be more exciting and less scary to me, I've got to learn to force myself to open up a little bit and release more of me, post more than pretty pictures - because I'm not being fair to myself or to you by holding myself in.

{from The Notebook Doodles}

I have quite a few friends, including myself right now going through this - discovering how to be the best you, you can be. They have lived their lives on a track for many years, and awoken to their passion and purpose - or realized that what they were doing in their lives truly wasn't them anymore or was suffocating their heart. I'm surrounded by quite a few people in my life, including myself, who have left their corporate jobs to work for themselves - all of us on the road to discovery.

I am now doing what I love and continue to discover more of my loves as the days go on – I love pattern on any surface and now my focus is to create artwork and design solutions for a variety of companies. I’m still figuring out the rest on this new journey – the part of my life that will give it meat and meaning and purpose. Perhaps I will be learning for the rest of my life – but the least I can do is answer the call of my heart and take baby steps towards it and learn to spread my wings little by little. Sure, artwork is beautiful and joyful to create – but to me, it’s not the same as pouring into people who need YOU.

Have you figured out your life’s path already? What is the path your life is on? What is your purpose? What makes you excited when you get to work on it, and what is so boring that you find yourself procrastinating time and time again? What is your personality type and what did you learn?