lately in the studio…

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Natalie

Lately the studio has been full of fresh flowers, fabric samples, bags full of craft supplies, coffee mugs, and half-finished projects. I have many things going on all at once this week: finishing up the design of the magazine & moving on to the illustrations, dying fabric to sew into cosmetic bags and pillows, making art to fill my freshly painted frames with, sewing the lining into colorful tote bags, and trying to keep the studio from becoming a complete disaster because of it all! I always seem to pull things off at the last minute, so I’m trying not to worry that things won’t be done in time, and instead I’m just trying to enjoy the process of making things with my hands and working with all of these beautiful bright colors every day.

Have a wonderful week! I’ll check back in with some of my progress soon. xx

happy weekend!

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Natalie

I may have just had the craziest week of my life! And Friday especially was the icing on the cake. That’s especially why I am so looking forward to dilly-dallying around the house and the garden, breathing deeply, and getting into full-on relax mode… at least for a couple of hours, because after that it’s back to work again!

Have a wonderful weekend! xx

mornings in the studio.

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Natalie

Lately I’ve been waking up early to have breakfast in the studio before work. It feels great to go into my day job knowing I’ve already put in some art time for the day – especially when there are only 2 1/2 weeks left until both the Half Asleep Studio shop and the first issue of the new magazine I’ve been designing & illustrating will be launching! This is crunch time, but I’m enjoying the whole process a lot… even if I really am half asleep at times! I’m working with beautiful paints and fabrics every day (as you can see above) and things are really starting to come together… although I can’t show you much more than this quite yet. I’m so excited for when I finally can… it’s going to be a great summer!

inspired by: beetle mania!

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Natalie

[image sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6]

When I was 12, I thought Volkswagen Beetles were the coolest cars. A lot of time has passed since then (10 years to be exact), and I am finally about to buy my first car. I’m actually a bit surprised to find myself anxiously grabbing the mail every day in hopes that a letter from the bank accepting my loan application will come so that I can go take a look at all of the beetle listings on Craigslist that I’ve bookmarked. I mean, sure, they’re cute cars, but there are a lot of cooler cars out there right? Haven’t my tastes matured by now? Yet every time a new beetle passes by, my heart flutters, and I just know – I have to get a beetle! Now I’m scanning entire parking lots for them everywhere I go, gazing a little too long inside the windows, and turning into a real creep about the whole thing. Twelve year-old me would be very proud. :)

weekend snapshots.

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Natalie

The beginning of May has been pretty nice so far! I snuck out between rain storms and filled a pot that my grandma gave me with pretty pink petunias (and another type of flower whose name I can’t recall), and the perennial irises outside the house have finally begun blooming! The yard is suddenly wild with weeds and overgrown grass because we’ve been getting so much rain, but the weather has given me a good excuse to lock myself in the studio and work on preparations for the upcoming Half Asleep Studio shop. I’ve got some big plans!