everything in its place

I've wanted a place to share my artwork for a while since I always feel silly sharing it here and I wanted a professional blog dedicated solely to my art projects. It feels less like embarrassing self-promotion when you post about your work on your portfolio than when you do it on your personal blog. At least I'm telling myself that to make it easier for me to indulge in self promotion.

It isn't January just yet but I'm already working on my resolution to try harder with my artwork. I enjoy the drawing/painting/creating part but I hate the promotion aspect so much that I usually just forgo it altogether. But I've got a fancy new camera to retake my product pictures (no more iphone photos! ahh!) and this shiny new blog to share them on :)

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Christmas freebie

Last year at Christmastime I got really discouraged by the number of people who were sending me very rude e-mails asking where their etsy orders were, completely out of their minds with worry that their presents might arrive late. As any internet seller can tell you, we do our best to get our orders in the mail as quickly as possible, but once we pass the package into the hands of the post office the delivery date is out of our control. Instead of getting unreasonably upset about snail mail living up to its name, this year how about we all just take a deep breath and enjoy the season of goodwill. Let's be kind towards one another and consider the feelings of everyone we come across during our shopping adventures -- be kind to the cashiers, the clerks, the baristas, the internet sellers, and keep in mind that our loved ones will appreciate the sentiment of our gifts whether they are given on the 25th or beyond.

I made this free printable & I'm including links to it on my invoices -- if you're an etsy seller or blogger I hope you'll consider passing it along, too! Way too many people let themselves get so overwhelmed by the stress of shopping that they forget the reason they're doing it to begin with -- to show love and appreciation for another human being. You don't need to do that on December 25th, you can do it on December 29th or January 2nd. You can do it every day of the year! :)

You can download the freebie on Kitschy Digitals here (they're having a 30% off sale, by the way! Use code "wootwoot" at checkout)

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Black Friday + 2014 calendar + Christmas cards!

Last night I stayed up until 3am finishing my 2014 calendar and it's FINALLY complete and listed in my etsy shop. Phew! This is the latest I've ever posted it and everyone in the universe probably already purchased their 2014 calendar, but I'm just happy that I actually finished. I felt so creatively stunted this year.. every single time I started drawing the illustrations for this I'd come up blank. I took my sketch pad with me every time I was in the car, I took it to Disney World, down the shore, and always came back with empty pages. Then somehow in the last week I cranked out almost every single drawing and I love how it turned out! And even though it's super late to be debuting a calendar at least I know my grandmom wants one, lol :)

The calendar is available printed here and as a printable PDF here. I'll be listing all of the new drawings as prints later today!

I also have a 20% off black friday sale going on in my shop plus extra discount codes available on my flapper doodle blog, here.



















I also decided to turn the drawing for June into a Christmas card, it just seemed so warm and cozy! The greeting reads "Wishing you a storybook Christmas" and they come in packs of five cards here.



And I don't usually send out Christmas cards that I design myself, but... I think I need to this year. My dad gave me the idea for this one and I love how it came out! If you're an Office fan hopefully you'll love it too ;) They're available in my sweet and lovely shop here.

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new new new

I have some new items I've made recently that I'm really excited about! First is this printable Halloween card.. it's blank inside so it can be used as a greeting card or party invitation, or it can be framed for seasonal decor! :) It's available as an instant download in my sweet & lovely etsy shop and at kitschy digitals.


I'm VERY excited about this one! I've been wanting to do some silent movie title card inspired items for Flapper Doodle for the longest time..  it's such a perfect fit for my 1920's artwork! This printable Halloween banner was hand-lettered with a white art deco border and grainy black background to mimic 80-year-old-film. I have all kinds of related ideas.. birthday banners, note cards, calendars, the possibilities are endless :D For now though, there's just this one little banner.. available as an instant download in my etsy shop and at kitschy digitals.



Voila! The first drawing for my 2014 calendar (coming soon!!) I had to release this one early since it's just so perfect for October! It's available as a 4"x6" print or 8"x10" print in my etsy shop.


One of my best friends, Sarah, recently moved into a new apartment so I made this little card for her housewarming gift! I liked how it came out so much that I had to make it into a printable, too! ;) The download comes with files for printing it as a note card or an art print, and it's available (you guessed it) as an instant download in my etsy shop and at kitschy digitals.



Last but not least, a digital printable blog planner! This year I got really off track with my blogging schedule and felt like I needed something to get organized, so I created this kit and decided to share it as a printable, too! It includes sheets for keeping track of giveaways, product reviews, deadlines, brilliant ideas and more. It also includes two different perpetual calendar designs that can be used for blogging or just keeping track of a busy life :) It's available (drum roll..) as an instant download in my etsy shop and at kitschy digitals.

ps. I took the photo of my Happy Halloween banner at my new apartment! Words can't describe how exciting it was to finally have access to a plain white wall for product pictures. yay!! :D

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mail time

I've received some exciting mail in the last week or so that I wanted to share! First up is Flow magazine, which featured some of my flapper doodle reading-related drawings in an article spread! My copy of the issue was waiting for me when I got back from Disney World and it was so neat to see it in person!







Mental Floss is carrying some of my Puns Intended art prints in their handmade shop at the moment, and I was absolutely tickled pink to see that my artwork is in an ad they're running in the November issue!! It's cropped but there it is in the bottom right corner! My painting! In Mental Floss!! It's my favorite magazine so I'm ridiculous giddy.. it even says my name above the painting. My name is in Mental Floss. *dies*

ps. The prints are available here if you're interested!





My artwork isn't in this one, but it was something I wanted to share just for it's pure awesomeness! Modcloth released their first fall catalog and it brought back so many memories of flipping through delias catalogs when I was younger! As much as I miss inflatable furniture and denim platform clogs (sadly I'm not actually being sarcastic here, I really miss them) it's even BETTER when all the things featured in the catalog are adorable and sweet, like pretty much everything modcloth sells.

The catalog is available to view online here! Oh! And I forgot to mention this earlier so it's really last-minute but if you've been eyeing something from modcloth and are thinking of making your first purchase from them you can get $20 off ($20!!) any order over $50 if you visit using this link! The offer is good until October 2nd (really last minute, oops!)

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stupendously exciting announcement!!

The dress that I designed earlier this year for Dahlia is now available for sale exclusively at Ever + Mi Crush!! It's available in sizes small, medium and large in limited quantities, so if you're interested in snagging one, hurry hurry hurry! ;)

I'm so excited about this!! As I said in my original post about the dress, I had thought the dress was going to be available to purchase and was slightly heartbroken when I found out it wasn't. Then Christen from Ever + Mi Crush swooped in to the rescue and arranged this wonderful exclusive limited run! It's been so much fun working together and I'm so excited about this collaboration!! :D

The dress is a beautiful cream color with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar and sheer bell sleeves. It comes with a matching cream belt with a warm grey buckle and pretty grey buttons on the collar.






As an added bonus, the first 10 orders will all receive a signed print of my original design sketch! The dress was inspired by Hypatia; her warm grey and light cream coloring, her fragile beauty, and her innate sweetness. Ever + Mi Crush named the dress after her, too -- it's called The Hypatia Dress!



This is my inspiration board for the dress. My main concept was creating something that looked like vintage but would actually fit (oh how many times I've shed a tear over a pretty vintage dress on etsy that had a 23" waist) Also since it's a neutral (well, a combination of neutrals - grey and cream) it can be remixed in a bunch of different combinations.

Which leads me to my next fun surprise -- I'm going to have 5 outfit posts next week with 5 different ways to wear the dress. Of course I think it's lovely on its own with a pair of pink flats, but this little number can also be styled in so many different ways! One of my favorite things about it is that it has unique details (like the collar and matching belt) that make it work without any added accessories, but they're subtle enough that you can add on layers and punches of color without it being too much :)





You can check out the dress (and the other pretty goodies Ever + Mi Crush has to offer!) over here! They also have Dear Creatures dresses on sale for only $30. Just saying ;) 

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the 4th annual $1 print sale

It's hard to believe this sale is in it's 4th year already. Yikes! That also means Flapper Doodle is turning 5 next May! I don't usually celebrate my shop anniversary but that one might call for some cake or cupcakes, at least :)

Anyway! Here's the deal -- every single print is ONE dollar. Buy 1 or 100, they're still one dollar each. Perfect for tackling your Christmas lists a little early or maybe just getting some inexpensive art for your bare walls! Or buy 50 of them and make a DIY flapper doodle headboard. The possibilities are endless.

The prints are available in my new Flapper Dollar shop, which will remain open until the sale ends on Tuesday the 27th. It'll reopen again next year when the sale rolls back into town! I listed all of the Flapper Doodle prints I have available at the moment as well as some that are currently discontinued and won't be available again until the next dollar sale. The shop also includes this special listing, which can be used to purchase a print of any drawing or painting I've ever posted online, like my puns intended paintings or my sweet and lovely art.

If you're interested you can take a peek at the shop HERE! :)

I'll start printing and packing orders after the sale is over, so most orders will ship the first week in September. This offer only applies in the Flapper Dollar shop. Items in my etsy store will remain at regular price. This offer cannot be applied retroactively to orders that were already placed.

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the swimsuit dilemma

I've become very comfortable in my own skin over the last few years after feeling incredibly self conscious ever since I turned 13. I stopped wearing bathing suits about 10 years ago, and started wearing a t-shirt and jean capris instead, even in my own swimming pool. Every year I'd become delusional and order one or two bathing suits online, maybe try on a few at Target, and time after time I got incredibly -predictably- discouraged. I always run into two problems -- the tops are never supportive for me (I'm a 32DDD bra and even underwire "full-figure" bikini tops present a "cup runeth over" sort of issue) and despite my newfound confidence in my figure, I can't shake my insecurity over my bottom & thighs. They're my problem areas, if you will.

I try really hard to be body positive, but when it comes down to it, I'm just not comfortable in shorts unless I also have tights on. I'm not comfortable in dresses that hit above mid-thigh. And I'm not comfortable in regular bathing suit bottoms. And when I am in my pool or on the beach, I want to feel comfortable. I want to feel like I look good, and one-pieces, boy shorts and teeny swim skirts are never going to do that for me.

This year, determined to get out of my jeans-and-tshirt-rut, I decided to try buying some swimsuits again. I started with this one from asos. I bought the top in my bra size which ended up being WAY too small, then I sized up to a 32G and it was still too small, so I gave up. About a month passed and I decided to try again. I got this bikini top in my bra size. Too small again. I sized up to a 32F, STILL too small. Finally I tried a 32FF and it worked! This top has full coverage and plenty of support. I even tried dancing around to see how well it.. um.. contains things? Anyway, it's perfection.

In between all of the ordering and returning of bikini tops, I stumbled upon these swim shorts. They came with a drawstring that I removed, and they match the top perfectly! And best yet -- they are high waisted and stop right above my knees. They're fitted so they stay put in the water and don't ride up like swim skirts or board shorts (and don't way 400 pounds when wet, like blue jeans.)

I am so happy that I finally have a swimsuit that I like! Unlike the dozens of swimsuits I've tried on over the years, this one makes me feel happy and confident. I don't feel like I need to cover up with a towel the instant I'm out of the water. And honestly, even if I was 100% confident in my own skin and didn't have one shred of insecurity, I'd still want to wear this swimsuit. There's no law that swimsuits have to be as tiny as underwear, right? I actually like this look better than a regular bathing suit anyway. I think it suits me better and, dare I say, I think it's kinda chic! I told my mom I want to get a giant hat to wear with it and pretend I'm Grace Kelly.

You KNOW a swimsuit is making you feel good about yourself if you can pretend you're Grace Kelly when you're wearing it :)

bikini top - asos | swim shorts - coolibar | bag - modcloth

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something awesome happened yesterday...

First let me rewind to April when I got a message in my Puns Intended etsy shop from Mental Floss asking for wholesale pricing for my prints. I almost had a heart attack right then and there. I *love* Mental Floss. It's actually the only magazine that I read regularly... I even have the Mental Floss board game. For the last three months I was sure something would fall through and it wouldn't actually happen. It was just way too good to be true! When exciting opportunities are presented to me they hardly ever seem to work out.

Anyway! Yesterday morning my Mental Floss store newsletter hit my inbox and what did I see at the top of the message?! My paintings!! And an incredibly glowing write-up that makes me sound at least 200x more awesome than I actually am :D I'm still pinching myself because this just has to be a dream, right? There's no way my artwork is being sold on the Mental Floss website, right??

Oh, but it is. IT IS!!

ps. I'm sure some of you might be like "wait.. I thought you did Flapper Doodle and Sweet and Lovely? What is this?" because I don't usually mention this artwork as much on my blog. But yup, I have a third shop where I sell prints of my punny paintings! You can check out the other paintings (including my favorite, "Jackson 5" with five Andrew Jacksons) here! :)

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designing woman

This is the design that I submitted (see the finished product in my post here!)

I've sewn some of my own dresses before, but my skills pretty much limit my options to plain cotton dresses. So I really wanted to design something that I knew I couldn't make at home. I *definitely* couldn't make this at home, lol.



I also submitted an inspiration board as well. I found products that were the same colors I had in mind -- I was worried the warm grey would be tough to pin down but Dahlia found the absolute perfect shade of grey for the lining of the dress! The sleeve inspiration is from All This Happiness (I die from envy everytime that blouse pops up in an outfit post! gah!) I included some examples of swooshy skirts (two from ASOS, one from Fancy Fine) to illustrate the fullness I was going for and some examples of delicate vintage frocks that have been hanging out in my etsy favorites forever, even though they're too tiny for me. That's the sort of feel I was going for with this design and I think the finished product definitely fits in with their daintiness :)

And then of course, Hypatia. She passed away shortly before I won the contest, and I was having a hard time concentrating on anything at all. Around that time my dad had suggested (since I was having similar mental blocks with drawing and painting) that I use her as inspiration, and then not only would I be able to work but I'd be creating things that would always remind me of her. I took his advice for the dress, too, and I'm so glad I did. I think it really captures her beautiful colors and her sweet, fragile beauty.

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