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Monday, May 20, 2013

Getting the creative juices flowing!

Happy Monday Everyone! This weekend was a little gloomy so I took some outfit photos under my bright rainbow umbrella :)


     Daniel and I spent our Saturday in Philly, checking out the Mütter Musuem
and browsing through thrift shops and vintage boutiques; with a little stop at our favorite bakery- Sweet Freedom Bakery and a quick lunch at Whole Foods. It was such a wonderfully relaxing and easygoing day for a busy week.  The weather somewhat mimicked this bittersweet week..a mix of rainbows and thunder.   My friend Lydia became a mother on Mother's Day last Sunday (right as I was writing my last post!), I could not be happier for her, and her son Ian is the absolute cutest! Then the world lost a very special woman on Wednesday night.  The mother of one of my dearest friends Diana, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.   I had a tough time hearing this and feel so heavily for Diana.  Her mother Tina was an absolutely AMAZING woman.  I have never met someone so full of kindness and generosity.  She always extended herself to express warmth and kindness, and she will surely never be forgotten.  What a lovely woman you were, Tina!  Always a rainbow in the rainstorm <3   
My finds this Saturday in Philly- a 60's vintage floral dress, polka dot scarf and fun colorful necklace.
     You may have noticed a little change around the blog recently- my new background! My colorful backdrop is a collection of acrylic moth paintings that I did for my 30 days of art project.  The project really gave me the "push" I needed to make my art dreams happen.  For some time I have had the goal of illustrating insects and then turning them into usable items like fabric, jewelry, gift wrap and stationary.  I am so happy to announce that my vision is now becoming reality!  With the help of spoonflower.com, and my incredible husband (who helped me tons with formatting and the technical workings) my paintings are now becoming items like fabric and gift wrap!  My next goal is to use my textiles to make clutches, coin purses and skirts (and hopefully dresses!).  I am still in the process of ordering swatches and selecting the fabrics so stay tuned and hopefully these items will be available on my (currently empty) Etsy shop sometime soon! 
  My first gift wrapped with my new moth print gift-wrap <3  Daniel's mom got her late Mother's Day gift in this box, and we'd like to think the gift wrap was sort of a gift too ;)
These are my new moth necklaces made from prints of my original paintings.  I collaborated with another artist who has a laser wood cutter and printer for these fun pieces.  I am SO happy with how they turned out.  If you would like one please shoot me an email and let me know!  I am selling them at my shop in Delaware but have not gotten them up on my Etsy shop yet.
I want to dedicate this post to Tina Katherine Linn, a beautiful soul and lovely woman who made an indelible impression on me and inspired so many around her.  What a courageous, strong, and compassionate woman you were!  We will miss you. <3

xo, Alyssa

21 comments:

  1. Wow! Such amazing designs. ♥ I am a big fan of Spoonflower too! There are lots of lovely fabrics and paper.
    Your necklaces are so cute too.
    Congratulations. :)

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's mother. It sounds like she left a big impression on the people she met.
    How exciting for your design opportunities! Your illustrations are so beautiful and you definitely deserve to be recognized for them! I love butterflies, so I'm in love with all of it.
    And, as always-I love your rainbow style, it brightens my day to see so many happy colors in an outfit :D

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  3. my goodness are you talented! those butterflies are absolutely beautiful!! and as always, your colorfulness makes me happy!

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  4. Gorgeous outfit and gorgeous necklaces!


    http://wildflwrchild.blogspot.com

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  5. I love your umbrella! So cute. The butterfly necklaces are adorable!


    ~Bristol

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  6. Oh my goodness designing fabric is one of my goals for this summer!! I want to print my own fabric using spoonflower and make pouches out of them. This is so inspirational for me! I can't wait to see what you do next!!

    Mackenzie
    www.heybirdfriend.com

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  7. Alyssa, I am so sorry for your friends mother. One of my friends mother loss her battle a couple of years ago. It was so hard for me. I was very upset. God bless her soul. You had an amazing weekend despite the weather. I truly enjoyed it as you were describing it. So good. I love your gift wrapping paper and necklaces you designed! I forsee great things for you! Keep up the great work. Congratulations on the birth of your friends son! So extra special because she had him on Mother's Day.

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  8. Hi! How sad I am to hear about your friends mother, that is horrific. And what a roller coaster week with another friend having a son! Your fabrics are amazing and I guess you will have some amazing pieces in your shop soon.

    Take care! XO,

    Simona

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  9. So sorry to hear about your friends Mother.... it's a hard thing to deal with. On a happier note, I'm so excited that I found your bright and happy blog! I will be stopping by regularly.
    xo
    Taylor
    http://www.nothingbutapigeon.com/

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  10. Thanks for your kind words on my last post!
    You always look so pretty Alyssa, I admire your sense of style so much. That outfit is just fantastic!
    I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's mum, I hope the family will be able to cope.

    Have a good day,
    -Kati

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  11. oh, i am in love with your scarf here! also, all the butterfly necklaces are so darling!

    lindsey louise

    hellomrrabbitblog.com

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  12. I love everything about these insect illustrations they're seriously amazing girly! I'm glad that you finally pushed yourself and got going on these designs.. now we can all enjoy them.
    Can't wait to see what you make out of the fabric!
    I'm so sorry for the loss of a friend. It's always the good ones that leave earlier than they should. I'm sure she'll always be remembered though.

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  13. I love your inspiration from the moths and butterflies. So amazing! :D

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  14. Beautiful, inspiring and creative. I adore the rainbow umbrella. I never knew an umbrella could add so much to an outfit. I am going to try and find myself a rainbow umbrella now. It must add some motivation to getting out of bed and leaving the house on a rainy day.

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  15. I'm so sorry for your loss, Alyssa! At least you manage to still look gorgeous and cheerful! This skirt is lovely. And so is your art, I may add. Can't wait to see more!

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  16. I'm really sorry for your loss! My condolences!

    You look really lovely, the umbrella is so fun! I love the butterflies necklaces!

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  17. Wow you have a lot happening since the last time I came by. Happy to hear about your friends new baby but sad about your other friends mom, very sorry.
    Love that your work is becoming recognizing and being made into such fun things, love the wrapping paper and the necklaces are totally amazing. I want one! Of course I adore your colorful outfit, makes me happy!

    Rebecca
    www.winnipegstyle.ca

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  18. oh my goodness, Alyssa! that's AMAZING!!! :) I'm so happy for you! those necklaces look so awesome, and your artwork was like MADE to be printed on fabric - it looks so perfect! I would totally wear something in that print :) I'm so excited to see more stuff from you, ahh! :)

    -Elizabeth

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  19. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's mother. It's never easy to lose someone you love.

    Girl, you absolutely impress me with your skills! You're an incredible artist! I'm happy for you to be able to see your dream coming true. Keep us updated on it!

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  20. Love the bright coloured tights I also wear coloured tights myself.

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