On The Surface

Breaking the Silence

2013-04-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

The last time I blogged was in January. JANUARY. It's the end of April now. Amazing what can happen in just four short months. SO much has happened. Personal and professional. Mainly personal. My husband and I have been separated since February. We have known each other for about 14 years, married for almost 9. It sounds sad and your instinct may be to say 'I'm so sorry' or something like that.

I won! - Book Giveaway from 30s Magazine

2013-01-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Ok so this is a bit delayed. Ok a LOT delayed. I entered a book giveaway back in November of last year (sounds weird to say last year when we are in early January) at 30s Magazine blog and I won! Seriously, I have the worst luck when it comes to giveaways. Usually. But I REALLY wanted this book and I think that desire manifested into my winning the giveaway. Laugh if you want. I have the book,

I'm Featured on Print and Pattern!

2013-01-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

Head on over to Print and Pattern Blog today if you haven't already. Bowie was kind enough to feature my work on her lovely blog. Love the work of Jiah Harrison that is featured today as well. Gorgeous!

Happy New Year!

2013-01-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

Happy 2013 everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year surrounded by friends and loved ones. I had a WONDERFUL holiday! We drove down to Orlando, Florida for a week and spent five glorious days at Disney World! We went to visit family as well which we haven't seen in a while so all around it was the best Christmas and birthday ever. I usually don't like my birthday because

Do they know it's Christmastime?

2012-12-13T20:48:00.000-05:00

I was just on Facebook, checking to see what all my friends and favorites were doing like one does, when I came across a post from Compassion. I had 'liked' them a while back when I discovered them through another blog where the blogger had gone to Africa to meet the teenage boy she sponsored. I thought 'What a lovely thing to do..I would love to do that' and left it at that. Tonight was

What's New - Mr. Darcy and New Doodles!

2012-12-05T12:11:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I have blogged! Can it be? I realized the last time I posted anything was on Halloween while I was still taking the Decor8 Blogging Your Way E-Course. I was on a roll while taking the class then LIFE happened. You know how it is with kids (3!) one thing after another and before you know it a month has flown by and you have barely come up for air,

Blogging Your Way Boot Camp - My Mood Board

2012-10-31T16:12:00.000-04:00

I am really behind on my homework for Blogging Your Way Bootcamp! Thanks to Hurricane Sandy my husband is home helping with the kids so I was able to carve some time out for homework - a mood board! Our assignment was to create a mood board for what we would like our blog to look like or what we currently love about our blog. You are probably noticing the colors are not my blog colors which

Sketchbook Project 2013 - My Memoir

2012-10-15T13:35:00.001-04:00

A while back you may have heard me mention my participation in this year's Sketchbook Project by Art House Co-op. I've been busy working on it every chance that I get and posting to Instagram using the #sketchbookproject2013 hashtag. These are the first high resolution photos I have taken of my progress. So far I have completed the cover and 14 pages. At the time I took these photos and edited

Sharing Responsibly and Protecting Yourself as an Artist

2012-10-12T01:37:00.000-04:00

On September 10th I happened to be on Facebook and notice a very familiar print was being shared by Huffington Post Women from their Facebook Page. At first I was very excited when I noticed it was mine - in shock, really. Not so much when I realized that HuffPost had gotten the image from a Tumblr account called A Place For Art. No where was their any mention of the artist, where you could find

Blogging Your Way with Decor8

2012-10-11T14:17:00.001-04:00

As most of you know I had a baby in January this year and my posts have been few and far between for some time now. I have struggled with a) finding the time/motivation to blog and b) finding things to blog about. I jumped into blogging blindly thinking I would just learn as I go. Which is fine. But that lack of focus has left me feeling less and less inspired to blog. So I decided to do

Society6 Shop Update

2012-09-27T13:46:00.001-04:00

Just updated my Society6 shop which was collecting dust. Getting back into the groove of things at home now that the baby is napping a bit more consistently and both kids are at school. Hooray! Why don't you head on over and take a peek? These are the newest additions. Have an awesome day! xx Liz

New Goodies in the Shop

2012-09-27T00:55:00.000-04:00

Made some glass tile pendants with some leftover calendar prints recently and finally got them listed this week. This was my first attempt at making these. It was a bit time consuming because you have to wait a long time for the glue to dry (about 24 hrs) but worth it to have a sturdy piece of jewelry. I even added patterns to the back and covered them in dimensional adhesive to give it a

Practicing Gratitude

2012-09-16T19:47:00.000-04:00

Did this doodle while waiting for my kids to get out of school. Try to fit in creativity whenever and wherever I can. Oh yeah...and that's my shopping list on the left. ;) What are you grateful for? *Namaste* xx Liz

Spark and Inspire by Robin Norgren

2012-08-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Just received this beautiful and inspiring postcard from my friend Robin Norgren. She has this new website and she is making these amazing OOAK postcards for her Postcard Project called the Spark and Inspire Project. Love it! Robin is a Life Coach, Art Teacher, Christian, and all around beautiful spirit. So grateful for having met her via Twitter and Facebook. She is so lovely! Please visit

Sketchbook Project 2013

2012-08-28T21:58:00.001-04:00

I did it. I signed up. I took a year off due to baby but I felt the pull. My theme is 'Memoir'. Are you joining in? Have you picked a theme? Excited and anxious to get my book in the mail. There's no time to waste! Sign up for the Sketchbook Project 2013 here. xx Liz

New fabric collection for Robert Kaufman : "Metro Cafe"

2012-08-25T09:54:00.001-04:00

Just catching up on my favorite blogs and saw this on Pink Light Design's blog from back in July! It's my new fabric collection for Robert Kaufman! It really looks fabulous and I can't wait to get samples of it. If you happen to purchase this fabric when it's available for a craft project I would love to hear from you! Thanks to Pink Light Design for securing the license for me. =)

Make a Wish

2012-08-23T17:27:00.001-04:00

You know those days when you have something planned and NOTHING goes right? You have a destination in mind and just CAN'T seem to get there without delays, blocks, etc? I had a morning like that yesterday. The outcome was such a blessing and I am sharing it with you in the hopes that the next time you encounter blocks on your way to somewhere you will sit back, breathe deeply, and look around

Art Journaling

2012-08-16T12:13:00.001-04:00

Spending some time art journaling today since I have some help around the house. My cousin is staying with us while my husband is away and she is really helpful with the kids. It's so wonderful to be able to squeeze in some creative time for myself! I am revisiting traditional art methods that I haven't used in a very long while: colored ink, watercolor, gouache and acrylic. I dug up my old

Wordless Wednesday

2012-08-15T15:36:00.002-04:00

Inspired by Nature

2012-07-19T16:22:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I get stuck in a creative rut, where nothing seems to flow from me and I have forgotten how to even draw the simplest of things, I take a walk or spend some time outdoors and bust out my camera. (In this case camera phone) The outcome is always positive. I encourage you to do the same when you are in a creative rut. It really does help to refresh your creativity, especially if you

I am Truly Blessed

2012-07-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

I was working on this doodle the other day and posted the WIP to my Facebook page. Below is the final, colored version. Really happy with how it turned out! I drew directly into Illustrator using my Bamboo pad and pen. Might try to color my next doodle in Photoshop to try and get a more painterly effect. Heck..maybe I will just paint one and then scan it! This will be part of an

Savannah Tails

2012-07-10T13:30:00.003-04:00

My dog collar designs for Savannah Tails are still available on Amazon.com. They are available in both a collar and a lead. The paw print camp comes in pink as well but is only available on SavannahTails.com. Really hoping to design more in the future (and get a dog to sport them).

Home is where the Art is

2012-07-10T12:18:00.000-04:00

Colored in this sketchbook doodle the other day. Need to make this a print. Love it so much. =) Doodled in bed last night and this was the outcome. Love, Peace and Rainbows. I was inspired after visiting Blick Art yesterday afternoon. I picked up some new markers which were 30% off (yay me!) and some marker paper pads (the smoothness is just what my markers and pens have been craving)

Sidewalk Chalk is AWE.SOME.

2012-06-27T16:32:00.000-04:00

Went to the park today to spread some love with the kids using our sidewalk chalk. Thinking about bringing it every time we go and leaving a new message. =) *Namaste*

My Awakening

2012-06-20T12:44:00.000-04:00

It's been super hectic around here trying to keep up with my now THREE kids while my husband is working two jobs and working on his graduate thesis. Some days I don't even turn my Mac on, I'm ashamed to say. But when I can't get to Illustrator I try to satisfy my craving for creativity in my sketchbook. Here's some new doodles I posted last week on Facebook in case you haven't seen. The