It's pretty late but I'm still excited & working.

So, I was actually productive today & I nearly finished my first pack of Christmas cards. 

I did a "popular cartoon" theme for the first package. It includes Winnie the Pooh, Patrick Star, Cinderella, and Scooby-Doo. 

I'm pretty pleased with how they all turn out. I'll post pictures once I get done with them all. :)

-Rachel xx

Christmas time's a'comin!

Sorry I've been MIA lately. School has been quite hectic & I haven't been able to sit down & type out much. But, lucky for you, I'm on fall break this week so that means I'll be able to post! (Yippee!) I'm trying to figure out a day(s) for me to regularly post. Anyway, back to the topic of this post...

As I open my "Christmas Countdown" app, the little gingerbread man on there is holding a sign that says 71 Sleeps to Christmas. If that doesn't get you pumped, I don't know what will. When Christmas time comes around, it's always a little tradition in my family to make our own Christmas cards. I'm excited for this, like usual, but I'm even more pumped because this year I think I am going to be able to make little Christmas card packages for purchase at my church's Harvest Bazaar. I'm thinking about doing a 5-pack of hand-drawn cards & envelopes & tie/wrap it up in a pretty little bow or bag or something. I'm pretty excited because Christmas is my favorite time of year & now I'm able to share that with others & then they may share it with others & then before we know it then everyone will have Christmas joy. (Maybe that's a little far-fetched, but it sounds lovely, doesn't it?) 

I'm pretty excited as you can tell. I'm going to start on them soon & I just can't contain my excitement anymore.

And I know some are probably reading this saying, Rachel, it's only October. Why don't you do some fall-related things? Lucky for you, I do have some fall things that are in the works & will be up most likely tonight or in the next few days. Patience is a virtue. ;)

-Rachel xx

The Little Things.

As I'm sitting here working on a portrait for a friend of mine, I can't help  but notice the little things that I notice about people. Especially people I'm drawing.

Their little quirks & things that make them who they are. It's amazing how even the slightest thing makes such a big difference. If you make the eyes too dark, it looks like a completely different person. If the lips are too thin, it looks like a completely different person. 

These aren't bad things, they're quite cute, actually. I love being able to draw someone & capture their emotion. I love observing others & seeing how they react and the way they smile & all of those little things. I am so thankful that I'm able to capture these little things.

-Rachel xx

How I Get in the Drawing Mood

"How do you come up with that?" "How do you get inspiration?" "Did you make that on your own?" "I can never come up with any good ideas."

Well hello there. Those are questions that I get quite a lot regarding my artwork. It's actually really simple & probably somewhat cheesy/odd to some of you. Here's how I do it in six easy steps.

1. Light a candle.

I love love love LOVE lighting candles while I'm doing things, especially when I'm drawing. Lighting a candle just calms you & fills the room with a pleasant scent. I usually opt for a Christmas candle like this one from Yankee called "Sparkling Cinnamon." 

2. Plug in your Christmas lights/open a window. (or both!)

You need good lighting while you're being artsy! Open a window, turn on some Christmas lights, point a spotlight at you, whatever you'd like. I like opening my shades, turning on my light, and plugging in some lights. Ooh! And make sure you're drawing in a spot that there won't be a bad glare or shadow over your piece, because that's no bueno my friend. 

3. Find some music that'll get you in the mood for creativity. 

Do you see a recurring Christmas thing going on... whoops. Christmas music (especially instrumental!) really calms me down & puts me in a cheery mood. Play something that will make you happy & calm you so you won't feels so uptight while drawing. I usually listen to the "Instrumental (Holiday)" station on Pandora or search for Drawing/Chill playlists on 8tracks. Personally I enjoy instrumental music/music I've never heard for art the best, because if you're listening to something without words or with words you don't know, then you'll focus better. (Or atleast I do, if I play Taylor Swift I'd never get any work done because I'd be too busy jammin' & singing along.) 

4. Put something on that you'll be comfortable in.

 Slip into something you feel cozy in. Pretty much anything goes. I usually throw on a tshirt or hoodie & some shorts or sweats. Or if I'm feeling super daring I'll just wrap myself in a blanket. 

5. Brainstorm or Google ideas for inspiration.

No ideas? No worries! We are blessed with this fancy thing called Google. It is perfectly okay to Google ideas for art if you are completely stumped or don't have a creative bone in your body. Looking up famous artwork & putting your own spin on it is always fun. Or looking up different techniques then creating something totally original using a specific technique is also fun. There's really no limits to what you can Google. But just be sure you aren't claiming anything you recreate as your own, it's fine to do recreations/imitations of something but don't take all the credit! :)

 6. Get to workin'! And don't stress yourself out over it. 

Hit that pencil to the paper! Usually once you begin sketching you'll come up with something. Even if it's a thousand circles all over the page, just say it's the largest game of Connect Four ever played & run with it. Everyone has a different perception of art & creativity & that's what's so beautiful about it & why I love it so much. 

Toodle-loo!

-Rachel x

Hello, lovebirds!

Howdy! I'm Rachel! I am an aspiring artist with a love for beauty, fashion & anything crafty. My original intent for my art/fashion was to make YouTube videos, but if you know me well, sometimes talking to a camera just isn't my thing. So I thought I might start blogging & maybe eventually it'll lead to videos. 

But until that day comes, I'll be posting little tidbits of my life here. Things I'm wearing, doing, drawing, pretty much anything. 

So welcome to my life. :)