In these internet-filled times, it's too easy to be hard on ourselves. I look at so-and-so's blog and I wish I could write like that. I look at the next enviable blog and wish I had thought of that idea. I move on to the next one and think "now why can't I just be as cool/creative/funny/[insert adjective] as this person?" And so on and so forth, until I've sufficiently compared myself to everyone possible and completely discounted myself in the process. I think you get the idea, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb by assuming that you've probably been in this position as well. It's easy to get there. There's so much good stuff out there in internet-land! People are amazing, aren't they?

People ARE amazing. And here is the thing: I'm amazing, too. We're all amazing, because we're complex, beautiful, unique, and flawed human beings. All of us, just because we're alive. I read recently that only one in every 10 million living creatures on earth is a human-- isn't that astounding? One in 10 million! We're quite special. (And now I'm wishing I would've bookmarked wherever I read that, because I'm questioning now whether it might've actually been 10 billion. Oh, brain, I wish you had a better memory!)

It takes practice to be kind to ourselves. We hold all kinds of rules for ourselves and ideas of how we should be, and in reality we just picked them up along the way somewhere thinking it was "the right way to do things," and now it's time to let them go. I think We need to be kinder to ourselves and listen to our own hearts; ask ourselves "what do I want to do?" And then do that. Not according to how anyone else thinks you should do it, but however you want to do it that makes will make your heart sing and skip beats and jump up and down in your throat. Because why would you even want to compare when you feel that? That's joy, people. Tapping into your purpose.

Our purpose is to be happy and to love one another. That can only stem from first loving and valuing ourselves. There's an amazing person inside each of us, and we're all at varying degrees of showing and shining it, but no matter what, deep down it's there. And it's unique and incomparable. You are unique and incomparable.

By the time May rolls around you guys aren't going to want to see another sneak peek from me ever again, are you? If you haven't noticed, my life completely revolves around repeat patterns these days! (And kids books with Danielle Laporte-- but that'll be a sneak peek for another time...)

So this pretty little collection is called Camellia Garden, and it's inspired by spring time and flowers, two things I personally cannot wait for. I love Spring! And I love flowers. I feel more energetic just thinking about it.

This collection will be traveling to Surtex in NYC with me in just 2 months (eek!), so if you are someone who will be at the show and would like to see it (and all my other work) live and in person, please get in touch!

Oh boy, I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to organize all these patterns and collections for Surtex. I hope my printer can handle the volume it's about to experience!

This collection is actually an older one that I just finalized and put together in a pretty square. It's a little different than my usual work, because I used gouache to color most of the shapes instead of doing it digitally-- which means most of the patterns (with the exception of the elephants and the circles on the middle right) were created in Photoshop instead of Illustrator, my usual pattern-making program. I like the ease of creating patterns in Illustrator, but I love the hand-painted quality I can achieve in Photoshop. I think I'll try more of this in the future!

What do you think? You like?

Oh! And you can check out previews of all my collections and some individual patterns as well, in case you want to see more.

{available for license/sale. Please email me to discuss!}

I think there's a lot to be said for having faith and taking risks. I think they go hand in hand, really. Risk-taking isn't supposed to feel comfortable. For some people, taking risks is exhilarating. The element of the unknown is a thrill. For others, it's terrifying. Paralyzing. A way to make excuses to never move forward in life, to "play it safe."

I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I know that taking risks will make my life richer and move in directions I can't even imagine from where I am now. I've also been a life-long worrier, so the ultra-practical worrying side of me wants to play it safe.

I'm discovering that taking risks, for me, takes a lot of faith. I have to trust that I'll be taken care of, that I'll receive whatever I'm supposed to receive, and that I'll learn something in the process. It's sort-of like deciding to face my fear and walk on a tightrope, but all the while I'm holding onto some balloons that I trust will get me safely across to the other side. (See the illustration? Tightrope and balloons. I just made that analogy. I didn't really know what the illustration was for until this moment!)

 Faith = balloons. Hold onto them and they'll keep me moving safely along the journey of my life. Let go and it's just plain scary. Agree?

So, in the spirit of having faith and holding onto balloons, yesterday my gut (my intuition, if you will) told me that this upcoming Gold-digging Excursion, led by the fabulous Sarah Bray, is definitely on my path and my tightrope. I promptly signed myself up yesterday, and I'm going to be waiting on the edge of my seat until April 1st for the excursion to begin!

I *highly* recommend Sarah-- she is brilliant, hilarious, and an enviable designer. Goodness, I'm going to learn so much from her in April! I can't wait. If this sounds like your kind of thing, you can sign up, too, and then we can all hang out in the cave dwelling together! (Want to read about what the cave dwelling is? Do it. It's awesome.) This adventure is going to fill up fast, so I'd sign up as soon as possible if I were you. And you can trust me, because I'm already signed up. Yay!

One thing I rarely do is buy cards. My whole life long I've given handmade cards for birthdays, holidays, thank yous, and whatever else requires a card. So needless to say, I've been having a ball these past few weeks designing some fun new cards to take with me to Surtex. I'm envisioning one whole wall of my booth at the show being covered in a grid of colorful cards-- wouldn't that be wonderful?

These are a few of the birthday cards i've come up with recently-- I'm particularly in love with this elephant one:

I also have a question. Where is your favorite place to buy cards? I'm in research mode, seeing what all kinds of cards are out there, and I'd love to know where you shop for fun and unique cards. As a novice card-shopper, I'd love some tips from you smart cookies!

The patterns are never-ending around here, people. So I bring you another sneak peek at a new collection, inspired once again by my wanderlust! I traveled to Africa in my mind this time-- this collection is loosely based around the winds, the animals, the designs, and the trees of beautiful Africa.

I had a really good time with this one! Gracious, I love creating repeat patterns. But I'm sure I've mentioned that before....!

{This collection is available for license and sale, so please email me if you're interested and would like to see the collection in full detail.}

On Saturday morning the sun came out. I realize that you may roll your eyes and think I'm a wimp, since I live in the south and all, and it doesn't get cold here like it does in, say, Minnesota or New Hampshire, but goodness, it's been a cold winter here. And gray, so gray.

So when the sun came out on Saturday and warmed our air into the 60s, I began to thaw out, and the hints of spring lifted my spirits and took me outside to walk around the neighborhood, one of my favorite things to do. Walking brings me ideas. Walking quiets my head a bit so the ideas can creep in unexpectedly. I love that. Walking and exploring is my sure-fire way to get inspired.

So, today my drawing is an ode to the coming summer breeze. I look so forward to the sound of the cicadas buzzing in the trees and the long, muggy summer evenings. Georgia evenings are delightful, I do say.

I've had travel on my brain lately, particularly to somewhere warm, sunny, and full of beaches, so I thought I'd live vicariously through my artwork, which gets to go wherever it pleases. I got inspired by Sri Lanka, and voila! A new collection of patterns. I'm in love with the colors-- the feel so juicy, like you could eat them right up! I picture mango juice dripping down my arms. Yum.

Which is your favorite of the bunch? (Mine's the top left, in case you were wondering.) 

{This collection is available for license/sale, so please email me if you'd like to discuss and see the collection in full!}

 Just a little reminder to you today that you are amazing, and you have stars in your hands and your footsteps. Shine 'em!

 When I got very quiet the other day, and I stayed very still, and I let go of my expectations of myself and the world around me, a curious thing happened.

I realized I already know all the answers.

I'm not talking about all the answers to every question in the world, no. I'm talking about the answers to the questions about how I want to live my life. For myself. The ones where I ask myself how I "should" be living my life, the "right" way to do it all, according to so-and-so and not at all according to myself.

I was in a crappy mood. The kind of mood where I was comparing myself to anyone and everyone, and I was forcing myself to ignore it and just work already, but it wasn't happening. So I took a break. And I decided that although it was the middle of the day (and I "should" have been working,) yoga sounded good.

I got quiet, and I started listening. I listened while I stretched, I listened while I held my warrior poses, I  focused on the yoga and my breathing, and what eventually came was this:

I already know the right way for me. I'm not going to find my right way outside of myself-- it's already within me, waiting to be discovered piece by piece. I just have to be quiet and listen. And since my right way is already there, the comparing and the questions are useless. No one else can give me my answers but me. It's so simple. A little thrill of freedom came over me when I realized that all I have to do is whatever feels good for me. I don't actually have to compare myself to what everyone else is doing and wonder if that's the "right way"-- there is no right way. We each have our own version of what's right. There's just no comparison between us-- we are unique and incomparable, and that is fascinating, isn't it?

So.

I feel a little lighter with my newfound insight. I like the calm and trust in myself that came with it, and the sense of not having to take it all oh so seriously. We make up these stories in a split-second, and then we think they're true, and we make such a big deal out of them, when really they're just stories invented by our wacky minds and that's all.

The listening and the quiet reveal the untruth in those mind-made stories.