Illustration Friday- Rescue

"Rescue" is this week's Illustration Friday topic.  It just happens to fit in perfectly with the nursery art series I just completed.  Happy Friday! 

****UMMMMM this just in. Apparently this week's topic is "Lush" and i'm losing my mind hahaha.  Sorry if you clicked this from Illustration Friday's site.  I was in England for the last 48 hours so let's blame this on a jet lagged brain.  

I'm back!

Tristan and I had an amazing honeymoon last week.  I can't believe it went by so fast! We cruised from Greece to Turkey to Italy. We toured, took pictures, shopped, drank, ate, and relaxed along the way.  It was awesome! We both posted a ton of photos to Instagram, so feel free to search #tristanandmargotsetsail to see them.  Now that I'm back, I'm hoping to do some illustrations based off of my favorites, starting with the one above! This photo was taken in Kusadasi, Turkey at a bazaar shop. 

Sometimes you just have to take some time out of your schedule to see the world and be thankful for how good life is! The below picture is definitely one of those moments.  That's Tristan in the Mediterranean Sea during our day in Mykonos, Greece.  

Bon Voyage

This may have been about 10 months ago, but it's never too late for a honeymoon! Tristan and I are headed on a cruise from Greece to Italy.  I can't wait to set sail, eat, drink, read, tour, take pictures and relax!  It's going to be fantastic. Our bags are PACKED!   See you soon! 

Happy Early 30!

I'm going to be away while one of my best friends in the world enters decade 3, so posting this a bit early! Happy, happy birthday Caitlin! May your day be filled with Santa Monica strolling, reality tv, green juices, and Dry Bar. Oh, and nail art. I really hope you are getting fun nail art!!!!

Eric Carle Themed Diaper Cake Tutorial

My sister-in-law Devin is expecting a baby boy this September!  My first nephew!!!  Her shower was this past weekend, and her sister Ashley and I wanted to surprise her with a diaper cake.  The World of Eric Carle has an amazing toy selection, and the mom-to-be loves this classic story so we thought it would be the perfect theme.  We watched a few YouTube's on how best to construct the cake, but formed our own way that was really simplified yet effective!  

Want to make one? Here's how:

Supplies:

*84 pack of diapers

*Rubber bands of assorted sizes (84 smaller ones, and about 10-15 larger ones) 

*Floral Wire

*Decorative Ribbons

*Assorted Toys to decorate cake

1.  We used a big range of product, from bath toys, to socks, to finger puppets and clip-on developmental toys.  The quantity of product you use is completely up to you, but we wanted this to be overflowing with cute Eric Carle items.  Unwrap the toys from their packaging and begin rolling diapers.  We rolled each one individually having the #1 diaper size on the inside so that all the diapers would be consistent.  Each diaper was individually wrapped with a smaller rubber band.  

2.  We then formed what I think look like mini flowers with the individual diaper rolls.  Put one in the center and then 6 around it to form the "flower" shape.  One of us held this in place while the other wrapped a larger rubber band around it to attach together.  Rubber bands are such a genius invention.  

3. Add more diapers around the exterior to get the size of the base to be larger.  This can be as large or small as you want. 

4. Repeat the process to make as many tiers of diapers as you'd like.  Out of our 84 size 1 diapers, 4 didn't fit into the cake of 3 tiers, but I'm sure my sister-in-law will be able to put those extra to use very soon!

5.  We then placed the Eric Carle Discovery Cube within the layers to make an extra tier and break up all the white that is the diapers.  This added great dimension to our cake and height.  It also has rings on the cube, which we thought would be great to hang other items from. 

6.  We used floral wire (because it's light and very flexible) to secure elements of the cube down to the rubber bands of the cake.  We were transporting this from Manhattan to Westchester for the baby shower and didn't want any bumps in the road to let the cake fall apart. 

7.  Take a break and watch your husband read a story to your adorable niece.  She was enjoying Eric Carle's Baby Animal Sound Book. 

8.  We then started adding on toys.  And more toys.  And more toys.  I highly recommend using toys with clip-on features because the cute caterpillar shaped clips made the toys easy to attach. 

9.  Secure the toys down with some extra floral wire so they stay in place.

10.  Top your cake! We used The World of Eric Carle's Lion Loop Rattle. 

11.  Cover up the rubber bands with pretty ribbons.  We used a different ribbon for each tier and tucked the knot ends in between diapers so they weren't that visible.  

12. Bring to a baby shower and be prepared for lots of ooo's and ahh's and awwwws! 

Check out The World of Eric Carle's Facebook page. They have lots of amazing craft, recipe, product info, party and DIY ideas along with giveaways!  Their Pinterest page is also great!

We can't wait to see our nephew playing with all these toys in a few months :-)

Fire Fighting Jungle Animals

Tristan and I are expecting our first nephew! He is due mid September and we're so so so excited to meet him.  His parents, Devin & Logan, asked me to design decals for his nursery  I've never created decals or decorated an entire nursery before, so this was exciting and new for me.  I learned a lot about my process along the way, especially how I can prepare files for the future, name photoshop layers, and what sizes to work in.  For example, here's a little tip for my illustrator pals: If you're creating coordinating artwork, don't set some files to be RGB and some to be CMYK. You'll regret that later!!! ;-) 

The theme they were looking for was fire fighting jungle animals.  I ended up making 4 coordinating scenes, 3 badges, and little trucks to be used as a border.  I also love to slip in personal details.  You'll see below the truck number is 527, and that is because the parents-to-be were married on 5.27!  The files went off to the printer yesterday, so when the room is all set up I will share photos. But until then, here is one of my favs! (click to enlarge) 

So...onward!

This morning I read through the list of Lilla Roger's Global Talent Search Top 50.  If I told you I'm not bummed to not have made this much anticipated list I'd be a big giant liar. What I can tell you that rejection is an important part of this process, and sometimes it stings more than others.  Luckily for me, moments like this remind me just how much I want to reach my creative goals and how hard I plan on working to do so.  

A lot of my classmates are working on personal ABC projects before the next section of the class starts.  I think the creative, encouraging environment that the Make Art That Sells forum has turned into is a perfect place to keep growing and testing out new things.  Even though I have a lot going on in the next few weeks I'm going to join them.

The top 50 Lilla chose out of the 1500 entries are stunning. Some truly amazing pieces, and it's really cool to see a lot of my classmates in there!!! Congrats to all who made it.  Check them out here: http://lillarogers.com/global-talent-search-semi-finalists-announced-did-you-make-the-top-50/ 

Anyway, I felt true joy while creating my entry for this contest,  and at the end of the day that is most important.  So…onward!