In the Studio: a process video

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This past summer, my talented former studio mate Lauren (of Monster Tea Party) and studio floor mate Matt Kaiser (designer at PillPack) from college got married! Obviously I had to make a commemorative piece of art for the occasion. I had so much fun with this one! 

A while back Matt had made a comment to me about how I should make more timelapse drawing videos so I thought this was the perfect chance. Check out the video below to glimpse at the process.

((Sorry for the not top notch quality, I did this one with my phone as opposed to my DSLR for ease so its not as crisp as the last one--that being said, make sure to set your video quality, auto plays at a less clear version))

Hope you enjoyed!!

-b

In the Kitchen: soy wax candles

Along with making vanilla extract for my holiday gifting this year, I also decided to make some Soy Wax candles! They were definitely an adventure, and I would love to try again taking into account the things I learned along the way this time around.

I searched high and low for the best prices and options for buying soy wax and all the other ingredients, and ended up at Soy Scentsational's shop! This was the kit I bought to make my candles and the only other thing I had to buy to make the candles was a candy thermometer and mason jars. I already had a double boiler so I chose to use this as opposed to a candle making pitcher. I loved that my kit had customizable options for both color and scent! It was hard narrowing down my scents! I'm normally a very fruity-candle loving gal but I chose to use more seasonal options this time around.

I did a lot of research on various candle making forums, but Soy Scnetsational's kit came with directions, so I used those as my main recipe. Lots of tips and help can be found on CandleScience's website. I found this to be a great resource for someone who knew nothing.

Just like with the vanilla, I loved the opportunity to package these up and make some labels for them. I used Avery Sticker paper that I printed on at home and cut to the shape I wanted to fit the lids. For the finishing touch, I used my favorite Studio Carta twine to wrap around the jar lids.

While they came out pretty delicious smelling and nice for a first try I did learn a few things along the way:

• Making candles is pretty nauseating...maybe it was just the scents I was using? But I had a pretty steady headache while I was making them. Not fun. Definitely open windows if it is a possibility (sadly, not an option in New England winter) or have a fan going. I'm thinking this would be a great summer project with windows open and fans blowing out.
• Do a couple rounds of pours if possible. I poured each candle in one go since I made a bunch of batches of scents and it seemed fine but some of them sank a bit around the wick. After some research, I found that a few pours (even just two) could have solved this problem. I made a few candles that had multiple rounds of wax pouring in different scents, and collapsing wasn't an issue with any of these.
• See that candle in the photo above? It was supposed to be orange. The pink ones? Supposed to be red...make sure not to over dilute your color chips like I did. I think if I were to make these again I would probably keep them colorless, I really actually love the look of white soy wax candles but wanted to give color a try since it came free in my kit. Some worked really well, so it was worth trying.
• I also wish I had bough smooth edge mason jars. Or at least some with one smooth side. I would have loved to have the label affix to the side of the jar as opposed to the lid, which was more limiting. It would have been nice to match the label in shape to the vanilla, or do something similar.
• You have to be INCREDIBLY patient. The initial melting goes really fast and so does the color and dye adding, but boy do they take a long time to properly cool before you can pour them. I suppose you could pour right away, but everywhere I looked, I read it was best to let them significantly cool before pouring to avoid crystalizing and maintain a smooth texture. I did find the texture perfect when I waited, so I would still recommend this.

Overall though, I loved the candle making process (other than the headache) and totally respect small batch candle makers. I would love to sell small batch products in the future in an online shop-things including candles and my wood burned spoons or other wood burned things (pssst I have some wood burned goodies I made during snow days-check back soon for photos!). What do you think?

Let me know if you've given candle making a try and if you have any resources you love and go back to! -b

In the Kitchen: vanilla extract

For the holidays each year, I like to make at least one special homemade thing to give to family and friends. I love using this time to make a special crafty project! Last year I made wood burned spoons and now have a serious urge to wood burn every blank wood spoon I ever find... This year I decided to give vanilla extract a try. I had pinned a recipe for this well over a year ago and have been wanting to give it a try ever since. Plus, this was a fun excuse to paint up a little design for the labels.

I used this recipe and these vanilla beans for mine. I found these to be the best value vanilla beans I could find and they came vacuum sealed and super fresh! Sadly, raw vanilla beans smell kind of strong and a little gross in my opinion. I guess I expected to pop open that vacuum sealed package and have sweet sweet extract smell coming from them. I wanted to buy the IndriVanilla beans that Alexandra recommended in her recipe I used because of the raving reviews and quality/price, but they were sold out at the time I tried to order them.

The one thing that I didn't do was make these early enough. You really do need to leave plenty of time for this recipe or you're just going to end up with slightly flavored vodka... This is why I made sure when I gave them to family and friends at the holidays to put an "enjoy after" note on them. 

Of course, my favorite part of this project was making the labels. Once I painted out a little design, I printed as many as I could fit on this Avery sticker paper, cut them up, and adhered them to the bottles with a little piece of beautiful Studio Carta classic twine underneath. I used these bottles, which were a fantastic deal and seriously great quality.

I loved putting together this little project. As you can see above, I used the same Studio Carta twine for wrapping the gift that I used to add the decorative element to the banner style label I created. The only thing that could have made it even nicer would have been if I had used this awesome gold tissue paper instead. Next time!

Let me know if you give Vanilla Extract a try and let me know how it goes for you! This was such a fun project for me to complete. Make sure to check back soon to see images of the soy candles I also made this year! Usually I stick to just one craft but I was really missing strictly for fun, no rules projects and decided to give both a try this time around!

-b

Full disclosure: Some of the links used above are affiliate links but all opinions are mine and affiliations were not the reason for choosing the specific products! They truly were the best deals and value.

In the Shop: society6 phone cases

Anyone else hear the crickets chirping over on the blog front here?? I have a few fun projects and photos I have lined up to share here. As I say every time, I'm hoping to make this more regular, but I really mean it this time! I have a lot of fun things up my sleeve as well as new products and I can't wait to share all of this with you guys.

I've been selling work over on my Society6 shop now for a year and a half. I love the quality of the products created by Society6 so much, and wouldn't be selling so much of my work their if this wasn't true. Everything I have seen printed from them has been so phenomenal, from the shirts to the pillow cases, tote bags, mugs, wall clocks, etc. I love the ever expanding product list.

Check out their YouTube page for some great videos showing the production process for multiple different products, including this one about the production of the phone cases as well as this one about how to put your phone into the tough case, which really showcases the two pieces. I was SO ecstatic when I found out that Society6 was going to offer "tough" cases.

The only reason I had been buying my personal phone cases elsewhere was because the idea of a slim case scares my constantly-dropping-my-phone accident prone self. I just love that for a mere $3 more, you can get a case with protective rubber as opposed to the snap on plastic case only. (Don't get me wrong, those are fantastic, I just know myself and that is NOT a good idea for me personally).

As you can see in the photos above, the phone case comes in two pieces, which is so rad. There is bumper (the black piece shown in the photo on the left) and then a plastic shell. The bumper doesn't go on the back of the case which is what keeps the case so seriously slim, and the pieces fit together super snug.

In the photos above here, I tried to give an idea of the slim profile this case gives, and the seriously incredible quality of the printing. There IS a raised bumper edge from the black rubber piece, which I love since it gives a little insurance to the safety of the glass screen. 

I think this photo showcases the real amazing quality of the printing for the case. I put it right on top of the original painting to show that the color matching is seriously incredible. FLAWLESS. When I first unpacked the case I couldn't stop staring. I mean really, you can see the texture of the watercolor paper on the case. It's unreal. 

I couldn't be happier to be offering so many phone cases through Society6 and I couldn't think of a better company to have phone cases through. The quality is unbeatable. I hope you'll check out my other phone cases on there, and maybe you'll see one that suits your style!

Here is a direct link to the phone case that I have pictured in this post. OH! And society6 is offering a FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING* promotion right now through SUNDAY February 22, get on that! No code necessary!

Happy shopping & stay warm! -b

*Super sadly, free shipping excludes framed art prints, stretched canvases, rugs, and clocks. But everything else is a go!

Full disclosure: Some of the links used above are affiliate links but all opinions are mine!

In the Studio: a video & lots of news

Clearly I'm not made out for the blogging world since I have horrifically lacked at updating this page in a very  long time. BUT I do have some pretty good excuses.

I officially have a home studio space (!!!) as of almost two months ago and I couldn't be happier with it. I moved into a new apartment with my boyfriend and fat cat and the second bedroom has been converted into an amazing office/studio space.  I hope to share photos of it and it's beautiful light soon. Here's a little peek that's only new to those of you who don't follow my instagram. 

While moving was my big excuse for lack of updates for a while, the bigger "excuse" now is work related and will cause much more updates in the near future! I'm working on a pretty big and exciting project right now & my part will be finished at the end of May when I will be updating my site with around 30 (!!!) new illustrations. The project itself will be releasing this fall, along with a few other things I have been working on, so that's all going to be really great.

I can't wait to share all this new work with you all, so long as I make it to the end of May without passing out in my paint water. (Make sure you follow along on Instagram where I frequently post sneak peaks and updates more rapidly than I do here.) I also completed two small projects prior to getting this one that I haven't had the chance to post yet, so there's lots to look forward to. Here's looking at early June and then September for lots of new things on my site, in stores, and in my Society6 shop.

For now, I've uploaded one of (my favorite of) the 30 illustrations so I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do (click on the above image for a full view). 

I took a video of the painting process to share with all this news. Make sure you watch in 1080HD, please please please. No other qualities give it any justice.

Enjoy! Thanks for hanging in there during this update lull! -b

In the Shop: new patterns & free shipping

I've been realizing lately that my absolute adoration of pattern doesn't show through in all my work that I have. Doing crazy little patterns doesn't always work with all the lettering that I do so I am going to try and get more patterns worked out. The last few days I doodled out some fun little patterns for my society6 shop. Here's the result of my fun (Click each image to see a larger version).

I had tons of fun making these two patterns and I love how they look on the products available in my shop. 

Using this promo link you can receive free shipping on most* items in my Society6 shop any time through January 12!  (*excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert.) Also, make sure to follow my instagram (username beccacc) to see snippets of paintings before they're up on my site!

Happy 2014! -b