I'm Featured in Blu Penny's Sketchbook Story!

I am Super excited to announce that I am featured on Blu Penny for my Sketchbook Story. This column comes out every Tuesday and I have been reading it for a long time. It is very interesting to see where different artists get inspiration, and how their processes work. To see all of my secrets visit the article.

Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins

So today was very interesting. I worked from home because I have the worst head cold ever. I did my 9 am meeting with my boss via skype and I learned 3 things. 1) The look and feel of the Recurly brand that I should be shooting for. 2) What Geocatching is. I totally want to try this. 3) What Zicam is. It's a nasal spray that is supposed to work awesome for head colds. So I dragged my self to Safeway in search of this magical cure and used it. About an hour later one of my coworkers sent me this link that talks about how people loose their sense of taste and smell because of this product. I was thinking how awful that would be. Eating would be so boring. I grew up in a house where 80% of family time was spent around the dinner table (my parents both worked a lot). As a result food was very important to me growing up and I continue to cook and bake all the time. Being blind would be much worse, as a visual designer I would be pretty useless. Anyway (end of rant).

I also started using forrst today and so far it's awesome. It's a web site where programers and designers can post their work and get feedback. This is really important to me right now because I am the only designer working at Recurly, and it's nice to have people to bounce ideas off. I also learned how to make sexy web site buttons. Yeah you heard me. 

While I was at home I decided to make some muffins because I had all of the stuff and muffins are delicious. As you may have seen in the past I have the best EVER Vegan Banana Muffin Recipe. But I can't eat these muffins anymore because they are not gluten free. I found a GF banana muffin recipe online and tricked it out to be more like my favorite recipe and here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white rice flower

• ¾ cup brown rice flower

• 1 ¼ cup all purpose gluten free flower

• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

• 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tbs cinnamon

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 4 bananas

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup melted butter

• 11 oz Blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

2. In one bowl sift together all dry ingredients.

3. In a second bowl combine mashed bananas, egg and melted butter.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet, mix well.

5. Fold in blueberries

6. Spoon mixture into lined muffin pan.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

My Stay in Crested Butte, CO

My visit to Crested Butte, CO was very beautiful and relaxing, Zen even. It reminded me a lot of Amsterdam. The people were relaxed, on their own time clock and there were cool bikes everywhere (Just like Amsterdam.) There were wildflowers all over and the hiking was serene. 

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to paint while I was on this little visit but I didn't paint scenery. I was inspired by the calm funky relaxation of this tiny town and painted patterns. I felt good to put brush to paper while being outside. I might even turn some of these patterns into a licensing collection.

Here are a few pictures of my niece, the main reason I went to Colorado for a visit. River is 6 weeks old in this picture. She's cute, my visit was lovely and I got in some much needed relaxation. I can't wait to go back. 

Vacation Time | Las Vegas, NV - Crested Butte, CO

I started a new job about 8 months ago at Flip Video after working at Gladstone a Biomedical Research Company for nearly four years. Very unexpectedly Flip Video was downsized into nonexistence on May 19, 2011. This was sad news because I loved my job as a Graphic Designer and Online Merchandiser, but with every ending comes a new beginning. I soon found a new job for Recurly as their "Manager of Design and Creative Goodness." I'm very excited to start my new job and was lucky enough to take a few weeks off in-between jobs.

I took a one week staycation in San Francisco tying up loose ends, doing some freelance work, hanging out with friends, flying over San Francisco with a new coworker . . .

This flight was amazing. I have never been in such a small plane before, so I was a little nervous but once we took off the flight was really relaxing and beautiful. I got to see San Francisco from a new angle. My favorite views were of Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge. Thanks Tim!

I also attended one of my good friend's baby showers. Everything was so cute. I can't wait for her to have her baby so I can play with her (it's a girl).

My staycation was pretty hectic so I was glad to leave the Bay Area and make my first stop in Las Vegas for one of my best friend's bachelorette party.

We stayed at the Mirage which is right on the strip. Highlights of our trip were hanging out a the pool, shopping, clubbing, and seeing Zoomanity. There were 8 girls and we all had a bachelorette induced good time.

After a few event filled days in Vegas, I boarded a plane to Denver, CO. I got in my rental car and drove for about 5 hours to Crested Butte, CO where my little brother and his girlfriend live with their new baby River Wilson. My mom had also been staying in Crested Butte to visit and help with the new baby. More on this leg of the trip later. . . for now bed time.

Shop 'till You Drop Sunday - Peanut Butter Buckets

In my recent visit to Crested Butte, CO I found this little candy store called Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory I bought these chocolate peanut butter buckets, one milk chocolate and one dark. They are called buckets for a good reason. I cut them into quarters and shared them with my family. They were very good, especially if you have a sweetooth.

2011 Yearly Goal Check In

My Goal for 2011 is to create 12 licensing collections, one for every month. So far, I am on track despite some major upset in my life.

I started a new job at Flip Video last October and I was well settled at Flip by the start of 2011 when I set this goal. Unexpectedly all of Flip Video was laid off on May 19, 2011. I need to figure out what my June collection will be. I'm thinking about finishing a Halloween collection I have been working on.

Feeling Blue, a color study

I work with color every day and I love it. Today I am concentrating on the color blue. I picked this color for a few reasons. My last job's logo Flip Video was blue and this is a little tribute to my "blue" stage.

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.