Lost Art: C5 Blog & Internal Illustrations
A few sets of fun vector illustrations I made for various internal projects at Column Five Media. Above: Illustration set for a blog post.
Illustration: Beach Birds
I don’t get the opportunity to illustrate much in my current position. (I’m also not a formally trained illustrator by any means). But I do enjoy getting to do the occasional doodle on my iPad. Here’s a series of birds I often see near where I live in mission beach.
Content Creation: Wellbeing
Sometimes I like to make content just for fun, it’s an exercise that helps keep me sharp. I pick a theme, plan out posts and execute the content creation. Since January is a time of rejuvenation in the new year, I created content around the theme of wellbeing to post on my personal social media all month long. The pallet I chose was very soft and neutral to capture the calming nature of the theme. I focused on things that I personally use for self-care. That ensured that I would ...
Travel Photography: Nor Cal & Redwoods National Forest
I grew in rural Illinois on the edge of a forest. My childhood was spent trouncing around in the woods, crossing creeks on fallen tree trunks, collecting pinecones and stones, and curiously observing wildlife. Being around so much nature as a kid, I would have never guessed that at 33 a tree would make me feel insignificant. Standing in the presence of the redwoods in northern California that’s exactly how I felt. Small, unimportant, like an ant walking across someone’s kitchen floor. If one of those trees suddenly came to ...
Lost Art, Vol 3.: Christmas Craft Blogs
I was fortunate enough to pick up a freelance project where I got to make and shoot a bunch of kids Christmas crafts for a brands blog. This is one of my all-time favorite freelance projects because it was very aligned with my interests: arts and crafts and photo styling.
Lost Art: Vol. 2: Arbor Day Illustrations
This one was a truly sad loss for me. I’m not particularly skilled at illustrating but I got an iPad Pro last year because I wanted to work on sharpening my skills in that area a bit. When the social media team asked me to put together an Instagram Story for Arbor Day I was stoked on the idea of attempting to illustrate it! I spent the better part of a week taking an online class to learn all the ins and outs of Procreate. The illustrations themselves probably took ...
Lost Art, Vol. 1: Earth Day Illustrations
Every designer knows the pain of lost art. Whether it was overlooked in a pitch deck, scrapped after hours of labor, or simply had a fleeting life span, it’s always sad to see something you’re proud of disappear into the ether. That’s why I’m dedicating this blog series to all those things that never got the spotlight they deserved. First up, a series of illustrations I made for San Diego Zoo’s Instagram story on Earth Day. Although they did run on as planned I feel like they deserved to exist ...
Drink: Spicy Mango Mimosa
Is there anything better in this world than a spicy cocktail? I think not. Over the weekend I mixed up this spicy mango mimosa as a delicious brunch beverage and it was so good I feel the need to share with the rest of the world. Spicy Mango Mimosa 1 mango pureed 1 cup OJ (or more) 1 bottle champagne 2-3 jalapeno slices per glass 2-3 tbs Tajin seasoning 1 lime wedge Puree 1 mango, add orange juice to thin out the puree so it will mix easily into the ...
Eat: Avocado Toast 3 Ways
Avocado toast may seem like a really fancy breakfast item. The coffee shops around here like to charge $7-9 for it, which is ridic. In my world avo toast is my go-to hangover cure. It requires almost no effort or brainpower, it’s basically impossible to mess up and tastes good with pretty much anything stacked on top of it. Here are three of my fave ways to make avocado toast. So Basic Sometimes it’s ok to just be the most basic. This is particularly true when it comes to making ...
Drink: Boozy Rose Lemonade
I’m a total sucker for rose scented and flavored things. My grandparent’s favorite pastime was rose gardening together. The smell and taste of rose takes me back to being a little kid and running around their yard jamming my nose into different varietals. That’s why I love this light, refreshing, boozy rose lemonade. It’s simple to mix up and goes down smooth and easy (maybe too easy?) It’s perfect as a brunch cocktail or for enjoying outdoors on a sunny afternoon. Boozy Rose Lemonade You need: Fentiman’s Rose Lemonade ...
Create: Bedazzled Beer Koozies
Be the most bitchin’ babe at summer bbqs with these bedazzled beer koozies. They’re basically the modern-day equivalent of a royal chalice and probably the easiest craft you’ll ever do. Bedazzled Beer Koozies $1 foam beer koozie (from Michael’s near the kids crafting stuff or from Amazon) I personally opted for glitter koozies for a little bit of extra bling. Large plastic gems (also from Michaels or Amazon) Hot glue gun Sparkly foam letters if you want Step 1: Hot glue giant gems onto blank foam koozies (I chose to use a glittery ...
Inspiration: Vintage Tobacco Cards
I go through phases of being obsessed with collecting things. I’ve got a collection of heart-shaped rocks, comic books with characters kissing on the covers, Momiji dolls and more. In college, I went to a craft fair and saw a booth where someone sold sets of vintage cigarette cards, and a new obsession was born. What are cigarette cards? Sometime in the late 1800s cigarette companies started putting small cards into packs of cigarettes to help reinforce flimsy packaging. Initially, the cards were blank but eventually, they turned into a ...