My Amazon Shoppe! : lysa flower's daily design diary

I've been a busy bee and working away on my shoppes. Yep that was plural... SHOPPES! Not only that I’ll be attaching a Printful (Print on demand) store to my ESTY shoppe (after I get the results from the I posted about earlier survey - haven't done it yet? Remember you only have until Aug 9th!).

However! I've also opened an AMAZON storefront for SHARE-ZEES!!! It came out of putting together a gift for my son's girlfriend (who likes to sew! Yes! Fist pump in the air!) and I thought, wait, it would be so fun to also share these favorites with YOU TOO! So far I have these three curations for you: 

HAPPY SEWING TIMES!: My favourite cute & practical sewing supplies.

I HEART STATIONARY AND DRWAING SUPPLIES: Must have stationary products 

BOOKS OF INSPIRATION: That we CAN NOT live without!

To have a look see click HERE!

 

SUMMER PROJECTS ON: Lysa Flower's Daily Design Diary

Some of my favourite summer moments growing up were at my grandma's farm. I especially loved being given embroidery kits (probably to help keep us out of trouble!). I'd like to share with you a few projects put together by my friends that may help you or help keep someone you're spending the summer with keep out of trouble *wink!

Top row:

1.Embroidery Kits from Sheri of Whole Circle Studios

2. Zippy Pouch Kits from Sheri of Whole Circle Studios

3. Truffelkins Coloring Poster 24 x 36 inches Myra of Fuzzy Little Mangos

Middle row:

4. Cut & Sew Trufflekins from Myra of Fuzzy Little Mangos

5. DIY Paint Kits from Nelani of Owlina

6. Gist Curious, a new Instagram page ful of fun facts from Nelani of Owlina (keep an eye on her, I know what she’s got cookin’ and you’re going to love it!

Bottom row:

7. My FREE Cassette tape PDF tutorial (the Cassette Tape PDF Quilt Pattern is required) *allows to make multiple sizes

8. My FREE Matchbook Needlebook PDF pattern

9. My FREE Cassette Tape Book Cover PDF tutorial ((the Cassette Tape PDF Quilt Pattern is required) *allows to make multiple sizes

Happy summering and making!

 

Andrea Tsang Jackson on Lysa Flower's daily design diary

If you’ve been a subscriber to my newsletter you might remember a two part interview I did with (fellow Canadian) Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop (way, way, way back in April of 2018). Since then she’s been pretty darn busy and has a new book coming out! It’s called Quilting: A Book Inviting Quilters on a Creative Journey and it’s being published by Nine Ten Publications. It’s a quilting book about creativity, self care and craft. If you’d like to order it and participate in their Kickstarter check it out HERE. I highly suggest taking a peek to just see how beautiful the book is! It’s stunning and would be a beautiful addition to any Quilt-y book collection!

 

LYSA FLOWER'S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY: TRAVELING TO PRINTSOURCE

Since my first surface pattern design course I’ve heard Surtex was the mecca of all surface pattern design trade shows. Did I mention it’s in New York? I’m on the west coast of Canada and getting over there will cost a pretty penny. So I was thinking. since I’m making all these sales sheets anyways maybe I should look at doing a show closer and smaller than Surtex. Something to learn from and try out first before doing the really big SHOoow.

A few Google searches later, Printsource popped onto my radar. Dang they show in New York too! Oh but wait… wait… AND they have a show in LA! That’s easy enough for me to get to. Oooh! I yelled out to my husband, we need to go to LA this August!

Really that’s all it took to convince him! Printsource is this August 13 and 14th. I’ll be heading there to walk the show, check it out, lurk at the booths and decide if it’s something I want to invest in and invest my time in preparing for next year.

Yep to quote Kathy Phantastic, I’m nerv-cited! and can wait to get back and tell you all about it!

 

LYSA FLOWER'S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY : : Mastery + Mentors (with Dylan M)

Today’s show in tell is a story of my going to Nashville for Quiltcon in 2019 (I think it was, it was the before COVID times is all I remember). One of the most amazing things we did in Nashville was visiting Jack White’s Third Man Records. Not only was the interior as striking as the exterior, when we went on the studio tour we were shown all the woodwork done by a master builder who also did all the woodwork in Kenny Rogers’ studio. Now the photo is a little hard to see but it’s all I could find on the internet (they don’t allow you to take photos on the tour). Let’s just say it was absolutely amazing and it left me feeling, yes! Mastery, it’s something to aim for.

Spring forward to earlier this year listening to my favourite podcast, The Huberman Lab. I listen to it on Spotify but it’s also available on YouTube and all other major streaming platforms. I was listening to the interview with Cal Newport. I’m now reading his book Deep Work. In that interview they mentioned Robert Greene, which turned out to be one of my favourite interviews. I learned that he wrote a book called Mastery. Now I haven’t read that book YET but I have discussed it with my ADHD coach (did I mention I was diagnosed with ADHD last summer? Let’s just say things make a WHOLE LOT more sense now!) who has read it. I was really craving working one on one with someone and really wanting a mentor. I’ve taken enough online course to know it was time for a change. I didn’t want a whole group setting to get lost in again.

Then, low and behold, in pops this newsletter from Dylan M saying, hey I’m doing 1:1’s through Skillshare! I’ve been following Dylan since 2017 (I remember because I did a floral Skillshare class of hers). Below are my Zinnia Warrior Princesses (* wink!) I did from her class.

She does the dreamiest florals, fascinating lettering and most whimsical creatures. I’ve watched her talents grow from seeing her early gouache studies to her now amazing paintings. Her sketchbooks are to die for! She also does Cozy Painting retreats at her agent, Jennifer Nelson’s, Smiley Manse in Vermont! I’ve got it marked on my todo list! In a nut shell she’s done the work and she’s exceptionally concise and intuitive with the information she shares. Oh and she also does Human Design readings! But that’s for another post!

Okay so where am I going with all this…? Here I am craving to learn mastery and needing a mentor. Hello Dylan! Her call out about doing one to ones popped up in her newsletter and I reached out. Afterwards I sent her a message saying, hey I’m looking for a mentor, are you interested? We’ve been meeting twice each month since and I’ve also just registered for her Patreon. Oh so many goodies in there too!

Since I’ve taken so many online courses I feel like I have gathered all these bits of knowledge but I didn’t necessary understand how they all fit together. Dylan is helping me bridge those gaps. A big gap was how I was doing my portfolio and understanding what a sales sheet is. I have seen photos of them at trade shows but I still didn’t understand; if I’m not doing a trade show at the moment, why would I need to do my portfolio that way? Well, it’s the industry standard and understanding that I completely feel a big shift coming on how I do my work and create collections. In the mean time I had over 175 separate prints and illustrations I’ve been putting on to my very own sale sheets! Here’s a sneak peek at a few of them. I will soon be changing over my portfolio to password protected so enjoy this peek!

It’s been an exciting time and of growing pains, but I know in the end it will be totally worth it in learning mastery over my craft.

P.S. Want to learn more about Dylan M? Click HERE to see her website, Skillshare classes, Patreon, One on Ones, Artist Sanity Checks, Newsletter and Human Design reading. Oh and her Instagram is HERE and her YouTube Channel can be found HERE.

 

lysa flower's daily design dairy: meeting Jon Batiste

You might remember how in 2022 Jon Batiste cleaned house at the GRAMMYs. He won ALL the awards for EVERYTHING! And rightfully so!

2022 was a tough year for our family and I often would turn to his music for comfort. I love (as does everyone else) the song FREEDOM but my very favourite is his cover of the Sunny Side of the Street.

When I heard he was playing in Vancouver I insisted we go. Which didn’t take much convincing even though my husband is more of a Queens of the Stone Age kind of guy. So there we were enjoying the show when Jon Batiste and his band are playing, singing and dance right off the stage and into the lobby. We jumped out of our seats to see where they had gone. We could hear them but we couldn’t find them. We tried to go back to our seats but were told, “no you can’t go back to your seat, he’s coming out this way”. Wait? What?! A few moments later, sure enough, out walked Jon Batiste and his band. He walked right up to us with that huge smile, said hello and shook our hands. Pretty amazing!

I often think about that moment. It’s so easy to stay home and work away. There’s always so much to be done that it can be hard to remember to take a break. This moment was a reminder to take time off to play. You never know what might happen or who you might run into!

 

lysa flower's daily design diary: boombox feature

If you’re a subscriber to my Newsletter you would have already heard about my Boombox Sewing Machine cover pattern. Each month I like to feature a pattern and put it on sale. There are a few days left for this Boombox pattern sale but, if you subscribe you’ll never miss out on any of the featured products! Plus, you’ll get 10% off just for subscribing!

A few things about this Sewing Machine Cover: Not only is it made from my boombox quilt pattern, it also comes with a tutorial on how to make the Boombox Sewing Machine Cover AND a tutorial on how to make the Cassette Tape Zippy Pouch that goes inside the Boombox!

Your friends are going to think your sewing room is so RAD with this covering your machine!

To buy just the Boombox PDF quilt pattern (and get the bonus Sewing Machine Cover) click HERE!

To check out the whole ESTY SHOPPE: click HERE!

Happy sewing fun times!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : Rust?! Is that even a colour?

I use colour as an act of rebellion against the boring and the blah of beige. My sunshiny modern illustrations, prints, patterns and designs are the antidote! Here’s why…

Growing up my mom was a secretary and I dedicated my 9 to 5 collection to her. That’s why there is an A on the cup, it’s the first letter of her name.

Like most moms she dressed me similarly to her taste, which was grey slacks and white blouses (yep blouses with skinny ribbons that went around the collar and tied in a bow). I also always had a cream cardigan.

The most wild colour I wore was a red blouse, but I’m here to tell you, it was the most muted of all reds. My barrettes were brown and beige and in grade 3 when I had to get glasses, can you guess what colour they were? Yep, beige!

BUT, I LONGED for the colorful barrettes and multi coloured wooly ties my best friend wore in her hair.

As a kid, when I was 7 or 8, I asked my mom what her favorite colour was. She said… wait for it…

RUST.

I looked at her blankly. Rust? I stared at her face. She wasn’t kidding. Rust.

“Like the stuff that grows on old Toyotas?” I asked.

She just looked at me blankly and said yes. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I let it go but I walked away thinking, Rust? Rust? Is that even a colour?

At 10, I asked for my room to be painted yellow. We agreed on a colour and my mom started painting the closet and quickly decided it was WAY too bright. She promptly took the paint cans back and had more white added to them. My room ended up a shade of white, with a slight tinge of yellow. I took what I could get because the rest of our house had beige wallpaper, beige-y white painted walls. Everywhere I looked it was beige.

Maybe it’s no surprise colour is my act of rebellion. I crave it. I’ve never feared it. I can never have enough. It gives me dopamine hits like nobody’s business! When I see colours I love my instant reaction is to call them yummy! I get excited to use them and it’s my favorite part of the design process. I know some designers leave it to the end but I lead with it. I decide on a colour palette straight away.

So thank you mom! Thank you rust! And white tinges of yellow and of course beige! You have shaped me into radiating joyful, happy colours into peoples homes, neighbours and lives!

 

Lysa flower's daily DESIGNGER DIARY : : A COLLAB WITH OCTOPURSE

Magic happens when creativity meets collaboration

I would love to introduce you to Octopurse! She makes the most snazzy and snappy metal frame purses!

I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with her on three of my collections: 9 to 5, Sunshine Inn and Drivin’ Down 9!

I love designing panels and envisioning the potential for products they could become. I specifically thought of Octopurse’s purses when I was designing the sunglasses and cassettes!

but then… they turned out even more extraordinary that I ever thought possible!

She has a few purses, featuring my designs, left in her ETSY shop but also a huge selection of others to choose from. Curious? You can check them out HERE.

Above: my Drivin’ Down 9 panel. Below: my Sunshine Inn panel.

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Diary : : what kind of road tripper are you?

1) Are you a Herbie The Love Bug road tripper? You have a car with a mind of it’s own? Beep! Beep!

2 ) Or are you and Almost Famous road tripper? Are road trips about the romance and the music for you?

3) Are you a steady as it goes kind of road tripper? Like in The Straight Story. You get there when you get there. (*one of my personal favourite movies).

4 ) Or! Maybe you’re a rebellious Easy Rider… who’s happy to take it easy the whole way there?

5) Then again, maybe you’re a speed demon throughout a road trip and you take no prisoners like in Fury Road?

6) Do you take your road trips, with your ENTIRE family? In a Van? Like in Little Miss Sunshine? (*again, also one of my very favourite movies!)

Or perhaps you’re a combo of the above? We all have a speed demon in us don’t we?!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : One boombox pattern : : three sewing projects

 

If you’re so inclined and want to make my Boombox quilt…

…it can be purchased here on ETSY. If you want to make this Boombox Sewing Machine Cover…

…you will need the Boombox pattern above and the FREE tutorial on my site. I have it for you HERE.

Now, if you want to make a Boombox bag like this one …

…again, you’ll need the top Boombox pattern for the front of this bag. You’ll also need this tutorial, which I wrote for the project below, the Boombox Nesting Bags. The measurements aren’t exactly the same but it will help you figure out how to put it together. You’ll only have to change a few measurements. Voila! Boy, you’re gonna be busy!

P.S. To be honest with you, I’ve always secretly hoped a manufacture would approach me and licence my boombox bag for product! Wouldn’t that be amazing!!!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : Do you need some Sunshine Inn too?

 

Each print I make starts with pen and ink drawings. Those get scanned in and become digital prints (of course I’m oversimplifying. How to draw an owl: draw one circle, then three circles and then finish the owl!)

My Sunshine Inn collection was designed in 2021 when we were all in some form of lock down. By then the world, including myself, was itching from cabin fever.

Instead of going on a holiday I scrolled on Instagram.

I saw this post by @modernjunecleaver when she visited Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Rather than floating off to a resort,

I floated off in my imagination on a 60’s inspired resort holiday!

Think of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel goes to Orlando.

My Sunshine Inn collection was licenced by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

The fabric was made into quilts…

kid’s clothes…

adult apparel, bags, pillows… you name it!

Then, it became the back drop for my first ever mural, for DRESSEW, in 2023! DREAM COME TRUE!

While my Sunshine Inn collection has had a pretty spectacular ride, I’m dreaming of licencing it for stationary or party products.

Sometimes we get too close to our work and it’s hard to see the obvious options.

So, I’m here to ask your advice. What else can you imagine these designs on? Is there a brand you know of that would look fantastic in these prints?

… I’m asking for a friend. *wink!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : Ring! Ring! Sorry, I don't hem pants.

So I’m thinking it’s time these become digital PDF ART PRINTS? I’m a little stuck on which colour way I like the most. I’d love to know which is your favourite? If you leave a comment below, when I list them on Etsy I’ll send you a 30% off discount code!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Design Diary : : With friends!

I like you to meet:

Kellie of Silly Moon Quilting Co. Have you seen what she made?! Do you recognize that quilt pattern? If you guessed it’s The Retro Quilter’s, Retro Daisy Pattern, you’d be right! And have you seen Kellie’s quilting tools?! They are absolutely amazing! And see that purple star thingy? That’s called a little dude (I have one and i LOVE it!). It’s perfect for quick measuring. She used one to space between each petal! Then Kellie quilted it with her snazzy quilting templates. She used the Picket Fence for the background and for the petals she used Drop 2 & 3 to quilt them! Want to see it in action?! She also made a free tutorial about it: Watch it HERE!

I’ve posted about Sheri from @wholecirlcestudio before and we’ve done a few giveaways together. She is such a lovely and generous person! This is what she does on rainy Sundays! What do you do on rainy Sundays? Some people here on the west coast go surfing, for REAL! I can’t even imagine how chilly it would be, even with a wetsuit. I’m more of the Sheri kind of spender of rainy Sundays. You too?! This is her Best In Show Pattern sewn in, you guessed it, my latest collection, Goin’ Surfin’!

This was posted by @tracybistnspieces, a NEW FRIEND! :D This breezy summery Meadowland quilt pattern by Then Came June, was sewn with a Goin Surfin’ fabric Flat Fat Stack. It was bought at The Dancing Bobbin. EEp! That means it’s official, the fabric is in stores now! AND Tracy has now officially opened the doors for summer sewing for all of us!

I’ve also posted lots about Maryanna, so you might remember her. She recently changed her handle on Instagram from @MarvelousAuniteM to @postcard.quilts.

She’s sewn with every one of my collections! The first photo below is what she made with my first collection, Let the Good Times Roll. It’s one of my all time very favourite quilts!!! It just hits all those retro bells for me! To make it she used the same pattern I wrote for Love Patchwork & Quilting - Issue 81 (the middle photo). In the issue the quilt pattern is called Light + Shade but last year I rewrote it to include four and five colourways and renamed it BABY QUE-BURT. If you LOVE geo inspired, Q*bert inspired quilt patterns like me, it’s for sale in my shoppe HERE (and remember if you’re a Newsletter Subscriber you get 10% off patterns).

Recently Maryanna put a shout out on Instagram asking for suggestions on what design she should hand quilting her solid version it (the last photo). I’m not sure what she settled on, but I’m sure it will be amazing!

Pretty snazzy, right! Thanks for stopping by friend! I’m so glad you got to meet some of my quilting friends. They also hang out on Instagram so if you’re ever on there be sure to pop by and say hi. They’re all super nice!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Design Diary : : A-Z Comedians, “That’s What She Said” Personal Project

Remember when?!

Wow! This is a blast from the past! Remember 2020 and COVID?! Did you clean out your closet? Or did you pick out a personal project? I went with option two. This was my personal project, it helped me learn Procreate, practice drawing humans and lettering. It meant I also watched A LOT of much needed comedians! And I did a lot of reading about each of them. All of them have outstanding stories. It would be pretty hard to pick a favourite… but if I had to absolutely choose, Parks & Rec is one of my all time very FAVROITE shows, so I’d have to go with Amy Poehler! Have you seen it? I wish I had Kristen Wiig in here ( I LOVE HER TOO!). Hmm, do you think there’s anyone else I might have missed who’s excellent? Maybe I need to revisit this personal project again...

 
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LYSA FLOWER’S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY: Inspired by my mom and our daughter

 

How this quote set me firm on licensing & collaborating with companies who also believe this to be true.

I'm often told my illustrations, prints + patterns and the mural I did for Dressew, makes people feel joyful and happy, which I love hearing!

“Your joy is your sadness unmasked”. Recently this quote, by Kahlil Gibran, fell into my lap. I had to really spend some time with it. Especially that word, unmasked.

You see, I'm the daughter of a woman who has worn a mask of heavy makeup on her face for her entire adult life. My mom was born with a port wine birthmark on the lower half of her face, from ear to ear, that runs down her neck and into her chest.

Growing up, I knew my mom woke up at 5am to start the process of putting on her make up. It takes her 3 hours to do it before leaving the house every single day. Why would she go through that? It has everything to do with how people reacted to her as a child. When she told me she knew what the Phantom was going through in Phantom of the Opera, my heart broke. Knowing she was terrified of people seeing her without her makeup and hearing her say she felt like a monster. It was too much.

When I was 8, she started laser treatments to remove her birthmark. She's still doing them every month. I'm 51. She's 71 with no intention of ever stopping. She also does every treatment without anaesthetic so they can go deeper. Those early laser treatments were especially brutal. After one treatment, I had a teacher at my school ask her if she had been kicked in the face by a horse. Nope. But my respect for him was greatly damaged after that. Witnessing how people reacted to my mom always shocked me. It only made me appreciate and love her even more, because I knew, with or without make up she's so incredibly beautiful.

I am also the mother of a transgender daughter who felt like she had to hide behind a mask her entire life. While she desperately tried to suppress it, it nearly cost her life.

When our daughter transitioned, it wasn't the easiest. I wish I could say we handled it perfectly. We didn't. We were led by fear (actually we were downright terrified!) about how the world would treat her. Having witnessed how some people treated my mom, perhaps magnified this fear. As our daughter transitioned, we all learned how painful it was for her to hide who she truly was. Slowly over time, her body, her clothes, her world all started to make more sense and brought her peace. As my dad said to me during her transition, "40 years ago, she would have had to push herself so deep down." After having watched a lifetime of my mom painting a mask on herself every morning, we couldn't imagine our daughter needing to hide behind a mask everyday either, no matter how safe we wanted to keep her. Today she is thriving, successfully supporting herself as an indie video game developer. That on its own isn't an easy task! We are so very proud of her; our hearts could burst!

It's because of these two women, my mom and my daughter, that deep in my bones I believe wholeheartedly in love and kindness for everyone. Including those people who looked at my mom with disgust or fear, and those that believe our daughter DID have a choice in being trans. I wish for their families and loved ones, that they feel the freedom to exist and for their differences to be celebrated. Not hidden away, masked in shame. Life is to short, boring, beige, blah and honestly sometimes it's just… brutal.

Which is why after sitting with this quote for some time, and thinking about my mom and our daughter, I'm inspired and firm in my commitment to collaborating with companies and brands that celebrate our differences and practice, "YOUR JOY IS YOUR SADNESS UNMASKED".

 

LYSA FLOWER’S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY : : Dealing with Disappointment

 

What’s your favoUrite flavoUr… of shit sandwich? or would you prefer cake?

It’s still hard to accept but wanting to live an creative life, sometimes you have to be willing to eat a SHIT sandwich, as Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in her Big Magic book, and then ask yourself….

“What’s your favorite flavor of shit sandwich?” What Manson means is that every single pursuit—no matter how wonderful and exciting and glamorous it may initially seem—comes with its own brand of shit sandwich, its own lousy side effects. As Manson writes with profound wisdom: “Everything sucks, some of the time.” You just have to decide what sort of suckage you’re willing to deal with. So the question is not so much “What are you passionate about?” The question is “What are you passionate enough about that you can endure the most disagreeable aspects of the work?” Manson explains it this way: “If you want to be a professional artist, but you aren’t willing to see your work rejected hundreds, if not thousands, of times, then you’re done before you start. If you want to be a hotshot court lawyer, but can’t stand the eighty-hour workweeks, then I’ve got bad news for you.” Because if you love and want something enough—whatever it is—then you don’t really mind eating the shit sandwich that comes with it.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

But what about a SHIT CAKE you ask? …

Sometimes disappointments feel larger than a sandwich and they feel more more like a SHIT cake. For example: yesterday. I applied for the Vancouver Mural Festival and for the third time I didn’t get in! I’ve heard rumours you have to apply four times but honestly I think they’re just rumours. After the initial sting and distasteful first bite of this particular SHIT cake, I’ve asked myself, what do I need to grow and learn for a better outcome next time? This is what I came up with:

WRITING: Perhaps my application could have been stronger. So reached out to Leah Kent, a writing coach I met through the Content Cultivation Course with Rebecca Van Damm.

MORE EXPERINCE: This was a great wake up call and lit a fire under my butt. I’ve pulled out a big old piece of plywood to practice on. I’m on my way to pick up hooks to mount it on our kid’s old wood playset.

Last fall my generous friend Kam used her Cricut Maker to cut out my stencils after I told her about an unfortunate run in with the owner of a local sign shop, who I don’t think likes women very much. Sorry, my money will not be spent with you, if you’re going to insult me and only talk to my husband. BU-bye! Anyhow I let life get busy. The weather changed to winter, BUT NOW the weather is getting great for painting outside! There’s nothing stopping me from practicing! Can you hear my spray cans clanging as I shake them?!

I DO NEED ANOTHER WALL: Dear Universe, I would like another wall to do another mural on pretty please. I understand my journey may not be a straight shot, and I’m okay with that. I’m happy to find my own wall again. If you could just point me in the right direction or if you know of anyone who would like their wall painted please point them my way.

In the mean time I have already reached out to a potential wall I had been meaning to follow up on. They seemed pretty open but I have to remember, it took Dressew from March to January to follow up and ask me.

PATIENCE: ugh! Fine.

TRUST: The next wall will come and it will be as impactful as Dressew mural was to their community.

In the meantime as those things line up, I will use this SHIT cake that was made for my father-in-law’s birthday. My mother-in-law is celiac and made this gluten free carrot cake. To quote my husband, “it looks like the icing is even trying to get off the cake!”.

Now, are you wondering why do we have candles that say SHIT? Don’t you?! Doesn’t everyone?! Ha, aha, ha!!! Actually I made a full gluten chocolate cake for my father in law and it had candles on it that said, “U R Old”. After we laughed about the carrot cake it seemed only appropriate to add the SHIT the candles to it. Who knew the photo I took of it would become a great reminder 3 days later that, yes, yes I do want the SHIT cake! I want ALL the SHIT cake and I will eat another and an another and a… well, you get the idea.

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : illustration

 

Find the Calm in the Chaos:: a change of background was the answer!

Trust me, the irony of how much I had to wrestle with this illustration was not lost on me. I won’t lie, I was feeling uncomfortable with how much time it was taking! I took a bit of a break and started to play with it again after some feedback from my husband and my Monday co-working group of fellow artists.. Above is what I came up with.

I’m finding gardening every morning very satisfying and to quote Blur in Park Life, “It gives me a sense of enormous well-being”. It’s also basically manual labour and switching tasks isn’t fatiguing for my brain. However, yesterday my son asked me to watch a YouTube video about productiveness (mostly I was listening because I had no idea what I was looking at in this League of Legends Streamer’s video). I LOVE what he had to say! And I loved even more that our 20 year old, was listening to him (saying stuff we’d been saying for some time now-ha! parenting!). Needless to say I love learning about ways to be more productive and my favourite Huberman Lab Podcast episode is with Dr Cal Newport: How to Enhance Focus and Improve Productivity. Which this steamer mentioned! See Kiddo, your mom is COOL! Ha!

This is the square version.

Since then I’ve been wondering if I’d be happier dedicating a full day to design work, not just mornings. Knowing my time is up at lunch makes me feel a bit chaotic and it’s hard to relax into the design process. The brain change is well, a bit distracting and taxing.

Either way, I worked on this illustration today after knowing it could be better and I didn’t want to settle with just alright. I thought, maybe I need to change the background? I loaded up the Endless Summer repeat and YEP! There it is! YES! I KNEW IT!

This is the 8x10 inch version

So to recap, last year after I had designed the Goin’ Surfin’ collection (after camping and surfing) I assumed, yep, that’s what this collection is about. Nope. It wasn’t until it was done that I realized for the last two years our lives had been turned upside down. We were sinking and taking on water. Our lives were total chaos. Think of the movie, “Everything, Everywhere all at Once” , that was us. Then, in the middle of it, and with help from the good people at The Foundry, we found the calm. Much, much needed calm in all that chaos.

My hope is that everything in your life never gets wildly out of control like ours did. However, if it does, please know this illustration is dedicated to bring you comfort & support.

 
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LYSA FLOWER’S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY

ILLUSTRATING FIND THE CALM IN THE CHAOS : : DAY 13, 14… I don’t even know anymore, it’s all bleEding together…

Ever go overboard on colour? I’m a bit blurry eyed now. I need to take a break from this. The answers will come. Or, if you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it and I’m up for any feedback :D

Disclaimer: I realize on a few of these there’s a grey line on the side of some of the images. That’s because I exported them and I have a layer on top of the artboard. I see it and I’ve instructed my perfectionist to get over it. It’s just a thumbnail.

 

LYSA FLOWER’S DAILY DESIGNER DIARY

ILLUSTRATING FIND THE CALM IN THE CHAOS : : DAY 12

So in the back end of my blog, I get these thumbnails. I noticed on them how they weren’t quite the balanced shape I was going for. Then I remembered some old tricks from art school days. Stop thinking of them as letters and start thinking of them as shapes. God, I love Adobe Illustrator. I inverted it, tweaked, flipped it upside down, tweaked it and finally settled on it! Phew!