more copic markers more goodies

My friend Charlene VIllena, a talented artist whom I've befriended via Instagram AND collaborated with, recently donated her copic markers to me! I am so excited to have more to build onto the new collection my boyfriend's mother gave me not too long ago... it's made me so happy! Just so you know, this is my first time ever using copic markers only because I'm very aware of its ridiculous cost. It would've done damage to my wallet. I'm just beyond grateful that these people were so very generous about giving their markers to me and supporting me in what I love to do. It meant a lot. <3

Char also wrote me a very thoughtful and sweet letter that me and my boyfriend love!

xx ss

cancun

Just came back from my best friend's beautiful wedding in Cancun, Mexico! And I am happy to be home because it's time to decompress.

Being a short trip { 3 nights, 4 days } it felt like a week. I really maximized my time in Mexico as much as I could. As soon as I arrived at the Azul Fives resort in Cancun, I was greeted with a glass of white sparkling white wine. And that was the start of my adventure. An abundance of food and drinks - all inclusive! Being by myself without my boyfriend at the wedding was somewhat a challenge to my emotions. But we've been FaceTiming each other everyday and it has seriously helped me. :) { He's the best. } 

I wish I took more pictures but it's hard to when you're just in the moment enjoying the company of friends and loved ones. Plus, I didn't want to risk losing my phone every time I pulled it out.

This was probably the most beautiful wedding I've been to. I came home with a number of bug bites, a large bruise on my knee, a burned back, bloody ankles, and a smile on my face. There was lots of laughter, tears, a little drama here and there { yikes! }, but most of all, love for the newlyweds.

xx ss

collaborations make me hungry

Last week a whole case of Health-ade kombucha bottles was delivered to my door. I was a pretty excited girl. I'm currently collaborating with this brand - which, let me say, I LOVE! It's pretty amazing. After a good hike I usually stop by Whole Foods just to grab some of this bubbly and I instantly feel rejuvenated and accomplished. Now having a whole week's worth of it is just insane! And guess what? I'll be receiving another case of these next week! :D

Follow their IG to see the work I'll be doing for them!

I'm also working on another collaboration and it's with the artist, Charlene Villena. She's got amazing talent and her style stands out from the rest. I'm excited and can't wait to share what we have planned! I've been pretty swamped trying to work on two of these collaborations at once while spending a lot of time with family at the hospital. I've had very little sleep and my mind has been cluttered which has given me a pretty big appetite...

So there's a sale this month at Marie Callender's.. just sayin. This is my all time favorite pie from that place. This is the Chocolate Satin Pie. That is all. 

Perfect way to end the week. Vegan organic wine and food at The Springs for lunch in downtown LA with my girl Jasmine. Also, I'm glad Mercury Retrograde is officially ending this week. There definitely has been a shift in the energy around people and places and I've just been super sensitive during this crazy time! But I will say, last week I was able to get inspired better than I could the week before. I was tired and hungry, but inspiration was for sure downloading into my brain. Stay tuned for the revelation of my collaborations! 

xx ss

presently...

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. All you have is the present, this very moment. 

{ Three years ago, drawing hands used to be my worst nightmare. Now I love it. } 

Happy New Years everyone! I'm pretty excited to begin fresh new work to share with you and to continue trend researching. With that, I hope you're enjoying my new website layout as much as I am...! I've also started to add new { and old } prints to sell in my shop!

Reflecting...

I've seriously improved in my illustrating over the last three years since I began this blog.. So much that I never use a pencil anymore or do base sketches with one. Not to mention I don't erase any of my work either! That's how my intuitive illustrating was born.. It's like I learned how to do a handstand without a wall { which is actually still a work in progress for me! }. But anyway, I've come so far working day by day trying to reach my fullest potential. And I finally feel even more confident in my work today that it no longer feels like I'm struggling with any particular area. I'm just free flowing with it now.. I'm really grateful for the abundance of support that I get. And I'm really happy that my work is appreciated by people around the world that come across it on my Instagram. So thank you all...

I'm not quite sure what I'll do next, but nowadays when inspiration hits me over the head, I get a major download of it and act on it instantly. I'm going to continue illustrating fashion trends all throughout the year in the most creative way I can. Pretttty excited to see how that goes! I really don't have any goals for this new year, but just to make authentic choices and do what makes me happy. I want to keep surprising myself and others with my work. Oh- and I need to finish every sketchbook I have before buying a new one. I'm seriously wasting money every time. Happy New Year!

 

xx ss

 

 

venice beach

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venice beach polaroids

I love Venice Beach. That is all. The poke bowl was amazing. If any of you love sashimi alone, then you will love poke, because that's just what it is. I got raw slices of spicy tuna mixed with kale, ginger, seaweed, sesame, and other things drenched in delicious magical sauce. Not to mention the acai bowl was heaven.. I had two bowls of that. It was just too perfect on the beach! And of course I came home with my body torched from too much love under the sun. And that's okay! It was worth it because being in the water is so healing. I'm definitely rejuvenated.

xx ss

happy friday

Voila! Here it is! Happy Friday! The holiday every miserable full-time worker looks forward to every week {lol}! And since I've been working again, I've forgotten how often this greeting is used. I actually get annoyed of it because it's resetting my mind to think you can only enjoy the rest of your week only when it's Friday. But anyway, reality demands it and I hear it so much now that I had to create something relative to this! Since I've developed a habit of drawing on my paper tea cups at work, it's opened my mind to be even more creative with my illustrations. It started with this original drawing here:

Remember this video? It took 3 mugs and a duration of a month to perfect the look of this illustration! And finally.. it's finished!

And it was actually my friend at work who suggested the idea to put this on a mug. And that was perfect because who isn't a coffee / tea drinker in the morning? And who doesn't say "Happy Friday" on Fridays? Right? So, I pushed forward with the idea and here it is! Just know, you guys, that it doesn't have to be Friday for you to start enjoying your life! Take a day off once in a while in the middle of the week! I promise, it's worth it! But if Fridays are forever your favorite weekly holiday, then so be it :)

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{celebrate.}

I hope you like it and use it every Friday! You can purchase it here where I also have my old works being sold there as well; and will add on new illustrations in the future.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

xx ss

the daily grind

Everything has been so fast paced since I jumped back into the fashion industry. The workload is piling, the stress level is increasing, and it's starting to suck the good energy out of me. Thankfully I have those few people at work who are more grounded than the others who can't handle pressure very well. They help keep me sane. Come around lunchtime I mentally check out and spend 30 minutes doing quick intuitive illustrations of any fashion blogger that catches my eye. Then I take a photo of it and post it on my instagram. And I do that every single day. It's a must. It makes me happy to see the results of my work and progress every day. I love creating something new every day!

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While I try to keep up with that daily, I also do my best to squeeze in time with friends after work, as well as keeping up with my weekly classes. Omg, it's tiring, but I love it, - don't get me wrong. Every moment is just so precious. And I love meeting new people! You just never know what you can get out of meeting a person.

As much as I want to stay at home all day and sketch and do projects, I always try to pull away from the temptation and instead engage myself in something new after every couple of hours. And whenever I do that, I actually find new inspiration! It's something I'm still trying to adjust to, because once I have the wheels going in my brain, - like any artist, I can't stop creating until it's finished. But sometimes I've learned it's good to just take a step back, re-evaluate your work, start over {if you have to, -I HATE that}, and then share it. Since I've been doing intuitive illustrating I've learned to slow down and enjoy the process of sketching blindly {meaning no erasing, 100% ink}. It's like doing handstands and having no wall to fall back on. That's the beauty of trust. Before you find your ground, you'll screw up a lot. And my sketches aren't always perfect; but at the same time I enjoy the flaws too. I just have so much I want to do and accomplish in the small amount of time I have in a day or in a week. But I realize that before I do accomplish my dreams I need to just take one step at a time, slow it down, learn, and enjoy the process. And within that, enjoy what life has to offer. So far I've been enjoying the new people I meet every week.

Everyday you find something new.. if you pay attention!


xx ss

the yoga situation

Om.. I've been obsessed with stretching ever since I was a kid. And I love seeing the different transformations I could play with in my body. In my early teens, I discovered yoga in my dance classes where it was incorporated into our routines. And for the first time I was introduced to the deeper part of yoga.. I'm talking about the odd zen behavior and state that you needed to get into in order to feel that "oneness" with yourself they say. Which I get, because I have a different way of tuning into that, but it just never really worked with me to use with yoga. And to be honest, I didn't like it all too much.. it reminded me of church, lol. But I did enjoy the challenging stretches and poses that definitely put my flexibility to test! And I still do...! And with all the dance classes I've taken over the years, yoga has stuck with me since.

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Nowadays I still take dance classes, mainly ballet and bellydance, and Bollywood sometimes. But I don't take any yoga classes. I like do my yoga at home. The atmosphere in a yoga classroom just never really.. resonated with me. So I teach myself, which is doable by the way! :) I remember there was a girl who recommended I should do teacher training and register as a yoga teacher. I was like... ommm, no. Not for me! Lol. And, that's expensivo, so no thanks. Also another reason why I don't take yoga classes, they cost more than my dance classes!

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But I still love yoga. And lately I've been focused on toning my stick arms. And I'm so enjoying the process!

I used to be able to do handstands all the time {and walk on my hands!!} when I was a kid.. I'm currently re-teaching myself again.

xx ss

in my bag

When I discovered the Japanese bookstore in Little Tokyo I couldn't help but buy myself the cute little Japanese art supplies they had there! And even though I really don't need them, I bought myself two cute mini notebooks with lined pages and a hard brush tip blue pen. I don't know what it is with me in buying notebooks.. especially when I haven't even finished one or two that I already have. But anyways to save myself the guilt of buying the larger notebooks, I resorted to the cute itty bitty ones! They were so much cuter anyway! {And cheaper!} My other little goodies displayed from my little magic bag are little pocket totems I recently bought from the place where I take my six-sensory classes at. As much as I want to splurge and talk about how much I love this place and what it's all about, I'm going to keep it a little secret for now.. to save the weirdness and scaring people away, lol. Anyways, so what I have here is a witch's broomstick pen - another thing I don't really need, but I thought it would be so cool to have! And then I have my crystal quartz wand, my seeing eyes {one blue and one brown}, my seeing eye spell bottle, and my spirit animal, the gato carved out of onyx.

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So these are the little things I've been carrying around with me and bringing to work every day. And they've all been very useful.. except the broomstick. I might have to stash that away at home because it's so delicate..


xx ss