If you didn't know already, I value my time more than ever, and I always look for the little surprises every single day. Since I've conditioned my intellectual mind to get out of the way {to save the worrying and stress about stupid shit}, I've found my days to be more enriching.
Read Moreque sera, sera
whatever will be, will be!
Read Morea Beautiful Weekend
I love love this weather! It feels like summer already! We totally skipped Spring, lol. Anyway I'm starting to appreciate my free time even more now because I realize I have so little during the weekdays. I don't know if I like that.. haha. But! I'm still adjusting to this new schedule! This weekend was easy going since I had a lot of sleep to catch up on. But then of course, I had to make some time and grab some din din with one my besties! We ate at one of my faves, Umami Burger. I love that place. I decided I should treat myself to some delicious hearty & meaty foods since I've been eating vegan for lunch since I started working. Greens give me more energy throughout my days at work. I guess that's also why I've also lost a ton of weight... x(
I decided to sleep in on Saturday and work on some clean illustrations for the day. My muse this weekend was Stephanie Liu from HoneynSilk. I love her hair.. My hair would've been that long by now if I hadn't cut it two months ago but it was just putting so much weight and strain on my neck! It felt so good to chop it all off. Anyway, not everybody can make hair this long look this good. When I usually see girls with this length, it looks dirty and unmanageable. And sometimes just a mess. But this girl puts in the time and effort to make girls want to grow their hair this long. This girl can pull it off.
So I have a problem: I'm obsessed with green tea anything. Too much green tea here.. too much. I love it. Green tea and great talks and good advice from the bestie. The fashion industry, the drama, blablabla, and life and its surprises. What I love about meeting up with each and every one of my friends is that at some point in our convos we both realize that everything we do and aim for has been a work in progress. When we reflect, we realize that from the last time we met up, we've accomplished something good and it's made us happy. I love hearing their stories of accomplishments and sharing my own experiences as well. It just shows how we're able to create exactly the lives that we want. I love my friends <3
My Asian selfie to end the weekend. I don't like doing selfies, and I shouldn't be doing them, lol. Hope you all have a good week ahead of you! Think happy thoughts!
xx ss
chunky necklace
Wee I'm excited! After falling in love with my first tribal chunky necklace I had to have another! I did a sketch of my first one last year when I was planning out my costumes for Burning Man but it didn't make it on the trip :(. But good thing I didn't have it with me because the desert sand would've ruined it! Anyway I got in contact with the owner, Nao, who makes these amazing pieces of art and ended up doing this collaborative illustration for her and her product. She sent me the necklace I illustrated for her and I'm so happy and excited to show it off! I just looove it! I'm excited to wear this now that Spring is coming up! Yay, more colors!!
If you want in on the fun, check out her shop here!
xx ss
my birthday week
Wow this week was definitely full of surprises. One of them being that I decided to jump back into the fashion industry and work full-time {temporarily} to keep up a steady paycheck because honestly, getting illustration commission work has been difficult! But don't worry, I'm still keeping up with it! It's my passion, so it stays. I started my first full week and I love the work place already and the energy there. In my last job I dealt with so much high school drama that it drained the life out of me. It's a relief to know that not all companies are like what I went through in this crazy industry. On my third day of work I decided to bring in a pop of nature, a stack my of favorite reads, and my sketchbook to my new desk setting to create a zen environment. :)
I celebrated my birthday this week too. The day before my actual birthday was actually when I celebrated it because I finally admitted to myself I was 25, lol. I never could comfortably admit my age now because I'm starting to feel that the years are passing by too quickly :( And people always thought I was older than my actual age because of my personality.. I just have an old soul, and I feel like I'm growing closer to that age! So on the day before my birthday I embraced being 25 and reflected on all my moments from my past year and saw how much I loved what I created and learned. 25 was my favorite number that day. Not to mention the date was 2/25 too. :) And to my surprise at the end of the day when I went to my car after leaving work, I realized that the parking space number I parked in was #25! That instantly pinged to me because it was a definite sign that I was on the right path :)
It always rains on my birthday. I think I should stop saying that. That way I can stop bringing that to me lol. But it did, but lightly which made me happy. These past two days mother nature literally had diarrhea. I've never seen the streets flooded so bad. My car was like swimming in the rain. Anyway, I'm happy that I didn't have that crazy weather on my birthday! I would've cried lol. So I got to go out with one of my best friends and my older sister for din din and enjoy a yummy cake :)
I've also started my next series of six-sensory classes this week which was amaziiiiing!! So excited to be doing this and continuing my path of being spirited :)
I loved my week. It was a mixture of ups and downs and happy surprises. I loved it so much. It definitely tired me out, but that makes me happy because I just have a lot to do! My days just flew by this week.. which scared me a little because I missed a few days of sketching when I wanted to sketch. And when I tried, I was too tired to function. So for next week and the month ahead I plan on doing 10 sketches per day to keep my practice up, attending my six-sensory class every week and practicing every day, dance class once a week, and yoga every other night! Ahhh, I'm excited. Happy Weekend everybody!
xx ss
NYFW is over
...and thank God too, lol. But then again, it was perfect timing after I had that pep talk with Brenda last Sunday when she told me to re-work my illustrations again. I didn't even know it was New York Fashion Week until I saw everyone posting it on instagram on Monday, lol. It was the perfect opportunity to practice. {The universe done it again!} At the same time I was trying to hold back from spamming my instagram feed because I get so excited lol.
Here's a final look of just a few of my faves from NYFW. All of my illustrations came from people's instagram pics under the hashtag #nyfw. I wanted to do more, but there's just too many! And my hand is cramping...
mark and estel
thom browne
oscar de la renta
marchesa
Oh yea, and Happy Valentine's Day guys! <3
xx ss
In Love.
MAN now that's a catwalk! Forget walking on 15" heels! Walking en pointe the entire runway presentation is total skill & respect! I lovethis! Can't get over it.
And I love ballerinas. Ugh, this show is amazing.
muse: dita von teese
This is such a good reminder. I sketched this yesterday. I'm finally ready to fill up the pages of my "another stupid sketchbook". :)
xx ss
muse: lynn yaeger
respect! A fearless woman. A woman who isn't afraid to show her true vibrant colors to our black and white world. I love her style, her personality, and especially her doll-inspired make-up ;]
xx ss
Doll Inspired
I went to the Getty Museum recently before Thanksgiving and spotted this neat sculpture! It reminded me of my illustrated dolls.. Perfection!
In other news...
I've been keeping busy and staying focused for the past -errr week - almost - two now working on a fashion illustration project with a client. It's in its final stages now and I can't wait to show it off to the wooorld!
Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy with other fun projects of my own. If you follow my IG then you've seen the daily creepy obsession I've been working on... I'll make a whole separate post about it ;D It's pretty hilarious reading the comments people post, lol. Also! There's my other obsession, which is illustrating straight off of my iPhone! It's amazing! I'm addicted. I may even put those rough sketches up for sale! I love trying new mediums...
Hope everyone's enjoying the holidays so far!
xx ss
inspiration
Such a great interview. I hear him 100%. But I believe waiting for inspiration also works too, because then you've set your mind to expect it.
Read MoreMuse: Mia Farrow
Rosemary's Baby starring Mia Farrow, is one of my all-time favorite horror films that I love to watch over and over again. And it's not because of the story, but it's because of how cute Mia Farrow is in the movie! Lol.. She is the perfect style muse. I decided to use Ro in this illustration because it closely resembles her characteristics. Especially towards the end of the movie where they show Mia's body thinning dramatically and the dark circles around her eyes start to show. Annnd...! I named Ro after Rosemary, like the way it's been used in the movie! I've always liked that nickname.
xx,
ss
muse: stacey bendet
Stacey Bendet of Alice & Olivia. Um, have you seen her Instagram? I totally admire her because she is the cutest most colorful chicest style icon, & the most graceful yogi I ever did see. I've always loved her line of precious bags and clothes. It's so fun and colorful! I love girls who really dress out of their comfort zone because that's also when they're being their true selves. The colors you choose to wear definitely have an influence on your energy. So I imagine she's always positively vibrant and radiant. She is a great example of creative expression in her everyday wardrobe look. I also love her success story as well, and the way she was discovered on the streets of New York. It's pretty amazing & inspiring. Not to mention, this girl can bend! I love that she does yoga! Love this girl..
xx,
ss
adored vintage + ss collabo
Remember my last post on sketching vintage dresses? Well, I couldn't be more excited to show you my collaboration with Adored Vintage! {thanks Rodellee!} I had so much fun doing this because this project really made me dig inside myself for inspiration. And I'm really happy with the outcome of the looks. So basically, I am featuring my dolls Ro, Amelie, and Lola in three different cities around the world wearing beautiful vintage winter pieces straight from the Adored Vintage shop.
I hope you like it as much as I do! <3 {you can find the link to the pieces i used below each illustration}
VINTAGE 1950S BLACK BOUCLE COAT WITH FUR TRIM
ANTIQUE 1910S BLACK VELVET BOW CAPE JACKET
VINTAGE 1920S GOLD SILK FLORAL FLAPPER DRESS
VINTAGE 1980S CHUNKY KNIT SWEATER CARDIGAN
VINTAGE 1960S RED WOOL DRESS WITH RHINESTONES
xx,
ss
Musing Mugs: Sophia Amoruso
I decided to take my muse to my mug.
Every morning I like to start my day having Yogi Tea with lemon before getting into my work. While I drink I like reading their well-wished messages attached to the opposite end of the teabag. There are some I like, and others that don't make sense to me. But overall, it's a fun read. Last week I realized how much I hate the mugs I use to drink my tea in. And I don't even have a favorite.. and everyone has a favorite mug! So, funny timing, Society6 was just promoting mugs for artists to place their artwork on. It was perfect! I decided to come up with my own.
I wanted my mug to inspire me every day. So I decided to use my favorite muse, Sophia Amoruso {once again}, because her success story always, ALWAYS amazes me. Then I adopted Yogi Tea's message concept and used an affirmation of my own. Then voila! Perfection...! i have created my own favorite mug!
...and you can have one of your own too! The print & mug are available for purchase here! I will create more, so stay tuned!
xx,
ss
Muse: Frida Kahlo
I pretty much don't have to explain myself about this woman. But, as beautiful and inspiring as she was, I also like to highlight the fashion of her time. It's classic. I only wish everyone dressed as colorful as she did these days. I mean, seriously, for the longest time, everyone is all about blacks, grays, and dark blues. Everyone is so afraid of mixing colorful colors! Okay, I'm guilty of it too, black makes you feel safe and way more confident than all the other colors. For most people, it slims you down and makes you look good no matter what. Black makes me look longer. Anyways other than black, my other favorite colors to wear that flatter me the most are shades of red and purple. I'm looking to add more pop to my wardrobe. I'm workin on it! You can purchase my print on my Etsy shop!
xx,
ss
vintage, vintage!
Adored Vintage. I recently worked on a project that involved illustrating vintage dresses, and man - working on those sketches all day made me fall in love with them! I never had that much appreciation about vintage pieces before, but now with a new perspective, everything about it is just so pretty & romantic. I found Adored Vintage on IG and started following them and have been loving every new post of their line. They have such a precious looking site, and they're based in Long Beach! I gotta go visit one day..
I decided to practice with the new colored calligraphy pens I bought that I've become obsessed with.
xx,
ss
Revamping My Dolls
I've been hiding out at home like a hermit doing a ton of illustrating over the past three weeks. If you follow my IG, then you've seen the madness. And because of that I've been hit up a few times this week regarding more collaborations, which is so great! I thought I was going a bit crazy being a lot a bit anti-social.. but I'm practicing my passion which definitely leads to something greater! I just lahhhhhv it! Gotta keep going!
Skaist-Taylor = my favorite designers.
xx,
ss
Thom Browne
Happy Pumpkin Day! I didn't prepare a costume this year because I used up all my efforts {and budget} from Burning Man, lol. These past two weeks I've been sketching like crazy trying to revamp my dolls. So far I've developed 3 looks that I decided to keep all throughout my illustrations for future projects. I'm obsessed with em.. I'll do a post showing the mess I've made in my sketchbook. I'm actually almost finished with my sketchbook! This'll be the first finished sketchbook I've ever done! Lol, don't ever count on me to do a book one day... well, actually... ;) *NEWS*
My Etsy shop has been launched this week! I've selected six of my favorite and most popular illustrations. Check it out!
So to honor Halloween, I decided to sketch an awesome and inspiring line by Thom Browne. His look is perfect for my dolls! arrghhh I can't handle it! I love his taste!!
anyways, i'm still waiting on my chunky sweater...
You trick-or-treaters have a safe & sweet one!
xx,
ss
quiet time.
These past few days have been a battle of trying to get my mind to shut the #*%^ up and to relax. It's a daily progress. But whenever I do reach some level of peace throughout my day, it's the best feeling. I'm slowly getting back into some new illustration ideas which I'm excited for. Can't wait to show em!
xx,
SS