I’m Getting Worse At This

I just checked, and my last blog post was right before the Virginia Beach Tattoo Festival in August, so we need a quick catch up,

so starting where we left off, the VB Tattoo Festival was a Blast

My booth

I met the Enigma

I got to judge the little kids’ temporary tattoo contest

Then, over the summer, mom and I took a little road trip tour all over VA – One stop at James River Brewing Co where I’ve been hired as the artist / graphic designer of their beer labels

And another stop at Made; By the People, For the People in Staunton – a little shop that bought a wholesale lot of my artwork

Then, in September, I tagged along on one of my husband’s work trips to Glacier National Park in Montana 

I got my birthday present from my husband which was the most kickass present EVER – I got my Jeep all striped up and lettered up by Igor’s Custom. There is now NO mistaking the Hot Mess Express!

The end of summer / early fall, I kinda started a photography business Mallory Hot Mess Photography

And I invented these genius little quick shoots called “Drive-By Shootings” that have really taken off

I’ve gotten to take some really sweet pics so far from weddings to newborns to awkward Christmas photos, and picked up some pretty nifty clients so far – including Harley-Davidson Bayside and I have an agreement to start shooting here soon for FM99

Then was the holidays sprinkled with a ton of photoshoots and the 96X Winter Meltdown where I got to see The Last Bison, Capital Cities, MS MR, and Fall Out Boy while selling my art – one of the funnest shows I got to participate in yet

Now it’s the new year, and I’m gonna try to be better at posting stuff as it’s relevent rather than all this recap business.

NEWNESS: I’m already eat-sleep-breathing Tattoo Festival since the 4th Annual Hampton Show is less than 7 weeks away!!

I’ve made 2 new pieces in the past few days

The Girl with the ‘Chula’ Earring

and Ratchet Aphrodite

both prints are 16″x20″ and will be available for $60 at the Tattoo Festival – Hampton Roads Convention Center, Hampton, VA March 7-9

Hope to see ya there!

 

 

 

 

 

Double Bridal Shower

Both of my husband’s little bros are getting married this summer and I offered to throw both brides, if they agreed to it, a joint bridal shower! They were both more than willing to share their day and it was a huge success!

I turned my screened in porch to the refreshment area.

I made the tissue poofs out of dollar store tissue, styrofoam  balls, craft glue and twine and hung them at different lengths from my fan.

and for take-aways I said, “What’s something cheap / tiny /  that everyone loves? …… BOOZE!” 🙂

Desi’s wedding colors are Pink, brown and green, and Jenny’s color is purple, so I did everything in pink and  purple even down to the pink lemonade and grape Kool-Aid and cupcakes in each shade.

The bunting is made out of scrapbook paper craft glue and twine. (I could get 2 12″x6″ diamonds out of each sheet, so I could fold it / glue it in half around the twine)

I wanted it outdoor, so I borrowed 2 friends’ EZ-Up tents for the gift / game times.

Game prizes

A special gift for the mother of the grooms because none of us would be here if she didn’t raise 3 perfect boys 🙂

behind the Sbux gift card is this in the frame.

My present to them: a wedding day basket. A pair of Tom’s for when your fancy wedding shoes start to hurt your feet, a bottle of champagne to sip while you get ready, a frame for your fave pic from your wedding which I promised to take great pics at! Then some smell goods! One bride’s wedding is total “country chic” burlap and lace and the whole nine yards, and the other bride is fluent in French, and I noticed a few Eiffel tower things when I visited their apt last, so she got the Paris scent . That plus their name signs 🙂

My last idea was a “photo area” with a backdrop and tripod, so I got a vintage sheet from Etsy and a few feet of PVC and some velcro and made my own “photo booth”. And the boys crashed the party at the end just in time for pics!

One of the major hits was the signs I had made for the girls by The Freckled Owl. I figured I can use them as shower decor; they can use them as wedding decor, and then hang them in their house. What bride doesn’t love something wedding-y and personalized.

As I was ordering them, I found myself kinda wanting one so I added a third to the cart.

I wanted to share the super cute invites I designed.

and a detail I thought would be cute for pictures

It’s important to me that things match

and the games were a hit.

We played the “No Groom Name Game” – everyone gets 2 clothespins. You csn’t say “Chris” or “Taylor” or someone can take one of your pins, but if you hear someone say their name, you take their pin. Runs throughout the whole shower. Always a classic.

Then we played a word jumble
(answers: groom, reception, chris and desi, kiss, Jarrell, ring, bridesmaid, bouquet, taylor and jenny, cake, gown,aisle, ceremony)

and a purse scavenger hunt

but I think the game that got the most laughs was a game I saw on Pinterest called “Who has the groom?” all it is is an envelope that says “Who Has the Groom?” on the front and 1 will have a pic of the groom – the others are filled with decoys! So I used the 2 grooms and had 2 winners, but also threw in the 3rd Jarrell boy (my husband) and my father in law along with a few of my fave celebrities. I told everyone that their dreamdates were inside.

With Lavender and Lace

Have you guys been to With Lavender and Lace Vintage Boutique yet?

If the answer is  no, you better carry yo buns down there because there is no other store like it around here! It’s cute and adorable and AFFORDABLE and and you wanna buy everything and the owner is a doll baby!

If the answer is yes, isn’t it just the best??!!

I was obsessed with this store long before the owner contacted me to make her an ad for Veer Magazine, so when she asked me I FREAKED!

She wanted an interior space filled with housewares you can find at With Lavender and Lace and a few figures modeling her vintage clothes going through vinyl records that you can also find in the shop!

Below is the progression of my 37 photoshop layer deep  ad! 😛

First (I added the record player and the cat on the screen)

Housewares added

Figures and website added

Text for ad added

You can find them  at 617 Colonial Ave in between Olney and Boissevain

and also on the interwebs!

www.withlavenderandlace.com

With Lavender and Lace on Facebook

http://withlavenderandlace.blogspot.com/

And follow them on Instagram @withlavandlace so you can see what’s new in the shop!

Who’s got 2 thumbs and an iPad?!

This girl!

And if you do too, I created a ThatsWhatSheSaidArt iPad homescreen, and I thought I’d share!

Just click the blow image to open it and save it in it’s large format, send it to yourself, set to homescreen, and voila!

Lobo Wallpaper Download

Happy Friday everyone!  How about we celebrate this gorgeous day with a free 1152X864 pixel El Lobo desktop wallpaper?

• Just click the picture

• It will open larger in a new window

• right click
  

• “set as desktop background”

• Tada!
  

I will have a Sangreal wallpaper available in the next couple days!

 

Goodies for Bones So Sweet

A sneak peak of what will be available on Friday 🙂

Flourish Prints

Reusable coffee sleeves

Magnetic “Note-traps”

Felt babushkas

As well as the prints shown above.

Hope to see you there!

Thread Heads Trade

Recently I was approached to create a business card for a fellow crafter.  Instead of monetary payment, we are doing a trade: my design for a box of miscellaneous goodies from Thread Heads!

Her card.

And I can’t wait for my box to arrive!

These are the kinds of treasures Lauren of Thread Heads creates.

 

Slut Magic’s Shower and Bachelorette

This Fall I had the honor to be the MATRON (what am I? 100? *gag*) of Honor in my BFF Slut Magic’s wedding.

I threw her a shower and bachelorette party and designed the invites to both.

The shower theme was “Pretty as a Peacock”

The Bachelorette Party had a Pin-up theme; everyone dressed up like they were from the 40’s and 50’s! It was adorable!

 

Baby Shower Invites for Kasey

I am going back in time to catch my graphic design side of my portfolio up to date.

Last winter I hosted a baby shower for one of my BFFs and designed her invitation.

Graphic Design for Work

Every once in a while, I actually get to use my degree at my day job.

This year’s e-Christmas card.