Whirlwind

Happy Late Thanksgiving!  I guess the right way of saying that now that Thanksgiving has passed is "Happy Thanksgiven".  Har har haaaarrrr!

The Fiance, The Boys, and I put up some Christmas decorations up yesterday.  We had a fire going in the fireplace, new ornaments, handmade Christmas stockings, and Christmas tunes courtesy of Pandora.  I am so grateful to have times like that with my future family and in my future home.

I received my wedding invitations over the weekend, which I purchased from Benign Objects, a fellow Esty seller.  I love them and they totally go with the rustic/romantic theme I'm going for.  They are divine!  And Rachel, the artist behind Benign Objects, was so wonderful and easy to work with!

Anyway, there's a little bit over 2 months to go and I still need to tie down a lot of the details for the wedding!  So much to do in so little time!  Gotta run!

The Perfect Place

We finally have a date for the wedding, it's less than 3 months away!  It's going to be really really cold here in Michigan where we'll get married, but there will be lots of love to warm us up.

I'm in all-out bride mode... it's absolutely awesome!  We're going with a rustic/DIY theme and found the PERFECT location EVER.  I use all caps because it's THAT GOOD!  It combines my secret love for vintage items and coffee!  Here are some pictures I recently took of the place:

The owner and I seemed to have found each other at just the right time for I was looking for a small, quaint, wedding venue, and she was considering adding weddings to the list of events she wanted to host there. It was perfect timing, and meant to be.  Our wedding will be the first one had there, and it will be soooo beautiful. I can't wait!

New Work - Powerline Tower

A new print is available at the shop!


This print was created because of my love for all things geometric.  I based the image on a photograph that I took while I was a stop light next to these metal giants.  


Forget the windmills! I think Don Quixote would be battling the heck with these guys if he saw them! 

Powerline Tower Print $18 USD by Swell Papel

Back from the City of Mountains

I went back to visit friends and family in my hometown in Mexico last week.  There was tons of fun to be had between visiting my friends, and having good quality time with my folks too.  The summery weather was a nice change from Michigan's crisp cool.  I arrived wearing my Uggs and a heavy sweater (hot!) and ended up wearing open-toed shoes and summer dresses.  Ahh! So nice!


I love the city, though.  It's surrounded by Sierra Madre mountains which sparkle with the early morning sun.  It's truly an amazing sight.

And now I'm back in FLAT (yet charming in other ways) Michigan... Back to wearing my cozy sweaters and warm fuzzy boots.  I'm filling some print orders that I received while I was gone and planning the unveiling of a new print for this week.  Hurray!


Looking at these wonderful mountains, I kind of feel like printing my own "In the Mountains" print (available at the shop, of course!) and hanging it somewhere in my apartment so I can see it all day.

In the Mountains Print $18 USD by Swell Papel

Spooky Street

The Fiance and I took the boys on Saturday to this wonderful street which they completely deck out for Halloween.  We had such a great time and the boys loved it! 


Here are some of our favorite house decorations:

Life is Swell

I've neglected the blog a little bit, haven't I?  I do have a good excuse, though.  

Over last weekend, The Boyfriend and I got engaged!  We are so unbelievably happy and blessed!  

Anyway, between then and now, I've slowly metamorphosized (is that even a word?) into "bride-to-be".  And in the whole happy process, I've managed to accidentally teach the word "Bridezilla" to The Fiance (formerly known as The Boyfriend), something that I've already began to kick myself for.  ;)

Please excuse me if posting is a little light in the coming months.  I will check in regularly, though, so stay tuned! 

Happy Wednesday!

Swell Papel Update - Photography

I just opened a new section at the shop for photographs!  I have two listings, each for two 5" x 7" photographs.

Fig Photo Set $18 USD

Lighthouse Photo Set $18 USD

Check out the new section here!

Swell Papel and the Etsy "Holy Grail"

Woah!


Swell Papel was featured on the front page of Etsy earlier this morning! 


Excuse me while I bounce from the excitement.


There.


Ahem!  Well, here is a screenshot:

And it's all thanks to Becca, from bake!  Please visit her shop here, and her treasury aptly named "It might be grey outside but not here..." here.


Thanks Becca!

New Work- Little Boxes

Little Boxes No. 1  /  Little Boxes No. 2

A couple of little prints named after one of my favorite songs "Little Boxes" are now available at my Swell Papel Shop. 

For these prints, I decided to go to a different format to make a bigger statement.  I use 13" x 19" paper and image size is about 11" x 14", so that it can be framed in a standard sized frame OR in a 13" x 19"(not-so-standard) frame without needing to matt it.

And now, a video with The Shins' version of "Little Boxes":

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Ahoy!

I feel like it's been a long time since I've posted.  Luckily, I've been very productive and have managed to post a new print on the shop!  It's called "Ahoy!" and I had a ton of fun making it.

Here are some of my inspiration pictures:

            

And in honor of this print, here is a clip from one of my favorite all-time movies, What About Bob? starring Bill Murray (genius, as far as I'm concerned) and Richard Dreyfus.  To give you a little bit of background before you view this clip, Bill Murray is Bob, a man with multiple psychological issues who decides to crash his psychiatrist's (played by Richard Dreyfuss) family vacation against his wishes.  In this scene, Bob is invited by the psychiatrist's daughter to come sailing with her and her friends.

Just looking at this clip cracks me up! Anybody who knows me well will tell you that I can quote this movie, almost in it's entirety, without even thinking about it.  It's one of the many talents of mine categorized under "Mildly Amusing and Useless".  It sits right next to knowing Disney's Aladdin by memory, and being able to raise my right eyebrow without raising the left one. 

(NOT) Too Legit to Quilt

I really want a sewing machine.


There are many affordable models available everywhere and I would really love to pick one up and attempt to make a quilt.  Problem is, I don't have any room in my apartment to store a sewing machine.  As it is, my camera and laptop bags have found a sad little spot in a corner of my dining room, out there, in the open.  And my monster printer lives atop my dining room table, which nowadays looks more like a printer stand because of the proportions of the MONSTER printer. It's sad, really... all those things want is a little closet or real storage space to call their own.


My closets are full from floor to ceiling, my kitchen and bathroom cabinets already house a variety of random things including, but not limited to: a tiny cube cooler, 2 Easter egg coloring kits, paint brushes, picnic blankets, Transformers wrapping paper, etc.


I cannot get a sewing machine if there's no room for it.  But all I wanna do is make a quilt!


I'm thinking I need to engage my brain in creative problem solving right now.  Cuz I'm (NOT) too legit to quilt.

Swell Papel on Tall Dark Roast

Have you heard the good news?  I have a new article up on Tall Dark Roast!   The newest one features a slew of Etsy artists who have captured my eye with their striking yellow goodies.


Click here to check it out!


Don't forget to leave a comment and to follow Tall Dark Roast and Swell Papel on Twitter!

Om

Last night was my first yoga class over at a local yoga studio.  My only experience with yoga was a few classes at a noisy gym but I got a great offer via Groupon that I just couldn't miss: 5 lessons for $25!  I had been curious about yoga since I've been reading The Art of Happiness and I thought yoga would help me "connect" some of the things I've read in the book with real practice.  And it did.


I got to the yoga studio early - really early - because I was worried that I wouldn't know where I had to leave my shoes while I was in class (weird, I know).  So I arrived 30 minutes earlier (ok, I'm lying... I got there 55 minutes before class) thinking I would have enough time to figure out where the shoes go and not look like a complete dork.


It took me like 2 minutes to figure out where we were supposed to put our shoes so I spent the rest of the time reading a yoga magazine and watching the people come and go from the studio.  The time finally came for the class- Short Form Ashtanga which is basically a specific series of poses followed in a specific order.  The class was amazing!  There was a lot of emphasis on breathing and being mindful of our bodies.  After we finished the series of poses, the instructor guided us through meditation, which I found to be very relaxing and therapeutic. I left there energized and content.  I can't wait to go back next week.  

In other news, I received a note from Katie at b u d this morning telling me that she had included one of my prints in her lovely blog which features dreamy collections of items she finds on Etsy.  Her website is really well curated and super inspiring, so please follow the links to her shop and blog. 

Swell Papel Update - Indie Fixx Galleria Lookbook

Open publication - Free publishing - More jewelry

Swell Papel Update - Treasury Love

Swell Papel prints have been chosen to appear on a number of Treasuries on Etsy.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Speed of Light by b u d

Lovely Roots by MaaP Studio

you know I love geometry by nomilk today

Imagine a Map by Big Brown House

Less than 10

Autumn Geometrics

Redecorate the home in warm seasonal colors

New Shops! Vol 4

Take a Look at These

National Honey Month

Being part of the Etsy community has been so rewarding and I am really grateful for the opportunities to have my prints show up in these wonderful treasuries.

Vampire Weekend

Maybe I'm late to the whole Vampire Weekend thing, I'm not sure, but I am loving their music on this beautiful sunny morning.

Swell Papel on Tider Designs' Etsy Favorites

Swell Papel's Mountain Range No. 1 Print is featured today on Tider Designs' Etsy Favorites blog!  


Please check out Diane's beautiful metal, resin, and enamel jewelry in her Tider Jewelry Design shop on Etsy. 


Her MidCentury Chair Necklaces are to die for!

ReCharged- A Story in Pictures

Because the foliage is at it's prime right now, the boyfriend and I decided to take a little drive this past weekend and we ended up in the beautiful towns of South Haven and Saugatuck, MI.  It was amazing... but I will let the pictures do the talking.

The South Haven Lighthouse

The Boyfriend and I

Early Morning Sunlight

Folks on an early morning sail. 

Repetition

A Walk With the Lama

I had a really great dream last night.  


In it, I met with the Dalai Lama and his entourage (it was a dream, the Dalai Lama had an entourage the size of J-Lo's back in the "Jenny from the Block" days).  I was offered the opportunity to be taken under his wing and spend a few days in his "complex" (which in my dream was a beautiful hacienda in the mountains).  During those days, the Dalai Lama and I would take strolls through his property, which randomly changed from dessert, to mountain woods, to wildflower prairie, etc.  I talked to him about my concerns and he guided me with his wisdom and meditated with me.  After our walks, his crew treated me to holistic SPA treatments such as hot stone massages, yoga, etc.

So, this morning I woke up feeling refreshed, positive, grateful for the life I have, and knowing that I have the things I need to make this a great day, no matter what happens.


Good morning to you and I hope you make yours a great day too!

New Work- Ovo

Wow! I started this week hoping I would be able to produce another shop-worthy print by Friday and I think I did it!

This is Ovo, and it's available in the shop!

Ovo -  by Swell Papel $18 USD