May is a month that inspires a lot of reflection for me. 14 years ago, I was fired from my corporate job and it changed the trajectory of pretty much everything: my career, my relationships, my health. It wouldn't be farfetched to say that it was the catalyst I needed to become a totally different person. Okay, that all sounds needlessly dramatic but it's true. As I hoisted dumb bells above my head for my daily strength training regimen after a quick yoga session yesterday, I marveled at this ... Read more
Sewing Stirrings + Updated Cat Basket Tutorial
Hello, my friends! I’m feeling the familiar stirrings as warmer weather approaches — I’ve mentioned before that I hibernate and don’t sew much in the winter for some reason, but I’ve begun sketching outfits that I want to sew starting this week. Spring is not quite yet here, but my sewing mojo is blossoming! In other news, I created this cat basket tutorial for Making Magazine (RIP) many years ago. Part of the licensing agreement was that I could sell the PDF in my own shop using their ... Read more
2025 Free Printable Holiday Tags + Bookmarks
Hello, my friends! Hard as it is to believe, it’s that time of year when Christmas is just around the corner. For this year’s free printable holiday tags, I decided to use some illustrations from my latest book, SHIBUI: THE JAPANESE ART OF FINDING BEAUTY IN AGING. Most of the illustrations didn’t make it into the book, but I enjoyed painting them so much that it seemed a shame not to use them for something. I also doodled a few somewhat more holiday-esque illustrations and made them into tags ... Read more
2024 Free Printable Holiday Tags
Hello, my friends! Just stopping by to let you know that I designed a few simple and cute (and free!) printable tags for you. I am, at the moment, feeling pretty rough and under the weather. All I know is that it's not COVID, but it's tenacious. I wasn't sure if I'd get these tags done this year, and as always I had such ambitions. Ohhhhh....my perennial ambitions. But as Buddha says (or at least I think it was Buddha), "Enough is a feast," and I'm going to call these sweet ones good ... Read more
Free Floral Printable Cards + Envelope
Hello! ‘Tis the end of the month, and it occurred to me that Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away. As per usual, I like to offer up a free printable whenever my schedule is flexible enough. You can download the file by clicking here or on the image: I painted the florals using Procreate and making this little stationery set is actually quite easy. My Creativebug Digital Painting Daily Practice launches tomorrow (May 1st!!) and I show you exactly how. We start with the very ... Read more