Do you like behind the scenes posts? I absolutely do – I’ve had this post sitting in the queue for awhile now and I’ve finally gotten around to photographing the real life mess of my studio! My poor housekeeper – she comes once a week on Mondays and this is the scene she’s stumbled on the past 4 weeks.

The creative process for me gets really messy. When my desk is a wreck, it’s a good sign that things are happening. I get everything out of my head, write tons of to-dos, and lately I’ve taken to sketching a whole lot more than I have in the recent past. I’d forgotten how good it is to get tactile with design. Get out those pens, markers, notepads, sketchbooks, giant pieces of paper — and actually draw something. Just like my design professors used to say in college, “The computer is only a tool.” It doesn’t actually design things for you.

A few things I’m working on:

1. Finalizing designs for fall/winter products. And I couldn’t be more proud to show you the final result!

2. Working on a few collaborations with Jill Rosenwald and Koko’s Nest (sneak peek here!).

3. Putting things away from my pop-up shop (so worth it, but so much work to both prepare and recover)

4. Product styling, both for Pencil Shavings Studio products as well as some fun collaborations with the Land of Nod, Benjamin Moore, and a few others.

5. Staying on top of my writing assignments for Better Homes & Gardens.

Mostly I’m trying to wrap everything up before we go on vacation in a few weeks. All of a sudden, summer is swirling to a close and I still want to enjoy some time off and relax at Carlton Landing too.  I must admit that I am looking forward to getting several hours of alone time to work once school starts in the fall (baby’s going to mother’s day out! hooray/sob). Although can I  tell you something? The first thing I’m doing on my first day off is going straight to the spa and getting a massage.

‘Cause this mama has earned it, y’all. 😉