Illustration Inspiration: Carin Bramsen

I like being able to see the behind-the-scenes action of what it takes to make an 

illustration wonderful. In Carin Bramsen's interview with Seven Impossible Things, 

she gives us a back stage pass and presents her preliminary sketches along side her 

beautiful finished product. Her first book, "The Yello Tutu" is filled with a bright 

sunny character who decides she and her yellow tutu are the sun. {and I melt} The 

illustrations alone are enough to brighten your day. I love Carin's unique use of 

perspective and fun compositions. And color color color!

Looking for Critique

Hello my friends, I need your help. I have been admiring so many wonderful artists 

that keep their work loose and sketchy. So I thought I would give it a whirl. So above 

are two of the same images completed in two different styles. A: New for me, light 

loose and sketchy. B: My Color in the lines bright style. What are your thoughts. Stick 

with coloring in the lines? Or continue to experiment?

Personalized Stationary Set

May I present, the newest addition to Meant for a Moment's Etsy shop.

Personalized stationary sets to send your love in style. xox

Check it out HERE.

Merve Kahraman, Parahuman Chairs

These fun chairs by innovative designer, Merve Kahraman, are based on parahumans. 

If you sit in them it kind of looks like you have grown horns yourself. (Great 

conversation piece- "Um, are those antlers on your head?" "No, its just my 

chair.") They are entirely homemade and totally adorable. 

Typography Friday: INSPIRED

Have an INSPIRED Weekend.

via

The Colors of Nature, Dean Crouser

Had to share. Dean Crouser's Animals are amazing. I love the spontaneity of his style. 

And the colors explode with purpose. 

Illustration Inspiration: Isabelle Arsenault

This week's illustration inspiration comes from Isabelle Arsenault. Here unique color 

palette and use of soft color and earth tones makes her a very on-trend artist. I love the 

detail in that top illustration from, "Mr Gauguin's Heart" Look out the porthole - cute 

detail and great color use for contrast. I am also becoming a huge fan of illustrators 

who don't always follow the perspective rules. It creates a very stylized and loose 

image that I really enjoy. 

Cheese-Less Pizza that doesn't look like a Salad!

I have been craving pizza since I gave up dairy ( six months ago ). I love the 

warm crust and ... honestly... eating with my hands. This morning I was determined

 to find a non-dairy pizza recipe that still felt like pizza and I found it {!} at Inside 

Krista's Kitchen. She provided a personal BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe that I can't 

wait to try. Here it is for your own kitchen adventures. 

Ingredients:

1 par baked individual size pizza crust (to par bake simply make your dough 

as usual and cook it at 450 F for 3 min on a pizza stone. Let it cool completely 

and store in a Ziploc in the freezer).
3 Tbsp BBQ sauce, divided
2 oz cooked and cubed chicken
6 cloves roasted garlic
1 oz pineapple, cubed
1 green onion, sliced into rounds using all parts
Cilantro to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 F with pizza stone in oven. Take par baked crust and spread 

half of the BBQ sauce, then top with chicken, pineapple, garlic, green onion, 

then drizzle remeaining BBQ sauce on top. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the crust 

is light brown on the bottom and slightly crispy. Remove from oven and let sit on 

stone for 2-3 minutes. Top with cilantro, cut and serve.

Typography Friday

Todays Typography Friday Inspiration comes from Uncovering Ctrl. 

I love this half formed font... It implies so much with very little. 

Enjoy the inspiration. xo

Unique Stationary

Email me for details on a Custom Illustration and Matching Stationary Sets.

info@meantforamoment.com

www.meantforamoment.com

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Tony Fucile

I have been working hard on character development and Tony Fucile has been a great 

inspiration to me. His characters, Bink and Jollie, are dynamic and adorable and 

I love his style. 

Enjoy the inspiration. xox

And I have returned...

Hello my Sweets, I am back! I have been riding a wave of sheer happiness for the last 2 

weeks. I have so much to say... But for now I just wanted to say, 'hello'. I am getting all

 of my projects in order today,  I will see you tomorrow, back to my regular postings.

 tree photo by Taylor McChutchan Photography

bride image by The Umbrella Syndicate. 

Honeymooning

Please Excuse my brief absence. 

I am getting married than sailing off into the sunset for a few days. {!}

I will return on July 18th recharged, revived and with a ring on my finger!

See you than my friends!

image via

TYPOGRAPHY FRIDAY

via

Wedding Stationary with a TWIST

After going through the special process of asking my best friends to be my Bridesmaids 

and Maids of Honor I thought that perhaps some folks might think it was fun to announce 

their decision through a surprise note in the mail. So, I created this stationary set. Wouldn't 

it be cute to play coy for a while and let a surprise letter pop up in their mail box that asks 

them to stand beside you on the most special day of your life? And there is room on the 

back to gush about how wonderful you think they are. 

I have listed these items in my Shop. Check it out here: Meant4amoment

Illustration Inspiration: Christa Palazzolo

This week's illustration inspiration comes from Painter, Christa Palazzolo. I ran across 

her Anne Sullivan, painting on Pintrest and adored the color use. I really enjoy seeing a 

painting that focuses on detail in one area and than loosens up everywhere else. 

Christa Palazzolo is a perfect example. Her portraits are incredible, the detail and

dimension are spectacular. And than around the portrait is gets real fun. The splashes 

of neon are very 'in' right now and my eyes are loving it! Fantastic way to 

stylize a portrait. 

The count-down begins

Twelve more days until I marry my best friend! It is consuming my thoughts. I can't stop 

thinking about it.  How will it feel? What will the kiss be like? Will Dave be nervous? 

What will our dance be like? Will I be nervous? Will I cry happy tears all night? What 

will the weather be like? Will people have fun? Like I said, consuming my thoughts... 

Typography Friday

Love this Quote. My favorite part is the line through mistakes. I love irony. 

via rawz

Project Post: Poster Size Illustrated Family Portrait

I had a blast illustrating this fun family portrait. There were lots of fun details which

 meant problem solving to make sure everyone fit into the composition properly. And 

the best part of it all, the final product was a 16x24 print! It turned out great!

Something New...

I am a huge fan of stackable rings and an even huger fan of wearing my stackables 

separately. Wouldn't that infinity ring be perfect to wear on your wedding day?

Find these dainty little rings at Tinahdee's shop

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION; Genevieve Santos

OK~ I am getting my sketch book out right now! These character sketches by 

Genevieve Santos are so inspiring. There is so much personality in these sketches. 

Even just looking at the Old Man sketch, he doesn't have to be doing anything and 

you can just assume what he would say if he popped off the page. I have always 

adored sketches more than a finished product. There is something about the soft 

and hard lines and being able to see the underlying frame work that really 

steals my heart. 

A Candy Bar, Sugar Cookies and some Crazy Straws

Oh Man, are we lucky{!} This weekend our beautiful friends threw us an Engagement 

party! I had to take some photos of the amazing effort they put into making it absolutely 

wonderful. Look at those cookies (I mean, how awesome is that!?) I was secretly 

racing Dave, watching to see whose name would be eaten first... Dave won. At the end 

of the night he only had 'D's' left, while I was still holding strong with a bunch of 

'A's' and 'R's'. 

And check out that candy bar... oh my my my! All three of my favorite vices (these 

folks are too good to us!).  The food was amazing, I even went back for seconds around 

11pm (yikes). Myfitnesspal was not happy about that decision. Oh and the house was 

right on the water (Dave was ready to move in). We spent the night next to a pool that 

was glowing blue all through the evening. It was such a wonderful night. We are so 

blessed to have such kind people around us. 

* Thank You; Anne & Thom and Jenny & Chris! Words can not express!

Happy Fathers Day

Gosh, I love my Dad. There is nothing in the world like a dad. Do you know what I mean? 

Its a unique relationship that is a thousand pounds strong. My Dad is honest, supportive, 

smart and exceptionally funny. He has been a world class role model for integrity, work 

ethic and quality of life. His support has lead me here and I could not be happier. Dad, if 

you are reading this, Happy Father's Day. I love you so much. 

Thank you for being such a wonderful person to love. 

xox

And to all you Dad's out there {new and old}, Happy Fathers Day! 

Typography Friday: Dream on

For today's Typography Friday feature I am featuring one of my own. I have done 

a lot of dreaming over the years (some people get it, some people don't) so this quote 

means a lot to me. I am lucky to have a fiance (22 more days until he is my husband! 

Wowsers!) who supports the unyielding pursuit of my dreams. Never stop dreaming.

psst...you can buy this print here

For today remember...

...enough said...

buy it here

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Annette Feinieg

This week's Illustration Inspiration features Annette Feinieg's lovable watercolors. 

Her work reminds me of my grandmother's cartooning. {xox} There is so much 

expression using so little detail. And I really appreciate the use of lighting on the 

elephant. See how she left the top outline white - perfect. 

Jesse Kuhn, Adds a Smile to Your Tuesday.

Well have you giggled at these clever illustrations yet? Did you notice the anchor 

on the bottom illustration titled "Heavy"? Or the effortlessly floating bobber? {Funny!}

Jesse Kuhn's illustrations caught my eye for a million reasons, but top on the list is 

they are clever. His beautifully stylized work lends to his twisted but not so dark humor. 

Just thought I would share the good artwork... 

Jesse Kuhn is the designer and illustrator for Raw Toast Design and according

 to his bio, tries to dream on a regular basis. {xox}

TYPOGRAPHY FRIDAY

I love this neon sign. My source does not reference where it came from, but I want it. 

And that little diamond at the bottom, subtle and perfecto. 

xox

Want it.

Summer Ice

Freezing diced Strawberries with your ice cubes = Brilliant

via

Announcing the completion of...

Very Excited to announce the completion of my latest illustrated children's book: Ada 

Chewed Some Gum! What a FUN project! This book will be available to purchase 

via E-book coming soon. Stay tuned for details. 

Illustration Inspiration: Pascal Champion

I can't get enough of, French American illustrator, Pascal Champion's artwork. Look at 

that Color Color Color. And not only that, but fantastic use of space and composition. Its 

hard to keep a space white sometimes. Pascal Champion does an exceptional job. And the 

color sets the perfect mood for each illustration. You can almost feel the sun while

 looking at that fishing illustration. Pascal's impressive client list include: Dreamworks 

Animation, Disney TV, and Cartoon Network. 

Wouldn't these prints be perfect for Father's Day? You can find them for sale on 

page 6 of Pascals Shop

Sagaki Keita. Doodles.

Fantastic right? Artist Sagaki Keita impressively combines thousands of doodles 

to recreate these masterpeices. Incredible. 

via

Thank You

I was reminded this weekend (once again) of how wonderful it is to have family and

friends. Being surrounded by the people you love is like receiving a huge hug that 

lasts for days. 

So today I am just posting to say thank you, for love, support and laughs. 

Celebrate your intangible blessings today and everyday. xox

photo via

TYPOGRAPHY FRIDAY: Edd Turner

So we have talked about typography that says wonderful things... but today's 

TYPOGRAPHY FRIDAY post presents the type in a different way. By turning the 

letters into individual entities Edd Turner creates a dramatic effect as he illustrates 

them spilling off the page and landing on the simple words, 'All Falls Down'. 

Conceptually I am in love with this design. I feel like all of the letters will tumble at 

any moment and I should type gingerly so as not to disturb them. It also makes me 

very aware of the space behind the letters. Can you see what I mean?

Fresh New Chevron Barstool - DIY

This past weekend I put my DIY hat on and revived these old bar stools. The pictures 

are pretty self explanatory but let me run through the steps.

1. Sand the Stool to rough the surface and give the paint something to adhere to.

2. I painted the entire chair. I opted for a satin finish, light gray. 

3. After the stool had dried, I taped out the design. This was done using a measured 

piece of paper, to ensure precise distance between each piece. And painters tape. 

I used the width of the painters tape as the width of the chevron design, it made 

things easy. 

4. *** Important Tip*** After the tape had been placed, I painted the SAME light gray 

over top of it before I painted the white. This sealed the edges of the tape so any over 

run would be gray not white. This made the lines so crisp. 

5. And finally I painted the white over the design. And once it was dry I pulled the 

tape off and Wallah! Another ***Important Tip*** is to pull the tape at a 

sharp angle backwards. This will ensure you paint will not pull off. 

We are so happy with our new little nook!

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Michael Byers

Michael Byers actually blew my mind this morning, with pure talent. The illustration 

that led me to him was the father and son fishing. I was immediately drawn to his 

use of color and space. And the further I looked into his work the more impressed I got. 

He is a master of movement and perspective. Look at that bike wheel {!} The perspective 

on that is not only extremely creative but difficult. And that splash of hot pink is 

perfect. What a dramatic image. He is an Ontario based illustrator whose client list

 includes; Runners World, Family Circle, and The New York Times. 

For more on Michael Byers Illustration Check out his website

Kid's adorable Wall Paper Designs

I am a HUGE fan of wall paper. I think its bold and spicy. So when I came across 

Ferm Living's wallpaper collection on Pinterest and I had to investigate. And I fell in 

love with this fantastically modern kid's wall paper. Wouldn't it look wonderful on an

 accent wall in kiddie bedroom? I am a couple years away from needing it... but would 

paste those robot on my wall in an instant.

Happy Memorial Day

I saw a poster the other day that pictured a woman lying beside a soldier's grave. Underneath

 the caption read; "Memorial Day. In case you thought it was National BBQ Day." Goose

 bumps rose on my skin, even as I typed it. It had a profound impact on me. I thought about 

both of my grandfather's who have seen unspeakable things in war and (thank goodness) 

survived. And my mind traveled to those who don't survive. Than to the ones that are left 

behind. And than I thought about beer and hamburgers, and it didn't make any sense. So as 

we celebrate in the sun, with our burgers and beer ... remember to remember. 

Today, I thank all of the soldiers who have served our country. And remember those 

who lost their lives in the process. Thank you. 

Typography Friday: Waaitt Design

Typography Friday is upon us once again so here is an Inspired Typography 

Poster by Waaitt Design. I Love the balance of the type and presentation. xo

Happy Friday.

Have a Cup of Coffee...

What is it about coffee that is so good? Coffee reminds me of Christmas... its nostalgic, 

you can smell it, taste it, and feel it. And no matter how good or bad the last cup you 

had was, you always look forward to the next. I am a loyal coffee drinker. I brew a hot

 cup of coffee whether its 32 degrees outside or 98. And the ULTIMATE is a blanket,

 a book and some coffee. And its very important to me to have a good bulbous mug to 

drink it out of... How do you drink your coffee?

photo credit: matt matches

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Nan Lawson

I have admired Nan Lawson's illustrations for some years now so I am extra pleased to 

feature her on todays, Illustration Inspiration post. What I like most about this LA Based 

illustrator is the sweetness captured in the demeanor and face of each character she creates. 

According to her bio, these characters are often inspired by hipsters and flea markets. Can't 

you imagine bumping into one of the sweet faces at a thrift store? Nan's vintage look has 

created a quirky, nerdy and wonderful following {myself included} 

For more from Nan, Check out her Website.

My Mission...

On my list for this summer is: Organize my Studio. I have found that every time I head 

into my work space, I find work to do and that always trumps the need for tidying and 

organization. And it kind of stresses me out to work in a cluttered space. {I am sure you 

can agree} So my mission is, by the end of the summer, to have a beautiful, sparkling 

Studio that I can work in calmly and without distraction. 

I am feeling greatly inspired by the images above, 

found here on Everything Etsy's organization tutorial