From Sketchbook To My Favorite Christmas Card
How it all started in my sketchbook yet became an abandoned idea only to turn into my favorite card!
I started my current sketchbook at the end of December of last year, and I have to say I am SO glad I did.
Keeping a regular sketchbook has been SOO great for my creativity and just art in general.
Like for example I had a wild idea for something this week and have given myself a pretty short deadline on it, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referenced my sketchbook for ideas. It’s soooo nice to just have like a treasure trove of ideas to utilize when you are running low on specific inspiration.
SOOO today I thought I would share how a random sketchbook page from like May/June turned into my favorite Christmas card this year!👀
Thinking about Christmas in May is weird and not super normal I know, but given that I make paper goods for my shop I’m always considering Christmas in some respect.
My May was a lil different this year, unfortunately a local Reserve was at risk of development, which I actually posted about it here.
So I got to be apart of trying to Protect more of Wild Florida, and work together with others within my community and it worked.!
Together we got to Protect land that was always supposed to be protected! Which was amazing!
When it came to the organized Protests one of the major themes was Protecting WILD Florida.
Looking back at this insane year we’ve all been living through, I think this whole experience, and it gives me a glimmer of hope. It showed that when you work together change can happen.
SOOO how did Christmas get involved you ask?!
Well I was prepping for a Wholesale Market, and the summer markets Focus on Christmas so I needed Christmas cards.
I am not a “traditional Christmas card” girlie, I love a beachy or nature theme. So with that in mind I was also thinking about what Christmas cards are for a lot of people.
Some put family photos in them, some write letters with recaps of their years/accomplishment, and some just pick art that they like!
Given the current * gestures to the world * I was trying to think of clever ways to wrap all of those themes into one card, but also not be too much?
I wanted to highlight nature, I wanted it have an emphasis on “wild” and I wanted to play on the world family.
Family can be many things, so I played with lots of different wording options, and played with layout ideas in my sketchbook!
The ideas were SO fun and I just LOVED the concept. However I couldn’t get it past this phase.
I took the ideas to my iPad and just nothing was working. I have a tendency to make most of my art kinda realistic, but that didn’t seem to fit the vibe. The sketch that was created more full fleshed on my iPad I really came to love but soon as I added color I didn’t like it.
SOOOO I ditched the idea, and left it for months.
Like I mean MONTHS! But I finally found a way to finish it and actually like it in October.
Just proof that sometimes ideas need time, and sometimes you will come back to an idea you kinda gave up on, and end up loving it.
This is certainly one of the biggest things I’ve learned this year… Just Sketch, Just doodle. Like your sketchbook is where ideas don’t have to fully “fleshed out” they don’t have to have a major end goal. Sometimes playing with a random idea will turn out, sometimes you will ditch it and come back later and give it a new life.
I love it!!
Have you ever had this sort of thing happen in a sketchbook?
Sea ya next week!
~Sarah
Music is always on in my studio and honestly music impacts my workflow so each week I LOVE sharing the music I am loving - Hope you find something new you like!
🎵Most Played in The Studio This Week 🎵
Lighter By In Color
Oh No! by All Time Low
Sick of Myself by 5 Seconds of Summer