Sweet Ideas

I love to bake, but I typically stick to either basic or family recipes. Lately, I've had a little courage and tried some new ideas and... they have actually turned out pretty good! I shared my Lunch in Paris inspired dessert with you here and just finished the book by the way. The story was so cute, but the recipes definitely got me. The book is going on the shelf with my recipe books with a list of "must make"s throughout. My latest attempt at branching out was a Chocolate Chip Cookie and Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar (with ice cream!) found here. If you're a chocolate lover, you'll love it! It was so decadent that I could only have a few bites, but, my sweet tooth leans toward the fruity desserts, which brings me to the recipes that our making my mouth water today: Popsicles and Cheesecake!

If you don't already follow Design Crush and I am Baker, you need to! The recipes are fabulous! I found each of the above photographed sweet ideas through their blogs. All of these unique ideas and tutorials make me wonder about the DIY brides out there. Many of the brides I've worked with have been very creative, which is an amazing help in the design process and of course fun, and they tend to DIY. So my question, which you probably saw on Facebook, is....

Would you DIY your wedding cake? Do tell!


Find recipes for each of the photos above through the links listed below:
Strawberry Banana Popsicle here
Strawberry Margarita Ice Pops here
Strawberry Peach Vodka Collins Popsicle here
Rose Cake Tutorial here
Cheesecake in a Jar here

J.Crew: Orange and Blue

It wouldn't be a normal week if I wasn't loving something about J.Crew, but lately I find I'm more attracted to the Crewcuts and Men's department..weird? What's weirder is that I would really love to sport the bikini, striped Tee, and sweater combo shown above. Louisiana is just too hot to even come close to wearing a sweater in the summer, but can anyone in the U.S. wear a bikini bottom and sweater this time of year? or anytime, actually? Nonetheless, I'm still considering it and the photo styling certainly makes for a pretty shot. I'm feeling some illustration inspiration!

Drawing A Day 90: Time

Where does the time go? It feels like someone has sneakily taken away a few hours from each of the last couple of days.. and it's only Tuesday.

Inspiration here

Drawing A Day 89: Doodles

Just a few doodles from the day... a very busy day! I had a wonderful week at the beach with family, had fun practicing with my camera on the beach (you can check out some of the shots under Project 365), and feel relaxed and ready to tackle new projects. Hope you had a a good one as well.

Drawing A Day 88: At The Beach

Spending a few days at the beach with family. New posts next week!

Friday Fun Moodboard: Madras and Stripes

It's time for some Friday fun! A few of the projects I'm working on at the moment are very classic pattern based: madras, stripes, argyle, so I couldn't help feeling drawn to some print and pattern today. I love the way J.Crew paired the bright madras with neutrals to give it an updated look. The tangerines, cream, and metals create a really nice palette. Don't you love the soft colors in these bow ties?! They're made by Etsy seller Xoelle and come in tons of fun color variations. They even come in kids' sizes. Lastly, that madras coat. Love it. If you're loving this look too, you need to hop on over to 100 Layer Cake and view the full gallery of wedding photos. The attire, the print pieces, the color... it's all beautiful! 

Sneak Peak + Baby Announcements

Just a little sneak peek of things to come.

PROJECT 365

Anyone else taking part in the challenge? Here's a little update. Don't forget you can follow each day in the tab at the top right. (P.S. if you're having trouble clicking the "Project 365" tab, expand the width of your browser view. At some point I'll have this technical issue figured out. Until then, bear with me.)
Hope you're having a good week!

Happy Tuesday + Working Away

Working away tonight. Hope you're having a good start to the week!

Image Credit ***

Drawing A Day 87: High Waisted Shorts

Custom Design: Girls Weekend Illustration & Invitation

An invitation/itinerary fit for a fabulous girls weekend! Did I mention this is for my friends and me... I can't wait for catching up over yoga, blueberry picking, oysters, wine tasting... basically a lot of catching up, eating, and drinking! Hope you have a great weekend too!

Project 365: Day 1

Today begins my efforts to take part in Project 365. As if I don't have my hands full with designing full time for LSU, illustrating and designing for all of the amazing and creative C.Whimsy Designs customers, taking a design class in the Fall, and drawing every day, I've decided to take one photo every day for the next year.... but for good reason! While talking with my friend Kristen, who decided to begin the project herself (and with a fabulous first photo too! check it out here), she brought up a great point. She's had so many experiences and milestones over the past few years... graduating from Law school, getting married... well, those aren't that hard to remember, but many of the day-to-day moments pass by in a flash! So what better reason to document each day?! Oh, and to better our photography skills. Anyway, here goes. My first photo. Woohoo! A surprise arrangement of peonies, one of my favorite flowers. Thanks RJ!

When Calligraphy Meets Illustration

I've followed the work of Yani Arabena on Flickr for some time now and she continues to wow me with every piece. Her niche design combination of illustration and calligraphy creates gorgeous free flowing forms. Her style almost looks like a very elegant form of graffiti, don't you think?

"Oui, Merci!" Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the $25 to minted.com is... Amanda Russell! Thanks everyone for participating!
(Amanda, send me an email from the contact page with your contact information.)

Last Chance "Oui, Merci!" Giveaway

Last chance to win this. Contest ends today. Winner will be announced tomorrow!

Happy Monday + Working Away

Hope you've had a Happy Monday. As most Mondays go, mine has been a busy one. I'll be curling up later to my pencils and watercolors and working away the evening on wedding and baby design.

Image Credit: ***

Mindy Weiss + Rue

You probably know Mindy Weiss from her beautiful wedding event planning and line of wedding planning products, but did you know it all started with a stationery line? I find her so inspiring and I, of course, don't mind her use of orange in this latest stylized summer soiree featured in Rue Magazine. See and read more here.

P.S. Don't forget to enter for the "Oui, Merci" Giveaway!

Hope you have a happy weekend!

"Oui, Merci!" Giveaway Reminder

Have you entered the "Oui, Merci" Giveaway? Would you like to win $25 to minted.com? If you're thinking "Yes, Thank you!" then follow these two easy steps:

1. Comment on any cwhimsydesigns.com post. 
(Only one comment per day will qualify as an entry, but comment as much as you'd like. I love to hear from you!)
2. Like or refer a friend to C.Whimsy Designs on Facebook. 
If you're already a fan on Facebook, refer a friend to the page and comment on this post with the statement "I shared the whimsy with (friend's name)! Refer as many friends as you'd like. You'll be entered for each friend who becomes a fan.


Just a few days left to enter! I'll be choosing the winner on Tuesday, June 7.

Lunch in Paris + Financiers aux Framboises

I'm about half way through "Lunch in Paris" by Elizabeth Bard and my apartment is about to turn into a patisserie! I'm not only caught up in the love story between the two main characters but with the food! I love Bard's use of adjectives and imagery. I can just picture the sites and smells of each meal and dessert she writes about... and then... the chapter closes with recipes! Like Mini Almond Cakes with A Raspberry Button aka Financiers aux Framboises! Yum! So I had to make them last night. I'm not positive they look like they should, but they were pretty scrumptious. Check out page 87 of her book for the recipe. You can also find more recipes on Bard's blog here. I think I'll have to make these next!

A-Line

Love it or hate it? It's such a cute look and makes for beautiful dimension when drawing, but why do I hate wearing it?