Category: blog

“It’s Always Wonderful at Central Park”

Andrea Casals

I’m so happy to share that my children’s picture book “It’s Always Wonderful at Central Park” it’s now part of this world and available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Walmart and many independents bookstores in the US, Canada, UK & Europe, Australia & New Zealand.

Even though, I’ve done some children’s picture book illustrations in the past, this is the first time ever that I wrote and illustrated one AND I also made the Modern Calligraphy that’s included in some words of each page! You can think as an early introduction to a cursive fun style!

It all started as a piece of a single rhyme in my head one day while I was rocking the stroller waiting for baby Luca to fall asleep.

Then another day, while I was literally trapped under my napping baby (yes, there was a time when we moved to NYC that Luca hated napping in his new space and the only thing that helped him was sleeping on top of me) that day, another sentence came to my mind. But this time, since I couldn’t go literally no where else, I grabbed my phone and started writing these sentences in a note on my iPhone.

Later that day, I showed it to my #1 fan, Victor, and he said to me that there was something interesting in it. That I should continue and make it a project, create my own illustrations for it and all. What a fan!

So that path I took. I started taking the kids to visit and explore all these places in and around Central Park that were listed in my story, took many pictures and came back to draw bit by bit, only during times my baby was asleep. (So it took quite a while, you can see).

Once I had all the pictures done, baby had to go thru a small surgery and the book project went on a break until he was fully recover by November 2019. After that, Victor helped me with the design of the book and we printed a first draft!

Marco was the first to read it at home and he loved it. Then, I showed it to Marco’s teachers at his school in NYC, they shared with me some great feedback, I worked again on it and then I got to read it aloud at Marco’s classroom and my book was also read aloud in another class. I was so proud!

The faces and expressions of these tiny New Yorkers while they were seeing many familiar places of their Park in the pictures and their excitement was such a joy to see!

An illustration of the Oak Bridge at the Oak Bridge in Central Park, NYC Jan 2020

After that first test, I went back to work and re-do some illustrations. Then we moved to California again, February 2020 and the pandemic started a few weeks later and everyone lives’ changed with it.

First there was no inspiration to continue working and I was overwhelmed with all that was happening in the world and adjusting to my new roles, saying goodbye for now to classes and events and between all that I had to change editors because of Covid too.

All in all, time passed, we continued working bit by bit in the little time that I had and in early December 2020 I had my new draft printed. Just one more change on the design layout that Victor quickly solved and we were ready to publish it!

I’m very happy with my first book. It kind of sparkled for me this part of creating stories and also dig deeper in the quest of finding my style in drawing.

So, with that quest in my creative heart, I’m working on another children’s book that I hope to bring it to life soon.

It’s a project that started while I was procrastinating this first book, and that with time, it kind of took its own wings. It’s a new world of inspiration and creation, this one of telling and drawing stories.

Stay safe, friends, stay weird and continue looking for something that brings you peace and joy ?

#ColorTheBayArea

Andrea Casals

In times of distress, art helps me.

Andrea Casals

Some good days with extra energy, I like to draw just outlining with black marker or a pencil in my sketchbook so whenever I have a bad day that blocks my creativity, I still have something creative to do: coloring, it helps me tons to carry on through a difficult day.

With that same idea, I want to share today 3 free illustrations for you to print at home and just color on them.

DOWNLOAD PDF FILES HERE.

DOWNLOAD JPEG FILESHERE.

These are two illustrations of some Bay Area signs that I love and one of the shop window from one of my favorite Bay Area shops: A Work Of Heart Art Studio.

Talking about AWOH, I wanted to let you know that even though they had to close right now, you can still shop art supplies from them and they’d deliver for free to your home in the Bay Area (15 miles distance).

So if you need any art supplies, contact them at aworkofheart@gmail.com -It’s a good way to help a local small biz through these difficult times.

Don’t forget to share your colored pages! Use the hashtag #ColorTheBayArea so we can all see it!

Last. Are you a Bay Area Artist that would like to join this #ColorTheBayArea movement? Get in touch! Send me a message with your links to share so we can all see them and start coloring the Bay.

Art heals, art helps.

Stay safe, friends! ❤️

Look at this amazing coloring kit that they’ve created!

PS: What do you think of doing a live online coloring session?

Life update ? Goodbye NYC – Free Printable

Andrea Casals

Moving with kids in school age is not an easy task, it’s in fact a big change in their life, and even though kids are very resilient and they adapt better than a lot of grown ups I know (ehem, hello ? that is for me, I know!) I think it’s always a huge and fabulous help to guide them in that process.

We’ve done a lot of work helping our oldest to feel he’s part of the team making this decision for our family, thinking what we’d win, making list of “pros” (we try to focus more on the things he’d gain, on the positive side of things and let him to come with the “cons” so it’s more about this feelings and not putting ours on that list). I think it really helps to know what to expect and more.

Part of that process is watching videos, pictures, movies. Like when we were moving to NYC, we watched many movies that showed the city and we also watch “NYC tour guides” for kids (we found some on Prime videos). We also showed him other kids living in the city (so many mom bloggers post this kind of content).

This time that we are moving to a place where we already lived, we looked back on our iPhones for all the videos of our ordinary life there. That made easy to bring back lovely memories of friends, things and places we no longer had in NYC. And brought a warm idea of moving as an exciting new adventure.

After telling the teachers and them sharing that our kid was moving we organized a little farewell treat for everyone with our family email address so they could give it to their parents and keep in touch.

I also created this illustration that, unfortunately, I couldn’t have it printed in time for the last day. But it was an idea of a brownstone (a very NYC thing) illustration where each kid could leave a stamp with their fingerprint as a balloon. The phrase is from the beautiful movie UP from Pixar.

So I wanted to share this printable for free with you in case you want to use it.

Here’s the FREE PRINTABLE to download.

SEE YOU SOON FRIENDS!

Here’s the FREE BLANK PRINTABLE to download.

Life Update! ?

Andrea Casals

LIFE UPDATE! ?


I enjoyed New York City practically every day of these 14 months here. 
Now, we’ve received an invitation to change our lives once again and after we did what we do every time we are confronted with a situation like this (lots of thinking, spreadsheets, lists of pros and cons and of course, a bit of listening to our hearts) we decided to accept this new change and…
WE ARE MOVING TO THE BAY AREA (again)!!! ???

As a family, we leave New York very happy with our time here: we made new friends, found great doctors when we needed, we did many activities in the city, visited lots of inspiring places and ate too many delicious meals (more details in my NYC Instagram highlights stories).

In my particular case, I leave NYC with an *almost* ready Children’s Picture Book! ?

This city inspired me to create a rhyming story that came to my mind while trapped underneath my baby napping during one of many complicated nap times.


Once the dust settles after this move, I need to re-do one paragraph and send it again to my editor (hence the blank area on this pic) and after his review then… it will be ready for publishing? Yes, please! ? 

In the meantime, here’s a little sneak peek of one if its pages and YES, it has some Modern Calligraphy in it! ? I hope to finish it soon! 


And to my Cali friends: CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU! ❤️ ? Pic of me at the Oak Bridge in Central Park with an illustration of the Oak Bridge ? for my upcoming Children’s Book.
Thanks @tanrenzu for the pic! It was so windy and cold last weekend ?

New year, New York!

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Andrea Casals

We did lists with pros and cons, we did spreadsheets to check all our numbers and our budget, we compared everything, what we’d win, what we’d lose and we even went on a road trip to explore if other places like Portland, OR; Seattle, WA or Vancouver, Canada were possible options. But nothing beat it. We had NYC in our hearts and our minds.

We missed the city lifestyle, we craved the cultural debauchery that NY offered. The possibility of living in a city that feels like you’re living in every country of the world at the same time and place. We even missed the public transportation and not needing a car to go everywhere! 

So we decided to embark on this adventure. To prepare our kids for it, we talked a lot about it, we watched many NY movies, we saw pics from our previous life in NYC and played games (ticket to ride NY!). 

Luckily, it helped that everyone in our family was not completely satisfied with our life in the Bay Area so that also helped made this decision easier in some way. 

After a lot of preparation and paperwork (changing schools, doctors, car, house, apartment) in little time (less than 2 months!) we were taking our flight and arriving in our beloved NYC although this time we were not living in Brooklyn but the Upper West Side. 

Now. We’re very happy that we’re here and we’re working hard to make things happen for us in the city! 

For me that meant taking the leap of faith and being totally in charge of my workshops! That’s right. Now I am teaching my classes at a venue that I rent, I organize the ticket sales and registration. It’s more work of course but it’s a big step for my brand as well. It’s not going to be easy but after these years of practice with more than 200 students I feel confident that I have learned all that’s necessary for this step. Anyway, send some good energy my way you know I appreciate the good vibes friends! 

That’s the news for now! ‘Til next post!

Love,

Andrea

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New Modern Calligraphy Classes in Upper West Side, NYC 

Introduction to Modern Calligraphy Workshop 

Saturday, March 2nd at 10am 

Registration required. 

Get your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-modern-calligraphy-tickets-56216380708?aff=efbeventtix

Back to my Calligraphy Workshops in San Jose!

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Andrea Casals

Aaaand, I’m back!

Last Sunday I hosted my Introduction to Modern Calligraphy Workshop at A Work Of Heart in San Jose again after a short break for my maternity leave.

We had a few last minute additions plus I messed up with the alarm at the shop when I got there so my whole morning before the workshop got a little chaotic! Yes, as crazy as it sounds I made the alarm went on and even some neighbors came to see what was happening but everything was ok! Thank Goodness Andrea -owner of the studio- arrived just then and solved the crazy situation! I was imagining myself trying to explain everything to the cops, that would have been some even crazier anecdote to share!

Anyway, I had to set up and organized everything faster than expected so I run out of time and I couldn’t do live videos or take more pictures of the behind the scenes.

But I tell you a little bit about it now and you’ll just have to believe me and imagine some things because… not many pictures!

Since it’s almost July, I thought about doing a “summery” theme and what says more summer than the sea, right? So I got some turquoise pen holders, I wrote the name of the students on shells and I brought a decor fishing net and even more shells to decorate the table. F or snacks, this time I brought some pastries as usual plus watermelon… THE fruit for the summer, right? And even though I never recommend to drink caffeinated beverages before doing calligraphy, I went against my own advice and brought some cold frapuccinos for my students. Guys, it was like a great addition for this “summer Sunday morning” theme.

I also gave them some map paper, which is also in the summer/travel theme and I found these little glass bottles with cork stoppers for the ink that was like a “message in a bottle” kind of thing. Super cute!

Next workshop date? July 22nd at 10am

Where? A Work Of Heart Studio in San Jose, CA.

How can I register? Click here!

Hope to see you on the next one!

Artists Moms Meet Up in San Jose – Update!

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Andrea Casals

Hi friends!

This week we had the first Artists Moms Meet Up in San Jose, CA and I wanted to share with you a little bit about it.

We were three moms with babies less than a year old and each one of us, somehow, got to create a little something! I had a great time, enjoying a conversation with fellow moms plus being able to do some lettering for this post.

I’ve received a few messages of moms in WA state and another mom in Canada asking me if I knew of a group like this in their cities. So you can see, there’s an interest out there! I’d love to know if there’s an artist/creative mom’s group in your city and how are their meetings!

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, there’s another meeting coming soon and you can register for it here.

‘Til next week folks!

Baby wipes and a matcha latte, bare necessities for this mom 😛

 

About life lately and another favorite project for beginners

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Andrea Casals

Folks, I can’t believe Summer is here already!

This school year went by so fast for me that everything kind of took me for surprise, like, last day of school!

I waited too long to get a present for the teachers and then I had to magically arrange something kind of last minute gift… the day before!

So I thought, what would I want to do if I were a teacher and classes are ending? RELAX I guess! So I decided to get them some bath salts and a body cream all with chamomile (relaxing effect) and luckily I found some chamomile flowers at my local Whole Foods so I added this as a little detail.

I did a little lettering on vellum paper and used it to wrap the flowers. Since I was in a rush, I used one of my [amazon_textlink asin=’B01M71S9DU’ text=’Tombow’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’andreacasalsa-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’76901fd8-6fe9-11e8-8260-8b5ab428d9bf’] markers and not an actual pointed pen and nib, but after doing this I thought how cool of a project to make this when you’re just starting doing calligraphy! You could also re-use practice paper but it makes it more special writing the name of the person that will receive this gift and maybe even a message, in this case I wrote “Thank you Mrs Laura” all over.

For all the wrapping I added a little beauty to plain IKEA rolling paper with some lettering using also a Tombow marker.

I thought of sharing these since they can be fun projects where you can use your calligraphy skills. I hope you like these ideas and let me know if you try it!

Introducing: FREE SHIPPING!

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Andrea Casals

In the times of Amazon, paying for shipping has become a “problem”.

Specially on Etsy, customers would have to do all the math if they want either priority or first class, and besides, what is all of that? Why do we need to know all of that as customers? I just want to buy something and I want to have it deliver asap but not paying an extraordinary amount for it, right? It’s kind of simple.

Well, I took the decision of offering FREE SHIPPING on my Etsy store and avoid you all the hustle, the decision taking of what option choose, the math of how much you’ll end up paying, etc.

So whenever you’re buying one of my products on my shop, you’ll have free shipping. Simple.

Bar Area creative moms meet-up

Andrea Casals

Hi everyone! 

You can imagine that having a brand new little one makes time for ourselves practically non-existant. 

Some days, just being able of completing daily grooming habits and eat an actual meal (not just leftovers or snacks) for unless once a day feels like winning the first place in a marathon. 

On the other hand, I love to connect with others, specially with fellow creatives at heart. 

So I thought. I want to meet other artists moms! There should be some around the Bay Area, right? ?

So I reached out to Andrea from my favorite studio in San Jose -A Work Of Heart- and told her my idea: I want to host a meet up for creative moms with babies in your studio. Is this doable? 

And the answer was… yes! 

So, this is a calling for all those moms in the Bay Area with their babies (0-12months). A calling for all those Moms who love painting, drawing, crafting… moms who find joy in a creative life (even if that means coloring books!). 

We’re going to meet -bring your baby,  they are included in this plan- and spend an hour together, enjoying a nice conversation while attempting to create something. 

And the best part is, we just pay the studio hour and we can use also the materials available there! That means we don’t need to bring art supplies, and thank goodness because to be honest, the ones we have are already occupied carrying a baby, diaper bag, car seat, stroller, etc etc. Ah! And cellphones of course!

So fellow creative moms, let’s meet at A Work Of Heart with our babies on Tuesday June 19th at 10 am. Remember: We are moms who share a creative interest. We won’t freak out if a baby cries or if you, like me, have a messy bun and the last t-shirt you had in the closet. Life with a baby is hard and we know it!

Are you coming? I want to meet you and your little one!

***Registration is required. Register here:  https://www.aworkofheart.com/studio/component/registrationpro/event/1384/Mom-s-Open-Studio-Time?Itemid=

***Parking in front of the store is a bike lane now so you want to use the parking lot in the back of the store. Otherwise, parking is ok  on the streets Yosemite, Mariposa st, etc

Calligraphy classes in the Bay Area are back!

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Andrea Casals

Hi folks!

So it’s set. I’m coming back to teach my Introduction to Modern Calligraphy at A Work Of Heart in San Jose in June 24th.

I’m super happy about this. I’ve been thinking, I’d even say “day-dreaming”, for the theme and colors for the next one and now I’m starting to buy all the supplies. It’s going to be so beautiful!

You know, I want to make every class a special moment for you, not only to learn to create thin and thick lines with a pointed pen, but also to have an enjoyable moment to remember.

That’s why I put so much energy and love to prepare each workshop. Folks, I love doing this. What can I say?!

So, are you ready to give Modern Calligraphy a try? This is the real-thing, it’s learning to write with a straight pen-holder, using professional calligraphy ink. But nothing to worry, because I’ll guide you through this adventure and you know what else? Your Beginner’s Calligraphy Kit is included and it’s yours to keep. Cool, right? Now, don’t miss it and grab your spot here.

If you cannot make it in June, there’s another opportunity in July. Read more about it and register for here.

Picture by By Lorena Photography

Have a happy long weekend!

Luca is here!

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Andrea Casals

Hello folks! Luca Francisco is here! He was born on a rainy spring night, on April 7th at 1:32am. Weight: 8.15 lbs Height: 20.5 inches || 4.055kg / 52 cm.

It was a the night of the “Pineapple Express” -a storm coming from Hawaii- and after 3hs of labor at home, we arrived at Labor and Delivery at 1:10am.
Our own little Pineapple Express arrived just 22 minutes and about 6 pushes later! (I even had to be admitted at the hospital after given birth since everything went so fast we couldn’t do it before!).
We were surrounded by so much love and care and we’re so thankful that such special, kind, lovely people like my mother in law and Katie Heredia my doula were there with us during this extraordinary moment of our lives.

My baby and I are doing great and this now family of 4 is happy, healthy and thankful to God for all the joys and blessings that He has given us.

As you may all know, I’m still on my maternity leave but I wanted to pop here and say hi and share a little pic of my newest addition.
Here’s Luca 1 day old on a blanket that I created specially for him.

This project started with a pointed pen, paper an ink and after digitizing it on Photoshop, I printed it on a soft blanket made in the USA.

marco 5 days old – pic by quianna marie photography

Isn’t it amazing how many things we can create from words on a paper? I’m still fascinated by this beautiful art folks, I cannot lie!

See you soon!

 

Sheets available on Roostery

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Andrea Casals

You might remember the sheets that I created for Luca some weeks ago.

Well, after receiving some requests, I created a fabric pattern with just the “Buenos días/Buenas Noches” (that’s good morning/good night -without the Luca name part). That fabric is available on my shop at Spoonflower. I have to be honest, I don’t love Spoonflower. Yes, the quality of the fabric is great; the shipping and customer service is very good too and those are the reasons why I keep my fabric design shop there. But it only pays 10% to us artists… But if it is the way that I can offer my designs to the world, I’ll take it for now.

There were two people that asked me for sheets already sewn. That’s how I got to create a shop on Roostery.

So this week I wanted to share with you that you can get sheets with the hand-lettered “Buenos Días Buenas Noches” at Roostery. Just follow this link.

I think Roostery is still kind of expensive (especially if you compare what they charge to the customer and what they pay the artist; again sorry for the rant!) but for now is the only option I have to offer this product.

Anyway. I love the pattern

Marco’s 5th birthday party

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Andrea Casals

This week I decided to blog about Marco’s 5th birthday so I can finally be up to date with his celebrations and all the DIY that I created for his parties.

This time was all about Legos. Well, kinda. Because like 4 days before he started saying that he wanted an “army theme” for his birthday. And I was like “There’s no way we’re changing your birthday party theme”. But this is how I resolved that: with a one dollar “lego” tank that I found on the dollar tree store and I used on top of his mini cake (the one that we have at home).

The celebration at home was very simple this time. I just added some balloons, the mini cake and some party hats. It was a weekday and he had to be at school by 7:30am so… Not a lot of time!

But we celebrated with a little party with his friends the day after, and it was so much fun!

First, let me share with you the invitations that I created using some Modern Calligraphy with actual pen and ink and then digitized with Photoshop and some single line lego bricks illustrations.

Now let’s talk about the most important part of any birthday celebration. The cake. Of course 😛

I used this recipe again but this time I filled my cake using an Argentinean dulce de leche. Simple but oh oh oh, out of this world.

If you’re using Dulce de Leche to fill to a cake, be sure to get a “repostero” one which is thicker and won’t melt in your cake. It’s a special Dulce de Leche for patisserie.

I covered it with this chocolate ganache and some chocolate sprinkles that I got at a Brazilian place where I bought everything to do brigadeiros… But that’s another story.

Since it was all lego themed, I played with some old duplos that we didn’t use and built some stuff for decor.

Then of course, my little kid has an Argentiniean mom so… Chipas and Empanadas were part of the menu! Get my chipa recipe here.

Some fast, almost last-minute signs for the food with brush lettering.

I used the same colors all the time, red, green and blue.

I found some lego figurines on Amazon that I added for his party favors and used a free template of a lego background, then used the same digitized calligraphy on top and that was the “card” for the party favors on paper bags.

Finally, I created a chalkboard sign (the night before!) for his cake table.

It was such a special moment for all of us! He had a great time with his buddies and I was as happy as I could be watching my kid grow to be 5 years old and enjoying so much his special day!

That’s it for this week folks! See you next week with no more birthday reviews for a while! Haha! Have fun!

a long time ago, marco turned 4 years old

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Andrea Casals

Hi there!

For those of you who have been following the different facets of this blog, you know that I’ve posted in the past a lot of my cooking recipes and some of my motherhood experiences and all the things I create for my kid’s birthdays besides all my calligraphy adventures.

So today, I decided to do a #TBT to Marco’s 4th bday party which I hadn’t shared here.

First. let’s talk about the theme. My kid wants to be a Race Car Driver and he’s a totally fan of anything with a motor and wheels. So, there we went. A Hot Wheels celebration! 

I made him two cakes, one mini cake for home and one bigger to bring to his preschool. This time I tried an amazing chocolate cake that I found here. What I like the most  about this one is that it doesn’t have any coffee on it and -truth to be told- I think it’s a little bit easier than the most amazing chocolate cake I did the year before that.

It’s a very thin batter but no worries, it comes out so moist and soft… delicious! I filled the bigger cake with slices of organic strawberries and organic heavy whipping cream that I previously mixed with some organic powdered sugar (kind of a Chantilly cream) and a green food colorant.

For the decoration, I covered it with the same heavy whipping cream and I used a piece of black fondant to create kind of a route and the rocks where made out of chocolate! I got these here.

The smaller cake, I filled it with organic raspberries and this chocolate ganache. Out of this world. Love this combination!

I covered it with the black fondant, added some of the chocolate rocks and a Grave Digger Monster Truck (this is a Hot wheels party, remember, cars and monster trucks are allowed!)

I got some hot wheels cups and plates for the school party so we used three of those in our intimate celebration. I found this piece of black “chalkboard paper” at Target and it was a great addition to the decor! I used it as a route on our table.

I got to play with a simple hand-lettering using a chalk-board marker on the paper (this was June 2016, amazing how much my lettering has improved!).

I also did some small tags for the goody bags for his school. For these, I did use a straight pen-holder and nib.

Here’s how everything looked in the morning!

Black and white paper straws and the race flags picks were cute ideas to add and of course… balloons! I did the tassel garland with black crepe paper for a big white balloon that doesn’t appear in the pic!

Someone was super happy when he woke up to see this surprise!

Well, that’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll be sharing more about his 5th birthday! Stay tuned!

PS: You can also check when he turned 3 years for another kind of cars and trucks celebration and the 2 years bday party, when everything was about trains.

Baby announcement!

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Andrea Casals

After a long time wishing for this baby to come, he/she will be finally coming to our lives April 1st, 2018!

We’re so happy and tremendously thankful for this blessing!

Or course, being a lettering nerd I wanted to incorporate something of my art to make his announcement and since it is Fall, the best way to do for me was lettering on pumpkins!

For this project I bought real pumpkins at my local grocery store, wipe them clean with a wet cloth and then I dried them with a paper towel.

I tried lettering first with my favorite Molotow marker but the texture didn’t make it very opaque. Same thing happened with the Sharpies Acrylic Water based.. They just didn’t stick plus they created like a rough coat in some patches (you can still see those in the “bebé” littlest pumpkin).

So at the end, the best marker for this project for me was the Chalk Ink Chalk Marker. It sticked, it was opaque and it didn’t create layers of ink leaving a rough look. So, Chalk Ink Marker… Approved!

Also, little detail but the chisel tip is always great to create the thin and thick lines and give it more of a faux calligraphy look.

Enjoy the fall season friends!

about last year and this week

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Andrea Casals

Hi folks, weekly post here and today with more good news!

Last year I had the amazing opportunity to create some beautiful calligraphy pieces for the Styled Pop Up Series Workshop; by the way, if you’re a beginner lifestyle photographer or are curious about lifestyle photography, you need to check it out!

Welcome sign that I created for the workshop

 

Now this week, I have the joy to tell you that the Styled Pop Up Series has been PUBLISHED by Borrowed & Blue!

What an amazing opportunity that was!

modern calligraphy wedding invitation suite

 

I’m so happy that this Romantic Winery Styled Shoot’s wedding will be featured front and center on their San Francisco home page!

In love with this beautiful state that I call now home: California

 

Click in the image below to see all the pictures from this Styled Series Pop Up with an amazing winery theme wedding inspiration!

See you next week, friends!

– – – – – –

List of Vendors:
Photography: www.quiannamarie.com
Wedding Planner: www.theblubookevents.com

I’m back! are you still there?

Andrea Casals

Hi friends!

It’s been a while, I know. So many things happened since I’ve last wrote on this blog.

And everyday that goes by makes it a little bit more difficult to write again because… it feels that it’s been decades since I last posted something on the blog!

Anyway, in order to put an end to this “never-ending blog neurosis”,  I decided to just start by saying:

Hey, I’m back! Are you still there?

If so, I’m so happy that you’re reading this!

Also, since Valentine’s it’s just around the corner, I have a little something for you <3

A free Happy Galentine’s printable card.

Download it here and send it to your bestie! Because we all need those girl-friends that make our life much better!

Have a lovely week everyone!

 

cute animals: baby fox

Andrea Casals

Today, I want to share some images of a little fox that I drew for a dear friend who is expecting a new baby.

baby fox final artprint copy

I used the illustration as an art-print but also on a onesie.

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Since I also enjoy sewing and creating things with my hands, I chose to use the same baby fox illustration as an embroidery.

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I drew this little fox thinking in this new baby that’s coming to a dear family of friends of mine and all that love made it an extra special and enjoyable project!

<3

marco’s 3rd birthday party: cars & trucks || fiesta de cumpleaños de marco: autos y camiones

Andrea Casals

LÉELO EN ESPAÑOL

So my “baby” is 3 years old now!

Wow! I still feel that the 1st year went super slowly, from that moment to the 2nd birthday it went a little bit faster but let me tell you… From his 2nd to this 3rd birthday time flew!

We are still new to San Jose, CA so we didn’t throw a party this year but still we decorated the house and prepare a special cake for him.

The theme for this celebration was: Cars and Trucks.

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I prepared everything the night before so he could wake up and find the surprise (that’s why the picture has no natural light!).

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I designed some silly signs for the juices and the cars.

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In case you like this idea, I’m giving away the free downloadable the Interstate 3 Sign file and also the Yellow Sign (this last one is in spanish).

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The wooden name-train from his 2nd birthday party was still useful for the table but I didn’t display the main engine.

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This little guy was so surprised in the morning when he found his “birthday table”…! The picture is terrible but that’s the best I could do at 6am!

The trucks candles from Wilton were great addition to the most amazing buttermilk “tire cake”.

Happy birthday my sweet boy! <3


ESPAÑOL

¡Mi “bebé” tiene 3 años!

Yo aún siento que su primer año de vida fue súper despacio; luego entre el primer año y los dos años fue un poquito más rápido pero entre los dos y los tres… ¡Guau! ¡El tiempo pasó volando!

Todavía somos nuevitos en San Jose, California como para hacer una fiesta de cumpleaños con invitados, así que decidimos celebrarlo entre nosotros solamente, decorar la casa y preparar una torta especial.

El tema de su cumpleaños fue: Autos y Camiones.

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Preparé toda la decoración la noche anterior para que Marco despertara con una linda sorpresa de su “mesa de cumpleaños”.

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Diseñé estos cartelitos graciosos para pegarlos a los jugos y a los autos.

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Si les gustó la idea, se los doy gratis para descargarlos e imprimirlos directamente. Los carteles amarillos en español lo descargan en este link Yellow Sign y los carteles de la Interestatal 3 genéricos que creé lo descargan en este link Interstate 3 Sign.

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El trencito de madera con su nombre de su fiesta de 2do cumpleaños me sirvió también para la mesa pero le quité la locomotora y el vagón trasero.

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Mi pequeñito estaba super feliz con su sorpresa! El camión de cartón y los autos porta-cupcakes son de la colección Construction Party de Meri-Meri.

Las velitas de camiones de Wilton fueron perfectas para la torta-cubierta ¡más deliciosa que jamás he hecho!

¡Feliz cumpleaños mi dulce y hermoso Totó!

introducing: summer deliciousness

Andrea Casals

In the last weeks, I’ve been studying a little bit about creating patterns and today I want to share with you a new product that I have for sale: scarves! (a *must* for our Northern California weather!)

The illustration is a simple line drawing inspired in the summer deliciousness: cherries & strawberries.

It’s available for sale here.

Soon, it will also be available as a fabric, wall or gift paper here.

*I’d love to have your feedback on this! Feel free to leave your comment below!

DIY gift wrapping paper

Andrea CasalsOne Comment

For this DIY gift-wrapping paper, you just need some markers -I use microns from Sakura and a calligraphy pen- and plain paper.

I had to prepare two very special gifts so for the first one, I chose a Beatles song lyric.

I started writing a phrase in the center of the paper and after that, I completed the empty spaces using different hand-styles and sizes of the lettering.

IMG_4270_2“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

Then, I just used it as a regular gift-wrapping paper.

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Another option that I like to create a special paper from a plain white paper is to draw botanicals on it.

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Finally, I added the name of the person who was going to receive the gift using a calligraphy pen.

IMG_4281_2Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers.

Calligraphy pens and markers are always a good idea. They add a special touch to your everyday lettering even when you don’t know much about calligraphy. I encourage you to try it!

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Here’s another DIY gift wrapping paper idea. 

#nowreading

Andrea Casals2 Comments

I always enjoy learning how other people bears with their own life, since there’s not exclusively one way to live, and that’s might be the main reason why I love reading autobiographic novels.

Last week, I finished reading “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed.

I enjoyed Cheryl’s adventure through the Pacific Coast Trail, all those thoughts and feelings she unravels with the challenges of every mile in the PCT.

Cheryl Strayed is a talented writer because, even though her life story is far from my own, she made me relate to hers and even feel like walking in her shoes.

Illustration inspired by Wild

I enjoyed this book and I’m certainly ready to watch the movie (huge fan of Reese Witherspoon here!).

Last, my #nowreading quote chosen from this book + design created for it:

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Other memorable quotes from this book:

“I could only be who it seemed I had to be”

“What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I’d done something I shouldn’t have? (…) What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn’t have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?”

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Have you seen the movie or read this book? 

#nowreading

Andrea Casals

During the lasts 2 months, I’ve been reading Sunset Park by Paul Auster.

It was my first book from this author. Unfortunately, this book become tough and sometimes even a little boring for me –sorry to disappoint you, definitely not a fan of Auster’s prose– but I liked that I could connect with the book through my dear Brooklyn.

The quote that I chose for this #nowreading is this one:

“It was the best thing that could have happened to him, it was the worst thing that could have happened to him”

Paul Auster – Sunset Park

That’s how wishes work, right? When a wish comes true, it’s so amazing but then… you have to really deal with that! Sometimes we found ourservelves thinking that that was it…. The mere realization as a result but then we really discover that the wish that came true is only the beginning of a new path.

Best and worst… I liked that.

If you want to know about other quotes that I liked from this book, let’s be friends on Goodreads!

See you soon, folks!

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fabric and paper for sale + promo link!

Andrea Casals

Hello friends,

I’m very happy to tell you that some of my designs are now available for sale as gift wrapping paper, wallpapers and fabric! You can buy it here.

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Some of the designs are from the “cute animals: mommy and me” collection and there’s also the “milkshakes, sundaes and floats” design.

show_imageThe cute animals collection makes me think of a nursery, sewing baby/toddler bed sheets with those fabrics and hang an art-print frame with a similar theme illustration on the wall. What do you think? In case you’re interested, I leave you this link so you can have FREE Worldwide Shipping on art-prints and more.

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The sundaes, floats and milkshakes fabric inspire me to sew a blouse or a dress (this also reminds me that I need to improve my sewing skills! lol!).

I know that these are just the very few first steps, the beginning in fabric and gift wrapping paper design but I’m enjoying it so much and I just LOVE the idea of  wearing what I draw. So, I know  that I will do some more designs.  I’ll keep you posted when I upload the new ones!

Thanks friends for the encouragement and the support. I really appreciate it <3

Love,

andreacomenta