The Down Strokes

much cooler on Instagram :

04/17/2020

...and never EVER trust it to be silent, ok? chances are it’s loud and deadly and actually p**p 💩

04/11/2020

I should be looking at my best friend in her (STUNNING) wedding dress today 😢 instead, I’m home alone talking to my plants and doing a photo shoot for the invitations I designed for her special day because I am so proud of how they came out (...and also I have literally nothing else to do) 🌿💌🌱
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the silver lining - she and her hubby decided to prove that love always wins and got married anyway 👰🏼🤵🏼thanks to Zoom, their families and friends got to be there with them (virtually) 🥰
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added bonus for me personally - I got to update one of my truths in two truths and a lie to “I wore a Batman t-shirt to my best friend’s wedding” 😎
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special thanks to (who I know through the bride!) for sharing her expertise on invitations, printing, life, etc. 🖤 she has an amazing talent and a huge heart and you probably want at least 5 things from her shop, just guessing 🤷🏼‍♀️

03/30/2020

in case you need to hear this: today is Monday, and you know what we say about Mondays... 🌵
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it felt really good to make something again (specifically without a plan for what I wanted to do, even after I started painting) and focus ONLY on where my brush connected to the paper. four layers of paint later, I found a sense of peace and power in myself. I know that’s not the case for everyone - we all cope in different ways, and a lot of creatives feel uninspired. for me, working without a plan gave me freedom while trapped in my home, and I SO needed that. hang in there 🖤
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paints used: and
paper: watercolor block from
brush: round 10 and round 40

03/30/2019

popping in for my monthly post to mention that I’m currently booking 2019 and 2020 weddings 🎩💍 invitation suites, signage, es**rt cards, all of it - DM me for details!!
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ink: navy blue
cards:
oblique holder:
nib: Nikko G
📸: @ Santa Barbara, California

02/14/2019

happy Thursday, y’all ✌🏻I’ll be spending this evening with some of my single friends, drinking wine and people watching in our nation’s capital
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paper: 140lb cold press
paint: gansai tambi
brush: cotman one stroke

01/21/2019

my first full wedding project (invites, es**rt cards, signage, and even a photo booth graphic) was for my favorite couple ever and I’m sooo happy with how it all turned out. this mirror was a first for me and I LOVE how it came out 😍 here’s the story...
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CHAPTER ONE: FORGETTING HOW TO CRICUT. my first Cricut project was for Nicola’s bachelorette in August, and I literally haven’t used it since then (because, life). when I went to cut the pieces for this mirror, I genuinely couldn’t remember how to even turn it on, much less load the mat. my memory is horrible and Cricut knowledge was clearly not labeled “IMPORTANT DO NOT SHRED” so oops.
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CHAPTER TWO: TSA THINKS I’M WEIRD. traveling with calligraphy tools is HARD, y’all. they think nibs are weapons, I’ve had a watercolor palette get me pulled for private inspection cause it resembled a bomb (?!)... they don’t get it, it’s fine. this time, I had to pack the pre-cut stickers, transfer paper, and a weeding tool into a cylindrical case for a swell bottle (sealed with duct tape, which I’m sure they LOVED) to keep it from getting bent. they hate me, it’s fine.
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CHAPTER THREE: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN. because of the size of the mirror, I had to cut some of the bigger lines in sections (“wel” was separate from “come” and “Nicola” was separate from “& Nick”) but they needed to be on the same line when applied. I assumed we could use a laser level... except when we tried, it turns out the laser is just reflected by the mirror and won’t give you a line 🤦🏻‍♀️ SO we got creative, and the groom helped me make guides we could wipe off after application.
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I hope I get to do more of these soon cause seeing the final product is SOOO satisfying after all the planning!! sooo... who just got engaged?! 😉💍

12/02/2018

throwback to what I think is my first-ever Real-Time Lettering video from July 2017!! I definitely wasn’t the first to post a real-time lettering video, but I started noticing that I really liked watching calligraphy at normal speed, and wondered if anyone else did, too. I made the RTL account January of 2018, and it turns out there are (at least) ✨40,000✨ of you who get it. shout out to Desert + Vine and The Lettering Fern who are just amazing and volunteered to help out without really knowing what they were getting into 😂
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pens: Pentel of America fude touch brush pen
ink: Royal Talens North America ecoline watercolor

11/29/2018

I know I’m early to the party here, but this is one of my resolutions for 2019. in 2018, I wanted to fail big. it was about forcing myself to try new things – whether that was exploring a new medium (shout out to for teaching me about dirty pours - she has a FULLY DEVELOPED CLASS NOW and I can personally vouch for her skill in teaching, so go check her out), developing a new style of lettering, working on a new subject matter that I’ve never painted before, or, ya know, launching a new business and brand (.co) – and allowing myself a bit of grace, allowing myself to NOT succeed at everything, and allowing myself to still be proud for trying.
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in 2019, I want to start “failing bigger” – the bigger your goals, the harder you push yourself for them. even if you fail, chances are the end result will still be better than if you set a goal only because you KNEW you could achieve it.
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here’s an example: if you KNOW you always get 10 orders on Etsy a month, a good goal is to stretch for 15, but a BIG goal would be to push for 30 a month. the difference? a 200% increase compared to a 50% increase, (aka 💰). even if you fall short of your big goal at 20 orders in a month, you’re increasing by 100% from where you were!!
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in 2019, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone in a couple big ways. stay tuned for some big announcements 😉

11/15/2018

when you get to write es**rt cards for a wedding you’re attending, it’s like a little teaser of all the happy to come 🥰 something to keep in mind when you hit a wall in the middle of a big wedding commission...
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these are so much more than names. these names mean a local friend who I haven’t seen in too long, probably the last time I’ll write my best friend’s maiden name, my future brother-in-law who is my actual favorite, a new hubby, two idols-turned-friends from my a ca****la days, my favorite southern belle, and my favorite southern beau will be my dinner companions after witnessing our beautiful bride say I do to the love of her life 😍
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video: 12x speed (this is 11min+)
oblique holder:
nib: blue pumpkin
ink: iridescent copperplate gold
laser grid: AKA MY SAVIOR

10/15/2018

y’all got a kick out of this SUPER SPEED version of my pumpkin process video so here it is in all its glory 🎃
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speed: idk it’s 45 minutes compressed to 13 seconds so like rull fu**in fast
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paint: gansai tambi
brush: round 10
paper: cold press watercolor block

08/12/2018

one more day in Vegas for my best friend’s bachelorette!! it’s been 105+ every day but somehow doesn’t feel nearly as hot as muggy DC 💁🏻‍♀️
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last week, I finally broke out my and made these minimalist kitty name stickers for our tumblers to go with the weekend’s theme and I love how they came out 😻
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gonna add customizable bachelorette party goodies to the ever-growing list of products to add to my shop whenever I launch it cause this stuff was actually so fun to make!! @ Las Vegas, Nevada

Address

Santa Barbara, CA
93101–93103, 93105–93111, 93116–93118, 93120–93121, 93130, 93140, 93150,

Website

http://www.thedownstrokes.com/

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