[The Insta Life] Artsy Ways

With the school year coming to an end (as well as my undergraduate career), I'm beginning to turn towards what I like to call the artsy-sometimes hipster-sometimes granola lifestyle I actually wish to pursue. I've haven't fully articulated my idea of happiness, but it involves me with fabulous wavy hair riding a bicycle home from the farmer's market, fresh groceries in my reusable burlap sack, ready to make smoothies before turning into to write for the afternoon. Or paint. Or sketch. Anyhow now that I have time and energy to devote to my arts side a little more (it's been sorely neglected for like eight years), I've been taking full advantage.

1. Spring has sprung! Those gorgeous purple flowers were blooming outside the literary house on my way in to work one day. They came right after an awful storm, and it was such a breath of fresh air to have them around. It was a reminder that cold days are over for now.
2. Mini Cupcakes: A girl I work with brought these in after her aunt in NYC sent them to her for her birthday. They are possibly the cutest and most delicious cupcakes I have ever seen and tasted. They're from Baked by Melissa and they have all kinds of flavors that you can just pop into your mouth.
3. My First Broadside! I finally printed the beautiful broadside for my school's foreign literary magazine. My friend, Clair, drew the illustration, and I, with a lot of help, designed the PDF. We printed it on this gorgeous, creamy paper (Arches, I believe?) with deckle edges. I feels like a treasure map.
4. Paste Paper: Such an easy activity! Mix cornstarch and water to make a paste. Then mix with acryllic paint and go to town on heavier paper (make sure you wet the paper first). Use plastic combs, sponges, anything to create texture. So easy and so relaxing.
5. Close Up:  Here's a close-up of one of my favorites! I used  bright blue paint and did dots of gold.
6. Printing my Journal: The machine as it's about to print gold lettering on the journals I worked on over the past year.
7. The Waterfront: A view of the water during my run. Going to miss this the most when leaving Chestertown!
8. Graze: So Facebook has kept popping up this offer for delivery snacks. It's normally $6 a box, but for the first time it'd only be $1. So, of course, I tried it. I've really loved my box so far. I've tried the dry apple and toffee as well as this pretzel and pumpkin seed mix. I need more inventive ways to snack (and healthier) and I love the idea of this box!
9. Watercolor: My friend, Hilary, has been instagramming her watercolors lately, and I felt inspired to try a hand at my own. I've been sketching a little here and there, but as I try to take my travel like more seriously, I want to be able to create these little watercolors for myself. I might be taking a page out of the nineteenth century as well... Anyhow, this was my first attempt! Shaky, but we're getting there.