Blogger Portait #10: Meet Tiffany of Style Honestly

Woo! It’s been ages since I posted a Blogger Portrait. This one has actually been done for quite awhile, but the blog was on hiatus for a bit, and I decided to wait until she was back in action before posting the feature. So without further ado. . .

Meet Tiffany of Style Honestly!

This portrait is actually my most favorite of the ones I’ve done this year. Everything about it came our just like I’d hoped, which was great as it included three challenging things: glasses (I can never get the symmetry right), the crocheted/knit hat (I’ve drawn them before, but they are rough), and dreadlocks (which I’ve never drawn before). But the whole thing came together so quickly and easily; it was magical. I loved this reference photo too – unique framing, and Tiffany is just stunning! So, onto her blog.

Style Honestly is one of the few fashion blogs I follow. Why hers? She blogs about thrifted fashion! I love that. She creates the cutest looks, all from thrift shop clothes. Fantastic. She even has a series called Thrifty Tips Thursday, packed with hints about thrift shopping (which can be overwhelming when you start. So many racks of clothes!).

Also, I love that even though her focus is fashion, her personality shines through in her posts. It isn’t just shots of her in outfits; she writes about such wonderful things like acceptance, body love, and (as her blog tagline says) embracing the imperfectly beautiful things in life. What’s not to love?

So head over to her blog, welcome her back to the blogosphere, and leave some love!

Blogger Portraits is a series I created as a way to combine my love of portrait art and feature other blogs. I am in no way being compensated for these features; I just like to spread the blog love!

Blogger Portrait #5: Meet Sarah of Chase Photography!

This weeks blogger portrait is a unique one. It’s the first blog that has a dedicated focus – photography!

Meet Sarah, of Chase Photography.

My 8B pencils were not happy with me after this one! But I really like how it turned out. The photo ref had a lot shadows that were a little intimidating to render, but it all worked out!

Sarah’s blog is focused on photography, and many different aspects of it. She specializes in child/family photography, and besides showcasing her own (beautiful) work, she shares lots of different photo tips! Everything from ways to photograph little ones, to outfit tips, and even makeup tips (which I am always happy to learn more about!)

She also has posts about her daily life with her son and even the occasional yummy healthy recipe. Why do I love it? Really, my favorite part is seeing her photos. They are so gorgeous. It is rare that I don’t see one of her photos and immediately want to draw it. In fact, on a couple occasions, I have! She posts photos from her sessions all the time, and I love browsing through them!

Sarah and I actually knew each other back in gradeschool, and have since reconnected through the magic of Facebook. She too has a little one, and we’ve had a couple playdates with our kiddos! Sarah ended up snapping some photos when they came up for a visit, and the results are just gorgeous!

I love black and white photography!

Going into it, I didn’t think she was going to get any good ones (shows what I know!). My miss isn’t too into picture taking at the moment, and was so not into sitting still or doing anything. But Sarah still managed to capture some great ones, including my new favorite picture of my daughter.

Stunning! Although I’m probably a little biased. So go stop by Chase Photography, browse some beautiful photographs, and leave some love!

Another blogger portrait next Monday!

-Kayly

Blogger Portrait #4: Meet Polly of This Enchanted Pixie

This week’s blogger portrait is one of the first blogs I ever started following.

Meet Polly, of This Enchanted Pixie!

I loved doing this portrait, but was nervous about it too. I knew I wanted to do the overlay of color, but since it was something new, it was a little nerve wracking! Luckily, it turned out looking just the way I wanted it to – on the first try no less! I’m definitely incorporating it other portraits too.

Polly blogs across the pond in the UK, and I love that it is full of personal posts. She blogs about her life with her husband and three daughters and all they do! She also shares recipes, style posts, product reviews, and more.

The personal aspect of This Enchanted Pixie is really what drew me in when I first went there. Polly is always so genuine, and I love seeing the adventures she has with her kiddos! She also makes and sells beautiful jewelry. You know how I love handmade, and I can personally vouch for the quality and beauty of her jewelry – I bought earrings for both myself and my mum this past Christmas and they are so lovely! Check out her shop and see all the lovelies for yourself.

Polly has quite a few series, my favorite being Things I Love – a collection of items (often handmade) that she’s been eyeing on the internet. There’s always something I end up wanting too! Plus she often shares awesome DIY natural bath and body recipes – she even published an ebook about it called Herbs and Essential Oils. It’s packed with amazing recipes for beauty products, and cleaners for the house too!

A couple of my favorite posts:
DIY Lotion Bars
Mamaheart This is actually on ongoing series (one I took part in!).
Make sure you stop by This Enchanted Pixie, look around, and leave some love!

-Kayly

Blogger Portraits is a series I created as a way to combine my love of portrait art and feature other blogs. I am in no way being compensated for these features; I just like to spread the blog love!

Blogger Portrait #3: Meet Mandy of Chocolate and Cream Cake

Another Monday, another blogger portrait!

Today, I’d like you to meet Mandy of Chocolate and Cream Cake.

I think her portrait is my favorite I’ve done so far. Mainly because it came together so easily and I was expecting it to be difficult! The details just worked out so much better than I thought they would, and it was a great feeling. As you may be realizing, I like selecting references with lots of personality, and this one was no different!

What do I like about Chocolate and Cream Cake? Initially, the title drew me in. I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t look at a blog with that title?! Once arriving and poking about for a bit, I realized I’d stumbled upon my fist blog that is primarily dedicated to nerdy interests. So I was practically jumping for joy. Being a giant nerd myself, her posts are always right up my alley.

She also runs my favorites series I’ve ever found on a blog so far: Nerd News. This (mostly) weekly series covers every nerd topic you can think of from movies and TV, to tech and science. It’s fantastic. I have discovered so many fabulous/hilarious/intriguing things from that series.

Chocolate and Cream Cake is also home to another of my favorite series: Haiku Revieu. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Movie reviews, summed up with a haiku at the beginning of the post. Brilliant.

Besides her awesome series, Mandy posts updates about her life and things happening from a personal aspect which I always appreciate. I think blogging is a very personal endeavor, so feeling like there really is a living, breathing, real person behind the blog is pretty much a necessity for me.

So go visit Chocolate and Cream Cake, grab some nerd education, leave some love, and enjoy! And tune in for another portrait next Monday!

-Kayly

Blogger Portrait #2: Meet Kristin from My Life As A Teacup

Time for another blogger portrait!

Meet Kristin of My Life As A Teacup.

This was a super fun one to do. Kristin was kind enough to send me multiple photos to choose from (which was quite hard!) but I settled with this one for a few reasons. Mainly, I felt it captured the essence of her personality that I get from reading her blog. Someone who is comfortable with herself and her style; a little quirky perhaps in a very endearing way. Now, since I don’t know Kristin personally that could be 100% wrong, but the original photo gave me that impression and I wanted to capture it.

What drew me to her blog? A more apt question would be what didn’t! Much like last week’s blogger portrait, I really like that you  know she is a real person behind her blog. And the majority (as in I’d estimate at least 98%) of her posts are all subjects I’m interested in! One of the first posts I ever read on her blog was this Batman for Beginners post. After reading it, I knew I was going to love her blog. While her topics vary, a lot of them are literature-based which, being an avid reader, I love. I’ve added many a book to my Goodreads lists thanks to her posts! She is also where I discovered the 30 Days of Lists Project, which I absolutely adore!

Kristin also has great post series. They range from a weekly gratitude post, links to cool things around the internet, and my favorite one: For the Love of a Linguaphile. It’s a very simple series – every week she posts one word and it’s definition. Some are words I know, but most I don’t and I love learning new words to add into my vocabulary! Some examples that I have loved learning:

aubade
alacrity
penurious

There really isn’t a thing about her blog I don’t like. She is an excellent writer which makes her posts even better. She just posted a personal essay she wrote about her hometown of Pittsburg, and it was great! Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to read more of them! I definitely recommend you stop by, look around, leave some love, and start following along.

Who will next Monday bring? Come back and see!

-Kayly

Blogger Portrait #1: Alycia

Blogger Portrait #1: Meet Alycia of Habitual Homebody

It’s launch day for a new series! This is most definitely my favorite series I’m starting on My Open Sketchbook. I wanted a way to feature other blogs I love that wasn’t just a post with a link to another blog on it. I wanted to feel more involved, and to incorporate my interests with the post. It’s no secret that I love drawing portraits. So I came up with The Blogger Portrait series. I emailed some of my favorite bloggers and asked if I could draw a portrait of them to go along with a feature of their blog. And thankfully, no one thought I was a weird stalker person for asking to use personal photos and then draw them – bonus! So without further ado, my first Blogger Portrait.

Meet Alycia, of Habitual Homebody.

I began following Habitual Homebody in the early months of 2013, back before I’d ever even made a WordPress account. Blogging was still just a terrifying endeavor in the back of my mind. Her blog covers a range of topics from daily life, to crochet projects, to funny things on the internet.

What do I like about her blog? This may sound cheesy, but my favorite part about Habitual Homebody is that Alycia is very real and honest. Her posts aren’t bullshit. There are blogs out there that you read, and you know they only cover the happy dapper things about the persons life, or they just don’t have much personality, and Habitual Homebody is the opposite of that. When things suck, she’ll say so. When things are awesome, she’ll say that too. I found (and still find) that not only refreshing, but inspiring as someone who was terrified to write a word on such a public forum! Hers was the first blog I ever found where I felt a real person was behind it, not some idealistic representation of life.

My favorite series she has is her Bookmark Dumps. Completely random things she finds online to share – I love that! Whether it’s quirky products, DIY, or funny videos there is always something I enjoy. I also love seeing her crochet projects. I don’t crochet myself, but I’m a lover of handmade and crafts, and I take joy in seeing what other people make!

A few posts I’ve thoroughly enjoyed:

This Bookmark Dump
Taking Stock
10 Things I Learned in 2013
Giant Subscription Box List

So pop by, leave some love, and hopefully start following along with Habitual Homebody!
Tune in next Monday for another blogger portrait!
-Kayly