Posts in Freelance Illustrations
Launched: Limited Edition Nursery Prints!

They're here, they're here! My limited edition prints.  
Well, they've been here for a while, but you know... baby. 

I went with DStudio here in the UK, after my friend and artist Sabra recommended them, and they turned out really lovely. They're signed and numbered giclée prints on thick, nicely textured, Hahnemühle William Turner 310gsm. 

There's five different prints, only ten prints each and would make a lovely gift for parents-to-be, parents, grandparents, or just to decorate kid's rooms. 

Launched: Customizable Baby Announcements

Some of you may have caught a glimpse of this in my Etsy shop, but I quietly launched a new line of customizable baby announcements. 

Unlike most of the commissioned work I do, which is fully personalized (and therefore pricey), these baby announcements are pre-designed (and cheaper). The illustrations and design stays the same, and all you need to do is buy the listing from me, send me your baby's name and birth details, and I'll hand letter the cards for you. You'll receive your downloadable PDF, ready for print, within 48 hours. 

What do you think? Is this something you would be interested in? What about customizable posters and prints like this for baby's rooms? Any animals you're missing? Would love to hear your feedback!

If you're interested in buying a customizable baby announcement, please visit my Etsy shop!

Commissions: Farmyard Wedding Season

I am not sure about you, but in my world the months between June and September are Wedding Central over here. Which means I've been busy and did a few commissions for wedding invites! Because life has been a bit overwhelming lately (as you've been able to read all about in my last two journal updates on this blog), I've taken very few external commissions, so these are all for friends and family. 


Hester & Rutger: Natural Minimalist

The first set of invites were for my very own brother and (now) sister in law! Now, this wasn't an easy commission. I did their engagement party invite a while ago, but they wanted something quite different this time around. The bride, who is a photographer and quite creative herself, actually had a very clear idea of what she wanted and had sketched it all out, but I just couldn't make it work. The style wasn't a fit for mine and it just looked awkward. Fortunately, they had a quite elaborate Pinterest board set up, which I then translated into this minimalist nature-inspired card. It was a perfect fit for their gorgeous and relaxed Dutch farm wedding (pictures on their photographer's blog here). I also did a few extra bits for them: a separate invite for dinner, and empty notecards for personal messages to each one of the guests. 


Hannah & Ed: A Countryside Wedding

The second invite I worked on was for my dear friends Hannah & Ed. I met Hannah a few years ago at work and we've been fast friends ever since. She's a one of a kind, and one of the kindest people I know. She also is Mrs. British Countryside herself, who has acted as my guide to British culture and countryside over these past few years. Her wedding took place in their gorgeous local village church, followed by a feast in a tent set up in the field by the dairy farm they live on. The entire tent was decorated with vintage farmyard equipment (her husband is a mechanic), hay bales, and hops. Hops are local to the area and also featured heavily in the designs I did for them. 

I did a few extra bits for them as well, including the Order of Service booklets, and custom wine labels! I managed to bring a few bottles home (for the portfolio, of course), and let me just say I am definitely open for more commissions like these. Wine label designer, could that be a full time job?


Dirk & Sabine: A WACOM TABLET WITH FEELINGS

This final commission I almost feel bad for including here, as I don't feel like I properly designed this one. The bride and groom (my brother and sister in law) had this design all sketched out and just needed someone to turn this into reality, which I did. The only credit I will take is picking out the font, which is different from what they originally picked. Still, they were happy with the designs and ultimately that is why I love designing wedding invites: you get to be a special part of people's celebrations. 

Hope you enjoyed that update! 
If you're interested in commissioning a wedding invite or save the date, please do send me a message or check out my Etsy shop

Designed: Jacob's Birth Announcement

Even though we live in London, and our son will no doubt grow up to be a Londoner (provided we stay here), we are, of course, a Dutch family. We speak Dutch at home, eat stamppot when it gets cold, and import our hagelslag (yes, grown men eat this on their toast for breakfast) by the boatload. 

Another Dutch tradition we chose to honor, was sending out a geboortekaartje after Jacob was born. I think the correct translation is 'birth announcement', although I've been met with many blank stares by my British colleagues when talking about these cards.

I created the design months before Jacob actually arrived (as soon as we'd decided on the name) and then after my c-section I just had to fill out the few missing details like his birth weight and time. The illustration was inspired by Mr. Floor's love of sailing, our shared love of travel, and the obvious symbolism of life being a journey. The design was based on modernist illustrators like Charlie Harper. The poem on the back (in Dutch) is a poem by a Dutch comedian, singer, and writer Toon Hermans. It stresses the importance of dreaming a little in life. 

I had the cards printed by Moo, as I've been content with their quality in the past and they're local to London (and I actually have visited their offices and printing presses for work a few years ago). I wanted the card to be something special and heavy; something people might hold on to for a bit, and the thick 'luxe' card stock with colored seam were perfect. 

I'd written all the envelopes beforehand (mat leave, y'all, it's a precious thing), and we sent out the cards a week after Jacob was born. The stamp on the back is from The English Stamp Company (who create lovely bespoke stamps, I can recommend them). 

So that's the story behind Jacob's birth announcement! Much better than a Facebook post, no?

Commissions: All in the Family

Lately, I've been trying to hold off on taking on too many commissions. I've been doing a lot of travel and the pregnancy is taking up its fair share of energy as well. I've got one more wedding invite to finish before my maternity leave, but other than that I've mostly been working on a baby book for our little one and trying to keep up my own journal pages.

Here's two commissions I did do this past year, both for family. I also hand lettered 350 place cards for a friend's wedding (which was surprisingly relaxing), but I forgot to take pictures.

Samme's Born!

I had the honor of designing my nephew's birth announcement. He was born back in November, and he's the absolute cutest of course. I love working with my brother and sister in law, as they always know exactly what they like and don't like. It helps when people have a clear idea of what they have in mind (and have somewhat of an understanding of the design process). 

Party Invite

Exiting things are happening in my family, as my youngest brother is getting married next year. Because our stepmom has recently fallen quite ill, and we're not sure how long we'll still have her with us, my brother and soon-to-be sister in law decided to organize a small gathering for all of the parents in honor of them getting their wedding license. We had to throw this one together in quite a rush, so we used a drawing I made of them in my journal before from when they got engaged (see here) and turned it into an invite. It was total card blanche from their end, so this went to press with only minor adjustments. 

Without Pretend

That breakup that left you breathless. That friendship (or was it more?) that faded and left you grasping for answers. That lover you lost through no or all fault of your own. We all have unresolved feelings about someone or some situation, I'm sure.

© Anna Denise Floor

Which perhaps is why I used no less than seventeen exclamation marks in my reply to Erin when she asked me to illustrate the second volume of her project 'Portraits'. 'Portraits' is a heartfelt project that aims to honor memories and exorcise unresolved feelings. The characters profiled in the volumes are citizens of pretend spaces we’ve created between past and future, fiction and memory.

It's one thing to be asked to collaborate with someone you respect and admire, it's another to work with them on something that feels both personal and important. The second volume of 'Portraits' on Without Pretend is illustrated by yours truly and I invite you to check them out. 

Bring tissues. 

© Anna Denise Floor

Healing Meals: Free Recipe - Lemon Lettuce Lassi

 © Kyra de Vreeze & Anna Denise Floor - Healing Meals - October 2014

Happy weekend everyone!
Hope you're all having an amazing day so far, but if not, let me make things all better by giving you a free healthy recipe to get going today! This fresh lemon lettuce lassi recipe is based on all the medicinal magic that romaine lettuce has got to offer. 

This recipe is featured in the e-cookbook 'Healing Meals' written by Kyra de Vreeze and illustrated by moi. You can buy the entire e-book with over 25 recipes in our Etsy store! All proceeds go directly to us, so by purchasing a copy, you're not just doing your body a favor, you're also supporting us as independent publishers of yummy stuff (and their adorable babies and kittens, just saying)! 

© Kyra de Vreeze & Anna Denise Floor - Healing Meals - October 2014 -- Click image to enlarge!

For sale now: 'Healing Meals' on Etsy

"What's that little star for?" I asked when my friend Kyra randomly added a * to the title of our book? "That's the sparkle / tear in our eye from all the hard work and jet laggy-ness," she answered. 

Boy, was she right. It's been a long time since I've felt this tired, but two days after returning from my second US trip in a months (so many stories and drawings to share! Soon!), I am beyond thrilled (and a little shaky) to announce the launch of our first e-cookbook Healing Meals. 

The book is available as a digital download and all recipes are vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, and fun to make. The 25 recipes all have one single ingredient as its centerpiece with all the information you need to get the most flavor and nutritional value out of each, and gives you a straightforward list of their individual medicinal benefits. 

So, you know. Buy it now. Click the big button! Shoo!

Sneak Peek: 'Healing Meals' Illustrated e-Cookbook

YOU GUYS! I am so excited! If you happen to follow me on Facebook, you've already seen bits and pieces of the big news floating around, but here's the official official actual real announcement: on October 21st 'Healing Meals', an e-cookbook written and photographed by the award-winning author, naturopath, food photographer & bodymind chef Kyra de Vreeze and illustrated and designed by me (aaah!) will hit the Etsy shop

After a long summer filled with writing, styling, drawing, writing, and tasting we're so incredibly proud to present you with the official cover design. Tadaaa!

© Anna Denise Floor & Kyra de Vreeze

A Little Bit About 'Healing Meals'

In this book, Kyra highlights one ingredient at a time (broccoli, carrot, eggplant, kombu, romaine, shiitake, and 19 more - all illustrated by yours truly, of course) and shows you how tasty and healthy these vegetables actually are. It includes tips on cooking techniques that will help you get the most nutritional value out of each of them and provides you with a straight-forward list of their individual medicinal benefits. 

Did you know the healthiest way to prepare broccoli is by steaming it for 5 minutes? and did you know this technique will boost its wound healing, immune enhancing & detoxifying properties? 

'Healing Meals' features ingredients that promote mental clarity, glowing skin, optimal metabolism & healthy joints. there are ingredients that will help heal arthritis, edema, PMS, restlessness, candida, and insomnia. Kyra shows you which ingredient will act as preventative medicine & what it can be used for, as their healing powers are endless.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You don't have time. You have a job. Children. Hobbies. You need to save the world. Go dancing with friends. Watch a bunch of cat videos. We do to. So we made sure you don't need to have forever to make your meals magical. Good food CAN be quick, simple, and tasty at the same time. We promise.

Most recipes featured in ‘Healing Meals’ take a mere 15 minutes to prepare and only need a maximum of 10 easy and affordable ingredients.

So in short: good, healthy food AND a social life. Eat that!

Bits & Bobs

I would actually never say 'bits and bobs', but in preparation of our move to London I'm trying to catch up on British slang. Obviously, this will most likely turn out to be a disaster in which I say mostly Irish or Australian things in entirely wrong contexts with a terrible faux-British accent (one person actually said my British accent sounded like a drunk American trying to speak French, but hey - I happen to like Americans who at least try to speak French so whatevs, brah)  and lose more friends than make them, but failure is the key to success, no?

Anyhow! Here are some bits:

© Anna Denise Floor & Kyra de Vreeze - Click to enlarge

© Anna Denise Floor

I'M WORKING ON A COOKBOOK with the talented and inspirational Kyra de Vreeze!!!
We're keeping most of it a secret, but it's going to be an e-book, in English, available online starting sometime late September. The book will feature quick, easy, and tasty recipes (99% vegan & gluten free), tons of information on health benefits and nutritional values, plus plenty of essential culinary inspiration. All of the recipes and photography are done by Kyra, who has written three amazing books (two of which I have and use often) on food as finger-licking medicine. I am working on the accompanying illustrations and layout, which means I get to draw food all day! Yay!

I'm also working on a private project - ILLUSTRATING A CHILDREN'S BOOK written by my brother's father-in-law. It's a time consuming process as I am determined to make the backgrounds look amazing and well, that means I spend most of my free time drawing leaves. It's a miracle I still know what those look like. Obviously, they look like multi-colored stripes. We'll first just print copies of the book for ourselves, but if there's demand - who knows!

And now for some bobs!

So, that's all for today, but fret not - I've also been working on a boatload of new journal pages that I'll share with you soon. (If you wonder why I'm so productive these days, it's because I've developed a cocaine habit, obviously. No, I kid. I'm way too cheap to maintain those kinds of habits. It's vacation, folks, vacation. It's the cocaine of the people who are scared of drugs, haven't you heard?)

Happy weekend, all!

P & L's Wedding Invite
lp-1.jpg

Whenever people ask me who most inspire me (which is, like, all the time, duh), I never have to think for very long. For me, it's my two (younger) brothers. Both of them, in very different ways, are very special human beings and it's been a privilege to grow up with them and learn from them. It's the reason why I asked the two of them to be my witnesses at my wedding. I have such deep respect and love for them both. 

This spring, my brother Peter is getting married to his high school sweetheart, Lisanne, and I not only have the honor of being one of their witnesses, but I also had the pleasure of designing the invites for their special day. I must admit, though, I was a bit nervous. It always feels like a tremendous responsibility, but in this case, even more so. Peter and Lisanne as individuals and as a couple are amazing to be around. They treat each other with such love, mutual respect, and absolute honesty - it's refreshing and it goes a long way in explaining how they've managed to grow together these past eleven years, instead of growing apart, which so often happens. Bringing love, respect, and honesty (!) to the table is something I strive for in all of my relationships and mostly my marriage, and I think of them often as an example.

lp-3.jpg

Long story short: this invite needed to be perfect. And while I'm not sure it is as perfect as it could be (am I ever sure?), it seems to have done the job for them :-)

Stella (6), Lisanne's niece, made the drawing of the wedding pair, I added the design and park bench illustration. The exact shade of green was the focal point of our discussions (everything else pretty much stayed the same from the first version), which is funny because I just painted my kitchen wall green. And bathroom wall. And bedroom wall. Which may or may not have been a coincidence. 


If you're interested in getting your wedding invite done, check out my Etsy shop here, contact me here, or check out more images and examples here

Valentines Sale: You & Me, Babe

I'm not saying you should buy this card. I'm saying you should probably buy five :-) (for the price of four). 

One can never show too much love on Valentine's day, 'est pas?

PS: I also do custom printable cards and portraits! Just contact me via my Etsy shop!

Absolute Beginners

Journal page © Anna Denise Floor

Learning new things really is one of my favorite things in life, but it also means my list of things I suck at is longer than most people's. 

Soccer? Disaster. Knitting? Ehm. Humbling? Tennis? A chapter in my life we will not speak of ever again. Walking? An ongoing battle. 

But mostly - learning new things is just great fun and good practice of cultivating your 'beginners mind'. Some things I learned this week: I relearned that I actually love skiing and am pretty unafraid (we even did some little jumps!), even though I'm an absolute beginner of course . I also learned that my husband is a great teacher when I allow him to teach me new things (heh. Not that I'm usually stubborn or anything...) and that ski pants don't have to make your butt look unattractive (I know right, this was totally holding me back as well). I found out (again), that I'm apparently quite attached to my old boring hairdo. Ah. Such important life lessons here. Next up: enlightenment.  BAM! 

Oh oh! 

Impression of 'me' wearing 'The Knit Kid', for Oh Marie! © Anna Denise Floor

Oh, oh, oh hold on! Before we go there - I wrote/drew a post for the Oh Marie blog, where I discuss and illustrate my Etsy crushes. It'll be a monthly installment, and first up is my ongoing love for The Knit Kid. Read the post here!

Also, if you've never heard of Oh Marie!, go check it out. It's an amazing (free!) online magazine with tons of gorgeous photography, great articles, and DIY magic. Their last issue (#5) was just published and it's once again stunning. Check it out here.

Parasites

Oh! I totally forgot to show you guys these beauties. They accompanied an article on the healing powers of parasites (read it here) in our UCAA alumni magazine Talking Post. Great fun (especially the research bit). 

Amsterdam Film Week: Iron Picker & TS Spivet

As I explained in my previous post, I got to go to the Amsterdam Film Week (for frizzles!) and draw my movie reviews for VERS magazine. After reviewing 'Argo', I went to see two more movies. 

© Anna Denise Floor for VERS

'An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker' is beautifully filmed, but I found the film somewhat slow paced and the acting a little bland. The movie depicts the life of a Roma family. The mother cooks, cleans, and tends to their two hyperactive kids, while her husband picks up scrap metal from abandoned cars and junkyards. A hard life that gets worse when the wife falls ill and needs an expensive operation to survive. They can't afford the operation and a frantic search for money ensues. Dramatic, to say the least, but the non-professional actors re-enacting bits of their own life, seemed somewhat camera-shy and unable to conjure the emotions they must have felt going through the ordeal the first time. 

© Anna Denise Floor for VERS


The third and final movie we got to see was 'The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet', by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who also directed Amélie. Knowing this, I probably was biased before I even went to see this movie, but it did not disappoint. I laughed, I cried, I want to see it again. It's a story about a brilliant young boy, leaving his family to pick up a science award in Washington, DC. It's kind of Amélie meets Moonrise Kingdom. Full of beautiful colors, animations, jokes, and images. A feast for the eye. 

 

I want to thank VERS magazine for this awesome challenge, as well as the Amsterdam Film Week. Yay!

 

Amsterdam Film Week: Argo

 © Anna Denise Floor for VERS

During the Amsterdam Film Week you get to watch all of last year's 'top movies' again on the big screen, plus some smaller productions that haven't gotten enough airtime. Great news for busy people like myself, who always miss out on something awesome.

This year was even better for me, as I was asked by VERS magazine to go see three movies, and draw my reviews of them! Great fun, as knowing you'll have to draw a key scene really changes your perception.

Here's the first one for Argo, which I loved. Two more to follow, so check out VERS magazine here, or follow them on Facebook!

N&J's Wedding Invites

Nuria & Jochem's Save the Date © Anna Denise Floor

This summer, my best friend Nuria got married three days before we eloped (hehe). I was lucky to be one of her witnesses, and, on top of this, had the honor to create their wedding invites. I've done a few now, and I absolutely love doing them. It's such a special thing, to create something so personal for what's one of the most important moment's in people's lives. Needless to say, I was feeling the pressure, but I'm actually pretty proud of how they turned out.

For the 'Save the Date', we decided to base it off of the location in South America (Point Pirulil on Isla Grande de Chiloé to be exact) where (her) Jochem got on one knee and proposed. My friends are big travelers and the proposal came near the end of their 9-month trip around the world. Awww...

The invites had to have a weddingish food-theme - traditional but fun, and mostly delicious. They hosted their wedding at a gorgeous historical farm / restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and got married amidst the zucchini flowers growing in their organic vegetable garden. Fitting, as we're dealing with two total vegetarian food snobs here. The farm is in the background here.

Nuria & Jochem's Wedding Invite © Anna Denise Floor

Nuria and Jochem's Thank You Cards © Anna Denise Floor

Screen Shot 2013-10-18 at 6.40.43 PM.png

The food was marvelous, as was the wine, and we turned the thank you card into a food fest as well. Nuria and Jochem left for their Italian honeymoon right after, so we included some more food, pasta, and a Fiat 500 in the design.

 

Overall, I'm happy with the result, but mostly - I'm just so glad I got to do this for my dear friends and helped to make their special day. It's such an honor. 

Ok. That made me feel the feels. I'm out.
Have a fun weekend everyone, and see you soon! 

 

Vers = Fresh

Drawings in Vers Magazine. © Anna Denise Floor

Last week saw the start of the Dutch Film Festival in my hometown. Tons of Dutch celebrities I don't recognize are said to roam the cobblestoned streets, cool looking hipster folk crowd the bars I never go to at night, and I myself walked the red carpet (it was the only way to get into the theater and kind of hard to avoid). Exciting times. 

Well, actually yeah, kind of. Because the new magazine VERS ('Fresh') was presented at said festival. VERS is a magazine for 'nieuwe beeldmakers', which really doesn't translate very well, but in short: it's a magazine for those in the business of creating images or pictures, may it be film, photography, illustration, you name it.

And guess who had the honor to not only create two portraits of the editors , but also a page filling comic on the stresses of 'stepping out of your comfort zone' when self-promoting? 

 © Anna Denise Floor for VERS 

The answer was 'me', of course. But I know you knew that. 

I'm curious, though, if you're in the business of self-promotion: what makes you feel uncomfortable when it comes to doing your own marketing? Or is it 'anything goes'? 

Let me know!