Hello friends! This post is a bit of a mish mash of personal updates, creativity while on vacation & travelling, and a free watercolor floral iPhone wallpaper featuring summery hydrangeas and roses and which features an inspirational quote.
Back from a short Vacation in Maldives
I went to Maldives for a short 5 day break with my husband. We stayed at Vilamendhoo which is a lovely, lovely island resort and I highly recommend it. Surrounded by crystal clear turquoise blue water, we spent our days relaxing on our loungers under palm trees, reading books, swimming (or, in my case, simply floating on a pool ring as I can’t swim!!!), walking around the island and admiring the lovely sights and enjoying the sea breeze. At night the skies came alive with a million sparkly stars. I really miss the bright wonderful starry night skies which one can see so easily in the countryside and in areas without much light pollution like in cities.
Also, ladies, this Resort offers a FREE photoshoot!!!! This was a total surprise, and I was so happy about it, because I could never have convinced my husband to voluntarily do a shoot with me, haha! So when we were told we have a voucher for a free shoot, and my husband saw my face light up (I LOVE photos, ha!), he had no choice but to comply :) Here are two of the photos from the shoot:
Well, now I am back from that much needed break (although mentally a part of me is still there and I can’t stop stop myself from escaping into bouts of daydreams about my next break). What do you do to get over the sadness which sets on after a lovely vacation? For me it’s jumping right into planning the next one no matter how far away that might be.
Creativity While on Vacation
Usually, I carve time out during my vacations to create things.
I love photography, so I spend a good amount of time doing that, and then editing the images. Some times I do stock photography shoots for branding templates.
Have you seen this set of Marble & Peonies styled stock photos? This was shot in Nice, France!
The olive branches in this Botanic styled stock & social media template kit were foraged from a little olive tree in Rome :D
I drew the rough sketches of these botanical illustrations in Venice!
This holiday was a bit different though. I didn’t really create much (except a few iPhone photos). I was taking a break after November 2018, and I think I needed to just not do anything and rest. Make no mistake, I had a little list written out titled “Vacation Activities” which included sketch ideas on many themes, photography plans, and several other things.
But once I got there, I just felt compelled to relax; read the two books I had carried with me (Chronicles of Avonlea and Jane of Lantern Hill by Lucy Maud Montgomery, my favourite author), and just BE PRESENT.
I think that was a good idea, although I did end up spending more time on my phone than I would have liked to.
Free Floral Watercolor Wallpaper for iPhone
Right before I went on break, I launched this set of fluffy hydrangeas and dreamy pink roses. I’m happy to report that you guys have been loving on it, and I’m so excited to see the things you make with them (tag me on Instagram if you will, please; I’m at @essemcreatives).
I myself was itching to make something pretty & fun with it, so I made this wallpaper for my phone. You can just right click and save it from here. Please remember, this is for your own personal use only!! No sharing (send your friend to this post), or uploading anywhere. And please give credit to my website link if you do. Please don’t let anyone abuse this sweet freebie. Also, please pin the image at the bottom of this post and not the wallpaper itself!
Here it is:
I added a sweet quote by Lucy Maud Montgomery (this is from Anne of Avonlea, the second book in the Anne series).
I love this quote as a gentle reminder to keep my thoughts on track and try not to spiral into useless mental conversations and thoughts.
I have also been sharing monthly calendar wallpapers for Desktop and Mobile with subscribers of my email newsletter since January 2019. I also write to them with personal updates like this every once in a while! If you’d like to receive such updates, and also get access to the Free Resources section (with free watercolor flowers clip art, card borders, photoshop templates and more), then sign up for it here: https://essemcreatives.com/free-signup
Happy creating and hope you have a lovely summer ahead!
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