On the day.

How's your day going? Mine is slipping by at rocket pace & I have little to show for it. I took the little to school this morning, came home, did a little house wifey stuff. Since then I've been sitting at the dining table, plugging along on the big photoshop project until my eyes started to cross. Then I killed an hour on the tele with our insurance company, another half hour grooming our dog, who's in love with mud. (I love the rain, but mud, I hate) After that I figured my schedule is blown at this point, so why not have a cup of chai and blog. So here I am, and here I go. I skipped my workout yesterday, so catching up will make me feel ambitious and productive. I think. Whew.

Image via Solidfrog.

ACEOs.

ACEOs. Heard of them? They are tiny little pieces of art printed at trading card size, 2.5 x 3.5. Years ago I offered mini originals at this size. Since then I've seen these lil' cards really take off on Etsy. Mini frames and mats are made in this size and sold everywhere, I even saw an ACEO album at Michael's last week. They look cute hung on the wall, in a coffee table book, or pinned to a corkboard or frig. I'm going to be adding these to the shop with the next update. They will be limited editions & come packaged in hard trading card sleeves, as to withstand lots of handling from tiny fingers!

Interiors.

Just a few images I'm digging at the moment. I like the... Chalkboard wall (we have one, love it), paper lanterns, maps, fun wallpaper + teeny tiny house plants. All images found via emmas designblogg.

p.s. Check out the sweet write up about my art over at Pure + Lovely.

Children's Books.

I'm currently finding huge amounts of inspiration in children's book illustrations. Above are a few of my favorites. I love the thick black lines & digital collage combo. I've been toying with photoshop lately in an attempt to mix my photos with my art. Still tweaking the idea, but soon, I'll show you. ;)

From the top: Olivia illustrated by Jared Osterhold, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin, Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff, Purplicious by Victoria Kann & Elizabeth Kann, and my fave, (Charlie and Lola) But I am an Alligator by Lauren Child.

Gone Weekending.

What did you do?

Snippets.

Here's a little piece of what I'm currently working on. She looks smashing in pink pearls, don't you think?

Redesign.

I've redesigned the ABC poster! Why? We have some vintage wood alphabet blocks lying around the house, that my kids have long outgrown...but I refuse to get rid of them because they look so darn cute stacked up on a shelf. Which led me to think, hey, my alphabet would look cute as stacked blocks too. My daughter really pushed putting an octagon in there instead of a triangle. She said they're way more interesting. So...if your poster needs an octagon instead, just let me know.

p.s. the black border does not appear on the actual print* (8x10) (11x14)

Purging = SALE.

My Very Blue Door.

Okay folks, I'm in purging mode. Closets cleaned, check, under beds, check, pantry, check...Etsy shop...check! MAJOR SALE on ORIGINALS right now. Seriously an awesome chance to scoop up an original painting...prices reduced 20%-%50. Check it out. (See, my being neurotic about clutter is producing something positive, a sale.)

I have close to a dozen sketches in the works, (snippets here) and lots of new things coming to the shop soon! I need to clear my shelves and make way for the new stuff. Now, back to work. The contents of the linen closet are just begging for a ride to the Salvation Army.

Inspiration.

I'm working on a series of animal sketches and I want them to have a touch of retro. Here's a look at several of the images in my inspiration folder. I love the patterns, colors, and the figures' pointy noses! Wouldn't you love to open the paper and see advertisements like these still around?

Images via Google Images & AshleyG. ( I love her use of color!)

Harvest.

The garden is fading in some departments...(bye bye cucumbers), but some of my favorites are ready for picking! As the weather cools I love bringing in the root veggies, onions & leeks, red peppers (I didn't have much success with them turning last year, so I'm super happy about those) and acorn squashes. I've also started a few more rows of lettuce and spinach. I'm going to need some salad in the house for balance...tis the season around here for rich hearty meals and more baked goods than I care to admit. What foods do you look forward to in the fall?

Hey look...new work.

Eeks! It's been a while since I've added any originals to the shop... But with my new schedule (a.k.a...school's back in session) I've found some time to paint. {thrilled} You can find I Have Something To Show You here and here. We Shall Find Our Way Back available here and here. It feels good to pick up the ole brushes again!

Gone Weekending.

Isn't the weather lovely? Cooling temps, big breezes, crunchy leaves starting to fall. We spent part of the day running in the park, collecting acorns (you can never have too many apparently), and playing I spy fall color. Then we took turns sitting on the bleachers cheering each other on, as we pretended to be soccer stars. The girls took turns rolling down the mini hill (I'll be on grass-stain removal duty later)...and when they were both so itchy they couldn't stand it any longer...we went home. How's the last days of summer in your neck of the woods?

*I started a "Progress Shots" folder on my Facebook Page for all my works in progress...I have lots of sketches I'll be bringing to life soon, so follow me HERE to stay up to date on that. ;)

Spooky Owl Quartet

Hey there! How are ya?

My daughter went back to school today... I feel a new rountine coming on... and I like it!

I created a new Halloween ecard for pingg using the painting above! Find it here, along with all my other invites. You can customize it to make the perfect invitation for your child's Halloween party! I'll be adding the original to shop soon too.