Thanksgiving Treasures

Something wonderful happened to me last week. Luca presented me with a pot holder he a decorated at his morning in Montessori School. His tiny hand stamped in the middle, legs, & gobbler added completely the sweetest turkey I've ever seen. He was SO proud to give me what he made & I was so touched. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. I'm taking tomorrow off to run arrons with Antonio & prep the giant Turkey he'll smoke throughout the entire night for the big meal. My brothers & parents are joining us at our house we're they'll be tons of food, lots of fun & my family. My Thanksgiving Treasures. Hope you & yours enjoy a day of Thanks!

Hello Dinosaurs

Today I'm showing the Hello Dinosaurs book I illustrated for Scholastic. The book is formatted in the middle of a glove- each finger is a different dinosaur finger puppet. (I've attached the felt mock I made- before production) We got a jumbo box of samples samples of this book so I sent them to school with Luca to share with his class. When Antonio picked him up he said it was the sweetest sight, a room filled with happy kids with a dinosaur hand puppet book on their tiny little hands. Hooray- Kid approved! Tell me who doesn't love a dinosaur?

Made with LOVE

Last Sunday night I gave my brother Kris & his new wife Ashley their wedding present from me. The painting was a bit late but with lots of distractions lately sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. I really enjoyed painting this for them. Each square is a message to them regarding LOVE. I painted or used collage bits to loosely illustrate the icon in each square & the painted in my handwriting or typed the word that supported the icon. Grow, Listen, Soar, Complete, Warm, Union, Family, Home, Many Years, Bounty. In the painting I incorporated their names, birthdays, the date they got married & both sides of the family. Hope you guys enjoy this little piece of me that celebrates & supports both of you!

Tea Time

Cold & rainy here today & we saw our first quick glimpse of fading snow flakes. All the leaves at our home & office have been neatly packaged up so it seems only appropriate that snow should follow next. I'm doing my best not to drink so much coffee & transitioning into tea. My favorite is still Earl Grey & I was recently introduced to a tea the was truly enchanting-Blossom Tea from Shanghai. You steep it in a clear glass pot & this beautiful bloom comes alive in the hot water. The flavor is gentle, slightly floral & a bit sweet. My favorite thing about tea is how it leaves you feeling warmed from the inside like a hot pair of socks fresh from the dryer. OK- on with the art. Liz (a super talent artist at our studio) recently finished this piece. It makes me feel all the good things a great cup of tea is capable of.

Weekend Plans

Happy Friday- (Friday the 13th) I've never been superstitious about this day but believe me I do have my funny little quirks & superstitions. Antonio, Luca & have a big plans this weekend raking, raking & more raking. We'll be doing our final fall clean up. Some motivation I found this Foliage inspiration page I put together for a scrap- booking project I worked on a while back. I'll have to take a picture of all the leaves- it's crazy!

Bright & Bold ABC

So todays post more ABC's. So I've mentioned I love the Alphabet. With Luca now signing it 24/ 7 it's even closer to my heart. This is an older piece but one I still like. Currently it's available as wall art through Oopsy Daisy. I have samples of all the art I've made for Oopsy Daisy so we use Luca's room as a rotating gallery. {Hope he's a fan!} On of the pieces up now in his room is this ABC wall art. He likes the olive and the muscle- funny little boy.

Changing Seasons

Last year I was requested by The Land of Nod to create 4 seasonal place-mats. I loved working on this project. Changing seasons for me is natures beautiful gift. Although I'm not a fan of winter I can't imagine living somewhere that I can't be part of each season. (summer my favorite)

I packed in tons of sweet little details on each place-mat perfect for exploring at meal time. If your looking for a fun gift check them out. Available at the Land of Nod stores (if you're in Chicago) or online. Happy Friday!

Halloween - Memory Lane...

Hope everyone had a nice Halloween. Today I wanted to share a few photos. Luca's costume this year was less exciting than last years matador look. This is my motivation to step it up again next year. (Wow- I'm understanding the pressure on parents around all these holidays) He did have a fantastic time Halloween night so that's the point of it all. I found an old polaroid of my brother Brad & I. (I have 3 brothers/ not sure were the others are in this photo) Anyhow, he was Darth Vader & myself Miss Piggy. Now we fall into November.