2014

This year why not...

That's my plan.

Happy NEW year!

Are You Ready?

We are!  Wishing you & yours a Happy Christmas!

Gift Tags

Do your weekend plans involve lots gift wrapping?  Mine do too!  Feel free to drag these gift tags to your desktop & print. (should fit nicely on an 8 x 11" page)

*Helpful Hint: Click on the image first then drag. So you don't drag the thumb nail only.

Let the wrapping & labeling begin!

Studio Christmas Card 2013

Every year I make a Christmas card to send out to clients & friends.  This year's card deserves a little explination.  We sold our house last April & have been living in our studio in effort to build a home.
This has been a dream of ours for a while now.  We are moving forward with this & with this decision has come some temporary very close quarters.  Kind of like sardines.  So, Antonio's the top fish with the  snowflake sweater (yes, he really has a snowflake sweater that he has worn entirely too much this Dec.) I'm the fish with the pouty lips & santa hat. Luca is in the orange bow tie.
Hoping that next Christmas we'll be in our bigger fish bowl!

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
-Andre Gide

Holiday Placemats

Can you see the light at the end of the Christmas tunnel?  I can, slowly but surely checking off the list of holiday activities, purchases & good deeds!  If you still have some last minute shopping to do check out   Oopsydaisy.com  where you'll find canvas wall art, growth charts, night lights, lamps & more!  Here are two of my holiday placemats.

You can personalize this one.

You can teach the 12 days of Christmas with this one.

Untraditional Christmas Cards

Today's post shows some of the kids Christmas cards I've worked on for Otto Trading.  (only available in Japan)
The cards are under their line Party Tunes.
Fun, bright & sometimes silly.  Perfect for little ones or the young at heart!
Take a look.

Super cute card glasses with a 2" present on the side  (cat eyes) & a tree (on the wreath glasses)

*Just enough space for a short message &  name.

This is what they look like on.

Below are garland cards & are pretty long, around 30"

Each card is designed to offer room for a special message.

This one is meant to be hung & enjoyed throughout the holiday season.

Here are some money holder cards with pop up interiors.

A girlie pastel Christmas option. Jeweled with foil accents

& a pop up interior.

Last but not least something a little smaller in size.

Lovely Landmarks

I am a BIG fan of architecture.
Iconic architecture has always amazed me.
I wish my love of architecture went hand in hand with travel.  Unfortunately, I don't have the travel bug. I'm a worrier so leaving the house to head off to a foreign land usually puts me in a panic.
Despite that I have a deep appreciation for beautiful structures that become an iconic part of our environment.

I made my Round the World tree skirt  for The Land Of Nod to celebrate just a few of the special structures around the world.  Here's the ones I focused on...

• Saint Basil's Cathedral-ornate patterns piped in white & burst of color at the top (like funky Faberge eggs) with touches of gold sparkle in the sun

• Eiffel Tower- tall, proud, elegant a linear delight!

• Taj Mahal-pure, graceful, an eternal love story.... Come on, you've got me hooked right there.

• Colosseum- an amphitheatre with rows of arches, my mind runs wild imaging all the possible escapades that took place there...

• La Sagrada Familia- organic amazement, like frosted ice cream cones covered in sprinkles, proving the point that indeed sometimes MORE is BETTER- love!!!

• Egyptian Pyramids- triangular tombs that point to the heavens,  marvelous in size & packed full of symbolism & magical myths

• Chrysler Building- perched high in the Manhattan skyline,  a silver grid of windows with a splendid surprise of arches & triangles at top 

• Sydney Opera House- a performing arts center with an intriguing appearance, a series of shells invite you to enter, On a stage of water with a sparkling city backdrop. (insert applause here...)

• Big Ben-located at the north of the Palace of Westminster. Big Ben stands tall with a stiff upper lip keeping time & order with quintessential British flair

Do you have a favorite building?

A Change!

Last night I cut my hair.
After years of the same long hair I was ready to try something NEW!
It's fun to change up your look & I've had the same thing for too long.
Here's to mixing it up & moving forward.....

Christmas Cards

I don't have my Christmas cards out yet :0
Every year I make one for the studio to send out.

This is a piece of art C.R. Gibson used in their adult Christmas card line.

*This month is flying by!  Sometimes being festive makes me cranky!

Christmas Matching Game

Today I'm featuring my Christmas Memory Match Game.  This is part of my Jill McDonald baby & kids line. The game is available at select Barnes & Noble stores & online.

This is a great item for upcoming trips or just a cold winter night!  Brrrr.. it's been crazy cold here.

Tada Shop SALE

Feeling Merry?  Me too!  

From now through December 20th I am offering 20% off all items in my Tada shop.

*Use the code: TADAMERRY at  the checkout

Enjoy!

Traditions

Hello!  Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?  I hope so!
We enjoyed a couple days off- which was nice.

I've been thinking about traditions lately.  When I was little I remember always thinking some day I will have lots of traditions.  So far my list is not as long as I had once hoped for.  But it is growing longer every year.

Antonio has a lovely tradition.  For years now he smokes our Thanksgiving turkey.  This is an over night ordeal.  (that we wake up fully rested & gladly participate in)
He starts out by selecting the turkey, then brines it in a mix of  beer and BBQ rub for 12 hours, purchases bags of cherry wood & fires up old faithful (his old smoker) around midnight.  Placing the perfectly brined turkey in the smoker.  He returns every 20 minutes throughout the night to spritz with more beer & feed the fire.  Crazy... I know but the result is magnificent & we are all appropriately Thankful!

Traditions are such a beautiful thing to share with family & friends.  I am hopeful to add some more meaningful ones to my life!

I Am Thankful....

FOR:

• family
• friends
• flowers
• sunshine
• tall, fluffy clouds
• thunder
• hand made marshmallows
• colorful stripes
• marinara sauce
• unconditional love
• the opportunity to share my art with many

Baby's 1st Christmas

One more of my ornaments on sale available at The Land of Nod.

Do you or someone you know have a new little one?  

Makes a perfect gift!

Ornament SALE

The Land of Nod is offering 20% off their holiday ornaments now through Monday December 25th.
I was SO excited about the ornaments I made for them.  I took a painted approach this year.

The first set is Season's Greetings a set of 6 ornaments each with a classic holiday word.  I love lettering so this was great fun to work on & came together quickly.

Here is the finished art.

Next is Round the World ornaments this is a set of 12.  Inspired by the beauty of Christmas around the world.  I featured 12 different countries including iconic architecture, food and character found in each place.  To complete the festivities each ornament says Merry Christmas in the native language.

*These ornaments tie back perfectly to my Around the World tree skirt. (I'll post this next week)

You can see all the details in the finished art.

Ready, Set, Decorate!  

Fall Leaves

At least Luca has enjoyed them!  

I think the last of our leaves has fallen & we can put the rakes down for this year. 

 Remember how much fun jumping into a leaf pile was?

JM baby & kids STOCKINGS

 

With Thanksgiving just around the corner do you have Christmas on your mind?  I am starting to get the itch to decorate!  The next couple of weeks I will post some of my Christmas decor items I've made.  Hope you are feeling merry & looking forward to a wonderful holiday season!

*Part of my Jill McDonald baby & kids brand.
These stockings are made from a thick, rich felt with lots of fun embroidery & stitching.
Available at  a variety of boutiques across the U.S.
& on line here.

Birthday Wishes..

 

xoxo,

jill

Number fun...

Have you noticed today's date?  11, 12, 13 what fun sequence.

I wonder how many people have planned something special for today?

This even made writing the mid month checks a little more exciting.  

My niece was born on 10, 10, 10 because of this I always think of her as the jackpot baby.

Baby Shower Gifts

Part of my weekend plans include a baby shower.  My sister in law's sister is expecting a girl.  She is a girlie girl, so pink it is!  My mom & I have been pulling together some girlie gifts.  I wanted a mix of some things I've made & other items I love.  In particular See Kai Run shoes.  (I miss putting these on Luca's tiny feet)  This line of shoes is really beautifully made, stylish yet practical for little feet.

(i.e. they stay on, fit with ease & comfort)

Putumayo is another one of my favorites.  When Luca was born I invested in a broad array of music from around the world. All available through Putumayo to this day we continue to enjoy the many melodies from elsewhere.  

Welcoming tomorrows girlie girls! 

Ups and Downs

A little bit about the Evolution show Antonio recently returned from.  Traffic was slow & we didn't sell as much as we hoped. This was the first year for the Evolution show & it can take time to draw a sizable crowd. The show organizer did a wonderful job with the space & set up so we are hopeful this show continues to grow.

I know it sounds glamorous to announce that you are headed off to this show or that show.  But, did you know that I've been doing this 10 years in January & there have been shows we've go to where I sell only 1 or 2 things. Or my personal favorite... loose your bags & not have them arrive until the last day- Yep, it did happen in Germany at Heimtextil 3 years ago.

From the comfort of a curated blog it is easy to make it all look rosy.  The truth is it can be fun but it is also a TON of work with no guarantee.  When you are enjoying the work it makes it easier to navigate all the ups & downs.

I thought it was important to be honest about this.  On that note... I will be exhibiting at Printsource this January.  I will be at the show with Antonio this time & have some really fun work available.  So, my friends the show must go on!  (where is that weird quote from anyway?)

I Think I Can

I've had some nice success with my I Think I Can poster.  I made this for myself at a time in my life when I needed some extra encouragement.  I am excited to announce that Howkapow (a SUPER COOL shop in the U.K.) is now carrying my poster.  You can purchase it framed or unframed.  Be sure to check out their assortment of intriguing items.  Unique, fun & surprising!

Spooky Cupcakes...

Antonio & I spent the afternoon at Luca's classroom party. We were at the food table helping the kids decorate their cupcakes.  You can imagine it was a sticky, sweet job & lots of fun!
Round two... ding, ding, ding... Off to put on our customs & head into the dark with glow stick in hand.

Happy Halloween!

2 days away!

Are you ready?
Feeling spooky, ready to carve the pumpkins, stocked up on the candy, have you been telling ghost stories in the dark with only a flashlight???  Yep, us too!  We are ready to "trick & treat" and can't believe it will be Halloween in just 2 days... Fun!

The Weekend

Having Antonio away is always an exercise in gratitude for me.
Luca got sick  (strep throat) the day he left so it was long days & long nights of trying to make him as comfortable as possible on my own.  Feeling much better now...  I wanted to do something special with him so we headed to the orchard.  Fresh air, animals, cider & color!

We even got a good picture...

We continued the fun later that night at an annual ghost stories in the woods event.  Spooky, but still manageable for us both. (I'm as big of a scaredy cat as him) Ha!

Animal Odd Couples

Meet Kate (the dog) and Pip (the deer)

So..We all know you can spend an hour watching tv just to end up thinking... what a wast of time!  Wednesday night is a favorite around our house.  We like to watch Nature & followed by Nova.  Last nights Nature episode "Animal Odd Couples" was delightful!  The show is about unlikely animal friends & it is fascinating.  If you have a chance watch - it doesn't disappoint.

*cliff notes: we all need a good friend

Pattern Explosion!

This morning Antonio & I are preparing the banners & booth decor the Evolution show. (part of dutch design week)
He leaves Thursday for Eindhoven (about an hour & half train ride from Amsterdam)  The Evolution show begins this Saturday the 26th and runs thru Monday the 29th.  Our booth number is 3. 32 (ring 3 booth 32) Stop by we have so many fun prints from florals to patterns, conversationals & more!

The show is in the Evoluon... Check out this cool futuristic building made to look like a UFO.  So wish I was seeing this in person!

Ahoy, Monday!

Oopsy Daisy has a new selection of wall art & decor on their site.  One of which is my A-Quatic-Z canvas.  (This would be a great piece in a boys room).  Head on over & check out all their new eye candy!

Roy G. Biv

It's a cool, raining Friday here. (the perfect kind of day for WAY too much coffee!)
This song is a new favorite around our house.  I wonder if They Might Be Giants ever
thought they'd be sining groovy, hip kiddy songs?  I am glad they are!  Do you know who
the illustrator is here?  The pairing is SO perfect...
Happy Friday rainbow chasers!