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!