In the neighborhood

I’m getting ready for the Direction print show in New York. This means generating lots of new spring prints which is what the buyers at this show will be looking for. I recently finished the print I’m featuring today called in the hood. I tried to squeeze in a few of my favorites: funky buildings, rain shower, a roundabout, a plane off to who knows where, my cursive handwriting and a colorful stripe. It’s a bit wacky but fun.

Festive Patterns

So... Hope we all made it through Christmas.  It's always a wonderful time and yet always a bit of a relief for me to have over.  Today I wanted to share a scattering of festive patterns I painted in my sketchbook.  I scanned them in cropped out section & placed them on the white ground.

Any favorites?  Think mine are 5 & 8.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Wishing you & yours a Merry Christmas.

Shhhhh....Do you hear the reindeer?

Winter Garlands

Greetings,  Hope everyone is able to start the Holiday wined down for a nice change of pace.  I still have so many fun Christmas illustrations, prints & product that I may have to double up the images or save some for next year.  Today I thought I'd show the winter garlands I made for The Land of Nod.  I started with sketches, I moved on to fabric mock- ups & special instructions for the vendor. Finally, they come to life in the catalog.  When I design I think what would I like to see, how can a add a little surprise, is there a way to give it a sense of humor? We have both the mittens hanging at the studio & the trees hanging at home.  They really brighten up a room.  I have 1,000. garland ideas so more to come.

Happy Chanukah!

Hello... as Christmas draws closer I don't want to neglect all those who celebrate Chanukah. The last couple years I've worked on some special projects for this holiday.  I didn't know nearly as much as I should about Chanukah but have loved learning more about the festival of lights.  Today I'm posting the Hanukkah place-mat & Countdown calendar I made for the Land of Nod.  I just wrapped up a book for Scholastic called Don't Open Until Chanukah (notice it's not me this time each company had me spell the holiday a different way?)  I'll post some spreads from the book next year once it's out.  In the meantime Happy Chanukah & enjoy the art.  I was really pleased with the place-mat to me it feels like quality family time.  We all need a bit of that right?

Festive Friends

Greetings.... Hope everyone has had a good week.  Today I thought I'd share a seasonal fabric collage piece.  I like to think of this bunch as festive friends.  Each square focuses on a different seasonal activity.   When I build characters I like to think about the life they could have.  The dog & cat carolers were only pulled there friendship together for one night, while the sowing fox has been at it for years & can not only sow but knit & is fluent in japanese.  Angelic froggy really is that good while super shopping bunny has a bit of a gambling addiction.  Good or bad this somehow makes them seem a little more real to me.

Skating in the City

Today I'm posting my Holiday City scene place mat for The Land of Nod.  It can be personalized ever so subtly in the tree area.  I've not been ice skating yet this year but it's on my winter To Do list.  (that & making homemade marshmallow which I'm planning next week)  Like all my art I've tried my best to pack it full of little areas to get lost in.  

Christmas Ornaments

Yesterday I received samples of the ornaments I made for The Land of Nod.  They quickly went up on our tree.  They are smaller in person than I had imagined which I really liked and they feel like a glazed ceramic which added a bit of sweetness. (size is about 3.5" wide)  Each option can be personalized.  They're fully decked out with a festive icon on front & a playful pattern on the back.  I think they'll add some new updates next year.  A nice addition to our tree.  Wow- Christmas just about one week away!

Studio Christmas Card 2008

So today I'm finishing up what I started.  This is my studio card for 2008.  I wanted to try something a little different this year.  We always take buttons (aka flair) to the shows we exhibit at as a little take away.  People always love it & they go fast.  This year I made an assortment of festive flair & attached four to each card.  I hope it feels like a little surprise just arrived when it's opened.  I went a little overboard with the selection.  One just got better than the next or a new idea would pop up so I ended up with about 30 options.  Would love to hear what are your favorites.

Holiday Card 2006

Greetings..... We'll here we are Friday!  Today I'm posting my studio Christmas card from 2006.  This was a 3 fold accordion card.  I wanted this card to feel more like a large surface design.  The bird theme was just starting to show up on everything so I decided to take a seasonal spin on it.  This was made from cut paper found in my scrape drawer.  (I save all my fabric & paper scraps that are over 1" big- it somehow always comes in handy)  I scanned the original piece in, cleaned it up a bit & added some text.  The back of the card was the slightly off olive color.  I just love strange color.  

Studio Christmas card 2006

So today I’m featuring my studio Christmas card from 2006. Again an accordion fold but this year I wanted it to tell one big story. I piled it full of imagery of all my favorite things about the season starring a cast of kids, animals & of course Santa & his reindeer. This was a mix of paint, collage and enhanced digitally. Which little winter friend is your favorite?

Studio Christmas Card 2005

So today I'm showing my 2005 Christmas card.  I got such a nice response to the first years

card that I went with the accordion fold format again.  This year I added more to the outside of the card.  Myself & my sweet husband Antonio ended up sewing 300 buttons on front of each card & adding a bit of string to wrap around the button to use as a closing device.  (sometimes he wishes I knew when to stop...)  The card is a fun assortment of prints/ illustrations. A confetti floral print in a somewhat seasonal palette, painted A- Z Christmas, seasonal line- work icons (from my sketchbook) Big City Santa ( I painted him while living in NY & while many find him a bit scary I think city Santa would be thinner to get down all those chimneys & a bit more metro sexual) a painted roof top scene with message in the night sky. Finally, I capped it all off with presents on pink.  Click on the image to get a better look....

Would love to hear what's your favorite part of this card.

Studio Holiday Card 2004

So every year that I've been in business (it'll be 5 years this January) I've made a studio Holiday card to send out to all my clients.  It's always a fun project for me.  My plan is to show each so today I'll start with the the first year- 2004.  I wanted a fun format, I love artist books & struggle with editing so I went with an accordion format.  (that way I could sneak in all my favorites & it feel a little more like a story)  The card was a mix of painted illustration, crayon drawing, a little water color, some digital work & a whole lot of love.  

Holiday Handpuppets

Today I thought I'd share the Holiday hand puppets I made for The Land of Nod.

This year Santa, Snowman, & Reindeer are available.  Next Christmas a few more

characters will join the bunch.  Check them out on The Land of Nod web site they're

super cute, lots of fun & a really economical gift.

Luca's favorite is the reindeer which of coarse he calls a "DOG"

Stockings

5 of my sweet seasonal stockings available through The Land of Nod.  Happy Friday to all & to all a good night!

The Changing of the Christmas Guard

Here we go marching through December.

Where the street have no name Tree skirt

Two years ago I made this tree skirt for The Land of Nod. The terrific thing about projects with them is that the product stays in the catalog several years. (of course as long as it’s selling...) The original City to Country tree skirt was made out of felt, canvas, a little dark denim & solid cotton fabric. It’s basically a giant circle 60” wide. That said I knew I needed to keep it fairly bold & simple to make sure it would be cost effective to produce. I added lots of sowing machine stitches around windows, trees, in the pond, snow & houses to keep it interesting & add texture. We have it around our tree at home & I like switching around the front view depending on my mood. This is available through The Land of Nod, check out the close up on their site were you can easily zoom in to see all the details. So is your tree up yet?

Snow Day

Hope everyone had a restful & restoring Thanksgiving. Throughout the month of December I thought I’d share a new holiday illustration or product I’ve worked on. Today I’ll start with a winter scene placemat (with option to personalize). This is part of a holiday placemats series I made for The Land of Nod. There’s lots to look at because I wanted to make sure I included all the activities I think of on a cold snow day.

Happy Holidays

From our family to yours . Happy Thanksgiving!

Day of Thanks

Today I started thinking about our friends the Native Americans the ones who shared this country with us for the first Thanksgiving.  I've have a print in my collection based off Indian symbols & meanings which I think is fascinating.  This was started in my sketchbook, painted with watered down gauche.  I'm showing just a portion of it.  Thought it might be an appropriate print to share today.  

Acorns

Hope everyone had a nice, restful weekend.

We continued the fall yard work which basically includes raking.  I found some pretty little acorns & was inspired to create this print.  They're such interesting shapes & I really like the decorative ric- rac like top.  I guess in my world acorns are multi- colored.  Why not, right?

Busy Boy Town....

Today I thought I’d share a personalized wall art piece I made for The Land of Nod (there’s a girl’s option too but I’ll save that for another day) Anyhow this piece I wanted to pack full of busy activity. Having a little boy of my own now it all makes more sense. I would have added even more.....
Our little Luca has gone from zero miles per hour to about 50 in the last few weeks of walking. It’s just amazing to see him taking off. Hope everyone has a great weekend & that it doesn’t buzz by too quickly.

A Time for Thanks....

I’m so enchanted with this time of the year. (even though I’m no fan of cold weather) I love the color, the big family gathering for Thanksgiving, the food, warm drinks, crisp breeze, the sound of wrestling leaves, putting on my winter sweaters. For me it really is a Time for Thanks.

Holiday cards

Today I wanted to share with you a very nice gesture from Cardstore.com. We signed a licensing agreement with them to do Holiday cards. They gave us a 20% discount code that we can share with our family and friends, so we wanted to pass it along to all our readers as a thank you for your support. All you have to do is type in NEWCS at checkout to receive a 20% discount. The offer is valid thru 1/15/09.

Just follow the link below to go to see what nice cards they did with my art
cardstore

Happy Holidays!

In just a few weeks....

Looking at the calendar I see that in just a few short weeks we’ll be sitting down for a big Thanksgiving dinner. My, how time flies (especially this time of the year) Today I thought I’d share the Pottery Barn Kids Thanksgiving art I made. They do such a great job of maximizing- mixing & matching my art. *I’m already daydreaming about a big slice of pumpkin pie with fresh cinnamon whip cream.

Yes WE can!

We came together our voices were heard. Yes we can...
Yes we will make the world a better place!

On Pins & Needles.....

Vote, what a beautiful thing to do! Tomorrow is a new day.

Mini Matador

Here are a few photos from our trick or treat adventure. The mini matador was a big hit and I went as his Spanish mama. I had a lot of fun making Luca's costume. Hope you had a great time too. Would love to hear what your little ghouls & goblins went as.

Happy Halloween!

Today I thought I’d share an oldie but goody. PB Kids bought this print from me 2 years ago (06) With that they came up with this spooky assortment of goods. The cat still cracks me up. Which is your favorite? Hope everyone has a safe & wonderful Halloween. Think I’ll be back in tomorrow to post pictures of Luca who will be a matador tonight.
Ole!!!

Gentleman Start Your Motors.....

I was flipping through a recent Hanna Anderson catalog when I came across these sweet race car boxer shorts. Looking a bit closer I realized it was a pattern they had bought from me. My version was set up on a stripe. They choose to use the car icons in a toss which looks adorable on these little shorts. (also available as tightly whites- how cute!)

Mommas and babies

Today I’m feeling like a proud Momma my son Luca (14 months) is walking. What a big step in the world. Coordination is yet to come so the days have been filled with many whip outs & a lot of holding our breath. None the less my little man is on the move!

Le Fleur

Gray, rainy and cool here today.  On that note I thought today I'd share a little illustration with a nice bright fall palette to brighten up my day a bit.

Trick or Treat

Today I thought I'd share a Halloween print that started in my sketch book.  I liked the way it was going so I just kept adding on. (this explains the peculiar layout)  I jammed it full of icons and pattern.  I added a bit of text which gets a little lost but I think it keeps you exploring the piece a little longer.  I always enjoy finding more & more details the longer I look at a piece of art.