Color Splash

Almost July- Love the warm summer months.  This piece is call color splash & is all about pattern & color.  Two of my favorites! 

Waves

One of the downsides to Missouri- No beach!

Hope to find my way to one soon.

Enjoy the weekend!

(piece I painted years ago)

Viking Voyage

Being the mom of a little boy I always try to challenge myself to make boy's art that is equally as cute as all the wonderful girl options that flood the market.  This piece "Viking Voyagers" explores the fascinating world of all things viking.  The Scandinavian trees, the cool viking boats, the shields, the attire, the hair & helmets & yes the beards.

Here's a photo of this piece in progress.  I paint & cut out the icons- almost like paper dolls.
Then scan, clean & add more!

Monday...

Let's do this!!!

Summer

For my family it's now officially summer!  Luca's last day of kindergarten was yesterday. (I know it's a crazy, long school year for the kids at his school)  We feel like this year was a BIG victory for us.  Luca   started reading, made lots of new friends & the school worked with us to navigate his peanut allergy.  I was & continue to be concerned about that but we have one successful year down so this is a positive step. To celebrate we decided not to set our alarms this morning & I sent Luca & Antonio to the pool today.  He heads back to school in just about 6 weeks so I'm doing my best to make his short summer break fun.   Wait... do I do fun?  Summer is always so busy around here but I think adding some fun to my hectic schedule maybe good for me too!

The art I've posted today is from The Big Brother & Big Sister books I did for I See Me a couple years ago.  I have some really exciting NEW book projects coming up this year. I look forward to sharing those once they're published!

Hope you & your little ones are enjoying your summer!  Some of my fondest memories are from summertime.

Summer Garden

Well, it's only half way through June but I've somehow managed to kill most of what I planted a month ago.  Yikes!  No green thumb here but boy would I love one!  I long for a lush, colorful garden.  For now I'll stick to drawing them.

Happy Father's Day

There's something so beautiful about an great dad.  I take such joy in seeing my husband (so amazing) and my brothers rise to the occasion.  A good dad makes a BIG difference & for that I say THANKS!
And to my own daddy I say, I love you to pieces- Happy Father's Day!

Animal Parade Gift Set

This is my Animal Parade gift set that's now available at Costco.  Same set up as the girls set.
You get the character stacking tower, 3 felt finger puppets and 3 books.


The first book is What am I?  This is a flip book that allows the child to create a variety of silly,
creative characters.  Here are just a few examples.

The second book is Let's Count.  A counting book 1-10 using an assortment of fun circus icons for the child to count.  Here are a couple of examples from this book.

The third book is My ABC's.  This book matches each letter of the alphabet with a painterly animal.
Here are some examples.

Can you tell I love a bright, primary palette?  Hope little ones enjoy these gift sets!

Fancy Friends gift set

Last year I had a whirlwind opportunity to create a girl & neutral gift set to be sold at Costco nationwide.  The set includes 1 character stacking tower, 3 felt finger puppets & 3 board books.
(size 7 x 7")

Here's a photo of the back of the box.  I know not a great picture- but that box store lighting is not flattering.
I saw these in Costco a couple weeks ago & they looked super cute! The first book "Dress Up"  is a 3 tier flip style format.  This is really fun because it allows the child to mix the characters looks.

"Let's Count" is the 2nd book.  This a book I had previously made at much smaller scale.  I explored counting 1 -10 with girly, sweet icons & patterns.  Was relieved to be able to re purpose this art.

Whoa.. Saved me some time!  Not posting pictures of this one as I've shown it on the blog before.

The last book is "My ABC's"  This is a simple, classic  approach matching icons with each letter of the alphabet.

If you're in the market for a girls gift that gives you some bang for your buck (the set is $24.99) check this out at your local Costco- in the book section.

Ahoy!

These are my Set Sail lacing cards inspired by my favorite season of the year- summer!
My gift line with C.R. Gibson offers a variety of lacing cards for girls & boys.  A fun way to teach fine motor skills & concentration.  Take them to the beach or the pool!