cake

I'm trying a couple different painting styles to streamline my illustration process and to work better with the strong linework that I'm doing a lot of lately.  Here's one thing I came up with tonight.

"You and Me" - V-Day gift

 As a gift for my husband on Valentine's Day I created this shadowbox piece to finish off our TV wall.  I used this cool shadowbox that I picked up at a craft store a year or so ago.  It's got three inner "frames" that you can suspend layers in, which made putting this together wicked easy.

The foremost layer is of clouds I drew with marker on drafting vellum I have been hoarding since my early days as an interior design student in college.  I toned them with Prismacolor markers and pencils.

Suspended between the second and third inner frame is a cut out image of us and our first kiss as husband and wife (courtesy of the fantastic wedding photographer, Douglas Despres of Helios Images).  Wrapped in between and around the second and third frames is clear thread on which I taped velum stars and opalescent confetti stars.  You can only see the thread when you're way up close, and I'm pretty stoked about how the stars look.

The background is a Creative Commons License star map I found on a Vintage Printable.  The P is part of this monogram I designed for our wedding invitations.  I tweaked it a bit and set it to overlay.

The hubby loves it.  Mission accomplished.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Printable: Winter Dress Up Girl

The printable Winter Dress Up girl has finally arrived!  Click on the images to download, then print, color, cut and dress!

Printable: Mitten Match

click on the image to download

Here's a another quick winter activity page for preschool aged kids. My little guy has done it at least three times already.  For another winter clothing themed activity check out the Winter Dress Up printable available HERE.

Printable: Muscle Love Valentine's Cards

click on the image to download

click on the image to download

 Is there a muscle lover in your life who deserves a Valentine's Day card as cool as he/she is?  I sure do...  I created these free printable cards in honor of my wonderful meat-head husband.

My honey proudly posing with his 700lbs bench bar.

Click on the images to download.  Print each card onto a piece of 8.5" x 11" card stock and trim to the guide lines.  Write a cute little note on the inside and send it on to your muscular love.  Each card is 6.25 x 4.5 and fits an A6 envelope.

Funny thing is that my son saw the "Pump Me Up" card and said "Daddy"!  No doubt Daddy will be proud.

Flashback: 1995(ish)

I found this in a stack of sketches from my middle school days, probably in 7th or 8th grade (1995 or 1996).  It was one of a couple illustrations I did for the school newspaper.

Printable: Getting Dressed for Winter

I made this winter dress up activity for Luc.  Have your child color in then cut out (or have an adult cut out) each item of clothing and dress the boy for outdoor fun!  Feel free to download the two pages below.  Click on each image to download from my Flickr page.  (I'll try and make up a girl version and get that posted with it soon). 

I'm thinking about making a sort of loose curriculum to entertain him this winter and to keep me on a schedule.  I think that having something to focus on each day will help me to balance the 2 year old and the infant better.  When I was younger I spent several years working at a preschool, so I have a good idea of how to run it, but has anyone tried this with their little ones?

Welcome Charlotte

Three weeks ago today, on December 22nd, we welcomed Charlotte Michele into the world. She's adorable and (thankfully) has my coloring, which is a nice change from her brother's blond hair/blue eyes to match Daddy ;)  Though I've got the itch to get back into crafting and illustrating I'm going to keep laying low and enjoying this adorable face...

... and this one...

(It's amazing what sort of trouble they can get into when you're cleaning up from snack).

Printable: Elephant Thank Yous

The other day I shared a printable Robot Thank You for you to download for your little one to send out.  I love how simple it is for them (or in this case, me) to fill out while having a little bit of fun.  Today I'm sharing another Fill-in-the-Blank Thank You that I designed for our new daughter.  She was born just before Christmas so we're using these as birthday thank yous, but they certainly can be used for the Holidays.

UPDATE 1.26.12: I've revised the card to make it cuter... Here's the new version and download link!  Enjoy!

click on the image above to download