Illustration Friday: Sour

Little Lilly Lemonade loves lemons. Especially when they are sprinkled with sugar. The tart citrus is perfect for a bright summer's day, and if things don't go her way... well Lilly can just make Lemonade! This vibrant picture is sunny and sweet and perfect for a cheerful room.

Here is my contribution for Illustration Friday. I'm ahead of my game this week, as I usually don't have anything to contribute until about Thursday... and then I only have half a day before the new topic is announced! But I was able to raid Tootsie and Grace to get little Lilly, and I think this illustration is perfect for the topic of Sour. Though, she is a little more sweet than sour, isn't she?

This 8 x 8 print is of a colored pencil and permanent marker illustration on Strathmore drawing paper. The design belongs to my three year old... and illustrated by me.

Here is Gracie hard at work. I love how she smiles when she draws! The sign of a true artist, finding joy in her work as she creates!

Although, I have to tell you a little secret... moments after Gracie drew this adorable little girl, she handed it to me and said, "Here Mom. I drew a pair of scissors."

I looked down at the paper and said, "Um... Gracie, this looks like a little girl." to which Gracie replied, "No, that is a pair of scissors with a happy face."

I used my artistic license to turn this pair of scissors with a happy face into little Lilly and her lemon. Gracie didn't mind. She loves this picture!

Illustration Friday: Fierce Captain Monkeybones Sails the High Seas

I hadn't planned on creating any new illustrations anytime soon. After putting my Gnome, Sweet Gnome series together, I though a break from colored pencils was needed.

But I got itchy fingers...

When I get itchy fingers, there are only three things that I can do to fix them: Commit grand theft, hot wire a car, or draw a picture. Since I would probably get caught stealing anything (the only thing I have stolen was a button from a fabric store when I was in 7th grade.. and the alarm went off so I threw it in a carton of fabrics and ran. I didn't know fabric stores put alarms on buttons...). And since I have no clue how to hot wire a car I only had one choice.

So meet the latest sock monkey in my shop: Captain Monkeybones.

I designed this piece to be my Illustration Friday contribution for the week. The topic is FIERCE and I think a pirate sock monkey is pretty fierce.... well, he wants to be at least!!

I think this is my most favorite illustration yet. Actually, I think that about every picture I draw. But there is something about his newspaper pirate hat, wooden sword, and the fact that he is sailing in the most shallow water in all of the high seas, that completely appeals to me.

Plus, the vacant stare and joyful smile on this little red crab is beyond adorable, if I do say so myself. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to love my pictures quite as much as I do. This one is no exception. I love it!

And I hope you do too!

Annelie's New Room

I meant to blog Annelie's bedroom of choice when we first moved into our new place three weeks ago, but you know how unpacking and settling takes over all dreams of blogging, crafting, and creating.

Here is 16 month old Annelie, all cozy and ready to take her nap in her new bed. Kids are such characters, aren't they? In the real world of our apartment and bedroom situation, Annelie has been bunking with me. We had the bright idea of getting rid of her crib, as it has been looking worse for wear since she began teething and bit all the wood. Not to mention that she is a climber and had figured out how to swing her leg over the side... a disaster waiting to happen. But what we didn't anticipate was a 16 month old waking up at 3 am (every single night without fail) and running all around the house.

And she just does not want me to get any sleep! I'll tuck her up in bed with me and she will crawl all over my head and do her fabulous fake sneezes in my face to keep me from going back to sleep. Nothing quite like a pint-sized hellion to keep me busy morning, noon and night!

After going three weeks on practically no sleep... I'm considering letting her have her own room in the bathroom, just as she picked out when we first moved in.

Come on in to Elegant Snobbery!

The day has come and I'm pretty excited to add my new prints to the shop.

I'm a little bit smitten with these garden gnomes and have been working hard to get this series finished. My Gnome, Sweet Gnome collection (cleverly named by Kelly from Macaroni and Glue) is my favorite collection of work yet!

Franz Goes A-Courting and Gertie in the Garden
Sold separately and as a set!
8 x 10 and 11 x 14 offered

Little Mushroom House, Little Apple House and
Little Strawberry House
Sold Separately or as a set of three (at a reduced price)
8 x 8 and 10 x 10 offered

Edsel Takes a Nap
5 x 7 offered

Friedrich and the Fish
8 x 10 and 11 x 14 offered

Hello, Friend!
8 x 8 and 10 x 10 offered

And just for you, my faithful bloggers, because I'm so excited about my newest illustrations:

This offer is not limited to only the newest prints, but good for all the prints currently in the shop. Please mention this blog in notes to seller, as well as let me know which free print you would like.

Enjoy!

Hello, Friend!

I still think Gracie's hedgehog (seen here) is cuter than mine, but here is my new illustration, all finished and ready for some loving. 10 x 10 and 8 x 8 sized prints will be added to the shop on Monday afternoon for my shop update.

When I was visiting visiting Will's family in Wales, a few summers ago, his cousins opened a bit of their hedge to show me a little baby hedgehog curled up sleeping. Not only was I just ooohing and awwwing over the adorable baby, but I was also thinking, "Wow, hedgehogs really live in hedges. What an appropriate name."

If you haven't seen a baby hedgehog, I suggest you hop on a plane, fly to the UK and peek into every country hedge you see until you find one. It will be worth it, I assure you.

Urban Princess

Its no secret that I'm raising a pint sized fashion diva. From make-up to dress-up, Gracie loves it all. Here is her latest picture, taken this morning outside of our apartment while I was photographing my latest pictures for my shop update.

"Hey, Gracie!" I called, snapping the photo before she noticed what I was doing. Gracie, believe it or not, hates being in pictures. All 10,000 pictures of her in my blog were either photos in which I caught her unaware, or else I had to bribe her (with gummy bear vitamins, aka CANDY -- she thinks) to get a smile.

This picture captures my little urban princess perfectly. This is Gracie, in a pretty dress, dancing around the stairs without a care in the world. I hope life can be like this for her, always.

Tagged and Tagged and Tagged Again

I have been tagged by CASSEROLE!!! I have been tagged before (read here, if you really feel the need) and a few times I was tagged but chose to ignore them... but I think I'll be a good sport and play along this time.

I am to share 7 oh so uninteresting facts about myself. Since I tend to open up and blab all about me and my life to just about every stranger who will listen to what I have to say (or in this case, read), coming up with 7 things you don't already know is kind of hard.

But since they don't have to be interesting things, I'm sure I can muster something up.

See this adorably cute little girl? I bet you're thinking, "She is probably the sweetest, nicest little thing to ever roam the Earth."

1.) I was a holy hellion when I was young. Beginning at the age of four, I used to terrorize kids on the playground for no reason at all. I pushed girls off the swings, I poured sand down little boys pants. I spent countless hours in the principal's office when I was just in preschool, and my best friend at preschool wasn't allowed to play with me anymore, because I got into so much trouble.

I made my 3rd grade teacher cry in a teacher/parent conference because she couldn't understand why I was so rotten when I looked like such a sweet little girl on the first day of school. By 8th grade, my rebellious nature got the best of me and I was expelled from Leadership (of all classes!!) and did plenty of time in the principal's office and guidance counselor's office. Unlike most kids in the counselor's office, I never blamed my parenting. I've always taken full responsibility for being a rotten, little brat.

When I started High School, I stopped being awful. Granted, I still had some issues which my mom helped me resolve (lest I get expelled from art class, of all places). But I became a good student because I finally felt like it, I became a cheerleader because I was the perky type and I was just nice. By the time college rolled around, I was on the Dean's honor list every semester. And now, I'm the biggest goody two-shoes in town.

I still have a rebellious streak, but I tend to keep my mouth shut now. And I don't push little girls off the swings anymore.

2.) I love to cook. I used to hate cooking. And I was terrible at it, as well. After getting married and having kids, the only time I could get some peace and quiet and time to myself is when I am cooking in the kitchen. Will and I made a deal (actually, I was dictator and he had no say in the matter). If he wants to eat dinner, then he needs to get the girls out of my hair while I cook. If he doesn't, then he has to fend for himself. Will hates cooking and can pretty much only figure out beans on toast. Needless to say, he is more than willing to take the girls off my hands every night while I cook.

The end result, I make FABULOUS food and really value my time in the kitchen. Will is a Pescatarian (no meat other than seafood) and the girls are both allergic to seafood, so I typically have to cook two dinners a night. I don't really mind, though. As long as the kids aren't bothering me or trying to climb up my legs to get my attention, I'm happy to cook all night long.

3.) I really want to learn French, but enrolling in a class just isn't possible at the moment. Therefore, I am teaching myself. I'm trying to get the girls into it, as well, but they aren't biting. I have a bunch of learning French books, cds, and we frequently watch movies in French with English Subtitles (even the Baby Einstein movies have French options, surprisingly!).

On a scale of 1 - 100 (with 100 being fluent and 1 being having no grasp of the French language whatsoever) I am at about a 1.001 ... but whatever. I have the rest of my life to finish learning the language, since I'm just doing it for fun.

4.) I love cemeteries. That is pretty weird for me, because the whole idea of death just freaks the daylights out of me. But to me, cemeteries are just very beautiful, peaceful places. I don't get weirded out at all. Not even at night.

The most beautiful cemeteries I saw were in England and Scotland. This cemetery in the picture above, was in Stirling, Scotland. It was on the property of the youth hostel I stayed in while traveling, which had once been a kirk. I was amazed to see the most recent stone in that cemetery dated back to the 1700's. I couldn't even read the older stones, as they were so worn away. It was very, very cool.

5.) I have wanted to be a professional writer and illustrator my entire life. That is all I have ever wanted to do. I got my degree in Creative Arts with an emphasis in Art and English Literature, and am happy to say that I have several stories/children's poems and plays written and it is just a matter of sucking up my courage when it comes to submitting them to be published.

At the moment, I think the girls are too young for me to make an attempt at writing and illustrating, as I need to stay home with them and the just drain the life out of me. Once they start school, however, I'll jump right on it, because I just can't wait to get to work and make my dream a reality.

In the meantime, here is a nice little trip down my artistic memory lane:

The picture at the top is from a story I wrote at the age of 6, titled "Things I Like." That is me and my brother swimming.


The picture of the girl (who is actually supposed to be me -- nice eyebrows) running in the woods, is from a book I wrote at the age of 10. I loved drawing the covers to my fabulous and entertaining novels.

The picture of the girl looking at the sunset is from a poem I wrote and illustrated at 13. Funny enough, I have saved almost all of my art and writing dating back to the age of 8. Pretty smart, as it can be used as ammo against me when I'm famous!!


I wrote The Mystery at the age of 8. That is me on the cover, with my huge chompers. For some reason , I made everyone in that book buck-toothed.

The Cabalistic Farmhouse was a story, loosely based on the childhood of my grandmother, which I wrote at the age of 14. It is pretty terrible, as all my stories from back then are!! I hope I have gotten better with age and education!!

6.) I hate cartoons. I really do. I can tolerate a classic Disney movie for awhile, but other than that, you pretty much have to twist my arm to sit me in front of a cartoon of any kind. I don't watch them with my kids. I don't watch South Park or The Family Guy with my husband. I just flat out hate cartoons.

7.) I love cats. Love them. They are like grouchy, moody, affectionate, and crazy members of the family, walking around on four furry legs of attitude. In my life, I have had 13 cats. I'm dying to get a kitten right now, but we only have a dog. I'm not a dog person.

Okay, I pretty just wrote my autobiography right here. I'm not tagging anyone, although I am tempted to tag you, Marie! But only to torture you since you have been tagged as many times as I have. But I'll spare you, and everyone else!

Thanks for reading, skimming or just flat out overlooking my blog!