And the Winner is... Drum Roll, Please

Remember when I posted my giveaway last week and said that I'd be drawing my winner on Wednesday, October 8th?

Good for you, because I didn't. Ooops. So without further ado, let me announce my winner, one day late.

Dum dum da dum... Maria of Retro Rugrats, step on up and receive your prize (or sit back and I'll just mail it to you, which makes more sense as we live in different states)

Anyway, enjoy and thanks to all of you who entered and left me very nice comments!!!

Stay tuned for next month. I have another great giveaway planned. A really great giveaway. I love giveaways.

Happiness Is....

Happiness is being tucked up in a soft, comfy bed with one large bag of Tostitos scoops, one entirely full jar of neon-orange queso, and one romance novel, all enjoyed while the girls are soundly sleeping and while Will is happily watching a political documentary in a different room.

Ahhhhh, bliss...

Illustration Friday: Sugary

Lollishops will be opening up... someday soon, I hope, and one of the projects I've been working on, which will be perfect for the frou-frou friendly market place, is a series of super cutsie little girls with awesome hats, darling retro dresses, and wholesome Campbell's soup-cute faces. They will definitely be frou-froulicious.

But with the Illustration Friday topic being "Sugary" this week, I thought I'd create a super cute sugary girl and give you a sneak peek at this little series I've been working on. Normally my delicious dessert illustrations are of the cupcake variety, but I decided to go a different route this time, and focus on candy.

Mmmmm... I love candy.

So meet Carrie Candy Hat. Her hat is entirely edible (if you are an illustrated hat girl in an illustrated land, of course) and is absolutely delish. Lollipops, truffles and all sorts of round chocolates and suckers adorn her pretty little strawberry-blonde head.

While I'm at it, here are sneaks of some of my sketches....

Just some. I forgot to photograph my favorite.

And here is the finished Betsy Bee Hive Hat

And Lucie Lemon Hat.

These girls will be added to my Etsy shop, but I think they will probably do better in Lollishops, as Etsy seems more edgy than frou-frou... and these girls are far from edgy and full of frou-frou. I can't wait for Lollishops to open!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Weekend at the Lake

In the few years, since my family made the move from California to Texas, we have celebrated the last weekend of September at the lake.

My Grampa's birthday, Mom's birthday, Aunt and Uncle's wedding anniversary and the end of the hot hot hot Texas summer all come around at the same time, and our family likes to celebrate them all with a bang.


Gracie and Annelie were in seventh heaven, surrounded by grandparents and cousins galore, all who think they are the two cutest kids on the planet and more than happy to cater to their every whim. Mix that with non-stop swimming at the lake, family fun on a pontoon boat, jet skis, and indulgent grandmas, and my girls pretty much had the best weekend of their lives.


My brother (he's the one in the blue vest), also known as Uncle Dan to his two most devoted and adoring neices, spent the whole weekend listening to Annelie shout, "Dan! Dan! Blaaah" with her tongue sticking out. Uncles just love that stuff.


And jet skis... oooooh, how I love jet skis! Funny how driving a car gives me serious panic attacks, but I'm always game to drive a jet ski. Love those things!

Now, our end-of-summer weekend is over and I'm a little tanner, a little fatter (mmmm... brunch at the yacht club never disappoints), and waaaaay tired from all the sun and commotion. Back to the daily grind in West Texas, nowhere near as awesome as the lake. But at least we have next year to look forward to!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

The Lemon Drop

I've been itching to get into jewelry making for ages, but it has always seemed too intimidating. I browse Etsy for jewelry all the time, and have even bought some lovely, I repeat LOVELY jewelry from several shops, including Oh Mandie! and The Brass Hussy, two of my favorites.

I've always wanted to make my own, too. Lovely little pieces just for me. Finally, last month I bit the figurative bullet, bought lots of charms, chain, beads and all the necessary findings... and voila! My first necklace: The Lemon Drop.

I'm loving this necklace, which I was so proud of I promptly made nine more... only to realize that I now have nine of the same necklace. Hmmm...

So without further ado, I announce my new giveaway. Yup, you heard it here folks, an Elegant Snobbery GIVEAWAY! Summer may be over, but the summery sweetness of this necklace, made with a large lemony-yellow pearly glass bead (16 mm), antique silver bead caps, leaf charm and a nice chain with lobster clasp, is only just beginning.

Now I have one for me, a few to give to my friends and family as gifts, one reserved just for my giveaway winner... and a whole bunch more to stick in my shop. Jewelry makers, don't be alarmed. By no means am I going to encroach on your territory and begin taking over the Etsy jewelry scene. But I think an elegant lemony necklace in my shop will be cute and sweet.

Want to win? Just leave a comment (a nice one) and make sure I have a way to contact you! I'll announce my winner in one week, on October 8th.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Halloween Spooktacular (Two Months Early)

I never really understood why shops put the Halloween stuff out several months in advance... until having a three year old.

Gracie is so excited about Halloween this year. She talks about what she wants to be (a monster, a mermaid, a princess... ), she talks about Halloween movies she wants to see, she points out every monster and ghost toy she sees at Target, and she was quick to sport her new Halloween shirt from Target and her new Kandy Korn Korker bows from Winklepots, my favorite Etsy shop.

In a way, I'm kind of glad Halloween has started so early, because we will have two months use out of this outfit, rather than just one. And Gracie couldn't be happier - or cuter!



Holly of Winklepots Wearable Art and Accessories, is gearing up for the holiday season and her hand painted children's outfits and accessories couldn't be more adorable. Her korker bows ( in both clips and pony-o's) are the cutest ones I have seen. Gracie and Annelie have 7 sets of them, and they are our favorite hair accessory.

Crisp autumn has come to West Texas, and there isn't a better way to welcome the season than with caramel apples! I am completely in love with the hand painted Caramel Apple outfits in Holly's shop.



And, while this Zen Buddha tank top isn't quite Autumn related (though the colors are Fall colors), I couldn't help but show it off, as this is the cutest picture I have ever seen .

Seriously, too cute. You can find all these and more at www.Winklepots.etsy.com.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

A Colored Pencil Love Affair

I love my husband and my daughters. I love my mom and my brother, and my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends...

...And I love my colored pencils. Oh, how I love those colored pencils!

I've gone on about my colored pencils before, and this most definitely will not be the last, but right now I am in such a colored pencil-loving mood, that I can't help but devote an entire post to them.

My colored pencil love affair began at the tender age of 12. Maybe that is why I can't shake the colored pencil. You never forget your first crush... and mine happened to be for a pack of 60 gorgeous black Design Spectracolor pencils with lovely colored tips.

I remember it well... the hours I used to spend holed up in my studio (aka my bedroom) while all the other kids were out at the mall, just rearranging my pencils so that the colored tips looked beautiful next to each other.

I kept sketchbook upon sketchbook, always filled with colored pencil illustrations that I drew with my beloved Design Spectracolors.

In high school, my pencil case fell apart and I bought them this vintage purse, so they could be lovingly tucked inside. My colored pencils were more stylish than I was.

I was also introduced to Prismacolor pencils, which are nice... but not Design Spectracolor. Any colored pencil artist who has tasted the beauty of a Design Spectacolor (I don't actually mean eat them) knows that a Prismacolor will never compare.

And then in 1998, Design Spectracolor pencils were discontinued. The company was bought by the company that owns Prismacolor, and then the Design Spectracolor was no more. At the age of 17, I cried. How could they do that to me? Didn't they know, didn't they understand that my pencils meant more to me than any boyfriend I'd ever had to that point (actually, I'd only had one, and only for a month. I was a late bloomer)?

And here I am, 10 years later. Still in love with my beloved Design Spectracolors, still devastated that they were discontinued, and more than happy to drop a small fortune for them on Ebay.

Last weekend, I spent about an hour with my racing heart in my throat, as I waited for an auction of 48 practically new Design Spectracolors in their original case, to end. Luckily, I learned about Auctionsniper.com (bless the Etsy forums!!) and had set a snipe (I do not feel like a cheater, in case you are wondering. Those pencils were that important) and as luck would have it, I won!! It wasn't an easy feat, of course. Another colored pencil addict had snuck in their high bid in the last 10 seconds, and I probably would have lost had it not been for my 7-seconds-to-go snipe.

But I won, I won, I won won won... and I'm completely on the moon with happiness.

Sometimes tragedy does strike in the form of a chewed up colored pencil, complements of the family dog who is soooo on my hit list as a result. But for the most part, those pencils are cherished like a precious baby.

For all of you other colored pencil lovers out there, shout it loud and wear it proud. I found these awesome colored pencil accessories on Etsy, and just have to share.

The colored pencil jewelry from Stacey Dawn Designs is just too cute. I love her fabulous colored pencil bracelets, which look just fabulous and I'm sure have that gorgeous woody pencil smell. Mmmmm! And did I mention they are fabulous?

You can find her shop filled with fabulous (yes, fabulous!) pencil jewelry at www.StaceyDawn.etsy.com.

Jen Maestre has the coolest pendants, ACEOs, pins and sculptures made from colored pencils, that I have ever in my life seen. Actually, they are the only ones I have ever in my life seen, as I'm sure Jen is pretty much in her own niche.

I just love her pendants and awesome pencil urchins!! You can find her shop at www.jenmaestre.etsy.com

Enjoy!

xoxo,