last minute gifts

Posted on Posted in Art, Kids, Life1 Comment

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4 years ago I made these pieces for Sosi for her first Christmas.

Wanting to keep the tradition alive, I decided to make one for Ila this year (although it is technically her second Christmas). Over the few past weeks I have been planning, working, reworking and staring at this piece for her.

I can’t think of any other way I would like to spend an afternoon than sitting in a pile of fabric scraps, cutting and stitching. Maybe that’s why it has been taking me so long to finish, I ‘m drawing this out as long as I can. This feels like a gift for me as well.

Hope you are all enjoying these last magical moments before Christmas.

simple pleasures

Posted on Posted in Comics3 Comments

smallfancy

This week’s Small Fancy theme is “simple pleasures”.  Watching Sosi sleep is one of mine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as beautiful as Sosi sleeping .

I’d love to hear what you think of this little collaboration between Mia and myself. I’m loving it. It is feels like my good friend is a little bit closer as we do these drawings together.

quiet moments

Posted on Posted in crafting, Life3 Comments

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I have a little 4 (almost 5) year old home sick with me. We made crayon cakes with her old crayons that have been sitting around for years. They were a bit hit, except for her hurting herself cutting the crayons (see the bandaid).

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These little cakes are great for making big messy fun drawings. I think we need to be making more things like this. I’m trying to teach her not everything has to be perfect. She can be really hard on herself sometimes. I wonder where she gets that from?

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i’m working on something…

Posted on Posted in Art1 Comment

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but I’m not quite sure what it is yet.

Feels good to be back working with fabric. It’s not the easiest task with small children around, but I’m figuring it out. I’ve really missed it.

Downloadable Christmas Ornaments

Posted on Posted in crafting, Illustration

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I’ve made some little Christmas Ornaments you can download and colour. Just print them on some card stock (if you have it, regular paper is fine too), cut them out and use a hole punch to hang them up with some yarn or thread of your choice. Have fun!

You can download it by clicking on the button below.

download

Christmas Craft Fair

Posted on Posted in Art, P.E.I4 Comments

craft

I’ve been in some major denial over Christmas. I have nothing ready at all, no decorating or shopping done(this picture is from last year). I don’t think I can ignore that it’s coming anymore. We woke to snow on the ground and my husband has begun streaming Christmas music into every room in the house… it’s feeling pretty cozy.

In an attempt to escape from all I need to do, I’ve weaseled myself into the Christmas Craft Fair at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market at the last minute. I’ll be there tonight from 4:00-8:00 selling my cards and prints. Hope to see you there!

They are here!

Posted on Posted in Art, Illustration2 Comments

youareloved-gr

My new prints are here!

I’m so happy to have these to offer to you. I made them with the thought of a more affordable option to my custom paintings (which I am trying to phase out).

They are hand screened 2 colour prints, on 100% cotton acid-free heavy weight paper. They measure 5″x7″. I had a run of 30 made of each colour.  Please visit my Shop if you are interested. Yay!

youareloved-pk

weekend away

Posted on Posted in Life2 Comments

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I snuck away to Ottawa for a little best friend weekend. I had such a relaxing wonderful time, full of big laughs and good food. I window shopped and wandered aimlessly (and slept in!!). Things I haven’t done in such a very long time. Everyone here got along famously without me. I’m already dreaming about my next solo get away…

You can see a painting of mine on the wall (at the head of the bed) of one of the winners of the “small kids, big color” contest at ohdeeoh! So exciting. I love that site. Thanks for the link Caralyn!

Shop Update

Posted on Posted in Illustration1 Comment

bird-new

My Christmas cards are now available in My Shop!  I am offering 3 different cards this year, these 2 older designs and my new tree one (see my last post). I am selling them for $15 (CDN) for a pack of 5. Please contact me for wholesale orders.

octo-new

I had some printer problems and ended up with a pile of imperfect prints. I decided to offer these as a gift with purchase. You can use these imperfect little cuties as Christmas tags. My gift to you for all of your support.

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Sneak Peek…

Posted on Posted in Illustration6 Comments

sneakpeek

Here’s a little sneak peek of this week’s comic over at the Small Fancy (it will be posted tomorrow, Nov 13).

It has been a challenge, doing these drawings. Almost the entire time I am working on them, there is a little voice  in my head trying to get me to stop. It tells me that I suck at drawing, that I am only putting that black there to hide the mistake I made and that a real artist wouldn’t need to redo it 3 times. It goes on and on.

I just keep on trucking, ignoring (and laughing at times) at this naggy voice . I find this is a theme in my life lately. I am trying not to think about things too much, instead I am just doing them. If I think too much, I can talk myself out of pretty much anything.

we love you ila

Posted on Posted in Illustration4 Comments

weloveyou

Ila’s birthday is coming up and I decided it was time for her first painting. Sosi’s room is packed full of my art. I had done 3 paintings for her before she was even born!

I often see Sosi as my inspiration and Ila as my heart.

The Small Fancy

Posted on Posted in Art, Comics, Illustration1 Comment

smallfancy

So here it is!

The project Mia and I are working together on is called The Small Fancy , it is a collaborative comic blog. Every week we pick a theme at random which we each create a comic about or inspired by. We will  be posting the results every Friday.

This is a great way for Mia and I to stay in touch, and gets us both doing work which we probably wouldn’t be doing otherwise. But most importantly I am excited because I get to see a new comic by Mia each week (I’m a big fan)!

Make Your Own Mini Photo Album

Posted on Posted in crafting, Illustration, Life5 Comments

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I often find Sosi tucked away in her room alone leafing through the 1 photo album she has. Since I rarely print up pictures from my computer,  the only pictures she has are random ones my mom has sent us over the years.

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I figured it might be time to make her some albums of her own. I got the idea for these little felt photo albums from Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Craft . I printed my favourite photos from each year of her life and put them together in separate little books. She loves them!

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This was such a simple and fun project. They would make fantastic Christmas presents. I made a little tutorial, you can download it here, if you’d like to make some too.