IF - packed

Something a little different from me this time for Illustration Friday. It's not kids! This is from a sketch I did about a year ago and never got around to doing anything with it. When I saw the theme word was "packed" I thought this would be perfect. Still some tweaking to do on it, but I have to move on for now, so here it is!

blowing bubbles

Here's a new piece I finished over the weekend, just for fun. I'm trying to decide if it's portfolio worthy and I think - YES, it turned out pretty cute! This is the kind of work that I think I'm best at...it has a graphic design sense about it, which is what I studied in school. Although, that was sooooo long ago, you wouldn't think it would still be influencing me! I'd love to hear your comments about this one.

trees

A Muse just released these 2 new clear stamp sets, illustrated by, you guessed it - me! These are pretty cool, because, as you can see, most of the trunks and leaves are designed separately, so stampers can stamp them in different colors. Otherwise, you'd have brown leaves with a brown trunk, or green leaves and a green trunk and that would just not be right! I love to draw trees, so this was a really fun project. You can see these and all the other fun clear sets, right here.

new blog banner

hello everyone...check out my new blog banner! If you're on Reader, you'll have to go to my site to see it! Hopefully, it will be worth the click. (It will be if you like squirrels)

IF - clique

I'm not a big fan of bees or any insect for that matter, but I am fascinated by honey bees and their behavior. The drones will follow the queen bee anywhere - the ultimate clique.

For Illustration Friday and the theme word - "clique".

gee thanks!

I've been awarded this Sweet Blog award by the lovely and talented Edrian Thomidis. We know each other from Illustration Friday. Thank you so much, Edrian! I feel so honored, I'm not really much of a blogger - once or twice a week is it for me. I guess I just don't have that much to say, at least not that much that I want the world to know about! (hee hee)

This award originated from and was illustrated by Diana Evans, another talented illustrator, that posts a lot on Illustration Friday. Diana asks for reciepients of the award to honor other blogs (and the bloggers, of course!) that inspire them, so here are my awards: I've chosen other IF participants, because that is where this originated, so I'll keep it in the "family".

Angela

Senta

Flora

Pickle Dog

Eric

Aimee

Thanks for the inspiration, everyone! You deserve this award!

IF - island

"The Johnson family hits the beach while on their island vacation. Dad's Hawaiian shirt from his college days is a bit too small and Mom's afraid of getting a sunburn, she's got plenty of sunblock in her bag! The kids are so happy, they've never seen the ocean before!"

My entry for IF this week. I'm challenging myself to do multiple people, rather than my usual one! I do wish I was faster at this! I am making some progress, this one didn't take as long as I expected. I must say I'm jealous of this family and wish that I was on an island vaca. (sigh) I'll have to make do with the backyard deck and a good book...sadly, it's just not the same.

IF - clutter

"Orange Cat is having fun playing in the clutter of boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon after Molly's birthday party."

For Illustration Friday this week. Click on the image for a larger view. Thanks for visiting!

treehouse kids

Another new piece for my portfolio. This one seemed to take me foooorrrreeevvverrr! I worked on it when I could over the last couple of weeks - an hour or two a day. I like when I can really concentrate on a project and make real progress, but sometimes you take what you can get and as Tim Gunn says, "make it work!"

more kids and pets

More kids and pets to share with you. These go with the girl and her cat I posted for Illustration Friday's theme of 'memories'. These were so much fun to make. I could keep going for awhile with this...what other pets could I use? If you have any favorite pets that should be included, let me know! See how the little red-haired girl snuck her way into my illos again! She is always doing that!

1st day of school

Yay! It's the 1st day back to school. Everyone was up and out the door by 7 am. I didn't think it could be done, but we did it. I already went and did my workout, it's going to be a sunny day, I have the house to myself and projects to work on. Who could ask for anything more?