nina seven

IF - dessert

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:41:00 +0000

I've been neglecting the 'ole blog, so I thought I'd put up this Oldie but Goodie for Illustration Friday this week. It's a mixed media piece, appropriately named Time for Dessert. I always liked this piece, maybe I'll rework it in vector someday. Hope you are all having a great week so far. The kids are back in school, starting Wed. Whooo-hoo! I somehow got talked into being the Arts Coordinator at my daughter's High School...not sure what I got myself into and why I said yes, but TAG, I'm it!

FREE Back to School Printables

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:01:00 +0000

It's time for our Sept post over at We Love to Illustrate. This month, we are doing a really fun thing - FREE Printable stickers for downloading. Back to school book name tags, lunch box stickers, labels, etc. Each artist did their own unique take on the subject and there is something for everyone. You can see all of them and download your favorites, right here. You can also play along and do your own set, by attaching a link to your set through Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post. ENJOY!

IF - immovable

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:59:00 +0000

For Illustration Friday this week - the theme word is immovable. "It was pure gridlock on the Old MacDonald Expressway. No one was moving an inch and some people (er, animals) were getting a bit testy. Beep, beep! HONK!" Please click on the image for a bigger view.

2 more for the animal alpha

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:07:00 +0000

Whew! Two more down on my quest to do an animal alphabet. Only 18 (gulp!) more to do. Will I make it? Yes, I think I will...up next? F is for frog. You can see the rest of my animals, right here.

Pingg

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:14:00 +0000

My designs have been chosen to be in the Designer's Spotlight over at Pingg. I'm so excited! What an honor! Pingg is a really cool site, where you can download e-cards and e-vites for free! They can also do snail mail cards and invitations, for a fee. You can see the rest of my designs, right here. I'll be updating the site with new designs, periodically, so check back now and then.

C is for cat

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:52:00 +0000

I'm on a roll with my animal alphabet! I also thought I'd post this for Illustration Friday this week. For every animal, from A-Z, I'm creating an atmosphere for them, that fits them and their varied personalitites. Is that a stretch for the theme? I don't know...it works for me!

M is for monkey

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:35:00 +0000

Whoo-hoo! I can cross one more animal off my list in the quest to do an animal alphabet. 5 down - only 21 more to go. Next up - the letter C. Guess what animal I'm going to illustrate. Yep, my favorite little furry creature - a cat.

IF- caged

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

For Illustration Friday this week. Allie was caged on a small island, but he didn't care. With birds for friends, coconuts to eat and a big swamp to swim in, he was as happy as an alligator could be.

I finally started back up on my animal alphabet! At this rate, it might take a year to complete, but I consider it a long term goal that I work on when I can, so it's all good. More to share soon.

cat tales

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:17:00 +0000

Today, I cleaned the back of the couch. You know, the one where the cats sleep, so they can be by the window. Let's say, I attempted to clean it. It's been hot and the cats are shedding and I should do this job more than just every once in awhile. There was enough hair on the back of that couch to make another cat!

I would love to find a great way of getting cat hair off furniture. Those masking tape lint roller thingies? Nope, they work, but it takes about the whole roll to do any good. Vacuuming? Nope, doesn't pick it up well enough. Those cat brush hoops with the teeth? That's what I used today and it does get a lot of it, but not all and it's teeth tear up the back of the couch a bit.

Dear readers - If you have cats and have that same problem, what do you do? Leave me a comment with your cat hair problem solving advice, I'd love to hear from you!

Dog Days

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:46:00 +0000

We have a new post up over at We Love to Illustrate, with the theme of Dog Days for the month of August. I entered this pattern of doggies for the challenge. It's so fun to see what each team member did, they are all so unique and wonderful, you'll have to go check them out. Each month, we change the banner, too. Cally did this month's and it's so cute!

IF - double

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:12:00 +0000

I just got back from my week in the Midwest, so I don't have time to do something new for IF this week, but I did have this anniversary card that fit the theme. So, here it is - last minute, down to the wire.

How was the Midwest, you want to know? Hot and humid, thank you very much! I had a good time, anyway. There's lots of air conditioning there...

new from a muse

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:45:00 +0000

A Muse has just launced their latest Halloween and Holiday stamps, so I thought I'd show a few of my favorites of the ones I designed. I know, I know, Christmas - already? Yep, Christmas, already, but Halloween, too! I love designing spooky things for Halloween. Anyway, if you want to see more, you can, right here.
I'm off on a little vacation, see ya in a week!

IF - breakfast

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:36:00 +0000

For Illustration Friday this week. I don't eat bacon or eggs for breakfast, but if I did, I'd want it them to be in a smiley face like this.

sixteen

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:22:00 +0000

My "baby" turned 16 today! I made this for her, printed it out on nice paper and framed it. It will be a nice little memory for her when she gets older. Next up - a driver's license.

IF - diary

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:04:00 +0000

This one speaks for itself, I think.

a litle trip

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:30:00 +0000

We took a little trip and headed over to Sequim (pronounced Squim) for a few days. It's about 2 hrs from Seattle, when you combine the driving and ferry riding times together. It's on the Olympic Peninsula, which is an amazingly beautiful place.

I love Sequim's Welcome sign.

They have a lot of lavender farms in the area and they were in full bloom when we were there.

We went hiking on the Dungeness Spit. The sun was out and the water actually looked almost turquoise.

hallmark card

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:18:00 +0000

I won something! I entered a contest at Hallmark and was one of 19 winners in their Christmas card competition. We were to create a Christmas card inspired by any of these words: wish, peace, fruitcake, ho ho ho or joy. I chose Ho Ho Ho, but as you can see, I had the kitty saying Whoa, instead of Ho, as he starts to fall off Santa's head!

You can actually go to Hallmark.com and buy my card online! How cool is that! If you're interested - once you get to Hallmark.com, click on Paper Cards, then Cards, then Contest Winners, Holidays, then Christmas. Scroll down and you'll find my card.

There's even a chance my card could be sold in their stores, as well as online. I'll know more about that next month. Wish me luck!

IF - giant

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:33:00 +0000

Mama giraffes must look like giants to their newborn babies.

picnic fun

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0000

The blog group, We love to illustrate, that I'm a member of, has posted it's July illustration challenge with the theme of picnic. Here's what I did for it. Want to see what the rest of the fabulous group came up with? Check it out right here and you can play along, too, if you want.

IF - satellite

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:40:00 +0000

A quick little illo for Illustration Friday this week

blankcanvas.org

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:19:00 +0000

On Saturday, I took part in a blankcanvas.org Artist Throwdown Event, as a fundraiser for Art with Heart. Teams of artists came together to create art on the fly, then the pieces were auctioned off. My friend Doris organized our team and we created a mixed media collage with circles as the unifying element. We all just made a bunch of elements out of decorative papers and paint, then we worked as a team to put together a composition out of the elements. It was great to do something so loose and spontaneous.

Although the weather was less than stellar (I was wearing 3 layers), we had a fun time and better yet, it was for charity. Art with Heart is an organization that provides art therapy to disadvantaged and sick children. A worthy cause, indeed.

Here's the finished piece.

ripple

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Here's my entry for Illustration Friday this week and it is also an entry for illustrator Kelly Light's Ripple Sketches blog. Have you heard about it yet? Kelly started the blog in response to the oil spill crisis in the Gulf Coast.

Ripple Sketches is a site where you can buy pieces of art by making a $10 donation to either the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies or the International Bird Rescue Research Center. It's really taking off, as of this post, she's raised over $1,500! I hope you will consider contributing and getting a small piece of art in the process.

Check it out! My two pieces, Whale Before and Whale After can be found right here. (they sold! thanks, Mohita! yay for Kelly!)

NEW illustrator group blog

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:49:00 +0000

I'm so pleased to announce that I'm part of a new illustrator blog group, called We Love to illustrate for Children! (the url is http://www.welovetoillustrate.com/) It's a group of six members and we all "met" online through Illustration Friday. We all love illustration and illustrating for children is our passion.

We just made our 1st post and in it we tell our readers a little bit about ourselves and share a photo. We had the option of a photo of ourselves as a kid or an adult, or we could do an illustration of ourselves, or we could do a combination of the two. I chose a photo of myself on my 2nd birthday and I added a bit of illustration elements to it. I ended up being the only one who used a kid photo, but that's OK. I really stand out anyway! (hee hee)

So, come and visit. There's some very talented ladies here, so it will be worth the trip. I feel honored to be in their company. We'll be posting lots of fun illos and projects, so stop by often.

IF - trail

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:31:00 +0000

A snail leaving a trail on a trail. What can I say, I took this one literally! I was going to have him singing Happy Trails and also being trailed by some other snails, but I think my point is made well enough in keeping it simple. I could have used this last week, too - for slither!

Have a great week, everyone!

IF - slither

nina@ninasevenillustrations.com (nina seven) — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:04:00 +0000

"Jelly slithered down Junie's chin, but she didn't care, PB and J's were her favorite! With the crust cut off, of course!"

I figured there would be a lot of snakes and worms for this week's Illustration Friday, but I wasn't feeling so slithery, so I did something a bit different. PB and J's are still one of my favorite foods! Of course, now I make them with whole wheat bread, reduced fat natural peanut butter and sugar free raspberry jelly, instead of Wonder bread, Creamy Jif and grape jelly. Still just a kid at heart, though.