Books & Goodies: Pipsie, Nature Detective

Books and Goodies Pipsie Nature Detective The latest Books & Goodies is here! "Pipsie Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar" is the perfect read for spring! Written by Rick DeDonato and illustrated by my friend, the wonderful Tracy Bishop.

I've rounded up a bunch of fun crafts and goodies I think Pipsie would approve of!

(From left to right.)

BONUS: Pipsie and her turtle sidekick, Alfred, have a great site filled with fun activities and free printables! Check it out here.  So fun.

Get your copy of "Pipsie Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar" here!

And you can always check out more “Books & Goodies” posts here.

Illustration Workshop at NESCBWI Conference

NESCBWI 7 Animation Concepts Every Illustrator Should Steal Registration for the Spring NESCBWI Conference opens tomorrow, so I wanted to do a quick plug for the workshop I'm teaching there. YAY!  It's on Sunday May 5th, at 11 am, and I'd love to see you! It's for Beginner/Intermediate illustrators with information applicable to both groups. So don't be shy!

7 Animation Concepts Every Illustrator Should Steal

“Animation” sometimes gets a bad rap in the world of kid lit, but this workshop will uncover 7 commonly-employed animation concepts that every illustrator should steal to improve their work. We’ll examine each one with a mix of lecture – exploring examples from both the animation and illustration worlds - and hands-on activities demonstrating each technique.

Learning Outcomes: Participants will walk away from the event with:

  • A deeper appreciation for the drawing craft through curated examples of illustrators and animators.
  • A thorough understanding through examination and practice of specific animation tools to strengthen their work and produce dynamic illustrations.
  • A detailed resource guide and exercise handouts.

Bring a mirror and your drawing supplies!

Sound like fun? I think it's going to be a blast!

PS. The photo above is of Ollie Johnston, the last remaining artist from the legendary group known as Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men.

 

 

Paperman

Paperman Disney short

Have you see Disney's new short, Paperman? It's wonderful for so many reasons. If you haven't, check it out:

Some behind the scenes here:

Can't we get the CG to carry those drawings along with them?.. I feel we're definitely in a golden age right now of CG--there's this explosion of content...But there's part of me that believes that kind of that stylized photo realism it isn't-- it can't be the only way that computer animation can look. There's gotta be other ways that animation can look. And I feel like bringing the drawing back to it has a great deal of potential.

~ John Kahrs, Director

Yes. Hooray for drawing!

Happy Friday everybody!

Advent Calendar Round Up

Advent starts next week-- do you have your calendar yet? Advent Calendars

Printable Advent Calendar

The Marion House Book advent calendar

Wooden Creations by Chris

I had never seen a puzzle Advent Calendar before-- had you? "...Starting on December 1st you add one piece of the puzzle daily, continuing until you add the final piece on the morning of December 25."

JHill Design modern Advent Calendar

Le Petit Pot Advent Calendar

Semi-DIY Advent Calendar Nina Max Daly

Matchbox Advent Calendar

 

 

And lastly, I am in love with this tiny matchbox one. Everyday, as you remove a drawer and then slide it back in reversed, a picture is slowly revealed! So sweet.

Most of these are semi-diy and/or printable. Click on the image for directions and ordering info!

If none of these catch your fancy, head over to Oh Happy Day which has gorgeous tutorials for making your own!

We're on 'Oh My! Handmade Goodness!'

Jessika asked me to contribute a bit about our wedding to 'Oh My! Handmade Goodness!' to finish up their month of 'Celebrations' posts.  You can read a bunch (um, it was hard to stop me once I got going,) about our wedding and decorations, and how we aimed to make the whole day kid-friendly.

Really, most of the tips and ideas could work for any kind of party.  So if you have a shindig coming up, go check it out, as well as all the other posts from July.

It was so much fun to write.  As always, thanks for having me OMHG!

Thanks for the Etsy Treasury Love!

I'm happy to tell you, a bunch of my prints have been featured in various Etsy Treasuries lately! For those of you who don't speak 'Etsy':

The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whatever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy.

I wanted to list them here, as each one was beautifully curated.  Click on the images to purchase/check out the goodies! etsy treasury round up

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etsy treasury round up

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etsy treasury round up

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etsy treasury round up

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etsy treasury round up

Aren't they pretty?  Hmm I know I'm bookmarking some of them for presents later on...

Thanks so much to Sol Del Sur, eat pray create, live.flourish, Miss Emmy Green, and artsyville for including me!

Wedding Fun

This past July, on the only sunny weekend, Austin, my friend (since nursery school!) was married in her parents' beautiful backyard overlooking the water.  I made a few items for the event and I'm really happy with how they came out. 

Wedding programs waiting to be cut:

Printed Pablo Neruda poem read in Spanish by Austin followed by the English translation by Oliver.

Place cards made from vintage National Geographic Maps:

Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with my round-corner-punch?  

Congratulations Austin and Oliver!