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!

Illustrator Crush: Susan Gal

Sometimes drawing feels like work-- and not because it actually is.  More like...things get dull.  Luckily, when that happened the other day I was nosing around and came across Susan Gal of Gal Girl Studios.  A little bit retro, with lots of great textures and patterns, her work reminded me to have fun:

Susan Gal

See what I mean?

This one made me laugh out loud:

Check out her site to see more!

All images by Susan Gal.

Babies...

Man, I've got babies on the brain.  What with my recently adopted cousin (who we cannot stop gushing about!), a pregnant friend, a baby I get to watch a few hours a week, and our friends in labor. right. now (!!!)...well, you understand. If you can relate, you'll enjoy the links below.  Just click on the pictures.

Rummey Bears

B + G: we love you guys and cannot wait to meet Sky!!!

Tiny me on Uppercase Mag blog

I recently submitted a piece to Uppercase magazine for their "Feeling Bookish?" call for entries.  They were asking for self portraits of artists as book covers: Uppercase magazing

I love Uppercase.  G got it for my mom for her birthday last year and she's been generously sharing her copies with me.  Each one is so gorgeous and printed on thick luxurious paper...The kind of magazine you never throw away.  Basically a lovely book, you get monthly in the mail, filled with inspiration and crafty people and amazing arty things... I could go on.  But I won't-- if you haven't already, you should check it out for yourself.

Yep, I know what I'm asking for this Christmas.

Anyways, a few days after submitting my illustration, I noticed it up on their blog!  Can you see it up there?  You have to look close! Uppercase mag I guess I made the short list-- they'll print their favorites in the next issue.

Fingers crossed.

Jogging: "Everybody's Doing It"

So I'm trying to become a jogger. (Everytime I talk about jogging, I can't help but think of Anchorman when Ron Burgandy says,

"Veronica and I are trying this new fad called uh, jogging.  I believe it's jogging-- or yogging.  It might be a soft j.  I'm not sure, but apparently you just run for an extended period of time.  It's supposed to be wild."

I love that movie.)

One of my dearest friends has become a bonafide runner, and I'm trying to get it together enough to do a 5K race with her in September.  5k should be no big deal, right?  I am in reasonably good shape, after all.  But so far I just feel pathetic, as it feels like someone is stabbing me in the hips and sooner, rather than later, I'm just limping along.  (I think this is because of my bowed legs.)

However I've got some new stretches, and a whole 5K plan, and G to cheer me on.  (He's totally joined The Jogging Craze.)

Any tips?  I mean, besides wearing outfits like the ones above?

PikaPackages Are Here!

Go Travel! PikaPackage

The PikaPackages are here and available for sale!  Hooray!  Take a peek at all the lovely goodies inside...

Get your Go Travel PikaPackage!

Get your Go Travel PikaPackage!

And Animal Paper Toys from me...

Gaia Cornwall

And for a limited time Pikaland is hosting a PikaPackage giveaway valued at over $70!   Check out the details here.

But of course, if you don't win, you can always buy one here!

Exciting News + August Goals

At the Drive-In...

Ooh July was so much fun!  We actually took the time this year to do a bunch of summery things, which I'm really happy about.  BBQs, and the beach, outdoor concerts, and mini road trips, ice cream stands, pool jumping, sangria drinking, drive-in movies (Above: those are my feet propped up in the car. heh.)... It sounds silly, but its like we forget to do these things sometimes.   I don't know-- its not just about being busy.  Hmm, two introverts huddled around computers all day...I'm sorry to say, its more in our nature to turn the ac up and hunker down.  So I'm glad we got out.  I'm glad I have more freckles than I've had in years!

First a couple of fun announcements:

My little shop, Other Such Things is now open! Other Such Things shop

& I'm now offering custom portraits!  Please get in touch if you're interested!  Drawing people is my favorite thing ever, so I'm especially excited about this!  I'd also be thrilled to draw your furry friends as well...

    And onto the July Goals list.  I did pretty well-- especially considering all that "getting out".  hah.

    • I opened a Twitter account. I am actually loving Twitter.  Loving it.  Which is hilarious as I was so reluctant.
    • I have a new Facebook fan page!
    • I did some new pieces and came up with a bunch of ideas for more.
    • The website and blog were tidied up.  See?  Look over there.
    • I finished the Flourish e-course and highly recommend it!
    • My newsletter is all set to go! (You can sign up here if you’d like!) Its going out TOMORROW!!
    • AND my little shop, Other Such Things is now open!  Its not fully stocked-- I'll be adding to it over the next few days.  After that I expect the inventory additions will be slower.  But I've got so many ideas for new items!  I'm really excited about it.

    So I didn't do so badly.  I think my goals shifted a bit.  Hmm August is going to be busy!  Here are some things to get me started-- I'll know I'll be adding to it.

    1. Work on making portfolios to send around to select clients.
    2. Cold Call a couple of companies for contact info.
    3. Organize promotions effort.
    4. Get a postcard ready
    5. Send out some shop press releases to blogs.

    How is everyone else in the Meetup doing?

    Playing Hookie

    G and I are playing hookie for the day and are off to Brooklyn to see The National play in Prospect Park.  I like it when we remember that New York is not so far away.  Hopefully we'll squeeze in a trip to the Brooklyn museum as well. [vimeo 11653518]

    At the very least yummy food and lovely music awaits us!  Happy Tuesday everyone...

    Goals Check-in

    veggies

    Yikes, less than a week left in July!  Hmm I still have a few more items to get to on my goal lists... But I did open a Twitter account and I have a new Facebook fan page!  Please stop by and say hello...

    Let's check in with my July Goals:

    1. Work on making portfolios to send around to select clients.
    2. Organize promotions effort.
    3. Work on a new piece for portfolio. I have a bunch of new pieces and plans for more.
    4. Send out a newsletter. (You can sign up here if you’d like!) Its going out before July ends!!
    5. Tidy up my website headers and blog sections.
    6. Finish setting up my online shop. (Other Such Things shop is OPEN right here!)
    7. Work on the shop page of my portfolio site. Its ok for now. But will definitely need more work.
    8. Send out some shop press releases to blogs.

    As I mentioned above, my little shop, Other Such Things is now open!   I'll be adding more work to it as the days go by.  However if you see anything on my portfolio site that you'd like as a print, just let me know!  Almost all the work over there can be sold as prints as well.

    Aaaand one more thing, the prints I did for Ripple are still available for sale in my shop as well.  ALL the proceeds go to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill.

    Prints for Ripple

    Here are my prints for the Ripple fundraiser:

    Otter Print for Ripple

    They're drawn in pencil and then digitally colored.  The prints are 4x6" and available after you donate $10 towards the clean up in the gulf.  Go to the Ripple blog for purchasing details and directions.  Remember, ALL the proceeds go to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill.

    Pelican Print for Ripple

    Note:  These are digital prints, so I'm happy to sell as many as people want, especially as its all going to such good causes.  So even if they're listed as "SOLD" on the site, just contact me and I'll get you a print!

    Edit: They've been sold-- Thanks guys!  But I'll be offering additional prints in my shop to continue to raise money!

    Fun Growth Chart

    Growth charts are usually for kids right?  I don't think I've grown much (in height, hah) lately, but this one seems like fun for everyone: I'm as big as

    I'm as big as...Elvis? A Baby Giraffe?  A Great White Shark's Mouth Open Wide?  A Fairy?

    See?  Way more fun than 5 foot 8 and a half.

    "I'm As Big As..." by Snowhome.