Eric Perrotti's Music!

Today is my and my husband's wedding anniversary! So I thought this a good day to introduce you all to Eric. He is a wonderful husband and father and a fabulous musician composer. We are very excited to finally have him on YouTube. He is also here. His latest album will soon be available online and I will keep you up on his news. Take a listen. :)

NEW- Embroidery Pattern PDF - Sweet Escape!

Introducing my very first embroidery pattern now available in my shop!! I am crazy about smiling fruits and veggies and embroidered kitchen towels! This is my first attempt at a pattern using my "Sweet Escape" illustration. I haven't had allot of experience embroidering but I'm really wanting to take it up. Wouldn't these make sweet kitchen towels? Maybe I'll get industrious and make up a bunch before next Christmas to give as gifts. I'm hoping someone will buy it, make it and send me a photo so I can post it here. ^-^

My face hurts from smiling! :D

I love Etsy and I love @Etsy on Twitter. I was sitting at my computer working on an embroidery pattern I'm making using one of my drawings when I decided to check Twitter and saw @Etsy had tweeted, "Circus front page right now is excellent!" I thought, "I have circus illustrations" and then clicked on the link to find YES my Dancing Bear Circus print was featured! Exciting stuff.

Last week I about fell out of my chair when I checked my email and saw my Russian Doll and Snowman Coloring/Activity book featured along with a bunch of cool books in the Etsy Finds: Burn After Reading article in The Storque, Etsy's blog. I'm happy to report that was very good exposure and I sold a number of coloring books as a result. Thank you Etsy people!!! :)

Alice and Nadine

I'm excited to share- New in my shop Alice in Wonderland Coloring Book PDF.

I had a fun morning today. I visited my friend Nadine Buckinger and after a nice chat we traveled over to the Gateway gallery where her work is on exhibit. Remember my earlier post about her beautiful encaustic paintings? I am so happy and proud of her. She is a big hit and her paintings are going so fast. She had already sold eleven of the ones on exhibit! I knew the day I met her and saw her work for the first time she was really talented. Congratulations Nadine! Continued Success!! :)

That voodoo that blue do so well.

This blue (and pink) inspired treasury features some of my favorite pieces from some of my favorite artists and shop owners. Love, Love, LOVE these!! Be sure to check out their shops:

HollyRocks

Sabbio

BorkedPlanet

TheVintageWren

Moor

DarklingWoods

LouiseBroomhead

LoveLeeSoaps

PlasticPumpkin

Variation

ValeriaTelier

Vireo

Treasuries!

Etsians have been very kind to me this week and included my items in these 3 fun treasuries! Trutexasscents included my Sheri the Diner Waitress print in her retro dining inspired treasury. Valeriatelier included my Violet the Diner Waitress ACEO print in her pretty violet and lavender treasury and Choumie7 lavishes some sun on us in this bright and cheery treasury that includes my Sunny Russian Doll Small Babushka print. I am honored to have items chosen and included in these splendidly done treasuries! Thank you. :)

SALE Valentine Weekend Feb. 12-15, 2010

Hi Everybody! Happy Valentine's weekend to you all! I am offering a special sale in my shop starting today through Monday:

SALE February 12-15: For every item that you purchase priced at $12.00 or less leave me a message at checkout of a second item of equal or lesser value that you would like for free!

As usual I am also offering Free Shipping!

Have a Great Valentine's Weekend! :)

Pencil Sketches

It has been requested that I share some of my original pencil sketches here. These are from my Alice in Wonderland Characters series. The top one shows my original sketch of Alice holding the baby that has just changed into a pig. The next the Mad Hatter, and bottom the Duchess. The bottom two were literally thumbnail sketches (quite small). I find it interesting how much a drawing changes from it's beginning sketch to it's finalized illustration. Many times I fall in love with the original sketch and almost morn it because I seldom look at it again once I am finished with a drawing. Then, years later, I will have a sudden uncontrollable urge to find the sketch and look at it (prove to myself it still exists). I have become knee deep in sketches over the years so it is a matter of figuring out which container, sketch book, year I was working on it. I hope you find these drawings interesting when compared to the final drawings (previously posted), I hope you enjoy them and thank you for letting me share them with you. :)

Nadine Buckinger Artist

I would like to introduce you to my good friend

Artist Nadine Buckinger. Her beautiful paintings are on exhibit at

Gateway Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC, Jan. 22 - March 20,

in an exhibit entitled "Surfacing".

The opening was a huge success! Nadine sold 7 paintings!

I'm not surprised, her work is fabulous. She has really found her medium in encaustic. With wax and pigment she paints with such simplicity of line, richness of texture and yummy hue

that her work is simply irresistible.

To learn more about Nadine visit her website.

Alice in Wonderland Character Series

Back in the Fall I drew a series entitled "Props from Alice in Wonderland"; The spotted mushroom, the Mad Hatter's hat, "Eat me" macarons, and tea cups, all in pink and white. That was the first group in my Alice in Wonderland series. This group entitled "Characters" is drawn in two shades of pink, light blue, light yellow, black and white.

"Characters" introduces us to Alice in a big way, also The Mad Hatter, The Duchess, The Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit, and The Queen of Hearts. The Alice illustrations tell the story of changes she experiences throughout the story. The bewildered look on her face, is directed at the baby she is holding in her arm that just turned into a pig. Her other arm and hand are being thrust through an open window as she once again enormously grows . Her standing legs and feet are symbolic of her height since her height keeps changing. The Cheshire Cat is grinning from inside her because children are so curious as is Alice. So, all five of the center illustrations make up Alice in puzzle like form and then the other characters surround and encircle her, illustrating that the characters bombard and confuse her in the story.

I really wanted to portray the Characters in a non-threatening way. The Props series was suitable to hang in a nursery with its simple shapes and monochromatic pink. It is a calm series. I have the independent toddler in mind for The Character series. When children reach the age of "I'm a big girl. I'm not a baby anymore." The phase when their rooms are transformed from a baby nursery theme to some characters they like. This is also why I portrayed Alice as younger than she is in the book (so that young children could identify with her and also look up to her because she is probably 7 or 8).

As I was saying it was important to me that these characters not be too ominous, not scary in any way. So, The Mad Hatter looks "Mad" in a happy out of his mind kind of way. The Duchess, who is considered by the story and original illustrations to be an ugly woman, I gave pig like features (since she may be the Mother of the child who turns into a pig). Instead of ugly I was going for a sweet pig lady. The Cheshire Cat was particularly important to me to give a happy grin because my daughter finds some characters with big grins to be rather scary. The rabbit I did not draw as irritated which, as he is late, can not find his gloves and fan etc., could be portrayed that way. Instead I tried giving him a handsome portrait. The Queen of Hearts was a challenge. She IS always shouting, "Off with her head!" A rather violent, bossy queen. I played up the bossy side and could not keep her from shouting but tried not to make her look mean.

I hope you like and enjoy this new series. I will be offering them in my shop in the next couple of days. I've been drawing so much for the past week I have gotten behind in everything else and must catch up today, but hope to list these in my shop tomorrow. :)

Fancy Cats!

Meet Francesca and Felipe, now available in my shop! They are my latest drawings (I just drew them today) and my first kitty cats. I hope you like them. :)

Please Vote for HTS Jan. 15-22

Wolves in Love Valentine Print

Love is in the air! I am in the process, starting today, of adding Valentine prints to my shop. This one features details from my Little Red Riding Hood Valentine illustration. These prints are on 11"x8.5" (red heart on white rectangular background) paper and can be used as such or can be cut out in a heart shape to give as a card or hang as a decoration. :)

♥♥ Valentines! ♥♥

Valentine's Day is coming! Something warm to look forward to in this super cold month. :) New in my shop- this sheet of 8 Valentine cards featuring 4 of my illustrations and sweet Valentine messages!

Diner Waitress / Beehive Hairdo

Violet, Chiffon, Sheri, and Peaches make up my Diner Girls series. They are now available in my shop! Alyssa Tasker helped me with writing a story about each of them (read description in shop). Thanks again Al! And come to think of it, it was her suggestion I draw portraits of different hairdos. She is pure genius! I hope you like them. :)

Retro Hairdo Series

Introducing the first two drawings from my Retro Hairdo Series: Josie and Rita! Alyssa Tasker suggested I do a series of hairdo drawings. Thank you for the suggestion Al! It has been fun, Fun, FUN! :)

They are now available in my shop in 3 sizes: 8.5"x11", 5"x7", and an ACEO 2.5"x3.5".

Amy Pigtails Print

Happy New Year to you all! I've been working on my retro hairdo drawings: beehives, up-dos, even one with a pill box hat! When this sweet creature appeared. I was thinking of a 1970's pigtail hairdo when she transformed into a little girl that reminds me of Amy March from Little Women. It is funny how illustrations evolve and take on a life of their own sometimes. She is now available in my shop in 3 sizes: 8.5"x11", 5"x7", and an ACEO 2.5"x3.5". I am offering all three sizes on all my illustrations whenever possible.

Fun and Wacky New Year!

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and I want to wish all of you a very happy 2010! Thank you for making my first blogging year a fun one with all your kind comments and follows! I am so happy to have made so many friends around the world.

I'm thinking ahead to the new year and coming up with some new fun and wacky creations. Alyssa Tasker gave me the idea to do hairdo drawings (Beehive above in progress). Thanks Al! Al has such fun ideas.
Also, I finally finished this grumpy little bird illustration and listed it in my shop! :)

Owl Jack in the Box!

New in my shop Owl Jack in the Box DIY PDF toy craft! Making this Owl in the box was a request from my friend Michelle. Thank you Michelle!

Now Available! Babushka with a Pearl Earring!

New Drawing! Now available in my shop! :)

Alice in Wonderland Prints Now Available!

Now available in my shop Alice!

Also new to my shop Alice in Wonderland Prop illustration prints!

Russian Dolls Gift Guide

Russian dolls make a very fun gift theme! In my shop I have ACEOs and gift tags, small prints, letter size prints, pinback buttons, pocket mirror/pinback button gift sets, and DIY printable toy tent card dolls and coloring sheets. They are sure to bring a smile to the face of any little girl or girlfriend on your gift list!

Russian Doll and Snowman Gift Ideas

Looking for a gift theme? Mix and match these items from the "Russian Doll and Snowman" collection for sweet, fun, affordable gift giving! Happy Holidays!

5"x7" prints, letter size prints, accessories, cards, gift tags and ACEOS, a coloring/activity book

Coloring / Activity Book!

I'm so excited about these Russian Doll and Snowman coloring and activity books!!

They include:

4 coloring pages,

1 maze,

1 draw your own snow globe scene and

2 tent card dolls to make!

I print and assemble each book by hand (you can read more about how I make them in the description). They really are a labor of love because I enjoy working with these illustrations so much. I'm proud of how these turned out. I really think they're fun! I hope you like them too! :)

Free Shipping World Wide!

Free shipping world wide in my shop!! Happy Holidays everybody! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!! :)

Holiday Gift Tags

Now available in my shop sets of holiday gift tags! These are ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) prints. Fun and affordable miniature art, the size of a baseball cards (2.5"x3.5"), to collect, display or trade. Usually I sell these in my shop individually but for the holidays I'm offering a special reduced price on sets of 4 to use as gift tags or to give as gifts. :)

Orange U Blue Treasury

This is a treasury I just made including some of my favorite color combinations. I find these pieces inspiring and fun! Hope you like. :)

Meerkat

Yesterday I was saying on twitter that I was between illustrations at the moment and did not really have a clue what I would be drawing next. When alyssatasker responded that I should draw "a purple meerkat". Well since my daughter loves Disney's the Lion King and purple is her favorite color and alyssatasker did ask me, I thought, "Yes! I should!" And so that is what I did today. What do you think of my little meerkat? Now available in my shop! Free shipping worldwide!

New- Little Red Riding Hood Winter Holiday, 6 Blank Card Set with Envelopes!

Now listed in my shop Little Red Riding Hood Winter Holiday cards, set of 6. Send individually as holiday greeting cards or give the set as a gift of winter note cards. Two of these sets are listed in my shop but I can make as many as you'd like so please contact me if you would like more. :)

Teddy and Ginger, Jack in the Box, Holiday Pop Up Decorations

Introducing Teddy and Ginger! Ta-Da! This adorable pair is spring loaded for fun holiday decorating! DIY printable PDF crafts are new in my shop! I love gingerbread. Can you tell? he he.

Jack in the Box DIY PDF Toy Crafts!

New in my shop!! :) I'm so excited. I love making toys!!

I've been busy the last 2 days coming up with these sweeties. Introducing, "Poppet and Moppet" Jack in the Boxes. I just listed them in my shop as a DIY PDF toy craft. Hope you like!

New! FREE Shipping Worldwide!

Free shipping on all items in my shop!!!

Also, I've added some new items and relisted some older pieces.

All in time for the holiday season! :)

Sweet Holiday DIY Gift Tag PDF

I just added these sweet little guys to my shop! :) They are available as a sweet and convenient DIY PDF. Purchase and print as many as you want as often as you want! I myself am fighting the urge to print out a million of them and set them up on the floor all over my house while blaring some classical music and maybe even do a stop action movie with them!!! :O LOL I've gone mad with cuteness! ;)

Indian Nesting Doll Family Sneak Peek

A sneak peek at the latest in my series of nesting doll families— an Indian family of babushkas. Alas, I am out of ink. So printing and proofing the colors will have to wait. I'm glad I don't have to wait to show them to you though! :)

Tuareg Family of Nesting Dolls

It's all about family this week! :) Here is my Tuareg nesting doll family illustration. I loved the purple one so much I had to make an indigo and a rose!

Nesting Doll Drawings

I've drawn lots of Russian dolls, but never a family of nesting dolls. I was thinking it's about time I did. So, here is my first nesting doll family in various black and white variations. Which one do you like best? :)