IllustrationFriday: "100%"

Although she is a tomboy, she's still 100% female and so he is 100% in love as his opponent is 100% beaten on this 100% wintery day. (Boy is this a stretchable topic if i've ever seen one.)

You can get this design on a junior's or women's tee for a tomboy you know, in my store.

My Christmas Card

Every year I make a new illustration to send as our Christmas card to family and friends. (I couldn't show it until after I had sent it to everyone.) My message behind this started with the Scripture "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." in Psalm 51 So I came up with snowmen. What will they be doing? A mother snowman is straightening a child snowman's scarf. Wouldn't it be cool to pose real snowmen like that? But only a photograph would deliver the idea that they're not actually moving snowmen but posed, unless I really brainstormed little indications for it in an illustration.

After I drew the basic drawing, I wanted it to be more specifically for Christmas, as opposed to just a winter illustration. Besides the red and green colors, this is where the symbols come in: Christmas trees on the scarf, gifts on the hat, and then drums on the mittens (the little drummerboy being one of my fave seasonal songs), and of course hearts for Love on the mother's hat.

Plus, I decided Christmas light bulbs were more fitting objects for eyes than coal is.

To view the context of this card, and other Christmas cards of mine, go to my Portfolio

IllustrationFriday: Little Things

Here's my series of the little things that are evidences of having little ones in a family:

To me, these little things are blessings.

IllustrationFriday: Excess

For "excess," I thought of a girl playing dress-up. This girl is 100% girl. You can buy this on a shirt for yourself (women's size) or for a girly girl you know (girl's size), in my shop. Since you're here, want to check out my new Christmas decorations ? :)

Christmas Decor

This year I've decorated for Christmas in all blue, with silver. There's a space on our large wall that I switch out a wall-hanging seasonally. I just made something blue to put there:

I had some blue fabric and ribbon from my chair slipcovers I made a couple years ago (they are below). I covered a piece of cardboard with the fabric and the ribbon then in the center put on 2 silver foliage "picks" (all assembled, in an assortment of colors and designs at walmart, 97 cents each). Then stuck on these decorative snowflakes I bought. Aren't glue guns great, you can adhere anything to anything. Here's a closeup:

And there it is on the wall, in context to the dining area.

(I love making different decorations in some themed color by gathering whatever I have already in those colors--any candles that are blue, a silver platter, a pine sprig from our tree, more of the above snowflakes, and another decorative foliage "pick", a blue Christmas card from a previous year framed on that shelf...) Here is that centerpiece on the table, closeup:

Here is the chair slipcovers I made a couple years ago; blue tone-on-tone fabric and satin ribbon. (Our dining set consists of a table my dad made when my parents first got married, and a set of old banquet-hall sort of chairs from a garage sale...so I made slipcovers)

In this vase I'm usually switching out seasonal decorations so for my blue theme I got some blue poinsettas (.94 cents at walmart) and also what I spread around with the snowflakes are some frosted pinecones.

So also our Christmas tree has all blue lights (we've always liked those, every year) and I'll be wrapping the presents under it in only blue paper. (Some are faintly seen down there). We just draw the line at restricting the ornaments to all blue, because I think it's more important with some things in your house to have sentimental ornaments or things that our kids make, etc.

All this and I said goodbye to my fall decorations (my favorite season!). Here's what my fall decor looked like-- the centerpiece on the table: I already had the candles, platter and fabric napkin. Added decorative fabric leaves I got last year and the walnut shells from our friendly neighborhood squirrel.

I switch out this shelf too: The left side is another already-assembled foliage decoration from walmart, and you can view/buy the vase here, and I added some pinecones we found:

The place where my new blue wall decoration is now, I had this art flag:

I got this great metal tree decoration by Kristina Frye for my birthday: (view/buy it here)

Here's that vase again, 2 foliage things I bought:

On another shelf of a "window" in the wall, another assembled foliage thing on top of more of those purple berry things above:

(Whew that was fun)...thanks for looking!!

IllustrationFriday: TheZoo

Coincidentally, the Friday we get the topic "The Zoo" was actually Black Friday. I immediately thought of the shopping malls being like a zoo! click to view larger, but here are some details:

Don't know if I'll be coloring this any time soon but I really enjoyed this!! I say the most fun about making an illustration is telling a story in a picture.

IllustrationFriday: Scale

I am always teaching my kids. I like to let my 3yearold weigh the produce on the scale at the store.

IllustrationFriday: Stuperstition

Around Christmas time, there's been a superstition since the Olde Tymes that you have to kiss whoever is standing under the Mistletoe. I was making this male cardinal as a secondary character in my new Christmas card illustration...thought I'd use him in this IllustrationFriday. The Christmas Card? I can't reveal that until after I've mailed it out to friends and family :) It's a surprise every year. Hey I finished last week's "Scale," view it here.

IllustrationFriday: Scale, line only

(I finished this one now--view it here)

IllustrationFriday: Trick or Treat

Drew this a couple years ago for line art on a flier for our annual harvest festival at church. Colored it for fun and practice. (Normally I have pencil line on top of my textures but this worked with no line.)