Creative Thursday

happy easter!

happy Valentine's Day!

A little Valentine I made up with the help of Instagram and my new favorite app Brushes. I had no idea how fun it is to add drawings over the top of your photographs?!

And below are a couple of new paintings I also created in honor of today. I know some take issue with Valentine's Day being a commercial holiday that can feel 'pushed' and I get it. I do. But, STILL! A day that focuses on LOVE is worth celebrating in my book.

*happy LOVE day*

my Valentine's Card by Papyrus

This is my newest collaboration with Papyrus that just came out this month. I love how it turned it out. So sweet, glitter, ribbon and bedazzled to boot. Even the message Papyrus chose is perfect 'lots of love to you. happy day' You could send this to someone well past Valentine's day!

Over at the shop right now! I listed the only 9 cards I have available to share. 

lots of love to you and oh happy day!

celebrating a birthday

I celebrated a birthday this weekend. Quiet and easy just as it should be on some years. Surrounded by beautiful flowers and gifties, dining on my favorite Sushi, and cake accompanied by my favorite wine and lots of  contact with people I love. From in person visits, to calls, emails, and tweets and texts ~ thanks for all your sweet messages!...And next year! oh I'm already getting excited for next year's birthday....

happy holiday time

As the year winds down and I start to unplug {literally and figuratively}, the reality of everything I've accomplished and experienced in these last twelve months in particular is beginning to settle in, and I think I'm ready for a long winter's nap. ;) With the first draft of the book already finished, I am very much looking forward to returning here to the blog again with more to say and share with you in 2012.

Until then~ I've already snuck away and am taking a break until the first week in January. Visiting family {Ashland is so pretty and festive this time of the year with their main street all lit up above} and friends and getting inspired and excited for what's next.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday time! Happy Christmas all! 

my first open studio

*You are Invited*

This Friday, December 16 from 4 - 9 pm. 

9019 Ashcroft Avenue, West Hollywood 90048

Spiced Wine, Holiday Treats and Art!

Please RSVP as parking permits will be provided.

Today @ 10 am PST

30 new handmade creations all being released at the same time over at the shop this morning. See you there!

 

i love my yeti

6 x 6 in.

Bursts of creative inspiration lately ~ it's the season. No surprise if you know me, I LOVE this time of year. It just makes me happy.  I'm also getting ready for my annual holiday shop update tomorrow @ 10 am PST. Looking forward to sharing some new ornaments with you....!!

This fellow is inspired by my Lizzy's holiday cards that I adore and by our new Yeti microphone that we {Sean and I} are currently obsessing about because it makes recording podcasts crazy fun. Oh and the little guy hanging on to the Yeti is Erwin. Am thinking that he is a new character?!

Seriously, who does not love a {friendly} Yeti? This might be one of my favorite paintings this year.

{original is available here and a print is here}

holiday cards + new postcard sets are here!

Since I've been sharing so many Iphone/Instagram photos lately, I wanted to take some pretty, clear ones of the new cards and then I fell in love with this Iphone version that I had to include after all :)

hope you enjoy the new additions! now over at the shop

from halloween to holiday

That's how it goes these days, doesn't it? Do we get a break in between Halloween and Thanksgiving anymore or as soon as the candy is taken down from the store aisles do the Christmas ornaments come in? Oh wait, I think they may have been out already in September? or were those the twinkly lights?

Sometimes it feels like retailers are rushing our seasons? Or maybe they always have and I'm only noticing because now I'm a retailer of sorts. I don't want to be one of those retailers but I've also decided not to push against it anymore and honestly Christmas time is one of my favorite seasons ~ so if it has to spill into the year a little more, that's Ok by me.

I'm also just as much of a sucker for holiday music as I am for roasted pumpkin seeds {which I did have on Halloween by the way, and thoroughly enjoyed every last one of them, in case you were wondering} I confess: holiday music is playing right now in my studio. It's inspiration for my holiday card designing which started today ~ featuring the little fellow above, shown here as a sketch. The combination of pencil lines and white paint on natural wood are so pretty. And so is holiday music {so pretty} my kind that is, which includes Sarah McLachlan's entire Wintersong album and Joni Mitchell's 'River', Ray Charles' 'Winter Wonderland' {remember that scene in 'When Harry Met Sally' where Harry and Sally are carrying home their first Christmas tree in NYC} and Nat King Cole's 'A Cradle in Bethlehem',  Mahalia Jackson's 'White Christmas', and Peggy Lee's 'The Christmas Spell'