I'm Cuckoo for Bootcamp!

I loved Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells (B) class so much, that when she announced her new Assignment Bootcamp, I signed up immediately. Her briefs are so fun and the talent among the students really pushes me to do my best work. And a looming deadline always helps!

Our first assignment was cuckoo clocks. So many fun elements to explore. And I love clocks. The final design needed to work on a smart phone case. I knew I wanted to explore both a placement graphic and a repeat pattern. The graphic designer in me also wanted to include text.

In the end, the placement graphic stole the show. I'll be ordering this for my iPhone. But I think it would also be really cute for kids pajamas, with patterned leggings. Don't you?

Here are my repeat patterns in various colorways:

Under the Big Top

One of the really great things that came out of my Lilla Rogers class last fall, is a fantastic group of artists that continue to be a source of support and inspiration for each other. A bunch of us formed a portfolio building group. Every month we have an assignment—given by one of the artists—a deadline and a place to post our work and receive valuable feedback. This past month's assignment was circus-themed bedding for children. Have a look at my take on it:

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago I decided to take my design in a new direction and explore the world of making art for products—with an ultimate goal of licensing my creations. I started a blog, created a web site and embraced social media. It's been a fun and fantastic ride—building my portfolio and discovering I'm not only a designer, but also an illustrator. Here are a few of the key highlights from my year:

• attended Surtex—the art licensing trade show—and helped my friend Natalie in her booth
• enrolled in Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells B class
• became a Minted designer
• honored as first runner-up in the Tigerprint competition for hand-lettering
• featured designer on the Tigerprint blog

It's been a great year of discovery and stepping out of my comfort zone.  I'm so excited to see what this next year will bring (hopefully a few licenses???!)… Onward and upward!

As always, thanks for reading.

Sweet!

So, apparently today is National Chocolate Cake Day! Yum! I wonder who thinks these things up? Is there a committee? Sounds like a pretty sweet job to me. Seems like the perfect day to post some new Valentine-inspired designs! Without further ado, here are a few peeks at my Something Sweet Collection.

Luckily it was my youngest daughter's birthday this past weekend so we have some left-over cake floating around our kitchen—chocolate of course! What will you do to get your fix???

Valentine's Cards

Anyone out there with little tikes that need cute classroom valentines? My design is now available for purchase on Minted!


















Check it out here!

Runner-up!

A couple of weeks ago, I entered the Tigerprint Competition for hand-lettered type. Tigerprint supplies exclusive cards and wrapping to Marks and Spencer in the UK. They were specifically looking for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Birthday concepts. I took out my india ink, brushes, pens and paper and got busy.

I knew that two of my designs made the top 53 out of 240 entrants (top and bottom—perhaps Eat Cake! was too bossy??) Yesterday, they published the results. While I was beyond thrilled to see my Love design as the top runner-up, it was a tad bittersweet to see they chose no winner, as the entries didn't fit with their line. Alas, I will be getting a great font book as a prize. Back to the drawing board I go….

See the results here Tigerprint Competition

New Logos

I recently designed a of couple new logos for some pretty special girl entrepreneurs. My 11 year old twins, along with two friends, started an organization called Creatures for Care. They knit and crochet some amazing little critters to donate to children in need. They began this group on their own and make-up the animals as they go, relying solely on their creativity—no patterns.

They've donated their first two batches of creatures to children staying at Seacoast Family Promise, an inter-faith shelter for homeless families. We are on the look-out for more organizations who might want to receive some of these cuties—my house is getting quite full!

They recently started a blog to to promote their group and highlight some of their favorite animals. You can find it here: Creatures for Care blog

And check out some of these beauties…

Wolff Neckies

My teenage neighbor, a fantastic competitive ski-racer, has been busy in her down time making and selling neck gators. She sews with super cute fabrics on the outside, soft fleece on the inside and a velcro enclosure in the back. Here is the logo I designed for her business and a snapshot of her cool products: