Pillows with Plushies!

Recently the very talented Kass, one of my Etsy shop customers, contacted me with these fab photos. Aren't these pillows totally fun and clever? Animal plushies she made using some of my patterns are cleverly tucked into the scenery.

                                                    
                                                    Then they come out to play!

I especially love the fabric she chose for the "pond" - a dazzling blue/green moire.
Wouldn't you be psyched to receive one of these pillows as a gift?
I bet Rosina and William will have a lot of fun with them.
Thanks so much to Kass for sharing her project with me!

My favorite kind of illustration job

A new assignment from High-Five magazine and it's my favorite kind: a cozy indoors scene. Here's a snippet of the sketch. xo

Hello!

I'm so excited about this new magazine for babies by the Highlights company. It's printed on really nice glossy heavy stock. So far I've done a cover...

... and also a story for a different issue. The printing turned out great, and basically I would be happy to illustrate the whole issue every month!

It's swell to have another venue for very young illustration work.
Thank you, Highlights!

Working it out

I'm in the early stages of illustrating a new story by the fabulous Barbara Bottner. This is the fun part - where all the potential is there...it's a brand new world.  I'm trying to visually work things out with thumbnails in a way that makes sense and enhances the story. This one is a bit tricky as there are two side-by-side narratives...

I'm getting to know the characters, deciding who they are, what they'll be wearing, etc.
The main story line takes place at the beach - I love doing beachy outfits!
Men are the hardest for me, but I like this hip dad I came up with.
Things always change and morph somewhat through the sketch phase and into final art stage, but at least the bones are there to build from. It's a fun time!

Easter bunnies!

Two little Easter Bunnies hopped into the yard today.
Easter is my favorite holiday - with the bright colors, the hope of spring after a long winter.
Have a wonderful day!

Belated Birthday Bunny

Since I was in the mode of sewing - making the simple elephant and bunny patterns to go with my new book - I finally managed to make a very belated birthday bunny for my friend Karen. In her birthday card, many months ago, I had included swatches from about 10 vintage fabrics that I thought she'd like, so she got to choose. I love how it turned out.

With a larger scale print like this, I have to be more careful in how I place the patterns so that large motifs will be in good places.
I always love how these bunnies look from the back too.

This stuffed bunny pattern was inspired by the bunny I created for this book by Linda Sue Park for Clarion some years ago. When I made the first bunny, I thought it was the best thing I'd ever made!
I started selling them in my Etsy shop, and they were very popular.
Here's a sampling of those I sold:

There was a thrill in listing a new bunny and having it purchased usually within hours. Compared to the long process of illustrating a book, the immediate response and connection with buyers was so satisfying, and a sale always made me want to make a new one. Also, each bunny was different.
But it was certainly far from cost-effective, so eventually I had to stop selling bunnies.
However, this bunny was the inspiration for my next book, My Blue Bunny Bubbit which will be published by Clarion this fall.
It's funny the circularity of things, how one thing leads to another in a way you'd never expect!

Second proofs for my next book

this week i received a copy of the second proofs for my next book!
it's called My Blue Bunny Bubbit, and will come out in the fall. the art for the book was put together digitally, which is a first for me. i used a combination of traditional and digital to create the artwork, and it was very strange and kind of anticlimactic to just upload the finished files to the art director's Drop Box after all the months of work. before, there would be the ceremonious labeling and careful packing of the original art, taking the box to Fedex, and then receiving an appreciative and enthusiastic phone call from the editor and art director when they had received the package and were seeing the art for the first time.

however, there was a reason to develop this new way of working - it was something that i felt called to do for this particular story, and i'm very happy with what i came up with and will probably continue to work this way. i was worried about how the art would print, since on the computer you're always seeing a brighter version of things due to the back-lit screen and you feel a certain disconnect. but i needn't have worried because it's printing very well, and pretty close to what i expected.

the story has a sewing theme, so i'm also making simple version sewing patterns of the two stuffed toys that will be available to readers through Clarion Book's website. i hope parents and kids will enjoy making them together! these are the first round samples - i'll show the finals next. xo