Autumn Arrivals

Hello out there! Got some new cute things going into my Etsy shop that you have to check out! Apple pie, hot cider, pumpkin pie and...llamas?

Well, if you have a thing for llamas....and fall...and llamas in fall....this is for you!

Also, if you're stuck on the cutey turtles, this little fall note pack is something to check into.

Stay tuned in to my shop as I'm uploading a bunch of awesome ornaments....so perfect as Christmas party presents. Can be personalized in any way you want. Enjoy the season!

A very Turtle-y Christmas!

I've been thinking about that small percentage of people (and I know you're out there...) that seem to be obsessed with turtles. And so I thought, what might a turtle-lovin' person want for Christmas? What might I give those adoring fans of the beautiful, docile, shell-sporting reptile......how about some ornaments!!!

This idea is not completely of my own invention. I saw some cool cube decorations and seeing as how all of my turtle illustrations are square (a framing nightmare by the way!) a wooden cube seemed to be just perfect for them. Add to that an obsession with pretty paper and a desire to learn the "distressed" technique and there you have it.....country style Turtle Christmas ornaments!

The large size is available in my Etsy shop now. I'll be adding some smaller fun ones soon. And not all turtles either. Did I mention that Turtle Holiay Card sets with awesome metallic envelopes are available now too! Oooooooh.....sparkly!

Cards and Magnets...ooh la la!

I just added some great new crafty items to my shop! Check 'em out if you're interested in stationery and magnets. I'm still in the middle of craft fair season here. The hard part about being an artist/crafter is that every weekend I attend a craft fair I think I'm ready for the next one....but in between the fairs I'm making more art and of course want to bring the new things along! So I'm never ready! It's a lot of work but also a lot of fun. At the Scarecrow Festival a couple of weekends ago I met so many great families and amazing kids. One in particular kept coming back to visit me (if you're reading this...Hi Leyah!!!) and bringing people with her to exclaim over my work. To see kids spend their dollars on my prints because they love them so much certainly warms my heart. Now if only I could hire Leyah as my spokesperson on these crafting weekends so I could shop around myself! (Leyah? Wanna be an artists' apprentice?!)

We are enjoying fall in New England as everyone should with hayrides, apple crisp, walks in the leaves and head colds! If you're in the area come by Colchester green for the Pumpkins and Pooches fair this Sunday and visit me....or at least check out all the pooches in costume! Happy Autumn everyone!

Lovey-Dovey Turtles

February is almost here! I'm not trying to rush you or anything but you realize that if we start celebrating February, pretty soon it will be March, yes, it will probably still be snowy and cold BUT the first day of Spring is March 20th.....and then it will be April and then....JUNE! Oh, the anticipation! In my opinion, God made winter to toughen me up and teach me to hope and wait for what I desire. And I always desire SUMMER!

In celebration of February I've been working on more Love Turtles for Valentine's Day. First, I finished the "Love is in Season" Turtle:

And then I made him into a card!

Then I drew some Tango-ing Turtles.

And made them into cards. I couldn't decide which design I liked best...they're all so cute!

Can you see...the caption says "It takes two...." Because of course, it takes two to tango! These designs are already listed over in my Etsy shop. I'm starting to get the hang of Etsy and am really amazed at all the artists and crafters on there. So much talent! I just made my first sale through Etsy this week! Hooray! Thank you, Maria!

I planned to attempt the deadline for Illustration Friday this week. The topic was "climbing" and I had an idea and a sketch drawn out but just couldn't get it done. I'm really hoping to start participating in that forum. It is very inspiring to look at other artists/illustrators submissions, they are SO beautiful! And it is very good practice for coming up with a concept, sketch and finished illustration quickly. Just look at some of my favorites this week....

Laura Zarrin

Carmen Keys

Kristin

Mike Desantis

Aren't they beautiful? I aspire to be as good as these artists! Some day....

What the world needs now...

....is love, sweet love!

Valentine's Day is coming up next! So I've listed some lovey-dovey type turtles over on Etsy. I'm hoping to come up with some new illustrations in the upcoming weeks too. I'll put them up as I finish them. Leave me a comment and let me know what kind of L-O-V-E, Love Turtles you think would be cute.