Printable Thank You note...Listed on Etsy

I just listed this sweet Snowman printable thank you note on ETSY! 

Kids I know have been loving the fill-in-the-blank style and parents love that they have them on hand.  Print as many as you like and insert them into your own envelopes.

After the New Year I will put together some freebie ones for you :)

Have a Happy Holiday ...

Family is beginning to come in....A few more presents need to be wrapped....Looking forward to spending time with my family during the holidays! 

Just in case things get too busy where I cannot make it to the computer at the end of the week....I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year!

Kids Holiday Thank you notes...

This is a recent licensed product featuring my artwork.   A sweet set of postcard style thank you notes!
They are available at Gina B. Designs......enjoy!

New Art Studio...

 I'm so happy as right now there is a contractor working on closing off our sitting room from our bedroom and that new space will become my artist studio! 

We have a nice size house but with little kids I really need a place with doors and a lock.  Working at the kitchen table and dining room table with paints and a toddler was too challenging.  I'm so looking forward to having a place to house all my paints, papers, and other supplies!  AND looking forward to the freedom of leaving my supplies out and waiting for me.  With 3 kids, I only get to work in short spurts so set up and clean up took more time than my actual painting time.

Now I am going through my piles and boxes of sketches to organize them better.  I can't believe how tricky it is.  There are so many sketches that are misc. so I guess I'll just have a HUGE miscellaneous box to place them in for now. 

So glad my husband thought of this.  Why we didn't think of it sooner?

Back to sorting...Have a great day :)

Boy Prints are up!

Just listed the Personalized Name Prints for BOYS...I hope you like them :)

New Personalized PRINTS Coming soon!

After many hours trouble shooting colors and clarity my first test run of prints arrived today and look amazing!   I was nervous to open the package and thought for sure I would have to order a second test set.  Not the case.  They look AMAZING!  Just the way I wanted to  :)

I LOVE Illustrator and have been creating images but was having trouble keeping the colors and image clarity intact.  I learned to EXPORT the image as a JPEG and from there I was able to adjust the resolution.  

ANYWAY, I am looking forward to listing these prints this week.

I have cute versions for boys too :)

Not so Foxy...

The other morning I was looking out my kitchen window and noticed a beautiful little red fox in our backyard. It was so pretty and I called the kids over to look at it. It pranced lightly up to the middle of our yard...looked up at a bird...and then pooped! In an instant we went from "Awww" to EwwwWWW!

Now I'm thinking of two weeks prior when my little girl was rolling down the hill as kids usually do in the summer AND my oldest son who ran out back barefoot to join her.

I'm either going to have to not let my kids roll down the hill or pick a section of the yard and inspect it before letting them roll down.

I never thought of these things before. Before this the only thing I worried about with the kids playing in the grass are ticks. Am I the only one who never thought of this type of situation?

Have a great night :)

Staying put afterall...

OK, after packing up 85% of our home...our move to beautiful Doylestown, PA has fallen through. The people buying our house went with a less than reputable lender and never came through with the mortgage. The owners of the home we had a contract on didn't want to wait for us anymore so resold their house to someone else (who could blame them). 

Now, I am home with the kids and unpacking the boxes to the point where our home looks like a home again. Some things will remain packed as we may try to sell again next year. Also, I would love to have a yard sale to get rid of all the extra things we have and don't need. I cannot believe how many unnecessary things we have even after making numerous trips to donate items to the thrift store! 

I am looking forward to getting more Personalized Labels and artwork on ETSY once I unpack and set up my studio again.

Have a fantastic summer :)

Love this Polaroid look.....

Download this free Polaroid 600 Instant Film Photoshop Action from AddictedtoDesign.com.

They have wonderful actions :)

I just LOVE Photoshop :)

There is this beautiful tree that I always pass on while dropping my kids off to school. In the Fall, the leaves turn a stunning yellow which contrasts so nicely against the nearly black trunk and branches (especially after the rain). I tried to capture this with my not-so-fancy-digital camera but the results never came close to how the tree looked in person.

So, I played around with it in Photoshop last night and these colors much better represent how beautiful that tree looked. The colors may look exaggerated in the "after" vs. the "before" but the colors were really that vibrant!

I just love Photoshop :)

My "Latte-Factor"...1 month Credit Card Challange!

Ever hear of the "latte factor?" It's basically how little charges everyday can add up to a lot at the end of the month. $4 a day on a latte on the way to work each morning doesn't seem like much but it adds up to $120 by the end of the month. Although I don't drink latte, I have found that my "latte-factor" is a combination of arts & craft items, home decor, fun creations on Etsy (gotta support those great artists ;) and little things here and there for the kids. Anyway, a little charge here and there for these items has been adding up.

In order to lower my charges I have made a conscious effort to find out when exactly my new credit card cycle begins and have vowed to not charge a thing unless it's food, dry-cleaning or gym. Food, diapers, etc. will be paid for with cash.

Today is day 4 and so far so good. I actually went into Hobby Lobby today and kept my wallet hidden in the car and just walked around. There were a handful of supplies & decor I would have bought but I held on.

No more frivolous charges this month!

This month I will be a "window-shopper."

Sock Monkey Couple...So in love :)

Been on ETSY way too much lately! I cannot help but browse the wonderful creations!

I just sold & relisted my Girl Sock Monkey label set and finally posted my Sock Monkey Couple for the first time. Enjoy!

Bring on 2010!

I hope everyone's celebrations were fantastic! I feel terrible that I did not send any cards out this year...not to family, friends, companies :( Things get so busy and when you combine watching 3 young kids, full-filling orders, completing editorial illustrations along with...uh...MY BRAIN... then some things slide. Since I will not let watching the kids slide or my business slide then I had to let other things slide...this year, it was sending out cards. But, I was thinking of everyone and hoping everyone was having a fun & warm holiday........Ugh! Gotta go again...Kiddies need me :)

Happy New Year Everyone!