Joining Some Reading Challenge Fun

Rrrrrrooooooaaaaaarrrr!

How awesome would this job be?

Looking Sharp.

So the new year so far has been pretty uneventful. Still sketching and reading manga. Also reading the novel Beautiful Creatures not very far but getting sucked in to the point of not wanting to set it down. But I must if I want to get some drawing done even if it's just a little which seems to be all the time and energy I have for lately. Would like to get some new stuff in the shop soon guess I better make the trip to the art supply store for some nice paper. You know the endless to do list...Well just wanted to pop over to the blog to chat and share a new site I found. If you like the illustration up top check out the rest of Kate Beaton's work at Hark! A Vagrant.

A First.

Today I was bumming around on Esty like I do sometimes. Often with the small hope that I will log in to discover I have sold something. But alas no such luck. So I decided since I was on there I would try making a treasury. I went with what I thought would be fun gifts to give that special guy in your life. It was pretty neat putting it all together, which means I will probably be doing it again soon. Take a look and you will see what I mean.
For the King of the Castle Treasury.

• Little Fox Prince, 8.5x11 ...

  ThisYearsGir...

A New Year with Some More Snow Sprinkles.

Happy New Year!
I am really hoping that 2011 is going to be thee year for me. Last year... not so great, but this year is going to be different, it has to be. So to start off the year I changed the blog background to keep you on your toes. I also started the year out by reading a ton of manga over the break. Drum roll...time for my wonderful reading list with additional comments!
In no certain order I read:
Moon Boy which is about rabbit people from the moon being pursued by the fox people. It may sound a little strange but I liked how it came off as a modern fairy tale and the drawings are really cute.
Fruits Basket is about a girl whose mother died so she gets taken in by the family of a boy in her class. It just turns out that this family is cursed by the Chinese zodiac so when they are hugged by the opposite sex or become weak they turn into that animal. Very light and fluffy.
Children of the Sea is about a girl that meets a couple of peculiar boys through her father who works at the aquarium. These boys can swim like no human and are in tune with each other and sea animals in a way that can't be explained. The story and art of the books is amazing. I got hooked right away and can't wait till the next one comes out.
Others that I read were the manga adaptation of Maximum Ride along with the first two books of the Black Bird series. Feel free to leave manga suggestions in the comments, I am always on the look out for new ones to read.
The great thing about manga it feeds both my reading and art addiction at the same time.
Hope your year is off to a good start! Here's to hoping for an awesome 2011!

After Christmas Post.

Christmas was great. Great time with family, plus lots of good food to eat. I am looking forward to New Year's now because it is sure to be another blast. My favorite part is kissing my husband at midnight and making our new year's resolutions. Maybe 2011 will be the best year yet!
Which reminds me I am trying to clean out my shop so that this new year I can start out fresh. So if you see something you like use the coupon code yearendsale15 and get 15% off! I promise to throw in something a little extra if you do...
Okay I will leave you with this video that I found over on Pikaland's site. It is so beautious!
Happy NEW Year!!!

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE - VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

So much for that.

So I tried out the new coupon code and didn't get a single order. A little discouraging, but I am trying to stay positive. For this coming new year I would really like to see my shop take off. I am going to dedicate more time to it and try to post more here too. I already have ideas of what new items I will be creating and hopefully I will be able to refine my photo skills too. It's a lot of work but I would like to be able to make some sort of living off my art to prove to people it's not a waste of time. Anyway, I think I will start the new year with a new coupon code so I can hopefully sell what's in my shop now. As they say out with the old and in with the new.
Until then I am going to enjoy the time off with my family and hope that you all do too.
Merry Christmas!

Last Minute!

Wanted to let you all know that I am offering a special coupon code for this weekend.
The code is lastminute321 and gives you 10% off your purchase!
So please stop by my shop, I have been adding new things over the last week.
Happy Holidays!

Blizzzzzzard!

It is snowing like crazy outside right now which is why I am tucked away inside where is it nice and warm. It's also given me a chance to add a new item to the shop, so as always please take a look. Along with the tiny update I plan on doing some Christmas present wrapping and hot cocoa drinking. I am watching Elf right now and will soon be moving on to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I will have to eventually head back outside to do more shoveling it has just snowed that much since my husband and I shoveled this morning. It has been snowing constantly all day. So all you out there bundle up and stay warm!

Good bye November

Thought I should get one more post in before the calender changes. Can't believe December is already here. I have been enjoying the Christmas shopping and because I rule at it, I am almost done. There are always those little gifts that you have to do some real hunting for.
In ref. to my last post I did finally get to see Harry Potter!!! Yay!
I was a little sad there wasn't more Luna in it but at least she was somewhat. The way she says things is just so cute.
Also there are a couple happy new items in the shop so please feel free to take a gander!
I will leave you and November with a couple books that I recently finished reading: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr was wicked good, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White was filled to the brim with supernatural creatures and happenings, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff just look at the cover and you will want to read it, and Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin. I don't know how it happened but November was the month of fairies for my book choices some way or another they made their way in.
Stay warm!

Not at Harry Potter

There is a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter but I am not at it. Some of us have to work in the morning. I do plan on seeing it sometime soon hopefully and I plan on wearing my customary shirt that I have worn to most the movies if not all. I think it looks awesome and can't wait to go. Instead I am at home feeling stuck in a rut. I haven't crocheted anything new in awhile, just have been doing random sketches in the sketchbook. Not much of anything. Just a whole lot of blah... Hopefully this will pass soon...

Warm days cold nights.

I can hardly believe it is November already. How time is flying past. Soon there will be snow on the ground and Christmas time. Which also means some vacation days but I am getting ahead of myself. As usual I have been trolling around the interweb and have found some really great sites and artists. I must say my new favorite site is Super Punch. They update all the time and it is always something interesting. Dull moments at work you can find me flipping over there for a little pick me up. Another similar site but not updated as much is Share Some Candy. It is filled with creative goodies.
Now to the awesome artists that I have stumbled upon. The first is JAW Cooper. What I like about her site is that she often shows you the process her pieces take, so you get to see something from sketch to finished product. Artist two is Katie Cook. She does a bunch of comic art, stuff relating to Star Wars, superheroes, etc. Really fun and cute. Last artist for now is Caia Koopman. She paints some really lovely ladies. Her blog isn't much but definitely check out her gallery. Pretty.
Random book recommendation: I am Number Four. It was awesome sci-fic. Not usually my forte but could hardly put it done. But that's just me. (It is being made into a movie)
So there it is folks. Sorry about the wait. Hopefully more goodies to found.

Smile!

If a rock can smile what reason do I have not too...

It's a Ten!

Happy 10-10-10!!!
Here's a video to celebrate. Enjoy!

There's no place like Gnome...

New in the shop! An amigurumi gnome! Finally took pictures and got it listed in my esty shop so please take a look.
I find taking the pictures the hardest part. Here is one of the reject pictures that is so bad I kind of like it. It reminds me of those Bigfoot sighting photos. For better pictures check out the shop.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Being the rainy weather that it is I have been puttzing around on the internet. I have been finding some very fun sites that I like so I thought I would share them with you. The first is ModCloth. They make fashion look so fun and easy. I like how they also mix other things in like music and art. It makes me want to go shopping for adorable vintage clothes eventhough I doubt I would have their good luck.Another site is of an artist that I had seen before Liza Corbett. I had written her name down in my sketchbook so I would remember her. I had seen Liza's sketchbook on another site and really liked it and wanted my sketchbook to look that amazing. Her work reminds me of fairy tales and enchantments.
Last but not least an artist I think I mentioned earlier in my blog was recently featured on the Juxtapoze Magazine site. The artist is Krista Huot and her work is also very fairy tale like, are you seeing a pattern here?
Hope you liked the sites and maybe found some inspiration.
I did recently finish another amigurumi to be added to my shop. Right now the little guy is hanging out on the top of my tv waiting to have his picture taken. So keep your eyes peeled.

Friday Findings

Haven't posted much lately, I just haven't found anything that has inspired my usual spontaneous blogging. If you notice on the left I updated my links, moved things around and added a bunch of new ones. The links is where I always go when checking out people's sites. Sometimes it is like falling down the rabbit hole and when you reach the bottom you are left wondering how in the world did you end up here. Just the other day I stumbled upon this cute site that now when I tried to find it again it was lost to me. I was a little disapponinted because it was filled with adorable monsters hanging out in the real world. If anyone knows what I am talking about please send me a link. Now I will leave you with this video that made me laugh on this lovely Friday evening, happy weekend to you all.

Hello Cute!

Is it wrong that I am having a tough time resisting the urge to buy these?
Hello Kitty + Dr. Martens = Love!

New in the Shop

Gen Con!

Yup you read that right, Gen Con. I was there for the first time ever and what an adventure it was. I have never been to a convention before and wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be a lot of fun. The first day was a little overwhelming but a super nice stranger helped us find our way and showed us the ropes a little. I feel bad that we never got his name but whoever you are THANKS! The exhibit hall alone was always packed with people and vendors, game demos, you name it. Don't even get me started on the costumes, amazing. (see photo above)
My favorite part of the hall was the Artist section. So much talent! I talked to a few and wish I had picked up more business cards. Here are a couple that I met and thought had some nice work.
Little Big Illustrations caught my eye because hello, dinosaurs. When I was little I was fascinated by them and would check out this huge book from the library and just flip through it for hours. I had to check out their booth and ended up buying a magnet with the T-Rex.
Artist Heather Kreiter also took me back to my childhood with her My Little Pony look a likes. I bought two of her prints because they are so cute and colorful.
A couple other artists that I liked and grabbed their cards were Beth Trott (she is super nice and easy to talk too), A.L. Ashbaugh ( I ended up buying an I love brains pin from her booth), and Lynell Ingram (her blog has a post about Gen Con, I bought two of the little gnomes she mentions).
There were so many more great and interesting people, this is just to give you a small taste. Would I go again? You bet! If you were there give me a shout out, maybe share an artist that you met or some other fun thing. Until next year...