What will you be for Halloween this year?

I know, there is no chicken suit! I did these illos for Kindermusik. What's everyone going to be this Halloween? I thought I was going to be staying home passing out candy, but it looks like I will be going to a party, but a costume is neither required or suggested. Hmm. Perfect since I'm always too cheap to get a costume together!

Blogs and their influences

I recently received this lovely award from Deborah Mori of Life without Novacaine. Deborah was one of those blog friends I got to meet in person a while back. She shares her work and personal life there- I know she's been going through a rough year and am amazed at her strength; with each post she writes what she is grateful for that day. So, Deborah- I have to give this award right back to you-your blog definitely inspires me too.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the readers and friends I've made through blogs. Its been about 2 months now living in my new town (for those who don't know, I just moved from New York to Ann Arbor, MI). I've been meaning to write a post about how things are going, but honestly, its all still too fresh- I have a different feeling each day. No, it has not been easy. But I do like this town alot, and I've surrendered that it may take me a while to really "settle in." I want to write more about my experiences as I can gather my thoughts better. But the friendships I've made through blogs helped with my transition alot. It keeps me going and inspires me every single day. So thank you :-)

The rules upon accepting this award:

1.) Only one rule. Pass this award along to someone who motivated you, inspired you or enriched your artistic life with their creative gift. If you feel so inclined, you can create a short list of the things you love, your favorite muse, or your favorite childhood memories. The most important thing though is to award someone who has made your life better.

Organizing

A sneak peek at one of my drawers filled with my promos and greeting cards. I'm slowly organizing my new-ish studio!

New Book: Light the Menorah

Hello! I have a new book that just came out called Light the Menorah, published by Price Stern Sloan. I just got a bunch of samples last week. Its an interactive board book in which there are tabs on top to light the candles.
It was a bit tricky because of the tabs; the menorah needed to be in a specific place on each page. But I'm pretty happy in the end with this. I think this is my first interactive board book!
It is available now on Amazon, and should be out in the bookstores around the holidays. I'll be on the lookout for it for sure :-)

Winter Stamp Releases over at I {heart} Papers

Winter is on my mind already because it is cold here in Michigan! No, I'm not a fan of the cold, but I think it keeps me alert and actually get some work done. So sometimes its a good thing.

Today I'm celebrating two new winter stamp set releases over at I {heart} Papers:

It's a Snow Day!
and
Just Skating By
They are $10 for each set over at I {heart} Papers.

The fine ladies over at The Chicken Girl Design Team is doing fun things with them- they are filled with fabulous ideas. Dare I say, get a head start on holiday crafting?!? Check them out:

Lori
Meredith
Natasha
Shelly
Kate
Shannon
Judy
Tammy
Kendra
Loretta

Cluck cluck, and stay warm, everyone. I also have two new book releases this fall (yay!), so stay tuned!

lllustration Friday- Flying

I haven't participated in Illustration Friday in ages but this week's topic-"Flying" really inspired me. A mixture of the topic and my desire to do something Halloween-ish made this illo. So happy since I did it for fun-without thinking how it can be used as a portfolio piece or some other purpose. I think us illustrators fall into that trap sometimes and become stuck. I know I do.

Although I think it looks sort of like a greeting card. (Hey Hallmark! Hey American Greetings, are you out there?!) I would love to do a whole line of wacky cards like this. :-)

Sprucing Up

There's been alot of sprucing up lately! Over at Ilustration for Kids, we got an updated logo and look (thanks, Holli!), with images used for our recent fall mailer. We are also at Facebook and twitter. Come follow us!

Our individual profile pages were also updated, with a fun Q & A section. Find out stuff like what kind of animal I want to be (no, its not a chicken) or some of my favorite artists. There is a "real" picture of me, I think I kind of look evil. Should I swap it out with a stock photo of a chicken instead?

A much needed update also went on over at my personal site. Happy to be using my moving monster as my welcome page. Oddly, the colors match exactly with the tabs above. And here I was thinking I've been making an effort in using different color palettes.

Please go visit and let me know what you think. Happy Friday!

Spooky Pick of the Month!

Its that time again when The Haunted Ghoul Bus is popping up everywhere! Here it is in this month's Scholastic Firefly book club. Being in the book club catalog means alot to me, since I use to work there years ago, designing the pages, and hoping one day I will have my own book in it.

Thank you for those of you who have bought the book, emailed me about seeing it in stores, and the many kind words about it!