Recipe Card Mock Ups

I ended up mocking up some of the recipe cards and made a little package tag to go with it. The paper is textured and cream colored- something I had left over from my wedding invitations.
The ink color turned out to be more muted than I originally intended- but now its one of those happy accidents in which I like this alot better. I'm always striving to pick a more "sophisticated" color palette in my work but always end up using bright, primary colors. I guess my printer is trying to tell me something?

Things that make me smile

Things that make me smile...

1. Cuteness will get me every time, even if its gonna make me to buy...clothespins. Got them at an Asian supermarket:

2. Flowers from Math boy..."just because":
3. Seeing a friend's 1 and a half year old light up when she played with the puzzles I illustrated for. Not alot of my friends have children and this is the first time I got to see a child reacting to my work. Its a wonderful feeling.

4. A lovely call from an art director for a job well done. I just finished a picture book and it was so satisfying to know I did a good job!

Hope you all have something to smile about today! :-)

Inspiration: Japanese packaging

I've always had a love for Japanese packaging- a huge inspiration and influence on my work. The well thought out design, color, and not to mention- incredibly cuteness- makes me want to buy it even if it contains lumps of coal inside. Above is a few boxes tacked up on my new corkboard.
This past summer, my brother bought me a few Japanese kids books when he was in Hong Kong. I have no idea what it says, but it does put a smile on my face.
Just this weekend, I found this in a chinatown candy shop. It was the character from the book! Inside are indivdually wrapped chocolates- each with a different character. The attention to detail is amazing. I am off to gobble up the chocolates (but saving all the wrappers.)