New Postcard

Got some new postcards today with one of my favorite personal pieces.

Changes

Miss Lilia, aka Nuggie, almost 6 months old

I can not believe my little Nugget is almost 6 months old. Its very strange to imagine life without her. Its been a struggle trying to balance work and taking care of her. Time is very limited so I can only take on so many projects, which is very different than what I'm use to. And being a freelancer, its hard to say no. But I know I need to enjoy the time I have with this little Nugget- she is already growing up so fast. Those smiles are finally coming and she has been very generous with them lately!

As if there were not enough changes in my life already- we are moving to Boston next month. My husband will be a visiting professor at Boston College for a year, so we will be back in the east coast! I'm happy about that since we'll be alot closer to family. But I will miss Ann Arbor. Another official post on that later.

So we are packing up right now and looking forward to our next adventure.

High Five Magazine- July issue

 

I have an illustration in the July issue of High Five magazine. This was one of my last illo jobs before Miss Lilia was born, so I remember this fondly. It gave me a burst of energy to work on this and I think a few weeks later I had her. Life has been different ever since. :-)

Battle at The Society of Illustrators retail shop!

 

I'm happy to say that my evil robot and super cat pins have a new place of battle- it is at the Society of Illustrators retail shop! I'm pretty excited about it since who knows when I'll get a chance to have my art in their gallery, but I'm glad evil robot and super cat will get to hang out there. They are on their way there now :-)

Fun Facts Puzzle- Under the Sea

I illustrated this puzzle for Silver Dolphin Books-it came out back in April but haven't gotten the chance to blog about it yet. It is a large floor puzzle with an under the sea theme with fun facts in the back of each piece.

Originally I had the colors like this, with a pink/peach ocean floor and yellow sky. I do prefer this version better, but it was changed to a more "realistic" color in the final version below.

You can get this puzzle on Amazon, Silver Dolphin, or your local store. Yay!

Postcard Printing Giveaway!

Things have been crazy busy here (I always seem to say that with every post, don't I?) But I'm popping up here because PrintRunner asked me if I can host a postcard printing giveaway. Nice to be giving out freebies! I'm always looking to print postcards and online printing companies to try out.

THE PRIZE: 100 5" x 7" POSTCARDS!

Colors: 4/0 Front Only Printing

Paper: 14 PT. UV Coating on Front,

Rounded Corners: Yes

Proof: None

Ready to Ship In: 4 Business Days

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. 

HOW TO ENTER:


-simply like my Facebook Fan page, Chickengirl Design, and leave a comment here on the blog below. That's it! Please make sure there is a way I can contact you via email. *This giveaway is now closed*

I will pick a winner randomly on May 24, 2012. Thanks to PrintRunner for providing this giveaway, I will get a set of postcards for hosting this. If you like, follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook. (completely optional.) Good luck everyone!

*Using Random.org, the winner is Maggie. Congrats!

MoCCA Art Fest 2012

Last weekend, it was my second year of doing the MoCCA Art Fest in NYC, sharing the table with my great partners-in-crime, Doreen Marts and Becky Munich. We had a great time last year so we decided to do it again! Being in Michigan, it was a great excuse to go back and see friends and family, and also to show off my little Nugget (who is 4 months old now, time is flying by!)

I basicly had the same stuff though, with Super Cat and Evil Robot pins back at it again with another battle. Evil Robot always prevails at MoCCA. Hmm.

 I did bring a couple of copies of Road Work Ahead for sale, and here is a signed copy. Enjoy the book, Griffin!

And of course it was great to see many folks there, including Casey G, Chad Sell, Mike Roll, Pat Lewis, and many others. Until next year!

Driver Dan's Story Train

© 2010 Story Train Distribution FZ-LLC

I got a fun opportunity to do art for television! This is art for the show Driver Dan's Story Train, which aired in mid-March on Cbeebies in the UK. It was interesting to work on art that had to consider panning of the camera, live action children interacting with the art, etc. My episode/story was Everyone Likes Bananas.

For those of you in the UK, you can watch the show online here. (*edit- the link no longer works. I will keep this link up in case its available again.) It is being blocked for me to see since I'm in the US. I so wish I can see it! It is suppose to air in the US on PBS Sprouts sometime in the future, so I will have to wait. 

Funny Faces: Pop-Up Board Books

I'm pleased I finally get a chance to show these off! They are a series of pop-up mask books published by Campbell Books. The spreads are masks with a little pop-up on each one.

Spread from Funny Faces: On the Farm   Modeled by my husband :-)

Spread from Funny Faces: On the Farm

Spread from Funny Faces: Fancy Dress    Modeled by yours truly. Hi there!

Spread from Funny Faces: Fancy Dress

So of course I had alot of fun with these! And seeing the final pop-up in the book was really satisfying. There will be two more books in this series coming in the fall- I can't wait to reveal those.

They are available on Amazon UK!

Road Work Ahead- School Market Edition

 
I recently got a copy of Road Work Ahead, Scholastic's school market edition. It makes me nostalgic since I use to work at Scholastic Book Clubs. I use to dream about having my books in the catalogs I use to design. So its a warm and fuzzy feeling to see that red Scholastic label on the cover.

Easter Stickers for Target

This weekend, I found my Easter stickers! This set is sold exclusively at Target, thanks to Peaceable Kingdom Press. I wish it was displayed at a better location, it was hiding in the back of the card section. But of course its always thrilling to find my art at a store, especially at a big one like Target.

Peek Inside-It's Easter Time!

I have a new book for Easter, titled Peek Inside-It's Easter Time! published by Running Press Kids. It is similar in format for the one I did for Halloween by the same author, Megan E. Bryant. It is a story/activity/sticker book all rolled into one.

You can get it on Amazon or your local indie bookstore. Happy Easter!

New Business Cards

I got some shiny new business cards from NextDayFlyers.com.

I'll be handing these out at MoCCA Art Fest, which is coming up April 28-29th. I finally booked my tickets and excited to be back in New York, but this time, with a baby in tow! I wish I had lots of new stuff to show but life can only allow me to do so much these days. But I'm still excited to see friends and family. I can't believe I haven't been back since July of last year. So much happened since then.

Sunny Farm- Sticker Set

This is a sticker set I did for Peaceable Kingdom Press. Can I get a "cluck cluck" for chicken stickers?

There are three play boards and three sheets of vinyl cling stickers. I'm always happy to draw anything farm related.

You can get buy it here!

They Draw and Cook- Grilled Cheese

(click to enlarge)

I have no idea how I found the time to do this. But over at They Draw and Cook, there is a contest featuring Kraft products, and the prize ain't so bad either. I love drawing food so it was a win-win. I still want to draw a kids' cook book. Hey publishers, are you out there? I would love to do my own except I'm a terrible cook! You can see the bigger version on the site here.

I noticed there is a theme in my work in which I draw alot of elephants and rabbits. They are my "go-to" animals, it seems. (oddly enough not much chickens lately?)

Cat Butt

Um....so, this is completely random but there is a hilarious Cat bum board on Pinterest (started by Kirsten Hall) and I just had to draw a cat butt today.

P.S.- Follow me here if you are on Pinterest!

Muddle London

I got a chance last year to work with a UK publisher, Campbell Books. They are so friendly and easy to work with and I really had fun with their projects. This is a magnetic play book titled Muddle London, being released today! There are a set of magnets in which you can position onto the pages.

As much as I would like to think I'm a world traveler, I have never been to London before, so it was alot like doing research before a big trip. Now I know exactly where to go and what to do if I was to go there. Some day!

It was also a good challenge for me to do a spread with a map scene (something that is based on real info.) I've come to enjoy doing them and hope to do more of these.

Its available on Amazon.co.uk! Wish I could see this in the stores in the UK!

Winter

 

We've been a little quiet over at Illustration for Kids but we have another promo in the works with a winter theme. 

I have some fun books coming out with a UK publisher I'm excited about and will announce them soon. In the meanwhile, stay warm everyone. 

I Spy with My Little Eye...

my spread in the February issue of High Five magazine!

On the Move 2

I recently reconfigured this existing piece into a vertical format, adding a few more vehicles here and there. The original piece got me the Road Work Ahead book gig! Who knew I would love drawing vehicles this much?!

Thank you for the well wishes about Lilia. Its been interesting trying to finding time to work with a baby. I've been trying to work up some promo pieces lately and feeling a bit stagnant. Wanting to take my art to the next level, but not sure what that really means?