greenbeanbaby art

a touchy topic...

as creative people, we look for inspiration around us... the world of blogging and photo sharing has given us the opportunity to "meet" wonderfully creative people... seeing their blogs, reading their words, often encourages us and motivates us to bust out our tools and get to crafting- whatever it may be... however, there is a responsibility with all of this... there are ethics to consider in the process when you are making ideas using other peoples ideas...

the line between being inspired and stealing can sometimes become blurred... or using someone's ideas and selling similar item for sale... [geez, i wonder how cocoa cola dealt with RC!!] either way, there IS a difference... personally, i don't mind if someone likes an illustration of mine and wants to mimmick it for their own entertainment.... you  know, if  they want to make a card for someone... but i DO MIND when an illustration is taken, without permission, and used to sell in their shop or to others... that is stealing, and quite insulting... while it's an honor to know that my work can motivate others, it's frustrating to see my ideas being snagged without even a mention! i'm not saying that you have to blog a 4 page dedication, but a simple "this is a card i am making... it is a revamp of one of ellia's illustration" would suffice...

there have been plenty of people who've followed such ethics! and for that, i am grateful... however, there has been a few instances... i don't want to feel as if blogging will be a way for others to steal my ideas and sell them, when i am having a hard enough time selling my own... creative people understand that it takes time, finances, AND sacrifice to come up with ideas and products... how many pots of coffee did i go through to finish one project?  how many tears were shed from the emotions going wild due to lack of sleep? don't my ideas have enough value to not be stolen? i don't want to feel unsafe here... and while i realize that this is the internet, i still want to trust my fellow readers... after all, your support keeps me encouraged and also inspired... your support has helped me get this far...

there are still uncertainties i have too... i don't know all the rules in copyrighting either and am unsure if i've done things that were illegal... i think my superhero kids are pushing it, as well as the video game items... and as far as using stickers, stamps, and special patterned papers, the rules are unclear... so i try not to sell those sort of items much anymore... understandably, this crafting business can be tricky...

anyhow, i have been debating on blogging this... i was quite discouraged in even seeing the fact that the name greenbeanbaby was recently taken for a clothing line... was it coincidence? the line has nothing to do with the work i do, but the name was once my signature... it's even more upsetting because the reason i chose greenbeanbaby was so that it could one day, include a variety of items [YES, EVEN BABY CLOTHES] but now, i wonder... will i have to change my name because someone else has declared it theirs? okay, i am not dr. seuss here who can make up new names and terminology... i understand that green bean baby are three common words- just what are the chances? sigh...

lastly, i must say that all my  artwork is copyrighted... do not take my photos... and please do not steal my works and reproduce them for sale... and if you do want to use something for personal use only, email me... not to mention, i would love to see the end result as it's always fun to see how one idea evolves to another... also, the cut paper tutorial and the cut paper kits in my shop are for personal use only.... they are not to be made and sold...

i would love to know your thoughts on the topic and even your experiences... please share!!!!

a fourth grade [?] flashblack

©1990 ellia domena (maiden name)

 Body parts:
mouth= to eat
antennas= to signal other meat-o-mitises in case one hits "the jackpot"
fangs= to crunch on hard intestines
cacketine= to hold all the digested bone crumbs
nopps= to see
blafoos= to smell
lungafi= holds bloods from victim
tammisa= to think and concentrate
tossinp= to breath [blood comes out of breath]
fatomoni= digests all the fat fats
theamota= helps meat-o-mitis move and grasp onto the running cells

Symptoms and the Cure:

To know if you've been hit by this hideous virus, you will have many painful happenings. One of the first symptoms is, you will start to get skinny. The meat-o-mitis fatomoni eats a lot of your fat away. For two days, you will rapidly lose weight. On the third day, while you're eating your first meal, you will suddenly feel as if something was pulled out of you. Actually you felt this beast pulling your veins out. You will start to feel numb. then you'll feel okay. Reason: meat-o-mitis pulled a vein out, drank some blood and put it together again. After awhile, you will start laughing. Reason: meat-o-mitis took a bite out of your funny bone. Last you will weaken and you will feel as if you've been overstuffed. Reason: if you feel you're weak, it's cuz the first meat-o-mitis brought his gang and ate some bacteria (the jackpot). You'll feel overstuffed cuz they all threw up. The only cure to this is to eat a dandelion. This causes them to die cuz of the fumes.

note: this was a project for science class... we had to make a virus... i used colored pencils for the illustration... and my dad loved this project SO MUCH, that he saved it all these years...

can you imagine having this virus??? at least you could lose weight fast, hahahaha... my virus is a bit dark for a fourth grader, don'tcha think?!

paperhood and motherhood...

with a giant cup of coffee, a sharp x-acto blade, and the second season of the british office, i was able to cut these bad boys out... okay, so they aren't bad to the bone... too cute for that... but these will hopefully end up on notebooks for my etsy shop... the worry of messing them up during the gluing process is stopping me from proceeding to the next step...

here are the girl versions [completed while watching the british office 2hr special post season 2]... they are about 3 inches tall... the detail work HAD to be precise or else they'd look too tacky... i'm pretty meticulous about the cutting job, especially since this kind of work is so simple and delicate... i have a total of 11 paper kids cut out and strewn about... they seem more fun when they are just pieces of delicacy being held in your hand... a VERY fragile version of paper dolls... they are so free right now and its such a shame that eventually they will end up confined to a notebook with glue... still, how else could i sell them?

this photo is of a keychain made for a friend... it took a long time to complete ONLY because of the glue issue... i am using a different kind from my normal and well, it's not easy to handle... it wasn't until the next day [today] that i bought the glue sticks i'm most fond of... thankfully!!! i was even able to complete a birthday card too!

there's a few more orders on the table... a few more ideas tossed about... and a few more requests in need of fulfilling... there are days when i wished i had time to create for hours on end without worry of kids having to eat or rooms in need of cleaning [or coffee cups in need of refilling]... seriously, when i get in the groove of working, i don't even want to take a bathroom break- and by the time i do, i am sprinting down the stairs... do you ever get that way??? either way, the reality of motherhood includes forcing a 3yr old to use the bathroom (yeah, i guess none of us like going- i wonder why, when i am forever cleaning the bathroom to a sparklin' shine?!), changing diapers, mopping sticky floors, and the trillion other things done in between...

so while there is still so much to do and this new week is full of doctor appointments, appointments fighting to get more insurance, babysitting, preschool orientation, and MUCH emailing... can someone lend me more hours for the day?! this week i feel like the ultimate "mommy mom" with tuesday heading to the doctor for isabella to get her shots and diego to get his 3yr checkup... and on thursday we visit the school he will attend to find out what he needs, who his teacher will be, and the other kids in his class... i cannot even believe this day is nearly here!!! i just remembered this kid taking 23hrs to come into this world!!!

now that autumn will be approaching, i need to take advantage of the season... its my favorite time of the year with the cool weather and the leaves blowing about... the sun isn't shining much and you just want to walk around with a big cup of steaming coffee while enjoying the brisk weather... you don't need a heavy coat, only a light jacket with a scarf dangling from your neck... despite the fact that my allergies get super bad during this season, it's the best season with so much energy to create and prepare for the holidays... ah, i get in the mood just typing about it!

well, its nearly 10pm, i have a sketch to complete and pictures to take... and emails to write... so, what will you be doing this week????

*btw, thank you ester and tete for the nice matters award! you both are kind and lovely :)

the old style...

it was in 2000, when i really got into working in cut paper... it was dabbled in before, but never considered as an actual artistic medium... and this was BEFORE scrapbooking... there wasn't a big market of papers like there is now... anyhow, from my junior to my senior year of college, i worked on "getting a style".... i mean, as you can see, it was always cutesy... i wasn't that "deep thinking somber starving artist"... i was more like the bubbly short haired loud mouthed gal who loved all things retro and had more coffee in her than necessary... oh wait, has anything changed since?! still, my art was never really serious- not the kind you would see sitting next to the mona lisa....


by the end of my senior year, i was pretty satisfied with the fact that my art was CUTE... a word, heard over and over during critiques to describe my work... to be satisfied took nearly 4yrs though... at first, it bugged me because you see a school full of artists who can do REALLY SWELL PAINTINGS... they can do serious and funny... thought-provoking and emotional.... perhaps, political (although, dr. seuss did cute stuff and his earlier work was political- and racist)... but ellia's work?! it was BAM! IN YOUR FACE, HAPPY KIDS... a sad kid?! it still made a person smile.... and forget illustrating my moody moments... every character of mine had a smiling face, even if it was getting hit by a car...


i'd show my mom my art, and she always loved it... of course, she's my MOM, would she tell me otherwise? still, she doesn't have a track record for lieing so many times her words encouraged... her words helped me embrace my style... between her and several of my professors, i discovered that my art didn't have to be abstract, minimal, realistic, or PAINTED... it was okay to make cute stuff...


ultimate hill's cool work reminded me of what i once created... and due to a lethargic mood of cutting paper, i decided to to revisit my older designs... the first two photos are of work created in 2002, for my senior thesis/portfolio show... and this li'l gal was made the other night... i want to revamp my older designs, mainly the craftsmanship... i've used the x-acto blade much more since so the work should have much cleaner cuts now... the gluing process was always tricky... still is...


anyhow, this post went a different direction than anticipated... i'm in a blabby mood lately... there are goodies being made for the etsy shop still, although the process is slower than anticipated... hopefully, i can get the sale up in september so keep a lookout for more info...

thanks for listening...

invites and toys...

remember these invites i was working on some time back?! well, they are finally completed and shipped to singapore... i made similar ones in may, but those were created while the kids were in the studio... THIS TIME, the situation was a tad different... as i stated in the other post, the paper part was cut, folded, and glued while at starbucks with isabella... some time passed as more info needed confirmation but friday, the illustration went off to the printers...

so on friday, the printed part was picked up from downtown... i'm pretty sure milwaukee's downtown is like every other city... it takes 20 minutes to find a good parking spot and 25¢ allots you 15 minutes on the meter... now, try crossing the busy streets with a bug-eyed toddler who is fascinated with the hustle and bustle but also not watching where he is walking (thus, nearly causing him to crash into a newspaper box)... then try holding his hand, while carrying your little baby girl who's dress is practically hiked to her neck.... and THEN try walking with those two while wearing heels and a skirt that keeps flying every which way... okay, so i wasn't thinking when i decided to wear heels and a wispy skirt... nor did i consider using the stroller for isabella... (and forget carrying the carseat!!! do you see how lanky my arms are!?)

anyhow, picking the order up at the store took one minute tops... another five minutes to walk the kids back to the car... another 5 to buckle them all in and situate myself... then we headed off to the pool, where diego swam, isabella cooed, and i cut the tags... it's all about seizing those moments to create, while you can.... yeah, two kiddos enjoying the sun.... one mother crafting away, basking in the sun and desperately trying to avoid the wasps....

i've been wanting to dig out my toys from the basement for awhile... my mom is a collector of all sorts... and the apple didn't fall too far from the tree... can you believe i have many of my childhood toys, saved over the years? they are all intact but a tad dusty from lack of attention... i remember going to walgreen's and getting to pick out a toy.... each time, i'd buy one that matched the series... like the toy above... this is a transforming pool, that turns into a bathtub and shower... i also have a car that turns into a chair... and a stove that turns into a pizzeria (check out my flickr photos)... these toys were usually under $12... yup, i was an easy-to-please child...

my favorite kinds of toys were teeny tiny ones... and wearable ones... the polly pocket originals were perfect!!! i usually received toys that weren't as popular... i mean, look at my mom!!!! she is the collector of collectors!!! she loved and still loves finding unique things that are too cool to pass up... she was always that way.... and who could complain?! but there were occasions when they'd buy me the "popular" toys... polly pockets were so much fun, back then... they were teeny, merely one inch dolls... they had a teeny ranch with the apartment and the bed so slippery, the doll could never sleep in it without falling into the ranch...

but then there were the polly pocket rings! my fingers were always skinny so fake jewelry would never fit well... in fact, i still have thin fingers (my wedding ring is a size 3.5)... anyhow, i had toy rings... toy necklaces... toy EARRINGS!! did i ever tell you that i was teased a lot as a kid? i used to think that it was mainly because i was hispanic in a very suburban school... or that it was because my hair was quite curly and short.... but maybe all the teasing had to do with me being different all together... the little girl who watched leave it to beaver instead of saved by the bell... the girl who would tell her third grade teacher that she looked JUST LIKE mary tyler moore (how could a 8yr old girl in 1989 know about mary tyler moor?!)... and now look! there is a world full of people who enjoy the same goodness as i... who collect way more than i... it's not so bad being different [anymore]

most of my dolls now have frizzy hair... you know, come to think of it, most of my dolls aalways had curly frizzy hair... i guess i liked having dolls with whom i could relate to... trying to brush the naps and tangles out of their curls, just like i had (have) to do every morning...

i wonder what kind of toys isabella is going to like... will she love the same ones i did? will she want an i love lucy barbie doll or a bratz doll? we already know diego is into the 80's toys (like his father)... he loves the ninja turtles, and spiderman, and transformers... batman, superman, and comic books too! of course, all these toys have modern movies of them, but i doubt ramel would have ever dreamed that his 3yr old son likes the original boring transformers cartoons...

fun fact: in 1994, i was 13yrs old... that was when my parents bought us the atari system [from a rummage sale]... i still have it too!!! better late than never to own the system, eh?!

a new style...

remember when i was in a creative funk? and then i worked on some invitations after all the wonderful advice you gave?! well, i am back in the funk, only this time, not stressing... actually, its better to say that i am not in the mood to work on illustrations... granted, there are some that have to be completed soon, but i'm embracing the moment away from paper... after all, diego will be going to pre-school in september so my goal is to go full swing into art then (and have another sale in the etsy shop with new items)

despite the lack of mood, i'm being inspired... amy makes some cute lil outfits for her girl, molly... [molly is one day younger than isabella; how cute is that?!] so i decided to make isabella a top!!

i made one for myself last summer and sadly, it doesn't fit me just yet (being 7lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight)... this teeny version for isabella, took one night to create.... ramel picked out the material and you must admit, it's cute, eh?! there are several mistakes, as i don't sew often but it held up well... so far... and i plan on making a couple more tonight for isabella and i... key word: PLAN.

a bazillion photos were taken of her in this top... the sun was out, she was all smiles, and my camera battery was fully charged... we had a dandy time clickin' away, as diego and ananda swam... the weather was cooler than the previous days but we all had a good time... we went to my mom's house shortly after, where she showed me a TON of vintage wrapping paper that she got at an estate sale... (and when i say a TON, i am not kidding you)

oh, and have i told you how strong 'bella's legs are?! they are strong enough to hold herself up while leaning on the crib rail... not that she sleeps in the crib just yet... she can keep herself standing for awhile without bobbing her head all over... if she is like diego, then she'll be walking in no time! she makes me more nervous though because she shoves things in her mouth... i didn't have to babyproof the house much with diego as he was more interested in pulling dvds and books off the shelves... with diego's many toy parts, baby proofing is quite the necessity... thankfully i got a bit of time to prep...

anyhow, if you have any sewing tips or super easy patterns for baby gals, i would love them!!! suzdeth's tutorial was simple and fun to make... if you have any more like that, i am all ears and eyes!

a freebie for you

are you tired of writing a list each week you go to the store? do you always forget something when you do groceries? is your refridgerator broken and you need an organized list of foods you can buy that don't require refridgeration?! well, check this out...

here is something i created for you all inspired by craftzine's many paper tutorials and downloadables... the greenbeanbaby grocery list... now, i didn't come up with the whole list by myself... in fact, i was further inspired by my local grocery store who has put a similar list on their bags... however, i did add a few things that the grocery bag failed to include (like the baked goods and butter! who could forget butter?! or tortillas... or spices!!!)

anyhow, feel free to save this photo to your computer and print it out for your own personal use... it's not to be sold, as you can guess, but its merely a way of simplifying your life... and adding a bit of grenbeanbaby fun to your shopping goodness...

*note: hopefully, very soon, a similar item will be available in the etsy shop :)

guess who's 3yrs old?!

yep, mr. diego... that's who... a big boy who is another year older and another year smarter... and hopefully another year happier...

so here are some facts about him:

1. it took him 23 hours to come into this world...

2. the first couple weeks of his life, he was as orange as ernie [from sesame street]... he had a bit of jaundice and thus the color...

3. he was my advertiser and customer grabber even as a babe... i used to take him to craft fairs with me, when i had booths selling artwork and designed onesies... he'd wear one of them and he was my way of luring customers to the booth [come on, what customer can resist a cute li'l babe?!]

4. he wore hats alot! he ended up losing his hair when he was 4 months but it grew back, lighter and curlier... hats were a good way of hiding his poor, balding head... hehe... nowadays, he still loves his hats!

5. he seemed to be using his arms and legs very early on... i mean, he started hoisting himself up at 3 months [like isabella]... he was crawling early [and boy, was he a fast crawler!!!] he loved his jumperoo early on too! my mom jokes that i put him in the bouncer as soon as he was born... really, he started bouncing in it when he was 3 months... he has some strong legs!

6. he has quite the pronounced nose... wouldn't you say? it's quite noticeable in all his photos... it's not exactly a button nose- haha...

7. his favorite cousin [and the only one he hangs around with] is ananda... he loves her so much... he was such a munchkin next to her in this photo... now look at them right here....

8. he doesn't care for meat much... well, you know, he doesn't care for much of any food most days... he is fine with bread and water.... no wonder, the kid has to drink pediasure! but even as a baby, he didnt eat much baby food... it was rare to go through one jar... these days, its rare if he eats a well balanced meal... [ok, this isn't a fun fact... it's just FACT]

9. he had bright blue eyes for the longest time, which eventually turned to a greenish grayish hazelish color... they get lighter when he is tired or in the sun too long...

10. his favorite color is green... i must admit, he does look good in the color, eh?!

11. he began walking at 10 months... and walking isn't even the right word... it was more like he "ran"... in fact, this kid rarely walks even now unless he is super tired...

12. he was a climber too... oh wait!!! he still is!!! he never crawled out of his crib but he would crawl over, under, and through anything... he even climbed on a few things that he shouldn't have and landed us in the emergency room >sigh<

13. he's never been to the barber shop... in fact, the first time we cut his hair, ramel and i sang opera to get him from crying... during the second haircut, ramel had to play mario kart to keep him from crying....

14. speaking of mario kart, this kid has loved watching mario since he was 4 months old [the time we bought a gamecube]

15. lastly, this school year, he begins pre-school... boy, how time flies!!!

happy birthday, dear diego!!!

side note: all photos, except for the last, were from his first year of life... i began this blog at 18mos so you can see those photos throughout... and for his party photos, i don't have those uploaded just yet...