greenbeanbaby art

heart to heart

if we could see beyond the blog posts, and into the blogger's life, we'd see much more than those written words... perhaps the blogger has had a rough week, full of tears and frustrations, full of doubts that are sprinkled with discouragement... and who could really blog on such intimate details? it makes you realize that while we all have hard days, we never know how much one of us may REALLY need an encouraging word... and yet, sometimes without having to share such details, there are those who still encourage and uplift, not knowing how those few words can make a blogger feel less frustrated or less doubtful....

yes, we all can relate... we all have moments too tiresome to post about... or sometimes we know that tomorrow will be better so why dwell on today? perhaps we feel that if we share the details, it will make us look insane, or unable to maintain our emotions in a mature manner... who wants to admit when the bills have them too concerned to create artwork that is not paying those bills? or admit that their spouse has managed to boil their blood leaving them feeling like the incredible hulk but only not so strong, merely angry and at a loss of intelligence? who will ever post on how lonely they feel when they choose to pursue the truth? who will ever express their doubts on their success or lack, thereof?

sometimes, it's better we don't post the many perils of a blogger's life... we each have our rough weeks and we each need those light-hearted posts that fill us with inspiration and hope again...  we rely on each other's good week to make our own week a lil more manageable.... we are there for each other without ever really knowing the details... and that is okay... i love it that when there is no one around to listen to me, someone online has left a sweet comment... or when i feel most lonely, someone wants to "friend me"... does that sound silly? on the day where i feel most frustrated, someone sends me paper, caffeine, and chocolates... and they make something beautiful and precious for my kids... the day where i feel my artwork is becoming merely a hobby, i'm bombarded with compliments...

we shouldn't RELY on compliments, but its wonderful when they come when we need them!! and this post is a thank you to those who make a gal feel swell, even when you didn't know... and of course, i thank those close in my life, who never doubt or question who i am :)

ps. these cut paper embellishments will be available on friday 7pm, central standard time...

artwork in the making

things have been busy here... when you are a creative person, sometimes the overwhelming flow of ideas will keep your plate full and your to-do list being refreshed [and rarely completed]... to start, i've been working on the rest of the imagezoo illustrations along with some goodness for a friend... i wanted to get this particular gift done awhile ago but now i have more embellishments and new paper...  i'm really not the greatest when it comes to scrapbook layout... and this project is quite small so i cannot do full sperad illustrations for it either... not to mention, this paperbag book is meant for my friend to fill out with monthly notes and goodness and sketches... so that means i must make room and simplify the layout, right? this is only my second paperbag project so i hope it's suitable...

i've also been working on rubber stamp designs... this is a new venture of an old dream so i'm excited and nervous at the same time... will my designs be user friendly? are they too bulky? are they fresh enough? will they sell? the image above is a wip sample of what i'll be doing... yes, most of the designs are revised versions of my cut paper art... and there are revisions being made in the process of each design so i hope these pan out!!!

in addition, i've begun to intensify my freelance venture as well... i started by divvying up my studio... it hasn't been changed much but it's refreshed and paper pads are organized... if you look at my middle shelf, you will see two big stacks of paper... the upper one is k&co paper... the bottom stack is dcwv... these are my latest pads that haven't been rearranged into my tower of paper ... organization is crucial for a neat freak... and my studio [and entire house] must be clean in order for any art to be completed...

today, i went to the bookstore and jotted down reference and addresses... i've ordered a couple books and signed up on a few sites to get my portfolio up and sent out... i still need to design a good postcard and biz card as well as get my website up and running... [gosh darn that website!] still so much to do but i aim to get much accomplished each night that i can... so once i finish the rubber stamps, imagezoo illustrations, and gifts, my freelance to-do list will be my main focus...

lastly, ramel is on vacation because diego's birthday is tomorrow... we have pledged no internet [except for xbox live] for the evening of monday and all of tuesday... see you all on wednesday with a special diego post :)

chickenless soup for the soul...

everybody needs inspiration... including yours truly... so here's a few goodies that should make us all smile and perhaps stir a bit of creativity within us... it works for me :)

stacks of paper- yes, note the pluralized word.... the left-hand stack was given to me by a friend, sarah [who makes really yummy cookies]... the right stack was purchased in my 5 minute shopping spree at michael's... yes, despite the fact that i only had 5 minutes, i was able to walk away with some unregretable goodies... [see, for the guys who think all girls take many hours to shop, i'm proof that a few minutes can be wonderful if that is all you have]... don't you love pretty paper and embellishments?!

vintage goodness to add to the collection... vintage goodness such as mary blair's "small world" avon bottle collection... my mom found this beautiful lady for me at a rummage sale for 50 cents!! great deal for sure!!! she was also the one who bought me this mary blair lady...   its nice when people think about you even when they shop... gifts gotta give a person some inspiration, eh?!

non-vintage goodness but still a classic... batman toys... batman LEGOS toys on top of that... MCDONALD'S batman lego's toys to top it all off... now, i am not a collector of lego's but i do love their  designs and the video games they came out with... star wars legos... indiana jones legos... and my favorite superhero- batman legos... we just started playing the game and even diego is addicted!!! ramel has gotten diego a set of these toys but he's gotten me my own set too... a husband cannot complain when his wife is content with 95¢ toys from mickey d's!!!! honestly, its good to take a break [from creating goodies] every now and again so that you can go back to work fully charged and inspired FROM taking a break [ok, does that make sense?! i'm watching iron man as i type... hehe]

stocking up on artsie goodness cane LEAD to creativity... eventually, at least... after all, you end up having plenty of goodness to work with that you become so overwhelmed that you don't know where to begin... i love brads!! i collected the eyelets before they were really IN and i remember paying an arm and a leg for a measley dozen... i used them in an art project [with pride of finding these cute teeny tiny grommets] and a year later, they became a popular item... i bought a ton on ebay... then i bought a ton of brads...  they are rarely used and i tend to send them off in swaps to people who WILL use them... hopefully these lil autumn brads will be used soon in my etsy restocking.... [tba]... the embellishments on the left are paper goodness... they will be used on some notecards soon ;) gotta love having a plethera of crafty goodness to get the creativity rollin'....

and lastly, a good piece of art can be in itself, inspiring... i mean, it feels good when a piece you are working on is turning out as you hoped, if not better... it feels good that even though you took a long break from creating, you didn't lose any talent from it... not that talent goes away that fast, but after such a break, a person can get to wondering... this illustration has a bit of ways to go [glueing the girl and dog down, adding the background flowers] but it's closer than it was a week ago... and yes, that background is from one of my new stacks... see?! it really is inspirational...

so the question is [if i haven't asked it already in another post] what inspires you?! what do you do to stir up the creativity?? share here or in a post ;)

the etsy shop has stuff~

all this week i am having a sale in my etsy shop.... yep, an actual SALE!! all prints are HALF OFF, and they are full sized 8x10" ones too!!! even new prints are on sale [and there are new ones to be added daily]

aside from the prints, i am selling the ORIGINALS for a whoppin' deal... i'm having a wonderful time making illustrations lately and it's really loading up my portfolio... it's also giving me more goods to send to publishers... so i thought, i'd share in on the love and let you all score for well under $30... after all, my originals usually go for $75 these days...

all the recent illustrations have been inspired by vintage greeting cards... there is a very limited number of prints available of each one plus the originals... there will be NEW illustrations to throw in the shop this week...

there are magnets in the shop right now too.. with more to be added... these are my lovely new ladies... and they come in pairs.... they are mounted on tree shaped wooden pieces, thus their unique hairdo's and necks... 

i hope you all enjoy the shop full of new goodies... i'll try my darnest to make a boy related illustration or two... and a couple notebooks.... and if time allows, a few notecards? either way, i've stepped back from halo for a week to get this etsy shop revved to go...

and when the week is over, i'm gonna get a haircut :)

happy shopping!!!

ps. this was one short post- hopefully the pictures will make up for it- hehe

five inspirations

a while back ago, judy AND stephanie awarded me with the arte de pico award... it's given to 5 bloggers for their creativity, design, interesting material and contribution to the blogging community.... i'm honored that both these ladies awarded me and am finally able to pass along the love.... and although the award doesn't quite include inspiration- I AM :)

1. ramel of gamersdigart.... yes, of course i'm biased about him but seriously he is a true inspiration... regardless of arguments of who needs MORE time to work on art or who is MORE exhausted, ramel keeps me inspired... he does an illustration and i can envision it in cut paper or more humorous... like this joker illustration was actually a 24hr challenge between us two and another artist... he gives constructive criticism and comments as he, himself, continues to broaden his artistic skills in various mediums and genres... my man, some hotshot :)

2. miss kiwi of kiwi cuties... another girl gamer who enjoys life with games, art, AND family... her latest paintings [latest meaning several months worth] are just dreamy dreamy!!! the have a tween book quality to them... paintings like this one could go in a book by lemony snicket or something similar... some kind of humorous mystery children's book... yep, her work is totally interesting and inspirational!

3. cindy of quaint handmade.... she and her husband both journal on the blog and sometimes the posts are just a hoot!! she gets me itching to write again and if that isn't inspiration, then somebody scream!!! even her workplace is dreamy with her luxurious mac computer and her spot full of etsy love!!! cindy is just one fun lovin' lady!!!

4. stephanie fizer and her quirky and cute illustrations.... i've just recently discovered her work and she is such an inspiration between her  designs and her time management... she has the life i dreamt of before the kids :) her work is bright and colorful PLUS her lil ladies always have the most darling of hair do's [thus my recent revived love for big hair]... her etsy prices are affordable too!!

5. lastly li li of little beary li... a long time blogging friend and supporter who is constantly on my mind... she makes the most beautiful crafts and stamps and finds the most incredible goodies and sweets in her town... she's a wonderful giver and of course, such a sweet person that her love continues to inspire me and keep me smiling :)

hope you all check out their sites and also enjoyed the latest greenbeanbaby goods... most of these are going to homes but soon there should be a few goodies in the shop!

illustrations created despite the heatwave

in my studio... and despite the fact that i've been gun-ho over halo and trying to get my rank up to a 20 [which hasn't happened], i've been working on SOME stuff... this is an illustration for my good pals, eric and karen....it's called "a family in the city... an illustration of a guy named eric, a gal named karen, and their pug dog named sheila".... it only took me over 6 months to go from sketch to final... this is my SECOND illustration of an "adult male" [but this one with facial hair!!!!] this is my first pug dog illustrated and i know that it doesn't do miss sheila justice... still, i hope they enjoy it in their new place back at mil-town!!!

a couple of weeks ago, i signed up to be a part of the diary 2009 project hosted by fantazya... it's a project where a ton of artists create one page for a diary... she compiles it all together and creates the book that'd be up for sale... the 2008 diary project seemed to go well and so, i thought to participate this year... the requirement was that the final needed to be in grayscale... and that is something i do NOT work well with.... sooooooo, i cheated... kinda...

i'm not that good with grayscale papers or just visualizing in NON-color, for that matter... so instead, i did the illustration in color... then i scanned it in and changed the color mode to grayscale... a bit of brightening and contrast, added type, and some lines tossed in, saved me a big headache caused by any frustration that would have occurred from working in actual gray toned papers... and i ended up with a cute frameable illustration in color :)

so, i'm totally into hair... always have been... if all my characters have faces that look alike, i need SOMETHING that sets them apart and makes them unique... for years, i've enjoyed making the hair on my paper people and am always inspired by other artists with the same fetish... so, i finally made a new group in flickr called cutest hair in art... the above magnet lady is named rosa- she had one too many walks in the forest...

these are the size of my palm and made with paper, of course... in most craft stores, they have these wooden shapes for about 25¢ each that are plain... you can decorate them with paint... well, usually i buy the round ones for my magnetic people heads... one time, i bought ladybug shapes and they sat in my studio for ages... well, i FINALLY used them... i put them upside down and turned them into THESE lil ladies... they have quite the afro, eh?! this is miss cindy... she picked a bunch of flowers and misplaced them.... and she can't figure out where she put them :)

i'm not sure if these will make it to the etsy shop yet because i have a few gifts to send out to people... but i WILL be making some sort of goodies for the shop soon and there will be an announcement forewarning you all :)... i'll be sure to make several of these too... this last one's named rebecca... she accidentally dropped some flower seeds in her hair, and this was the result...

tomorrow is diego's birthday and this whole week is packed with meetings, appointments, and preparation.... so we shall see you soon and have an awesome new week!!!

interested in a prize?!

yes indeed!!!!! with the july 18th etsy restocking, i have some extra goodness! any customer who purchases an item [in my shop] between july 18th and the 20th will be entered into a raffle to win a FREE ORIGINAL GREENBEANBABY ILLUSTRATION...

winner will be announced by july 22nd and contacted via email!

i have been up EVERY NIGHT until the wee hours of the morning and i'm feeling the effects... ysesterday i picked up my prints and purchased the necessary items to ship these babies out perfectly... then i spent EIGHT episodes of x-files signing and numbering and titling each print, and putting them in the clear sleeves... ramel and i took a half hour to figure out prices and fees [profits vs losses, etc etc]... after that, i began uploading items to my etsy hop and listing them [then making them inactive]

i had over 125 listings to do on etsy [90 were prints] and managed to complete 75%... it was 3am by the time i went to bed and my feet were swollen from all that sitting.... i was so tired i couldn't remember people's names to name items after [remember, i am naming each item in etsy after flickr and blogging buddies]....

this morning i was too tired to wake up so ramel went to work later and fed the kids breakfast and got them situated... by the time i showered,dressed the kids, fed them snacks, cleaned the house, and chugged a pot of coffee, we went for a walk... it was 12:15 when we began... it was 4pm when we came back from our walk.... we managed to go swimming, go to the park, go to some stores, and head home a few shades darker than before... needless to say, it's only 11pm right now, and i am plum tuckered out.... so excuse me if this blog post is a bit ditsy...

i will blog once more on the 17th... there may be new items to show:) after the etsy day, i will have OODLES of pics of the kids uploaded on the blog and flickr... don't ya miss them?! hehe....

and now, for some good night rest- unless i end up working on  some sketches ;)

NOTE: you can check out the notes on this photo, and this photo, and this photo to see the some of the friends' names of each item :)

overload cute

july 18th is the big day for the greenbeanbaby etsy restocking!!!!! right around midnight, all the items will be uploaded to the shop... it takes a good 15 minutes to do it so don't freak out if it's 12:04am and you can't find what you are looking for...

the above magnets are called nina's friends.... there will be one BIG set and one SMALL set available...

within the past few days, i made over 110 pieces of magnets to sell... yes, that is right!!! 110 pieces of lil wood with magnet strips glued on the back... a bazillion pieces of paper cut out to make the people... and plenty of hours [with a few burns, a couple cuts, and one knuckle missing a bit of skin] gluing and assembling these pretty mamas.... it's left little time to do much else...

these friendly gals are called li li's friends... each set will have 4pcs... and there will be 3 sets available

however, tomorrow i will be working on the printing process for the illustrations that will be available in the shop... somehow i had thought this etsy restocking would be focusing primarily on illustrated prints... i don't even remember how this magnet mania began!!!! still, hopefully, the prints are a good seller :)

these lil gals are called meghan's friends.... there will be one or two sets of these... there are only 6 lil gals so they may be all sold together or in two sets of 3pcs

i want to make more magnets too... and illustrations... but time won't allow... today i will be making all the descriptions for my items... this is a time consuming process as there has be added tags, uploaded pics, figuring out of prices, then making the listings inactive until july 18th... there are alot of items!!!!

these lil ladies are called madeline's fairies... every mama needs a set of these... there will be one BIG set and one SMALLER set available...

in the process of making one set of magnets, i had two hot glue guns plugged in... a big one for the magnet part... a small glue gun for the bigger paper pieces that need more than regular glue... well, right as my sister called me, i heard a loud POP!!!!! the lights flickered, the smell of something burning filled my studio... smoke was seeping out of the mini glue gun and all i could think of, this would be the worst spot for a fire to start... i guess that mini glue gun was used one too many times!!!!!

these are called linda's kitchen angels.... there will be one BIG set and one SMALLER set available...

i tried  to make two sets of each magnet set.... there will only be 4 notebooks, one scrapbook, and 4 lil mini books... there will be a limited set of prints as well... SO MANY IDEAS of what could be made for the shop!!!!! there might be another etsy restocking date sooner than usual.... [depending how well this goes, and how much sleep i can get]... there are so vintage notecards that i'd like to illustrate in cut paper for  a special series in the shop too...

on top of all this, ramel and i celebrate our 5th anniversary on saturday.... mr. potato head is coming to the betty brinn's children's museum.... and my kids love them some potato heads... [i've had to holler at them for sticking the ear pieces in their ears....] so our anniversary may be spent with mr. potato head and the kids we love :)

the last set of magnets shown are called debra's girls... there are a couple more sets not shown on the blog but you can see them on my flickr page....

happy monday!!!

magnets galore

this post is going to be fairly short but with plenty of pictures... i am still behind on emailing people so all of you who have commented, i will respond soon.... i've been making some magnets lately in my oh-so-hot studio.... it's like a mini sweatshop only consisting of one person, a few bugs, x-files, and one little fan blowing hot air... at least my mood is better, artistically despite the 90º attic situation...

anyhow, meet simone's fairies... these are paper illustrated magnets that are about two inches tall...

yes, with this new etsy re-stocking, i will be naming every item after my fellow blog and flickr friends... these are meadow's cherries which are really teeny tiny... they are about the size of a nickell....

and these are aletha's fairy mamas.... also magnets...

these are teeny flower magnets from julie's garden [these are also the size of a nickel]... actually, two are from this julie's garden... and two are from this julie's garden :)

these are janae's angels... i don't have a link for janae but she is a one year old sweet pie who's mom is a beautiful lady... we have a son the same age, a daughter the same age, and we are both from the same city...

these are erica's cupckaes... these are also teeny tiny and were a doozy to glue the lil leaves on it...

lastly, these are gracie's roses.... these are 3d paper roses that i made and mounted onto an old key plate... these are magnets as well...

enjoy all!! these goodies will be available in my shop on july 18th midnight, sharp!

2 hours for you, 6 hours for me...

dividing our time is not an easy task, especially if you are a mother who illustrates and crafts but refuses to do so in a dirty house... as ramel has been home more, he gets even less time to himself and thankfully won't complain... there are 4 days until the grand re-re-reopening of the etsy shop... the minute ramel gets home from work, he offers his help... from cooking to bathing the kids to running to the store to get me more glue, ramel deserves an award... of course, it does give him time to enjoy the kids but sadly, our own time is sacrificed...

in the meantime, i've been working hard to make the illustrations and etsy goods in the midst of spring break... diego is home from school for a week and to prevent us from having cabin fever, we may make rice krispie treats... [not like either of us needs more sweets, eh?!] we read books and chase isabella and play a few games... it's a fun time for us but my own time is even more scarce.... blogging is done in spurts as i am interrupted with his potty breaks, snack breaks, his questionnaires of what i'm doing, and his request to use the computer.... my, how my sweet diego has grown and learned to chat up a storm... i wonder where he got that from?!

it looks like my website won't be officially up on march 28th... please forgive me!! as i've said, there are many things on my to-do list to complete and each require care, time, and precision... we can't forget the children's book... or the abc project... or blogging about other paper artists.... or my niece's birthday illustration... my plate is full... each project deserves the appropriate time, so i don't want to rush things too much... by friday, i will have a new date for the website opening.... and it will be worth the wait [yes?!]

there are still 30 more items to make for the shop... magnets... framed illustrations... photo albums... notebooks... i don't think i'll have the time to make notcards this time... you can see a few more sneak peeks here... i will be TRYING to do a quarterly restocking of the etsy shop.... this way, i won't have to call it the "grand re Re re RE opening"... [i lose tracks of all those "re's"]... by that next quarter, ramel's website should be up too... he has such an awesome idea for his site, he has ME on edge, anticipating... so once april comes along, it will be his turn to get his art time... and my turn to not complain :) hehe...

 

side topic: i got a new camera!! and it works like a charm... around christmas time, ramel bought me a digital polaroid that was just a beauty!!! shortly after the computer catastrophes and sewage issues [and various 2008 dilemmas], my brand new camera just fritzed out... on january 25th, it was sent back for a replacement... a box with my NEW camera was sent here thursday [over 8wks later]... did i say, it works like a charm?! now you can see more of my cute isabella and handsome diego here...

 

and now, it's time to make us all something to eat...