greenbeanbaby art

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...

weekend work...

there should have been more artwork made... however i felt compelled to clean and clean and clean... oh, and go to the farmer's market... and relax... and play a few games... and clean some more... maybe i just didn't want to sit in the studio when October was giving us 85º F weather.... after all, most other years, Wisconsin has a thin blanket of snow on the ground already!

either way, i made it to the studio eventually... in 2004, i made an illustration called "Sarita's red boots" for a gallery show.... you can see a printout of it in the lower left hand corner of the illustration... it was one of my favorite pieces and decided to do a revamp of her... so far, Sarita can finally see, she got a new hat, and cut her hair... she got a new shirt too and a scarf to match.... i'm not diggin' the background so it may change... this is for someone but won't say who just yet... it took about 50 sketches to give Sarita more character (ok, slight exaggeration)...

i also began working on an illustration for margaret... it's a portrait of her and her husband... most of my characters are under the age of 12 so illustrating adults can be a bit tricky... however, there is joy in making illustrations for other... and there is a sense of satisfaction in cutting out the itty bitty details that defines a person's interest [like the chicago cubs logo- yes, the letters are hand cut and logo itself is about the size of a dime!]... the background has me stumped, though.... any suggestions?

another reason tons of artwork wasn't completed: i was learning how to use my bread machine... my mom and dad found me a nearly new breadman® but it came without a manual... i found a manual online and managed to half bake a pumpkin bread loaf (the top was raw and since my oven doesn't work, the job couldn't be finished)... i couldn't figure out how to stick it back into the bread machine either... so the next day,  i tried to make a garlic basil loaf but kept peeking in to see if it was cooking.... must it be said that the loaf was a mess?! the third attempt was at garlic basil again... it worked and tasted yummy with its crunchy crust!!!!!! now, to try another flavor haha...

i took a ton of photos of isabella today, outside... and tonight should bring about more artwork [or another loaf of bread?!]... we shall see...

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!

what was your dream? post 1

after much frustration with paints, charcoals and pastels, i began working in cut paper the 3rd year into college... i decided the greeting card industry was the ideal life... i even found a job working as a designer at a local greeting card company... and the company used handmade paper of all colors and sorts in their cards! however, i always envisioned my own company... my own cut paper greeting cards being sold in a teeny store front shop...

i saw my shop peaceful with big windows; the sun shining in as the kids rushed through the door from school, waving their backpacks about... i'd send them to the back room, where it was my studio, and make them sit at a big table to work on homework... i'd sit in the front, behind the counter, glueing some card together while sipping on coffee.. after the kids were finished with schoolwork, i'd hand them a duster and make them dust the shop while they'd tell me about school and who did what in class...

later, ramel would come through the door, kiss me, and ask how business was... i'd say slow but steady... he'd grab the kids and i'd close the shop and go home to a very clean house... in my dreams, i never remember cooking for the family or figuring in the time when i'd clean it- hehe... it was a happy dream though- and i thought, quite realistic...

however, once diego came along, the idea of the shop became blurred and bleak... i found my shop void of customers... i'd dream of how my parents would come and buy cards so i could make a sale that day (and that is because my parents really would do that! they are quite supportive)... i'd dream of how ramel would hold me as i'd cry about the shop's unsuccess... in fact, by the end of my dreams, my shop would be empty because i didn't know if the greeting card avenue was the path for me... yes, the idea of a shop became an unrealistic dream with nightmarish realities...

what really jolted me out of the idea of this storefront, was when my buddy told me of a new store, paper boat boutique... walking in there was like seeing MY dream being played by other actors... it was the store front shop with greenish walls (i think) and a room in the back!! there was a lady working on something in the front and the store was full of items handmade by various artists.... my dream shop was owned by someone else... and i must admit, they were doing a darn good job and had a beautiful shop!

so fast forward--- we bought a house, it had rooms for studios and i discovered the world of blogs and creative people... i found mothers who sewed, cut paper, and had etsy shops... i found support and encouragement... i began creating with annewed hope that having an etsy shop would be far more ideal than a storefront in milwaukee... after all, most of my customers are from other states and countries...

instead of my son coming home from school, running through the shop door, it's different... he's running through the kitchen door after a day at daycare... he's stomping up the stairs and rushing to my studio, yelling "hi mummy!!!".... everything is louder, with a hint of chaos... i can hear the baby swing creaking. isabella grunting, as i cut tiny hands and feet for my artwork... shortly after, her grunts turn into wails and diego's asking if we can watch superman, or batman; anything to avoid his nighttime bath...

i wouldn't change a thing right now... my reality is better than my dream, although quite louder with a bit more interruptions... i like having an etsy shop and meeting other creative people... i like mailing out packages at the post office, or stopping by target to pick up supplies... of course, now i dream of how i'd like to fix up my studio and of new products i'd like to make... i haven't given up dreaming, just sort of tossed the idea of a storefront shop, out the window... i've accepted and embraced this reality...

we have all adjusted our dreams in life... so what was your dream? and what is your reality??

how do i do it??

many people have often asked how i manage to work on art, while having two kids...  although each day can be different, i decided to give you one day's example of how i assembled 20 invitations for wendy's order...

keep in mind, both kids were wide eyed at half past midnight... i already did the illustration for the invitation and had them printed out... they were delivered to me earlier in the day... because i knew i'd be up late at night, i drank a venti orange mocha from starbucks... that gave the caffeine enough time to kick in... and then the assemblage began...

 
1. diego was put to bed at 10pm however, he was wide awake... as was isabella... ramel needed his sleep so i took out my rated R movie and put another dvd in... i went from resident evil to superman cartoons... i needed to do some "unsafe" work so isabella went in the playpen... diego relaxed on my chair... i cut my 12x12" paper to size... and then i cut some ribbon...

2.  isabella got antsy so i placed her on the carpet while i cut the postcards into the shapes of tags... then i folded the papers just cut... i started to cut the edges but she began to get hungry... can you see i was too? mint caribou coffee bars for mama and milk for baby... diego drank water- hehe...

 
3. while isabella nursed, i punched holes in the tags and in the papers... i finished cutting the edges of the paper with decorative scissors (safe scissors for while she nursed on my lap)

4. after her feeding (she's pretty quick and thus the reason she wakes up so often), she fell asleep on my lap... that gave me a tad of time to wrap and tie the ribbons around the papers....

5. by then, i decided to put diego to bed... it was well over 1:30am... isabella mussed up a diaper; i woke up ramel so he could change her diaper while i worked a bit more... while he gave me this time, i rushed (yes, RUSHED) to sizzix the flowers for the envelopes... the flowers were glued and pieced together all the while isabella cried (yes, i bet that mocha was keeping her up too)

6. i brought isabella to the studio again so ramel could go back to sleep... while holding her, i added the ribbon onto the tags and put the tags inside the papers... i nearly completed the task until my leg fell asleep and my arms grew tired... i figured i better blog this before i forget...

7. i checked up on diego, and he seemed quite asleep... the kid keeps so much in his bed, no wonder he has little room!!!  isabella hasn't been doing a good job sleeping in her bassinet or her swing... she prefers a warm body to cuddle next to... so often ramel will assist in this department too... while i blogged, he cuddled her...

that is how i worked on art this past night!! this is not the everyday venture however, it gives you an idea of how i multi task... some nights ramel cares for isabella the entire time (except for feeding time)... most nights, diego stays in his bed and falls asleep early enough... and of course, MANY nights, i cannot afford a starbucks drink or coffee bars, so i am left without as much caffeine in my system....

it's 3:55am and i am off to sleep

a dilemma of shipping prices...

before this topic/rant is begun, i wanted to comment on my previous post and its title... yes, a couple of you guessed it- the title really derived from "a pirate's life for me".... and of course, influenced by the pirates of the carribean 3... i saw it in theatres with my sister and isabella (and 'bella slept the whole time too!!).. ramel and i saw the first movie on our honeymoon... we saw the second one with a bunch of buddies and diego too- our friends helped keep diego quiet and happy by giving him soda and popcorn.... i think he fell asleep by the time johnny depp left the island....

but onto the real issue at hand!!! has shipping prices been affecting your pocket?? it sure has here!!! the second week of may, ramel shipped a ton of packages out and he phoned me with the total... it equalled out to the same amount i SOLD!!! so therefore, i made NO profit, and we can skip having the funds cover up the material costs (including the envelopes).... i was incredibly mad at ramel because he MUSTA did something wrong! of all the times i shipped before, it was never that high... ramel felt aweful and i was in tears... how in the world can i contribute to paying some of our bills if no money is being made?! it's not even covering daycare costs!


but a few more trips to the post office, with prices still being quite high for even a small envelope, i just assumed i was overpacking items (or forgetting how expensive it is to ship?) it wasn't until tuesday that the postal guy told me how prices went up big time, along with choices of how to ship internationally... SO THAT IS WHY my shipping bills were so pricey!!! with a phone call to ramel to apologize, i decided to figure out how to recalculate shipping prices in my etsy shop...

now, with alot my orders, i like to throw in a few bits of extras... however, any extras in the packages i ship to, are my doing... meaning, the customer shouldn't and won't pay for the freebies i decide to throw in... only fair, eh?! but still i have to figure in the rest of the costs... the envelopes alone are nearly $1.... and to ship internationally is always well over $5 for even my smallest notebook... is it fair that i charge $6 for a mini notebook that costs only $5?! hardly!!!!! so now, the goal is to make my costs in the etsy shop, affordable to BOTH the customer and i...

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this weekend, i will be raising my shipping prices... it's only fair to the business... i want my shop to be a fun and affordable spot for people to buy goods from... it's tricky, this whole pricing bit... but the cost of living is getting higher... did you know that here, in milwaukee, our gas prices are the highest in the states?! ridiculous!!!

ah yes, and to end the post, isabella does NOT like to be put down....  i held her for nearly 6 hours straight today... currently, it's past midnight and ramel is trying to soothe her... but i swear, she cries louder at night than in the morning... my arms are tired and there is more art for me to do, none of which is easy to do while holding the gal... but i best end the post and rescue ramel after i pack up my art supplies for the night.

note: the first 4 photos are notebooks created for people... the last photo is for some birthday invitations...

7wks and who caught me....

mr. sleep.... i felt like he beat me down too cuz i have been so tired and worn out, it's not even funny... the bulk of my art projects have been completed but there are a few that lay on the table awaiting a bit more attention.... but the past week or so, i worked hard very hard to get most everything done.... for instance, those 200 invitations? well, those are all completed- 200 flowers glued on 200 envelopes... 200 postcards stuffed in 200 paper folders that were closed with 200 teeny bows... and 200 tiny labels to let 200 people know who did the work... the postcards came last week friday and boy, they look amazing!!! i love professional printing with it's glossy finish and no smudges....

i can't wait to make some thank you postcards now... but when will i do that? hehe... i still have a few more projects to show you by friday... i have joyce's illustration, the paperbag swag illustration, and perhaps another sweetpea swap... a teeny one at that, but my mind isn't made up just yet...

over the weekend, we went to the circus... diego is old enough to enjoy it and i am old enough to feel sorry for the elephants, lions, and tigers.... i took a photo of ramel, diego, and elmo... doesn't elmo look like he got hit with a frying pan? diego didn't mind the lopsided head- he was just fascinated with the fact that elmo was in his presence....

with 7wks left, this baby feels like she is ready to bust outta my belly.... i feel awkward and as said before, tired as can be... but an iron pill a day is the doc's remedy for the fatigue... and as for the awkwardness?! well, we just have to wait a few more weeks.... technically, in 3wks the baby will be baked enough to enter the world but 5wks is what the doctors push for.... and that is fine by me.... i am looking forward to see isabella as well as be able to bend over and plug in my hot glue gun without squishing the belly... but a bit of time left on the ticker...

now, to catch up on flickr and emails and hopefully blogs.... lemme grab my coffee first...