greenbeanbaby art

a wordless post

well, almost! enjoy!

name them after me...

raesha's chickies- a lil notebook

kristen mary and amy- 2pc magnets

mariah loves coffee- a big magnet

samantha and joann- 2pc magnets

liberty's kitties- an 8pc set of magnets

karen loves the city- a big magnet

all my items in my etsy shop are named after friends :) enjoy!!!

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

what are you good at?!

after the children head off to bed, ramel and i try to divide our time... sometimes it feels like trying to cut a penny into 26 pieces but for the most part, we make it work... we have our date nights which include games and movie watching... often i play a few rounds of halo 3 before i head up to the attic and bust out a couple illustrations...

but last night, i had a *wonderful* experience... and since i know i can be a tad sensitive, i'm warning all readers that this post is a RANT.... as stated, i play video games with a few online friends... now, they are pretty good and sweet hearted too!! but i can't always keep up and there are plenty of times we lose... we DO win too, though... there are times you play with unfriendly and ignorant people... and there are times you play with people who can make the game, a GAME... i prefer the latter

someone from the opposite team told me to stop playing halo 3 games since i am the reason my team lost... the person said i should find a game i am good at and to STOP WASTING MY LIFE... my response? well, i told the person to buy me a game that i would be good at if they cared so much... OK, this shouldn't bother me as i KNOW i'm not wasting my life... and i KNOW i am not some professional gamer who can win every single match without their hands hurting from gripping the controller so hard... after all, i AM the gal who played sega's duck hunt, while standing two inches in front of the screen [it's a shooting game]... and i am the gal who could NEVER jump on the alligators in "pit fall" without falling... yes, I AM THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T GET PAST ROUND TWO OF ATARI'S POPEYE!!

so yes, i admit it- i'm not rocking awesome when it comes to playing video games... if i play a game alone, i can never beat the boss... it is ALWAYS ramel who beats the boss for me [including story mode of nintendo's mario party ds] and for this reason, even though, i don't win, i should STOP PLAYING?! don't get me wrong, i do NOT like to lose... but if it's not scrabble, or pictionary, i can hold my sore losing attitude aside...

it gets me thinking... if a person isn't good at something, they should just quit, right?! if they are having fun, but don't win the game all the time, they should quit?! if this was the case, i'd have quit MANY THINGS!!! after all, motherhood isn't always easy... there are days you feel like you failed... there are days you feel stressed and wonder if you are doing a good job... MARRIAGE isn't easy... there's a factor of trust that can be broken in an instant... there's faith that you need in each other and there is time you NEED with each other...

and let's not forget artwork... the high and lows that come with being an artist... some days you have good pieces and some days they don't even qualify to line the bottom of a bird cage... while i loved art all my life,  it took me YEARS to figure out what i was actually good at... it's taken years to build confidence, and even then you wonder... 

so i know, just a dumb game... and an ignorant person who threw out a rude comment about my lack of skill... and while it shouldn't bug me, the joy of playing a video game seems afar... maybe i SHOULD stick with WHAT i am good at.... but then who'd win that argument?! him or me??? and if anyone knows me i do NOT like to lose an argument :) [right, ramel?!]

yep, i'm playing halo tonight... AND working on some artwork!!!

now, for the fun part, what ARE YOU GOOD AT??!!! be proud and share :)

facts from the greenbeanbaby world

1. i'll be having a greenbeanbaby etsy clearance sale next week from tuesday, august 26th to friday august 29th with more goodies to be added

2. currently, i'm in love with the two shows "extras" and "flight of the conchords"... hilarious stuff!!!

3.isabella is a girly girl for sure!!although she hates when i do her hair in a bazillion pigtails, she will patiently sit as i put on a new pair of earrings for her... or to get her toenails painted...

4. like her brother, she now wears a necklace, which used to be mine... diego stole my monkey charm and she stole my butterfly charm ;)

5. i mistaken for a boy on more than one occasion when i was a kid.... if  learned that saying my FULL name [middle name ANA included] was crucial for others to determine my gender... [you can see more childhood photos here]

6. as a kid, i hated wearing my purple snowsuit.. i also didn't like brown cordoroys, winter boots, legwarmers, furry coats, and jogging pants... now, i just don't like snowsuits and jogging pants...

7. a sweet friend met via xbox live sent me an awesome gift... NINTENDO DS!!! i did a "ramel move" and bought a slew of games

8. i am not very well coordinated when it comes to monkeyball... but i'm stuck on mario party!

9. diego likes seeing other people HAPPY... sometimes, he tells me things like "it's okay isabella can hit me  if she want to" because he likes seeing her giggle... or "it's okay, logan [his cat] can bite me if he wants to"

10. speaking of diego, this kid needs a twin sized bed... his toddler bed is all too small these days...

11. diego and isabella are going to be the only kids in the greenbean household... two is enough for us!!!

12. isabella can sing the spongebob squarepants song pretty well, along with several they might be giants songs... you have to check out some of their podcasts!!! 

13. sweet simone sent diego a wonderful "get well from surgery" package which included chocolate not shown... don't worry, i didn't eat it on him... btw, he loves these books!!!!! thank you, simone!

14. i'm finally catching up on illustrations, swag, surprise packages, and contest entries [including ramel's monthly contest and a submission to a magazine]

15. and overall, the greenbean family seems to be doing pretty well... we've been doing alot of park adventures and family time... it's always wonderful to see the family happy, ya know?!

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!

diego's green birthday party

diego is finally four years old and got his birthday wish! he wanted a green birthday party and it's exactly what he got... he wanted streamers and balloons and to be sung to... and he wanted his loved ones at the party, so of course, we could deliver :)

there were oodles of green cupcakes... the night before the party, i went to my mom's house with my sister to make them... we made cupcakes with chocolate chip cookie balled up in the middle.. and we made red velvet cupcakes with a hershey kiss in the middle... we used a ton of green food coloring and green sugar... the proof remains in my mom's kitchen and on my fingers...

we played a few games... a family classic is "round the table"... it's the same concept as musical chairs only instead of going around chairs and then sitting on them, you go around the table... when the music stops, you have to grab the item on the table... the one person who doesn't have an item to grab, is out... the kids played a few rounds of this... and the adults did too... 

i invented a new game for the party... i grabbed all of diego's action figures and dinosaurs and divided them into two bins... there was equal amount of GREEN characters [hulk, power rangers, green batmans, etc].... two people played the game at a time and each person stood in front of the bins... when it was time to begin, each person had 30 seconds to find the MOST GREEN items in the bin...

there were other games played including, find the green button in the mix of other buttons, spiderman and friends memory game, guess how many toys diego has, and arm wrestling... yes, my mom and ramel arm wrestled.... my mom won but she thinks ramel let her...

after all the games were played, it was time for presents!!!!!! for awhile, diego has wanted the hulk hands and the hulk mask... he specifically said that he did NOT want the hulk belly though.... hehe.... and so his aunt and uncle got him the pair of hands and the mask to match.... he looks darn cool with his new attire, eh?! the eyes even light up!

and of course, isabella just has to be like her brother... guess she's gonna need a pair all her own...

diego received many cool gifts including more hulk goodness, power ranger goodness, a new transformers backpack for school, and even a hulk blanket... this kid has PLENTY of toys to keep him entertained... and of course, he has a dad who just LOVES playing toys with him... yeah, i bust him out!!! seriously, ramel and diego can get a lil action movie going on with all the toys and cars :)

and so when the night was over, and the house was clean, there were no complaints... the cupcakes were yummy, and the games were fun to play... it was a wonderful birthday party for a wonderful four year old boy... happy birthday diego!!!

ps. you can see more pix here...

this is how guys

 

think they can get their girl into gaming....

and well, it worked...

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!!!

updates plus mail love...

diego is doing much better despite the fact that he's lost 4 pounds and is skinny enough to dodge raindrops... on tuesday and wednesday, he didn't eat a single thing, not even popsicles... we offered him water and juice but he preferred the water... on wednesday, he was sick to his stomach and vomiting all night [on and off]... as he wasn't dehydrated, we waited until the following morning to take him to the emergency room... they gave him anti-nauseous medicine and sent him on his way home a couple hours later...

that same day, he stopped vomiting and mustered up enough strength to do a dance when ramel mentioned getting a new batman toy for him... we headed to target and diego was quite happy to get another toy... even today, he is doing much better and walking around alot... he is quietly playing with his toys and also wanting to cuddle a whole lot with his mother... he's such a sweetie but it's kind of rough to see him so darn skinny and unable to talk... he just mumbles and smiles but no doubt, he will be a chatterbox in a couple of days...

aside from these happenings at the hill household, i've been receiving so much mail goodness... ms. judy hartman sent me a beautiful paper illustrated greeting card...  judy makes the most beautiful portraits in paper- her attention to detail in the eyes and hair is to be admired... thank you so much judy for giving me one of your wonderful creations!!!

a while ago, i won a "de-stash my stash" raffle hosted by andria... the other day, she sent me an envelope jam-packed with goodness... oodles and oodles of stickers plus swag, retro snippets, and collage pieces... it was so much that i just HAD to reorganize all my stickers by genre and size... [yes, i have this wee obsession with organizing things]... you can see another shot here... thank you so much andria for all the loveliness you sent this way!!!

and miss pattycakes sent me more kawaii stationery love... ah, more goodness to inspire my future creations for the etsy shop and illustrations... the last time she sent me some goodness, i ended up making some sweet magnet friends... i just can't wait to actually make some illustrations in this style.... it's nice to do more than just my usual big eyed, big headed characters,  ya know?! anyhow, she sent me a ton of envelopes, memos, and stationery sheets :) thank you so much, patty!!!

and lastly, i ended up buying myself more paper and another paper punch... i've come to the realization that it's retro flower paper punches and paper packs are an obsession... it's not a light fetish or a natural desire for crafty goodness... but it's an obsession that makes a greenbeanbaby all giddy with delight... it makes her stay up until 3am re-organzing her studio and paper stash... it makes her inspired despite the incredible heat that zaps away her energy... in time, you will see all the goodness put to use and made available in some creative form to you... 

in the meantime, there is a 4yr old birthday party to prepare for, a kid to care for, and a baby girl who is madly missing her wild playtime with her brother... and for now, the night time is spent relaxing to the sounds of "gained the lead" in halo instead of working on art after working so hard that day... but like i said, its time to get cracking on a few things:)

have a wonderful weekend!