greenbeanbaby art

products, anyone?

i've mentioned to you that my camera is broken, right? it makes it hard to take photos when you have nothing TO take photos with.... my children will be undocumented for a month or so, and my blog may show images of the past, but oh well... it will only mean that my next camera will be even better!!!!

anyhow, with the new shop underway, i'm looking for a few suggestions... in the past, i have sold products including keychains, photo albums, notebooks, and a favorite, magnets... but everything was in such short supply and often sold quickly [what artist can compla?!]... i'm hoping to be able to offer items in bigger quantities soon!

i'm also looking into rubber stamps... for the longest, i've wanted to offer stamps with some of my characters but haven't had the resources or even the time! if i offered stamps, what sort of characters and themes would you like to see?

in fact, what sort of products would you like to see in the greenbeanbaby shop??? whether it's items i've offered in the past, or items NEVER offered, i would love to know... your help is greatly appreciated!

in the meantime, i have 25 more ideas to sketch out for illustrations... thank you all for sticking around despite my sporatic blogging and lack of illustrative content to show for... have a wonderful new week!

etsy shop update

so much for my daily blogging last week... i did play alot of video games, i caught up on some custom orders [ like this illustration above] and shipped them off, and spent time with my family...

but yes, i even updated my etsy shop... it will be the last shop update before i launch my new site [yes, it IS coming... after two years, or three now, but it is coming!!!] along with the site, there will be a new shop location and new goodies... all in the works... in the meantime, i've listed some illustrations in the etsy shop and they are on sale...  they are all older illustrations but available to you all...

so in the meantime, check out the illustrations... all proceeds will go to buying video games and paper- HAHA JUST KIDDING [kinda] :)

wednesday/thursday- promoting a shop

this post is going to be brief but sweet... as i've blogged before, my mom had a shop... however, she's recently gone etsy, and has moved her shop to here...

all of her prices are quite decent and affordable... with the way the economy is, there is little money to be spent on leisurely things... however, as we all know, a treat now and then keeps us all a sane and happy person... we can't go through life paying all the bills and not enjoy a movie now or then [or another paper pad]... my mom keeps her prices low so that people can enjoy shopping without it putting a hole in their pocket....

so if you are looking for some nic nacs, buttons, ric rac, a popple, or kitchen items, her shop is where you can look :)

tuesday- friendly visits

last week a good friend who lives in new york came to milwaukee to visit us... its rare that anyone from new york would want to even step into any other city but thank goodness, friendships supersede the limits.. we've never met in person beforehand but diego and isabella were quite comfortable  with her [as was ramel and i]... the first thing we did was get some food and coffee, of course :)

on wednesday we drove over to chicago, leaving ramel to care for the kids overnight... it was the very first time i've ever been away from them like this... normally, a mother would feel sad, nervous, or bad, right? but not this mama! i mean, my kids were in good hands and it was nice to be out of the house long enough for someone to notice i wasn't around... yes, i missed them dearly but i enjoyed my time [searching for something to bring home to them] with my friend...

anyhow, chicago was beautiful... more beautiful than i remember during my previous trips... my friend and i went to lunch at a swanky club, visited the SMART museum, and had oodles of coffee in between... we walked around alot and enjoyed each other's company... while she rested, i got lost and couldn't find our hotel for a good half hour...  how could you miss a 40 story hotel [unless it is surrounded by other VERY tall buildings!] i did find the hershey's chocolate store and the american girl store... i also stumbled across a mall that had a papyrus store inside [oh yes, their cards are to swoon for]... that night, she even ordered hotel service and treated me to a late night dinner in our room [which was way up on the 36th floor!!!!!!]...

the following day we went to the art institute of chicago... most of the photos here were taken on this day [don't mind that flying curl- hehe]... we tried walking towards the lakefront but there was a freeway blocking us... nonetheless, we enjoyed all the beautiful scenery in chicago and headed back towards milwaukee, stopping by at the gurnee mills outlet mall... i had hoped to find a few things for the kids but couldn't but ended up stopping by a toy store here in town and getting them some goodies...

anyhow, the week was wonderul... it felt great to have a friend come and visit, and it felt swell to get to go out of town with her... sadly, i didn't get a chance to show her our museums nor send her home with our famous wisconsin cheese... she didn't get to try our frozen custard either but there is always another season, right?!  she is a very gentle and warmhearted person in which i was glad to hang out with for a whole week....

now, to set up my trip to go to new york :)

monday- wedding invitations

this post is proof that i haven't been playing video games all day and night [although if you look at my xbox blog, it would seem that i'm lying].... a few months back, a customer requested custom wedding images for her upcoming wedding...

the illustration itself was created in cut paper, with the golden gate bridge as her background... then it was scanned in, type added, and sent off to the printers... UPS shipped the final product to the house [not without a giant fiasco though], and they were BEAUTIFUL!!

since my work is known for its handmade qualities [or at least, i'd like to think it's known for that], i wanted to add a 3d element to the flat print... 250 flowers were punched out... 250 lil pieces of 3d tape was added onto the back... and 250 little red insides were added onto the flower with a teeny glue gun [the red part not shown]

several alfred hitchcock episodes later, those 250 little flowers were added onto the 250 wedding images.... and i must say, they look wonderful, although you can hardly tell by this photo [which was taken with a broken camera] i cannot wait to see them assembled, which the customer will do...

in a few hours, i will be playing on my xbox rewatching heroes season 1 and 2 and working on another commissioned piece... after those are done, work for my upcoming venture will be the main focus [and don't worry, you will see soon enough!]

happy monday!

sunday- a little graduation

and by little, i mean, the littlest graduates you've ever seen... yes, that is diego in the middle holding the [self-proclaimed] honorary graduate, isabella.... there were five kids total, with diego being the only boy... he was elected the valedictorian and gave his speech with pride.... but not before, the entire headstart sang "he's got the whole world in his hands" and "this lil light of MINE"... it was cute because, well, the songs had some flavor thanks to the diversity of the program.... and they all had rhythm :)... diego was doing some sorta jiggy in the middle of it all, hammin' it up... it was honestly, the cutest event you coulda been to....

my friend from new york [which will be another blog on its own] was our freelance photographer, capturing all of diego's awesomeness... she even taped his speech! he did a such a perfect job!!! it was a wonderful moment, as any parent can tell you... sure it's only k4...but it makes a parent realize what the future holds for their kid- more graduations, more proud moments, more events proving of their success and accomplishments.... we all want our children to succeed and to see them begin at such a young age fills a parent with joy...

we are proud of our diego...

consistent blogging coming up...

there are many things to share with you all this we so stay tuned... it's gonna be a doozey of a week beginning with sunday and photos of diego's little graduation!!!! i have good news to share [and no, it is not baby related] and as always plenty of photos....

perhaps, greenbeanbaby has her groove back for blogging?! keep your fingers crossed haha

happy mother's day

to all you mother's out there... may you had an awesome day!

mine is being filled with video games, paper buying, and a WEE bit of cleaning... you see, my friend from new york is coming to stay with us for a week... so mother's day has been extended until friday for moi :