greenbeanbaby art

stamps and isabella....

 
today there are two NEW greenbeanbaby designs over at stamping bella... plus there is a new artist named mo manning who designs some VERY cute stamps!!! as a welcome to her and all of the new releases, there is a special for ONLINE ORDERS [no minimum].... 15% off your purchase!!!!!! use the code welcomemo at your checkout :)

 
also, isabella's birthday is coming up! she is going to be THREE this saturday!!! can you believe it?? i remember announcing the pregnancy here on the blog... and announcing that she decided to wait past her duedate... and then there were posts on her birth, her milestones, birthdays, and NOW she is THREE!!!!!! i'll do a memory post soon with some nostalgic isabella photos next week... there will also be some photos about what [and where] we'll be this weekend... exciting!

 

so happy thursday and see you all next week with news, art goodness, greenbean updates!

ps. be sure to check out my husband's new blog, GIANTGREENBEAN! it's all about his art!!!

so much to do

as you can see, i'm trying to get back into the groove of posting on my near-forsaken blog.... with more artwork on the table, and more to share, there might be more interest... i plan to keep the posts brief although i'll make no guarantees... there is a needed balance and organization of time in my work-life these days, blogging included...

anyhow, onto the latest news... i had planned to participate in a 12 week illustration challenge... it begins on april 5th and there are a ton of wonderful and talented artists also participating... this challenge is "an opportunity to make amazing progress towards your goal of becoming a full time professional illustrator..."  it'll include weekly tasks, communication, and collaboration... i had wanted to do this but feel there is still so much on my plate to finish... custom illustrations, personal projects, the zazzle site that is still barren... and who can forget my etsy shop?! still, i've joined in the community in hopes of remaining inspired, finding people with similar interests, and get to know more illustrators, ya know?!

all in all, i plan to be busy this month... so what are you up to these days?

bugs and links galore

since the beginning of this blog, i've posted yearly of how i make an illustration for my niece, ananda... she turned 8 last week!!! this year i decided to illustrate her favorite subject- BUGS... this girl loves bugs! she is going to be nursing a caterpillar into a butterfly, she is hatching sea monkeys,  and she is caring for a tadpole... on top of that, she has 3 cats in her home so that put a kink in the plan of getting her a fish... it wouldn't survive a day in a house full of cats that catch birds! [of course, it's to wonder if these cats will find a caterpillar tasty]

also, i've been finishing up a few illustrations for imagezoo and perhaps another company... on top of that, i may do another iphone app! on top of that, more rubber stamp designs are underway... i'm in the groove and will be prepping myself for hitting the freelance world this fall, as diego AND isabella go to school.... with the new website to launch in april [YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!], it's about time to promote greenbeanbaby... and what has helped get me in such a mood?! a fantabulous illustration podcast by two talented freelance illustrators... it's got me motivated, inspired, and feeling ready like freddy!

a BIG THANKS to jo-an [who does beautiful papercuts herself!!!!]... she did an interview with me recently and it was such a fun experience... please stop by and check it out along with her amazing work!

have a wonderful weekend everyone!

an autumn event...

a sorely neglected blog needs something to spruce it up... and for that, we have Greenbeanbaby's Second Annual Autumn Event.... There will be more embellishments in stock including, devil boys, devil girls, angel boys, frida kahlo's, cat girls, superkids, and many more... and yes, you read that right- MORE BOYS!!!! after all these years, i'm trying to provide more males in the shop...

on top of that, there will be some SPECIAL collaborative goodies... The clever Digital Snowman has designed a few creatures and I've made them outta paper.... Even the talented Blake Himsl Hunter has illustrated a few creatures that will be available in paper version... On top of that, Ms. Fun Old New will be providing a few embellishments in a sweet lil package... To accompany each, there will be a cute papery button fairy...

So here are the details:

host: yours truly

guests: Eric Hancock, Blake Himsl Hunter, Nina Domena

where: Greenbeanbaby's Etsy Shop

starting: Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 2:30pm [cst]

ending: Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 2:30pm

price: as always, affordable

if you have any questions, feel free to email me... look forward to seeing you all there!!

can you fly?

this is a post about all the pretty things that fly and you can buy...

do you have books that everyone keeps trying to claim as theirs? well, then you need some of stephanie's beautiful owl bookplates... these vibrantly colored and adorably illustrated... and they are affordable so you can stop finding your books in the hands of others...

and if you feel like wearing an owl design, check out this cute tee! printed on a vintage style shirt, you are bound to be comfy and stylish... looks great with any skirt or your favorite jeans, leaving you feeling indie happy and in the mood for some hefty james joyce reading...  it won't be available in burgundy for long so snag one up while you can!

if you are in the creative mood and have the desire to make some jewerly or embellish a scrapbook, you must snag these cute beads!! won't these make a darling pair of earrings?? and they are GREEN!!! one cannot resist these big eyed birds....

lastly, we cannot forget that even angels fly... so if you are in a nostalgic mood and want to buy a cute toy, check out my mom's angels! they have the chubbiest cheeks and the best of expressions... this one has a nose like my isabella, eh?!

well, i am off to rest away this cold of mine... have fun shopping!!

someone's site is up

and his name is ramel hill... check it out! its about gamers who dig art... it's been revamped and reworked by the talented nelson polanco... both nelson and ramel have worked quite hard to get it up and running and user friendly...

take a peek and enjoy!!

ps. next post to be about diego :)

happy new years!!

it's the new year and what's best to start the year with happy stuff... first, my mom's new lollishops is open... you can check it out over here! she'll be adding goodies continuously...

on christmas eve, we've received some great packages in the mail including handmade and sweet goodness from meghan... [there's more photos at my flickr]... isn't that sweet of her?! she's a doll!

also on christmas eve, my mother and sister came over for our annual ornament swapping... the first few years we made them but now we buy them.... i ordered my ornaments from stephanie, julie, and nicky... and i made one ornament for us all... [nicky's pretty ornaments can be seen here]

my sister bought me the other starbucks ornament so now i have BOTH!! that makes my tree and me happy!!! my mom also purchased a glittery cottage from julie for the swap as well as a couple more goodies...

this lovely set of visual and artistic goodies is from our pals,  digital snowmen [eric and karen]... the book is hilarious!!! the beautiful katamari game is for moi and it's quite fun... challenging with catchy songs.... the dvd is for ramel ;)

isabella is doing wonderful despite being sick for over a week... she's been enjoying the fact that diego is home all day now as well as her daddy... here she is with her favorite care bears that are nearly as big as her... she loves to hold both!

 
diego is loving vacation from school... he gets to play oodles of games... when he isn't playing games or chasing isabella, he is sleeping soundly with his batman in a superman bed with superman covers on a spiderman pillow while wearing iron man pjs and a power rangers vest... some kid, eh!?

and when i am not packing up stuff, i am cleaning up the new place... and when i'm not doing neither of that, i'm relaxing my incredibly sore body... and by relaxing, i mean, playing video games on xbox live with some of our pals... hehe

so what greatness do you have to start the new year?!

g is for grateful...

there is so much to be grateful for... with all the BIG changes [some bittersweet] ahead of us, a person gets to wondering, sometimes worrying, about what has to be done and what the future holds... a person should cut back on caffeine during such emotional rollercoasters but thankfully, there are many things to keep a person leveled... .. i am truly grateful for all the people in my life... the friendships that have cultivated in the least likely of places... i'm grateful for a family who sticks together and enjoys time together... i'm grateful for all the people who contribute to my family, my passions, and who inspire and motivate and uplift...

the week began rough.. well, we should pluralize the word "week"... my mind is consumed with moving and my hands are not cutting paper accurately... i spent 2 days huddled in my attic to create one teeny tiny magnet... i have body parts [of paper people] cut out and ready to assemble but the thought of glueing gets me worrying about messing up... so i end up getting a cup of coffee and playing video games... the next day begins a bit rough from the guilt that i didn't finish something... and then, ramel brings up the mail... goodness to brighten anyone's day!!!

the first three photos are of goodness that nelson and andrea [and baby "monkey"... they are expecting YAYYYY!!!! *crowd claps and cheers loudly*] sent our way... isn't diego a ham in his batman robe?! he wears it with style DAILY... and looka miss isabella in her pretty new dress... i had to stand her on the record player to get a shot of her... she's a lil doll, eh!? hehe... nelson and andrea also sent us some chocolates [which you can see are missing thanks to ramel, isabella, and me].... they sent ramel microsoft points [which anybody on xbox live drools over!!] and a DARLING starbucks coffee ornament.... oh!! and they also sent some kawaii and coffee lovers stationary!! now, isn't that a dreamy package !? they are such an awesome couple and are gonna be some darn awesome parents very soon!!!!!

the next day we got over a foot of snow...but along with the snow came such a surprise... our friends, ali and phil also sent us mail... a gift card to gamestop and microsoft points... i can't even describe in writing what a shock [of awesomeness] this was to us... i'm telling you, ramel is into games like i'm into paper.... and between ramel, ali, and phil, i've become an addict to games and gaming and the whole xbox live experience... i mean, how many swell couples can you find that prefer killing zombies or chainsawing ugly beings from the depths of earth[?]?? it's been so much fun getting to know them online as we strive for the next achievement before one of us gets too tired :) getting a gift card to aid in this guilty pleasure totally made us flip out...  they are just the sweetest!!!!

and then yesterday!!! there was another surprise package waiting for us... miss gracie sent us oodles of goodness including an australian tee... yeah, diego is gonna look awesome in it!  there was candy and a little golden book too!! maybe tomorrow i will be able to read it to him and we can drool over the illustratios together :D  these kids are so blessed from around the world! it makes a mama so grateful for such caring people who think about her greenbeans :)

miss gracie sent so much handmade goodness too... tons of handmade envelopes with the most darling images on them... they inspire me to create some too but we can leave that for the talented gracie... the cards with the teeny envelope holding the teeny butterfly are just so elegant!! i was so much fun going through each item and observing all the details...

oh and there were pretty papers too!! ah, so much to swoon over, eh?! she also sent a darling ornament- i just love it!!! and looka this darling bangle bracelet for isabella... isabella is the only 20 month gal i know who needs her own jewelry box... from earrings to necklaces and now bracelets, this girl is glammed up with goodies from around the world... gracie, you are too sweet!1 thank you so much!!!

on top of it all, there was a raffle drawing at theresa's blog... and i won!!! theresa sent a copy of her very own illustrated and written children's book [cut paper, mind you!!] along with some of her notecards and tags.... isn't that awesome!? i cannot wait to just drool over all the illustrations in the book- and read it to diego... he's gonna like it :D theresa is a talented illustrator and a sweet person who has constantly given me inspiration to pursue my dreams....

last but certainly not least, here are awesome prints from blake... another surprise in the mail that brightened my day.... the purple print is named after isabella and the creature who's yelling print is named after diego... sweet, eh?! i cannot wait to decorate my new studio with artwork created by such wonderful and talented friends like blake... it's been a wonderful week leading up to christmas and i appreciate everyone who has been there for us... it really means alot!

i hope you all have a wonderful christmas!!! biggest hugs to you all!!

a weekend gone swell...

what could make a bitterly cold weekend a SWELL weekend?! tons of mail goodness, that's what!!! [oh, and a bit of gears of war 2... but we shan't rant on my latest addiction right now]... the weekend began with a wonderful swap package from kimberly... scrumptious and beautiful sheets of paper had me droolin' like a fool...

and what about these BEAUTIFUL earrings she MADE?! four perfectly handmade earrings that isabella will NOT steal ;)... every single pair is a different style and each one suitable for any occasion [we'll ignore the fact that 90% of my occasions are trips to target]... miss kimberly is the sweetest, thank you!!!

my dear friend and gamin' buddy, alison sent along a few yummy goodies... roasted peas that are purely addicting... ramel has eaten mostly one bag on his own [she sent 3!!] and diego has even eaten a few... that is the closest he gets to any veggies so we must thank ali for contributing to his good health... it's a snack not to feel guilty over, eh?!

so not only is she a darn good halo partner and yes, a gears buddy too, she is a wonderful cookie cook!! these are mostly organic chocolate chip oatmeal coconut cookies... they were DELICIOUS!!! they didn't even last for 4hrs before the greenbean family devoured them... thank you so much ali!!

another dear friend, andrea [who sent along a package blogged about] sent isabella her very own magnetic drawing board... isabella kept taking diego's diego book so andrea gave isabella her own... wasn't that just sweet?! of course, the girl took a liking to it... and I GOT MORE PAPER.... can we squeal with delight?! more paper to drool at and no complaining that i ran out of red and brown paper for hair- hehe

on top of that, andrea won diego over with the coolest marvel shirt... diego's smile should say it all... the minute i opened it up, he was like "aw wow! that's so cool!! can i wear it now?!" and then he told me about every character minus daredevil... he loves his new shirt!!!  thank you so much sweet andrea for thinking of my family...

and yes, you see MORE goodness!!! sweet amy sent a care package to diego and isabella filled with candy and gummies and creative treats!!! isabella has a handmade felted hair clip which she'll be sportin' this week... and while the book is for her, gossie is a DARLING read for even me... [hey a mom likes having good reads too especially if kids want the same story read to them over and over]

amy and her family also sent diego a ton of creative books and crayons to keep him entertained and his creative juices flowing.... i had to keep isabella abay [that girl goes after ANY of diego's stuff... not like she is lackin' in toys and such]

but what diego loved the  most, was the toys!!!! can you tell?! we get these sort of sets at target often [in various characters]... he has all the iron mans, a couple star wars, a couple other people and now HULK and silver surfer.... these toys are called his "too smalls" and there are some that are just a wee bigger than the rest... like hulk is bigger than the surfer dude... but he is as big as one of the iron mans... so diego makes sure that those two characters play and fight together... he's organized in his toy strategy, eh?! thank you so much amy for such wonderfulness!!

and just today, in the middle of me blogging our friends came to visit [and lend us battlestar gallactica season 2].... karen handed me a HUGE pile of BEAUTIFUL wall paper 8x8" squares... oh, so many to drool at and use!!! so many silvers and whites and browns and golds- all perfect for some greenbeanbaby illustratin'... miss karen is a sweetie!!

now that was a long post... the greenbean family had a swell weekend for sure... we are all so grateful... and just to end the post, here is a photo of isabella in her new outfit ;)

7 things a greenbeanbaby family did

1. today we voted... isabella and i...

2. today, isabella and i raked leaves... there was a TON!

3. this is the bug i found while raking... ramel took the photo since i'm not keen on bugs...

4. diego is a wonderful helper in the kitchen... he helped make p.b. cookies... see him smiling?! isabella helped too but really, she ate peanut butter off a separate spoon... ramel posed for the photo but he had nothing to do with making the cookies

5. ramel's illustration made it in game informer too!! isn't that awesome?! [his is the brown kratos]

6. diego and i made truffles [from this recipe] last night... ramel likes them... i hope my mom does too

7.here is my latest illustration... it's for a wonderful lil boy who is suffering from cancer... his name is carter... you can read his story here

this post was created because miss julie and miss jen tagged me for the "7 random facts"... i am to tag 7 others but would rather not this time... however, if you want to post your 7 random facts, let me know [you can comment here] i'd love to read it!

happy tuesday!