More Thanksgiving Cards!

Here is the rest of the card designs I put together for friends and family. The colors and lighting are not that great (sorry). Anyway, I thought they turned out nice, and most importantly, I enjoyed putting them together!

Away ...

It is my opinion that I need a break!

I will be away for a little while my blogging friends. This week was our anniversary and to celebrate, we are going to New York! 

I have been planning this trip for the last month. Last time I visited New York I was in college ... and that was a loooong time ago! This is also the first real trip my husband and I are taking without the kids. We are both very excited and really need this break!  It is also a great opportunity for me to go to museums and galleries and fuel my creative brain.

I'm not sure how connected I will be, but if I cannot post pictures while I'm there, I'll post some pictures when I get back. I also plan on having a 'give away' in December so stay tuned.

I will miss Illustration Friday for the next couple of weeks, but hope to come back recharged and with more ideas!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

I've been tagged!

I’ve been tagged by the very talented Alicia Padrón to reveal 7 facts about my self. She just completed a really sweet story about a Little Lost Fox that you can watch on video. Definitely check it out when you get a chance.
I have to say; this tag is not one of my favorite tags, only because I don’t think I’m that unusual. I try to simplify mi life and not have a lot of drama or chaos, so most of my days are pretty regular! But here it goes anyway…

1. I love Middle Eastern culture. Love the food and the music!
2. I think I have mentioned a few times on my blog that I am Colombian. However, I don’t think I have ever mentioned that I am part Lebanese (like ¼). I think that explains why I love Middle Eastern food and music. I have learned a few recipes and make them from time to time, and I still hope to learn how to belly dance one day!
3. I took up knitting when I was in college. I’m not a great knitter. In fact, last year I started a scarf that I have not finished and just looks like a giant rectangle. However, I find that knitting relaxes my mind when I’m trying to unwind, but still feel like I have to be doing something.
4. When my daughter was 9 months old, I went with her to Michael’s and gave her my car keys to keep her entertained. 45 minutes later, after paying for my supplies I was in the parking lot frantically looking for the keys. I realized she had lost them. She had a wet diaper, was hungry and I was late for her nap. I thought of calling my husband, but I was embarrassed (now I laugh about it). I went back inside the store and re-traced my steps a few times and finally (30 minutes later) found the keys on the bottom shelve behind some scrap-booking tools. I’m still not sure how I managed to find them. After that, I NEVER gave my keys to my kids!
5. I am a caramel girl. No chocolate or vanilla for me!
   
6. I don’t smoke or drink … (see, I said I was boring)
7. My anniversary is today! 9 happy years!

…And that makes 7 !!!

Now, I get to pass it on to some lucky and talented bloggers

Nicole
Krisztina 
Lil Kim
Deborah 
Diana Evans
Senta 
Nina Seven 

IF:PRETEND

I wasn't going to participate this week because I don't have time to make anything new and I didn't want to recycle an old illustration. Then I thought, 'what the heck' (This is my son's new phrase...I hear it about 50 times a day, and now I'm saying too)  Anyway, here it is...one of my witch series. This little girl loves to pretend she is a witch!

Have a great week everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

Some Thanksgiving Cards

I mentioned on a previous post that I was working on hand-made Thanksgiving cards. I finally had a chance to make a post with some of the designs.  No two cards look the same. It was fun!

I tried to incorporate some of my kids' artwork. My daughter drew and painted the turkeys but became tired of drawing the same thing rather quickly, so we ended up with only three.

The pictures came out dark and with a lot of glare from the flash. The embellishments and pop - up stickers that I bought at the craft-store were really cute! I will post the other designs before Thanksgiving

    

Check out Tenengo.com, I just updated my portfolio with all of my latest pieces. I am trying to have everything ready for my portfolio review in January. I will post more about that later.

Thanks for visiting!

Just Added: Blog Followers Widget!

I've seen this widget on a few blogs and finally decided to add it to my blog and try it out. In other words, if you like my blog and want to see what I've been up to click on 'follow this blog' right above the widget to stay up to date.  ;)

Here's a good question: How do you make the background black on the widget? Also, I can't import my subscriptions from my Google reader to the Blog's I'm Following ... it keeps telling me I don't have any subscriptions on reader... Has this happened to anyone?

Oh, and check out my new header!

White Elephant Gift Exchange Card

Ever since I attended an Elephant Gift Exchange party at my friend's house some years back and had so much fun, I decided to host my own every year. It is a great way to get into the holiday spirit and share some great laughs! We keep the gifts small and inexpensive ($5 to $10 max) and I usually have some extra in hand.

Since I usually hand make all my cards, this year I had to do the same, but I went with an illustration instead:

I gave this Elephant a tint of pink to make him cuter and more lively! I also thought to make this image available over at my IMAGEKIND gallery, this way if you want your own White Elephant Gift Exchange cards, you can purchase them there!

I am also adding the kids on the playground image from my previous post to IMAGEKIND. I think this lively and joyful illustration would make a great card or a wonderful giclee print as a gift for a child's room! 

IF: WISE

I would say these kids are WISE for choosing to play outside and enjoy a beautiful day instead of sitting all afternoon playing video games. At least that what I would want my kids to do .... and they do for the most part!

I posted the sketch for this painting a week or so ago and here it is completed. I am pleased with the results! This was a larger piece and I had to scan it in pieces and then assemble it in Photoshop.

Below is a closer view of one area:

Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

I am working on Thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards at the moment. When I get a chance, I'll post some pictures, but in the mean time enjoy this Turkey that will appear on my Thanksgiving envelopes!

I VOTED TODAY

I voted today! It took me all but 5 minutes to go in and cast my vote and I felt very good about it! 

Look at these birds!

I'm not sure where these couple of birds came from, but they have been visiting every day  for about a week now. I don't know what kind of birds they are, but they are as tall as a flamingo. They are really beautiful! 

IF: VACANT

Here are two quick drawings for this week's IF. I was waiting at the hair dresser's and finished them both under 30 minutes. They are not great technically, but I just wanted to convey the idea since I won't really have time to do a full illustration this week.

This one was inspired by the situation that many Americans are facing having to leave their houses because of tough economic times.

This second drawing is more of a literal interpretation... 'empty nest' or 'vacant nest' - and I'm glad I'm a years away from living through this milestone!