Mini Trip

Zoomed home to my parents on the weekend. It was a crazy fast trip, there and back powered by ice cream, Tim Hortons and chocolate mini eggs.

Zip! I saw a moose but I was too slow.

I spent my weekend lounging on the deck with my parents, soaking up that tiny sliver of time in Northern Ontario that you can be outside when its warm and the bugs are not biting you yet. I even ate a hamburger from the BBQ, which is the thing I pine for the most each summer. I don;t even care about meat at all, but the BBQ smell and the summer feeling just makes me so happy.

Their lawn is a mass of these tiny flowers. They look so organized in batches of colours...Love them. I think everyone agreed it was a shame to mow them, so no one did.

So you can see that I obviously didn't get any work done.

I am continuing to work on my second Etsy shop items, I keep having to push back my shop opening date and its making me grumpy. But it will happen soon. I will finally commit to a day and start sneak peeking items. Just not today. :-)

Now if the delivery man would arrive with the supplies I ordered, I can get to printing cute creatures!

Sweet Secrets...

I mentioned in my last post that I am working on opening a second Etsy shop...

Its still not open, because I want to have a nice little starter set of items to stock it. I also am working on the branding, graphics and other things that ones worries about.

I can give you some sneak peeks of my progress though...

Cakes!

Strawberries!

And doodles!
(You have no idea how many time I have held up these guys and said "SO KEY-YUTE!!" I am in love with them.)

I think the shop might be open next week. I have to buy some specific supplies to finish some items and its my dudes b-day AND a long weekend with lots of plans, so I don't know how much time I will have available to me. So I am not giving an opening date yet. But its coming!! :-)

I call him Lefty.

So my work-on-stuff-and-post-it plans got a bit messed up when my dude decided he is a sports superhero and dislocated his shoulder.

He tells me he was making a totally amazing catch in softball and somehow fell. So Lefty and I spent time at a tiny walk-in clinic (which was majorly depressing and full of sad poor people.) I have been babying him a bit evn though he isn't even being a baby about the whole thing. he is just kind of useless at doing anything!

But he is back at work with flashy red arm sling, so I can work again.

I finished my calendar (Which Cathy totally guessed it would be!)



I decided to add colour after all and I think I like it. If you are not a "write stuff on a calendar" type person, I have also made one without the grid, which I will be listing tomorrow. It has a slightly different colour scheme.*EDIT* Here!

I also snatched up a second Etsy shop username, which I am going to start planning on setting up and filling up in the near future. Its still sort of a secret I guess. ;-)

Working on something new...

Spiders like flowers.

Can you tell what it will be?

I had this illustration board hanging around that is not the usual surface that I like to paint on. Its slick, and even has a bit of a shine. It seemed perfect for ink.

The surprising thing is that I actually did a pretty organized and complete sketch. I often just go "EH, I will figure it out as I go" and that is sometimes a horrible idea. I then decided to use an ink pen instead of the acrylic ink and brush I have been favoring lately.



This is actually a test print of the drawing, after it was scanned and Photoshopped. I was going to add digital colour, but once it got to the completed ink stage, I just liked it as is. Its not a secret that I always like line art better then the coloured versions. I bet I had a lot of blank colouring books as a kid.

I am not even going to pretend that this is going to be finished before monday. Its the weekend! No one wants paper goods with Cheetos fingerprints on them. :-)

New dolls!

I have two little guys to show today.

The shadow has been revealed. Its a smartly dressed mini-cat. I used a version of my larger cat pattern. I just wanted to make the tiny clothes...He has a little tie, vest and a walking stick with a glass bead. Smartly dressed gent. I almost gave him a little bowler or top hat, but it seemed like overkill.

And this little scamp (or vamp?) is the first of the crew of cemetery bats I have been sneak-peeking for you.

He wanted his coffin to match his eyes. I mean, who doesn't?

I have 5 other undead bats to work on photos for. Each is a bit different. Making a ton of little dolls on stands wasn't as easy at I thought it would be, it took really long. The hint in that statement is that these guys may not be a regular feature in my shop...My favorite part was making the little tombstones. That was SO FUN. :-)

More tomorrow.

Sneak Peek. Still.

So instead of finishing my new creations today I did laundry and dishes and made muffins and other boring things that the wife of a house does.

Then I decided to work on some little bat beasties, maybe take a photo to show their progress...

BUT SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENED!

AHHHH! A strange shadow appeared in my photo! OMG GUYS! I am so scared. The shadow looks so....dapper and dashing. What could it BE? I am too scared to work anymore tonight.

I am betting the source of the mystery shadow, some beastie bats and some other spooky creations will show up on Thursday or Friday on this blog and in the shop. I hope I can make it till then without more terror!

EDIT: The project is growing! I need some more spooky components that I will seek out on the weekend. MONDAY!

Junk and Stuff

Working on new mini-items...



I am making some mini-animals on little stands. Its a messy job, because I need SO many different materials to make them and their homes. Felt,beads,cardboard,glue,thread,fabric,paper...PHEW!

Some are sweet and some are spoooooky. :-)

Prom!

Prom!

The Winterwoods at their prom, before they were The Winterwoods of course.

Because the subject matter, I felt like it was ok to have a bit more fun, and not worry as much about the stuff I usually do. Its more cartoon, right? Fast and furious.

Being a Canadian, I didn't have a "prom." I had a semi-formal (whatever that was for) and a "Grad" when I graduated. Both were crappy. I think I went to both, even though my internal voice screamed nooooo! Live and Learn. I skipped my high school and university graduations ceremonies, so I guess I learned my lesson. Since I have also decided not to have a wedding, I am home free for "everyone look at me and my big dress" events for life. WooHOOO!

Sneak Peek.

Working. Doodling. Sniffling.



Prom.

Big bad black cat.

Ok, maybe not bad, maybe just naughty?

This stationery set is available in my shop today.

He is the perfect amount of cute but not sugary that I like so much.

Black cats always seem to have a touch more of that cat evilness to me. They can't help it, they are just born bad right? I shouldn't make claims like that, my cat is gray and he is a nightmare. Big fat fuzzy nightmare.

I have fought the urge to use black envelopes for things I create and sell for some unknown reason. Maybe I thought people would be put off buying black envelopes? I have no idea why I think these things. Sometimes you just don't question things you decide, then realize later its idiotic. Black envelopes for ALL.

I am not going to pull and April Fool's Day crap on you. I generally hate that shit. But Trent Reznor's was a good one. I laughed. Those glasses have went from trend to joke so swiftly. haw haw.

cat-ish things...

I put two stationery sets in my shop today. I have been doing some gloomy or dark stuff lately, so I bet some people will be happy to see something fluffier for a change.

This batcat stationery is a modern makeover of one I designed in university. Batcat has gotten a 2009 update, but everything else is pretty much the same. I packaged them nice and small to make them easier to ship. (Easier means cheaper too!)

Not really all that proud of my photography on these babies, but what else is new. I guess I shouldn't publicly point out that they are photographed poorly. Forget I said anything. The overcast days make my photos so dreary. Which is fine when they are supposed to be dreary!

So now I am working on something new. Look at this bad boy!

Heee heee! My favorite part is the chewed ears! I might have to make that more of a feature.

This is just the first rough part of blocking in the shapes. He will have his fur and features tweaked soon enough...He is an Illustrator drawing, and I will show you the rest of him when the project comes together... P.S. Think I have enough icons in my dock??? Haha.

Peek!

Despite lots of goofing off this week, lunching and shopping and kitten visiting, I am making progress on my stationery sets...

Here is a peek of what I am packaging right now.

Pink and purple...Will probably be ready by Monday, because I have more goofing off to do since its the weekend!

Nocturnal Notes Stationery Set

A new stationery set is complete!

Nocturnal Note Set!

YES, its the same image that you have seen one billion times before in my shop. Haha. This is actually my test stationery. To see if I could print something balancing quality and cost. I think it came out quite cute!

I would love to just send them out to the printers like some other stationery sellers do, but you have to do such large volumes...If I did work that was a teeny tiny bit more salable to a wider audience, I would be all over that. I hope gravestones come into fashion.

The set has 6 printed papers, three blank, three lined. And then I added some little stickers!

The stickers were initially added for addressing the envelopes, but then I added some useless ones just for a fun extra.

I am thinking of getting purple or even gray or black envelopes to try out with this set. I think half of the reason I am doing stationery is so I can buy envelopes. (YAY!!) I wonder if I should design the stationery first, or buy the envelopes first?

I have another stationery set (a batcat one!) that is still in the development stage, but its almost there. I am just fussing with the printing and colours.

Off to draw something new to show you. I promise not to recycle any old artwork. hee hee.

Spring!

Its so sunny and bright outside and little squirrels and birdies are squeaking to each other outside my window. So cheery!

So of course the item I made is the complete opposite. Bloooood! Ok, its only a teeny, tiny drip of blood. Hardly even visible unless you look.

This bookmark is possibly the MOST annoying item I have ever produced for my shop.

I fought tooth and nail to make these. My laminator ate some, and the rest were plagued with fuzzies and lumps and bumps. I have a HUGE stack of them that are unsellable. Depending on how long my memories of the rage that I felt trying to make these things, they might not ever be made again.

The junk.The success.
After these photos were taken I tried to make more and failed miserably again! The failure pile is a mile high! Plus I look like a dork.

I will definitely use the bookmark image for something else though. I have plans for it.

Its a productive day, with grocery shopping, photographing new items, laser printing (new printer!) and buying Nine Inch Nails tickets for June. I am working on stationary sets this afternoon, so hopefully they will be available some time this week. Should probably keep moving before my Monday-steam runs out....

Good intentions don't always make for good outcomes.

Sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to.



Every project I started for the last little while has turned to crap at some point. I spent a lot of time trying to make myself like them by repainting, tweaking, cutting up and gluing back together...But at this point, I think its best to just let them go in peace.

So all my papier mache stuff is junked, my paintings trashed, and my experiments won't see the light of day. Oh well.

Its kind of a weird, messy time right now for a lot of people I know and interact with. And yeah that includes me. Being an person with an extremely low-drama life I find even a bit of conflict strange and tiring. I am just so used to nothing happening! Sorry if this seems like typical cryptic internet crap, but I do have a life outside of making bats in hats. ;-P

So today I am starting new projects. I am going to try to be more selfish and make things I don't want to sell. :-)

Batcat Birthday.

I made a card.

Batcat birthday card! I used to have another Batcat design in my shop but it wasn't vibrant enough for me. So this is the re-do. I wanted to do a card that also had a an interior image too...

I added a little space to write your b-day message inside.

I think its a bit funny that I did a birthday card, since I don't even really like birthdays. I totally get kids birthdays, and the big ones like 30 or 40 or 100. But I could cut the rest and be fine with it. Sometimes I think being one of the people who doesn't particularly like birthdays sets off peoples "lets buy a cake!" alarms. SIGH.

For years now I have been trying to care about other people's birthdays, because I know everyone isn't like me but I really suck at it. Sorry everyone! There is always next year for me to do better. :-) When you are 100 I will get a skywriter or something insane to make up for it.

I have made one more card, but it might have to wait until tomorrow.

On a roll.

I am really milking this one painting for all the blog posts I can get out of it!

I worked on this painting WAY too much. Like, hours and hours and hours. I am usually a super fast painter. I still have the urge to work on it too, I just can't seem to get it where I want it. If I just liked more colourful subject matter, life would be so much easier. All that black on black was such a pain.

The scanned and photoshopped version is ready for the spotlight!

It looks almost too dark until you put it in the mat, then it totally changes. I guess having a photo of it in the mat would make more sense. Uh, go look at the listing to see one. (See what I did there? ) Haha.

I am probably going to do a bookmark or mini print of something else with this image. And if I can work out the kinks on the original I will sell that too.

So now I have to go and baby my cat. I had to shave some of the fur off his tail and it majorly hurt his pride. Handsome cats take things like this very hard. It should grow back in a few weeks, but until then he is a big fat ugly cat instead of a big fat adorable cat. Sigh.

Still more Winterwoods.

They are probably about half finished... Ok, maybe 40 percent. 30? Does a face count for more percentage than an elbow?



Her face is complete, working on the hair. I rarely fully finish one area at a time but I am giving it a shot.



He looks a bit better now. I am still not sure if I digging him yet though. But there is still work to be done, so that could change. He looks less like a teen heartthrob though!

Next is clothing, and sometimes I kick myself for getting all involved in intricate outfits when it comes to painting them. Like ruffles and tiny buttons?! WHY did I do that to myself!

A few more days and they will be ready. I already have an idea for the next painting of them. Obsessed much?

More Winterwoods.

Little sketch...

I swear he won't look like Zac Efron when its painted. (Ok, I hope!) And I took it on an angle to try and keep a bit of mystery, but I think it just added gigantism.

This is another drawing of The Winterwoods, a couple I did a print of before. I like the idea of people who might come back again and again. Or maybe I just like the idea that I get to draw their clothing. Ha. Plus I can make up more of a story for these people, and then ideas come to me more readily. I always enjoyed falling back on Batcat when I felt less than creative, and becaus it wasn't forced I made some good quality artwork. So I am trying to do it again with some new kids.

Its too cold in my studio for me to be too productive today. So I leave The Winterwoods in their sketch form, and get to the business of making myself a mini-apple crisp.

Anita Blake!

The Anita Blake painting I have been posting progress shots of is finished...

I am not gonna lie, there is some digital cut and paste going on here. Her shrunken body was enlarged. I know a lady isn't supposed to share secrets like that, but it was pretty bad, so I must confess.

I actually like it quite a bit. You have no idea how scary splattering blood on it was though! Its could have ruined it so easily. That monster behind her isn't supposed to be anything in particular. There are a billion supernatural things in the books I could have done, but that would have taken research, and I am lazy. I wussed out at adding arm scars (the character has a lot of them in the books) but only hardcore geeks would know that right?

I made bookmarks with it! It seemed like the logical. They have a blood red back to them. So appropriate. I am probably going to have it as a print in my Etsy shop too. But later.

Most selfish painting ever. haha.

Ghost Girl!

I think she seems like a ghost, what do you think?

I think it turned out pretty good. She has a bit of that " big eyed girl" current look that I usually try to avoid, but I can live with that. I used my favorite colour combo, black purple and gray, and that alone makes me like it. If it doesn't sell in 4 months I am totally keeping it!

She is in the shop, and I put her at a competitive (is that the word I am looking for?) price for an original painting. :-) Cheap is what I mean.

I had planned to post two paintings, but it is too dreary a day to get good photos of the other one. Plus I might hate it, so I need to stare at it for another day. So tomorrow.

Painting progress...

I posted some line art last Thursday, and I am slowly turning it into some sort of actual painting.

Its coming along. She has "giant head" right now, but I can probably fix it. Or just burn it if I can't. ;-) I am liking it less the more I look at it, but I am trying to not be all Debbie Downer about it.

My dude switched to night shift this week and its making me all weird! I don't know when to eat my meals. A voice in my head says "When you're hungry dummy!" but that is easier said than done. Watching someone eat dinner hours after I ate mine is torture!!

Tomorrow I have finished paintings to post and list! Yay!

Today is pointless.

Its one of those days I can't make myself do anything worthwhile. I have some pouches to photograph, bookmarks to make, whatever, don't want to. I feel like moping today.

So I started a totally pointless painting. No plan, no direction, just paint and pencil on canvas. Its an exercise in uselessness. I am not trying to challenge myself or illustrate something. Its just because I want to do it...

It may be beautiful, it may be horrible and get painted over before 10pm tonight. But at very least, I am doing something. And today, that is a victory.

P.S. Hello 50 followers! (Thanks Rachel!!) Its such a cute little number. Makes me feel quaint. Maybe someday I will have 50 000 like some blogs. Maybe interesting content will go out of style and complaining and pictures of half finished artwork will come into vogue. YES.

Two new Loves.

After hinting I would create some new animal "Love" pin and sticker sets, I actually DID IT. *gasp.

Panda Love!

Bunny Love! (Its not even listed yet. I am a marketing genius.)

Panda was quite the leap for me. I intended the Love sets to be Canadian animals that I loved. I kind of changed the rules by adding a Red Squirrel (which Canada doesn't have, we only have brown and gray and black, which are cute but no big ears I love so much...) so after that the concept changed.

I do love Pandas, I somehow don't even believe they are a real animal. So weird. And Bunny Love just seemed natural. I did struggle to choose a bunny that represented every bunny. Its impossible! They all look so different. So screw that, I just did a mix of them all.

So the Love set got a bit bigger. I already have a few ideas for more, but I don't want to go nuts. Maybe in a while...

Today I have an appointment with a makeup artist friend who will make me gorgeous. No reason, just because its fun, and I am a good consumer. So I have an excuse to not work any more today. haha!

Lastly, I leave you with this little sneak peek at my work in progress.

It didn't start as fan art, but it became it as soon as I did the hair. I do so much work that I think is acceptable for people to hang in their homes, and then it doesn't sell. This one won't be as pretty. Sometimes you just need to nerd out and do something with blood splatter for yourself, Am I right? :-D

Get your fresh paintings! Right Here!

*eep*

Listed another original painting! (Two actually...)

"Sugar and Spice" and "Not Very Nice" are now for sale at my Etsy Shop.

Batcat is a moody beast. He can be both sweet and sour. I think I just wanted to have an excuse to paint night animals! This can serve as my Owl contribution to Etsy, as it seems that every hipster person on earth likes owls for some reason. *snark* Ok, I can't point fingers. I like bats just like every other gothy-girl out there. I think I just burned myself.

I feel a bit of that "OHNO...CAN'TSELLMYARTWORK!!" creeping back in. These two paintings are really cute in real life, and mid way through taking photos so I could list them I changed my mind. Then I changed it back last night. Haha.

So there. They are out there. I can't really take it back now. *cries*

Love the critters.

They are back.



The 'Love' sets are finally back in stock. I am updating the listings.

I have had these pin sets in my shop for a LONG time, and I am constantly thinking about discontinuing them. I think "People must be sick of seeing these things!" But then as soon as I sell out I get people asking and asking for them. So instead of discontinuing I might even expand.

I made a ton of them up. I wanted to shoot new photos of them but it was cloudy yesterday and its cloudy today. This is the kind of thing that needs natural light to really show is bright colours. So I will hold off on the new photos...

Now off to sketch some new 'love' set ideas...

This is the guy that killed her.

This guy. This is the sewing machine murderer.

Monogram pouches with a little bat frame.
Only the 'M' is currently listed for sale, but there are more letters available.

I actually made a little batch of them. Whenever I sew I try to do a bunch at once because I always loose my zeal for it halfway through and then don't want to sew again for months.

These are the letters that made it through to pouch form ('B' got screwed up and 'A' was somehow lost...) I will be posting them in the shop in a lazy and haphazard manner in the next day or so. I have to fight with every photo in Photoshop to try and make the black on black details show without washing out the blackness. Its *challenging.* Things always look fine on my screen then I upload to Etsy and it looks like crap.

I think I will try some more monogram items this weekend. I totally love how it looks. Expect some sort of monogram bookmark (yes!) or pin set (hmmm.) I will have to test drive a few designs.

What letters should I do?

She was only 39...

A horrible tragedy!

I mourn.

My hand-me-down sewing machine (from Grandma) might have just bit the big one. My 1970 Singer Touch and Sew 758 gave Gran years of service, and then got trucked down to Toronto with me a few years ago, along with its custom sewing table. For some reason I thought it was just immortal, and would go on working forever and ever...

Here it is in its skeleton making glory. *snifff*

I took it all apart and found that some gears have broken their teeth, and things are just wearing down. I use it to chug through serious fabric, thick felts and velvets and canvas, and hardly ever clean it, so I shouldn't be surprised. Plus Grandma sewed for a family of one billion. I bet if this machine had a notch for every pair of hemmed jeans it would blow your mind.

And it died exactly in the middle of me making a ton of new pouches. Argh! I almost went and got a garbage bag and just threw everything away. I was that annoyed.

So its back to my new sewing machine. I mean, its ok. I guess.

But its plastic, lightweight, small, has a foot pedal instead of knee pedal, a short ass cord, it jams and tangles, and its loud. I just really loved the solid heavy old machine that would sew through anything (including my entire finger!)

So I am grumpy. I should never have praised my grannie-machine on Twitter. I cursed myself!

I am going to see if the old one can be fixed, but gear replacement from a vintage machine shop is at least $70. I can get a whole new (1970) Touch and Sew on Ebay for $80. Will mull it over. Its not so much the money as the "this machine is ancient and must pass away" that is making me grouch.

That is the end of my complaining blog. Go about your business...