A Pink and Green Christmas {illustration}

Here is a holiday cover I illustrated for December Nights - a festival at Balboa Park in San Diego that happens every year. I've only been once, but it its spectacular. It was fun trying out a folk art style for this one. I played with the colors way too much, but I like the pink and green we ended up with.

I tried to work the pink and green theme into this Kermit and the Grinch cover, but we decided on the red and lime-green one because the green is more natural to the characters.  I still think the pink one has more edge. The lipstick kiss was provided by one our our editors - thanks MP!

Super Owen {photo illustration}

I just have to share these photos because I am blown away by how amazing they turned out. This all started with an innocent enough conversation over coffee and the results are spectacular. Please visit my friend Nathan's blog of Padilla Bowen Photography to read and see the whole process of how these images came about. It is so nice to have such talented friends!

Flower Prints {letterpress}

We printed our Summer Garden Show prints this past weekend. We did an edition on recycled paper but decided to print them on the softer cotton and we are so happy with the results. Picking the colors to use is always the hardest part for me - so many options. I guess that's why we printed two versions. I like them both, but the orange one will go perfectly in our kitchen - plus, I like the way the orange and green inks mix to make a brown that matches our RIBBA frame from IKEA. These prints will be for sale in our shop just in time for the holidays! Have a great weekend!

Reconstruction and Construction Paper {illustration}

This illustration was one of those magical ones that happen when minds and ideas come together perfectly. Breast cancer is a hard subject to illustrate tastefully but I thought we did a great job here. Glo, the designer, sparked the idea and after some torrential brainstorming by designer, art director and illustrator - this is the finished product. The execution - the drawing and actual paper cutting - took the least amount of time. It almost took just as long to come up with a headline that worked without being too clever or punny. Thankfully, our headline writer played it safe. When you have a great idea, the rest falls into place. Do you think so too? Would you have done anything differently?

Type Drawer Shelf {letterpress}

My husband and I went to the L.A. Printers Fair at the International Printing Museum in Carson, CA a few weeks ago. It was so much fun looking at all letterpress printed goodies, meeting other printers, and drooling over the old platen presses and paper cutters. There was wood type and metal type galore, and anything else letterpress you can think of. We picked up a type drawer for $5 thinking we could use if for something - not type, since we mostly use photo-polymer plates for our printing. I power-washed the drawer with our hose and let it dry in the sun completely. Then I sprayed it with multiple coats of clear semi-gloss spray paint, added some picture hangers to the back and hung it toddler-high for hours of entertainment for our little guy. I can't help but smile every time I pass it. I also can't help trying to find more goodies to stuff into the little spaces. Too much cuteness all around!  -Happy weekend!

Good plants for good bugs {illustration}

I did this illustraton for a story on the plants that attract beneficial insects to your garden. It is in today's Union-Tribune on the cover of the Home & Garden section. The flower on the left is a Cornflower or Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus) and the flower at the bottom is a Borage (Borago officinalis). Gorgeous little blooms for our little creatures. Happy weekend!

Football Wedding {letterpress}

Football season is here again and I thought it would be a great time to show off our Football Wedding Invitation. It is done just like our Baseball one - folded with a die-cut shape on the front flap so all you see is a football at first. When you open the card, it is pure elegance - no smelly sports to be found! I wish my fantasy football team performed as elegantly this week. Oh, well, that's what I get for sleeping through the draft this year.

If you love this invitation, check back at our etsy shop soon - we will be adding more wedding packages to our shop shortly.

Go Chargers!

Groundswell {illustration}

 

This illustration ran a while ago but I wanted to share it here anyway. It is an illustration for the play, Groundswell, which is set in South Africa. Read the review of the play here.

Gator by the Bay {illustration}

 

This fun illustration was done for the Night & Day section cover on Gator by the Bay - a Zydeco, Blues and crawfish festival going on this weekend in San Diego. I saw a lot of accordions in the photos of the past years festivals. What happens when you cross an alligator with an accordion? Well, I think I answered that question. Have a great weekend!

Flowers for Mother's Day {illustration}

So, this illustration wasn't actually done for Mother's Day - it ran last month on April 2nd. But I thought it was perfectly pretty to put up here in honor of Mother's Day. The featured plant is a Phlomis or Jerusalem Sage. I've never seen one in person, but the pictures I worked from were just beautiful. Nan Sterman writes the Water Wise features for the Home and Garden section of the Union-Tribune. She often supplies me with her own stunning photos to use as reference - thanks, Nan! See her blog Plant Soup for some great info on changing your gardens to be more "water-wise."

My husband and I have been doing just that. It's been a slow process, but we have added a dessert garden to our front yard and are adding a huge bed of succulents to the back yard as well. Ninety-five percent of our potted plants are succulents now too. I love how easy they are to keep alive and propagate into new plants as well.

And that brings me back around to Mother's Day. Children aren't as easy to raise as succulents, but the joy they bring is something I never could quite imagine until I experienced it myself. If I brought my own mother half of what I feel for my own son, I know she was the happiest mother on earth. I certainly know I was the happiest daughter while I had her around. Happy Mother's Day.

Happy Earth Day! {illustration}

Today is the day people around the world think about how to take care of our beautiful home, the earth. I recently saw a segment on TV about a family who has practically zero waste. (Read about them at Sunset Mag.) While I admire how they live, I'm not sure I can take living green that far.
Here is what I know I can do for now:
• bring my own bags to the store
• limit buying bottled drinks - use re-usable bottles for my water
• use microfiber cloths to dry hands and wipe down counters - minimizing paper towels
• recycle as much as possible (duh)
• limit plastic baggies by using re-usable snack bags

Speaking of snack bags - my friend Alyssa from Semilla Snack Bags is having a sale for Earth Day. Check out her site and see the adorable patterns she has available for her bags.  Next year, I'll add to the list - we are looking in to powering our press with solar! Now, go out and live every day as if it were Earth Day!

{I did the illustration above for The Union-Tribune on Earth Day in Balboa Park}

Big Wave Wedding {letterpress}

We designed and printed these Big Wave wedding invitations for a wonderful couple recently. Angie and Costas were absolute dream clients - easy to please, quick with their decisions and prompt with their wording, proofing and payments. Did I mention how nice they were?  We printed the main invitation on the double thick 100% reclaimed cotton Crane's Lettra in Fluorescence White. The deep impression we got with this design was awesome. I think this is the design we would use if we could do our wedding invitations over again. We wish Angie and Costas the best on their upcoming wedding. Mahalo for being the best clients ever!

Just for Kicks {illustration}

 

Here is an illustration I did for Cabaret, the musical, that is playing now in San Diego. Believe it or not, I have never seen Cabaret or really knew what the story was about until I did my research. I can't believe I didn't know it was about the rise of the Nazi party and was set in a cabaret in Berlin. My first sketch was rejected - it was a swastika made up of sexy legs. My art director and I settled on this version because it was less controversial but still hinted at the Nazi theme with the legs in a "saluting" position. The  hot pink color was a happy accident that ended up feeling just right. I thought this illo would be perfect for kicking off the weekend! Have a good one!

Only one month until Mother's Day!

We printed a new Mother's Day card a few weeks ago. I was working on a wedding invitation with this daisy and got inspired. I really love how the green and yellow turned out. The little accent on the back is actually an extension of the daisy on the front. This design lets us print two cards per full sheet of paper and not waste any paper when we cut them in half. I love being able to get a bleed without waste! (A bleed is when a design runs off the page.) Don't forget your mom this year! Or in my case, I shouldn't forget my "mom-friends" and sisters. Thirty days and counting!

Put a bird on it! {letterpress}

Here are some new bird cards we printed recently. They are both in the more petite A1 or 4-Bar size (3.5 x 5 inches.) They are printed on thick 100% reclaimed cotton paper. We got a great impression on these cards - nice and deep. I just love how the highlight on the balloon turned out! For the "put a bird on it" reference, see this hilarious video of Portlandia.

Andrew Bannecker {inspiration}

I came across Andrew Bannicker recently when he was featured in 3x3 magazine for his Coke ads. I thought those ads were just gorgeous so I wanted to see what else he could do. I wasn't disappointed! He is amazing. I love his quirky, folk art style and his textures are right up my alley. His color palettes are surprising and fresh. Check out his site for yourself - it will brighten your day, I promise.

Mom's Recipes {illustration}

This illustration was for a story about recipes passed down from our mothers or family members. The story was by Doug Williams for the Union-Tribune. I think what made the illustration, for me, was being able to use the actual scan of Doug's mom's recipe. I especially love the spatter near the bottom of the steam - you just know the recipe was used over and over. The one recipe I miss of my mother's was her lasagna. Ricotta cheese was hard to get in Panama so she just made do with cottage cheese. I never knew the difference and my mouth still waters thinking of it!