My first No Monster Here book readings.

I have to apologize again for not posting anything last week. I feel like I'm having to apologize a lot lately for that. Well, at least this time I can claim a holiday as an excuse. The real reason is that I've been up to my eyeballs in work. Most of the work involves getting things ready for the No Coast Craft-o-Rama that I'm participating in this weekend. It will be my first craft fair. I hope people like my work, eeee, I'm nervous for this weekend, but it'll be tons of fun too. I'd love for you to come if you can and introduce yourself! (more info here). I worked all last week and over Thanksgiving getting my products finished and displays ready.

Besides getting ready for No Coast, last week I also had my first couple of book readings of my new childrens book, No Monster Here. I did two readings at the Marian University preschool in Fond du Lac, WI and then I did three readings at the UW Oshkosh preschool. It was such a fun experience reading the book to the 2-4 year olds. They were really interested and excited about the book which made me really happy. All of them were looking for the monster. Too darling! Afterwords we did an activity with the kids where they got to draw what their idea of a monster is. They all had such great ideas. One kid drew a monster with 10 eyes, and another drew a monster holding a jar of mustard. Heh heh, craziness. I'll share some more of their drawings soon. For more info on the book check out the No Monster Here website.

Artist: Jesse of All Things Small

Check out all these lovelies! They all were created by Jesse of All Things Small. That little bear with the coloring set is just darling. I love it! Check out more in the All Things Small etsy store.

Sneak Peak!

I've had a temp page up on my website forever. But I'm happy to announce that the new site will be up soon soon soon! Probably within the next two weeks. Yay! It will have a store, gallery and a blog where I'll post more of the happenings of my studio. I'm so excited! Above are a couple of screengrabs. Just finishing up the design and debugging before going live. Woo hoo!

Artist: Mai S Kemble

These illustrations are so darling! They are by children's book illustrator Mai S Kemble. Check out more on her website, flickr and blog.

Artist: Dahlia House Art Studio

I've been busy making new product for the No Coast Craft-o-Rama and all I can think about is Christmas Christmas Christmas! So in the spirit of Christmas I'll share these gorgeous cards today that I saw on Etsy. They are by Dahlia House Art Studio and are actually manipulated photographs. Don't they look like paintings! I (of course) adore the two with kitties in it. See tons more artwork in the Dahlia House Art Studio Etsy store.

Artist: Rachel Loves Bob

Check out this interesting twist to embroidery. It's embroidery with buttons! These lovely and striking artworks were created by Rachel Loves Bob. Check'm out in the Rachel Loves Bob store.

Artist: Laurie Made

These darlings were made by Laurie Made from 1920's - 1950's vintage patterns. I love the combination of the fresh patterns with the old designs. Cute! See more in Laurie's etsy shop.

Artist: Anne Smith

I've come to the realization lately that I really love cups. I would love a whole wall full of tiny shelves to hold a ton cute cups. Wouldn't that be fun. These gorgeous prints by Anne Smith would fit right in. They are from her "100 cups" series that she is currently working on. I'm partial to the letter "A" one (for Alyssa) heh heh. See many more in her etsy shop and on her website.

Artist: Laura Amiss

It's been a bit gloomy outside lately, but these girls under their umbrellas brightened up my day for sure! They are by the lovely textile artist, Laura Amiss. Check out her etsy store and website for more.

Artist: Mie Kongo

OK, friends and family... Christmas is coming up and I totally want these amazing cups. heh heh. They are created by Mie Kongo. Mie makes the cups, and then creates the handles from vintage molds. When you fire porcelain it shrinks slightly and the handles were made by casting and casting the slightly smaller objects until they were small enough to be handles. You can see an example of all the casts in the last image. Neato! See more of Mie's work in her Etsy store and see her paintings and other work on her website.

Artist: Cruz Designs

Check out these darling hand cross-stitched pouches. I love the cross-stitch combined with leather. See more in the Cruz Designs etsy store.