I haven't dropped of the face of the earth...!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. My personal life has been so busy (good things; no worries!) that I haven't had time to do more than sketch a small bit every now and then. I'll try to get some artwork posted soon. In the meantime, I had to pop my head in to say hello to all my old blog friends! I'll try to post again soon. :)

New Course...

It seems that I finally found a new course for my creativity.

I've written a children's book...

I am so very nervous! And very very excited about it. I don't want to share what I've written, as I'm praying so very hard that I can somehow get this to a publisher and get it put into print, but ANY words of advice or encouragement would be so appreciated. If you've been through the process, for bad or good, as author or illustrator, I'd love to hear from you!

Work in Progress - 1-14-09

Yippee! My first work of the new year! Here's a small sketch that was inspired by my trip to the Dickens Faire this past Christmas. I used a picture of one of the gowns I took to help me a bit with how the dress should look.

Book Binge

I've been pretty absent from the blog world since the holidays started, and I have to apologize to you, my wonderful online friends.
My creative juices seemed to have dried up temporarily. I'm hoping they get back on track soon. I do have a couple of sketches to share with you, but I keep getting errors so I'll post them at another time. I have to admit, I'm enjoying the lull in life, as short-lived as it may be. I've gone on a major book binge. I haven't had one of these in years, and it's so refreshing. In the past month I've managed to read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (for perhaps the twentieth time), A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (also at about read twenty, I've read it faithfully every Christmas since I was a teenager), Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (first read, and incredible book), A Nativity Story (based on the movie that came out a few years ago) and have even started in on the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (I'm in the middle of book two now; I swear, I just can't put these down!). Phew! I love a good book binge. Have you read any good books lately?

Happy Epiphany!

Wishing you a happy Epiphany!

This is the creche I grew up with, and my mom blessed me with it several years ago. I love this creche so much, and it really brings back sweet memories for me. Typically all of the Christmas decor comes down the minute Christmas is over; this is the only piece that stays with us through the entire twelve days of Christmas. I get a little sad when I have to put it away each year!

Sweets to the Sweet, and New Year's Cheer!

Yes, we were quite busy the last few weeks, which is why my blog has been so quiet. And, it seems, much of what we have to do for Christmas revolves around food! Hahaha!
I wanted to share some pics with you of our sweet exploits this year. The top pic is our little gingerbread house. We had a big family get together where 5 gingerbread houses were made! It was quite alot of fun.

As you can see, ours turned out more of a gingerbread castle. :)

And here's as I was making my yearly batch of sugar cookies:


Here's my little dog Ross (right after his wonderful hair cut!), just waiting for a piece of dough to drop!




We had ALOT of cookies! I think (after quite a few were pilfered still warm from the baking sheets!) I made over one hundred of these yummy morsels of sugary goodness.



With a generous dollop of icing and sprinkles!



And last but not least, a finished platter of them complete with my home made struffoli (a tradition Italian goody, also called honey balls). This was one of the many many plates set out for Christmas Eve celebrations at my house. You can see the vintage tablecloth I was given by my Nani years ago beneath it.


Lastly, here's a pic of my yearly sausage quiche that I make up for Christmas Eve. I USED to be able to eat it...but now I can't have dairy! Waaaahhh! I always manage to sneak a teeny taste, though. ;)


And now, I'll wish you all a happy & healthy New Year! I hope 2009 will be full of wonderful things for you all!

Dickens Faire 2008

Well, as some of you may know I love the Renaissance Faire. And so it's only natural that I should love the Dickens Faire as well when it rolls around during Christmas!
This is probably the last year to be held in San Fransisco. I love Dickens, and every year for the last 20 years or so I've read faithfully Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" during the holidays. I love walking into the Dicken's Faire; it's like stepping back in time and into one of his amazing books. The characters roam the streets and interact with people, and they perform pieces from the novels. It's just amazking.
Here are a few pics I wanted to share with you:

Here's Father Christmas, all decked out.

He was so wonderful, and nice, and patient with all the kids. He took time to listen to each one that sat on his lap and gave them his undivided attention. Wonderful man!

This is Jacob Marley, from A Christmas Carol.

So creepy, he was a wonderful ghost! I love how red his eyes turned out in this pic, though quite unintentional. :)

A Victorian era dress.

The costumes worn were amazing! This was one of my favorites. I was able to take so many incredible pics of dresses that I'm sure they'll be showing up in my paintings soon! (side note: take a gander at the Phantom of the Opera in the background!)

A living store window!

Ladies (and men too!) stand in this store window displaying the corsetry that can be bought...living statues! It's amazing to see. This is just one of the models and poses, but quite a pretty display, don't you agree?

Hear hear, and Happy (belated) Christmas!!!

Snowman Friend - Completed Painting!

I finished my little snowman painting! And just in time for Christmas. :) *sigh!*
The background is more greenish than what showed up on my scan, and for some reason my shading on the snowman didn't come out as evenly as it looks in person. But I'm so pleased with it!
You experience Christmas in two ways. First, through the eyes of a child, everything is so new, every experience exciting. Second, through the eyes of a parent, you see everything through your child's eyes, making each moment wonderfully sweet. Seeing Christmas through your son's or daughter's eyes, you have an incredible appreciation for your parents and the experiences they gave to you, and you find that being able to enrich your child's life through those special moments and experiences yourself is such a blessing.
Happy Christmas to you my friends!

Illustration Friday - Catch-up... 'Rambunctious' and 'Voices'

I've been naughty in not keeping up with my Illustration Friday posts! So here are my quick little sketches for the last two weeks...far from perfect, just very rough sketches from my doodle book. "Voices" didn't come out nearly as nice as I'd have liked, and I just couldn't get the shooting star affect right in "Rambunctious", but here they are. From my Christmas-infused mind and straight to paper!

Angel hiding in the boughs...

"Late at night, while the gingerbread men slept peacefully in their sugary houses, and while the stockings drooped from their heavy loads with sleepy abandon over the empty hearth, a sweet little angel floated silently down from heaven to nestle amongst the twinkling lights and scented boughs of the Christmas tree."

Here's a little angel I made out of a clothespin, some feathers, and present filler many years ago. She wanted to say "hello" from her little bed in the Christmas tree, and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
I hope all of you are finding much joy in the season! We managed to make gingerbread houses on Sunday...what are you all doing to celebrate?