Been a Little Busy......

So, I know this seems like my mantra, but things have been busy and once again I am very tardy on posting, but WE MOVED!!!!!



And by moved I mean sold our house, bought a new house, packed, moved, unpacked, made it feel like home, trying to get used to it moved. It has been super busy and stressful, which has been good for my waistline, as I managed to loose the last few pounds from when I had Abra, but I am tired and need to refocus.


The new house is great, but it needs work. So coming from a home where we had finished most of the major projects and going to somewhere where most of the major projects are yet to begin it feels a little overwhelming. It was very stressful on the girls as well, so I focused on getting their rooms settled first and they seem happy.



Now I dream about a my home being finished because we are hoping this move will be our last. We are now is a great school district in a big house with a ton of potential. We love the neighborhood and hope the girls will too. We have finished one room, well, mostly finished the new dining room.....


Before....

and After....

Ebony stained floors, painted trim and walls, new chandelier, and some new furniture (compliments on some furtive craigslist shopping)

So now that it is getting colder and summer seems to be gone it is time to refocus on my artwork and try to get some new prints into the shop. I am looking forward to creating again and finding time draw. (and maybe strip the wall paper in the kitchen.....its a little too welcome to the 80's for my taste). I plan to post updates on house progress over the coming months.

My Daughter's Rooms

I finally hung up my drawings in Maya's room, so I thought I would share some pictures of their rooms. I spent a lot of time designing them. Abra has the nursery and Maya got a new big girl room before her sister was born.

Abra's room colors were gender neutral, since we never knew what we were having. I think children's rooms are a great opportunity to have fun, since bolder colors and patterns are great for kids. We installed the high chair rail in Abra's room to work like a picture ledge. I was originally going to hand paint the alphabet above the trim before Maya was born, but even my husband realized that was crazy. So, he got me the wooden letters. After she was born I finished it up with some butterfly accents to make it more girly.

Maya's big girl room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. I have a lot of fun doing it, but not a lot of fun painting all the stripes. I love the pink and brown together and I also love painting the ceilings in rooms different colors. I didn't want the room to be too pink, but I wanted it there. I paired the pink ceiling with the pink rug, but since it's more in your peripheral vision it stays more muted. The bed however is not muted. I found an old turned post bed on craigslist and painted it bubblegum pink. I love the look of painted furniture.


I think the Gingerwinks prints complete the vintage look. I can't wait till Abra gets bigger and needs a new big girl room too. I already have some ideas.

Big Shop Update

So, I finally updated my shop after two months of promising myself I would find the time to work on it and I couldn't be happier.

Check it out...... http://www.gingerwinks.etsy.com/

I feel revived and ready to start some new drawings with this weight off my shoulders. I am very grateful to my husband who was kind enough to watch the kids a lot of last weekend to give me the time to photograph my new work and get the new listings online. There are a bunch of new card designs along with two new prints and a couple of new banners. Here are a couple of examples.......

I still have a few more things to put up, but the majority is done and so far it seems to be getting good feedback. Soon to come will be a circus themed banner and some more 5x7 prints based on the banner drawings. I just hope I can keep up the momentum.

Maya's Birthday

So part of the reason I was a little tardy in posting lately is because Maya's birthday was on the 12th and I get a little carried away when it comes to birthdays.


I have already mentioned my cake obsession and as you can see from the picture this year was no exception. I think it came out really cute. The leaves were the hardest part, but the effect was amazing. it really looked like leaves. You paint white chocolate onto bay leaves or mint leaves and let it set. Then you peel them off and you get the relief from the leaves. They were really time consuming but very cool. The kids loved them.

Her party was a safari theme complete with straw pit helmets and binoculars for exploring. The decorations included a custom banner and jungle leaves. All the kids had a great time, but I'm happy that Abra's birthday isn't until July.

I also got a very cute item off Etsy for Maya. This adorable Giraffe from FinnFactor Design by Mirka Hokkanen. http://mirkah.etsy.com/

It is amazing and so well made. I have my eye on a monkey for my other daughter.

A busy couple of months

So, I was reminded today that it has been a very long time since I posted to my blog and I wanted to say that I am still around and still working. In fact I have been doing nothing but work lately.

I have been working on Gingerwinks stuff, stuff for my daughters, and my full time job as an architect. For any of you who wonder if I really do have a full time job as an architect, I am featured in a article on a project I worked on.

While I was pregnant with Maya and after I came back from maternity leave and while I was pregnant with Abra.....whew I'm realizing how long this project was.....I worked on an addition to the campus dormitory at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. It was a great project and it is starting to get some press. There is even a lovely picture of me on page 6. Here's a link to the article.....

http://www.constructionreviews.com/mh2zinebin/ne_cadet.html#/0

I have also been busy with lots of other projects including new stuff for Gingerwinks which I hope to get into the store in the next couple of weeks. Here's a sneak peek at a new print....

And last but not least, I was busy sewing costumes for my daughters for Purim. You might ask what's Purim and I like to call it the Jewish version of Halloween. I always make their costumes and this year I thought they came out extra cute. So here's Tinkerbell and a cute little clown...

Well I promise to try and not make it so long between posts. I have a lot on my plate now and unfortunately this blog has had to take a back seat, but I'm going to try and be better.

A Happy 1/2 B-Day

On Tuesday Abra was officially 6 months old. When Maya was born a friend convinced me that half- birthday's would be a fun tradition to start. I remember when I was a kid it seemed like so long between birthday's. So when Maya turned 6 months I made her a half a cake and gave her one present. As they get older my goal is to at least always go out to dinner as a family as an excuse to do something special.

My favorite part of the 1/2 b-day is making the cake. I secretly love to do it, even though it always takes longer then planned. This year I was inspired by this great book ... "Hello, Cupcake!" It has the cutest designs in it and I have a great idea for Maya's birthday thanks to it. I made up Abra's cake design myself, but this book has some great ideas. And my philosophy is always who doesn't like a cupcake.

I think it came out really cute and Abra seemed to like it. She and Maya ate/played with the one side of the cake.
For a short time Abra also enjoyed her present which was the cutest stuffed bowling set. This is the only time she got to play with it before Maya said she needed it.

Happy B-day Abra!

An Etsy Holiday

This year I looked on Etsy for a lot of the gifts for my family and I found some wonderful items.

Maya and Abra both got a pair of Piddie Slippers.... http://www.piddies.etsy.com/

They loved them and they looked so cute together. They came beautifully packaged and are absolutely adorable. They are the only slippers Maya has ever had that she can keep on her feet.

I also got Maya and a couple of her cousins crayon rolls from Kate Williams Designs.... http://www.katewdesigns.etsy.com/

The fabric is beautiful and they were really well made. It should prove to be a great accessory for car trips.

One of the things Maya likes most is her new super hero costume. She is now "Super Maya" thanks to a new mask and cape from LuLuBird Boutique.... http://www.lulubirdboutique.etsy.com/

Dress up clothes was a theme this holiday and this was perfect. And of course her costume wouldn't be complete without the proper crown. I got this adorable felt crown from Dream Child Studio.... http://www.dreamchildstudio.com/

These were just a few of the great items I found. Maya's birthday is coming in the next couple of months so I am sure there will be more to come soon.

Catching Up

So, I am still alive despite my lack of postings over the last month. Going back to work combined with the holidays really wore me out, but I am looking forward to what I hope will be a great new year.

When I last posted I was preparing for the art show in New Hampshire, but unfortunately New England weather had a different plan and a huge ice storm took out power in parts of New Hampshire for weeks, including the town where the show was going to be. So that is currently on hold and I am waiting to hear when it will get rescheduled for. I hope that it does get rescheduled because it was to benefit a very good cause.

I am also still working my full time job as an architect. I am still working on the elevator replacement, fitness center, and office renovation, but I may soon be doing a renovation at a dining hall and a 9,000 sq.ft retail building in New Hampshire. So, work seems to be keeping me very busy despite the slow economy.

Gingerwinks stuff has also been doing great. I am up to 28 sales and I have been featured in at least three treasuries. One of my banners also made it into a gift guide which I am most proud of since that is selected by the Etsy admin.

My last news could be the most exciting, although I don't want to get my hopes up. In the past two weeks I was contacted by two stores about selling my work wholesale. So, I scrambled to pull together a package outlining all the details and pricing structure. I think it came out well and looked professional, so now I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll hear back from them. The catalogs and samples got mailed out today.

So, that's my quick update of how I spent my December 2008...now onto 2009.