Gingerwinks

Been a Little Busy......

2009-09-17T20:59:00.007-04:00

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

2009-04-23T21:42:00.007-04:00

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

2009-04-14T20:45:00.009-04:00

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

2009-03-26T21:31:00.007-04:00

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

2009-03-23T20:51:00.006-04:00

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

2009-01-24T14:50:00.012-05:00

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

2009-01-18T14:37:00.007-05:00

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

2009-01-08T21:12:00.003-05:00

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.

Preparation for next weeks show

2008-12-07T17:12:00.006-05:00

Next Saturday will be my first art/craft show. I will be showing and hopefully selling my work at the "No Place Like Home" open house event to benefit Cross Roads House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. You can learn more about the event at http://art4crossroads.blogspot.com/

So since this is my first show I am busy trying to figure out what to take, how to display the work, how to take orders, etc... It is all a little overwhelming, but it should be fun and a good experience. Here are some pictures of what I am planning on displaying

These are some of my prints framed. The one with the pink mat is an original ink drawing which I hand colored with Art Markers. I thought it might be fun to bring an original with all the prints.

I am also hoping to take orders for custom banners so i am bringing examples of the different prints to hang. I should have a wireless connection so i may even be able to take credit card orders through Etsy.

As you can see i have a great helper to prep for the show. I don't know yet if she and Abra are going to come , but she gets so excited whenever I do anything with the drawings, so hopefully Zee can bring them for a little while to see it.

Back to Work

2008-12-01T22:42:00.003-05:00

So today was my first day back to work at my primary job as an architect. Now I will have to do all my Etsy stuff in the evenings after the girls go to bed. It is going to be a lot harder but hopefully it will be worth it in the long run. So far this has been fun and I hope it continues to be.

Work today went well and I don't have a heavy work load so that should make it a little easier. I don't have the most exciting projects to come back to (but they aren't the hardest either). So far I will be working on an elevator replacement at a state college, a small corporate fitness center, and an office renovation.

On the other side of things the girls seemed to do OK at daycare today. Maya had no problem since she goes almost everyday anyway. Abra is going to have some adjusting to do, but she seemed to do well for her first day. Both girls were very tired after their first day back after the holiday and I must say I am too.

Today also marks the official end of my first month on Etsy and as of today I have 11 sales and a possible 12th. It doesn't seem too bad for my first month and hopefully there will be more to come.

Here Come the Boys!!

2008-11-21T09:51:00.008-05:00

So my shop was inspired by my daughters and as a result there are no little boy prints. I guess I am just more involved with little girls now and love drawing the dresses, so it hasn't been a priority. However, after a few requests and the realization that half the babies are boys I have decided to add a couple of boy prints.

So the first is the obvious choice..."Brothers" to pair with my sister's print. I am hoping to turn the drawings for these two prints into the ability to make custom "family" prints. Stayed tuned for that one. I am hoping to get that listed by December first, but I don't know how long it will take to figure out. The custom work has become really labor intensive and although I love doing this I think my time is worth at least minimum wage :-)

The second boy print is titled EnGarde and although it depicts two little boys it is based on my daughter and husband. From the time Maya could pick up a stick Zee would hold a stick and say EnGarde. They have duels all the time and so far no one has lost an eye.

Let me know what you think of these new prints. I hoping they will help sales after all I have now doubled my market :-)

Time Flies....

2008-11-21T09:43:00.004-05:00

So it seems like only yesterday that I was waiting for our daughter to be born and yesterday she was four months old. Of course I wasn't so excited when she decided to show up two weeks early before I had even stopped work, but at least she decided to be born on the weekend.

So her being four months old marks the end of my maternity leave. After Thanksgiving I will be going back to work full time. In some ways I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to talk with adults again, but I will miss the time I have had with Maya and Abra and the extra time it has given me for Gingerwinks.

So in honor of Abra being four months old I took some new photos...WOW has she grown from the 6lbs 1oz. she started at. She is quite the opposite of her sister. Very mellow, calm, and quiet.

New Card Designs and a Great Opportunity

2008-11-18T11:50:00.009-05:00

A friend of mine is involved in a company called Jack Cards... http://www.jackcards.com/ If you are one of those people who remembers birthdays, but always remembers them a week late then Jack Cards is for you.

You can create a calendar with all your birthdays, anniversarys, holidays etc.. and then you can select cards from their shop for each event. When the event is close they will send you a stamped self addressed card for you to sign and mail out just in time to reach the recipient for their special day. It is a great service and they have cards by a number of small artists.

So, I have been working on some sample cards to see if they would like to feature my work on Jack Cards. What do you think so far.....

I am also thinking of featuring these in my Etsy shop with coordinating envelopes from Paper Source (another store I just love).

Business Cards

2008-11-16T09:30:00.008-05:00

So I was asked to be in a charity show in New Hampshire in a few weeks. I am really excited and also really nervous as it will be my first show...actually my first anything since I just started Gingerwinks two weeks ago. So in preparation I know I will need business cards for it. I spent a little time last night designing these.

Front

Back

Any thoughts? I think I have included everything I need on it, but I don't know if it is clear and if it represents my work well enough. If you have a minute I would appreciate any feedback.

Oh and check back soon for more info on the show and some giveaways I have planned for the next couple of weeks.

I got a treasury!!!

2008-11-13T20:53:00.009-05:00

So I was on the computer when a lot of the treasuries were expiring and managed to get one. I only wish I had a plan before I got it. Since I didn't have a plan I made it about the first thing that came to mind.....ITALY

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=21009

I titled it Bella Italia because a year ago I was in Italy on vacation with Zee and Maya. It was the best trip we have ever been on. We rented an apartment in a town outside of Siena for a week and then stayed in Rome for a week. I lived in Rome for a semester while in college so I knew where to go and what to see. It was so much fun and so relaxing.There is nothing like Italy and it is the small details that truly make it special.

Since I am an Architect I guess I am naturally drawn to the buildings, but I think it is the hidden stories behind all the age that seem to intrigue me. I would rather have a picture of someone's laundry drying that a photo of the Colosseum. Here are some more pictures from our last trip.....

Oh I wish I could go back.

Custom Banners take time!!

2008-11-13T13:33:00.009-05:00

So I decided to list custom name banners in my shop because I made one for Abra when she was born, however I didn't realize how much work they could end up being. Fortunately they seem popular and have the most views.

Abra's banner was simpler in some ways and more complicated in others.

For Abra's banner I made the letters and butterfly image entirely in Adobe Illustrator and then printed each letter and mounted them to pink card stock. I also strung the letters with different colored ribbons. It came out beautiful, but a lot of work.

So for Etsy I decided not to back them in card stock and just string them with a single ribbon color. However for Etsy I also decided to hand draw all the artwork and only do the background and letter in illustrator. This extra step has proved more time consuming.

So far I have designed two custom banners and despite the work it has been fun. The first was a modified butterfly banner with new colors. I thought it came out nice.The second one I am still in the middle of.....but here is a preview.

It has a new theme ....SURFBOARDS.....which is good because now I have some more boy friendly artwork. Having two girls and being a girl has definitely effected my work.

Tis the Season for new items in my shop

2008-11-11T20:58:00.007-05:00

So yesterday I posted some new holiday themed items in my shop. I am very excited since they are my first cards. I have drawn both a Hanukkah and a Christmas themed design.

I converted to Judaism before I married my husband, but I grew up Christian. So since I have a very diverse family now I thought it was only appropriate to do both designs. Anyway you can never find a cute Hanukkah card so I really wanted to do that one. I figure even if they don't sell well i can use them for my own holiday cards.

What do you think...

I also decided to offer them as 8x10 prints since I thought they came out so cute. I hope I sell a couple, but either which way they were fun to do.

My crafty side...

2008-11-05T11:53:00.008-05:00

So I mentioned that I love making things for my girls. If fact I am always up for the challenge and there isn't much I won't attempt when it comes to crafting. I just get it in my head that I want to try something and go for it. (Similar to my last post on the treehouse) So I thought I would share the two things I do every year for my daughters ... Purim costumes and birthday cakes.

So Purim is a Jewish holiday in March at which kids dress up in costumes, get/give candy and get to make a lot of noise. (This is not the religious significance of Purim, but it's the fun part for the kids). Well after my daughter was born I wanted to hand make her Purim costumes.

The first year I made her an Owl.....without a pattern and basically from a picture in my head. I made it entirely out of felt and my mom helped. She was a Home Economics teacher so sewing and baking are her thing. I guess that's where I get it from.

Cutting out all the feathers was the most time consuming part. The mask is from Panama. We got it on a cruise, of course I was to naive to think that a 1 year old wouldn't cooperate and wear the mask. That is as close as it ever made it to her face.

When she was two I decided to make her Queen Ester (she is part of the story of Purim). My mom loves to knit and wanted to make her the crown. I made her the tutu and shirt. She loved it.

Now...on to the cakes....which always seem to get a little out of control. My aunts have a tradition of making elaborate birthday cakes for their kids and my mom always made us something special, but I have definitely carried on more of my aunt's tradition.

When Maya was one I decided to make an elephant themed party complete with custom invitations and an elaborate cake. The cake takes a couple of hours to bake and then probably three hours to frost and decorate... that doesn't include the time spent decorating the flower cookies that were all over it. And did I mention that Maya's birthday is in March right around Purim, so I have to do the costumes, cake and party all at the same time. Yeah it makes for a busy month.

When Maya turned two I continued the tradition of over the top insanity and made her this cake....

What little girl wouldn't want to have a bunny and a duck come to their tea party. At this point I feel like I can't turn back. I can only make things bigger and better. So history will probably repeat itself. It won't be long before I am incorporating lights and sounds into the cakes like my aunts. Oh well as least I enjoy it and so does Maya.

Treehouse inspiration

2008-11-05T10:04:00.009-05:00

So I write in most of my descriptions that my inspiration is my girls and that is entirely true. The first drawing I did was the sister's print, because I hope that they will be friends like the girls in the print. I have a younger brother and we are good friends, but I am sure there is a special bond with a sister.

Another print which was truly inspired by real life is the treehouse print. While on has two weeks of paternity leave my husband decided to build Maya a treehouse. He says it is for Maya, but in the back of his mind it is a place for him to go when having three girls in the house gets overwhelming.

Here's a picture of the actual treehouse....
I think it is pretty close to the print..... Of course I changed the skull and crossbones canopy in Maya's treehouse to a flower for the print. I wasn't sure how well the pirate theme would go over as a print. The treehouse was a lot of fun. My husband had a blast building it. He says it was his practice for a future deck off our kitchen. I had fun making the canopy and the pennant banners.

I made the canopy out of a painter's drop cloth. I just cut and hemmed it, added grommets, then hand painted the pirate theme. Of course I gave the skull a pink eye patch with a flower. I had to make it a little girly. I also made the pennants and flag. The flag was canvas which I sewed and painted. I then hand stitched it with some extra ribbon to the rope and pulley. Now Maya can raise and lower her flag. The pennants were made out of oilcloth which I cut and sewed together and then connected them on binding.

Maya turned 2 1/2 in September so we gave her some Pirate accessories for her "half birthday". Now she walks around yelling hoist the sails and aye aye captain.

Setting up a clean shop

2008-11-04T14:03:00.012-05:00

So I was looking around this morning and my desk and studio area seemed to be getting a little overwhelmed by clutter. Between getting my new printer setup and taking pictures of new items it was getting to be a hazard, especially for a 2 year old. So I decided to take some time while Abra napped to get some cleaning done.

Here's the result......

I must say that I love my studio space. it is the first time in a lot of years that I have had my own desk. When we found out I was pregnant with Abra we knew we wanted a little more space since our third bedroom was being used as an office/guestroom after Maya was born and now we were going to out an office with the addition of Abra.

So we decided to finally finish our walk-up attic and it has been the best thing we ever did. We use half the attic as a play room/family room and the other half as our office space. It is great. We can now watch the kids and get some work done. One of the best parts is my living room no longer looks like an aisle in ToysRus.

Well getting organized today has helped me clear my head so now it is on to promoting my new shop, shopping Etsy for holiday gifts, and enjoying my last month of maternity leave.

My Grand Opening

2008-11-02T21:42:00.006-05:00

So, I am currently on maternity leave with my second child Abra, and while on leave I decided that I wanted to start drawing again and open my own storefront on Etsy.

For anyone who hasn't heard of Etsy you will see that I am a raving fan. It is a wonderful site where anyone can set up a storefront to sell anything handmade. I think it is the most wonderful outlet for artists I have ever found.

This past weekend I finally posted my first items and even managed to get my first sale. My goal was to get it up by early November so I guess I am doing well. Now I just need to figure out how to handle my renewed interest in drawing with my real job as an Architect and my even more real job as a mother of two young girls.

I have one more month of maternity leave to get the shop organized and on track. I really want to make it a success but it is going to take a lot of time and energy.