3 card split

i feel like i have split art personalities. it makes organizing my website complicated and i think it confuses people, including myself, about what i make. i like quick, cartoony type drawing...but to me, they're just a side dish and i don't know what the entree' is.

i spent some time looking at greeting cards at a neighborhood gift shop. as usual, i got jealous of how clever other people are. so i decided to borrow some ideas and do it myself this time.

holiday makings part 2: ornaments

thought i'd make these look like glittering gem stones or geodes. the plan was to make 2 small ones and one large one for most of the ladies in the family, myself and one family friend (a total of 18).

i attempted smaller versions and different shapes...it just wasn't happening. wrong paper, the paint made it hard to fold and glue...so i made 6 large ones and they're just okay. i decided to make open ones because gluing is easier, but i don't like the gold color glitter i bought. the brown glitter is AMAZING though. everyone should have brown glitter on hand, just in case.

these are extremely difficult to capture on camera and they look better in person (so sparkly you might call it 'dazzling'), but still moderately weird. these will not go down i history as the 'cute' ornaments i'm known for. i'm okay with that. but they made good present toppers and they are VERY sparkly.

some process photos

i did figure out a way to make little "tents" though! filing away for a different project....

the glittering process was actually way less messy than i imagined.

only 5 or 6 shown. mine's already hanging on my tree at this point. 

nearly impossible for me to get the glitter effect and a clear photo.

sorta looked like abstracted pine cones as present toppers

holiday makings pt 1: cards

tis the season where i'm happily distracted with holiday craft and gift making. everything always feels like it gets put on hold in December to make way for XMAS.

a block printing sample i made for a workshop came in handy for my own holiday cards this year.

the owl one ended up being very cooperative to print and i felt up to the challenge of making 50 cards with my bare hands! maybe not surprisingly, the most difficult part was using the computer printer for the text inside. super frustrating.

so what do 50 greeting cards look like?

i just wanted to see many owls in a tree!

Happy "Owlidays!"

"ruff" draft

a challenge for me and, if i ever finish, a gift for a family friend: of course it's a french greyhound.
exchange the coffee cup for a champagne flute, make a less scary eyeball, blur/obscure the eiffel tower etc.

final: