Full of Thanks!

The last six months have turned my world completely around. Full of struggles, but in the end so very full of LOVE and LIFE. LOVE and LIFE in all it's complexities and imperfections is what it's all about! I'm truly thankful!

3 is such a good number!

I've just made it possible for my collectors to pick out any three prints of their liking! Even better is that it comes with a bit of a price break! woot! Gotta love that.

Gumball Grenade 2009 Holiday Packaging!

Yesterday was a whirlwind of flying paper, rubber scraps, ribbon and ink. I'm getting ramped up for the holiday season. Whew! I love how some things can be energizing! Those are the things in life to focus on. If it revs you up then keep doing it. I revamped my stamp for my mailers, made up some new hang tags, and have more business cards, cello sleeves, and backing board on it's way. Gotta make sure those prints arrive safe and sound, and in perfect condition.

Hope Everyone Had a Fantastic Halloween!

I've been neglecting my blog, but for good reason...LIFE! It sneaks up and takes you by surprise. Surprises are good and change is even better! As of this morning I'm officially all ramped up for the upcomming Holiday Season. I even have some cute holiday themed illustrations in the works. So until then here's a little picture from Halloween!

We Are...STRONG project!

I've been away for so long, but I'm thrilled to let you all know that for the month of September I'll be participaing in Yaelfran's We Are....Project.

SEPTEMBER'S ISSUE: 16 PAGES!!!!!!!!"WE ARE..." is a monthly publication, that showcases Etsy's artists illustrations in black for you to paint or just to keep as they are. Every month we will featuring a group of 10 illustrators who will showcase their interpretation of a different theme. For August, we have... "HAPPY" , for September we have... "STRONG".This publication is printed on 250 gr paper, with professional printer. Its size is 4 x 6 inches closed. A very sweet size that gives you the possibility to take it with you in your bag, wallet, pocket, etc.You can also separate their pages (by trimming them carefully) and have different and gorgeous postcards!!!!

Here are the participants for this month:

Corid

Gumballgrenade

Christinaromeo

Lertsis

Thisisalliknow

ZukzukBadbird

Seasprayblue

Marmeecraft

Restlessthings

Essimar

Jessgonacha

Laurageorge

Yumiyumi

Kwilson544

Yaelfran

(By Holly Becker) "... I was telling a friend back a few years ago that what the indie craft world really needs is a coloring book for kids designed by artists, each page from a different talent, all pages inspiring and fun... I think kids can use a little diversity and exposing them to the art community at an early age is a good idea. Plus, they can color it so it's fun and interactive, developing their creativity. Though my coloring book idea didn't go beyond my desk, I'm suddenly spotting a trend - artists coloring books are slowly popping up in the independent craft communities online and I'm loving it!"

Free Gumball Grenade Download Over at IndieFixx.com

Just a quick note here to let you know that Jen over at IndieFixx.com has released new Feed You Soul art prints for download! This is such a great project and includes several of my favorite artists. I'm thrilled to have been invited to participate! So anyway here is the link where you can download a new Gumball Grenade art print to feed your soul! Oooh! Also be sure to read the "When they Were Kids" interview with the beautiful Elsita Mora!

Art is the stored honey of the human soul, gathered on wings of misery and travail.

~Theodore Dreiser

Sweet Little Art Pins!

Real quickly here are some of the latest additions to the Gumball Grenade shop. Cute little shrink plastic pins! Yay! So I just got back from beautiful California and made a visit to the amazing Renegade Craft Show. I went to the show with the intent to preview the event and see if it's something I'd like to participate in. I have to say I was impressed! Lot's of impressive artists showcased some amazing items and some displayed work created using really interesting techniques. Some favorite Etsy sellers were there such as Mary Ink and Berkley Illustration. Another seller was quite innovative with an image transfer process he developed and used to print his graphic art on to leather! I was amazed! So much creativity in one place lots of good energy. Anyway, enough of my rambling!

Randomness! I'm not so sure.

Lots of really unexpected and oh so wonderfully coincidental things have happened in the last couple weeks that have caused me to wonder if life really is all that random afterall. Hmmmm, I think there are greater forces at work in this universe. Anyway, I'm a little late on announcing the winner of the Fourth of July contest! But the results from Random.org are shown above! Congrats!

Flights of Fancy on the Fourth...Oh and Free Shipping!

Yay! It's the Fourth of July. I've heard it said that "I'm flawed if I'm not free." So true! I love that today is a celebration of independence. I imagine the little soul in the illustration above is crying "freedom!" as he takes off on a grand adventure. On other things I've heard...every year while watching fireworks I'm amused by what little children say. This year the cutest thing I've heard so far this year is, "Why is it making magic in the road?" So here's wishing everybody a little magic in the road and in the spirit of celebration you'll find FREE SHIPPING on all items in my Gumball Grenade shop! Also, be sure to enter to win a free Gumball Grenade print of your choice! To enter simply visit my shop and leave a comment telling which print you'd like. Contest ends July 10th. Winner will be selected by Random.org and announced on July 11th! Happy Fourth!

Treasury by Teacup Elephant

Thanks to Teacup Elephant for featuring my print in her "Stars and Stripes" treasury! Very patriotic! Temporary link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=68494

Sundaes in Las Vegas

Just got back from Vegas and had an amazing time! Just when you think things are the way they are in your little corner of the world little coincidences and surprises give you some insight into your life. This trip was full of those little moments. I had the opportunity to try some new things like asparagus...yummy! Heard some really bad jokes...gross. Got caught in a rainstorm (loved it). Saw a fun show. Had the best time people watching and wandering with my favorite mischief maker ever! At one point my partner in crime pointed out a rather sad and sickly looking man, who was sitting by himself enjoying an ice cream sundae. My partner in crime mentioned how sad this man looked and I was struck with how you can be completely surrounded by people and be so alone. There was slight comfort seeing how much he was enjoying his sundae. It was clearly the highlight of this man's day. It made me even more grateful that I had an accomplice in all things mischief. Well, just as this little man scraped his last bite from the sides of his cup, he was struck by the inevitable brain freeze that follows a delicious sundae. This poor man just squoze his hands to his head and placed his head on the table and waited out the pain. You almost wanted to pat him on the back and let him know it would all be okay. It was hard to watch. In my world he would have skipped away on a quest to find the greatest ice cream shop in all of Las Vegas and along the way he would have discovered someone to skip down the boulevard with him.

Fables and Foxes Flip Doll

So I finally finished up this little owl art doll! She's actually two dolls in one. Her dress reverses to reveal another doll! You can see additional pics here on my Fables and Foxes Blog.

More Fables and Foxes Related Fun!

I spent a majority of this weekend working on this new folk art doll or whimsical sculpture. I still need to finish up some of the final details but it's coming together nicely! I just realized how stern fox looks! You'd almost think she was for a mug shot!

Unfold Illustration Friday and Fables and Foxes Shop

So I did this illustration for my other shop: Fables and Foxes but I figured I'd share it here for my gumball readers as well :) She calls out to be sculpted.

First Little Gumball Grenade Art Doll

Here is his. He's little but cute! Sculpted with polymer and hand painted. He measures 3 and 3/4 inch from top to bottom of base. He's currently available my Gumball Grenade shop! here

First Gumball Grenade Face Sculpture!

Here is the face I've come up with for my Gumball Grenade sculptures and art dolls. It had to be innocent and sweet. Hopefully he is! The star on his cap still needs to be added but he doesn't mind being photographed without it.

Folk Art Doll Face

Last night while I was waiting for paint to dry on my lion, I decided to sculpt a little folk art doll face and put a dress together. I still need to add the body, legs, and paint. I actually had to sculpt and paint her face prior to sculpting her head and hair. Weird but it helped me visualize her a bit more clearly.

Also, for those who collect my Gumball Grenade prints, there are some whimsical sculptures brewing! You see in my illustrations I rarely show a face. Most of my illustrations are shared in little bedrooms and baby nurseries. They are designed for magical thinkers only! I like for the viewer to place themselves into the viewpoint of my little souls, gazing up to the sky and remembering when, or thinking and dreaming "If!" So I was a bit stagnant when it came to sculpting because I had to find the right face to finally show! I sculpted a little face last night, but haven't had a chance to see it with paint yet. I'll paint it today and share a peek at it later! I hope to have several Gumball Grenade sculptures to offer this upcoming Holiday season! I'm so excited!

A Guardian Folk Art Doll

Last night I couldn't resist making this sweet fox. She's holding a red cardinal in a protective way. Don't worry she doesn't intend to eat it! She guarding it from other dangers. She's keeping it safe from other dangers she knows too much of.

She's just as high as my bear and I must say they look like they walked out of the same forest when standing side by side. Here she is.

Bear Folk Art Doll Sculpture

So as you can see I've had sweet little bears on the mind and maybe a little bit of Little Red Riding Hood as well! You see a while ago I signed up for a cloth and clay doll workshop taught by the extremely talented Jane DeRosier. I have such a love for folk art dolls and thought that it would be a great way to get started. Well I'm more than embarrassed to admit that even with a mom who teaches and sells sewing machines I still have not had the time to learn how to sew! But today I just felt the need to make some kind of folk art doll so I ran downstairs to find my paper clay and get started. I was set on making a doll even if I had to hand sew every little stitch. Well you know how it goes, when you need something you can't find it. I ran downstairs to take advantage of my time and began rummaging through the various piles, corners, and drawers. I couldn't find it! Determined to complete the mission I settled and grabbed my box of old polymer clay. Either it will work or it won't I thought to myself.

Well here's the end result! Her name is "Sorrow" in conjunction with the theme over at Cloth and Clay Dolls. Can you believe that she is the first sculpture I've done in over a year! I couldn't believe how she turned out! When I compare her to some previous paper clay dolls I made I am shocked with the difference. I'm glad I followed this nagging need to sculpt and took the time to do it. Creating her has definitely encouraged me to keep sculpting and add more of these folk art dolls / sculptures to my Fables and Foxes etsy shop.

Oh I should mention her details: She's sculpted out of polymer clay and painted using acrylic paints. She stands just slightly under 7 inches tall and has been antiqued and distressed to give her that folk art feel.

I also thought I'd add in this photo so you could see her prior to painting:

Don't Forget!

To add a bit of color today!

Craving Illustration Friday

It's been far too long since I last participated! I couldn't resist so here is my submission for this weeks Illustration Friday! I've had coffee, tea, honey and cakes on the mind lately. Some cravings however, can be quite dangerous. This illustration is a pencil sketch that has been digitally colored.

Saturday Sings Sweetly to Me!

So a while back a lovely person shared this song with me and asked if it influenced my work. Unfortunately I had never heard the song before. It's a very melodic and sweet song called "Boats and Birds" by Gregory and the Hawk. I don't think this you tube video was created by Gregory and the Hawk but it's pleasant to watch and let's me share the song with you! So here's a sweet song for you this springly Saturday morning.

Two New Illustrations Added to Gumball Grenade

So here are two of my latest illustrations added to the Gumball Grenade Etsy shop yesterday evening! The top one is titled "Things Left Behind" the second is "Stay the Course." There is a third one that will be posted soon as well! Oh and I did get a minute to add a listing to Ebay as well! Click here

Ankle Case and Neko Case

I've been a bit remiss in my blogging lately. I went in for my second set of x rays on my ankle and it was determined that it was fractured (broken). They want me to go see an orthopedic doctor and they'll determine how much longer I have to wear the large black brace or if I need a cast! Oh I hope I don't need a cast! I have a trip planned to go to Vegas with some girlfriends and can't imagine going to sweltering Vegas entombed in a cast! So fingers crossed until Monday.

A side story on the black brace...I went on a very sweet date to an outdoor concert performed by Neko Case last Sunday! It was wonderful. I played hookie from wearing my brace. I just figured that walking around with it would be uncomfortable, and sitting on the garden lawn would be even more uncomfortable! It gets quite crammed with open outdoor seating. Well as I was people watching I saw another concert attendee wearing the same brace on the opposite leg. Instant guilt set in over not wearing mine, but I didn't want to be shackled on such a nice night! Anyway the night was perfect and I don't think skipping the brace had too much of an impact on the healing process.

Alright enough about my ankle issues... here's an update on more uplifting topics! I have some art boxes left over from a recent show that I'm probably going to list on Ebay tonight. Those will go up along with some miniature originals (also called ACEO's) seen in the photo above! I'm hoping to get them all listed tonight! Until then enjoy the pics!

Also, on the first I sent over my illustration to Jen at InidieFixx.com for her wonderful Feed Your Soul art project. Such an amazing project to have been invited to participate in! It will be available for download for FREE in July! Yay for free art in a down economy! By then I'll have some new prints to go along with it listed in my shop: Gumball Grenade

A Sweet Red and White Etsy Treasury

I love the burst of red! This treasury was created by ValeriaH (who has some stunning photographs in her shop might I add). Tresury link while its avail: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=59990

Accidents Happen

I fell down the stairs. Um, I was moving a couch. I missed about three steps and landed on my left ankle with the weight of the couch. POP! So now I'm wearing a big black clunky brace and have put additional dents in the walls and furniture lugging this brace around!

Gumball Grenade's First Movable Art!

I'm so excited to share this. It's a cute little puppet theater that I made! The first of it's kind for me and definitely not the last! It's made of wood, paper, digital artwork, plastic, string, and lots and lots of labor! The little tag has the faded word "Bloom" on it and even sweet little Bethezda the cat makes a brief showing now and again. I've absolutely fallen in love with automata and puppetry. What got me thinking about this was a series of things which just built on each other. The first was my love of papercutting, then I started exploring animation and watching some of the old silhouette animated movies. Then I was further intrigued when an episode of Make featured an artist's collective named the Lotus Girls. They had a demonstration of some of their pieces which were these huge fire emitting metal sculptures. It wasn't just the mechanics of it all that left me awe struck, but also the idea that viewer manipulation of the piece was an essential part of their art. There is definitely something striking in that. At the same time I did some research and discovered some wonderful books that explored the world of automata and there you have it. I've made it available in my Gumball Grenade Shop!




Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway for the Cuddles Pin here.

Art Boxes Galore!

So I'm still getting ramped up for the upcoming show and I'll be taking a bunch of these wonderfully charming, little art boxes! This is just a small sampling of what I've been working on. They're quite time consuming but well worth the end result. Have a lookie! As time permits I'll be adding them to the Gumball Grenade shop and what's left goes to the show!

...So I just checked in on the one's I just listed and saw that one box had 97 views! I said "This is a mistake. There's no way." Then I checked the front page of Etsy.com and to my delight saw this:

Easter Holiday Giveaway!

Happy Easter! I hope you are all having a nice Easter morning! I've been overwhelmingly busy making up new items for the shop and for a show coming up at the end of April. However, I need to catch up with you all and announce the next giveaway! The winner of the March giveaway was number 12 (Candy).

Details: Made of shrink plastic and sealed with an acrylic sealer. Not to be submerged in water :) Nickle Pin Back. Approximate Dimensions: 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) wide X 1.5 inches (3.8 cm)long **NOT Intended for Children**

To win this sweet little pin simply visit my Gumball Grenade shop then return to this post and leave a comment regarding something in my shop! Simple! Winner will be selected with Random.org and entries close on April 30th! Enjoy your day!

Decorated Moleskine Journals Added to the Shop!

I just thought I do a quick post to let you all know that I've added some new moleskine journals to my Gumball Grenade shop today! Each of these is decorated with an image transfer of one of my illustrations and then hand painted details are added! Signed and sealed! I was a little worried I wouldn't get a chance to share them because it's been snowing all morning long! Finally, there was a break in the gloomy weather which allowed me just enough time to get them photographed and listed.