Boo!

This is one of my Halloween card design sold in Hallmark Gold Crown Store. Hope it is not too late to wish you guys a safe and fun night! Happy Halloween!!! :)

Pumpkin Carving Day at Kearney

Today a couple of people from my staff went to our company's Kearney studio to carve pumpkins. Unlike last year's sunny day on the farm, today it was cool, raining and foggy, but I loved every bit about it! It is weather like this and all the colors on the trees make me enjoy fall so much! I carved one pumpkin with mustache and then spent the all afternoon curled up on the couch with friends, watching "Rosemary's Baby"... yup! (A little disappointed because they never showed the baby's face in the film...) It was perfect!

Here are panoramic views around the studio. (Pardon my awful camera and photos that are pieced together... but you get the idea.) Isn't it lovely?

Sketchbook Doodle Animation: Fox Hat

From today's sketchbook

Hallmark Centennial Crown

Image Copyright © Hallmark Cards, Inc.

My company, Hallamark, is going to be 100 years old in 2010! In preparation for the centennial festivities, they've molded blank white resin crowns and invited everybody whoever wants to participate to personalize their own crowns for an exhibition to come. Here is my contribution. Can't wait to see all the crowns line up together! : )

Something to cure your Monday blues...

They Might Be Giants' super cute music video from the Grammy-winning "Here Come the 123s" DVD & CD set, directed by David Cowles (co-directed with Sean McBride).



Great... now it is stuck in my big giant head...

This Morning's Random Office Moment

What's that on the kitchen table?



Closer...



LOL!!!

New Hallmark Books

How are you, my friends? We've been having weird & chilly weather here in the Midwest. The sun was hiding from us for the whole past week but is finally showing its face again now. A breezy, sunny Autumn day... for that reason alone, it's worth celebrating! On top of that, I am going to show you two more new books from Hallmark; I'm sure they are going to put you in an even better mood!

The first one is "Ultra GoGo's Party Fun Book". It's a collaboration between my friend Sarah Anderson and writer Linda Morris, and it took years from the very beginning of the project to finally having the book on the market. It's a labor of love, and the end result definitely shows that! It's a super super fun book for tween/teen girls (or even grown-ups like you and me), full of "Quizzes, Games, and Recipes for All-Time Wackalicious Party Fun"! It's a spiral-bound book (easy to lay flat) with thick cardboard cover and a cute sticker sheet at the end. I will let the pictures do all the talking:







The second book is "It's Not Easy Being Brave". It's written by Megan Haave, and collaboratively illustrated by Maura Cluthe and Mirna Sutbbs. It's is SO CUTE!!! (Just look at the little monster plush toy tucked away in the pocket!!! His name is "Pip", by the way.) Pip is the smallest monster in the world, and he is good at being scared, especially by other monsters! It's a really cute story with very well done artworks. Your little ones, or yourself, will for sure enjoy it (I know I did!)







To get your own copies, check out your local Hallmark Gold Crown stores. If you have any comments or feedback, you can email them to booknotes@hallmark.com.

Encaustic Doodle #3

Mixed-media encaustic doodle on 6" by 8" wood panel. From the side you can see beeswax dripping down... I kind of like that.

A Little Encaustic Box

A little mixed-media encaustic box with shellac, 3" across.
I've been having fun with beeswax... I love how imperfectly perfect the result could be.

Encaustic Doodle #2

Mixed-media encaustic doodle on 4" by 6" wood panel