Free Owl Lover 2013 Calendar

Shivani, the author of My Owl Barn, has just informed me that our Owl Lover 2013 Calendar is now available on her lovely blog for free download. This is my third year being part of the ever-growing group of contributing artists for this project, and there are 43 artists in total this year! Come take a look at all the lovely artworks, it will be hard to pick just 12 for each calendar, but that's a good problem, right? : )

2012 Hallmarket

Whew! Hallmarket is done! It was such a great event and a very successful one, too. There were over 100 Hallmark artists showing their works. It's so neat to see what people create, and it's truly humbling to know that I am surrounded by so many talented folks every day. A big thank-you to all of you who made to the fair and shopped at my booth, I am so grateful. If you couldn't make it, I've organized a Flickr album for you to see. Just click here.

Now I need to get ready for the next two art shows; the work is never done. : )

Hallmark kids back-to-school card

Saw this card I did when I went to our employee card shop this afternoon, which means it's also available in the Hallmark Gold Crown store now. It's a back-to-school card for kids; I love this little hipster beaver guy. : )

Hallmarket is fast approaching

Next Saturday is our annual Hallmarket. I've got most of my stuff done but still feel like I am all over the place. I need to do a mock layout of my display before the show; I have so much stuff, I am afraid that I will run out of space... yikes. That being said, here are a few photos of some wooden brooches and acrylic necklaces I'll have for the show (they are also in my Etsy, but quantity is very limited.) Hope to see you there if you are in town, and don't forget to come by and say hi. : )

Upcoming Hallmarket: A Hallmark Artist Art Fair

 Our once-a-year Hallmarket is approaching quickly! Hallmarket is an annual art fair which showcases the creative talents of Hallmark employees; this is the 3rd year of Hallmarket and it just gets better as more artists are participating. I am trying to create as much as I can and will have assortment of items for sale, such as prints, necklaces, brooches, magnets, rings and doodle rocks. If you are in the Kansas City area on 9/29, please make sure to drop by and check out the art fair; it will be a blast! (PS: This year's poster is designed by our one-and-only Maura Cluthe. Isn't it just pure AWESOMENESS?!)

Here are the woodburning rings I will be selling during the art fair. As I have more new items completed I will post more photos. Gotta get busy now! : )

Happy Faces

I haven't done a lot of colorful pieces on my own spare time outside of my work. Part of the reason is because when I get off work, I am already tired from drawing all day long and just want to relax or do something else. But I did manage to work on this piece in the past couple of days, purely for fun. Actually, comparing to my other works on this blog, stuff like this is much closer to what I do at work although my work-related stuff is more commercial in style. I had a blast doing this piece and I do need to do more colorful doodles from now on. We will see.  : )

Also, here are some little ones.
 

A few experiments

I did some fun experiments last night on the rocks. Instead of drawing on them, I tried engraving two rocks with my rotary tool and an engraving bit. The lines have a different quality; they are rougher and muted, a more primitive look which I like. I colored one with color stamp pads and left the other one untouched. Over all, it's not technically difficult to engrave on rocks (though obviously I need more practice); the key is to hold the power tool firmly, but at the same time be light on your hand and don't press into the rock and let the bit do all the hard works.

Below are a few more doodled rocks and two paper mache boxes I did over the past week. Just thought I'd like to share. : )

Kitty Rocks and More

Doodled on more rocks during the week. I learned that while some rocks, usually the Mexican pebbles, take the ink beautifully, some of them just don't like me and my dip pen as much (especially those rocks with the reddish hue). Nevertheless, it's fun to draw on them. : )

Lace Owl + Doodle Rocks

I stained this wooden panel and then drew on it with acrylic ink. Also did 3 more doodle rocks with a sugar skull, a bird, and two owls.

Elephant Artist

Somehow I stumbled across this amazing video and it just made my day! You HAVE TO watch this elephant paints, and he is painting an elephant, holding a flower!!! I want to bring my sketchbook over and sit right next to him and draw with him. Unbelievable!

Doodle Pebbles

It has been so hot over here (108+ degrees yesterday); I just want to hide inside and draw and not go anywhere! Well, wishful thinking, since I did have to go outside to run a few errands in this crazy heat yesterday, but I did manage to treat myself with a little creative activity and doodled on a few pebbles last night. It is so fun and relaxing to doodle on pebbles, have you ever try it? I've always wanted to try it ever since I saw Geninne's amazing painted stones. But I am not as handy with a brush like she is, so I drew on mine with a nib pen instead. Now I am totally hooked and I only wish I live near a river or the ocean (boy, how I miss the ocean!) so I can have unlimited supply of pebbles to draw on. : )

Sketchbook Pages

Just thought it would be fun to show you a few pages from my little 3.5" x 5.5" sketchbook. I usually use a much bigger sketchbook, but I got a few of the small blank Moleskine notebooks recently (can you believe I've never used them before?), they are so easy to be tucked inside my purse so I can doodle whenever I have some spare time. More doodles to come as I continue. : )

Hallmark Books - There For You Crew

I have a few little books to share with you. The first three of Hallmark's "There For You Crew" book series I illustrated are now published. From character development to book illustration, I've been part of this project for quite a long time, and I am so happy to see them produced! The first three characters from this series are Zebra, Pig, and Fox; each one has his own mantra and a sweet, simple story with encouraging messages for young kids. Books are packaged with plushies; I love the fabrics used on the plushies, very textural and soft! Tom Shay-Zapien is the writer for all three books (Tom also wrote the very sweet Hallmark's "Jingle The Husky Pup" story.) These books should be available in the Hallmark Gold Crown stores near you very soon. Don't forget to check them out in person!

Here are a few extra photos. I don't have the official images of these books, so I just took the photos with my camera in my office, not the best lighting situation. If later on there are better version of official photos, I will share them with you.

There For You Crew - Zebra | Hallmark Gift Books

There For You Crew - Fox | Hallmark Gift Books

There For You Crew - Pig | Hallmark Gift Books

Quick Doodle

I have been crazy busy at work but still need to find some time here and there to doodle a bit; did this quick one yesterday and thought I'd like to share. (Done with a fine point Sharpie pen, my favorite doodle tool.)

May Wallpaper

I can't believe it's already May!!! Where did the time go? I am still buried in work, but I managed to do a quick new wallpaper for you. Didn't have time to do the calendar part though. I hope you like it! XO : )

To download the 1600 x 1200 wallpaper, please click here
To download the 1920 x 1080 wallpaper, please click here

All my wallpapers are for your personal use only; all rights reserved. Thanks!

Stripy

Made these stripy bracelets today. I love combining glow-in-the-dark beads with color beads. I designed these patterns which call for odd numbers of rows; it's trickier than even numbers of rows and requires extra patience and time (bracelets like these two will take you about 2 to 2.5 hours). I followed this great tutorial by Carol Dean which explains how to do odd count peyote stitch really well. Check it out if you want to learn how to do it.

Patterned Bracelets

My beading live action continues! I tackled patterns last night. It was not too difficult but was a little confusing in the beginning. It definitely takes focus to do this (no TV watching at the same time), and it helps to sketch out your complete design on grid paper and laid it out in front of you, then mark off each row as you weave. Also, having a long needle helps big time. Just be careful; this thing is addictive! : )

Beaded Bracelets

Yay! I did it! I figured out how to weave these bracelets by following the instruction on this site. It's not too hard, just takes time and patience. I made 3 in one night while watching TV. I was wearing one of them while visiting my orthodontics this morning, and the nice nurse asked me, "Oh, did one of your kids make that bracelet for you? It's so cute." I couldn't speak as my mouth was filled with green gooey molding compound (it got all over my face, too, a really attractive picture, I am sure), so I shook my head and then pointed to myself; afterward I told her, "Yeah, I am 5 years old!", and she started laughing.

Next time I am going to try to incorporate patterns into them! : )

Having fun with Perler beads

Ever since I saw this last week, I have been itching to play with Perler beads (You can call me a 5-year-old, that's ok!). I love sitting down and playing with them while listening to music; it's very relaxing, and addictive, too! Not to mention it's so much fun to mix and match the colors. I got a big tub of glow-in-the-dark ones and just about every single color that are available in my local store. I'd love to try the mini beads but we don't have those available in the States. Here are some photos of what I've made so far. I think I am going to try to challenge the bracelet next, if I can figure out how. : )

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just a really quick Valentine's Day wish to all of you! Hope everybody is enjoy a wonderful day full of love with family, friends, and your special ones. Xx

Floral Hand

For some reason when I woke up yesterday morning, I had this image in my head. So I drew it. It's my right hand, filled with flowery doodles. It's now here.

February Wallpaper

Thank you guys for allowing me to take a little break. Creating is fun but sometimes resting is more important. On top of taking a little break, I was invited to be part of two books so I've been (and still am) taking times to do that. We are having unusually nice weather for January, only one day of snow so far; we are so spoiled! Hopefully it would stay like this for the rest of the winter!

Anyhoo, here is the February wallpaper for you. It's a little quick doodle straight from my sketchbook and then colored digitally. Hope you'll like it! Xx : )



To download the 1600x1200 wallpaper, please click here.
To download the 1920x1080 wallpaper, please click here.