Dreaming and Wishing for Fall

I'm writing this post one handed as I hold a sleeping puppy in my lap, last week I got not 1 but 2 puppies, I've never had two dogs before so this has been a new and exciting experience! Their personalities are so funny and they have definitely kept me busy this last week and for the foreseeable future I will no longer have time to mull about and procrastinate which is good I guess :)

Fall is my favorite time of year, probably because Texas summers are so brutal and any relief is a much welcome change, I love fall fashion, hot drinks and talking walks in the cooler weather. Not to mention Halloween, I've always loved celebrating, decorating pumpkins, costumes and candy.
One of my favorite movies of all time is Nightmare before Christmas so I always like to watch it especially in the Fall.

working on some new designs

I've added Halloween prints in my shop: a trick or treat bunny, a cute little spider and happy candy corn

and I finished some more candy corn plushies, a girl with a bow and happy candy corn

and pillow covers my dear  friend quilted with my spider panel in the middle that has embroidery detail on the web!!

one with angled strips

one with straight strips

I'm trying to get more stuff in my shop soon, here's my latest work in progress

Hope to share more soon :)

Happy Fall

 I'm so excited it's officially Fall, it's my favorite time of year! The Summer is ending, a cool breeze starts to blow and it's not unbearable hot anymore, that's a big deal when you live in Texas.
Here are some things I've got on my to do list to really enjoy the season :)

1. Start enjoying the cooler weather by taking morning walks
2. Go to the Dallas Arboretum and see the pumpkin village!!!
3. Plan & shop for Fall flowers to plant
4. Shop for pumpkins
5. Bake loads of pumpkin muffins
6. Go to a craft fair
7. Take a weekend trip
8. Decorate the house with Fall festive-ness
9. Get hot chocolate on a chilly day
10. Get inspired and work on new winter drawings

a scene from the pumpkin village

What have you got on your Fall to do list?

Dreaming of Fall

It's officially become the unbearable part of the summer, but we are lucky this year we haven't had that many 100 degree days yet & we have had a couple chances for rain the last few weeks  :) 

This year my resident gardener is experimenting with pumpkins this summer, it's pretty exciting to see how far they've come in such a short time. We have tried squash before but these pumpkins are growing like crazy!

little seedling

look at the size of those leaves

almost taking over the entire garden

all pumpkins all the time

a little baby pumpkin close up

I'm definitely dreaming of cooler times a crisp breeze in the air, and everything fall. In fact I'm already working on getting some ideas ready for the fall festivities!!! I'm really excited, even though I still can't walk I'm actually ahead of schedule on my creative projects. So thankful for my family & friends that have been helping me get better.
What are you most looking forward to when it comes to Fall?

Also Balloon Bunny is now in the shop and free shipping until midnight PT!

Craft Show Roundup

Here's my craft show excitement, as I said in my previous post I had been to Funky Finds before and I was happy to see some of my old favorites.

First off, Sharen Chatterton does really amazing and vibrant watercolors. I love flowers and her painting are so happy and bright. The first year we saw her we bought a bookmark and started following her newsletter. This year I'm happy to report, I got this wonderful pansy print for my Mom.
I love pansies, and the gardening items mixed in.

Another one of my favorites I was happy to see again is Gypsyharte. Three years ago I really didn't know anything about needle felting but her creations were just so cute and personable I bought a felting kit determined to created little creatures of my own. My mom has more patience and does well at it. Three dimensional items are a little more tricky, but  I think we feel a little more confident so this year we got a pumpkin kit! Look how cute Gyspyharte's little pumpkin is! She is very talented.

I love her little mushroom toadstools and birdies :)

photo by gypsyharte

i love her little owls

Another fun shop I saw was Fuzzy hippo I love the 3-D texture in solid color, and the ones that make actual shapes are fun too. The wedding stuff is cute and they even have furniture too, perfect for graphic geeks :)

I love texture and color together

It's fun to mix art with useful things

 And I finished my 3rd octopus. Her name is Ruby and her favorite color is purple (as you can tell by her bow). She loves to play dress up with her friends, and practice her hula hooping. Her favorite snack is chocolate pudding cups. She will soon be in the shop :)

She is made out of Fuchsia fleeces with purple accents and hand stitched facial features, including her eyelashes.

I think she turned out pretty cute, and I can't wait to make a little blue guy with a bow tie, inspired by my sketch.

Ok hope to post more soon, hope you are having a marvelous Monday!

Pumpkins, Bunnies and Fashion Tidbits

I just can't seem to catch a break this month, but I'm going to keep on trying to make time for the things that make me happy. Like making new animal creatures. Even though it was 90 freaking degrees last weekend. I'm excited to share my awesome pumpkins with you.

Yes, I also got a scarecrow

I love the variation in color and texture

Now this next one is my pride and joy. Last year I saw this variation for the

first time at my local produce store. They were HUGE probably at least $30 per pumpkin, it was the prettiest pumpkin I had ever seen. I love the pattern of orange fading into green. I've never been enamored with a gourd before but it was definitely love at first sight.

 I spend a lot of time creating computer generated patterns for work, and it's such an inspiration to see this beautiful pattern exist in nature. Of course I couldn't justify spending more than $30 on a pumpkin last year and this year this variety seemed no where to be found, but I did finally find one.

Isn't it just awesome?!

This variety's name is one too many because apparently the stripes and pattern on the white background look like bloodshot eyes, the same look when you've had one too many, but I still think it's beautiful.

Lately I am revisiting my interest in drawing bunnies, I made a bunny birthday card for one of my friends, complete with little fat bunny cake topper. I think it would look too cute in a plush form, we will see how that goes.

disco dancing bunny

 

big bunny ears + chubby hamster like body = cuteness

Also I was kinda disappointed with the Neiman Marcus + Target Collaboration. Some of the stuff was cute, the little girl dresses especially, but so much of it would not make a great present in my opinion. I know why they did it so their bread and butter pieces (what each designer is known for) would not be threatened. Why would people who can afford to shop at Neiman Marcus want a cheaper version when they can buy the real thing? I get it, all I'm saying who thought Oscar De La Renta's talent was best showcased in dog accessories? You can see the collection here

In more fun Target collaboration news, Prabal Gurung (who's also apart of Neiman's collaboration), is doing his own apparel and shoes to debut early next year.

one of his pieces from the S/S 12 collection

 His combination of bright colors and futuristic patterns is quite a feast for the eyes. I am very interested to see what all he comes up with.

See first tidbit here and everything else great about Target here.

Hope to post more this week :)