Little Texan, Big City

It's been almost a month since Christmas so it should be safe to share all my commissions that I had during the holiday season. This sweet little book that I made for little Amaya was one of the most challenging ones I've made. The story is also one of my favorites now too! The book follows Amaya and her pet javalina, Java, on their first adventure out of Texas to New York City. 

I don't say this lightly, I LOVE this book! I added a couple fold-outs to the book as well. One of them hides the carousel in Central Park and the other shows just how tall the Empire State Building looks when you're a tiny girl and javalina. Such a challenge but so worth it!

Before you scroll down to the photos, I have a really quick in shop news! 
Next week is my birthday! So to celebrate a little, if you use the code BDAYLOVE you can get 15% off in the Notional Notions Etsy shop AND the Sketchy Notions shop until February 1st! It won't work on custom commissions but you can use it on all the new Valentine's Day cards! 

Also, if you buy two prints of any size from the Sketchy shop, you'll get one free! Just leave a note when checking out to let me know which print you'd like free!

Here are a couple pictures from Amaya's sweet book and there are more on my website. 

the Tale of Kat & Dan

Back in January I was contacted by the sweetest gal who wanted the sweetest children's book to surprise her husband with on their wedding day. I've had insanely sweet requests before (remember the surprise Wedding/Honeymoon album?) but nothing of this magnitude. The story of how Katarina and Daniel met (then met again) is epic, and I'm not using that word lightly...

Katarina shared the full story on her blog but here's a quick synopsis: Katarina and Daniel both grew up in Croatia. Their families were good friends so the two pretty much knew each other since birth. They even have a photo of Dan blowing out the candles on Kat's first birthday cake! When they were young, the war in former Yugoslavia broke out. It forced both families to flee from their homes in Croatia and take refuge in Austria. After some time there, Dan's family got Visas to move to Australia. Kat's family tried to follow but their Visas were denied so they went to Canada instead. 

Fast forward many years...both their mothers had stayed in touch with each other but Kat and Dan were essentially strangers. So when Dan calls to ask if he can stay with her family in Canada, Kat was less than pleased. But once they met again, they hit it off right away and their whirlwind romance began! 

Such a perfect story to turn into a children's book. I had so much fun collaborating with Katarina on this book. Definitely top 5 favorite projects of all time! Here's a peek inside but there are more photos on my website as well. 

A Surprise for Henry

I really love my clients! It's always fun to get a new email or message on Etsy with a truly unique request...every one seems more challenging and cuter than the last. I swear my clients always have the best ideas for books or albums, and this newest book is no exception. 

A good friend of ours wanted a custom children's book for her niece's little boy who is about to become a big brother. Through the entire pregnancy, he's been saying that there's not a baby in his mom's belly...he heard some stomach growls and was convinced there was a baby lion inside! Over time he has also thought there has been baby monkey or elephant too. Cute, right? Amazing prompt for a story? Most definitely! 

The lion page is my favorite from the whole book! There's a couple more photos of this sweet book on chelseawardart if you're curious.

Brittany & Brad's Wedding/Honeymoon Album

I have been waiting to share this project for months...MONTHS! It was by far the largest commission I have received and, hands down, the sweetest thing I have ever been asked to create. I have received sweet commissions before but this was beyond words...

Brad contacted me way back in September with a special gift in mind for his soon-to-be wife. They would be married in December and he wanted to have a sort of journal/album to give to Brittany on their honeymoon. It would have illustrations and details inside spanning their dating, proposal and wedding with a lot of space at the end for photos and notes of their honeymoon and early days of marriage. Wow, just wow!

In the end, this album was huge: 13 signatures and 104 pages front and back, with a faux leather cover and velvety drawstring pouch to keep it safe. We filled it with illustrations of their special moments, inside jokes, engagement photos, invitations, their church for the wedding, maps of the Caribbean for the honeymoon and so much more. It was such a huge undertaking and it was so hard not to share the progress! Here's a peek at the album and there are more photos on my website.

The New York triplets

Hello 2014! Seeing as it is now January, it is probably safe to share the rest of my holiday commissions. These triplets were a beast to finish but I loved the results (and luckily the sweet lady that commissioned them did too!). 

I was contacted by Pamela back in December, who wanted a photo album to give to her daughter for her New York trip memorabilia. In order to make room for future New York visits, the project quickly evolved into three albums! Throughout the albums there are illustrations of iconic New York monuments and other little bits of the city, including pink Magnolia blossoms to tie all three albums together! 

There are more iconic spaces on the backs of the albums too. Everything from the Public Library lions and Central Park, to the entry buttons from the Metropolitan Museum and Playbills. It has been years since I last visited that city so it was a fun challenge to recreate all these famous sights in watercolor! There are some more photos of the triplets on my website too. 

Paige & Lola

Okay, I thought I had enough willpower to wait until 2014 to share all these new projects but I really just can't... So I would like to introduce you to Paige and Lola, my newest custom children's book commission! 

I was contacted by Paige's aunt via Etsy a while back and she asked for a custom book about the future adventures of her adorable baby niece Paige and Lola, the family's English Bulldog. It was such a sweet project, writing stories about potential adventures is always fun! I'm a sucker for cute kiddos too. Here's a peek at Paige and Lola's adventures, and there are a few more photos on my website. We will see if I can manage to wait until 2014 to share the other two latest commissions. 

Amelia's baby shower invites

I think pretty much everyone has received their invite so it should be safe to share one of my most recent projects! My sweet cousin is having a little girl in January (maybe on my birthday!) and asked me to make the invites for little Amelia's baby shower. I loved this project! It was tedious printing so many cards and envelopes but it was completely worth it. 

The front of the cards have hand-printed ballet slippers and the envelopes have my signature blossom stamps on the front and back. Inside I incorporated some hand-written text and hand-drawn ribbons. I also made a little drawing of Amelia riding a giraffe (her nursery will be a girly jungle theme) for the raffle reminders. Such a fun project! And even better that Amelia's mama loved them too. 

custom wedding & photo albums

I'm not sure why it is but I've suddenly had a massive influx of requests for custom wedding and photo albums. I'm so surprised and so very happy that they've been rolling in so much lately! 

In the past month or so, I've made 5 books for four different clients and still have 2 more to go. All of the requests have been completely different and unique. One couple wanted a pair of photo albums to give to their parents as gifts at their wedding. Another was for a sweet gal who had terrible luck with their first album designer and needed someone to quickly find a way to bind their album pages. One lovely lady just needed a special place for photos of her baby girl. I've mailed them all over...Italy, Canada and even just down to Los Angeles. 

It's been really fun meeting all these people and hearing their ideas for what kind of special book they need. It's been a challenge to meet all their needs but more than anything it's been an amazing boost in confidence. People are actually seeking me out and entrusting me to make them a one-of-a-kind keepsake. It's pretty amazing. It's teaching me a lot too. How to stay stocked on supplies for when that rush order comes in; how to say no to other things that will take focus away from my business. And there's always the occasional frequent shocking epiphany that this is my business. I kinda really love my job, and the results...

coco-belle bijoux

Hello there! How have you been? Things have been constantly moving here with finishing summer workshops, swim lessons, getting my business up and running, getting ready for more markets (I have another one in Santa Barbara Saturday and one August 31 in Carpenteria!) AND keeping on top of Etsy and wholesale orders. Whew! 

Anyways, I wanted to share a little bit of what I've been up to. I was commissioned by some lovely and talented ladies to design a logo and some accompanying banners for their new Etsy shop! It was such a fun project! They wanted a simple logo, with a bit of a boho chic feel. I love the results and I'm so happy they loved it too! 

Check out Havaiki and Pearl's sweet Etsy shop, Coco-Belle Bijoux, and show them some love! They make the most stunning necklaces and bracelets using Tahitian Black Pearls. You can also check them out on Facebook and follow along with their creations and inspirations on Instagram! 

Adventures with Grandma & Grandpa!

At last, here are some photos of my second custom photo album commission. I reaaaally love how this one turned out. We were going for a sort of 'cottage-y' look this time, very different from Curren's nautical album. I did light washes on the cover with my widest brush to achieve the wood grain look. I bound the album with a coptic stitch and then covered the spine with lace. All throughout the book there are freehand illustrations of flowers, then the two little grand-kiddos on the title page!

Edit: Getting married soon and need a guest book? Or would you like your own custom photo album? I just re-listed a commission for one in my Etsy shop! 

Curren's book

Day two of being on the Blog Every Day challenge and I already screwed it up. Well, I'm technically still blogging but I wanted to dedicated a whole days post to my latest little project. I love how this commission turned out so be ready for a bunch of photos! 

This book was commissioned by my friend Tina. She wanted a big blank book with a nautical/ocean theme to use as a photo album for her little son Curren. I love how this book turned out! It was my first big book commission that wasn't filled with large illustrations or stories on every page, so it was a little different compared to other projects. I did sneak in little ocean related illustrations every other page in the book, and the wave wreath on the front is my absolute favorite part of the whole book!