Inspiration galore!

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a seminar by the Canadian Children's Book Centre. It was a wonderful morning packed with advice and discussion from some of our canadian  author/illustrators, publishers and booksellers. I still can't quite believe I was in the same room as some of these fabulous people-pinch me. Award-winning authors Frieda Wishinsky, Gillian O'Reilly, Kevin Sylvester, and yes Barbara Reid! I know, double pinch me!! It was interesting that each spoke of non-fiction writing, and how it is often something we don't immediately consider when we think about children's books. But now I sure will! Especially considering my background in science. They all hit home how important it was to write about what you know and love, and to honour your voice.
I left so inspired and energized that I started brainstorming ideas for my own picture book manuscript the very next day.
Canadian publishers Margie Wolfe and Sheba Meland shared the inside scoop on what they are looking for; from cover letter advice, to how to stand out in their slush pile. Booksellers Maria Martella and Saffron Beckwith spoke about what librarians, schools and bookstores are looking for in new children's books.
Overall it was a very informative and inspiring seminar. The speakers were so kind, humble and honest in their thoughtful responses to how they began their careers and found success in this industry.
After this seminar I am really looking forward to my next conference: "Package your Imagination" by CANSCAIP this November. And I think I better start saving my pennies because next on my list will be an SCBWI conference :)

ABC Series IIlustration

I hope everyone had a great August! Was it just me or did it fly by really fast??

I managed to get one glorious week up north with the family filled with load of fun in the lake as the weather was amazing. Then I stayed on for another week all by myself  yes that right, no kiddies(did I say how incredibly wonderful my hubby was to give me such a refresher) to get lots of artwork done and some R&R.

It was wonderful to dive into work for hours at a time and I got quite a bit accomplished. I completed this ABC series for a local nursery school I just adore. I added many of the items found in-class as well as many of the special events and spirit day themes. I felt it was important to personalize it as much as possible with familiar objects so that the children could use the illustration as a fun learning tool. 

I also decided to work with a limited colour palette on this piece. I have to give a big shout out here to the wonderfully talented Jannie Ho -aka Chicken Girl for inspiration. I love her ABC series, I can see how they can become addicting, and her use of limited colour palettes is so fabulous. I think the overall effect of this limited palette nicely unifies the illustration, keeping it gender neutral and playful.

I hope everyone had a safe and memorable summer. My kiddos started school today actually, and my youngest met her JK teacher and is excitedly awaiting her start next week. It's going to be a weird adjustment for me with all of my babies in school full-time....

Summer Promo Packets

 My package from Moo arrived yesterday just in the nick of time!! WEEEEHOOOOO!! I love Moo's products and managed to get my order in during a Moo-wide 30% off sale!!

We are heading up to our family cottage for a week(then I am staying on for a few more days of art-time) and I wanted have all my supplies on hand to assemble my summer promo packet mailers during the quiet evenings up there.:)

 I went with 2 different postcard fronts as not all the publishers I am targeting like anthropomorphized animals. The backs are the same on both. I also had some minicards printed that I am going to make into bookmarks. Trying to go for a summer beach feel with these. So I am using hemp cord, and I am leaning toward using a shell instead of a regular bead, but I am not sure if it will survive the trip through the mail.

 Now I am just waiting for my vellum envelopes, which are due to arrive any second. I was going to go with clear self closing bags to hold my packet contents but it looks like there is an extra fee for sending any thing poly plastic through the mail! So I am going with translucent lovely vellum envelopes instead. Who doesn't looove the feel of vellum?? Am I right??

 Hopefully the yummy vellum will help my promo packets to stand out from the slush pile, and the translucency will grab the curiosity of the AD, leaving them wanting to see what's inside......I hope, fingers crossed!

I hope everyone has a good 2 weeks, and I will post once we are back from our summer holidays! :)
As always I'd love any feedback :)

FREE August 2011 Desktop Calendar

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Can you believe August is just around the corner! Summer is half over already!! Boy that just flew by.

For this month's FREE desktop calendar I thought this summer themed illustration of a fun-loving Granny having tea time with her grandchildren would be the perfect fit!  Doesn't it make you want to go run barefoot in the grass to feel the blades tickle your toes? Too bad our grass is all yellow and straw-like due to the lack of rain in our area.Bummer! But we can image it. ;)

I love being able to spend more quality time with both sets of grandparents over the summer holidays. It really allows the kids and the rest of us to build lasting memories to cherish and have a good chuckle over when we reminisce.

As always, just click on the appropriate screen resolution link below the image to bring up the corresponding image size then right click and then left click on "set to background".

 Cheers to creating great summer memories with your family!

Kids Cake 2011

This past weekend we held our annual Birthday BBQ bash to celebrate the kids birthdays. For this year I decided to create a cake depicting the kids doing their favorite cottage activities. They have all grown such confidence and learned new skills this summer both in and around the water. They have learned new paddling skills, snorkeled with fins, attempted fancy dock jumps, caught bigger fish than Grandpa off the dock and even learned some new swim strokes. So I thought this theme would be a great idea to celebrate and showcase their achievements.  Here are some pictures of the cake:

"crazy dock jumper- cowabunga!!!"

"determined fisherman"

"paddle snatcher in the dingy"

"super-engine on the dingy"

It was fun to make and after multiple attempts I finally figured out a way to suspend my dock jumper in mid air. Ha! The figures were make out of modelling paste, so they could each eat their own after we sang "happy birthday". Can I just say how much I prefer plasticine to modelling paste! But all in all, it was really worth it to see their happy little faces smiling and pointing out their achievments to each other and to friends.
Enjoy!

Minicards as Bookmarks

I was very excited to see that my favorite printer MOO was offering a 30% off summer sale. Aren't there products just glorious? And I love their Printfinity option to get multiple images on the back of your products. Genius!What perfect timing, as I am in the midst of creating my summer promo mailers. So with a day to spare(as the sale ends tomorrow) I just finished placing my order. I created 2 different postcards and some minicards which I plan to fashion into cute little bookmarks. The above image is what will show on the back of my minicards, with my logo and info on the front. I am going to add a cute ribbon and bead detail at the top of each bookmark so it can easily keep ones spot in a favorite book of choice. You like?? I think I may be onto somethin' here...

IF- Stay

The good friends decided to stay for one more jump. The perfect end to a fun filled day.

I couldn't resist using this illustration for this weeks Illustration Friday topic "stay". I hope to do a series of illos with all of these little friends....they sure can get into mischief while seeking out adventure!

Short post as it's summer time and with 4 kidlets home it is kinda crazy around here! Happy summer everyone!