December Desktop Calendar is here!

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We had our first snow of the season this morning. It was wet and messy, not very fluffy and pretty, but snow never the less.  Time to put on the snow tires!
And as tomorrow is the 1st of December, I thought it would be the perfect time to post my free desktop calendar. Consider it an early Christmas present :)
I showed this image previously, as it was one of a few I created to go into my winter promotional mailer packets. I am waiting patiently for my Moo shipment to arrive, full of all of my goodies; business card sized gift tags, stickers, and postcards....Eeeeeeee, I can't wait to crack open that package and see how they turned out!

 As always just click on the appropriate screen resolution size link below the calender and right click to set as background, or save to desktop.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it....doesn't it make you want to go out and hit the toboggan slopes....fingers crossed we get a white winter. While I am wishing, can I also wish for a magical snow shoveling elf to accompany the snow...that one is for hubby :)

Busy behind the scenes

It has been a few weeks since I have paid attention to my cute little blog,. sorry blog. I have been busy behind the scenes after attending my first CANSCAIP Packaging your Imagination Conference, getting my winter promotional material created, prepared and ordered. I am pleased to say that as of last night it has been ordered and hopefully will arrive in a few weeks to be lovingly packaged and sent out to all of my dream publishing houses. I liked my idea to include a little take away gift(bookmark) in my last mailer, so this time I thought, for the festive season, I'd create some rounded corner business cards that I could turn into gift tags by punching a little corner hole and attaching some festive ribbon. I also created rounded corner rectangular stickers from the same images to be used as gift labels....hopefully they will make their way onto someones holiday gifts. 

I ordered a few extra so if anyone would like a few to use this holiday season drop me a line with your address and I'll send them out. Maybe closer to Christmas I will make a printable PDF so you can even print them off on your own computer to use? I'm liking that idea too.

When my postcards and extra goodies arrive from Moo I'll be sure to take a photo and post it, to share in my glee. :)

Stay warm everyone, winter is here, and it's time to crack out the winter coats and toques! :)

November Desktop Calendar

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Happy Halloween everyone! November is just around the corner, tomorrow actually, so I have posted another free desktop calendar for you to snaz-up your computer screen! I used a recent illustration I created for Illustration Rally's Children's Book Illustration Contest. The winner has not been announced yet, but if you get the chance go check out all of the beautiful illustrations submitted! Very inspiring to say the least. :)

To download your desktop calendar simply click on the link corresponding to your desktop resolution, then right click and then click on "set as background".

I hope eveyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

Dad's Birthday Cake

 

Here are some photos of the fish cake I created for my Dad's surprise 70th birthday party this past weekend. I molded the fish out of rice krispies and the water was a very yummy lemon cake. My Dad loves to fish at the cottage in the summertime. He and his buddy Doug have had quite the dry spell lately, so this cake is representative of the "big one" that got away! LOL :)
He was completely surprised and a ton of fun was had by all that attended.
Happy Birthday Dad!!

Children's Book Rally Submission at Illustration Rally

Right now there is a Children's Book Rally going on over at Illustration Rally. To submit you could choose to illustrate 2 double page spreads of either an original story or an old classic. I chose to illustrate my take on the classic fable "Thumbelina"by Hans Christian Andersen. I love this fable and could relate to this character growing up as I was always the tiniest child in school.  Over the years I have grown to love being ...ummm...petite, not short, and now fully embrace my uniqueness.

I took this opportunity to create 2 double page spreads that show variations  in  layout, text placement composition, viewpoint and character emotion, yet maintained character continuity and artistic style.

My submission illustrations do not have the text included as the text was longer than the one or two sentence allowance within the submission guidelines. So above are the final double page spreads, including text.

 I am really enjoying checking out Illustration Rally each day to see what fabulous submission are posted. Go now and see for yourself!

I'd love your feedback as always and hope you enjoy my interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen's "Thumbelina".

P.S It looks like Illustration Rally has extended the deadline for submissions until Oct. 10th, so do head over to their site on the link above and enter!

October Desktop Calendar

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Hi Everyone! Well it is the end of another month and you know what that means...free desktop calendar time!! Yipppeeee! I chose to make this month's calendar from a personal work-in-progress illustration that is still waiting patiently to be completed. It's a fall farm scene, highlighting the abundance of glorious autumn colours we are so lucky to experience here in Ontario Canada. As it is the background of this illustration, I've had to zoom in pretty close with my camera, but I kinda like it as you get to really see the details of the mud and wheat fields nicely. Eventually there will be some rambunctious kiddos frolicking in a big pile of leaves in the foreground, which I have cropped out for now.
To download your desktop calendar simply click on the link corresponding to your desktop resolution, then right click and click on set as background.
I hope you enjoy it and it reminds you to get out and enjoy autumn before it gets too chilly. :)

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 :)