Happy Friday + Randomness

2015-kspring-break

Happy Friday! That image up there pretty much sums up our spring break: sleeping in and blissed-out exhaustion from nonstop fun.

What’s odd is that despite being a rabid and chronic scheduler, I had virtually nothing planned, and what I did have planned shouldn’t have been fun — namely an appointment with the orthodontist:

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There’s a striking pair of walls lined with silver boxes at the ortho office, and each box contains teeth molds for all the pediatric patients (sort of creepy, sort of cool). K and I love the orthodontist, is that weird? She’s down-to-earth, great with kids, and she’s made the whole braces process a breeze for K. She even pre-ordered a copy of Little Kunoichi!

When we first consulted Dr. B almost two years ago, I noticed a before-and-after photo on the her desk. It depicted a close-up of some serious orthodontic work and showed only the mouth. The dramatic and awesome dental transformation amazed me, and when I remarked on it, she revealed that the photo was actually of herself as a teen. “It changed my life and it’s the reason I became an orthodontist,” she said. I liked her immediately.

K has had her braces for over a year and a half and soon, they’re coming off! Which means K will get retainers. As if that weren’t good enough news, the orthodontist has animal print options. She’s just out-of-this-world fantastic like that and K fell in love with her even more:

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So the appointment was fun and she chose tiger stripes, natch. Not-the-greatest ipad photos, but the spotty socks with the stripey shoes make me smile.

And then somehow our week filled with activities organically, and the highlight was the Queen Mary Tea Room, to which I took K and one of her closest friends:

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They gussied up in party dresses, brought dolls with them, and enjoyed high tea in an elaborately kitch Victorian decor. They sipped Chocolate Peppermint Rooibos tea, wolfed down miniature scoops of sorbet, finger sandwiches, purple cotton candy and fruit dipped in chocolate. Notice the raised pinky. Very important.

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They were gaga over the whole experience. That’s a pretty timer they had for steeping (3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes). There was swimming and impromptu playdates and mama-daughter time galore, and I just scored tickets to go see Robinhood for tomorrow and will take K and another friend.

Best. Spring. Break. Ever. At least, that’s what K said. I didn’t get a whole lot of work done, but it’s been undeniably bonding. And that’s what counts, right?

Happy weekend, everyone!

Braces will come off
Only five more weeks to go
Finally: chew gum!*

*K has lamented all the treats she missed out on Halloween and Christmas and Easter and at the top of her post-braces wish list is gum.

 

I was gaining momentum…

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…and then my custom illustration output had to be put on hold as I re-examined my to-do list. Which is a shame because I really, really enjoy working on them.

Like this foxy guy.

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They’re actually not entirely on hold, since I’m painting what I can here and there, but progress is slooooooooooooow. But mark my words, they will get done!

I’m loving all the various requests so much, I’ve scanned them all with a vague notion of showcasing them together at some point. So many plans, so many hopes. When will human cloning become a viable option?

 

My 8-Year-Old Fashionista

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A few weeks ago, my mom sent K a box filled with thrifted animal print clothes. Dresses, skirts, jackets, scarves, lingerie (??), hair bands, and even a backpack, though I don’t think a lot of it is meant for kids. Needless to say, K belted out a yelp of joy, and since then she’s worn nothing but outfits from that box (except for the lingerie, which is all sorts of wrong on multiple levels).

It’s a sight to behold. From head to toe, she’s generally decked out in spots and tiger stripes, and she looks as though an inspired scientist decided to create the ultimate big cat hybrid. The leg warmers up there weren’t part of the package, but they were also a gift from my mom when she last visited. They are worn frequently. Simpatico they are, those two.

As you might have guessed, this profound and torrid love affair that K is having with all things animal print is throwing me for a loop. Once she identifies her thing, she’s all in, no holds barred. I’ve maxed out on the number of feline-fur-patterned outfits I can pump out, and really, I’m wary to add anymore to her already over-the-top collection. So I’m going to patiently wait for the linen phase to start. What’s that? You don’t think it’ll ever happen either? Sigh. I think some millenial version of goth fashion might be next.

What you see in the image above are her utmost faves from the box (I’ve started to italicize it in my mind). I was going to take a photo of K wearing all of them at once as she often does, but…well, it’s a lot to take in. Did you ever have that? Some fashion item or print you just couldn’t get enough of? I seem to recall going through a big head-to-toe denim phase…

It’s officially spring break! I have minimal childcare this week, so I’ll be focusing on having fun with K and posts may be going up later than usual. Happy spring!

Happy Friday + Randomness

2015-spring-sewing-wishes

Happy Friday! Friends, I miss sewing for myself. Yes, my sloth-like progression with the Ginger jeans is still lurking in the background, but as each day greets me with promises of summer, I find myself having fantasies about pretty spring dresses, floaty tops, tunic-style t-shirts…so I thumbed through my Japanese books and monster patterns binder, and that up there is my imaginary sewing plans. Once book #2 is wrapped up (about 2 more months!), I am going to stitch myself a high quality and super versatile wardrobe, and that’s a promise I’m determined to keep. I’ve been wearing the same five clothing items every week for the last few months to conserve mental power, and I’m becoming frayed around the edges literally and figuratively. These patterns/books may help me look less Pig-Pen-ish:

Butterick 5781
McCalls 6359
Vogue 1247
McCalls 6752

Pleated-Bodice Dress
Jersey Top with Cape Sleeves
Tank Dress

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I just love all of K’s comments about this particular phase she’s going through:

M: Hey, I saw you talking on the phone with your friend. What were you guys chatting about?*

K: None of your beeswax, Daddy. Tween business.

*This is a new thing: K and one of her friends call each other from time to time using the moms’ phones and have meandering, seemingly endless conversations. A preview into teenhood…

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Happy, happy weekend, everyone!

It’s spring break next week
We’re not going anywhere
Can’t wait to sleep in

P.S. The winner of the fabric giveaway is Bonnie! Congrats!

Little Kunoichi Process Sneak Peek + Preorder Info

lk-process1One month until the official launch of Little Kunoichi!! May 5th is the big day. My heart palpitations are on the rise and I’m vacillating to and fro between nervousness and excitement. I heard an author on one of the bazillion podcast episodes that I listen to, and I can’t remember which author it was, but she said that she was “cautiously optimistic” about her book. I feel exactly the same way.

You can see a glimpse of how the cover of Little K evolved above, and today I wanted to show you a quick overview of the pictorial process of creating the interior pages of my children’s book. I’ve already given you a long-winded text-heavy version of the same process, but images always add more, don’t you think?

So, everything started with the “pitch”. Since I would be the writer and illustrator of the story, my editor and I agreed that as a first-timer, I should take it up a notch and provide a storyboard with thumbnail sketches to try to win the team over. I worked on a formal proposal with my editor and then sketched out each spread on blank 3″ x 5″ index cards, scanned them in and submitted this:

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Happily, the publisher signed me up, and the next phase involved fleshing out the details of my rough sketches. I created full-size greyscale sketches of each spread and here’s what the opening spread sketch looked like:

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After some feedback and tweaking, I plunged myself into weeks of painting. I’m planning a separate post on how exactly I create my illustrations (it’s a combination of hand-painting and digital assembly), but ultimately, that greyscale sketch turned into a very colorful final version. I turned in the art, and then the lovely designer at Sasquatch prettied things up and added the necessary text. Voila:

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What was so encouraging about the process was how streamlined it was. I felt like the story emerged wholly-formed from the get-go and the illustrations and text remained virtually unchanged throughout. It was a dream project, and I’m so so pleased with the outcome. I’m giving you just a little taste today, but I hope this gives an interesting inside look into the making of a children’s book — at least my version.

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I’m working on more sneak peek posts and some fun activities leading up to the “pub date,” as they say in the biz. The launch party is scheduled on Mother’s Day, May 10th at Queen Anne Book Co. from 4-6pm and if you’re local, I hope you’ll be able to make it! It’ll be a special Mother’s Day gift for me, I’ve been telling K. More on that soon.

Queen Anne Book Co. is taking pre-orders as well. We wanted to make these pre-order copies a little special, and if you place your order through QABC before April 25th, you will receive a signed copy. I’d love to personalize the books (maybe with an extra little illustration!) if you leave specific names in the comments section when you order here. The only caveat is that this applies only to US residents since QABC is a charming, but very local and small independent bookstore. [Update: don’t be scared by the $180 cost that shows up! There’s some kind of display error, but the correct amount will be charged, the bookstore staff has assured]

But Little Kunoichi can be pre-ordered all over the place including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound  and Powells. I even added a new My Book tab above that also includes a button for easy ordering (sigh, this required me to exercise some underused braincells and took me forever to figure out…).

Thank you for your continued support and please tell everyone you know about Little K!!