Scrawny Girl Shop Update

After weeks of working on sketches and paintings, I've finally launched my new line of cards! I had so much fun with these. There are 2 Valentine's Day cards, but they could be used for other lovely special occasions. I also made a get well soon, happy birthday, and just a cute card for any occasion. 

I am now offering a listing for Buy 3 Get 1 Free, where you get to pick the 4 cards you want. I also have 3 different colors of envelopes: white, pink, and kraft. 

There are also shrinky dink brooches based off the same designs. I love how these turned out! My favorite is the Make Out Bandit!

My inspiration for this line came mostly from the Kyary video Candy Candy. All her videos are just so visually inspiring and the music just puts me in a good mood. 

Check it out here:

Scrawny Girl Shop Update

I've been super busy working on new products, sketching out new ideas, and just enjoying being creative. I am also in a super festive mood, even though I have not busted out the holiday decorations yet! 

I added a few holiday items to the shop. Each item is handmade and super cute!

You can grab 3 original watercolored illustrations that all my Christmas items are based on, in my shop. They are all of girls wearing glasses, getting into the holiday spirit!

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Here is an example of one of the cards. I cut each card, illustrated, then colored with watercolor pencils. I love how fancy the inside of the envelopes are!

You can also get the whole set!

Today I experimented with shrinky dinks, and made an ornament using these fun illustrations. I plan to make a few more to add to the shop later this week.

I've been working on a few more fun items including a few screenprinted totes and tees with my Scrawny Girl logo. I'm hoping to get those ready before the big Cyber Monday Sale! 

I'm also working a few Harry Potter and Bee & Puppycat sketches. Not sure yet if they will turn into paintings.

Is there something you would like to see more of in the shop? Something I could try and illustrate? Let me know!

Princess Mononoke

I've been meaning to share some of my illustrations on here, and I could really use a break from making dolls. This is one of my favorite illustrations to date and you can buy a copy in my shop. 

This sketch is based on the 1997 Japanese historical fantasy animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke is one of my husband's favorite Miyazaki films, but to be honest it took me several attempts to finish it. I am more into cutesy and happy films, and this one was too violent for my tastes. 

Eventually, I finished the movie and grew to enjoy the edgy story and visually intoxicating artwork. Miyazaki's devotion to detail is part of what makes his films magical to me. I found it interesting that he and his art crew spent 3 days soaking in the landscapes of the ancient forests and mountains in Japan for this movie. His style is unwavering, and you know right away that you are watching a Studio Ghibli film. 

 Although my sketch doesn't portray any edginess, I feel it captures a whimsy of how a Miyazaki film makes me feel. I plan to sketch more characters from his films in the future. 

If you've never seen Princess Mononoke I recommend watching it. Here is the trailer if you are interested:

Do you have a favorite Miyazaki film?

Mine is Howl's Moving Castle.

Scrawny Girl Shop Update

I've been working hard on a few new patterns I hope to share soon. In between thinking up new ideas, I've been trying to crank out a few chibi dolls.

If you missed out on the giveaway at My Life as A Teacup, you're in luck because I have another Teacup Doll that I just listed today! I only have a small amount of this fabric left, so this cutie is limited edition.

This fabric is actually from a Chelsea & Violet shirt I bought myself for my birthday a few years ago. It had a weird cut to it, so I never wore it, but it was too cute to get rid of. I am glad I am able to reuse it, and hopefully someone else will enjoy the pattern as much as I did.

Am I the only one who buys random things because they are cute?

The other doll I listed is my very first Halloween Doll! Halloween and Fall are my favorite time of the year! I found some really cute fabric, so prepare yourself for lots of spooky cuteness in the next few weeks.

After talking with my business adviser (that's my sister lol), I've decided to lower the prices in my shop. I think I was looking at too many other doll makers and what they were charging, and even though I was charging less it still seemed like too much to me. I want people to be able to afford my dolls and enjoy them! I want the doll to make your face light up like it does my daughter's each time I show her what I'm working on. With that being said, my Chibi dolls are now $8, and made with lots of love!

I've also added my first illustration for sale in the shop, at the insistence of my business adviser. ;)

You can find out more about my inspiration for the Princess Mononoke Illustration here, or purchase your very own copy here for only $5.

Somewhere Down The Barrel

The other day I had the itch to sketch it out, here was the result:

This was a totally different outcome than my normal sketches of cute things puked into my sketchbook.

When I was in college I had an unhealthy obsession with Daniel Johns from Silverchair. He had a side project called The Dissociatives, which was completely insane to my alternative loving self at the time, but the lyrics really spoke to me.

Here is the video to give you a visual:

Maybe my morning pages have been giving me deep thoughts, but here are a selection of lyrics that were swimming in my head while drawing:

"when everyone's a stranger
they call for you by your first name
and laugh at jokes you once made
when you were a kid"

"i'm plagued by small town fascists
like a rash on my skin"

"when paintings seem like bargains
but they're nothing but wallpaper"

The illustration reminds me of myself a long time ago. Kinda quirky, ready for crazy, and usually smiling on the outside. I've been thinking a lot about being "grown up" these days, which had me reflecting on the days where people ask you, "Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?"

Are you where you thought you'd be? Where do you think you'll be? Something to think about for sure.

Princess Mononoke

I've been meaning to share some of my illustrations on here, and I could really use a break from making dolls. This is one of my favorite illustrations to date:

This sketch is based on the 1997 Japanese historical fantasy animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke is one of my husband's favorite Miyazaki films, but to be honest it took me several attempts to finish it. I am more into cutesy and happy films, and this one was too violent for my tastes.

Eventually, I finished the movie and grew to enjoy the edgy story and visually intoxicating artwork. Miyazaki's devotion to detail is part of what makes his films magical to me. I found it interesting that he and his art crew spent 3 days soaking in the landscapes of the ancient forests and mountains in Japan for this movie. His style is unwavering, and you know right away that you are watching a Studio Ghibli film.

Although my sketch doesn't portray any edginess, I feel it captures a whimsy of how a Miyazaki film makes me feel. I plan to sketch more characters from his films in the future.

If you've never seen Princess Mononoke I recommend watching it. Here is the trailer if you are interested:



Do you have a favorite Miyazaki film? Mine is Howl's Moving Castle.

That's What She Said Sunday

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Story of my life! Except my flowers are dying because I keep forgetting to water them.

Happy Sunday!

Jubitron the Girl Robot, A Review

The first thing I did when I got my iPad mini, was look for some cute apps for Amelia. Jubitron the Girl Robot is the first one I found, and Amelia loves it! For .99 it has been a huge help at bedtime calming down my cranky little one.





The graphics are cute and interactive. The music is great! Amelia has been digging this app since she was 3 months old, and I can't wait for her to learn how to read so she can read the story to me. There is a 'read to me' option that has the cutest British narrator.









This is Amelia's favorite page, because she can touch the head and make the lightbulb pop out! Again, the music really makes it!













I've been recommending this app to all my friends with children. I hope they make more stories of Jubitron and the gang soon!

You can get your very own copy at the Apple App Store.

The opinions here are my own, and I was not paid to do this review. I just thought this app/story was cute and rad and wanted to share.

Do you have any children's apps you would recommend? Leave a comment, I'd like to check them out!

30 Before 31

I'm always making goals and long lists, but I have a hard time sticking to any of it. But I do enjoy making the list and trying. Here are my 30 Before 31 goals (yes I'm 30 OMG!):

1. Make a cheesecake from scratch.
2. Take a sewing class
3. Go to a yoga class. (I tried Zumba last year)
4. Finish knitting the baby blanket I started.
5. Visit Marfa or Santa Fe (or both!)
6. Go watch a movie at the Drive In
7. Plant flowers and keep them alive. (Doing pretty good so far!)
8. Make an exercise journal and find a routine that works for me. (Bye bye baby weight!)
9. Get a treadmill and run a mile a day. (It's too hot to run outside right now)
10. Clean out closet
11. Finish writing and illustrating my children's book.
12. Get screen printed items up in my etsy.
13. Finish making artwork for Amelia's room.
14. Do or sign up for a local craft fair.
15. Read 25 books. (Should manga count?!)
16. Finish my embroidery projects (tea towel and tote bag)
17. Learn to crochet a granny square
18. Sponsor on 3 different blogs to promote my blog and etsy.
19. Have a garage sale
20. Frame/display pictures
21. Finish Amelia's baby book.
22. Finish wedding scrapbook (3 years later).
23. Decorate our bedroom.
24. Go on a picnic.
25. Learn how to manually use my camera.
26. Finish painting the interior of the house.
27. Upgrade my blog and get a redesign.
28. 7 paintings
29. Make a functional and inspiring creative space.
30. Recover our old recliner.

What are your goals? I'm starting today, so you can too!

That's What She Said Sunday

Photo source


Happy Sunday, be kind to others.

Open for Business

I have just officially opened my online store of cute Scrawny Girl goodness! Here are a few items listed in my shop:
I can't wait to add more! I have so many ideas and cute things coming soon. I will keep updating here as I update the shop. Thanks for dropping by and supporting handmade! xo

That's What She Said Sunday

 

I usually wing it, but I am working on that planning thing.

Happy Sunday

Bewitched

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Print by Nan Lawson[/caption]

Today is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which happens to be one of my favorite books. I also adore the 2005 film adaptation starring Keira Knightley. My husband on the other hand hates it. So when he's getting on my nerves, I put the movie in to let him know he's in the dog house. At one point, the disc was magically scratched up and my poor puppy Loki was blamed.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFsgLhx9dxg?list=PL5EEF0906FD47515A]

Writing a Children's Book: Writers Block

I've had this idea for a children's book in my head for years, and one night this idea wouldn't let me sleep. I ended up scribbling in a notebook I kept near my bed, with no light and no glasses; then promptly fell back to sleep. The whole thing felt like a dream, and the scribbles in my notebook looked like ancient hieroglyphs in the morning. I was able to decipher some, but I knew I was missing a huge chunk of my wonderful idea in the chicken scratch. I tried to remember what woke me up in the first place, but all I could think of was looking through the windows of houses at night from the street.

I had no idea how to go about writing a book, but the idea was haunting me. I did some research and purchased a 'how to' on writing and illustrating a children's book. I dove right into the book on writing, and I started thinking of my story in terms of pages (32 is the magic number). As a visual person, each page helped me flesh out my story and it started to evolve into something real. I continued to read through the chapters in my 'how to' book, and suddenly all my progress halted...character study...

Now I find myself with too many thoughts, yet nothing to put on paper. Writers block. As I sit here and write this, I realize my mistake was taking my 'how to' book so seriously and loosing sight of how I normally work; which is backwards and hardly ever following the rules.

I know this is only the beginning, and I have many more pages to write (and illustrate). I've somehow come up with the perfect ending in the middle of my story. Now my quest is figuring out how to get there...

Hipster Hobbits

Source: gingerhaze.tumblr.com via Shawna on Pinterest

 

The Hipster Hobbits say Happy Friday! I know I will be wishing for a venti today (even if it is decaf).