The Making of a Fairy Queen

I've been working on a new Fairy Fold-Out Playset which will be similar to this project I worked on last year:

I've commissioned illustrator, Amy Saidens to create the art for the project, and we've been working on pulling together all the illustrations and characters. The project includes three fold-out scenes, and many fairy paper dolls and clothes to dress them up. One of the characters we asked her to create was a Fairy Queen. 

The first fairy she sent looked like this:

Too young I thought...too trendy. I asked Amy to try again, so she changed the fairy's hair to brown.

Hmmm, still not right. Too young, too much like the other fairies in the book. Too trendy. This fairy needs to look older, and more classic. Time to give a visual of what I'm looking for. So, I grabbed a Hollywood glam hair-do off the web, and added it to Amy's illustration in Photoshop. I also curved her figure a bit, and changed the leotard to a form-fitting dress. I suggested adding a little gray/white streaks to the fairy's hair as well.

Then, Amy reminded me that if she did this, the Fairy Queen's glam hair would be covered once the clothes were added, so she came up with this...

Perfect! Now we have a Fairy Queen! One of the trickiest things about creating a paper doll book like this, is ensuring that all the clothes will fit each doll properly, and be able to be attached in such a way that they don't fall off the doll once the user puts them on. (How frustrating is THAT...to have your paper doll's clothes fall off!?!?!). This is easier to check, and alter if necessary when the art is created digitally, but for a few of the projects like this I've worked on, the art has been created by hand w/ watercolors. Not only is the intricacy of the art difficult to reproduce, but if the clothes don't fit exactly right, I end up having to clone them in Photoshop which is absolutely beastly! The Princess project above was one such project, although, in the end, I think the results are really cute! Hopefully some little girl out there will think so too!

Whistling a Happy Tune

In an effort NOT be sucked in by all the coupons flooding my inbox, and to give EXPERIENCES, and SPECIAL THINGS, rather than just stuff, I am proud to say that I have completed my first special Christmas project (for which my husband is very grateful). I decided to make my own children's book using BLURB.com especially for my niece, and my son who are just the best of buddies.

I adapted Laura Joffe Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie into a fun book of the great times Jake and and his beloved cousin Avery have had this year. She is completely dedicated to him, and tireless in meeting his demands, as is the character in the original story.

I would like to say I breezed right through this project, and while having an audience of two took some of the pressure off my usual design job, in truth this took me HOURS! And, hours. And hours. But, I had a great time, and I hope that Jake and Avery will love their special book. Here's a sneak peek:

With regard to all the rest of my Christmas shopping, I confess, I gave in to many of those coupons, but WILL give a special gift to my nieces and nephew of a fun filled day doing something I think they'll love (but I won't say here, because you never know who's reading!

How have you been doing on your Christmas shopping? Are you making things? Do you have time? Do you know of any great coupons you'd like to share?

Could you live in a tiny house?

On Sunday nights, after cleaning up, paying bills, making sure there are enough clean clothes to get everyone through the week, and trying to organize life SOMEWHAT, I'm sure the thought has occurred to many of you...could you live in a smaller, simpler space? Houses are a LOT to maintain. Some of it's fun (the decorating), and some of it is just not (replacing flooded basements). And, much of it is very expensive and time consuming.

Ten years ago, Jay Shafer, owner of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company decided to take on such simplicity, and built himself a tiny house. His 89-square-foot house helped him to reinvent his lifestyle and career.

After completing his tiny house, he soon began building other tiny houses...his company sells plans for pre-built tiny homes, or pre-constructed homes. His company and lifestyle shifts the perception of simple living.

His houses ARE simple, but they're also really chic, and he spends less than $100 per year on utilities (wouldn't that be great?). His life is the antithesis of excess, and living with less has given him the freedom to pursue his dreams. Look at a recent video of his experience here.

What if you lived IN less, lived WITH less, and SPENT less. What would you get and do in return? With your time? With your extra money? Who would you spend your time with? Where? And how? How would HAVING less, get you MORE?

Tempted? Get a copy of Jay Shafer's book, Tiny Houses and learn how to build your own!

Let's play this weekend!

No matter how old I am (let's not discuss, ok?), I still like the idea of playing with paper dolls and setting up little scenes with them. I came across these free downloadable paper dolls and scenes from the darling blog, Made by Joel.

Artist/illustrator Joel Henriques also has other amazing (and free) ideas for fun things to do with kids on his blog. I love the idea of Toddler Stilts and the Wall Hanging Box Aquarium. See his blog for some fun ideas!

Now that Jake is napping, I'm going to print these out and play with them by myself!

Have a good weekend everyone, and have fun!

What an honor!

I was so proud to learn yesterday that some of the journals I've designed were highlighted on Print + Pattern...one of the first blogs I started reading. The post was about Jane Mosse, one of my favorite artist reps. Jane and her team are pattern designers based in Hampshire, England. They license their artwork to be used in any number of products ranging from stationery to home furnishings. I became acquainted with Jane several years ago at the Surtex Show (which is a showcase of some of the best surface and textile designers). I loved her work, and each year when I attend to show, I head straight to her booth, first thing. A...because I like her and B...because I know that she'll have many designs that I can use to turn into great journals, notecards, and other stationery products.

Here are just a few of the many patterns we've bought over the years...

These adorable owls (one of the favorite designs I've chosen from her):

Became this:

And this:

These cute birds and birdhouses:

Later became this:

And this:

And one of the best selling designs we've selected:

Became all this:

And all-over jungle pattern became this cute growth chart:

I always thought this pattern would make terrific bedding fabric.

We used it for journals, gift bags, a pen, address book (to name a few). The rights might still be available for fabric...(if someone buys it and makes fabric...let me know!)

Whenever I'm at Jane's booth, I take a peek the badges of the other attendees who are looking through her art. I like to try to see where her patterns will end up...bedding? Dishes? Other journals? Who knows, but there is just so much potential there...it's often hard to know which ones to choose!

Happy + Chic Jonathan Adler

This weekend, I visited my first Jonathan Adler store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I've been a fan of his for awhile, and love his quirky, fun, sense of style (I think we would be friends!). It was such a treat to see all of his merchandise put together in such a whimsical way in his store. I loved seeing what he paired with his funky, classic rugs and his unique furniture, and decorative vases and the sheer style of it all. It made me wonder...just how "happy and chic" would you go in your own home? Would you buy Chippendale chairs in funky colors? And pair them with a different colored geometric rug? Would you glam in up with some metallic wallpaper?

Personally, (being a somewhat new homeowner), I tend to fall on the conservative side...not wanting to make any decisions which I'll be sick of after a few months. But, if I had the time, and money, I'd love to just go to town and see what happens. As it is, I'll be lucky to have an office rug that I can live with by the time the holidays roll around!

Here are a few interior shots from the Jonathan Adler website that I particularly liked.

I also really like his pairing of chair and pendant lamp fabrics. I find both these spaces so cheery!

And, the next time I'm in Palm Springs (which will also be my first time there), I'd love to stay at the Parker. Would you like to come with me?

And, if you'd like to read a fun timeline/bio of Jonathan (we're on a first name basis...you know...since we're going to be friends!) click here . I always like to read about people who are just so crazy creative, that they simply can do nothing else but fly in that direction. I wish I knew at least 50 people like that in real life!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Dreaming with the Dream Jam Band!

Francine Wheeler is a singer for The Dream Jam Band. She's the wife of a talented designer that I work with, and I'm so excited about the release of their new kid's album, Leave it in the Soup! They've been working on this album for awhile. I played this youtube link for Jake this morning, and he clapped along and swayed with the music...an excellent review from a 2-year-old!

To read more about Francine, and The Dream Jam Band, read this article about Francine featured in Parents Magazine! (She's famous!) The songs are lively and upbeat...I have to say that I liked the youtube video just as much as Jake did! Front row seats please!

Martha's Gamecock Cottage

 

My sister gave me this adorable painting for Christmas. It is of the historic Gamecock Cottage which is located near the house I grew up in on the north shore of Long Island. It was built around 1864, and has been an aviary, a boat house, and a summer cottage. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it is located at the end of West Meadow Beach peninsula.

She painted it in one of her new styles that she started using for her Hello Cape Cod , and Hello Boston books. It now sits proudly in our playroom! I love it, and it's a great reminder of where we grew up.

Photo of Gamecock Cottage © Linda Tagliaferro 

Print+Pattern is in print!

One of the first blogs I became hooked on, Print & Pattern, is authored (and in a sense, curated) by a talented British woman who goes by the name Bowie Style. Her blog highlights the best of print and pattern designs worldwide. I was excited when she announced a couple years ago that she had been approached to create a book...and even more excited when I stopped by her blog today and realized it's now available!

The book, Print & Pattern showcases 120 of the top print designers with bios of each of the artists. Some of the artists included in the book are: Orla Kiely, Cath Kidston, Sukie, Carolyn Gavin, and Helen Dardik. I can't wait to get the book in my hands...I'll be excited if I see some of the artists I've worked with over the years featured in her book! The book is published in the UL by Laurence King, and will be distributed in the U.S by Chronicle Books .

More sneak peeks are available at her site here.