fresh picked whimsy

merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...life is but a dream!

All things nautical today...this little illustration came to me in my sleep last night!  Seriously!  I doodled it out in my sketchpad this morning and then played around with the wacom.  It's late and I should be in bed.  R has a big doc appointment in the morning...poor guy has been such a trooper about being in that awful back brace all summer.  He is absolutely counting on the doc telling him that he can ease out of it tomorrow.  I pray he is right.  We will get results of a scan tomorrow and find out the next step.  We are staying positive and completely giving it up to God.  He is captain of this ship. 

The latest new print in my shop is this one from an Illustration Friday piece I made last year.  I hadn't made any prints of it until now...it's one of my favorites.  I hope you enjoy it.

P.S.  Lots of new blogs added to my yummy blogs list over there to your left.  There is so much amazing talent out there.  Steal away a little time, won't you, and allow yourself to get lost in the blogiverse for a while.  It's dreamy.

Illustration Friday: repair

 

It's been a while since i participated in IF, but when i read this week's topic was 'repair', i immediately thought about our country and how it is desperately in need of repair.  I don't, for one minute, assume to know how to repair it, but I love my country and long to see it strong and healthy once again.  God bless the USA.

Illustration Friday: clutter

   

Warm summer night skies are cluttered with the twinkle of fireflies.

{More fun experimenting with my new Wacom!}

P.S.  Thank you...to everyone who voted or tried to vote for my Threadless entry over the weekend.  Evidently, they reserve the right to end scoring whenever they want.  I didn't realize that.  I will definitely give it a try again with a new design sometime soon.  Thank you so much for all the sweet emails and comments encouraging me.  You guys are THE BEST!  I will still be having a giveaway at the end of the week, so stay tuned!

Illustration Friday: sail

There will always be ups and downs, but don't forget to enjoy the view as you sail through life.

Illustration Friday: Poof!

Identical twin Madge was older than Midge

by nothing more than a smidge.

But, Midge, who could be described as aloof,

was taller than Madge by a poof!

Illustration Friday: Enough

"Gee, I hope I got enough..."

It's back-to-school shopping time here in Indiana.  Our first day back is August 12th.  I think we are one of the earliest to go back.  I hate that.  When i was a kid, we didn't go back until after Labor Day and that was perfect.  There's still so much summer left on August 12th.  :-( 

So, the school supply lists for just 2 of my 3 kids inspired me for this week's Illustration Friday topic.  Those are the exact supplies we have to get.  We are blessed to live in a really fantastic city with top of the line public schools.  The teachers, the schools themselves, and the education my kids get there are all stellar.  I know that teachers are not paid nearly what they are worth and that many of them reach into their own pockets for classroom supplies.  But, i swear the school supply list gets longer every year.  Now, i don't want to get on a rant about local government spending, but pretty soon, i'm going to need to take out a loan at back-to-school time just to buy the supplies for my kid's free public school education. 

Does anyone out there remember when school supplies meant a new lunchbox and some No. 2 pencils?

Illustration Friday: Foggy

I am always in a fog until I get my morning coffee. 

Illustration Friday: Hoard

The combination of working on the book illustrations and having my kids home for summer vacation has really left my house neglected.  So, i've been catching up this week and that is why my blog has been neglected.  This week's Illustration Friday topic is hoard.  My housework has hoarded my creative time this week. However, i still found time to draw this illustration last night.  If my vacuum, laundry basket and dirty dishes really did meet me with a smile, maybe housework wouldn't be such a chore!   

Illustration Friday: Punchline

funny when I was 7 and still funny now!

a Day for Dads

I always knew Mark would be an amazing father one day.  From k's first day, he has been loving, attentive, gentle, hands-on and completely wrapped up in their world.  He's really just a big kid, himself.  He almost never turns down an opportunity to play whole-house hide-and-seek.  The kids have schooled him in Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, and Mama Cook-off.  He's always up for a game of catch, a bike ride and a cannonball contest in the pool.  He's firm with them when he has to be and a big softie the rest of the time. 

For everything you are to them and to me...happy Father's Day, Honey. 

The truth is we are who we are, in large part, because of how we are raised.  Mark and I have fantastic, loving fathers, who happen to be really good friends, too.  Mark's dad was my dad's career mentor over the years.  When we started dating, our parents were over the moon.  When we got married, our families blended into one.  We were raised with the same values and morals and are trying to pass them on to our children today. 

Mark and his dad and his brother in the 70's:

I made this for Mark's dad for father's day.  We call him Duz...a nickname that mark and his brother made up for him (their mom is called Muz) when they were kids.  He really is a second father to me. 

This is my sisters and I burying our dad in the sand. We spent 2 weeks at the beach each summer when we were growing up.  I have the most wonderful, carefree, fun-filled, quality family time memories from those beach vacations.  I think that's why Mark and I always love to take our kids there, too.

My father's day gift to my dad:

I cannot celebrate father's day without mentioning the third loving father figure in my life.  He is my grandfather.  At 94, he is the wise patriarch of our family.   He has taught me so much.  This is the gift I gave him for father's day:

Happy Father's Day (a day late) to all the dads out there!