THE PORTRAIT PROJECT

November 25, 2012

UPDATE:

OH my goodness! I had no idea that a years worth of portraits would sell out in 24 hours. Geesh. I realize that many of you never even got the memo. But thank you to all of you who are participating! I can't wait to get started.

If there is ANY more room in the year, I will carefully consider my options, and try to make some more space. But as of now, I'm totally full.

I~~f you are still interested, please email me HERE and write WAITING LIST in the title, and I'll add you to a wait list.~~

The Wait List is completely full! Over full actually. I'll be finishing up these portraits for the year of 2013, and will reopen up slots at the end of next year! Thanks so much!

Sarah

Hello!

I'm so thrilled to be introducing a brand new product today! Woohoo!

I've been toying around with offering custom portraits since the first person asked, Oh...like my first week after opening my shop! But I've declined because, well, we all can imagine how time intensive work like that would be. And I just couldn't justify the time with everything else I was juggling.

But part of the cutting back I've been doing, is to allow myself more time to illustrate. I have other projects in the works, and while I have my paints out more than usual, I want to offer those same services to you!

The style of portrait though, is not your standard posed, photographed and then painted kind of job. I'm interested in illustrating your children doing what they do best: playing. Does your child wish they were a mermaid? Do you want to capture your children playing spy? Do they have a favorite animal that they play with all the time? What about riding on top of a dinosaur?

I want to get to the heart of childhood, and create portraits that will make childhood stand still. Stephanie Nielson (NieNie Dialogues) had me illustrate her children, and I realized that I absolutely LOVE portraying children doing their favorite things, or in an imaginary place. You can see her commissions in the top image and the bottom image.

You can find out more details HERE

This project I hope fulfills a lot of requests I've had over the years! It's also my way of making sure that I'm staying sharp as an illustrator, as well as a designer. I love children, and value their uniqueness so much. I hope to offer you a whimsical representation of who your children are at heart.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Thanks for your interest! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below, as needed.

I can't wait to meet your children!

sarah

GIVEAWAY: ON CHRISTMAS DAY BOOK AND PRINT

November 24, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

For this weekend, we have a wonderful giveaway to get us all in the mood for Christmas. The real meaning of Christmas.

Phyllis Harris is an amazing illustrator, and had the honor of illustrating a new book written by Margaret Wise Brown (author of GOODNIGHT MOON). Even though Margaret has been gone for many, many years, this is a new book just released this holiday season of text never published. AMAZING!

You can purchase the book here.

For the Giveaway:

Phyllis is giving away a signed copy of the book, as well as a print of the cover illustration, hand signed by the artist. You can also visit her site, for 20% off (code: FRIDAY20MONDAY) through Cyber Monday!

(If you would prefer a different print from her shop, that would be available as well. )

More of Phyllis's amazing work can be found here:

Here’s all you need to do:

1) leave a comment below, one entry per person

2) make sure to include your email in the comment section

3) enter by Monday at 10pm Eastern Time (USA)

4) For ONE EXTRA entry, LIKE Phyllis' Facebook page, and leave a comment below that you liked her page.

GOOD LUCK!

COMMENTS CLOSED!

The Lucky Winner is Giddy Stokes! Congrats!

November 22, 2012

Thought I should give you a heads up, so that you know what's going to be going on in the shop this weekend!

And remember, I'm clearing out all of our paper goods, and won't be selling them after Dec. 20th!

We're going to be SLASHING our clearance (was 30% but now down to 60%) so do the math, and the clearance section is nearly free.

Happy Holidays! I hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend!

sarah

DIY Gratitude Tradition:

November 21, 2012

One tradition we have in our family, is the I LOVE YOU BECAUSE game. Each birthday, we go around the table, and say I LOVE YOU BECAUSE..... to the person we are celebrating! I love this tradition, and it's one that we bring to every birthday...regardless who is in attendance. I love it.

So forThanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition, and WEAR the reasons we are loved.

Each person gets as many feathers as there are people at the table.

Each person writes down what they are grateful for about that person.

Then, all the feathers are passed to the recipient, and they get to wear all the reasons people are grateful for them.

We often don't know why, specifically, people are grateful for us. This year, I'm making sure my kids know that everyone in their family is indeed....grateful for them. And more importantly, why.

You can wear these, hang them, pin them, or make a piece of art.

Either way, I hope it helps us all take time to show gratitude for the people in our lives who mean the most to us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God bless.

Mechanically Minded

November 18, 2012

A while back, I shared this sketch here, and I have wanted to make it into a print since.

This week, I'm taking the time to count my blessings. And today I'm grateful for little boys....my little boy in particular: For how this brain works, and for the amazing mystery it is to me.

I often wonder what the inside of my son's head looks like, and all I can do is remember mine as a child, and think that for Ian, who is a self proclaimed inventor and architect, it would look like this.

So, for any other children out there, who see their world in pulleys and levers, with buttons to push for every command, this is for you.

Print available Here.

Oh, and dont' forget the AMAZING fabric giveaway ending today here.

And PS: if you have a child who loves building and inventing things, this book is a must read. A family favorite. Do you know it?

xoxo

Sarah

GIVEAWAY: Fashionable Fabrics

November 16, 2012

Today is the beginning of Saturday Giveaways for the holidays!

Fashionable Fabrics: A favorite of mine. Dennis & Tonia opened their shop in 2004 and they still love what they do: sending people gorgeous fabric! They have a very easy-to-find-fabric-shop with all the best prints, and ship anywhere!

Fashionable Fabrics is offering a $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner (entries open to all...international and domestic!)

Here's all you need to do:

1) leave a comment below, one entry per person, and tell them what you'd purchase

2) make sure to include your email in the comment section

3) enter by Monday at 10pm Eastern Time (USA)

4) For ONE extra entry, LIKE their facebook page, and leave a comment below that you liked their page.

Good luck, and make sure to check out more Fashionable Fabrics here:

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Children's spaces

November 14, 2012

I'm getting really excited to start putting the kid's rooms together. As expected, they will take some time. But it's always critical for me to have the end in mind while I dabble in putting spaces together.

As I mention in the last post, all three kids have been sharing a room while we've been reflooring and painting, and I don't think they plan on separating again. I love shared rooms for children. Addie and Ian have shared since birth, and that has a lot to do with the lack of interest in splitting up. They will want to eventually, but I'm not going to push it till they do!

Here's my first attempt at grouping together a boy girl space. What do you think? Pulling the oranges, yellows and light aquas allows me to sprinkle pinks around pretty freely. We aren't getting rid of pink just because there is a boy in there...that's for sure!

Do you have any tips for making a boy/girl room work?

Here's the round up:

1. Be Curious Print, Sarah Jane Studios

2. Up, Up & Away Print, Sarah Jane Studios

3. Balloons Print, Sarah Jane Studios

4. Eden Lamp, Land of Nod

5. Mermaid, PDF pattern by Mermag

6. Nautical Map Print, Sarah Jane Studios

7. Jenny Lind Bookcase, Land of Nod

8. Anchor Pillow, PDF pattern by Tea Rose Home

9. Eames style Rocker, Overstock

10. Knitted Pouf, CB2