Amélie reading - digital

Amélie has been reading a lot lately, she is 5 years old and is learning quickly. It's so much fun to watch her, and listen to her read. She LOVES books, always has and now she is experiencing the wonder of reading for herself.  I watched the movie The Neverending Story with her yesterday. She loved it so much. I told her that the book was 100 times better. Of course she ran up to my room to get the book out of my library and tried to read it. It's a big novel, not really in her range just yet. But I am now reading it to her.  The idea of children reading, and becoming part of the story is magical, it's what I love about books, and it's what I hope my little ones will also love. So here's to reading! (and to my favorite YA book of all time The Neverending story by Michael Ende if you haven't read it before, here you go, buy it, you won't regret it!)  Click image for a larger view!

 

Little Raven Nevermore - digital

There is another new little bird in my Etsy store and for fun I've made this one into a wallpaper for you to use for free.  I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to see more check out the store! Click image above to enlarge and save to your desktop!

Celeste xo

 

Little Raven - digital illustration

Here is a new little character I've been working on. I've always loved Ravens, they are so beautiful, and intelligent. We have a family that lives near our house and I always enjoy watching them with the kids. These two illustrations can be found in my Etsy store, you can purchase them as a 8" x 10" or a 5" x 7" (easy framing sizes!). I plan on adding a few more illustrations using this little guy so stay tuned!

Sketchbook page - charcoal, paper

So one of my new years resolutions was to just draw more, for fun, with no real end result in mind.  As a freelancer I am always thinking "but how can I make money off this?" and sometimes lose sight of drawing for the love of it.  So here we go, drawing for fun, just because I can. Click on image for a larger clearer version!

This page was done in different charcoal pencils, willow sticks, Conte sticks... I don't think I've used this type of equipment since college! It was fun, and messy, and relaxing, which is the whole point of this exercise. Hope you enjoy this peek into my sketchbook!

 

Wolves - ink and watercolour on board

Over the Christmas break I decided to give myself a break and do an illustration just for the fun of it. I also didn't want to be sitting at my computer, so I worked the old fashioned way, on paper. Let me tell you, this was so much fun, and kind of therapeutic, it reminded me that drawing is also fun, and not just a way to pay some bills! This illustration was loosely inspired by a series of books I am reading... any guesses? ;)

 

January 2012 calendar page - Digital

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you all for a wonderful 2011, I am really excited for 2012 and a couple things I have planned for Echo as well as other project. Since it's all you Echo fans keeping me motivated I decided to make another monthly Echo freebie this year. At the start of every month I will upload this 5" x 7" high resolution calendar page.  (to download click this here) Great for framing on your desk.  at the bottom of each page will be a little sketchbook doodle. These doodles will tell a little story so be sure to follow each month! Also, if you have a dry erase marker you can cross out or circle important dates on the glass of the picture frame.  Enjoy, and thank you all again! 

Celeste

 

Downy Woodpecker - pencil sketch

I had so much fun with the chickadee, that I decided to do another one. This is a downy woodpecker, with a lumberjack vest.

 

Chickadee -pencil

Just a quick doodle while I was waiting for some feedback on other projects, but I quite like this little guy! 

 

Free Downloadable Christmas tags - paper, pencil, digital

I already  made a post about these tags, but now I am making a nicer one because I am also posting the link onto Tidy Mom's website . See this post there as well some some other treats from other creative people!  These are made to look like old letterpress gift tags. For best results print on a card stock. I've also pasted a red cardstock to the back to make it look nice, as well as a ribbon for tying it onto a package! These are free, click this link to save a 8"x11" version to your desktop. Enjoy and feel free to pass it along! 

Merry Christmas!

Tidy Mom

Free Printable Christmas labels - digital and pencil

I took a break from work stuff to make these Christmas labels. I wanted to play with texture and try to imitate the feel of a letterpress (which I love, but is expensive to do!) on the computer.  And now I am sharing with you! So if you need some Christmas labels feel free to use these! Just print them up and voila!
Merry Christmas!

 Céleste xo

With the new blogger format, just click on the image, it will appear larger on a black screen, just right click and view image then you can save it to your desktop. It's a page that is layed out to print on an 8.5" x 11" paper.

Free Draw! 

For those of you who love Echo, or are shopping for people who love Echo this is for you! For this week I am going to have a free draw for a 5" x 8" Echo print. All you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog, or like the post on my Facebook page (feel free to like the page too if you want! But I am only taking name that "like" the post on the draw because it's easier for me to keep track that way!)

These Echo prints are printed onto Hahnemuhle fine art Inkjet paper.  It's made with bamboo and cotton, is a warm white, archival grade acid free paper. Because it is bamboo paper it is also made out of a renewable resource so earth friendly too!

Mailed to you from Toronto, Canada in a protective cellophane sleeve and a non bending flat mailer to assure a safe delivery.

You can also visit my Etsy store if you'd like to just purchase a print, they are popular this year! Thank you all for your encouragement! xoxo

 

Etsy Store

Hi Everyone! Just a little reminder that Christmas is on the way! I offer many nice custom or unique items in my Etsy store, as well as prints. They make wonderful gift ideas. If you are interested take a peek! For orders to be guaranteed for Christmas you must place them by December 9th! 

Make this Christmas a unique one by looking at all the wonderful creative people at Etsy.com!

What I've been up to....

This post is going to be a big one! I can finally share all I've been working on for the past 6 months or so with you guys!

First of all there is the big news, Saila.  She is the newest Maplelea Girls doll. I did all the illustration and design work for this one, including fabric patterns and illustrations that are used on her accessories and outfits. It was a HUGE project, but obviously worth it since....

Saila won the 2012 Children's Choice Award from the Canadian Toy Testing Council! 

 

And here are some examples of the journal pages. Again, all the illustration and design work was done by myself, BUT it is meant to represent Saila (the doll's) drawings. This book is in three languages, English, Inuktitut and French. What a project! (click on the image to make it larger if you want to see details).

 

While this big project was going on, I was also providing extra journal pages (design and illustration) for the other dolls, as well as illustrations to be printed or embroidered onto other outfits. It's so cool to see my work used this way, so much variety! What a blast! 

 

Above is a pair of pjs for the doll, but the cool part is, you can also get the pjs and slippers for your own child!  I did the pant pattern as well as the polar bear illustration for the shirt. I also did the snow flakes that were embroidered on the slippers. Very cool.  Also the illustrations and pattern for the bedding for the newest doll, Saila.  All of these items are now for sale at www.maplelea.com. 

Below are a couple more items. All patterns and illustrations were done by myself.  Illustrations that are placed in the photos are from the journal pages that come with the item of clothing.  Photos of the dolls in their gear are from the Maplelea catalogue and belong to Avonlea Traditions. 

 

To see some other items I've worked on in the past check out this old post... http://doodlesscribbles.blogspot.com/2010/11/maplelea-girls-clothing.html

 

They Draw and Cook Cookbook! 

So, I've been meaning to do a proper post about this for a while, but have been quite busy (a good thing! ) But here it is, the actual, real book!  It's a really nice book, full of terrific art, including of course Echo and her Brownies. It's so nice to be included in this book with so many talented people.  The cover has a gloss spot finish and the binding is unique and lovely! 

Below the Echo recipe I've included photos of 4 other recipes so you get an idea of the variety in this book, it's a worthwhile purchase, and with Christmas coming there is no better reason!

Here are links to the other illustrators sites I included in this post, you guys do terrific work! 

Daniel Jansson  inspiram.se

Joy Steuerwald joystewy.com

Jannie Ho chickengirldesign.com

Emilia Dziubak emiliaszewczyk.blogspot.com

Printable Monster cookies! - digital

Here's an idea! One that I am doing for my daughter. I have printed these off (they are layed out for a 8.5" x 11" paper) for her classmates instead of baking cookies. With allergies and health initiatives in schools we've been told not to send in any treats (or candy :( )  So Amelie will be handing these out instead.  Feel free to do the same! Great for class handouts or door to door with a candy treat! Easy project for kids to do with their families at home. Follow this link then save to your desktop and print away!

 

Nepal prayer flags - paper

Here is another custom piece I got to do recently through Etsy.  This was a fun one, since I normally do nature and animals, I've never done mountains or man made structures. Great fun to work on, and I like how it turned out! Want to see more paper art, visit my Etsy store! Custom pieces are always welcome! I love a good challenge ;)

 

Custom Shoes - acrylic paint on shoes

Here is something I did over the summer, my aunt was visiting and wanted me to paint on a pair of runners for her.  It's not something I had ever done before, and I was nervous because they were brand new shoes and I didn't want to ruin them! But it all turned out nicely I think and it was pretty fun! I used acrylic paint so it wouldn't wash off in a puddle. I think I like the idea of painting on my shoes, and maybe this spring I will come up with a custom pair for myself!

 

Echo's Ghosty tea part - digital

Happy early Halloween! Here is a free Echo desktop wallpaper. Just click on the image above and save to  your computer.  Enjoy!

Bunny - pencil sketch

I don't know about you guys, but I have one kid who LOVES his bunny. He won't go anywhere without it, and needs to snuggle and play with his ears to be able to fall asleep. I love this, partly because it's adorable, and partly because i am a huge fan of the story the Velveteen rabbit.

I did a little sketch of him for Elliott, but really like the way he turned out so I am going to try to come up with a project that I can use him in. Right now I am thinking a fabric pattern with Bunny and other of Elliott's favorites, maybe to be made into a pillow case or something. Or perhaps a wall in his room with little framed sketches of his favorite friends, like the family photo wall we have in our hallway.  Or maybe both! either way, it was fun to draw something of a still life, but with a little added character. It's been a while since I did something like that!

C~

 

Monster Cookies - digital illustration

Here is my most recent submission to They Draw and Cook. They are having a Cooking for Kids contest and this is what I came up with. It's a recipe my mom used to make us for when we'd go camping or hiking. Now I make it for my kids! Please feel free to click on the image to make it larger, I went a little nutso with detail ;) 

(full spread on top, pages individually below so you can see them better)

Celeste