Cover #3

Like with Noah's book a couple weeks ago, one of Riley's books (his third) has been without a cover for quite a while. It was at the Somerset offices for several months for an article (which is in this month's Somerset Memories issue), and I finally received it back a little while ago. So, even though I really should be catching up and working in the boys' books, I wanted to go ahead and finish it, just so that I could feel a sense of completion, you know?


I decided to go the "easy" route, and used a pre-existing cover from a vintage cloth book for the large portion of the cover, and then just added some small embellishments to that. The little boy pictured actually looks a bit like Riley, with his messy hair and blue eyes. The picture above is of the shelf in his room where I have all his journals displayed, although soon the shelf may be too small, as I'm getting close to finishing his fourth book. Oh well, guess we may just need to buy a bigger shelf!

And I'd like to again send out a big "thank you" to all of you who have written me to let me know how you like the book. It means so much to me to know that I've inspired you and possibly given you a boost to make your own art more personal. It helps make up for a particularly nasty review the book got on Amazon (Wow! Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed or what? I mean, I know the book doesn't appeal to everyone, but jeez!) Anyway, I'm very grateful for the very nice comments many of you have sent me! Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

Cute Art, Cute Kitchen

I haven't had the chance to do a lot of art recently, other than a commission I've been working on, thus the lack of posts lately. However, now the commission is finished, and I've got a little more time.

Even though I'm falling behind a bit on the boys' books, I really needed some fun art time, so I decided to do a piece in my "Self" Journal. I didn't try and convey any special meaning, or illustrate any particular event; I simply did art for the fun of it, which was wonderfully freeing! I need to do more art like that- the problem is just lack of time!

As you can see, some of the text on the piece reads "you receive this small gift from me". This represents the fact that I was giving myself a gift by allowing myself to do this piece without any obligation or expectation. And I quite like the result, if I do say so myself!

I also wanted to show you the adorably cute doll-sized kitchen set I found on Ebay. Isn't it wonderful? The colors are just perfect in my studio- I absolutely love it! What's funny, though, is that I've collected a few different vintage doll stoves, etc., and I really don't even cook myself! I'm one of those lucky girls whose husband does most of the cooking, so I'm not quite sure where my fondness for miniature appliances comes from! I guess maybe it's the "miniature" aspect of it- I'm always a sucker for anything that is miniaturized...

Anyway, hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I've got an extra little turkey cooking in my little oven here, if anyone wants to come join me!

Creeping and Standing

Just a quick post to show Noah's latest journal spread. This past month, he's learned to "creep"- not quite crawl, because he doesn't lift his stomach off the floor, but he certainly gets around regardless! And he's also begun pulling himself up to a stand, on just about any piece of furniture he can reach.

It's kind of an odd color combination, but I somehow had to work in the purpley-brown of the photo with the reds, blues, and oranges of the little boy illustration- a tough group of colors! It was difficult to blend them all in, but in the end I'm happy with the result.

The next set of pages I need to do for both boys are Halloween pages. I'd better hurry up though, because before I know it, it will be time to do Christmas pages! It's just so easy to fall behind on these books- kids grow up too fast!!

Cowardly Lion, Some Art, and My Last Name

This is a little late to be showing Halloween photos, but I've been waiting to get the files from my sister, since we were having camera issues that night. (You know those strange times when everything you own starts breaking on you? Here's what's broken for us in the past 2 weeks- digital camera, DVD player, refrigerator, cell phone- I can't wait to see what's next!)

Anyway, here are the kids in their costumes. Riley was a lion, and Noah was a puppy dog. Both were easy costumes that I just made from hooded sweatshirts. Noah was a champ-no complaining at all; he was too busy looking cute! Riley was a different story. This was actually his first Halloween dressing up, and as I expected, he was a little wary. At first he cried when I put on the costume, then he tried to cover his face with the hood, and halfway through the evening, he decided "no hood at all". He wouldn't actually do any trick-or-treating because he was too shy, so I ended up holding the bag for him at each house. So, I guess I've got myself a cowardly lion! What's funny is that I dressed as a lion for one of my first Halloweens, and I was incredibly shy as well. I wish I could find a photo to compare...

Then, here is the spread from Riley's book for his second birthday. While I was visiting my parents a few weeks ago, I came across an old scrapbook of my dad's that included bunches of vintage birthday and Valentine's cards- score! He couldn't care less about them (they're from when he was like 5 or 6, so he doesn't even remember any of the kids who gave them to him), so I snatched them up for my art! You can see I used a couple pieces in this spread.

And this is the cover of Noah's first baby book, which includes his pregnancy-related artwork as well. When I finished this book a few months ago, I had to send it immediately to Somerset for an article I'd written (I think it should be in next month's issue), so I never had time to do a cover. Funny that it's in such similar colors to Riley's spread!

And finally, Beth left me a comment with a funny question the other day. She wants to know how to pronounce my last name! I know, it's a hard one! When I met my husband I wanted to know the same thing! So here goes: "Moort" rhymes with "fort" and "gat" rhymes with "cat". Hope that helps- I've heard it pronounces some crazy ways, so now maybe you guys can spread the word!

Have a great week!