how did I get up here? 6 x 6 in.

Happy Halloween wishes to you out there! And for those of you on the east coast, hope you are safe and sound. Been thinking of you xo

{original is sold}

First! thank you so much for the book congratulations. I’m still taking it all in, especially since last Thursday a copy of the actual book arrived. It’s a pretty amazing feeling to see years worth of work compiled so beautifully in one place. I’ll be sharing some photos here, with more peeks into the inside of the book, when I return from Quilt Market which is where I’m headed this week.

This weekend I will also be having my first two book events at Quilt Market, with a Schoolhouse Presentation on Friday, October 26 at 11- 11:30  am  in room 372D. On Saturday I will be having a book signing from 3 - 3:30 pm at the F & W Booth. 

Made a new, much larger "Bunnie" with The Red Thread, featured above, and sent him off to spend some time in the Andover Booth. 

So if you are headed to market too, I’ll see you there!

https://vimeo.com/51233450

It’s time! for me to release this book!!!!

Rather than tell you all about it in an email or this post, I decided to make a book trailer {be sure to watch all the way to end to see my favorite part ;)} So proud of this and super excited to share it with you. A culmination of years of creations and the original intent of Creative Thursday, to inspire others to be more creative and life a life THEY LOVE! 

Now available for pre-order at my shop and on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Published through NorthLight, a division of F + W Media, the book will be shipping at the end of November 2012.  The first 100 pre-orders at my Etsy shop will also receive a free print of the cover art "Always Cheering You on"

For those of you here in Los Angeles, save the date December 1 for a book launch event with more details to come!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support over the years. My family, my friends, my customers, my blog readers, my editor ~ All of you who have been with me on this journey, you encouraged me and inspire me to keep going and creating {always}. I wrote this book for you. xo

Let me start by saying I don’t usually contribute to books, mostly because of too much work for too little pay or none at all. For reasons I am sure publishers have that I just do not fully agree with and/or understand. With that said there are always exceptions, and Carla Sonheim’s book is one. 

When I started daily painting Carla was one of my first original collectors, buying what I think might still be one of my favorite polar bears to date. When you are just beginning to find your way as a professional artist and barely knowing how you are going to cobble together your rent, let alone any other expenses - you never forget who your first customers were. All of them collectively are what kept me going in those early days, pulling me forward into a very specific painting style that evolved into business that is still going seven years later. 

So when one of those customers asks if you’d like to be a part of their book, you jump, because {you’ve always admired their illustration style} you still want to return support from those early days. Not to mention I also love Carla’s first book 'Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists'. 

Carla does a fantastic job sharing fun, innovative and non-intimdating approaches to drawing. And her new book! is all about one of my favorite subjects 'Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals'. Flipping through my copy I cannot wait to try some of her techniques to inspire a new Imaginary Animal. Watercolor Blobimals, that’s all I’m saying.

In celebration of the release of her book, Carla is generously offering to gift one of you with her new book!! woohoo! If you visit here regularly, and have a fondness for little animal characters like I do. I know you’re going to LOVE this book. thank you Carla! for your early support and for inviting me and my polar bear to to be a part of your newest creation.

Just leave a comment below to be entered in the giveaway. At the end of the day on Creative Thursday, October 11, I will randomly choose a winner and announce it here on Friday morning.

***Edit 10-12-12***And our winner is #71 Jenny! Congratulations Jenny! Please send me an email with your mailing address and Carla will send a book right out to you.

To everyone who came over for a visit from Carla’s blog, so good to meet you too!

Introducing! all 24 patterns of Creative Thursday’s newest fabric collection 'The Red Thread'. And a few of my favorite designs in larger sizes so you can see more detail.

There is a story behind the design and naming of this group and here it is: Growing up, my aunt in Germany often talked to me about 'the red thread' that runs through your life. It’s a known story so maybe you’ve heard it?

The idea is that there is always a red thread connecting all the moments of your life and when looking back you can see it with complete clarity. How everything happens just as it should, in the exact timing that is meant to be. 

In my own life I find this to be true and since I was little the idea of the red thread has always brought me comfort. What if? our life is unfolding just as it should, always guiding us to best possible outcome for what we are wanting, and all we have to is trust, enjoy and relax into it. 

It’s all to easy on the days when we don’t feel like ourselves,  like everything is scary and closing in on us ~ to lose sight of the greater picture. 

As a child, I spent almost every summer in Germany visiting my family. I always left feeling more inspired than when I arrived and I let that influence also carry into the designs. Included are the lucky symbols of the mushroom {with tiny bunnies of course} the ladybugs and the flowerboxes spilling over with geraniums {there seems to be some confusion on what flower I designed in the pattern with the small green leaves, they are not pansies ;)}

You can purchase bundles, and select yardage by request at the shop as well as find it at a store near you by using Andover’s store finder. There is also a free quilt pattern available for download, that Andover designed. Super cute with the little houses going around the border.

My intent with this fabric collection {when you are creating and sewing away} is a reminder, that all is well.

In celebration of October {and the moment it gets cool, which will not be today] and Halloween, I thought it would be fun to put together a few more "surprise" care packages like I did earlier this year. As I write this there are 26 10 left. And!! so excited to announce that 'The Red Thread' is officially here in my shop, other online shops and at stores near you. Will be back shortly with a post sharing a more detailed view of all 24 patterns.

Edit 10-2-12 Almost forgot to list the 2 "Thriving Artist" Care Packages.