The Pixel Painter

Once I haven't posted here for over a week, it gets harder and harder to come back. I always feel like it takes an extra special something to be worthy of breaking the silence. This video and story of the 97-year-old—mostly blind—man who paints incredibly complex pieces using Microsoft Paint is worthy and inspires me greatly. What an incredible attitude and temperament he brings to life. Enjoy!

Indie Lovely illustration

Do you know about Indie Lovely? It's an interactive digital magazine featuring tons of crafty DIY projects and plenty of links to favorite indie blogs, shops, patterns, craft supplies and more. After seeing the illustrations I had done for this, the magazine's creator, Anne, approached me to create a cross-stitch pattern for her readers.

We settled on terrariums and I sent along these little guys. She has turned one into the cutest little stitched wonder for the latest issue. You can see how it turned out and download the pattern by viewing page 12 in the issue here.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Sloe Gin Fizz Scoutmob Shoppe

I'm so excited to have joined forces with Atlanta-based Scoutmob's Shoppe to offer a selection of discounted Sloe Gin Fizz prints and notecards in their extremely well-curated online shop of "inspired goods by independent makers."

I have my own little Sloe Gin Fizz shoppe storefront. It includes some extra bits of info about me, my process and a little peek behind the scenes. Have a look around and don't miss some of my favorite artists on there, too: Alisa, Mike and Jessica. You may not be able to resist their charms.

Craft-A-Way Camp

I spent a weekend in the woods at Craft-A-Way Camp! Amazing, right? Amy and Ethan of Small Craft organized a weekend camp for 20 people to come out to the woods and learn new crafts, gather round the fire and relax. Amazing! 

Here you see Andy Sell, the Foraging Florist leading us on a morning hike through the woods to gather material for a floral centerpiece created with a floral frog he taught us to make.

Right around the end of that session, I decided to put the camera away and just enjoy the experience. But we went on to learn screenprinting techniques and print our own craft-a-way- camp t-shirts, learned meditative stick wrapping and painting with Val Willer, reverse applique with Karen LePage, made gorgeous wood bead necklaces with Courtney Fischer. Lots of eating, drinking and fire time.

Here's one final shot of our craft cocktail session, of course. Such a great way to lead into the week of July 4th and it truly made me feel like summer has set it.

Our house on houzz

If you follow along on my Sloe Gin Fizz Facebook page, you might have seen me post last week that our house was recently photographed for Houzz.com. What you didn't see was this! (well, Instagrammers saw this day of when I was in full-blown panic mode.) This is what truly happens when someone comes to photograph your house. You pick a tiny bathroom and stuff it to the gills with … EVERYTHING ELSE. 

But really … this is what happened: I met photographer Jeff Jones at the Handmade Toledo Maker's Mart in April. He was so enthusiastic and charming, how could I not let him peek inside our little world. He came up to the house for the day and did a wonderful job capturing our home. You can see the whole post here.  Thanks so much, Jeff! 

Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair

Friends! I have so much to share with you. I've been taking this amazing class and doing tons of drawing, drawing, drawing. Working on some super fabulous fun projects still under wraps. Tasting lots of yummy eats. So much to tell … BUT. It's gotta wait. I'm headed out the door on Friday for the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair — a first for me. Hoorah!

Come say hello and have a visit in booth #199. I'll be setting up camp with my traveling crafty partner-in-crime, Courtney Fischer. We plan to rock the house. Come lend a hand!

Animated jungle wonderland

The picture book Les Poings sur les iles, illustrated by Violeta Lopiz, has been turned into a gorgeous animation. The layering and textures, as well as the boy's voice, are just beautiful. I hope you enjoy!  via Art Hound

Lilla Rogers Make Art that Sells course

I'm having so much fun taking an online class with illustration rep, Lilla Rogers. Each week of the five-week course focuses on a different part of the industry. We've just wrapped up week one dedicated to fabric design. Above is a look at my first assignment. I was torn between the neutral palette on the left and the pinks on the right. I ended up submitting the pink and this may be my first artwork using pink: ever!! Whoa. Moving on to week two: Home Decor!

Berkley Art Bash

I'll be at the Berkley Art Bash on Twelve Mile from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, June 8). There will be over 100 artists, live music and yummy eats. I'd love to see you there!

Merchandise bag design

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for Porter Flea's AirCraft last weekend in Nashville! I had such a fun visit, including my first airbnb experience, which was phenomenal. I stayed in a cute little bungalow in East Nashville. The owner was even sweet enough to come out for the AirCraft show and bought my Nashville harmonica print to hang in the guesthouse. Awww.

If you made a purchase at the show, you may have seen my new design for my merchandise bags. I broke my stamp right in two by mistake — after many years of service — and it was just the right excuse to make a new one!

AirCraft 2013 Exclusive!

I'll have a limited number of small prints and note cards with this musical beauty exclusively for Porter Flea's AirCraft 2013 this weekend. Limited! Exclusive! Harmonica! … you best shop early, folks.

Porter Flea presents AirCraft

I'm hitting the road tomorrow for some hootin' and hollerin' in Nashville! I can't wait to see what the Porter Flea group has cooked up for this weekend's AirCraft event at the Cornelia Fort Airpark. They have a way of adding special touches to their shows like nobody else can.

There's a Friday night pre-paid, ticket-only preview market from 5 to 8 p.m. with plenty of local eats and craft brews on hand. There's still time to get your tickets here. Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check out the full list of vendors here.

Happy Friday!

I couldn't resist sharing this with you to launch a long weekend — have a great one! via Poppytalk.

New Ann Arbor cards

New card coming to Rock, Paper, Scissors in Ann Arbor today!

Custom hand-lettering for RV

More summer time, road-trippin' goodness … a little custom message I hand-lettered for a sweet local couple who just picked up their very own travel trailer.

Travel trailers … RVs … campers …

It's time to hit the road! Another sweet little travel trailer I completed recently for a client.

Book Business Tuesday: Peter in Flight

Peter in Flight by Paul Michael Peters, now available! I had the pleasure of working with the Ann Arbor-based author on the cover of this new release. A quick and delightful read that starts with a handshake...

The Curatorial: Art Print Love

The Curatorial's new shop, Art Print Love, opens today and runs through May 24. I'm honored to be a part of this inaugural run hosted by the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta. A unique selection of art prints curated by lovely hosts Christy and Shannon … you will love it!

Yellow Door Artist of the Week

Pssst … you have a chance to win a print of Turtle Flight this week. I have the pleasure of being the "Artist of the Week" over on the Yellow Door blog and this is part of the deal. You can also check out some of the artists that inspire me and read a little bit more about me here.

New pot & box web site

The beautiful new pot & box web site is live and features many little drawings by me. I adore owner Lisa Waud's aesthetic and could not have been happier working with her on this project. The site is launching just in time for the grand opening this Thursday of the pot & box pop-up shop at D:hive on Woodward in Detroit. This will be a preview leading up to the opening of a new location in Corktown. Hooray!