Alphabet prints, chugging along again!

I created more letters in my "Alphabet Animals" series! Here are the letters I've completed so far:

Alligator in an apron baking apple pie.

Bear in boots and a bandana with a ball.

Crazy cat in a cape.

Deer in a dress with a doll.

Elephant in earmuffs, holding an envelope.

Giraffe wearing glasses and green galoshes.

GURL YOU FORGOT F! No, I didn't, I'm just skipping around a bit!

Raccoon with roses on a rock surrounded by raspberries.

Tiger in a tutu.

And up on deck in the sketch book:

Fox in a fez wearing flip flops.
SEE? F!

Hen in a helmet.

Since I last posted these, I stopped hand drawing the letters and began laying them out in "Times New Roman", a favorite classic font. (And one of my "good luck" fonts, because I am a crazy person). Immediately, I felt much better about the prints. Freehand typography is only my thing if it can be a little sloppy, and I wanted these letters very crisp and clean.

Other letters and animals you can look forward to, (subject to change, possibly, since second guessing can sometimes be an artist's best friend):

Iguana eating ice cream.

Jack Rabbit in a jacket

Kangaroo flying a kite.

Llama eating a lollipop.

Mole with a monocle.

Narwhal in a nightcap.

Otter playing an oboe.

Penguin at a piano.

(P and O are so tough for me, and may have multiple options, because I love owls and peacocks so much). (And I hope the otter and penguin jam together, because that would be adorable. Maybe they can start a band with the owl and the peacock, called "Otter and the Birds").

Quokka cuddling with a quilt. Have seen a quokka? I'M OBSESSED.

Sloth in a sweater wearing sneakers.

Umbrellabird with an ukulele. (And possibly an umbrella BUT IS THAT TOO MUCH UMBRELLA? ELLA? ELLA?)

Vampire bat with a Valentine.

Walrus in a wig. 

Xoloitzcuintli playing a xylophone OR GETTING AN X-RAY AMIRITE?

Yak with a yo-yo.

Zebra in a zoot suit.

These have been a lot of fun. I'm hoping to possibly explore the world of self publishing with these prints, but if you're a publisher and would like to work with me and do it for me, that's great too. Even better, in fact. Since I've been told before that alphabet books are not popular for publishing (I mean, I get it, why would it be in a publisher's best interest to teach the next generation to read? WAIT--) I feel like striking out on my own with these might be my best option. Like Yukon Cornelius, in search of silver and gold....

I'm 90% sure this is what I would look like if I were a dude.

Either that's a great metaphor, or I'm really excited for Christmas this year.... GREAT METAPHOR, I KNOW RIGHT? NAILED IT.

LIKE LOOKING INTO A MIRROR.

Luke's First Halloween!

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays! When I was still pregnant with Luke last Halloween, I got the idea for the costumes we wore this year.

Little Shop of Horrors

Seymour, Audrey, and Audrey II from 'Little Shop of Horrors'

Ryan and I have many horror movie favorites (MANY), but 'Little Shop of Horrors' just seemed immediately perfect. I wanted a monster that could be cute for a baby, and a costume that would be soft and comfortable for a six month old to wear. Needless to say, that cut a lot of options out.

John Carpenter's 'The Thing', for instance....

However, Audrey II starts off as a baby. And a really cute baby at that....

The little scamp.

It would make sense for the plant-monster to be small and adorable. And since Audrey II spends most of its time on screen with a couple, our costumes were a cinch! We brought out Ryan's fake glasses--

You know the ones.

And cut the sleeves off one of my sweaters. (Actually, you know the one, it's in the picture above too). I did my hair in a half beehive and slapped some extra make up, and our costumes were done! For Luke's, I took a green sleeper and then sewed a bonnet with cloth teeth, a collar of cotton leaves colored with non toxic markers, and a soft "flower pot" for him to sit in, with his little legs poking out as roots.

Viola!

Of course, there were a few other Halloween spirited outfits during October....

Old Timey Skeleton

Adorable Pumpkin

And Captain Hook and the Croc, during Nightmarathon

However, it was the Little Shop of Horrors costume that kicked off Nightmarathon and made it out to our Mommy group outing and trick or treating at Ryan's office. Two weeks ago a friend saw our costume and suggested we enter it in George Takei's Halloween costume contest, and today it turned out we were one of the 12 finalists! Cool right? I think so! My Mom is a life long Trekkie, and I was taken to Star Trek conventions as a child (no, seriously), so it was pretty exciting to find out we were chosen!

Some screen shots of the excitement.

My Dad set a tradition of winning Halloween contests when I was a child, and it made me really happy that Luke is one Halloween in and he is already walking (okay, almost crawling) in his grandfather's footsteps.

Halloween 2013

I love these guys.

Can you believe Luke is already six months old? Where has this year gone?! He has eased into a pretty strong nap time schedule, and I have been drawing/painting more the past two months. If I'm being honest, I still feel a little rusty. Sketches take me a wee bit longer, and I'm erasing more than I have in years. However, the lines are coming back to the page, and I've been steadily finishing commissions. Thank you, folks who ordered my custom portraits last month! They were a blast to create, and if I get permission I will try and share them here in the future.

Here's to six awesome months!

UPDATE: Luke won for "Best Children's Costume!" Thank you so much, everyone who voted for us!