Calendar Love

Did I ever tell you guys about the 2014 calendar that I illustrated for the smartest and I? In the midst of busy season last November, I got it in my head that we NEEDED (not wanted, NEEDED) to have a 16X20 calendar with illustrations for each month. "What fun", I thought to myself, "How neat! I could use a hand cramp right about now". So, right around Christmas time, I found myself with this little guy proudly in hand (and yes. The smartest does make me retire the glitter-deer for the other 11 months of the year)

In the interest of full disclosure... we don't use it much. It is actually currently situated behind our coatrack, rendering it at least mostly useless, but it was a fun project to explore. I based most of the hair/clothing choices on things we actually wear on a regular basis (though, of course, in the illustration it looks as though my hair isn't attempting to overthrow the rest of me on a regular basis. Which is inaccurate). And if I had drawn May the way it actually is... you would see the puppy and I cowering in a storm shelter, rather than frolicking under an umbrella. But you know... artistic license and all that.

New in the Shop: "Best Day Ever" Programs

(to be read in the voice of the Direct TV commercials)

Its windy. When its windy, I don't walk the dog. When I don't walk the dog, I have more time for things like laundry, vacuuming the carpet, and doing my job. When I have more time for doing my job, I get to make pretty new things for pretty new brides. Mr. Wind… stay as long as you like.

Check it out here!

Owl Baby Shower Invitations

A couple of months ago, the BHO mentioned that she might be in the market for some baby shower invitations for her sister in law, who is having a baby girl in November. I started thinking about a way we could make something really cute and unique, and I remembered the bat card:

And since bats aren't overly baby friendly, I decided to take the wings idea and do another design. And what do all babies love that have wings?

Dragons.

Just kidding. Owls. The answer is owls. So I designed this little gal, complete with wings:

Feel free to ignore my very neglected nail polish. I have since given up on painting my nails since I am unusually hard on my hands, apparently. From what I can tell, I think people liked it pretty well! So. The moral of the story is that if you like babies, owls or dragons... I'm your girl. And that the BHO is an awesome supporter of B is for Brown (actually, all of the artist family seriously are), which I very much appreciate.

Rats. Now I want to make a dragon baby shower invitation. Anyone out there having a dragon themed baby shower?

Excellent Etsy Inspiration

As a member of the Etsy community, I am constantly immersed in a fantastic world of amazing things and people. I am constantly surprised and impressed by the level of awesomeness provided by Etsy artisans- they do things that I couldn't accomplish in my wildest dreams. People. Are. Awesome.


Nessy Print 

Polar Bear

Cuff Links

Hiking Couple

Arctic Fox

Cuckoo

Adorable Inspiring Tidbits

I found things that I adore today. Accidentally. While doing research for various projects that have really nothing to do with what I found. But I love them anyway.

Firstly- I found this font. That's right. Its a font. SO CUTE. The font came from here, and the gal operates from this site. 

And a bit after that... I came across these bad boys:

From here. So adorable. I definitely want to learn more about vintage style- these are so fun!

The Book Illustrating Saga

Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when I made the nephew a personalized book for his 2nd Birthday? It looked a little something like this:

On a whim, I listed that bad boy online, and have had varying levels of interest in the last couple of years. While I was working on a book for the best friend's birthday, I reviewed some of the book projects I have had the pleasure to work on, and thought I would give you a little peek at some of my favorite pages.

This book was for a sweet little girl who loved alpacas. I too love alpacas, so I feel like we are kindred spirits.

There was an order for a series of books for Christmas gifts for a little gal's grandparents. Each book was different, and it was such a cool peek into the culture of her family. She is going to be VERY busy when she learns how to walk- what with the skiing, Hawaiian vacations and musical lessons.

This mother's day, I did a book that was a salute to a mom who gave her children the gift of the love of reading. Her kids are all grown up- but they wanted to give her a little piece of reading back to her.

For Father's day, I worked on a book dedicated to a wonderful daddy that was all about dinosaurs. The family puppy made an appearance as a panda bear, which was a fun character to play with.

When the best friend turned 25 last month, I thought it would be fun to make her a little book about some of our memories together. Complete with sarcastic captions... because sarcasm is an important part of our memories. Who's surprised?

Digital Party Time: Beach Party

As you may recall from this post, I have a bit of a penchant for party planning. The real issue with this little personality trait of mine is that I have neither the cause nor the funds to perpetually throw parties of all kinds. To alleviate the pressure on my pocketbook, I have taken to throwing online shindigs that save me bundles (and also save me the embarrassment of no one showing up). Thank you SO much for accidentally attending my little digital party. Do stay and look around, the lemonade is particularly good today!

I'm sending these as invitations:

We'll be drinking this:
Blue Hawaiian Lemonade 

And munching on this:
Sand Dollar Cookies
Fruity Trees
Watermelon
Cupcakes
Clam Cookies 

With a little decoration thrown in to make it legit:
Ribbon Chandeliers 
Streamers

500 Sales!

Today is a very auspicious day in B is for Brown history! Today I hit the mark of 500 sales in the shop. I am shocked, excited, and incredibly blessed to have wonderful clients that have helped me reach this big ol' goal! You guys are the BEST clients a gal could have, and I appreciate you so much!

Since setting up shop in October 2011, here are a couple of the items that have sold like hot cakes (or like hot cakes would, if I could ever successfully make them. Which I can't. Its a problem with the flipping part, usually).

Le Vows

Le Illustrated Programs

Le Crossword Puzzles

Feeling Foxy

Yesterday, I got a real hankering to incorporate foxes into an illustration of some kind (there's the most bizarre sentence I've ever shared on a Thursday. You're welcome). Sometimes as a designer, I get stuck on an idea that I really want to work with, but can't quite execute. Usually I drop the project, then come back to it a month or so later, after I have figured out exactly what to do with whatever hairbrained idea I've had. After creating Mr. Fox yesterday, I decided that he would probably enjoy some additional furry friends... thus this odd assortment of creatures was born (one of which is based on the puppy, can you tell which one?):

In other exciting illustration news- there are new illustrated programs in the shop today! 

Illustrated Valentines Day Prints

New in the shop this week (look familiar)- lovely Valentines day gifts for your sweetie!

Changing it Up

Are you guys familiar with our wedding shrine? After the smartest and I's nuptials in 2011, I was SO excited to have photos of all of our family members. We are sort of a hard group to pin down, as my family is spread across the country, and his family is big enough that wrangling them into the same location takes months of planning. I eagerly ordered prints, and threw this on our wall:

And, as you can tell from the fact that most of the pictures are at least slightly crooked... I did indeed hang them by myself (I'm kidding... they aren't usually that crooked. The smartest would kill me). And I LOVE having this celebration of unity on our wall (and yes... people do make fun of me on a mostly regular basis). However, I have the spring fever. I am slowly being swallowed by an overwhelming desire to shake things up and change things around. Which is probably why I spent 2 hours yesterday cleaning out my kitchen cabinets:

But anyway- back to the point- I am pondering ways to dress up our walls just a smidge without breaking the bank. Here are a couple of things I'm thinking about:

Curiosities Clock 

Metallic Cardboard Letters

Watercolor Quotes

New Pillows

Book Pages Illustration

Family Illustration (yours truly)

What do you guys think- any suggestions that have jazzed up your walls?

New in the Shop: Save the Date

Happy (rainy) Thursday all! What have you been up to this week so far? Here in the smartest/artist household, there has been a good deal of muddy paws, and one serious case of designer's block. In an attempt to remedy said block, I have alternated between running madly around the house, and attempting to power through, on the wings of caffeine and Gossip Girl re-runs.

This recipe for conquering designer's woes was moderately effective, so I have this to show for myself: a brand new set of custom illustrated save the dates!