Coming soon in the shop...my Jing doll. I'm still working on her animal companion!

New in the shop: My first set of three additional backdrops for the articulated paperdolls!

 Now you can set the scene and create your own work of art.

Also: Someone created a lovely treasury on Etsy today entitled "The Princess and the Peacock". I don't usually post treasuries, but this one is so enchanting that I can't resist: 

The Princess and the Peackock Treasury

There are so many crave-worthy things here!
If you have a moment, take a look and leave a comment. 

 First background completed. First round of new paper dolls in the shop as of tomorrow TODAY!!!

Plus, special sale for blog friends: 
Take 20% off any regularly-priced item (that includes prints, paperdolls, jewelry AND clay dolls) with coupon code VALENTINE. You can use your coupon code at checkout in my Etsy shop!  

New paperdolls in progress!

 Seven so far in the collection, and more on the way!

 Next up, backgrounds.

Meanwhile, quite a community accumulating on my wall!

 So, when we left for our trip to New York, I did not intend to take my work with me. 

Really, since our trip was so short, and since I had been working my fingers to the bone in the days leading up to our trip, it was meant to be a mind-cleansing. I intended to just let my eyes and brain rest, refuel, and absorb the world around me. 

I brought with me only a book of vintage children's stories for future inspiration, plus my drafting pencil and a Mars plastic eraser, which I take with me wherever I go, just by way of habit. 

But while in Woodstock, we stopped into the local art supply store to pick up some supplies for our daughter to play with.

 As you might imagine, a town like Woodstock has an excellent art supply store. While there, I could not resist picking up one of these beautiful sketching notebooks (I picked the gold one).

 We also picked up some soy-based crayon "rocks", colored popsicle sticks, and Japanese seaweed paste for our daughter to play with. 

But with just my new sketch notebook in hand, I managed to make a dozen or more quick sketches during our three days in Woodstock.

 On our second day back in Denver, in between working on drafts for one of my clients, I fleshed out these two jointed paper dolls based on one of my sketches from NY.

 I printed, cut and assembled them tonight...

 ...and couldn't resist setting them up and taking a few photos.

Ultimately, I think there will be a dozen or more of these jointed paperdolls, available either pre-assembled or ready-to-cut, plus a set of illustrated backgrounds. 

A new project for the shop! 

And I always love a new project, no matter how over-extended I become.

 We're back! Refreshed and refueled after a week in the wonderful artist's community of Woodstock (my mother's home) and a couple of days of museums and artistic friends in NYC.

 To kick off my new additions to the shop for 2011, I have added a few of my pen and ink illustrations to the shop today...

It is sunny and warm here in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies and we are breathing deep after a week of deep freeze on the East Coast! We did enjoy a lovely snowstorm there, however. Stop by my home blog for pictures of our trip...coming soon!

 

We will be leaving on our biannual trip to New York on Saturday, and the shop will be closed until Monday January 17th.

But be sure and check back, because I'll have all sorts of new dolls, prints and necklaces in the shop for Valentine's Day and beyond!

That and (drumroll) I will be trickling a few (very few) originals into the shop as well at the end of the month, so for those who have asked about originals, stay tuned!

 Some readers may know of my love for chairs.

In an alternate life I might be a chair designer. In this life, I am a chair admirer.

So even though I have far too many projects and jobs on my plate already, I have started a series of illustrations of favorite chairs. You may recognize these.

 Latest in the shop...

My redeheaded Valentina!

 It finally snowed!