Favorites...
I suppose we all have favorites when it comes to our work, and I have to admit this is one of mine: Magda, Queen of the Mice.

Of course I am close to The Pirate's Daughter, a customer favorite and an award-winner. She is my wild spirit, my irrepressible, willful, independent child. My wind-whipped, redheaded girl of the high seas.
But Magda is a secret favorite in my heart. She has a spirit of her own that is mysterious and maybe a little dark. With her bed-head and her off-kilter crown, her party dress and romper stomper boots, she's tough and fearless and doesn't care if she doesn't fit in with the status quo.
And I do love the mice, as well. The mice always make me smile.

It's officially spring!
And with the spring, the new collection is in the showroom at VDJ:
You may have seen Q in many a VDJ outfit on our home blog, including the dress in our home blog banner. We're big VDJ fans around here, and it's always exciting to find the new season's collection in the shop.
I love the spring/summer pieces this year, and Q is already wearing a few of them.
So it's with great excitement that I announce...
All photos above by VDJ

...that along with the spring collection, there will be a set of my illustrated paper dolls available in the VDJ shop soon!
This collection was created exclusively for Le Vestiaire de Jeanne, and will feature a doll of Jeanne, along with ten outfits from the spring/summer collection.





Hope you like! I'll be working hard over the next few days to get the sets ready for production.

ps - this set was featured today on MUMisGEEK. Yes, even before it's available in the shop...which raises my blood pressure a bit, I have to admit! Check it out!

Photo: Daan of MaandagDaandag

THIS inspires me! Daan's beautiful, crafty work on her beautiful, magical child.

ps - I have been sick for a month and a half (!!) and working very hard on some big projects, so please forgive my absence in this space. More soon!!

Special announcement:
I recently created a special outfit for my paperdolls, Evelyne and Mathilde, based on the gorgeous and ethereal Brooklyn-based Loup Charmant line of organic cotton clothing. The set includes the two dolls plus two Loup Charmant outfits, and the above original illustration based on the line. Printed on 100% cotton watercolor rag, this set is exclusive to Loup Charmant and available only on their site.

It's all but too late (February has been a busy month)...
...but juuuust before March enters like a lion (if the weather site is to be believed), I have finished my February's Child in the Wild Children series. Here she is, emerging from hibernation and dreaming of spring.

(thanks, Catalina, for the inspiration!)

So I realize that I am biting off far more than I can chew here so far in the New Year. I had two or three nearly simultaneous ideas for new series, all of which seem worth following through. With minimal time away from my two-year-old, and commissions still on queuing up, it has already proved more than I can logistically cram into my schedule. Still...well, I just can't resist. This is the first in a series I'd like to do based on the curious, marvelous, artless, and often acutely perceptive things that children say.

This bon mot came from a friend's son, aged four. I have a couple more stored up in my notebook, but after that I will need help. So if any of you has a particularly good quote from a child (of any age) that you'd like to share for the series, please do send it my way!

This was an illustration from a series I did when I was making small, stylized children's portraits for friends. I've been revisiting these and thinking on a bigger scale. As soon as I finish a few commissions, I think I'll revisit this series and expand on it a bit.