Frankly, I get tired of doing cutesy stuff all the time. So every once in a while I do something un-cute (although squirrel itself is a cutie, in a furry I-hope-he-doesn’t-have-rabies way) to shock the lead off my pencil.

As an artist, I’m still very much finding my own style. I don’t think I have a very definite style just yet. Currently my illustrations are a hodgepodge mix (see squirrel above then compare with… I dunno, the Cupcake Bears). That actually might be good for my short attention span as I have a tendency to get bored easily (ADD?). But I’m definitely hoping for a more cohesive style to tie my illustrations together. Let’s see how my illustration work unfolds over the rest of the year. I’ve a couple of projects lined up the next few weeks and I’ve also done some work over the past few months that I’m waiting for permission to upload.

In the meantime, indulge the squirrel as he has his own to do list on my Etsy shop!

Irreverent Squirrel To Do List ($4.50)

More good things to come for this squirrel– notebook, tumbler, and button pin. We just bought a button press to make our own buttons and it’s fantastic! But that’s another blog entry.

The squirrel drawing is based off a photo by photographer Nicko Margolies (with permission). Thank you, Nicko!

It’s quite big, huh. I wonder what’s inside.

Could it be? Something for the visitors finding their way to my site via a certain Google search string? Hint: the search string usually consists of four words. Stay tuned.

(Awesome poster in the background of first picture is by Ben The Illustrator. I’ve yet to get mine framed.)

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Some new items available at the shop!

I have more new items listed and even more to be listed in the coming days so why don’t you head on over to NotebooksEtc.etsy.com and stay a while?

We got quite a lot of positive comments on our products which appealed mostly to kids, teens, and moms/grandmothers who were buying them for their children and grandchildren. We had notebooks, memo pads, button pins, and stickers.

Two surprise bestsellers though were these two items we didn’t make enough of because we thought they wouldn’t sell– our recycled cover notebooks (borne out of my love for cereal… which I sometimes eat at all times of the day) and these mini notes I call Thumb Prints.

I like the Thumb Prints most especially– they’re made from strips of paper I was left with after cutting paper for our 5 x 7 notebooks and from leftover scrap notebook coils that would otherwise end up in the trash. The covers are laminated DCWV patterned scrapbooking paper (which is very expensive here in the Philippines) that I got for a song from an Etsy seller a year ago (she has since discontinued her shop). Not bad, huh? Now I know to make more of these next time!

Some observations and notes:
- We should have a bigger sign that says HANDMADE and that everything is designed/illustrated by me
- I should come up with a better way to display my items– I would’ve liked to prop up my notebooks but I didn’t have time to make a stand or something
- Do away with the ghetto hand-drawn signage! LOL!

As it was post-holy week, all the shops were closed and I didn’t get to have a tarpaulin printed. I had to make do with some cartolina and magic markers. Oh well, next time!

All in all I would say our first bazaar was a nice little success. We are thinking of selling to local buyers as well since some have expressed their interest to buy from us. We currently sell only on Etsy at this time but that might change soon (not promising anything, though!). I will still have to figure out a way to strike a nice balance for our local prices though; the prices we had at the bazaar were a bit too low for something handmade, so lucky are the ones who were able to buy from us ;)

‘Til our next bazaar! In the meantime, for overseas buyers, you can check out our online shop at http://NotebooksEtc.etsy.com.

First up for the stitchy people– a free Easter bunny in a basket PDF embroidery pattern (or coloring page)!

Print this out and transfer onto your fabric by taping the page up to a brightly-lit window and tracing the outline with a fabric pen. You can also use transfer paper to transfer the illustration on to your fabric.

And let’s not leave out the crafty paper posse as I also have free printable Easter stationery sheets:

Free Easter stationery sheets – Click to download the PDF (5.3 MB)

This stationery page fits three sheets on a letter-sized page. Just print it out as many or as little pages as you need using your colored home printer and cut along the provided lines.

Both downloads are in .PDF format. You will need the free Adobe Reader to view these files.

With Easter just a few days away, these are perfect for those last-minute Easter shoppers who missed out on scouring their local shops for Easter goodies. They’re all here and they’re even free! Do keep in mind though that while these are free to download, they’re only for your personal use and by no means will they be used for commercial purposes. I still retain copyright to the artwork.

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Also check out the matching Easter goods you can get at the following Etsy shops:

Egg-citing Easter Print and Cut PDF Stationery Set – Click here to purchase on Etsy ($4.50)

Enjoy and Happy Easter!

These are just some of the notebooks we’re selling- recycled cereal box covers (because cereal boxes are so fun to look at) and covers with my own designs and illustrations. I started listing items two weeks ago and I’m happy to say I had my first seven sales today!

All buyers at my shop will receive free a free button pin with their order (until supplies last) as part of the store opening promo, but here’s another promo where no purchase is necessary.

I am making a print-your-own PDF of the gift tags pictured above available for download, FREE. All you have to do is go to my shop, go to the SHOP POLICIES page linked from the sidebar on the right, and search for a password somewhere on the first page (it’s very easy to spot). Once you have it, go to this post to type in the password and you will be given the instant download link. Save the PDF to your computer (you will need the free Adobe Reader to view the file) and print! These 3 x 2 tags are great for occasions such as birthdays, Valentine’s, or just to slip a quick hello to someone.

So what are you waiting for?
1. Go to my shop and view my shop policies (the link to the shop policies is on right sidebar of the shop)
2. Look for the password
3. Type in the password on this post!

Enjoy!

Hearts a Flutter, a 5-page PDF embroidery pattern – Buy on Etsy

Beary Sweet, a 7-page PDF embroidery pattern – Buy on Etsy

They’re the first couple of patterns we’re offering before Julie opens up a new shop just for patterns with Kittykill. We have lots more coming soon and even more ideas lined up in the near future, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, take a look at these embroidery samples by Julie using my illustrations included in the pattern sets above. Aren’t they adorable??

You can check out the patterns on Sew It’s For You.

I’ve delegated updating the shop to a later time, probably after my project deadlines but I already have some button pins available!

More available from http://cowcowchickenstore.etsy.com.

I also haven’t made any new illustrations, so I’ll leave you with this instead, a caricature/parody I made two weeks ago of local Filipino actor Diether Ocampo.

I don’t think the humor will lend itself to non-Filipinos, so let’s just leave it at that.

Hopefully I’ll be able to sneak in an entry for IF and some blog entries in between work and deadlines. See you around!

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Julie of Sew It’s For You telling me she borrowed my illustration and turned it into a towel for her friend.

Isn’t it cute? I think she really did them justice!

Cowcow and Chicken are my own original characters. They’re actually me (Chicken) and my boyfriend (Cowcow). As mushy (or weird?) as it sounds and as hesitant as I am to put this little tidbit on such a public space, Cowcow and Chicken are our pet names for each other. Never mind why.

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I am in the process of photographing and writing up item descriptions for the stuff to be listed on my Etsy shop some time within this week. This is just a sneak peek at what’s coming, except this particular item isn’t going to be included as I messed it up when I sprayed it with protective acrylic glaze and forgot to weigh down the newspaper it was lying on. A gust of wind blew it face down on the newspaper, causing the newsprint to stick to the wet image. Sigh. Oh well. Lesson learned!

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The super sweet and talented Lori of Fresh Picked Whimsy gave me a blogging award and it’s my first, too! I put it next to my illustration of a little girl for better presentation :P

Thank you, Lori! I’ll have to sleep on this first before deciding whom to pass it on to; I have a lot of favorite bloggers and it’s hard to pick just a few!