Home Office Peek

My home office has gone through many rearrangements in the past year and a half. I'd been meaning to share the latest one since the addition of a much prettier window treatment earlier this month, but June has been packed with a flurry of activity, that I'm only getting around to it now.

The curtain panels are from etsy seller Exclusive Elements.  I'd been coveting yellow chevron ones for a while and hers were on sale, so I finally ordered them.  I think I sort of messed up with the measuring as they barely cover the width of the window, but they are 100 times better than the curtains we had before (pictured below), which were left by the previous homeowners. 

the terribly blurry photo does not help its case

my little helper

It's a little difficult to get good photos of my workspace during the day as the window does not allow a ton of natural light in, but I like how it looks as the sun is going down. 

And as the sun sets this Friday evening, I'll wish all my Canadian readers a Happy Canada Day Long Weekend! Be back soon with more sneak peeks of our ever changing home... next up, Whitney's big girl room!

Spring Tees in the Shop

We're a week away from the official start of Spring 2012 but it's already feeling like it's begun.  I've got lots of new tees in the shop, and some old ones restocked.  Hop on over and have a look!

New Items in the Shop

Some new seasonal and everyday things in the shop, with more on the way soon.

C is for Cat 8 x 10 print

Love Cats in White 8 x 10 Print

Owl and Pussycats Mini Valentines

So far the Year of the Dragon has been kicking me in the butt, what with toddler tantrums almost everyday and a mild cold that doesn't want to leave. Hoping that the weekend has some good things in store. Happy (Belated) Chinese New Year to everyone!

Special Delivery

Christmas came early to our house this year, in the form of a red vintage kitchen, c/o Fedex and KidKraft. I was hoping to surprise Whitney with it on Christmas day, but I couldn't hide my excitement when the box arrived last week, so she knew it was for her. Plus we were supposed to put it together to make sure all the parts were there, so...

...many parts and several hours later, we had the cutest kitchen you've ever seen up and running and Whitney has been cooking things up everyday.

Speaking of surprises and gifts, I got a nice one over the weekend when I checked my email. My Owl and Pussycats calendar was featured among other 2012 calendars on Etsy Finds. And Stephanie over at Catsparella also included my calendar among some other great cat calendars.

So I was a busy elf this past weekend because of it.



I'm feeling more festive with each passing day. We picked up a holiday wreath this morning and since my office is by the front door, I keep getting little wafts of fresh pine every now and then. I can't wait to get a little tree this weekend and for Whitney to experience her second Christmas.

The shop is only open until this weekend and I may close it sooner, so I can focus my energies on the book. My publishers have been so patient and understanding with me so far, but I know I really need to buckle down in order to do some great work.

Good night for now.

Hello again.

image via ankepanke

I've been focused on finishing up roughs for a children's book, while stocking shops and filling wholesale orders...
and weaning Whitney.
Finally.
But I'll save that story for another post...

I wanted to share a little collaboration piece - well, it really only involved me sending my art to the woman behind the real work - that is now available for purchase right here. It's a planner themed around girls. So if you are a girl who's into planners, like I am, then this would be a great one for 2012. Or anytime. You can fill in the dates yourself. There are 3 different covers to choose from. My favourite is this one. What girl does not love shoes?

This would make a great gift for someone. Or pick up a copy for yourself. I know I'm going to.

Life with a Toddler

Well, I've been slacking again with blog posts. But I'm blaming the hot hot heat... which makes me want to do next to nothing. Living with a toddler keeps me on my toes though and it seems we are constantly having to rethink our furniture arrangements to keep her safe.

So I've not just been vegging in front of the tv the past few weeks. On the contrary, we moved our tv down to the basement for about a month to keep Whitney from pulling at the cables. Since there is no cable connection down there, every time we wanted to watch something, Matt would have to bring up the monitor and pvr after Whitney was in bed. Needless to say that got to be a bit of a drag and not wanting to get rid of our cable - we are suckers, no pun intended, for True Blood - we rearranged our living room once again to better suit our tv watching needs. Now we just need to find a toddler-proof tv cabinet and mount/secure our flat screen tv to the wall.

Here's a before shot of the living room:

Right now we are using an Ikea ps cabinet to house our media. While it works well enough - the locking door is convenient - and matches the rest of our living room decor, I'd really like something larger, a bit more elegant and not on wheels. When we find the new cabinet, I'll be share some after shots.

Luckily, Whitney has not paid much attention to the tv since it's been back upstairs. Although she knows how to turn the tv on, she still is not allowed to watch any programs. I'm hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Besides, she's much too busy with her modeling gigs... kidding.
She did get to experience her first professional photo shoot earlier this month when a friend was looking for a toddler to model some of her new Fall clothing line. Here are my favourite shots:

Photos taken by Emma-Lee Photography

Really though, our little girl is happiest being outside, playing with water these days.


Personally, I prefer to stay indoors. I'm keeping busy with book illustrations, stocking some new shops and filling etsy orders.

And speaking of etsy, I'll be back soon with a little shop update.

Meow Are You?

I've been busy!

After rearranging my home office last week, business picked up a bit. I am by no means a feng shui expert, but I have an interest in it and try to rearrange things in our house by following certain guidelines. Whether or not that had anything to do with the sudden surge of business, I don't know. But the work was much needed, as we've had a string of unexpected bills to deal with the past month (or two). Funnily, I even inspired Matt to rethink his desk arrangement at home and his office, as well as those of some of his coworkers.

I will get around to showing you more of my new setup soon (along with other parts of our house), but here's a peek of one part of my office that stayed generally the same.

And a pic of my new business cards/hang tags including the other side of it.

Before things got busy, I reworked one of my old greeting card designs by eliminating the phrase on the front and adding a message inside (first photo above). It's now available in my shop.

The image ties in with Spring but it's also the purrfect anytime card for a cat lover.

Other cards and things will be listed in the shop soon. The rest of this weekend will be mainly devoted to spending time with my sister who's in town for a conference.
Her wedding is only a few months away and she also is eager to get in some Auntie time with Whitney.

Happy weekend to you!

New in Shop

Bunny Rabbit Kitty Undies

And that's all (for now), folks.

Primary Colours

Some fun, primary-coloured treasuries that in which I have been featured this past week.



Thanks to the kind etsians who put these pretty collections together.

Dress-up Day - Pocket Dresses

Yesterday was my dress-up day. As you can see, I use that term pretty loosely. I threw on a dress/tunic over some leggings, added some legwarmers, a hairband and a pair of earrings and called it dressing up. I started the day with my hair down (yes, I am badly in need of a haircut, but am trying to grow it out again), then pulled it into a tiny ponytail/bun in the afternoon.

(taken with Photo Booth)

The dress was actually one of the go-to items I wore when I was pregnant. I think I bought it when I was about 3 or 4 months pregnant, when I was just starting to show. But as the dress is quite stretchy, I thought it would fare quite well throughout the rest of my pregnancy. And it did. Plus who doesn't love a cute dress with pockets?

Outfit details
dress - Suzy Shier
leggings and legwarmers - American Apparel
earrings - Electric Lollipop

Speaking of dresses with pockets, in my search for some new clothes, I happily rediscovered an old etsy favourite. I will definitely be adding at least one of these dresses to my wardrobe before Spring arrives. They will make for some more easy dress-up days.

a little black dress with pockets

a stylish dress/top
perfect for nursing (as I'm still nursing Whitney)

Now I just need to work on taking some better photographs and possibly putting on some makeup.

Owl and Pussycat Print

A new print is in the shop, which means I am on track with goals #2 and #5 for 2011. And another new design will be unveiled in a few days (hopefully).

Best get in some work time before bed!

Limited Edition Scarves in the Shop

Just a quick post to say these scarves are available in my shop. Only a handful of these will be made, so you'll be a lucky cat if you get your paws on one.

Hi Kitty Scarf

Love Cats Scarf

Mustache Monday

I'm loving this fantastic treasury that this tee is in, put together by this lovely gal.

Been working away on a new print that will hopefully hit the shop by the end of the week. And I will be listing some new items before the end of the day.

Happy (Mustache) Monday to you!

Hello... December!

Wow! Is it December already? Where does the time go?

Office Sneak Peek

My mother-in-law recently reminded me that I haven't updated my website in a while... ahem, like since January. Or at least certain pages on it, like my bio, ie. not mentioning anything about Whitney.

Well, like Stacey, life (ie. looking after a little rugrat 12+ hours a day, running my business, screenprinting for others, cooking - on occasion, cleaning - ugh!, quality time with hubby, alone time for me - what's that?, tlc for the kitties - um, need to work on that!, moving, etc.) has got in the way of regular website and blog updates this year... there's always next year. I haven't really made or followed New Year's resolutions in some time, but I think 2011 deserves at least a few.

But I'm getting ahead of myself already. It's still 2010! And Christmas is still a few weeks away, so there's still time to pick up a few stocking stuffers from my shop.

Like these:

Bad Kitty Undies

Or these:

Owl and Pussycats Stickers

And these, added to the shop today:

Horoscope Girls Sticker Set

Check the shop tomorrow for a last-minute holiday item.

Off to bed now. Good night!

Getting into Holiday Mode

I love me some pretty etsy treasuries... especially when someone is sweet enough to include one of my items.

Festive Felines

Back in the shop for another holiday season are these cards . I am vowing here and now to make some new holiday designs for next year, though...

Six years in a row is a little much, no?

I am so looking forward to the holidays this year, as it will be Whitney's first Christmas and my family will be flying out here, too. But we'll have to figure out a different solution for the tree and presents, I think. She is still in that everything-must-go-into her mouth mode.

And speaking of firsts, I think she said her first word the other week.

What do you think it was?

"CAT!"
(of course)

In other news, I will be part of a group art show this weekend. A rather last minute invitation, and the piece in the show is an old one (below), but it should be a good show.

Feeling the Love... Seriously, Thank You!

I came home from the vet's yesterday - Suki needed a booster shot as her annual vaccination was done in 2 parts - and found a pleasant surprise in my inbox: a couple of sales in my shop and a feature in yesterday's Etsy Finds!

Seriously, the timing could not have been better. After slow sales had me questioning the future of my business - whether or not I wanted to keep doing it, that is - this little bit of exposure certainly reminded me why I do what I do. Not that I do it for the sales. But every time I make a sale, it makes me giddy to think that someone out there likes what I've made and wants it.

So thank you to all who stopped by my shop and added me to your favorites. And thank you to my latest customers. And thank you to those who take the time to include me in your treasuries, like these great ones.


I've been packing orders as much as I can in the last 24 hours and just started to pack for our move today, too. So much to do but I'm trying not to freak out. I will be closing my shop for at least a week starting September 30, though possibly sooner.

Anyways, Happy Sunday night! Will post again in the coming week.

New Print in the Shop!

Finally...
a new print is in the shop!

Other colours are available, but this has to be one of my faves. A nice soothing robin's egg/eggshell blue.

I'm planning on making a silkscreen for this too. So look for tees and totes with this design in the coming weeks. Yay!


Etsy has also changed our shop view to a wider format. Not sure if I like it as much or any better.

But here's to new things at any rate.

Working on more new stuff for the shop - prints, freebies, etc. - so will share with you as I finish them.