Black Friday

Just a quick post tonight to let you know about the Black Friday sale in my shop, starting tomorrow.  All regular priced items will be discounted by 25%, with the exception of address labels and shipping.  I promise to blog again soon.  Happy Thanksgiving to my Southern counterparts!

O is for Owl and Oh My, October's nearly Over!

O is for Owl Print available in my shop.

Time flies when you're having fun and napping entirely too much.  That's what I spent most of September and October doing.  With a little work fit in here and there.  

I'll blame it on the little one in my ever growing belly :)

We are expecting a new addition to our family next spring and this time around has had me wiped out for the past few months.  As I head into the second trimester,  I'm already feeling like my energy is returning (knock on wood), as I would normally be napping instead of blogging during Whitney's nap.  Of course, it seems like Miss Whitney is not into taking her nap today.  Murphy's Law, right?

A long post wasn't meant to be today.  Until next time!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

my darling nephew, Jackson Jivan

at Grandma's & Grandpa's, in Saskatoon

Whitney with Grandma

at my sister's awesome baby shower

I'm an auntie now!  My sister had about 2 and a half years in that role and is now in the throes of being a super mom!  Whitney and I traveled to Saskatoon for about 10 days last month to meet her cousin, Jackson Jivan Peng Harrison.  He turned one month on August 22 and is eating like a champ to make up for arriving 2 weeks early.

I took full advantage of a little mini summer vacation (and my mom's extra hands) and did absolutely no work, in spite of bringing some things with me... which at one point, I thought had been stolen out of my suitcase by airport staff.  Seriously, it took me about a week before I even thought about taking out my work and then I had forgotten exactly where I put it.  And of course, it was still in my suitcase, just not in the place I thought I had put it.

Anyways, now that Fall is almost here, I'm in the midst of prepping new items for retailers and my shop.  The miniature tuxedo calendar is now in the shop.  Hoping to add a few new seasonal prints and introduce a new screen design in the coming weeks.  Be back again later this week with sneak peeks and some recent press.

Sunday Funnies

I had a little helper in my office today... 

Quality Control Checker

She was making sure that the new kitties were okay. 

They are fine and there's a new print featuring twelve new tuxedo kitties in the shop.

Twelve is the purrfect number of cats for a calendar, so be sure to check out my shop in the next few days if you're on the hunt for a new one.

Free Time

Last year on my birthday, we went to the zoo.  So this year, I asked for a little "free" time to do some work today.
Yes, I'm funny like that. 

Anyways, here are some peeks at things that have been on my desk in the past few weeks.

new mailing labels (since revised slightly)

new calendar in the works

new format for last year's calendar

Yo-Yo & Yeou-Cheng Ma book I illustrated for Dragoneagle Press

Two new calendars will be in the shop> later today.  And since it's my birthday, I'm going to have a little sale going on for the next week.  Just enter BDAY20 at checkout and receive 20% off your purchase (not including shipping) of anything already in my shop.  Does not apply to custom orders or made to order items.

Stripes & Glasses

Stripes and glasses have been a prominent theme of late... as you can see by some of the newest things in the shop.

 Owl Father's Day card

Pirate Kitty Goes on a Sea Adventure Art Print

Bookish Clever Kitty Art Print

Striped C is for Cat Tee

More things coming to the shop soon. The last several weeks we've all been recovering from a rather nasty cold so it's been kind of slow going. And now Whitney just picked up another bug, so it may get quiet again around here.  Wishing everyone a healthy and happy Weekend!

Birthday Cards, Mais Oui!

Birthday cards are finally in the shop! French versions will be available soon.  You could say I was somewhat inspired by my parents' recent trip to Paris. Maybe someday, Matt and I will get to visit the famed City of Love.  Au revoir for now!

Hoppy Easter!

In honour of the holiday, I'm having a little Easter sale in my shop today and tomorrow until midnight Easter Monday. 20% off all regular priced merchandise in the shop. Just enter code:HOP2IT at checkout.

Confessions

I've been debating about posting about this for the past several weeks, but finally just need to get it off my chest:

A few weeks ago, I was considering giving up on my business.

Seriously.

I was feeling so rotten about it.  Lack of sales, retailers returning stock to me, and dwindling funds made me question the legitimacy of my business.  Not only my business, but my path in life.  If I'm not making enough to help support my family, is this really my calling?

But it's not as if I went into this line of work for the money.  And thankfully, my mister has a full-time job that allows me to keep doing what I'm doing, so most of the money I make goes back into the business or else covers things for Whitney and occasionally goes towards some household bills.

Let's face it, though.  My full-time gig right now really is being a mom.  Take today, for example.  We booked a nanny to look after Whitney, since Matt is busy working on a film and I had hopes of getting in more than 3 hours of work.  But due to unforeseen circumstances (a car accident - no major injuries, I think), the nanny couldn't make it and my plans went out the window.  I could have made a stink about this.  Instead, I see it as a sign that today was simply meant to be spent with Whitney.

These years with her are so precious - though they don't always seem so - and I need to remember that I won't be able to get them back.  She won't always want to spend this much time with me.  

So, what it basically comes down to is that I have to remember not to be so hard on myself.  I am a full-time mom, running a part-time business.  No matter how much money I make, I don't want to lose the love for what I do.  And I am NOT giving up.  It just may take me a bit longer to get to where I want to be.

On the bright side, I finally designed some baby congratulations cards, currently available in my etsy shop and also at Kid Culture.

And I am looking to expand my list of retailers this year, particularly in Canada, so if anyone has suggestions for cool shops to approach, please do share.  Thanks for listening.

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!

What's new, Pussycat?

Things on the shop front have been pretty quiet this month, so I've been focused on organizing things around the home the past few weeks and working on some new designs. Here are some shots of my newly reorganized office. 

Matt took it upon himself to paint the basement a few weekends ago - from a pukey pink to clean white - so his home office and my studio space now look a whole lot better.  I have yet to get some pictures though.  

I also finally set up my facebook page.  Still not the best with social media, but I'm trying to make an effort to grow my business 

this year.

Speaking of which, I have a bit of press in the new issue of Modern Dog of all places.  My C is for Cat print is among some other great cat products.  I am so wanting to get the sleek Modkat litter box for Suki and Dex, but wonder if they will adjust well to it and if it will make a difference in how often we clean it. (um, yeah, we are pretty bad for a 2 cat household)

Anywho, I'll be back soon with a look at what I've been working on and more peeks around our home.

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!

I'm Late, I'm Late

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I wish I could have started 2012 a little more organized and caught up. But with Dex going on a little adventure outside 3 weeks ago, things got set back and some deadlines were missed. The most important thing, though, is that we got Dex back home... on Christmas morning! I kid you not. It was our Christmas miracle. Santa (or someone) heard my plea. Now I just want him to be healthy. He was a skinny and tired boy after a week of being outside. And he's been vomiting off and on for a little bit, so I'm hoping it is nothing serious.

Work-wise, I am finally nearing the finish line of the children's book I've been working on for the past year. Just the cover and a few revisions to finish. My publishers must be counting the days till they can get their hands on all the illustrations.

Other than that, the shop is now open again. Look for some new things soon... once I (or we) finish planning and putting together Whitney's first big birthday party, which will be this Saturday. She turns 2 on Wednesday. This will be the first party really that Matt will have hosted. Yes, we are not social butterflies, so hopefully all goes well. It's all about the kids, anyways, right?

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.

New Holiday Cards

After 7 years of pushing the same holiday cards, I finally got around to designing some new ones. They are now in the shop.


Dex even made it onto one of them. I think I need more practice drawing his mug though.

A few more holiday things to come before I really dig into working on "the book". Meow for now.

Slowly but Surely

I feel like I'm moving at a snail's pace keeping up with things these days. Christmas is just over a month away and I only listed my first holiday item in the shop today.

More things are in the works and will hopefully be ready for listing by the weekend.

How other moms juggle their creative workload with their mothering duties without extra help, I don't know. Most days I don't get nearly as much work done as I'd like (or plan) to, either because a little someone wakes up early from her nap, or else because that little someone wants me to play with her. But that's life. Plus how can I resist this face?

Whitney is getting better at playing on her own these days though... five or ten minutes if I'm lucky, as opposed to her previous window of 1 or 2 minutes. Funnily enough, a mother I met while out last week said the solution for a less needy child was to have another! Ha!

And if all else fails, get daddy to help out :)

Hello November...

And hello again!
I can't believe we're already into the second week of November. We still have our Halloween decorations up but the pumpkins will be finding themselves in the green bin in the next few days.





The past several weeks saw a few birthdays celebrated, (grand)parents visiting, a few meltdowns, a first trick-or-treating and real Halloween experience and also some much needed work slotted into the spare moments.

Actually, I got quite a bit of book work done which I definitely could not have managed without my mom's help. For about 2 and a half weeks, she cooked and cleaned for us and entertained Whitney without any complaints. I know that Whitney can wear me out after just a half day sometimes, so I just have to say how amazing my mom was and is! And I think Whitney enjoyed her time with her grandparents too.



Today, I'm focusing on computer work. I'll be listing a few new items in the shop shortly, so pop on by soon.