aprylstottdesign.com Blog

I have two things to share today.

1. I finished this announcement for my friend Gabby today. It’s currently on it’s way to their neck o’ the woods. Congratulations on your SIXTH BABY! You are amazing.

2. And since I’m leaving town, of COURSE I couldn’t just mass produce the invitations for this baby shower. Of course I had to hand draw it, then copy it on cardstock so I could watercolor little bits of each one. And then add glitter (remember, everything is better with glitter. Even if you can’t see it in this scan…)

We’re off to Salt Lake City for the OR Show (anyone else going? Anyone?)

What are you up to?

Here’s a few images from the other book I finished last week. The manuscript maybe had vocabulary of five different words, mostly about this sweet little boy’s toy that got lost. The art director asked for really really really simple pictures. I tried something a little different this time, to add visual interest to fairly simple images. I did a really subtle collage. You maybe can’t even see it here, but in the boy’s shorts there’s a denim texture. And behind the color in the images is a very faint parchment background. And the fur of his stuffed alligator is real fur texture. (I know, you probably can’t even tell here, but it’s really there, I swear. I was hoping this would help the images look interesting while still keeping them simple.)

It was a super fun project. And when I was done, instead of sitting on laurels and catching up on Glee, I decided to go on a SUPER CRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA!!! I know I said I didn’t sew before, but apparently if you keep trying over and over again, eventually something turns out. My sister in law made Ella a fabulous little pillowcase dress last year. It’s so cute. So I totally copied her and tried a few of my own. I went to Savers and found some awesome old vintage pillowcases and used grosgrain ribbon in lieu of binding tape to finish off the top, waist and arms. This one we made for Ella’s friend (who luckily is the same size. Thanks for the fabulous modeling job, kiddo!)

I made this little one for my niece Teagan. I was hoping the green waist ribbon would give it a little kick. I’m thinking about maybe making her some matching green ribbon flowers. We’ll see how ambitions I am… (Also, don’t be jealous of my mad photography skillz. I know, I know…)

Then I had a baby shower. I’m obsessed with old man hats, and wanted to see if I could make one for a baby. I chose to make it out of fleece since it doesn’t fray on the edges. It’s pretty forgiving for people who really just pretend to know what they’re doing (you know, like me…)

Then I ripped off my amazing sister’s idea and embroidered a matching onesie. Ta-Dah!!!

I know, I know, I’m almost done. Then I made a necklace and matching earrings. I think the earrings turned out particularly well, just simple ones that hang from a studded post that I bent and filed down into an earring hook.

And that’s it. Now we get to go start our summer vacation. So what have you been working on? I want to hear!

We’ve got a lot of milestones happening around here. My 5 year old lost her first two baby teeth AND is graduating kindergarten in a week (sniff). I’m so not ready for this. I helped put their class yearbook together (now THAT was a project!) and they’re practicing for their Big Graduation Ceremony. My husband has been mocking me constantly. “Why do you need a graduation ceremony for KINDERGARTEN?” You just do, alright? YOU JUST DO.

And I just finished a kindergarten reader.

What do YOU have planned this summer?

Trading work is AWESOME! (We got the new Yo Gabba Gabba soundtrack, so now I am constantly thinking in “D.J. Lance Voice”). But seriously, trading work is FUN! This week I finished up a logo for a new farm in town. AND NOW I GET FREE PRODUCE FOR THE SEASON. I am so excited about this, I can’t even tell you.

Here’s the logo in black & white:

And in color:

Plus, I did work for a chiropractor friend a while ago & she’s going to adjust me and the girls next week. (How do you adjust a two year old? I’m fascinated by this.) Trades are AWESOME!!!

So my Super Lovely Sister-In-Law is getting married this summer (YAY!) So I made up some invitations for her shower. TA DA!!!

My future bro-in-law is very ANTI CLUTTER, so they’ve registered for things they can go and do together instead of “stuff”. Isn’t that brilliant? (Though these days I get excited about going to McDonalds with the girls. I can’t even imagine going to the ACTUAL MOVIES or, my heavens, A CONCERT. Whoa. Totally jealous.)

I’ve got two bits of happy news to share:

1. I am the “Illustrator of the Week” at ChildrensIllustrators.com. YAY AGAIN!!!

2. The illustrations I talked about in this post (we made cards for the kids of deployed soldiers to keep in touch with their parents) are being distributed by the organization who thought up the brilliant idea in the first place. They’re going to make card kids for groups of volunteers to assemble and then distribute on the bases. The cards we made this fall went to Ft. Lewis WA. So fun.

I’m in the middle of 2 other projects right now (YAY FOR WORK!), so I should have some things to share with you in the next few weeks. Till then!!!

Just when you thought Christmas was over! BAM! Here come the Christmas Kittens. I finished this Sticker Book Proposal a few weeks ago & thought I’d share. Maggie is shopping it around right now. Wish us luck!

Detail from the cover:

Interior Page:

Sticker Page:

Here’s a little baby announcement I just finished for a family in Australia. They wanted a “subtle” kangaroo. Do you think this is subtle enough?

I want a dog.

I’ve been working on a few digital illustrations and thought I’d share.

I remember talking to a fellow illustrator a few years ago who said, “I don’t even use sketch books anymore, I draw everything on the computer!” I couldn’t believe that. I thought it was sad. But let me tell you, I’ve changed my opinion. It’s SO. MUCH. EASIER. I can make really detailed sketches, drastically change them, add detail, and make them the perfect size all in 1/2 the time. Even if I’m going to make the picture with a traditional medium (watercolor, pastel, etc.) I still sketch it out in Photoshop first. It’s quite amazing. And I can listen to pandora.com while I work. That alone makes me draw better…

Before I skip town tomorrow, I just wanted to add one more thing. We made these Cinnamon Roll mixes today at my mom’s group. They are great to give away to teachers/neighbors/oh crap, they’ve brought us a plate of cookies and we have nothing to give them in return/people. They cost about $3 each too, an added bonus. (I bought supplies to make 18 for our group. Did you know you can google “how many cups of flour in a 25 lb bag” and get the answer? I love the internet.)

Here’s the recipe card:

Click here (Cinnamon Roll Recipe Tags copy) for a PDF of the the Ready To Print version. Prints 4 recipe cards per sheet.)
We put the cinnamon & sugar in a little ziploc baggie, the flour & yeast in a gallon sized ziploc baggie, and took the cake mix out of the box. Then we put those three things into big fancy baggies to package them (found from a floral wholesale supplier), but you could just throw the three bags into another ziploc. You could even trim the ziploc part off and tie it with a ribbon if you want to get really fancy.

Here’s what it looked like all packaged up:

Ok, now I’m really REALLY done with Christmas.
xo

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah, my lovelies! I decided not to document Gretchen screaming for this year’s Christmas card. We all look bland, happy, and excited about lights. Not at all a realistic representation. (Artistic liberties & all that…)

I finally finished my gifts for the nieces (I couldn’t leave them out after slaving over the $5 gifts for the nephews. I tend to get carried away with projects. Perhaps you’ve noticed.) Gretchen is modeling her Princess Hat and tulle skirt. And rockin’ the Lawn Gnome look.

Here it is laid out of the floor so you can see what it really looks like. And I could attempt to write down directions, but I’m not exactly sure how I pulled this off. Lets just say it involved my mother-in-laws surger, leftover canvas from college painting class, and a hot glue gun.

Happy Holidays!