Ever heard that phrase "I am so far behind I'm ahead of myself"? Or did I just make that up? Well, either way, I got so busy working on my art deadlines for May, I made an extra one! Sadly, this one will have to go into the July release (I will remind you) but I still wanted to share.

This reminds me of the time in high school when, at a swim meet, I was swimming the 500 freestyle for the first time (and last, I was an IMer, and it was best I stuck with that) and I swam four extra laps. FOUR EXTRA LAPS!!! During a SWIM MEET!! I had already done 20 laps and was in the zone (or delirious)....people were yelling for me to stop, all the other swimmers were finished ... my Mom was cringing in the stands...it was pretty bad.

The beauty of this over shot is that I am not embarrassed or exhausted! I am just, ahead of myself... which I have to admit, is a new feeling.

This one goes out to good moms everywhere (especially mine!) and in particular to my good friend Ali and her new little boy Oscar. Welcome to a whole new 'everything in the world.' Love you guys!

Would love to know what you think of the new releases!

xoxo

Happy Monday! I hope you all had wonderful fun-filled or at least productive weekends! Mine had just the right balance of celebrating (a friend's birthday), catching up (on sleep) and being productive. Oh! AND watching the Jayhawks eek their way into the Final Four! (yes! we are still watching basketball...but on the couch together...)

I finished up this piece this weekend and I am just in love with her and her inner tube!

The concept of "being where you are" has been coming up a lot for me lately. In my own life and in conversations or experiences with others. I have been thinking on it a bunch, and wanted to put this out there as a lobby for all of us to take a deep breath, and a look around, and allow ourselves to feel the little successes in our lives.

This is not a 'get a ribbon for showing up' conversation, but more a recognition that sometimes, just getting out the door with all of your clothes on and showered is a little victory. That all the things that you think are getting in the way of where you are going, are things that require your energy and attention and are real. Showing up for them is a success too. That each of the steps on the way (even if it is a step back), is a step for a reason, and being present with it is worth it.

We have visions for ourselves and put a lot of pressure on ourselves to "make it", "be it', "do it already", and while some of that is good and motivating, sometimes we need to get really honest, and really ok with being right where and what we are. That is how things are done authentically, and that is how things will feel the best. And that is something to be celebrated. And something to be happy about.

Being where you are is very different from being who you are, but not often less complicated.

So, this one is for all of the little steps and little victories.

xoxo

Hello lovelies! I have been in studio most of this week working on an art deadline. Sorry if I have not returned an email or a phone call or if I was supposed to be somewhere and forgot. I am pretty locked in when I am in here, which is good, but it can make me very anti-social.

Over the past year I have been working on re-vamping some older Curly Girl pieces. I still love the sentiment, but the image doesn't feel current anymore to me, or I just think it could be better. Over the years, my illustration style has evolved, the brand has grown and the applications for my art are different. I want to keep things relevant and fresh, and the beauty of working for myself, is that I have the freedom to do something over and give it new life. Instead of a piece getting discontinued and sent into the archives, I get a chance to give it a little make over and re-introduce it to the world as I see it today. What a treat!

I made the first version of this card before it being a greeting card was even a thought in my brain. Before I even dreamt of making art for a living, starting a greeting card company or (gasp!) running one. Before I knew how to do any of that and way before I thought I could do any of that. To be honest, before I even wanted to do any of that.

I made this in 2001, sitting on the floor of my first apartment in Cambridge, unemployed having been recently laid off from my first big job. I was making post cards for friends and this was the second one I did. It has now been for sale in the Curly Girl line for 9 years and actually still sells quite well!

Even though it is still one of our great sellers, I wanted to give it a re-do to make it more contemporary, and more in line with my current style.I also wanted to update the sentiment so that it wasn't just about 'she' anymore. It needed to be brighter, and more energized and just a little bolder.  It is, after all about enjoying the finer things of life with the finest things in life...good friends.

I love how the new one turned out, I love the kind of day they are having...let me know what you think!

xoxo

I spent this weekend working in the shop and in the studio. It was an all-together pleasant time and I must admit to feeling quite accomplished.

This little card is in honor of my great love for the sea. Ever since I was very young I felt drawn to the ocean, or felt I needed to be in and around the water in some way. This, as you can imagine, is a bit of a challenge growing up in Missouri (unless you are fond of the muddy waters of the Mississippi). I took to swimming at a very young age and swam competitively until I was 18. Burnt out on butterfly, I moved on to rowing in college and learned to fly on the water using oars instead of arms. When I took out on my own I had no concrete plans, but a very specific destination: by the sea. I landed in Boston and have been here ever since.

If I am ever missing, look for me at the water's edge, on a beach or in a boat. You will find me there. Wherever I am in my life, whatever is going on, I know that I can count on the waves to calm me, the salt air to heal me and the great expanse of the sea to put me rightly in my place. You can never feel too big for your britches when you are standing near the ocean. It is always bigger and deeper and more powerful than anything you bring to it. That has a wonderful way of keeping things in perspective.

This one is for all the mermaids...

xoxo

Here is another sneak peek for the May 2012 release! Almost my entire family is made up of educators. English teachers, Business teachers, Kindergarten, French and my Mom just retired from teaching art K-5 for more than 20 years. They have been Deans, Administrators, Advisors and Heads of Departments, and Coaches. They collectively have more education than some small nations and I couldn't be more proud of having grown up surrounded by them. As a result, we stopped at all the scenic views on road trips, went to museums, learned the history of things. We kept rock collections, and bug collections and were not afraid of snakes or spiders. For my brother and me, childhood was rich and full of adventure, and as an adult I continue to learn from them. In fact, some of them still check my final cards for grammar and punctuation (send your emails to them!).

I have such a great and deep respect and admiration for good teachers that I found it hard to write on the subject. That sometimes happens when you are too close to something. This is my first of hopefully many love letters to those who teach. Thank you to those of you who get up each day and shape what is possible.

Let me know what you think!

xoxo

Oh hello there, I am writing you from my third consecutive day in studio. It's incredible how even though this is part of my job, that phrase sounds like "vacation" to me. Third consecutive day in studio. May as well be "warm tropical breeze" or "national holiday". Ok, warm tropical breeze might be taking it too far, but you get the picture. I actually really love my work, and these studio days remind me how lost in it I can get.

This is the second addition to the line for May (yes, I know, sadly, these won't be available until May) and it is one I have been thinking about for awhile. It is about contrast. And faith.

Contrast to help us keep connected and hopeful and faith because sometimes faith is the only thing that stands between the light and the darkness. Sometimes faith is the only way out and the only way through.

And sometimes it takes a little dark to see the bright bright lights all around you.

xoxo

Hello!! I have been busy at work in my (freshly cleaned and organized!) studio working on the spring release. I thought I would share the first new card of the year!

There are so many times in our lives when things knock us off of our plan. We think we have it figured out or at least sorted in the right direction and then life throws us a curve ball. In the moment that can be devastating, or frustrating or at the very least, super inconvenient. This is a little reminder that our journey is a very different thing than our path.

This goes out to all of those journeys out there right now that are encountering a side road or two.

Crank the mix tape. Sing along, and make sure you enjoy the scenery.

xoxo

Would love to know your thoughts!

Good morning! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on the sneak peeks...and even for the frank ones and the spirited debate over the inclusion of other species. I love to hear what you think. I will say this regarding the rodents in question. I was very keen on making this card available to anyone to send to anyone. Many of my cards are for the women in our lives or from 'us to them", or simply celebrating the power and gorgeousness of who you are. And that is just as it should be. But I wanted the 'hug you' card to have more of a broad scope. I wanted to be able to send it to a guy, or a couple and I wanted anyone to look at those two 'friends' and say, "oh, that's you and me!"

Making them cute mice instead of people was the way that was possible. Also, I think little mice are super cute and I like to imagine that they have little mouse troubles and need little mouse hugs too.

I blame Disney.

Anyway, here is the final addition to the line for January. This is a bit of a modern love letter. It is about the times when most of the things in our lives are a touch out of focus or in mild chaos. Beds aren't made, bills may not be paid, you may not be where you thought you would be or in my case, you may not have showered too recently, but you have one person (or set of people) in your life that makes you feel like you really did something right. Or that makes you realized that you are blessed despite all those things.

For me this person is my husband, but there are also times when this was written for my Mom and Dad, a dear friend, even someone I haven't known that long but have connected with in an important way. Sometimes it's even for myself. It's for your calm in the storm, whatever the storm.

Who would you send this to?

xoxo

Hello pigeons! Here is another little sneak peek for 2012! These cards will be out in January, to answer your questions. Sorry to be such a tease. Patience is a virtue...

This is one that I have wanted to make for a long time but for some reason or another it was never exactly right. I sat down this time and it came out right. Just as I meant it. I have had a few occasions to send a card like this or extend this sentiment to someone, but right now have one dear friend in particular who needs a little extra support because what she is going through just sucks. That's it. It just sucks and there is nothing I can do to change it. The only thing that I can do is keep her in my thoughts, show up when she needs me, and bring snacks. 

The first incarnation of this card got scratched out in my sketchbook and in big black marker because what I wanted to write is: "THIS JUST SUCKS!!"... but that's not very Curly Girl is it? I think it's interesting that for me, sometimes, to write what I really mean to say, I need to have gotten really close to the experience. I have been 'writing' this card for over a year but it has never worked until right now. I think this one could be useful in many situations and many circumstances, and really, I just love that the mice are sitting in a spoon together. And I love snacks.

So there you are. This one goes out to the sucko times and being in the pit-crew for someone you love.

Let me know what you think!

xoxo

I have been working hard in the studio on a tight deadline (ahem, late...) and I wanted to share the latest.

I have had the great pleasure of watching several people I really really love marry people they really really love over the past 6 months or so and I wanted to try and sum up my wishes for them. So many good wises cannot fit in such a small space so I tried to focus on the essence. At the root, a relationship is a journey and a story and a marriage is not the beginning of it. It is a big bright and shiny chapter of it though and I wanted to celebrate that, and wish for many more good things than hard things while acknowledging that some drama is part of the course. Also, in an age of all-things digital, I wanted to celebrate the beautiful, good-old-fashioned printed word. Books are romance to me and I hope they never go away. This one goes out to classic romance.

Let me know what you think!

xoxo