School work

We got the boys
these adorable handmade

birdie pencil holders
at a crafts market recently.

This is where they do
their school work every day.
I love that they get
lots of natural light.

Hand carved ship

Once you start carving
it is very difficult to stop doing it :)
I highly recommend it.
I used my trusty Speedball lino cutter
and a Staedtler 2½" × 2½" × ¾"
carving block for this one.
The ships in the background
are from my collection of vintage postcards.

Pomegranate

A new hand carved stamp for my collection.
Used a huge Factis eraser for this one.

Orchid

It's my first one ever, wish me luck.
If you have any tips on how to care for it
I'd really appreciate you leave me a comment.

I drew this one in 2007
with acrylic ink on watercolor paper.

Favorites

1. tic tac toe, 2. shells: organized, 3. Dandelion, 4. White mushroom.JPG, 5. Kumquat, 6. Onion Skin Dyed Eggs, 7. too windy, 8. last one for a bit., 9. a very still life, 10. found treasures, 11. Hip to be cool, or freezing in this case., 12. so softly, 13. じょうず (Jouzu) Japanese word that means skillful or good at., 14. arranged by size, 15. 赤いポピー／Red poppy, 16. pojagi, 17. pretty, 18. coral garden, 19. sunspots, 20. geraldton wax

Flickr is a HUGE
source of inspiration for me.
These are just a few
of my favorites.

Inspiration

Bunny Kisses

Watercolor, collage & acrylic ink on paper.

Just added to the shop :)

Lovebirds

The Lovebirds are back

for a 2nd Edition at my shop.

It's in Japanese

New version of this, this,
and this birdie.

Watercolor & acrylic ink on paper.
4 x 5 inches

I've been more inspired
by these Japanese craft books/magazines
than by the ones I can actually read!
Here's a great
Japanese craft book resource.

Cool down

Waiting for the muffins to cool.
Didn't feel like spending too much time
in the kitchen today so I made these
with a prepared cake mix.
Bob Red Mill's whole grain
lemon poppy seed cake mix.
I wish you could smell them...

Faux Crochet

Inspired by my friend Margie's
beautiful real ones.

Hand painted with a super thin
synthetic round brush & white acrylic ink.

Friends

These little birds are my desk companions.
I purchased the amazing fabric birdie
from Ann Wood Handmade
& the papier-mâché lovlies
were a gift made by my talented friend
Gustavo Aimar.

And speaking of super talented friends,
Margie posted an interview with me in her blog.

Be sure to check out her wonderful photos
and handmade goodies at her Etsy shop.
*The middle & bottom photos
were taken by Margie.

New journal pages

Collage, hand carved stamps, watercolor & ink.
Click on the image to see it
BIGGER

First watercolor of 2009

I had not touched my watercolors
in almost four weeks!
I bought a Sennelier panoramic format
watercolor paper block
that I really liked at Dick Blick.
The paper measures roughly
9 x 4 inches.

Drawers

There's a beautiful chest of drawers

living in our studio/homeschool as of this weekend.

Designed by my talented husband Manolo.
It's made out of cedar wood
with drawer pulls from IKEA.

Chalkboard calendar

Nothing like a big ol' calendar
to keep track of the days.

Manolo made that magnetic board for our
homeschool/studio a couple of years ago.
It's a framed piece of galvanized steel that I painted
with black chalkboard paint.
It has been so useful!

Bazaar del Sabado

This morning we went for a stroll

at one of my favorite places in Mexico City.

It's called Bazaar del Sabado.
I wish all of you could have come with us :)