one year ago...

One year ago I walked down this aisle and cheerfully said "I Do!" (my friends still tease me about practically shouting it...I think everyone expects me to be mousie at times, but I can belt it when I mean it!). Happy anniversary to my dear Jeffrey!


I feel as though we have come so far in a year, yet we are right back where we started in a way too. We are celebrating our anniversary with a trip back to Sonoma/Napa and San Francisco, right where we started off our honeymoon last year. I think this may become an annual trip for us. We love it out there for so many reasons.


Here's one reason...this is one of our horse-friends at the cottage where we stay in Sonoma. Aren't velvety horse noses one of the BEST things ever?!


And here's another reason why we love Sonoma...grapes and the earth. Everything FEELS so healthy out there, the air, the sky, the food, and yes, even the wine.


So, on September 22 of this year, Jeff and I will be walking down THIS aisle. And we can't wait to share it with our sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who are joining us on our trip this year. A first year anniversary AND 30th birthday celebration all in one trip, actually all in one DAY. Cheers!

color palette snapshots

I am no great photographer, and don't think I ever will be...I just don't have a gift for it. But lately, I've been trying to be better at snapping shots of good reference I see everyday. It's my way of "cataloging" my inspiration and remembering it. Which is why I like blogging too...I feel like knowing I have an outlet to share things makes me be more observant and appreciative of my everyday surroundings. So, here are a few little snapshots with flowers in vases that caught my eye:


I brought these simple flowers home from the grocery store the other day, stuck them in a vase in the corner, and realized this made such a nice color palette: a soft neutral aqua, vibrant yellow-green, honey mustard yellow and expresso brown.


This is a cute, little storefront of Wild Flour Bakery in Rocky River. It just feels European (maybe French?) to me, though I've never been to Europe. I've never been into this bakery either (everything was closed on Sunday), but it just looks so inviting, doesn't it? Plus, I am a sucker for anything painted cobalt blue...don't know why, I just am. Ooh, this makes me want to post some pics from my trip to Jamaica a few years ago (LOTS of cobalt blue there!). I'll save that for next time!

august highlights

August has been a busy but fun month of summer celebrating–celebrating family, friends, nature, locally-grown foods (mmm, they are sooooo good right now), baseball and birthdays! My husband just had a birthday and it seems the past week has been full of surprises for both of us.

Last weekend, we went to the Shaker Lakes Nature Center on Cleveland's eastside:

Here's Jeff, perhaps contemplating life's big mysteries? Or wondering where I hid his birthday gifts? Or studying cattails close-up? Or did he just lose his flip-flop?


I liked this saying that was carved into the rail.


I think I might chose this house if I were a bird...


...a leaning tower bird condo!


I loved the painted wooden sign with a map of the trail.


Here's a detail of the map.


It was magical, the way the leaves became transparent in the sunlight. I love how forests have mini-forests within them, how each tree is a canopy in a forest, but also how each individual leaf becomes a canopy as well.


It was a flower wonderland.


I mean, who wouldn't want to go down this path?! There's bound to be good things on the other side!


Baseball is one of my husband's favorite summer pasttimes...and going to games has become one of mine too. Jeff surprised me with an afternoon baseball outing last Thursday...I have to say we were really enjoying the benefits of self-employment that day!


Our seats at the game...in Jeff's favorite section. Go Tribe!


Then on to sit outside at one of our favorite city hotspots...Great Lakes Brewery Company. Holy Moses with an orange (on the right) is my beverage of choice on a hot summer day, Jeff's is Imperial Dortmunder (on the left).


Patio at GLBC.

And here's some more of the celebrating with family and friends this month:


My niece Ava, snapping her first beans. As you can see, she was a very determined little snapper.


The Winery at Wolf Creek has some new additions this summer...goats!


Here's Miss Ava and her goat-friend having a little staredown.


This is what we all secretly want to do when we bite into a cupcake.


Mmmm...can I have another?


Some of my bestest friends in our party dresses! What a fun baby party!

Back on the homefront:

Sometimes I only have to look as far as my backyard for reference...see this animated spread from my book Haiku Baby and you'll know see exactly how my world finds its way into my art. We've been enjoying watching our resident fawns grow up. They still have their spots but have gotten so big...and have almost learned to not bother running from our old, harmless dog.


This is Hank, doing what he does best in the dog days of summer...dreaming of deer-chasing.

summer debut

Just thought I'd post these two gift cards I did for Target that made their debut this summer. If you get the chance, look for the actual cards in Target because they did a great job with the printing techniques to give them that extra something special. It was a really fun project to work on. It's funny, I remember getting the call from my agent while I was getting a manicure the day before my wedding. So we set up a conference call that same day, right before the rehearsal dinner, and I got the project. Some things you just can't pass up, even if it IS the day before your wedding.



My book signing at Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati went great! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this event. I just have this picture a friend of mine took on their cell phone earlier in July. It was a really good turnout for the signing, and I could tell the bookstore did a lot to promote the event. The staff was so accommodating and nice, and I couldn't have felt more welcome. It's so fun to talk to parents and kids afterwards too. I always learn so much. I also got to spend some time with a few good friends, which always fills me up inside and gives me an extra boost of happy vibes.

signing "signs"

My Haiku Baby book signing last Saturday at Joseph-Beth was oh-so fun! The store even sold out of books! I think it's so funny to see signs and posters promoting my book around the stores. Ones with my head shot are especially silly to me because I am so NOT the celebrity.



I loved sitting in front of the fireplace to read my book...it felt like home. I feel like I turned a corner and that I'm starting to really figure out how to relate to a younger audience and make the storytimes and readings a little more interactive. And Jeff helped me mock up an oversized book that really helped keep the kids attention...the little book is tough for reading to big groups.



I also passed out little birdie finger puppets (with feathery wings!) this time, and had the kids hold them up whenever they saw the bird show up in the book. It certainly helped to have the support of so many family and friends there too. It's so important to have cheerleaders in your life, and I think I have the best.

Maybe I had a little help from nature too. I saw this giant halo moon the night before, and I had to pull over and take some pictures of it because it was so amazing and it was such a haiku moment. In my head I was singing Jolie Holland's "Amen, there's a ring around the moon..." song. I felt like seeing the moon was the world's sign to me that all is well and the next day would go well (I get very nervous before these things). My friend Jenny's blog says it was "the full moon of the guru," which I guess means you're supposed to celebrate all the teachers in your life. I thought that was so fitting. In a way, Saturday was partly about paying homage to all those people that helped me on my path. I feel like sharing Haiku Baby with the world is my way of giving back everything people have given to me along the way. I think it was a "haiku moment" for all of us, not just for me, because I think there is a little bit of everyone special to me in this book.

the best job ever

Sometimes I can't believe I ever let myself get stressed out or negative about how I make a living. Today is one of those days when I realize how lucky I am to do what I do everyday. What is my job like today? I am dumping out bags of feathers from the craft store, trying to find "just right" colors and sizes for little birdie finger puppets. And I catch myself being all serious and wishing I could art direct the feathers..."Why can't you be more BLUE?" and "If you were only a tad SMALLER..." And then my husband says "Come on Betsy, they're FEATHERS! They're fine. The kids will love them." He's right, and then I relax and have fun again. I mean, really, who can complain about playing with feathers?

Now you might wonder why I am making finger puppets for my job (and not actually getting paid for this one). Well, I am handing them out at the Haiku Baby storytime and book signing I am doing at the Cleveland Joseph-Beth (Legacy Village) this Saturday at 11am. You can read more info about my book and signing (and me!) in the article featured in this week's Cleveland Scene. Should be a fun time...please join us if you are in the area. Then YOU can play with feathers too!

ICON5 scrapbook

I was in NYC last Wednesday through Sunday for the illustration conference. The trip was so inspiring for so many reasons that I don't even know where to start! It came at a perfect time for me because I'm just finishing up 2 big book projects and now I feel so rejuvenated and ready to move on to new things.

If you're an illustrator and you've never been to the conference, or if you missed this one, you should check out the official ICON site so you can get an idea of what it's all about. Plus, they plan on posting follow-ups and content from some of the presenters, so stop back later too.


The conference took place in the historic Roosevelt Hotel on Madison at 45th. I love the details of old hotels and have to say it was one of the best hotels I've stayed in NYC.


On Thursday I did a studio tour of Curious Pictures in the morning. That was interesting to me because they do a lot of animation for children's series, which is something I'd like to get into someday.


Thursday afternoon I went to Jessie Hartland's studio. I've admired her artwork for several years. I love the naive quality of her painting and that her art really speaks to people of all different age groups. It's so approachable. I especially liked to hear her talk about her experience designing Christmas window displays for Bloomingdale's. What an amazing opportunity! She had this reindeer you can see in the background hanging up at the entrance to her studio.


our tour group on the roof of Jessie's building


From the rooftop, we could see the Brooklyn Bridge with the waterfall installation by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.


The day before, I got to meet Maria Eugenia, who came all the way from Brazil. She's also represented by my agent, so it was fun to meet a fellow Painted Words artist!

After the day of studio tours, the rest of the conference events were mostly at the hotel, other than some gallery openings in the evenings.


I loved how this table evolved into a place where everyone would leave their promo cards. It was fun to dig through the pile of postcards and find little treasures of art.

In addition to the inspiration I gained from all of the presenters, one of the big highlights for me was meeting new people, developing friendships and spending time with old friends. My dear college friend Megan O'Brien was with me at the conference and made it that much MORE fun and meaningful, and I also got to reconnect with Jeanine Henderson and meet some of her NY buds. We all had a blast together and tore up the dance floor at the closing party. I'm sure there will be some interesting (and probably embarrassing) dance photos of us that end up on the ICON site, but for now, here are my favorite friend-time pictures:


rooftop patio bar at our hotel


Megan and Jeanine, my silly mojito girls!


who knew it could still be so fun in the rain?


lovely megan with her parasol


4th of July...see the fireworks waaaaaay in the background?


Megan at dinner in a French cafe in SoHo




Princess Megan and Mardi Gras Jeanine at the closing party


no, it is not New Year's Eve...this is just what happens when you get a bunch of crazy artists together for a party

So, those are the ICON highlights. Good times. Hope to see all my ICON peeps back again at the next one!