Easy Chalkboard Decorations

Coming up with designs for a teenager's party can be hit or miss, so we've decided to do erasable decorations!  With a selection of large foam board panels, chalkboard spray paint, and a box of school chalk (do they still even use chalk in school?), I plan to make all kinds of decorative elements.  This should work for photo ops, buffet signs, and other decorations.  Hmmmm....I may even spray some black canvas for a chalkboard tablecloth.

First up, an entry sign which will pretty much cover our entire front door.  Best of all, it's erasable, re-usable, and budget-sound.  With all the fonts available online, you can do some beautiful lettering, as long as you can trace and erase.

Photos of the finished piece coming soon.

Secret Message Invitations for a Teen Party

I'm so excited about my latest invitation project.  This one is near and dear to my heart because, for once, I'm designing for my own daughter who finally wants to have an actual birthday party this year.  After some brainstorming and combing the web for inspiring ideas, we came up with a clean, modern graphic (which appeals to her "grown-up" aesthetic) with the interactive element of a secret message (which speaks to her playful personality).

The front of the invitation features some red lens glasses and the ubiquitous moustache motif which teens seem to find so appealing.

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Flip it over and you'll find a separate card tucked into the moustache.

Pull out the card and a "secret message" with all the party details is printed behind a screen of coded ciphers.

You'll need to read the message through the magic glasses in order to find your way to this super-fun soiree.

It's such a balancing act to create something artistic, clever, and at the same time appealing to fussy teen clients, so I'm thrilled (and relieved) to learn that the invitation was a huge hit with all her friends.

Finally... A Party for My Own Daughter

I can't believe it's time to plan my daughter's 13th birthday party and I've been saving this painting for the past decade for precisely... this moment!  So far, we've come up with black, white and hot pink.  What could be more perfect?

Still Life with Cat and Cartoon Birds

Taking a short break to post one of my Still Life with Cat photos.  Luckily, my subject can sleep through anything, including cartoon birds twittering around him.

A Who-liday Display

I'm scouring my archives for inspiration for a holiday-themed display, and rather than going down the usual path of cute reindeer and frosty snowflakes, I thought I'd embrace my inner Who.  I can't think of a more fun color scheme than turquoise, red and white for the holidays.  To top it all off, the handpainted flourishes and dimensional embellishments make it irresistable.

Photos of the final project shortly...

Cozy Woodland Cottage

For a Snow White-themed party for a lucky three-year-old, I built a 10'-tall entry archway to the main party space, which incorporated various faux painting finishes.  Yellow ochre, burnt umber, and burnt sienna acrylic paint, applied in streaks fools the eye into thinking it's seeing bundled thatch. 

A faux bois technique in a mahogany colors paired with simple grisaille painting for the shadows and highlights look like carved beams.

The arch of foliage in with leaves in ten shades of green mimic an espaliered tree, complete with twisted and braided branches.  To heighten the illusion, silk ficus branches and miniature apples are incorporated into the arch, and the young guests delighted in picking the apples, which were attached with velcro and ready to be picked over and over!  Shhhhh... don't tell anyone... this arch is completely crafted from foamboard.

Another entrance, this one in the shape of a tiny cottage, was built just tall enough for children... and dwarves.  To enter, if you're over four feet tall, you'll need to crouch!

In the Whistle While You Work Kitchen, hand-painted set pieces set the stage for pretend play fun.  We started with a 6-foot rental table and draped the top with a standard yellow cloth.  After that, we went to town with the painted finishes.  The backsplash features timbered edging, a mini cabinet, and a Delft blue tile panel.  A trompe l'oeil utensil rack depicts painted ladles, skillets and pans, with a few real wooden spoons mixed in.

Draping the table to the floor is a hand-painted canvas skirt which depicts shelves laden with baskets of fruit, eggs, mason jars, earthenware bowls, and all the things that make for a well-stocked larder, painted with no detail overlooked.

Once Upon a Time...

A few months ago, I designed a a storybook-style birthday party invitation inspired by "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. "  Using a palette of sparkly gold, apple red, and royal blue, the design was fit for a princess!

I started with a flapped gift box covered in quilted gold paper, and applied the custom designed mirror artwork and illustrations to the cover and inside pages.  As a final surprise, the party information was printed backwards, and invited guests were only able to read it with the magic mirror mounted to the inside of the book.

For that last irresistible touch, I added dimensional elements --- sequins, foil flowers and leaves, gold dimensional paint, glitter puffy paint, a glass apple charm and, of course, a red satin bow --- for a truly tactile and visual treat.

Photos of my work on Good Morning America

Wow, event planning wizard, Leesa Zelken of Send In The Clowns in Los Angeles, was featured on Good Morning America in a segment on extreme birthday parties this morning.  Photos of parties we've done together were shown in a montage along with Leesa's spin on the kid's event planning industry here in Los Angeles.

One of the controversies over extravagant birthday parties is the appropriateness of spending large sums in this sagging economy.  I say, go for it.  These clients are not mortgaging their home to throw a birthday party, but spending a small portion of their discretionary income, and putting hundreds of people to work in the process.

Also featured in the segment was a family from a TLC show about outrageous birthday parties.  For the record, in all my years designing parties, I have never had a client meeting with a 6-year-old!  Such a skewed take on the process (this is just not what happens), but I love watching it anyway.  Reality on reality television?  Not this time.

Illustration Friday: Sweater

I'm a Little Bit Country, Part 2

Lots of vibrant colors and fine detailing in this painted backdrop for a country store. Painted on canvas, these shelves will always stay neat and well-stocked.

I'm a Little Bit Country...

What's a country-style party without lemonade? Here's a peek at some faux bois with hand painted lettering to dress out a lemonade and popsicle stand. How about a country store? But of course!

It's all in the details...

Blocking in patches of color as groundwork for the detailing that comes in later.

Yards and yards...

... of canvas for an upcoming project. Good thing I'm not intimidated by all that blankness --- eek, 15 feet of it. This is gonna be a long night.

Floating Around in the Blogosphere: About.com

Wow! About.com just featured the barnyard interactive invitations I made for very cool client Leesa at Send in the Clowns in Los Angeles.

Click here to see the article and the photos.

Eee-i-eee-i-oooooooooh!

Welcome to the Mercantile

Batting around some ideas for an old-fashioned country store illustration and wanted to see how the elements would work together. Here's a sneak peek. At some early concept sketches which will eventually be painted on canvas for the finished piece.

Rather than sketching, coloring, and scanning, I've been drawing on my new computer tablet with a pressure-sensitive which mimics traditional art media beautifully. Acrylic sketches without the mess! Why, oh why, didn't I buy this tool five years ago?

Sneak Peek: Celebrating 20 Years of Summer Search

My day job as an Events Specialist for Summer Search lets me wear a lot of different hats. So happy I get to wear my artist cap today as I prepare for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the organization and its founder Linda Mornell at Fort Mason.

As a non-profit organization, Summer Search would rather spend money on their students rather than event decor. Here's a simple, cost-effective solution which primarily involves multi-purpose branded banners, gobos to project our logo onto walls and ceilings, and re-usable freestanding interactive walls where attendees can contribute their own pictures or messages. In addition to the rock climbing walls, ropes course, photo expo, and live painting exhibition, this promises to be a fun event for the amazing students and alumni.

And if you happen to be in San Francisco on September 24th, come and check out the design in person.

Hmmm... okay, yep, got that covered... YES, YES... I am happy!

While cruising my favorite blogs late last night, I came across this wonderful flowchart on A PhotoEditor, and am so amazed how such a simple image has stuck in my head. The more I think about, the happier I feel.

There's a world of possibility out there, folks. Go out and grab it, and if you're already doing that, keep doing what you're doing.

Customized Keepsake

Taking a break from barnyard brainstorming to do some final assembly on custom frame corners... You know, those cardboard triangles that keep photo frame corners from getting wrecked in the store

One of my clients, party planner extraordinaire Leesa of Send in the Clowns in Los Angeles, asked me to design frame corners to adorn some keepsake frames for a first-birthday party.

Took a bit of experimentation to get the template right, but I'm really happy with the way these turned out.

Barnyard Inspiration

E-i-e-i-o!


Came across some cool animation backgrounds on "Comicrazys" and feel nostalgic and inspired. Never realized Saturday morning cartoons would figure so greatly in my professional life :) Better get to the drawing board while the inspiration lasts.

To see more: http://comicrazys.com/2010/05/26/looney-tunes-backgrounds-cartoon-network-archiv

Party Invitations Don't Have to Be Flat

When I'm not raising money for a good cause, I'm dreaming up new party ideas for the under-18 set and their parents. Hence, an interactive invitation to a barnyard-themed party sets the tone (literally!) as soon as the invitation arrives in the mail. Inspired by the sound cannisters we all had as kids, this invitation starts mooing even before you get the box open.

Super fun!

Playing Dress Up

When I was little, I used to spend Sunday afternoons watching Abbott and Costello on the Family Film Festival. If you grew up in Los Angeles during the 70s, you'll remember Tom Hatten introducing the week's family movie on KTLA at 3:00pm.

More likely than not, I would have some drawing in hand, a multi-tasker from my earliest years. From week after week of Family Film Festivals, I managed to accumulate quite a box full of drawings. I went through a period of copying Art Deco artist Erte, or devising comic strips with my most hated classmates as the principle antagonists.

One of my favorite projects was making paper dolls --- sketching the paper clothes based on whatever period piece happened to be on. "Top Hat" yielded lots of fluffy, flowy ballroom dresses festooned with feathers and sequins. "The Adventures of Don Juan" inspired intricate Baroque creations with tight bodices and full skirts. "Meet Me in St. Louis" suggested costume after costume of beautifully tailored and detailed outfits, adorned with ribbon, buttons, beads, piping, shirring, and pin-tucking, completed by the matching bonnet.

As I work on my current freelance project, these lazy afternoons of sketching, coloring, cutting and gluing come flooding back. I'm creating paper frocks (made from foamboard) for a life-size paper doll inspired by (not copied from, because that would be unlawful) the Disney Princesses... Aurora, Cinderalla, Belle, Ariel and Snow White. As I trim the foamboard, I'm amazed at how many of my childhood pleasures have reappeared in my adult life as a means of making a living. From creating a croquet set based on Alice in Wonderland to folding paper flowers, painting fantasy backdrops, to painting anything at hand to look like marble, wood, marquetry, or tortoiseshell... these projects bring a breath of fresh air to the daily grind, and allow me to indulge in a little whimsy and lightheartedness each day.

The Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito

Yes, the food is just okay, and the staff and clientele straight out of 1975, but the 320-degree views of Sausalito and Tiburon on one side, and Angel Island, Alcatraz and San Francisco on the other, made for a splendid location for Sunday brunch.

When the nice hostess brought paper and crayons for the children, I thought it was the perfect low-stress opportunity to bring a little creativity back into my life. It's just a placemat, not a pristine blank canvas, after all. Easily left behind if it turns out poorly. As it happens, it's now displayed at home as a small souvenir of a quiet Sunday spent with family.

Here's a photo of the actual view from our table.

After a Long Absence

The other day, one of my friends at work came across this blog and asked me why I wasn't doing it anymore. A string of excuses... too much work, not enough hours in the day, feeling uninspired, procrastination. Made me think...

When it comes down to it, I stopped doing something I really love--- not the blog itself, but the art that fed the blog. After relocating and getting a full-time job, juggling work and home and family, art was set aside as a luxury, when it should have been a staple. My son asked me a few months back why I wasn't painting anymore. That should've been a wake-up call.

Now, two years after my last post, I'm going to attempt to bring art and creativity back to the forefront of my life.

Baby steps...

Welcome to Wonderland

This blog has been neglected for far too long... but it's been a busy month! Among other projects, I had the opportunity to indulge in some fantasy play --- recreating Wonderland for a party. The party was coordinated by Leesa at Send in the Clowns in Santa Monica. My photos don't capture the magic of the beautiful California day, the gorgeous location, and the amazement of the guests. Fortunately, the party was shot by an incredible photographer, Jessica Claire, and you can see her images on her photography blog.

Super fun to execute... just as much fun to watch everyone else enjoy it too.As guests arrived, the White Rabbit invites them to follow him down the rabbit hole. The balloon tunnel gets narrower and narrower, and the adult guests have to crouch under the last arch... unless they're shorter than 4 feet tall. Then they could walk straight through.


Once inside, the Caterpillar greets them with among a bed of fantasy flowers and mushrooms.

Perhaps some tea in the tent with Alice? Pom-pom flowers, colored glass chandelier and candelabras, and paper lanterns are full of whimsy.

Custom "Eat me. Drink me." table runner made by the best seamstress in the world... my Mom.

Perhaps a game of croquet, anyone?

These wickets were the same height as the children.

Instead of the usual flower arrangements, I went overscale. These are about 5 feet tall.

A fun time was had by all... especially the designer :)

All the hats I wear....

It's been quite a while since I updated this blog, but this week's Inspire Me Thursday prompt has set the gears in motion again. Not that the turning wheels have resulted in any tangible creativity... yet. It takes me a bit of time to recalibrate from working "on assignment" to working for pleasure.

The challenge is to interpret "hats," and at first I was tempted to do a collection of hats from different eras. However, given that the last five weeks of silence is the result of wearing too many hats, I thought "why not do a piece on that?"

In the course of a day, I figuratively wear the chef's toque while I make breakfast smoothies for the kids, and sometimes the nurse's cap when I'm called on to repair skinned knees and bloody noses. On a bad day, I'll have to fish out my hardhat to fix the broken hinge on the back door, or the charwoman's kerchief when the house gets too messy to ignore. Then there's the thinking cap that helps me problem-solve my way through work assignments and deadlines. On good days, I get to don my beret, grab a paintbrush, and execute a little piece of brilliance.

I wish I was eccentric enough to actually wear all these hats in the course of the day. Perhaps that would help my family and friends to identify what "mode" I'm in. For the time being, it's time to put on my sleeping cap. It's been a long day.

Perhaps tomorrow, I'll actually create...

Inspire Me Thursday: Limited Palette

I'm so very excited to be able to participate in this week's challenge on Inspire Me Thursday. After immersing myself night and day in preparation for a show, I found that I needed a few weeks to catch up on all the daily details left neglected for so long. It feels good to pick up a paintbrush again.

Using only violet, yellow and white, this painting depicts a block wall in Palm Springs, California. I like the starkness of the wall juxtaposed the looming boulders only a few yards away. At sunset, the mountains are a remarkable shade of purple with gold highlights which you must see to believe.

Rockin' Girl Blogger Award

I have been grinning for the last couple of days about receiving the Rockin' Girl Blogger award because I'm so honored to be included among such talented and inspirational artists.

Though I've been painting for many years now, sharing my work with the outside world is a relatively new experience for me, and I'm so lucky to have stumbled upon such a supportive and positive group or creative women who share a desire to revel in their art each moment. My art experience has been rather anonymous... the faceless designer behind the prop, invitation, or backdrop. I haven't actually had to stand next to my work and say "I did this."

So, to everyone who has made my initial ventures of putting my work out there such a wonderful and uplifting experience, THANK YOU! Also, thank you for sharing your love of beauty and wisdom with me, because I receive so much joy and wonder by poring over everyone's work. Cheryl, thanks so much for including me in this wonderful circle and I, in turn, pass the torch to The Heartful Blogger, Suzan, and Landi for the way they never cease to motivate and inspire through their work.

Keep rockin'!