Stephanie Fizer Illustration

You Sweet Sweet Devil

So yeah, like a cruel joke, it snowed about 3 or 4 more inches today.  On top of the snow and ice that has already accumulated :(  This weekend should be slightly improved but next Monday we're expecting another system of snow to blow through.  Oh well, at least it's pretty to look at!  

Unfortunately between internet problems, driving the slippery roads to the store and a couple of random but quick power outages, I didn't get nearly as far on the printable kokeshi stationery set or the printed version for that matter.  Look for those next week for sure though!  

In the meantime I did finish this Sweet Kokeshi Print:  

which is going to be available here.  I love love LOVE the sweet colors of these cutie pies!  The little umbrella toting Kokeshi on the left just really gets me :) 

Now for those who love giving to a good cause, read on. 

A couple of days ago Manda from Artistic Minds Inc(I sell my illustrations as tube packages there) contacted me about a fundraising project her son is working on.  She explains it well so here's an excerpt from her blog about it:  

"My oldest son's class is doing their public speaking stuff right now in school, and he's doing his speech on Tasmanian Devils.

For the first time, he is very passionate about something and wants to do something to help save them. They have this form of contagious cancer that is killing them...within 3-5 months of the first tumour developing, they starve to death. They are on the endangered species list now, and unless they find a cure for the "Devil Facial Tumour Disease" they will be gone within a few years...totally wiped out.

So...he's organized a fundraiser at his school ... but since his school is small, I am going to be helping him out and putting out a tassie devil scrap kit that I will sell on here, and will be giving him 100% of the profits to donate."

You know I get all swishy about animals so after I post this, I'm on my way over there to grab the scrap kit for myself.  Every little bit helps and the kits are only $4 each.  They are also only available through March 1!

If you'd like to read more about it and contribute click this cute button:  

And Might I Just Say. . .

Ick!  

Well the snow has finally stopped, leaving behind several inches of ice-crusted snow and sheets of ice on the sidewalks and roads.  We normally suffer one decent winter storm every year, so I'm hoping this is it!  I spent about 20 minutes breaking ice chunks off my car yesterday just so I could to drive to the post office to mail orders.  I say no more snow! 

Since it was still pretty icy and unfortunate today, I've spent much of the day sitting inside with my sketchbook and pencil, dreaming up new paintings and doodling in Illustrator--something I've recently had an epiphany with and am now in love with using.  I had planned on introducing some printable Kokeshi Paper Dolls but after much design work, I printed them and discovered that they are indeed not as simple to construct as I would like so the idea has been put on the back burner for now.  

I did come up with this cute Kokeshi illustration though: 

She's going to be added a fun new printable pack that I plan on releasing tomorrow:  a Kokeshi stationery set that includes notecards, gift tags, letterhead and an envelope template.  It will be all printable so you can keep printing and printing.  And for those of you sans a color printer, I might also release a small pack of notecard flats just featuring this sweet new Kokeshi design.  

So I guess the moral of the story is to check back tomorrow for a couple of small new releases ;)  

Oh and thanks for all the love on the Lil Monsters designs!  

Little Red Riding Hood

A new original painting of Little Red Riding Hood, one of my favorite storybook characters.  This one is acrylic painted on a 6 inch wood panel that is about a quarter of an inch thick.  You can buy her in my shop.  

I'm so happy with the way she turned out.  I've got another little stack of these wood panels in various shapes and sizes that I hope to start painting on in the near future as well.  

Freebie: Lil Monster Valentines Envelopes

To coordinate with yesterday's Lil Monster Printable Valentines release in the shop, I'm offering free Lil Monster Valentine Envelope templates:  

  

Download Monster Valentine Envelopes.pdf (14126.5K)

This free download is in PDF format so you will need Adobe Reader to view and print it.  Feel free to print as many of these as you would like, with the usual stipulation that these envelopes are just for personal use.  

Each printable 8.5 x 11 sheet has two envelope templates on it.  Print the sheet on the paper of your choice.  Cut out the envelopes along the hearted lines.  Fold the side flaps, bottom flap and top flap using a bone folder or a butter knife.  Use a tiny bit of glue to affix the bottom flap to the two side flaps.  Insert your Valentine card and then seal with a cute sticker.  

I'm pretty pleased with how the envelopes turned out and as someone who isn't the greatest with scissors, I can vouch for the simplicity of making these :)  

The finished envelopes measure 4.25 x 2.75 inches.  Enjoy!

Lil Monsters

Snow is coming down quite heavily outside my little apartment right now, a bit over an inch in the last hour with no signs of stopping.  Apparently we could have 3-6 inches by morning! Ugh, I say :)  

It seems that the snow might put a stop to the big errand-running day I had planned for tomorrow.  Oh well, I've got enough projects to keep me busy indoors for the day at least!  

Now, as promised, I've got the first of some little Valentine printables:  

Lil Monsters Valentines.  This idea just popped into my head a few days ago and I just had to get it out.  And what could possible be cuter than these little love monsters?  They are available in PDF format ($5) so you can print a bunch of them for your kids and maybe a few for yourself.  Or I can print them for you in batches of 18 valentines(that's 6 of each design) for $10.  

In addition you can get a sweet sticker set:  

  

Or a set of 3 mini prints featuring these sweet monsters: 

I believe them to even be sweet enough to leave up year around!  I pondered framing them for my studio, but I like the more casual look pictured above.  To get it I just taked a lenght of orange satin ribbon to the wall and then used three very small clothespins to hang the three mini prints.  So cute :)  

Well I'm off to ponder the snow from my window while snuggling down with a warm cup of tea and some Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  

Orange is the New Pink!

I've had a longstanding love affair with red and pink--they are just such sweet, playful colors--but after designing my new banners for the blog and the shop, I'm thinking that Orange should be the new Pink :)  Red and orange just look so snazzy together, that's right snazzy!  

There should be more red and orange valentine's out there. 

Speaking of valentines, for those of you with school-aged children, next week I should have printable school valentines available in the shop as well.   These will be smallish--about 2 x 4 inches--so they can be folded and given to friends.  I hope to have two designs available both in PDF downloads so you can print and reprint as many as you need.  

I'm loving doing the designs for these printable paper goods.  Don't fret though, I still plan on offering plenty of handmade paper goods and artwork, I just like adding this extra little dimention to my offerings :)  Most of the printable paper goods will have simple, easy to use designs while the rest of my designs will be printed by me!  

Speaking of printed by me, I just whipped out these cute Chilly Penguin gift tags today for a custom order and they turned out so darned cute I wanted to share:  

I heart them :)  

See those cute scalloped edges on the bottom of each card?  I bought scalloped scissors a few weeks ago thinking what a fun embellishment it would be for some new work.  Yeah, but I'm left-handed.  Which means I'm doomed to a life of doing most things backwards and upside down, including cutting scalloped edges.  

Let's just say I'm leaving the scalloped edges to the small projects :)  

Odds and Ends

I've been spending so much time working on non-shop related projects recently, it's been difficult to add new original paintings and ACEOs to the shop.  I keep planning them and writing ideas in my journal but time is always an issue.  The point is, I've still been working hard :)  

Here are a couple of recently finished pieces that will soon be shipped off to their new home in Australia:  

Handpainted Kokeshi Doll box measuring 5 x 5 x 2 inches.  And. . .

  

 Handpainted Mermaid Girl and Boy box also measuring 5 x 5 x 2 inches.  I've really enjoyed painting these and hope to have a few of them available in the shop over the coming year.  

For The Listers

A new item just released in the shop today:  

Printable Kokeshi Doll to-do Lists can be purchased here for $5.  You get three different designs featuring my original illustrations:  

After purchasing, you will receive an email from me within 24 hours with the PDF file to print these on 8.5 x 11 sheets.  You can print as many as you want although you can't use them for commercial purposes, they are just for personal use.  You are welcome to print and share them with friends however please don't forward the PDF file to others!  

I recommend printing them on a nice sturdy cardstock--I like linen finish myself--using the photo print setting on your printer.  I keep one tacked up on my corkboard with my list of current projects and then another one tucked inside my planner with a general to-do for the month.  

I hope to be adding more printable paper good items in the near future for those that like the option of having a printable list, calendar or card at their fingertips :)  If there is a certain illustration you'd love to see on a printable item, let me know. 

Enjoy!  

New Mini Cards

I've just popped a new Animal Alphabet Mini Card set into the shop: 

The set includes all 26 Animal Alphabet illustrations on a tiny 3 x 2 inch flat card and comes complete with white envelopes.  So cute and available here.  

Who else is excited to see Coraline on Feb 6???

A longtime, gi-normous fan of Neil Gaiman, I'm beside myself with anticipation!  The animation looks soooooooo lovely!  

January Blog Giveaway Winner!

Hi all!  I just wanted to drop in for the quick announcement that the randomly selected winner of the January blog giveaway is:  

Marilyn!

She wins an item from the Paper Goods section of my shop.  The next giveaway will be posted on February 2nd :)