The Muppets!

Recently, Matt Benyo and I teamed up to collaborate on some really cool Muppet offerings! We worked on The Rainbow Connection Kermit, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and I did the Muppet drawings on the third one without words. These were a lot of fun to make, too. You can find them on my etsy as either greeting cards OR 8x10 prints! So excited to unveil these and to share them with the world. We wanted them to be bright, colorful, and fun. Check them out on my etsy HERE!

Greeting Cards!

Been awhile, but I've been making things and having a good time. My most recent endeavor is something I have always loved: GREETING CARDS! They're blank on the inside. You can find them over on my Etsy by clicking HERE. I plan to upload a lot of designs over the coming weeks. They will not all be Halloween related, but these ones are. The Hocus Pocus cards are a collaboration between Matt Benyo and me! We're trying to keep the art of snail mail alive or if you want to keep it for yourself, it doubles as a mini art print.

Band Cards.

New thing: illustrate album covers and turn them into blank greeting cards. I made the Jonas Brothers card for one of my best friend's for her birthday and I made the Iron Maiden card for another of my best friends from college!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Yesterday was Matt's birthday and we go all out with our birthday cards to each other. For his this year, I made a mixed media cut paper pop up card featuring a little 2 inch version of his dog, Riley, that I used gouache paint for.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas and I wanted to share a couple of pieces I whipped up for the occasion!

A friend of mine asked me if I could make her a Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. Did you know I've never seen or read it? Maybe I'm a bad Christmas fan, but that didn't stop me from having a FIELD DAY making this! It is chock full of texture, color, and mark making. She loved it, by the way.

The other thing I did was treat myself to a new artistic tool called a CUTTLELOLA! It's a dot making pen that kind of seems like a tattoo gun! It has two speeds and in 40-45 minutes, I was able to make this Santa! The pen gets pretty warm after about 20 minutes. An artist designed it to help with wrist fatigue. I think it's pretty neat. The finished art looks like a xerox which is weird, but for my first attempt, I can't wait to see where I go with this baby!

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and even better holidays. 2020 is nearly upon us and I AM READY FOR A GREAT YEAR! So, cheers to you all and thanks for sticking with me!

Pug Party.

A dear friend of mine celebrated her birthday recently and I made her this birthday card with her two pugs on it: Lily and Violet. I didn't make the card, but I did draw the dogs, give them birthday hats, cut them out, and glue them on. She loved it.

Cards!

So, I've been making a few cards lately and I'm pretty stoked about it. The first one was to a dear friend of mine, Gabi, that has been really supportive and there for me a lot. She loves giraffes and Beyonce so I tried to combine the two, but really it just looks like a fancy card. The second card was for my darling Matt Benyo because his birthday was Saturday! One of his favorite movies is Clue so I chose a scene he's quite fond of and made this card. Click to enlarge to check out the details. I apologize for the lopsidedness. These are from photos that I took!

Makar!

I made a little Makar card for my sister's birthday. He's from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and he's a cute little kokiri that I adore. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said a Makar card with a bunch of childhood memories inside. Well, I nailed both, I think. It's funny because I started this with an idea in mind, but it didn't go where I thought it would. I did, however, use Casein paint for the first time and I love how smooth it is. I put cardboard under him so he's kind of 3D and yeah! Check it out! Click to enlarge!

Happy Birthday, Shelby!

Whipped up this Harry Potter Luna Lovegood birthday card for my little sister's birthday. Her birthday isn't until March 22nd, but we met early since she's busy and so am I. She loved it and much like her favorite character, Shelby has a very unique way of seeing the world and the magic that is in it. I did this weeks ago and couldn't wait for her to see it so I could post it. I used watercolor, markers, and micron pens to make this card. Happy birthday, Shelby! I love you!

Batman!

I made a mixed media birthday card for a friend. It's of Batman. It was the first time I sat down to do anything since the board I made for my Joy friends and it was hard. It was really hard, actually. I have felt creatively stifled, but I used my hands and painted some bristol board, cut it up, and made this card. It didn't come out the way I wanted it to, but I don't hate it either. Here's to some upcoming work, though.

The Rabbit Hole.

Today, my little sister, Shelby, and I decided to exchange birthday gifts. Her birthday is March 22nd and mine is April 25th, but she is really terrible at holding onto gifts. She got me some great ones. She got me Space Jam on DVD, some magic wish dust, an amazing customized Psyduck watercolor by my friend, Crystal, a nice card with some Lush cash, and a Limited Edition Satanic Coloring Book (that isn't as weird as you'd think). I was cracking up. Then, it was my turn. I made my sister a book full of inside jokes and pictures. She loved it. I wrote her a nice note. She cried. I got her some cool gifts, too. I also colored this White Rabbit because Shelby loves Alice in Wonderland. It was how we kicked the gift giving off. I hit a home run with this gift and I knew I would. It's all about the personal, homemade touches when it comes to me. I would pick a card with a nice handwritten note in it over a "thing" any day. Those are the important things; words. I like to extend that courtesy to others when I think about how I can impact their day. She felt great about everything and I did too. Mission accomplished. Happy early birthday, Shelby. I love you a lot. LYLAS. You're my spicy boy.

Rise Like A Phoenix.

A friend of mine has been having some challenges thrown at her that have tested her as a person, but I am happy to say that she is overcoming. She was recently in a car accident that she is lucky to have survived. I know her mom and grandma kept her safe and because of them, she is with us still. As soon as I heard it happened, I went to work. I had to give it my all because I wanted to make sure she was reminded that she is loved and supported by her family and friends. A lot of great people came to aid her, but I needed to remind her that even during tough times, she should always remember to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. This is Fawkes from Harry Potter. What you can't exactly tell is that card is 3D. I made Fawkes using watercolor and microns, cut him out, and glued cardboard under him so he is elevated above the flames I cut out. It looked better (the painting at least) in my head, but I'm shaking off the dust. I was able to give this to her today and she loved it as I love her. Friends are important. Click to enlarge!

Space Man.

I sent a friend of mine some prints and whipped this little card up for him. He lives in England and he received it today! I was really excited and he absolutely loved it! That's what it's all about. I used watercolor, crayons, and microns. I haven't done anything creative in a while because of what is going on with my dad, but this felt good and it felt right. I need to make some more things. Click to enlarge!

Tis The Season!

I got to see most of my family today for Christmas Eve and I was so grateful for it. I don't have any money this holiday season, but I know how much sentimental things mean to my sister, Shelby, so I looked Tare Panda up and made this for her. It isn't my idea (I took some liberties with it), but I knew she would love it. I used markers and colored pens. She did love it. Don't forget to share and spread the love. Merry Christmas, everybody. Click to enlarge.

A Nice Gentleman.

I am really late on making Matt Benyo's birthday card this year, but that's because I've been busy. I finally got around to making it and I hope he likes it. Matt LOVES Buffy. It is his favorite TV show so I thought it would be cool to make one of The Gentlemen from the episode Hush. If you haven't seen it, it's awesome. You could easily watch that episode and not wonder what was going on; it's a story in itself. This was a mixed media piece and I'm pretty excited about how it turned out. I haven't made anything since the smorgasboard and I haven't touched paint in awhile. Click the photos to enlarge. That second one isn't actually blurry.

Christmas Cats.

I wanted to do a series of cats in Christmas sweaters for December, but I've been too busy with other stuff. It was Matt Benyo's genius idea so I can't take credit. However, I decided to whip one up to see what it would look like. I'm going to make it into cards. If you want to buy one, let me know. Perhaps more to come.

Jeremy & Kari.

Matt Benyo and I were honored to have been asked to create the Save the Dates for our dear friends, Jeremy Cappello and Kari Ennis. I've been friends with Jeremy since 2002 and I've known Kari since middle school. I couldn't be happier for the two of them as they prepare for their trip to the altar. It has been an exciting ride thus far and when I met with them to discuss Save The Date ideas, we chose this one involving Detroit. They are getting married at the beautiful Colony Club and I wanted to capture the area. There was so much preliminary work that went into this. I'll include some of the building sketches, but I drew 20 heads for each of them and these were the ones they chose. After I drew everything, Matt Benyo took it into Photoshop and brought it to life. He was also responsible for all of the calligraphy and the beautiful J&K symbol. We received these in the mail YESTERDAY and I ran out to the mailbox like a 10 year old. It was so exciting opening it and having a tangible copy!! Next will be the invitations; PRESSURE IS ON! Matt and I are both really proud of what we created and Jeremy and Kari have both commended our efforts. I am so excited for this wedding because I know it's going to be special for two very special people that I get to call my friends. Here's to Jeremy and Kari! I urge you to click to enlarge because there's a ton of detail.

Spider-Man!

It was Matt Benyo's golden birthday yesterday and I slaved away on his birthday card. He loves Spider-Man. I used cut paper, cardboard, micron pens, and dental floss for the web! He really liked it (despite knowing that I'd pick Spider-Man). We try to go all out for each other's birthday cards because it's a pretty big deal.

Cracking Skulls.

I taught the kids about Calavera Skulls (sugar skulls) and we made some. Glitter, gems, sequins, glitter glue, and markers = a nightmare. Actually, it wasn't too bad. These were the examples we used. Mine is on the left and Matt's is on the right. If I had spent more than a half hour on it, it could've been a real competitor.

Justin Riopelle just had his birthday last week and we celebrated fashionably late. We went out for weird hot dogs, trivia, Matt Benyo made Red Velvet cupcakes, and we both did paper cut out cards. Now, we both came up with the PBR idea since Justin is a Brew man, but Matt's idea killed mine so I let him go with it and switched mine to Blue Moon. I'm proud of what we both accomplished. These were two pretty tiny cards. Matt's is on top and mine is on the bottom. Happy Birthday again, Juice!

Eat 'Em Up, Tigers!

Its been awhile since I've made anything and I am proud to say that I made this little 3D Detroit Tigers Paws card for Amy Deverich's birthday (she loves the Tigers). This little monster took me 8 hours. It was hard because of how small it was. Mostly I was just trying to make something that I was going to love and I accomplished that goal. Matt Benyo was the first one to see it and said it looked vintage which is exactly what I was going for. It's always exciting when someone sees your work and they say what you were trying to do. I asked him to take these photos before I gave it to Amy and when I did, she loved it. The keys are for SIZE COMPARISON because he's smart. I'm also including the sketch that I based everything off of and, as you can see, the finish didn't stray too far from it. Click to enlarge!