Happy New Year!

2009 is coming to and end, and so are the crazy Xmas days. We bought ourselves a wall full of shelves and consequently have been going through a complete house overhaul. Oh My, will I ever get through this mess? My desk and drawing table are covered with piles of stuff I don't know what to do with, the xmas tree is raining needles, and there are toys EVERYWHERE. Help!

But, that's not want I want to focus on here. I want to thank all my good friends, family, and the lovely new people in my life, for a great year. You made 2009 very special and inspiring for me. I wish all of you good  health and happiness in the new year.

An image from one of my very favorite illustrators, Elizabeth Zwerger. Cheers!

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January 21 is National Hugging Day!

Can you believe it?

It is the perfect day to give my book,  "Hugging Hour" as a present to all your friends! ; )

Keep an eye on my blog, I will be giving away three "Hugging Hours" myself that day! Details will follow.

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Winter Fair follow-up

It was a success!

Our booth looked great.

Set-up completed. 

We had a lot of fun, and we sold well.

Adrienne Patrick had these beautiful marionettes. Her birds and my pastries were a hit!

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Winter Fair

For the first time ever, I will have a table at a fair. I chose the fabulous Brooklyn Waldorf School Winter Fair to be THE one. In fact, I am happily sharing a table with Adrienne Patrick, who makes incredibly wonderful things. You can find some of her creations at Takashimaya.

If you are in Brooklyn on Sunday December 6th, definitely stop by!

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

The scandinavian Tomten are gentle gnome-like little men, who take care of and protect homes, animals and people. They live for a very long time and stay with the same family for generations. We follow this particular Tomten on his nightly visits around the farm he protects. We visit the animals in the barns, the dog in his little house and the sleeping family. Everyone is blessed with an encouraging message that caries them through the cold winter night and beyond.

This gentle, ageless book, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen award, is so soothing and full of wonder. Astrid Lindgren wrote many other favorite childhood books, one of which is Pippi Longstocking. The  watercolor illustrations, Harald Wiberg created for The Tomten, are all masterpieces, in perfect harmony with the text. I grew up with this outstanding book and I am so happy to be able to share it with my daughter and now, with you. 

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Booooooo!

This year we are the ghosts of xmas past, present and future.

 A Happy Halloween to all of you pumpkins out there!

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Getting Better

My mother in law is out of the ICU after three long and scary weeks. Soon she'll be going to rehab and we hope she'll be better than ever in no time. Positive thinking, right? I am very much looking forward to having my husband back in NY with me, and to life resuming it's usual course. There has been very little time for work, but this morning I was finally able to finish the dummy for one of my new books, Flower Girl. Here is one of the test color test illustrations.

Tomorrow, I am dropping it of at my agents office and hopefully she will find it ready for shipping off into the wide world of publishing. 

Keep your fingers crossed.

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Little Gnomes and the ICU

We are over the middle of October and I haven't had a chance to blink yet. It took us a while to smooth out the process of getting my daughter ready for school every morning, preparing her healthful lunch and making sure she has the required clothes/classroom contributions in her bag before 8:00AM. We chose the Brooklyn Waldorf School for our daughter, and we are very happy with that choice. The school however, is not around the corner. Dropping off and picking up takes time. I quickly got sucked into the school craft committee and I am using most of my creative energy to create little treasures for the big annual Winter Fair. (Little gnomes and felted mice in picture) Consequently, my personal work time has greatly been reduced. Then, my husbands mother, who lives in another state, had to have surgery and has been in the ICU for a week now, dealing with complications from the surgery. My husband is with her. That leaves me and my daughter at home, school continues... Needless to say, we are all a little over extended, and anxiously waiting for little bits of good news. This month will not be a big blogging and tweeting month for me. I'll be back though!

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Fu Finds the Way

My husband, John Rocco's newest book, Fu Finds the Way is coming out tomorrow! We have an advanced copy and it looks gorgeous. I am so proud of him. The book is bound in cloth and has a golden teapot on the front, all protected by a beautiful dust jacket. The story is very zen and the art is breathtaking. He also made a really cool trailer for Fu. 

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Fall Necklace

Here is the missing picture! You can see more images on Etsy.

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