Illustrating and living

Hi friends!
I hope you had a great weekend! We had a family birthday party to attend and it was a lot of fun. The kids all played together and it was great to see Paige participating in the action rather than hiding in the corner like she did in the past. Things are going so great!
Chris took the kids all day Sunday to allow me time to do what I wanted, so I got a pedicure and then I spent the rest of the day working on my newest painting.
Here it is:


It's an 8x10 fine art print of my original watercolor painting. I wanted to create something specific for a nursery with a baby penguin and its parents.  You can find it for sale at the MeandWee etsy shop.

It was so sweet of Chris to give me the time. Thanks honey! It's with his help that I'm able to create my art and I'm so grateful.
He came down to my little studio and took some shots of me working. Here are my favorites...
Isn't it fun to peek into the work spaces of others?





 

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Facebook Official

Hi there!

Like, totally, right? (That's me channeling my late-80s self) We're totally Facebook Official around here. The Me & Wee Etsy shop now has a Facebook Page! 
Rad.

Phew, I've been busting my butt to get my work up in the shop, then to create the Facebook business page, and now I'm working on promoting it. There's about a zillion shops on Etsy and it's so hard to be seen or found there! We're talking needle in a haystack. I've read up on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and have gone through the shop and anything related to it with all the techniques in place so that Google can find me...I've spend endless amounts of time tweaking and editing and polishing so that I may have a better chance of being found on the web. It's harder than I thought!

So, if you have a moment of free time (ha!) would you mind checking out the Facebook page and "liking" it? And if you have even MORE free time (guffaw!) , would you considering sharing it with your friends there? (Only if you feel it's sharable, of course) As with anything, the more people I can reach (through your help!) the better my chances of making a sale and possibly turning this venture into something. I appreciate your help so very much.
The Me & Wee page will have Instagram photos that show arty inspirations, my work in progress, and anything shop/art related. I bet I'll even slip in some family stuff here and there too. I also want to be able to chat with people, take suggestions, share ideas, and discuss fun things.

I want to be able to share some arty things here in this space but don't want it to take over. This is the space we talk about family stuff, right? (Stuff like how Noah just pooped and spit up on me 10 minutes ago in one fell swoop, but I digress...) So if you want to follow the arty-designy-inspirationy things that might not always show up here, you know where to go. And yes, I just made all those words up.
Thanks again friends! Back to our regular-scheduled programming tomorrow! Perhaps I can manage to shower in the meantime?

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Watercolor Fine Art Print-Wren Wearing Blue Scarf-8x10 Bird Painting

This is an 8 x 10 print of my cheeky original watercolor painting of a wren wearing a blue scarf. This a whimsical piece of affordable art perfect for any room in the house from family room to nursery.
The paper of the print measures 8 x 10. The actual image is 9 inches wide by 7 inches high with a white border all the way around. The print is signed in pencil in the white space below (please see in the images). Heirloom quality printed on thick special stock using archival inks that resist fading.

Ships carefully packaged in a clear cello sleeve and sent in a stiff bend-proof cardboard mailer. This item ships via USPS First Class to save you money.
Please allow within three business days for shipping out your item.


Providing a choice of affordable artwork for the home and nursery; Me and Wee's line of fine art prints bring a bright touch of happiness to any decor.

Purchase this print at the MeandWee Etsy shop!

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Children's Wall Art Print-Penguin & Polar Bear 8.5x11-Kid's Nursery Room Decor

Hi friends!
Today I'm showing you the last of my newest affordable art nursery prints. I'm already planning and brainstorming the next wave...if you have any animals you'd like to see be sure to leave a comment and I'll consider the idea in my next round of illustrations. I want to make the things YOU would like to see and have on your walls.
Now, on to this print:
Sam the Polar Bear and Silas the Penguin are best friends. They find themselves in all kinds of funny predicaments due to them being polar opposites! I think there will be more illustrations of them to come. In this little situation, Sam and Silas simply wanted to ride the seesaw together. What they didn't plan on, however, is the ride Silas got when Sam sat down. Whoops!

You can find the print and all the others at the MeandWee Etsy shop!

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Children's Art Print-Red Riding Hood 8.5x11 print-Nursery Room Decor

Hi friends!
Today's affordable art nursery print is inspired by the famed story of Little Red Riding Hood. I've heard so many different versions of the tale and we enjoy them all. Paige even dressed as the wolf for Halloween this past year, so she enjoys a good villain.
This print is great for a baby girl's room decor. And I chose not to show the scary wolf...just Little Red Riding Hood chatting with a blue bird. I like to think the bird is warning her about the wolf in the woods.
I believe that tomorrow is the last day of the new prints; I hope you've enjoyed them!
Happy Friday everyone!

Check this print out at the MeandWee Etsy shop!

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Baby Wall Art-Elephant and Balloon 8.5x11 print-Nursery Room Decor

Hi friends! I hope you are well!
This next affordable art nursery print was inspired by my love of elephants. It's that simple. This one is Paige's very favorite...she yelled "I want that in MY room!" when I showed it to her. We hung it right over her nightstand so she can look at it all the time. What's great about this print is that it is gender-neutral and works in a girl's nursery or a boy's nursery. I also have a thing for yellow, so that doesn't hurt.  I think I'll also turn this one into a birthday party fill-in invitation with matching thank you notes. I'm always plotting and planning!

Check it out at the MeandWee Etsy shop!

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Nursery Art Print-Ducks in Sunday Best 8.5x11-Children's Room Decor

Hi friends!
Today's print was inspired by my love of ducks after seeing them waddling with babies all around the Bronx Zoo. I imagined them wearing preppy dressy clothes (seersucker anyone?) and headed off to someplace important as a family; like church. If that's not your thing, perhaps you can imagine them going to a Sunday picnic?
As with the others, this affordable art print is great for nurseries, a child's room, or someone who just likes cute illustration and ducks. :)

You can get a print at the MeandWee etsy shop.

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Nursery Art-The Lion and the Mouse 8.5x11print-Children's Wall Decor

Hi there!
Today's nursery art print was inspired by a favorite fable...The Lion and the Mouse. I imagined how they are good buddies now and take turns pulling each other in the wagon. Of course, the lion doesn't have quite as much fun when it's his turn to ride.
This affordable art print is 8.5 x 11 and the image fits well in a mat with an 8 x 10 opening.
Are you looking for an art print for boy? This fits the bill. Looking for a great gender neutral art print? This fits that bill too. AND if you want a fun art print for a girl, this works too!
Lemme know what you think!  Feel free to leave a comment if you have an idea for a fun animal illustration I should try.

Grab this print HERE.

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Nursery Art Print-Teatime for birds 8.5x11print-Children's Wall Decor

Hi there!
I've been plugging away and continuing to work on my illustrations and preparations for the new things for my shop. I'm thinking I'll be ready to launch everything by early next week if not sooner. Yay! There's a lot of little details to work out...how to use a label printer, how to better keep track of accounting, which paper is best for printing, which labels work for what I want to do, how to paint the way I want in Photoshop...these are just a few of the issues I've been researching and tackling head-on.

Things are going well, though, and I'm so excited to share the first print with you.

Paige loves "blue birdies." So, I was inspired to create a little print involving them. I wanted to illustrate them with some sort of clothing on, and I just had this image in my mind of these animals as little "vintage" ladies having tea together. It was so fun to draw! They seemed to come to life instantly when I put my pencil to the paper. I wonder what they are chatting about.

Get it HERE.

 




The series of prints I've been working on personify animals...showing them in different scenarios that humans might find themselves in. I really enjoy drawing different critters; and I've been having such a great time thinking up different situations for them to be wrapped up in.
My process is simple. In the Teatime print, for example, I drew them first in my sketchbook. Once I was happy with the idea for the layout and how I wanted the birds to look, I used tracing paper to put them into a final drawing. I then brought that into Photoshop and carefully painted the color digitally. I made sure to make the vibrant colors a bit more muted with a white tint to give them a slight vintage quality. This softened them a bit; I'm happy with the effect. I am so thrilled each time a print comes off the printer and comes to life.
Their whimsical quality make them the perfect affordable artwork for a nursery or child's room. I even like them as artwork in my office space! My Mom mentioned she could envision this particular print hanging in the kitchen. I like to think they are great for the young and young-at-heart.
Hopefully you like them too! I'll continue to post about each print this week to show you them all. I'm so nervous and feel vulnerable, but here's to being brave!
As usual in the internet world, please no stealing these images to use as your own. Thanks!

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6 Months

Dear Little N,
Yesterday you turned 6 months old!! I'm not thrilled about the whole "growing up too fast" thing. But I won't hold it against you. Yesterday was also my birthday and I turned 34. This is the first birthday I actually felt different; felt like I was getting old and feeling it. A birthday had never bothered me in that way before. Luckily it was fleeting and I got over it fast and had fun with you, your sister and your Daddy. We went to the beach (your first time!) and you seemed to love sitting in your little chair and then you took a little nap in your car seat. Party animal!
I kept looking over at you and marveling about how big you've gotten and how time is going so fast. I wish I could keep you my little huggy teddy bear for longer. I'm enjoying it while I can!
Let's see; what have you been up to this month?
You've started rolling all around the floor--finally figuring out the mystery of how to roll onto your back from your belly. And now you are in motion and we must baby proof the floors! You're pretty fast too. You've been enjoying eating your solids too. You're still sort of pushing the food back out of your mouth, but with a little coaxing we can get it all in there. :)
A couple of days ago you started babbling. "Ba Ba Ba La Laaaa Laaaa la laaaa muaaalalalaaaa" !
Or something like that. You use your loudest voice when you do it, so you definitely have things to share with us. It's sweet to hear you talking; and you certainly seem to enjoy it.
You spend your days in your Jumperoo and bouncy seat and then the rest of the time you're either rolling all around or napping. During all of this, you are constantly smiling or babbling or both. Such a little darling boy you are! Everywhere we go people stop to smile and chat with you and marvel about how cute you are. I tend to agree.
My favorite thing to do with you is hold you up and snuggle you and kiss you until you laugh. The best laugh the world has ever heard and it's imprinted on my heart and soul. I love you so much my little Boo-Bear and not a day goes by where I don't feel beyond blessed or lucky because I have you to smile and laugh with me. Thank you for being you.
Love you always and forever,
Mama

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In progress

Hi friends!
We've been away for the past couple of weeks; I took the kiddos to visit my parents in Maine and then we all went to Chris' parents' house for a big visit. It's been fun to do vacation-y things. I love the summer! I'll admit, I got exhausted a lot with the two kids and everyone always needing something from me at the same time. Luckily, I had a lot of help too, so everything worked out. I'm happy to be home and getting back to a new routine. Paige has started summer school (for preschool.) She's busy each day learning about the ocean and its creatures and comes home exhausted! Noah is busy learning to roll around the floor and I can't believe he's so mobile now. Time to re-baby-proof the space and figure out where everything needs to go all over again. I feel like we just did this! Mothering is one busy job. It's never dull, that's for sure!
As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking a lot about my artwork and how it's been so long since I've done anything with it. I have done so much praying on the topic for the past few years and simply could not come up with THE idea for what I truly wanted to be doing. It's bothered me for a long time. So, I shoved it out of my mind and tried to forget about it as I busied myself with the kiddos and Paige's special needs. But, now P is in school and they are working with her so I'm back to having time for my own goals again. I've decided that I want to create illustrated art prints targeted for children or adults wanting whimsical art. There. I said it. I've been sketching in my little moleskine book for a few years now just waiting to hit on some magical idea of what I'd like to create and I finally uncovered an illustration style I never knew I had. It was like unearthing buried treasure (or what I imagine that to be like)! The inspiration came the literal DAY after I had a big prayer session where I asked for help coming up with the idea for what I most wanted to do. (I'm shy talking about the power of prayer, but I WILL say that it's worked wonders in my life in the most unexpected ways. There's definitely something to it and it never hurts to ask, right?) The next day, I came across some drawings that struck my eye and the ideas began to flow. I began drawing and doodling like mad and found I have a thing for drawing animals that are in funny little situations so I decided to go with that as my running theme. And to see that I actually have a particular illustrative style I never knew about really shocks me. I thought I would need to spend so much time developing that. But it's been there all along just waiting for me to discover it. For the first time since I was a kid I'm completely excited, giddy, and pumped to draw. My University art education sort of squashed the joy for me when it became about getting good grades, competing with ridiculously talented people and pleasing crazy professors. Somewhere along the line I lost the joy and what I most wanted to do. But, I've found that excitement again and I've been riding the high. I've just finished 5 different illustrations and am developing 2 more. I'm finding time during the kids' naps or stolen moments during the day. I get so much relaxation in working...it's very therapeutic to get lost in a drawing. It quiets the mind. And strangely enough, it's very energizing. I feel like I could work all night long (if I knew I didn't have little ones needing me to be awake in the morning!). So, I plan to dust off the shelves of my etsy shop and do a product overhaul. I'm even considering a new shop name. In the meantime, I'm developing my illustrations and researching the best papers to print with and all the other nitty gritty details that go into running my little store efficiently. Here's a sneak peek at a piece of an illustration...just to give you a taste of what I'm doing. Can't spill all the beans yet! Things still need to unfold. I'll be back soon to talk about this more, no doubt! Until then, my friends!
 

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Career Dreamin'

Hi friends!
I'm sorry I've been missing in these parts! The family has been sick with an evil virus and we're just coming back to life. That, and the day-to-day life doing Stay at Home Mom things has been hectic and exhausting. (What else is new, right?)
In truth, lately I've been missing my work life. My creative life. I find myself trolling blogs, pinterest, and Etsy admiring the work of others and how I'd love to get back into making art again. Before I had the kiddos I had a decent business creating wedding invitations and letterpressed goods for clients; as well as letterpressed stationery in my online store. Since I'm staying a home with the kids, I simply do not have any time anymore for a career. At least, not now anyway. After a long day of mothering, I collapse into bed at night exhausted. I just don't have it in me to sit down and commence a second job after the kids have gone to bed. I need a break too!
Child care is very expensive and I wasn't making enough money to cover it. The nature of my work doesn't really allow me to work for 10 minutes and stop...which is also the nature of mothering young children. Working at home without help is out of the question. Add in the challenges of a special-needs child and forget it! I've resolved to wait until my children are in school full-time to pursue a full-time business again.
But, I want to get creative again. I've been thinking about the goals I have for the future and what it is I really want to be doing professionally. My dream? To have an online shop where I sell whimsical art prints, original art, stationery, and other goods from illustrations I create myself.  I want it to be a cohesive brand...a line of recognizable work. I want to make a decent living off making art that people enjoy. To do that, I'd like to spend my nuggets of free time (they DO happen on occasion) on developing my own personal artistic illustrative style. I'm going to experiment with my art and try lots of new things and see what I like best. I have a hundred ideas swimming in my head; and they are desperate to come out. Now, to find the time to do it! That's the challenge for most SAHMs right?  I think my blog here will be a good place to share my progress and hold myself accountable. Perhaps I can share snippets of my work with you? Share what I'm thinking? I'm willing to bet there's lots of other people out there who are also sitting on a dream and wondering when the time will be right. I figure I may as well start now; that way, when the time IS right I can act on it.
I started a painting months and months ago (it's the image I posted above); long before Noah was born. I finally found a few extra minutes today to finish it. It's nothing fancy, but I'm proud I finally created something!  What do you think? I don't know what the future holds, but I do know it feels good to create again. To experience that old familiar excitement in my stomach when I'm making something I like or have an idea I love. There's a rush of energy that comes with it that feeds my soul. It reminds me that I'm a person too.
Feel free to share your dream or wish here! Sometimes putting down into words can help make it come to life.

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Love to My Dad

Dad, Happy Father's Day! I hope you don't mind that I highjacked Facebook photos of you.
Folks, my Dad is awesome. He always played catch with me. He taught me 5-card poker as a little kid. He took me fishing with him whenever I asked. He even trusted me with an X-Acto whittling knife when I was 7. When I did cut myself, he made me wait until I was at least 9 until I got the knife back. LOL!!! He used to let me jump off his shoulders into the lake (over and over again at that). He helped me learn to ride a bike. He always listened to me when I shared stories about school. I remember taking turns reading "Heidi" aloud with him. (what a guy!) He used to let me cuddle up on his lap and I'd fall asleep on his shoulder in the rocking chair...usually on Sunday nights when he watched "60 Minutes." The sound of the stopwatch still makes me yawn. Being a Mom now, I understand why he cried for me when I broke my toe (awww). When I got older, he'd take me shopping for clothes; knowing I needed encouragement to come out of my shell a bit. I'll never forget when he took me shopping for my Prom dress. It was so sweet. And later on in life, he came with my Mom to help me find my wedding dress. He just didn't want to miss a moment, even if it was one that wasn't traditionally men would want to be part of. He's a tough guy, a strong guy, a silly guy, a very social guy who is the first to talk to all the strangers in the room and make lame jokes. That's what I love most about my Dad. He's never been shy to be himself. He's unapologetic about his idiosyncrasies; nor should he be. I'm very proud of him for that, and for many other things. He's lead a very colorful life filled with interesting stories; many I still haven't heard. I never tire of them. His boyhood days living in a little tenement apartment, his time doing his part fighting for our country in Vietnam, his crazy times in Boston after the war, when he met my Mom and so forth. (As a funny story example...Dad one day informed me that if I was ever taken prisoner I should take my sock off, fill it with sand, and pee on it to make a billy club. Then, I was to beat my captor in the head with it...and when he was down, kill him by jamming a pencil through his ear into his brain. I guess this was a tip he learned in the Army if he were taken as a POW and figured I should know about it just in case. I always wondered who carries a pencil around with them so diligently? But that's the kind of random information he liked to share with us and I now mull over.)
My father has always made me feel so special and important; he always listened to my every problem (no matter how lame or large) and offered his most caring and sincere advice. Even to this day he lends an unconditional ear and helps keep me on track. Dad, thank you for being YOU. Not only did you teach me about what makes a great father, you taught me what makes a great man. Because of you, I found that in Chris. Your never ending love and support will always live in my heart and now my own chidren's hearts too. I am forever grateful for you, but moreso, forever will I love you.
Happiest Father's Day to you.
Love,
Meg (or "The Mega-Muffin" as you've always called me)

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5 Months

Dear Little N,
Yesterday you turned 5 months old. Along with this mini birthday came your first illness...sores all in the back of your throat. You scream and cry and stick out your lip. You haven't slept much and neither have your Dad or me. I'm so sorry you are so sick. The good news is that this is just a virus and should go away rather quickly (in a few days). I didn't know why you were screaming or had a fever; we were told it was likely teething. But my "Mommy-Sense" knew better and I brought you in for further inspection where the doctor found the sores in your throat using a bright light and a tongue depressor. Anyway, you don't like to eat right now. I understand since it hurts when you swallow! Poor little fella!
That bad news aside, you've accomplished a lot this past month. You've learned to roll over from your back to your tummy, you've gotten a real hang of grasping objects (even ripping my hair out at the roots...sweet!), and enjoyed all your Jumperoo has to offer. I don't know of anyone more gleeful than you in the Jumperoo. I have to remember to limit your time in there; I think you'd jump all day if I let you.
This past weekend you were baptized. You know that I'm not Catholic but your Dad is. Paige is too; so now you are on that same track. I hope you will find comfort in your faith the way I always have. God loves you no matter what; He made you perfect as you are. Always remember that you are a masterpiece. (God's and mine...hee hee) Treat yourself as such, but remember to be humble. As MY Mom always taught me: "It's nice to be important; but it's more important to be nice." Another thing I'd like you to remember about your faith is that you don't have to do anything to be a winner in God's eyes. Come as you are. Know that God wants you to be successful and bless you as long as you do your part. I like to tell God that I know He's supposed to love you most, but I don't see how anyone could love you more than me. We joke like that. Anyway, I'll do another post about your baptism, but had to mention it here since it happened this past month!
Noah, you are such a treasure to behold each day. You wake up so happy; you gurgle and coo while you wait for me to come get you out of your crib. When I walk in, you look up at me owlishly and give me a huge grin. My heart then melts in a puddle. You are such a happy guy; always smiling and cooing the day away. You are so easy-going; I can take you anywhere and you won't complain! I don't want to jinx it, but you are Mr. Cooperative. You almost NEVER cry or fuss (sometimes I wonder what is up with that?). You've even started sleeping through the night completely (*angels singing here*) I count my lucky stars, believe me.  Not a day goes by where I'm not expressing my thanks for you in some way. You have such a gentle and sweet nature; I often feel like pinching myself when I think about how wonderful life is with you in it. It seemed so wonderful before, but now there is yet another glorious layer of goodness, texture, love, and light. You enrich my life and soothe my soul. Thank you for being my angel from heaven. An angel with the cutest chubby thighs and cheeks that I want to bite.
Love always and forever,
Mama

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Maren the Wonder-Dog

Maren wants attention too. She was telling me that she feels shoved aside since the kids came along. Probably true. So, I told her I'd take her picture and put it on the blog. She told me to take 2 pictures. She then proceeded to give me her best poses and here they are for you. Happy now, Maren? Diva.

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Enjoy

This is an older picture now, but I just love this tender moment where Paige really wanted to "read" to her little brother. They were alone together in the family room and I had to get all camera crazy and interrupt. Hey, it's what I do.

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Time to Enjoy

Lately, when things have gotten chaotic around here I notice that I get very snappy and annoyed at the kids. I start to sweat the small stuff when I know better. It's easy to slip into that negative mode, isn't it? When the days can wear you down and you just want a break or breather. A little more space to enjoy. I want to enjoy my kids while they are little. I want to sit down to a meal and not yell through half of it over one thing or another.
When we choose to let certain things go; to decide they are not really a big deal after all, a space for joy opens up. For a little while, dinner time had started to become a real pain. Paige would whine and fuss about her food, or she'd take an hour to eat (and only pick at her food), or she'd just not eat and would complain instead. I was constantly on her case..."you need to eat!" "a few more bites!" "Hurry it up, dinner is almost over!" "Paige! Stop playing with your elbow and eat!" "Do you hear me?" "Are you listening?"  and so forth.
I finally decided that I want to enjoy my meals and stop getting stomach aches during dinner. So, I made the choice to stop caring whether Paige ate her dinner or not. I had to act like I could care less. And you know what? I started having more fun at dinner and it became enjoyable again. If she didn't eat, she just ate a bigger breakfast the next morning. By not nagging, she began to stop complaining and whining as much and it makes dinner time so much more enjoyable. It can be easy to nag, nag, nag and I have to catch myself often. But it's worth it to just "let it go." I want to enjoy our time together; to savor the little moments .
We now all eat dinner together in peace. Paige will say funny things or she will answer our questions about preschool that day. We laugh together and she's learning all about proper table manners. Even Noah is now sitting with us in his high chair, even if he's not eating. He'll check out his toys and he seems to enjoy just being with us. It's nice. I'm glad I gave up the food battle. Ironically, she eats better now. Of course.





There are other ways in our lives with little ones that we could perhaps let things go a bit for the sake of our stress levels...for example: potty training struggles (we aren't pressing it), toy cleanup issues (we only leave some out, and the rest are easy for her to clean thanks to baskets), mess-making (we only do messy activities under close supervision when she can get my full attention), etc. Even without children, there are always areas of life where we can choose joy over fretting.  Is there an area in your life that would be much happier and simpler if you just "let go?" Stop asking "Why do I do this to myself?" and just stop. You'll be glad you did!

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Lights on

We've lived in our house for almost exactly 7 years and haven't done anything yet to make it "ours." The house was only 2 years old when we bought it and all the choices and window treatments are from the previous owners. We're finally getting around to making some changes around here, so as we go ahead I'll be sure to show you some before and afters.
 
I hated these brass-colored candle light fixture thingies over the mantle. Barf. They are fine for someone else; just not for me. (Don't you also love all the random crap we threw on the mantle? It's mostly sticker books that I don't want Paige going nutzo with when I'm not looking.)

So, we got some polished nickel sconces at Home Depot for about 40 bucks apiece and Chris installed them pretty quickly. They are also on a dimmer switch which is nice to still have. Ahh, much better. I need to find a new big thing to put on our mantle. I'm not loving the painting anymore. Hmmm. I welcome your thoughts on that...I'm looking for something large, more interesting and more meaningful.

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