KidLitCon, Murals, and Book Fairs (oh, my)

Hello, Hello! This blog post is full of words and pictures! Here goes:

I was lucky to attend Kidlit Con this past Saturday in Minneapolis. Wow. Just wow. I don't really know how I could sum it up... There are a lot of folks doing a far better job at recapping it at the Kidlit Con blog, so check it out if you get a chance. The best part of it for me was actually meeting a lot of the people I have only known online. The kid book community is amazing, so many smart, funny, talented people. I have just been plodding along as a new illustrator and had honestly not realized how huge the community is: teachers, writers, librarians, publicists, editors, illustrators, agents, publishers, parents, bloggers who just love kid books... it is pretty amazing. Also feel very relieved that reviewing books is not a must for every blogger. This was great to hear b/c I'm a pretty awful book reviewer. I pretty much love all the books I read and that doesn't make for interesting reviews. Might try putting together a list of books I like, an informal blog interview, or a giveaway sometime soon! Won't even attempt to mention all the great people I met at Kidlit Con, just feel very inspired to be a part of such a terrific community! On to the mural...

Here you can see I have been busy outlining my sketches in Mouse Ears (DC4B-10-5).
Gordy and the Unicorn are beginning to take shape. We decided to make all the flowers Sunny Spot (DC1B-10-5) and Sleeping Beauty Pink (DC2C-30-3). Oh, and the blue sky and green grass and trees are Mickey Sailor and Apple Orchard and Friendly Forest (same as in the other room). The yellow closet is Bee A Friend (DC1C-20-4).
The Unicorn's coat took two coats of Clock Strikes 12 (DC2A-20-1) and Gordy's coat is Honey Butter (320C-3).
As requested, there is a Mother Bunny with baby buns.
I was particularly proud of this part. Here is a baby bunny and when you open the door...
you see the cat! The Mother bunny is in Buzz Beta Sector (DC1A-50-2) and the babies are in Honey Butter. My kids both love the sleeping baby bunny the most!
Here is a view of the whole wall that will also hold a dresser, bookshelf, and quilt rack.
Look! A baby fox! (Donald Orange, DC1C-60-3)
The unicorn's mane and tail are a combination of Powdered Blush (130C-1), Cafe Pink (130C-2), and Oh Bother Blue (DC3C-30-3). Bunny, fox, and unicorn ears and noses are all a mix of Cafe Pink and Powdered Blush. Ready for the big reveal?
It is such a good feeling to have the kids in their own rooms again (Gus the cat is happy, too)! They are very happy, and we have almost gotten everything back where it is supposed to be (I will move the bookcases back in today and fill them back up with all of their books). This was a good experience for me, I had never worked on such a grand scale before. All told, I think I put in about 33 hours into this mural. :) Thank you all so much for your interest and encouragement, it made it really fun for me because I was excited to show all of you as much as I was excited to finish for the kids! Good times!
Lastly, Christina Rodriguez and I had a good time at the Twin Cities Festival of Books two weekends ago. I can honestly say it was really overwhelming, but getting to spend the day with Christina was fun. What a long post! Sheesh! Thank you for reading the whole thing! Stay tuned, my next blog post will be a giveaway!