I See Me!

The Holidays are coming up quickly! I am getting excited to bake rolls and pies for Thanksgiving, and thought it would be cool to share a great some great gift ideas with you guys! My friend (since 7th grade!), Jen Dewing, has written these three books for I See Me! (a Minnesota publisher of fantastic personalized books for kids). A Christmas Bear for Me and Who Loves Me? both won Mom's Choice Gold awards this year! I cannot adequately express how impressed and amazed I am by my friend, Jen. She is compassionate, driven, giving, funny, kind, spunky, talented, and completely adorable. You would just love her! A Hanukkah Bear for Me and A Christmas Bear for Me are both filled with Wilson Ong's gorgeous illustrations, and Who Loves Me? is perfectly paired with Maria Carluccio's playful artwork.

Dear Wilson and Maria,

Your work is amazing.

Love, Nina
I See Me! is offering a FREE SHIPPING promotion on all personalized children's books through November 29th. Just enter coupon code FSR795 at check out! Happy Shopping!!!

My Little Studio

This post is to celebrate the simple joy of a clean desk! Such possibility! The space! WOW!

These are silhouettes of my daughters that I did back in 2007 when they were 2ish and 4ish. (Visit Mr. Yen's shop to see some of his stunning papercuts, his work is absolutely brilliant!)
This is something I have been sketching lately. It is from the cover of my all-time favorite children's book from when I was a kid (The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, written by DuBose Heyward and illustrated by Marjorie Flack). My Mom used to sit me down with art books when I was a kid to have me learn from the greats and stretch my skills and imagination. I had forgotten how fun and challenging it was! And who doesn't love drawing bunnies??? The kiddies are excited for school to start next week and I am mentally preparing myself to dive into Mural 2 and the Sketchbook Project and working on my book dummies and handling registration for the MNSCBWI Fall Conference and sending out a new postcard and having a fun giveaway on the ol' blog. Also, I now have 3 illustrations up on Project OpenBook that you could vote on if you haven't already: Lost and Found, Book Club, and On Cloud Nine (written by my wonderful friend, Jen, who I have been friends with since meeting in 7th grade english class with Mr. Stokes!!!).

Proud Friend Moment!

I am very proud to announce that my friend Jen (who I have known since 7th grade!!!) has just written a book for a local publisher! I See Me! publishes wonderful personalized books for kids. Visit their website to check out "A Christmas Bear for Me" written by Jennifer Dewing and beautifully illustrated by Wilson Ong! So proud of you, Jen!