My two kitty interns

I'm gonna miss these two fellas.

Ice Cream & Elephants

(Filipino) ice cream for me. Elephants for a custom order.
Happy combination.

Illustration Test

Yesterday I hopped on a bus to the Americana for a second dose of free research at Barnes & Noble. Found the books & started sketching.It shall be finished today!

This morning

I drooled heartshape! I think the 'whoa' factor outweighs the 'gross'

My Scratch Map

I am FINALLY the proud owner of one. YES! I've been eyeing this for a long time. I can't wait to scratch off 21 countries :)

The Invisible Creative Muse

I haven't read Eat Pray Love or anything so I can't vouch for the writings of Elizabeth Gilbert, but I do like what she has to say about the invisible creative muse.

She believes inspiration is a separate entity that 'visits' you. So, all you have to do is be open to it, and it'll bless you with an idea. Or something to that extent.

So this morning I noticed I had yoga penciled in but UGH, I just didn't feel like going. Something in my gut said, Yoga? GROSS! So I listened to it. I was lounging around the house, gchatting & listening to a J. Period mixtape when BOOM! I just started drawing.

Tandem bicycling with an ELEPHANT = dream come true!Now I have 5 paintings in progress :). Life is so curious.

Summertime Le Petit Elefant Postcards Are HERE!

Mail may be coming your way :)

Aaaand I'm done!

Stuffing

custom order for cheryl :)

Luke & Logan

Dawwwww!! This made my day :) Thanks for sending along, Erica!!

A Plush Retreat!!

Oh my gahhhh.... a PLUSH RETREAT?! SHUTTUP! Apparently, there's an etsy street team called, "Plush Team" and they just had a retreat in Virginia this past weekend. Oh man... Amazing! Read more here. I'm just geeking out like whoa right now.

I feel soo goooooooooood

I've been working hard on custom orders, craft fair prep, outgoing orders & this newly acquired part time gig... OMG SO BUSY but SO HAPPY! Closure at last with long overdue unresolved personal stupidities & openness with new projects & friends. FEELS GOOD (yeah). I think it feels especially great because I'm doing all this while within my own personal 'home.' And I have kitties. I love them they're so cute!

captain& mr. w

CB Logo custom order in progress

they're giaaaaaant. & therefore gonna take a while to sew! here we gooo!

LA Love, the first week

I've started my month long stay in LA. It'll be a mixture of crashing with friends & housesitting/cat-sitting in Silverlake. The first week has already got me high fiving a million angels!

custom tin can card order. I modeled the girl's outfit after victoria.
Finished these adorable Ls for Luke & Logan!
a deliciously geeky fabric find at michael levine
a revisit to moca for awkward dance/npr listening party
paper & type's first craft fair of the year!
& my favorite... cicLAvia! They shut off 7.5 miles of road from cars & I spent the whole morning/afternoon biking freely & happily. First I biked via Sunset-Grand to LA Live with Kevin for a UniqueLA meeting. Then I made my way via cicLaVia route to meet up with the folks. Then we went to the end, then back to Melrose & Heliotrophe for some SCOOPS!! Overall, I think I biked more or less about 20 miles which is amazing for me considering I don't really bike. YES!

Progress Report: L is for Logan

who loves trucks & loaders. He is also the twin brother of Luke (of the previous L)

Yep. Back at Casbah. What can I say.. it's my go to coffee shop. I spent the day finishing up some logo work for a dear friend & reading a newly-made friend's writings to gauge if we'd collab-create well together. I think it's a good match! If anything, it was a strange, serendipitous, enlightening introduction.

The fragrance of a new season arrived when I put on my first sweater

Mmmm... I'm reading my first Haruki Murakami book, as suggested by Kevin Biggers. That sentence punched all my senses in the face with fuzzy feelings & warmth. It makes me nostalgic for autumn. I guess it's currently fall-like in terms of temperature... but without the pretty leaves & with all the pollen. Gross.

Progress Report: L is for Luke

Yay fast internet! Macbook pros have internet connectivity issues sometimes and it's all the time at Kevin's. So hoorah to Casbah Cafe for having that fast ish. Quick break from travel/transition chatting with Merrick to post this update. Oh no he's coming back.. seee yaaah...

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oh, false alarm. Great! I can blog about this:

Merrick got it for me in Singapore! Sweeeeet. It's so purdy & for/from a wonderful non-profit, 'blessings in a bag'. Here's what the back of the card says:

Beautifully hand-sewn with lots of love by a women's group in the Philippines, these cheery flower key-chains are awesome gifts or something for you to attach to your bags! No two pieces will ever be the same, so if you like what you see... Grab it before it's gone!

Lovely lovely!

Holi Fest!

thrown colored dye magical fun.

A Mailing Preview

Expect an eventual surprise in the mail if you've purchase something le petit elefant through etsy & are in the vicinity of the fairs ;)

Buggin'

the bunny got flow.

Buggs Bunny Feat.Daffy Duck- Buggin - More amazing video clips are a click away

love this movie. animation & bill murray & basketball... win!

Today (yesterday) was a good day

I ventured to SF to meet with Mie about the children's book (OMG ITS REALLY HAPPENING!!!). Traffic on 880 was a buzz kill so we had to push back the meeting from 11am to 4pm. I got into the city early & decided to do yoga. I was waaaay early & went thrift shopping instead. LOVE LOVE LOVE this chair:

Funny seeing chairs above china.

Inspired by the walking, I decided to table the yoga for after the meeting & enjoy the sunny beautiful day.

I even stumbled upon Lisa Congdon's lil show at Curiosity Shoppe :)

I finaaaaally gave in & indulged in Tartine's Almond & Pecorino sandwich (Sheep cheese & almonds crushed with olive oil, lemon & sage) & Bi-Rite's brown sugar with caramel ginger swirl ice cream. Kid's scoop please!

I love eating dessert before any meal :)

Oh, dolores park. You're the best.

Mie changed the location for the meeting from a coffee shop to a small tucked away juice bar which was absolutely perfect. I had kale, ginger juice + kombucha and we discussed all things from children's books & storefronts. Then, as a nod from the universe, a car pulled up & starting blasting old school R. Kelly. I didn't see the car's owner until he ran back to his car to pump up the volume for remix to Ignition (!?!?!?) and he was filipino! (PINOY PRIDE WHUTTUP! hahaha). Anyway, I was pretty content listening to R. Kelly crooning about car metaphors, sipping on Kombucha and feeling warm California sun. I sealed the deal with yoga & packing my goodies for LA & Unique LA.

It's strange to pack for a craft fair a month before it happens but I'm ready! LA, here I come!