Step Inside!

I rather fancy the idea of being an enterprising young thing, so I have opened an online ‘art & paper products’ shop. Perhaps you are familiar with Etsy? I know it has inhabited my consciousness for the last few years, as the place to discover the most wonderful handmade goodies. So that’s where I’m stationed now. Trying to fit in.

Also as a longtime intrepid doodler and maker of things, it seemed like the way to go. (plus, I really need a new pair of sandals, and beautiful birkenstocks aren’t cheap, hey?)

So I’m starting small, with things I know I can do well. I have spent recent months sourcing the strongest, smoothest, loveliest cardstock. Jabbing  away at my calculator, measuring envelopes and calculating shipping costs. Tightening up designs and making new ones. 

 If you would like to support this venture by taking a look around my store or ‘liking’ my facebook page (I know, look at me all down with the kids), I would be entirely appreciative. I am told this is how these things get going, afterall!

 So I present to you: LouPaper- my shiny new shop. It will remain pretty small while I get my sea legs. But check back regularly for new additions!

(Thanks for the help, BigRudy!)

A Tennessee Summer

Welcome inside our brand new book!

(Continuing from my last post)...We are eager to share with you a small selection of the characters and full pages from the children's book my friend Jessica and I have just gotten published. 

When I was young I gobbled up stories at an astonishing rate. There were favorite books that I would go back to time after time that had me giggling until I'd cry, or just caught my imagination in some memorable way.

It was our priority to achieve a sense of fun throughout the story, with our game of 'Find the Spiders', and lively little details such as the family pets in their Halloween costumes. We hope our readers enjoy the story and illustrations as much as Jess and I relished working together on this project!

Jessica is a huge fan of holidays, and wrote this story because Halloween is her absolute favorite. Fun Fact: Jess and her husband are now expecting a baby, and the due date, you ask? October  31st. Gold star for timing!


We have had a lot of support and encouragement from our friends and family throughout this project, and you all deserve a cookie for the kind words and wishes you have sent our way! It is very much appreciated! 

Charlotte's Halloween

In a manner that befits a puppy or a breathless 5 year old, I am pretty much excited to present a book that I have illustrated for Jessica Smith, an author friend of mine. It is now available for purchase on Amazon and barnesandnoble.com, and I know it's only June but, well, it's never too early to get excited about Halloween!

This project swallowed up a good few months for me while Forrest was deployed in Afghanistan and the fun and charming nature of the story kept a smile on my face all the while. As a child, I was always a huge fan of 'Where's Wally?' (yes, that'd be Waldo here in America!), and loved having little details to search for whilst pawing through the pages of a book. As such, we developed a little game, where spiders are hiding on every page, waiting to be sought out by an eagle-eyed young (or old!) reader.

As an illustrator, I feast upon the details of other peoples processes. I love the scribbles, photos of studios, paint splatters and happy accidents. As such I thought I would share with you a few of the scribblings from my sketchbooks as the project progressed.

Rudy the Dog, possessing a winning mix of good-looks, charming clumsiness and an instinct for fun  made the cut as one of our characters. Here he is in his Halloween dinosaur costume! Jessica's cat (Halo) also features. The sleeping spider cannot be claimed as a family member by either of us, but I must admit, he looks cute enough for a little squeeze.

Soon I will share with you some pages from the story. Thanks for stopping by!

All in A Days Work.

Sleep, Eat, Play, Cuddle. 

Somebody around here knows how to relax. Big Rudy!

Does it Sound Like a Helicopter? (Brrrrr)

I've had that song by Cher Lloyd (I Want You Back) stuck in my head all week. And no, it doesn't sound like a helicopter.
Anyhow, I have been busily crafting away at the request of a friend of mine who is stationed in Germany. Who knew there were plate hangers for this sort of thing?! We just use ours as lap trays....
 My humble plaque is to be auctioned off, or maybe raffled at a company event they are holding. Because sometimes it feels good (great!) to give. I hope it finds an enthusiastic home. Shout out to military families in Germany (including my own beloved bro-in-law). I am envious of your pretzels!

Opening my online shop within weeks....custom plaques will be available. Add it to your shopping list! Maybe, baby. Hope you are having a great weekend, friends!

Ingredients of a Weekend.

A bit of everything this weekend. Not least, sweet peas from the garden that dress up a salad in my new bowl (thanks, Brianna, the green stuff never tasted so good!).  

Drawing. Printing. Cutting. And repeat. Feeling a little warm and fuzzy about the cool selection of antique pen nibs discovered at a thrift store. I feel like I'm back at art school. Delight is in the details.

Our poor overgrown turtle (hello, Bob!) is dearly in need of a new (bigger) aquarium. In the meantime he's pretending to be a Nascar driver, tearing up and down the lawn in a bid for freedom/ victory/ fame- who knows?. Relax little buddy, have a shrimp. And maybe next month we'll buy you a mansion.