This weekend, I was introduced to some great new ways to keep in touch on line. Though I have heard of Twitter for a while, I really wasn’t all that interested in finding out about yet ANOTHER way to kill time on the computer. Getting on the computer is hard enough around these parts! But after learning how it works, I have found it is even less time consuming than email, or blogging…and a great way to keep people informed about what is going on in your life…on your website…or blog. I am mostly going to be using it to keep you up on conversations that revolve around my studio, but I also want to keep in touch with you! With how busy we all are and yet how much we still want to keep up with each other, twitter is the best answer! Learn more about it here:

So, sign up, and FOLLOW ME (username: sarahjanestudio) And I will follow you back!

Sending happy tweets.

xoxo

Sarah Jane

Have you ever tried Googling that phrase? I have. I know. A little embarrassing. But the truth is, you can’t really find an answer to that question. Experience is the only teacher.

Well, I guess if you googledd that phrase now, you would find this.

I was invited to be a guest blogger at Le Papier Studios, (A DARLING shop by the way…get your christmas goodies here!) and I spilled the beans about balance, and life and priorities and trying to live all three roles.

Something I hope to learn more about everyday. Life is meant to be lived…and when life is busy, there is no reason you still can’t enjoy it all. So…here is my two cents on the subject. (Ok…more like 10 bucks…it is a bit long, but then, couldn’t we all write novels on this subject?)

Enjoy!

They are here! Another bookplate (which I wish you could see in person…they are DARLING!) and 2 more cards for the shop: “I love my sister” and “I love my brother.”

I also have both of these prints for sale together as a set like the other elephant and giraffe set. So fun! Oh…and there is more coming soon! I am signing off to get back to work! xoxo sarah jane

Hi all. Check this out:

SUPER cool new design online magazine: Design this design that. The entire edition is dedicated to illustrators. I’m on page 58-59. Some are new to me, and some have been my favorites for a while. Have fun reading!

So yesterday I picked up the mail on the way home: ho, hum, bills, yucky junk mail…Oh WOW! My art is up and running in France! Lilipinso and co. is a children’s wall art company, and their stuff is SO fun and whimsical. I was so flattered when they contacted me about licensing some of my prints. Their work is all reproduced on canvas, and looks stunning. The catalog is chalk full of artists who I wish I could just hag out with in their studios. Very French, very European…I love it. Here you can see my LOVE bunnies, as well as my other French animal prints.

I love how they made vinyl stickers with my little ‘love’ bunnies. These prints have been in the shop for a little bit, and they are just my favorite. They look SO great on the walls. They haven’t been as popular for some reason (maybe it is the square shape…harder to find frames) but I just love them.

And you can even see the pictures for display in one of their display rooms. I was so happy they picked mine! The photo doesn’t really show you very well, but they look super-duper cute!

Here is the link to the website, and here is the link to the new 2009 Catalog (I’m on page 10). They don’t have all their new work up online yet, but the catalog is available on their site. Have a look…and start wishing you were living in France. (I do!) Happy Wednesday!

I am convinced that she gets more free time at the end of the day.  But then again, she doesn’t look as good in heels…

Happy monday everyone! I have to first say…WOW! What a weekend I’ve had! I was featured on ETSY’s homepage, and I will tell you, I have made so many great friends and met so many incredible people because of it! I heart ETSY!!! It’s like this amazing art gallery shop full of incredible products, but even more, really cool people! I love that ETSY encourages so much communication between artists for support, advice, etc. So, thanks to all of you who popped in to say hello! I have loved looking at your shops, and hearing your experiences! I have tried to reply to most all of you, but if I haven’t replied, I will be soon. In the mean time…know I have loved meeting all of you this weekend! I love the internet, but honestly, I would much rather throw a BBQ and meet all you in person:) You are all an inspiration!

Speaking of inspiration, I have been thinking “what made me want to become an artist.” There is never one single answer to this, and the one that I gave in the interview is the most true to experience. I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t an artist. But there are always supports a long the way, and I wanted to share one of mine (there are many).

My Grandpa Knell was an artist. He was an architect professionally, but I think that a lot of architects start out as artists. He loved design and the functionality of design. But he also had a big imagination. He died almost 3 years ago, but he instilled in me a great love of drawing and somehow gave me the confindence to pursue my talents. I often remember him at the kitchen table sketching out designs with his sons, or drawing with the grandkids. This weekend, we had a family reunion and my aunt had brought some drawings grandpa had made on paper lunch bags who knows how many years ago. How precious! Not only because he is gone now, but also because they are doodles on lunch bags which to me represents that a true artist will draw on just about ANYTHING!! His caricatures were always so artsy/funky. I love it!!

My grandfather was one of my many inspirations, but something about being his grandaughter gave me permission to live my dreams.

So, I would like to know…who has inspired you to do what you love? Family? Fellow artist?

click here. I am blushing again.

And if you are visiting from ETSY, Hello! Bonjour! Hej! Guten Tag! Aloha! Ciào! konnichi wa! Glad to have you, and pull up a chair! See you around!

xoxo,

sarah jane

Well, I am typing right now with butterflies in my stomach. My work has been featured in my first ever magazine, and I am kinda speechless! The Utah Valley magazine (whose cover this month boasts the famed Ann Romney) does a fabulous job featuring women entrepreneurs, and this season’s issue, they stumbled upon Yours Truly. Geeesh! I had an interview last month, and really had no idea what to expect. (Note to self… be prepared next time for a photography shoot!) But they really did a fine job!

The article focuses on what it is like to be a stay-at-home mom while still doing what you love and making a business out of it. You can see the online spread here and if you squint your eyes, you can read the whole thing:) But, really. I am blushing. I am really so glad that there are women out there who love being moms and who are still following creative dreams. I cannot profess to be a master at this oh-so-crazy balancing act, but what I do know, I am happy to share. Thus my blog, and thus this article…I guess. Ashley (the editor) did a fabulous job capturing the inside life of 5 women. Check the others out here. Most of them I have met through Startup Princess (my favorite stop for business tips and mentors) and they all have so much to offer. So, if you are in Utah, pick up the July/August edition of Utah Valley Magazine, or you can view the magazine online here.

I haven’t even put my hands on the paper copy yet, but before I do, I think I need to take a deep breath! Seeing my studio in print makes it all just seem too REAL. Isn’t this just something I do during naptime? Oh, yes it is…and speaking of which…it’s naptime! Gotta go!

xoxo,

Sarah Jane

Hello, Hello! It is so exciting to have a more personalized space here. I hope you can come often, pull up a chair, and have a chat. Here you will find the latest on being a mother of two lively toddlers and the newest designs and illustrations for Sarah Jane Studios. Come as often as you like!

The month of July is filled with lots of fun surprises, so come back soon. You will notice a few new features, including the option to add your email to my monthly newsletter. Sign up for the latest updates in the shop and in the news!

Thanks to all you readers for your ideas, support and friendship! Being a mom and being an artist and business owner make for a lot of adventures, and I am happy to share the ups and downs. Thanks for sharing your stories as well! Stay for more blogging fun and lots of new designs coming soon!

Thanks for stopping in, and feel free to invite your friends! I’ll put the kettle on, and hope to see you soon!

xoxo,

Sarah Jane

Ok..tagged again. Thanks Jaime and Vanna for letting me delve into my random/quircky side:

1) I get car sick if I am in the back seat

2) My first CD I ever owned was Basia: Time + Tide (Don’t watch the video…it’s dumb. Just listen to the song) I was 9 years old.

3) I cut my own bangs when I was 9. I have (had, I should say) really curly hair. But being a product of the 80’s I wanted those stiff “fly catcher” bangs. So, I cut them on a diagonal, sprayed straight up and walked out the door to school thinking my own mother wouldn’t notice. Um, ya. Dumb. About both: cutting my own hair, and thinking I had an unobservant mother.

4) I was accepted to the University of Maryland on an acting scholarship, but declined. (Good thing, since I met my husband on the first day of my freshman year at the school of my choice.)

5) I hate anything with malt or malt flavor.

6) I spent my middle childhood years living on Winslow Road in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

7) The first day I met my later-to-be mother in law, I stabbed her in the elbow with a kitchen knife. (short story: we were putting dishes away together…but it was a rather dramatic and embarrassing moment).

There you have it. I can’t think of anyone to tag right now…so maybe I will be back later. I never was a “game” person.

Gotta get back to drawing….