First week open, and still running!

This has been an exciting week for me! Thanks to all of you for stopping by and visiting my shop. It has been a lot of fun. A bit of a whirl wind…trying to learn the ropes amidst a lot of other things going on, but it has been great. I have made a lot of really great contacts, and met some really great people. It is really exciting to see other parents like my artwork and see that it speaks to them and their own children. That is why I am doing this: I just wish I could see the children when they get their pictures.

This week I took a quick trip to Maryland (where I grew up) to visit my parents and little sister. I love it back east. It is an enchanting place…especially this time of year. It is a little more dry this year than normal, but it doesn’t matter. It beats the desert in October. The mountains are beautiful…don’t get me wrong. But there is nothing like being able to go out into my backyard and be with the deer and the squirrels and the fallen logs on an autumn afternoon. My kids are, needless to say, in heaven.

The first time we went out to the backyard, Addie insisted that she run back and put on her princess dress and get out her “I wonder” basket (Sleeping Beauty sings “I wonder” while holding a basket for berry picking in the dark woods...notice how her "I wonder basket" could also double as a 99 cent hot pink plastic jack-0-lantern bucket from Target). So, Addie is in her dress (and basket in hand) singing “I know you… I walked with you once upon a dream” all because we were in the trees. She LOVES trees, and here we are in the heart of it all. I love it!


My sister Kaile is a horseback rider, and so of course we had to take the kids to see the horses...and the barn cat they discovered. Addie and Ian LOVE animals, and depite the funny pictures, addie is actually very natural with animals.

And with the shop open and successful I have also managed to get my artwork in my first boutiques! It is really exciting. The first is a DARLING place in Northern CA called “Teapot Parties” and the second is in Leesburg, VA called ‘On a Whim’…a very vintage/ chic store with a lot of personality. I am so excited! My stuff will most likely be there by the end of the month.

So, a lot of learning going on here. I really just threw myself into this. I have at least a dozen more pieces I am just DYING to get printed, but that requires me being home. So, I will have to wait till next weekend. I just can’t stop coming up with new stuff. That is the fun of it…there never has to be an end to this! It's all just imagination!

Thanks again for all of your support and compliments. It’s great to think that my elephants and bunnies and little people are on the walls for other little children to enjoy. In some ways, I feel like a Santa…I just want to make children smile :)

Sarah Jane ETSY shop open!



Wow. What a week this has been. I knew it was going to be intense, but I don't think I knew how much. I Have had such a great time getting to know new people as I have made my first sales, and received help from other ETSY artists regarding all the details of starting up.


I am doing my own printing now, and wow! It is wonderful! Having my own printing abilities has opened up a whole new set of possibilities! I can't wait to learn more!

Despite the rush of opening, we were able to enjoy the beautiful Utah autumn colors this weekend as we drove the Alpine Loop. Addie and Ian were so stimulated, that they couldn't fall asleep believe it or not! (Well, Addie that is.) She stayed in her crib singing "I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills.... for 2 hours. It was so cute, but boy she was tired in the morning!

I hope you like the shop! I felt like a first-day kindergardener when I made my very first sale! Butterflies and everything! I couldn't believe it! I am a perfectionist (to an extent) and I just want my artwork to be JUST RIGHT for my buyers. Translation: Up late, up early, Bob the Builder for the kids, stretching left overs as far as they go and Kenneth did a weeks worth of laundry for the first time in years. I am ready to be a real mom again! (well, what is real? the fact that my kids have had the stomach flu and have been letting me hold them for the past two days while working on my shop? I guess that is REAL).

But I am SICK of Bob the Builder!

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new favorite artists...

In some ways it is frustrating when I come across an artist with a similar style who has already succeeded in what I want to do. But at the same time, it is exciting to see that they are successful, and know that people really like that style.

I am all over the place when it comes to the styles i like...but the kind that has always been a part of me...and always will are the vintage line and wash drawings...think beatrix potter and the original winnie the poo. But with the vintage colors, it takes me back to my own childhood.

Here are some of "belle and boo" by mandy s. She is a british illustrator with a booming ETSY business. I REALLY need to get photoshop and learn!!! She draws her images, scans them inand does some digital coloring. Man, I want to learn that!!

And here is another artist...Roxanne murphy smith, who paints children's all art. I really want to combine my styles to be able to do what these women do. A mix of traditional art, with a flair of modern, yet easy on the eye and simple.

So, these styles are what I grew up liking and doing. My tastes are changing and broadening, but I think that I will stick to this while i get started again to warm up to what I know. That way I can expand from there.

love these kitchens

i love painted white cabinetry....with a splash of color. The natural light in these kitchens help so much...I don't have a window in my kitchen. But the light feel is definitely in the painted touches.

a little more style...

Ok, so i am starting to paint again...it's been a few months vacation now. I have more ideas in my head than I have time to paint. I am always on the lookout for more inspiration when it comes to color and design...so much intrigues me.

SUKIE really makes my mind think more simply and the colors are great. I really like animals in more of this 'wood cup out stamp' style. It reminds me of some of the children's books that my parents would read to me when I was young that they read when they were young.

I also like these (I can't credit the source right now...they are from my design files I have been collecting over the past few months...most likely from the print and pattern blog)


Just some of my likes for the day. We'll see what inspires me tomorrow!

oh...and one more. I love ZID ZID kids. check it out.