September Celebrations!

September has been a month of celebrations with more to come! We've been celebrating weddings,

baby showers and bridal showers,

surprise birthday parties,

and surprise guests! Jason's good friends, Stanley and Emily, flew in from California to surprise him. He didn't suspect a thing!

 Stan is a storyboard artist for Pixar. Yeah, THAT Pixar. And Emily is a sweet freelance illustrator. You know I have a soft spot for artist couples : )

 (photo by Jude) : )

 We celebrated by taking them to Sotto, maybe our favorite restaurant in Cincinnati.

And we celebrated the opening of Carabello Coffee, our friends' new coffee shop! What started out as a bean-roasting hobby in the Carabello's basement is now an amazing fair trade, social justice-oriented coffee company! So proud of them!

 So many amazing coffee shops in Cincinnati, so little time.

September also means we are celebrating fall! The leaves are still green but there in a new crispness in the air, the thicker blankets have emerged from storage,

 and my trusty white hat has made its first appearances of the season. It's been a "fall is coming" sign for years.

I love celebrating! And there are more weddings and festivals and gatherings and showers to come! But my introverted heart is also looking forward to some down time. I think a glass of wine and some sort of documentary on pretty things sounds preeetty nice right now.

Hope you're enjoying September!

Arian

New Things

It's a new season. With Jude in kindergarten and my afternoons now available to work, I feel eager to jump into so many projects. This is the new work area I set up in our bedroom. The wall is begging for artwork or a chalkboard or clipboards or something. I'll get to that soon.

New season, new bedroom arrangement, new projects....seemed fitting to have a new blog look too. Hope you like it!

Check out the tabs at the top. There might be a few things in there you've never known about me, or forgotten...like our music videos or the book I wrote with my mom and Daniel. There are still a few more blog features I am working on adding. So stay tuned for more!

Arian

September

It never fails. Even if it's still 90 degrees outside, as soon as school starts and September rolls around  I get the urge to cruise the yarn aisles at the craft store, pin new crochet patterns, and dive into a cozy project. With my friend Heather's baby shower just a few days away I decided to give my new GIANT crochet hook a try. Thanks to a huge hook, super bulky yarn, and a simple single crochet pattern, I satisfyingly whipped up a soft and sweet baby blanket using a free thirty minutes here and there throughout the week. The baby's gender is still a surprise and the Bethunes are a hip, modern couple so I wanted something different then your average pink or blue baby blanket.

Hudson surprised me with a Aero Press this week! He didn't know I'd been wanting one for awhile now. He just knew I liked coffee and thought I'd like it. He set it all up and made the first (and second, and third, and....) cup for me. So sweet!

Perfect timing because Daniel and I have been working nights to put together a pitch for our next music video project. I rearranged our bedroom into a bedroom/studio and as soon as the boys go to bed at night, you can find us working right here past midnight.

Here's a sneak peek at what we're working on! This was truly a collaborative piece. I drew the house, Daniel drew the characters, and then we passed it back and forth to color. Hopefully we'll get the green light on the project and will be able to tell you more about it soon!

Happy September!

Arian

Tour de Friends 2013

Over the weekend we joined a group of friends in an epic biking/camping extravaganza, with everyone biking or driving 30 miles to the campsite, spending the night, then driving or biking back! Daniel, Hudson, Jude and I biked there, Jude on a bike that connects to Daniel's. Then Daniel and Hudson biked back. So that means Hudson, being the competitive sportsman that he is, biked over 60 miles on his little single speed kids' bike over two days, averaging about 10 miles per hour. Rockstar.

Heather. 8 months pregnant with #4. Camping. And looking good while doing it. Also a rockstar.

Jude in his happy place.

(biking photos by Levi)

Hudson, leading the way home.

Arian : )

New Print and Free Society6 Shipping

 I just added this new print to my Etsy shop. Sometimes when I sit down to draw, I know where I am headed. But sometimes I just start drawing and characters come out on their own! I guess these guys have been hanging out deep in my subconscious waiting to reveal themselves!

And, FYI, Society6 is offering FREE SHIPPING through the weekend! My art on tshirts, laptop skins, tote bags, greeting cards, ipod cases, throw pillows....all kinds of fun stuff! Shipping can be pricey so I'd jump on this opportunity if you're interested!

Have a great weekend!

Arian

Back to School/Work!

 Jude started afternoon kindergarten this week! Since he didn't go to preschool, this is a big deal, for Jude AND for me! Jude stopped needing afternoon naps when he was 2 (early, I know). So it's been years since I've had that precious afternoon nap time to work or rest or just have some time alone. With the two older ones in school and Eli napping in the afternoon I now have two and a half glorious hours to myself each day. I've got lots of plans, probably more than can be fit into two and a half hours, but still, I have plans : )

Plus afternoon kindergarten lets these guys still enjoy their mornings together. They're becoming little buddies.

And there's still time for hanging out at the coffee shop before heading into class.

Our school just got a good deal cuter and sweeter now that Jude is there. He's going to love it.

And in the quiet of the afternoon I will draw, draw, draw. This one will be finished and available soon!

Kindergarten and third grade! My big little boys!

Arian : )

What My Kids Read

My boys love books. Jude still prefers picture books, which I happen to love too. But since Hudson started reading chapter books I haven't been able to keep up with him! He finishes books I didn't even know he started and then brings MORE stacks of books home from the library that I don't know anything about. I monitor the movies he watches and the games he plays and the websites he uses, but I can't read all the books he reads.

 So I was pumped when my friend Jen started her What My Kids Read blog. She is a speedy reader and has developed her own very detailed rating system to help parents decide which books are safe for their kids. In addition to her clear safety ratings, she also includes summaries and discussion questions so you can talk to your kids about a particular book even if you don't have time to read it. It's like only reading Cliff's Notes in high school except this time it's not cheating : )

Jen is an all-around amazing lady. She has a special knack for creating cozy spaces and making people feel welcome in her home. And her family is great too. They're all avid book lovers and great conversationalists. 

 So like her on Facebook, consult her website before you let your kids read an book you don't know much about, and feel free to suggest books to her to read. Follow her Amazon link if you choose to buy a book (or anything else) to support her work!

Happy reading!
Arian