Welcome Bailee Blue!

It was a very busy few weeks getting ready for the two trade shows. Licensing expo begins on Tuesday. Bailee Blue is going for the first time in my agents iPad. He is really excited to meet new people and hoping to find some interest. Me, I’m going to take just a few days to clean up the aftermath in my studio. I have not cleaned the studio in a while. There are many papers to toss. It will be good to lighten my load.

I’ve also been reading an ebook on creativity. It’s been inspiring. I love to be inspired! Summer is a good time to revamp life!!! All things new! I love that thought! What are YOU working on?

Change Your Destiny

I was sitting in the movie theater today, minding my own business, (and Captain Kirks!), when all of the sudden three words came to me. “Change Your Destiny”. I was so surprised that I dug down into my purse ( the black hole), looking for my notebook so i might write them down.
Along with the words came a sudden rush of hope and direction for my future. Instead of watching the Star Trek movie, I began thinking of things I could turn around in my life that would mean a different future, even 3 months from now.

How many times in our lives do we stay the course because it is easy or familiar? What would happen if we chose three things in each day, and purposed in our hearts to do them differently? Perhaps that would mean venturing out to see a neighbor you hadn’t seen in a while? Or put down that cheese sandwich and opt for a salad? Why not carve out an hour of the day to work on your novel or write a letter to a relative? Maybe it’s time you tackle your To Do List?

I will think out loud here and list some different areas of interest to me.

God
Family
Friends
Job
Exercise
Diet
Home front
Hobbies
Inspiration
Gardening

Under each heading could be multiple topics.

Imagine if you took a new course of action for each heading, each day. How might that change your life by this time next year? Just think! You could come to the end of the year, a new person! Or perhaps you might become the person you were meant to be! What area might you work on this week?

Heaven! The final frontier! But what will you do before that??? I LOVE the thought of CHA CHA CHANGE!!!

Are you with me?

Join Me For A Cup?

There is nothing like a nice cup of steamy hot coffee with cream and conversation with friends.  Since all my friends are working or busy, I am having coffee with my other friends.  Today it is Toola.  … and no,  she is not sharing that second cup with me.  She likes two cups of coffee at one time.  It’s kind of hard to get her to sit down (obviously), but we must love our friends no matter what!!  It takes a lot of interesting people to make a world.    Enjoy your day!

~ Leslie Ann

 

Dear Diary,

All I really wanted to do today was draw. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. Some of those things you are not good at, so they take you ALL DAY! Sometimes things go wrong. Then you are sad. … and sometimes you mess up. … and sometimes you do all of that in ONE DAY! Ha!

Goodbye Wednesday. I’m going to bed!

Another Big Give-Away!

Once again, it is time for the 2nd Big Peepsqueak Give-A-Way!   

Will you be the winner?

Will you get a box in the mail full of Peep goodies?

This time around, the prize is for both of my books, “Peepsqueak”, and “Peepsqueak Wants A Friend,”  AND a Peepsqueak plush toy!

Are you up for it?

Here are your 2 easy instructions:

1.   If you have not read Peepsqueak yet,  go to the story link below and listen to Brad Mendleson read it aloud.

2.  Go to the Amazon link below, and give me a review.  So I know you are entering the contest, start your review with the words, “I LOVE PEEPSQUEAK!”.  If you have read the second book, please feel free to review it too.  At the end of two weeks, I will take the names off the Amazon site and put them in a bowl and pick the winner!!!  You will be able to watch me draw your name!!  Here are the links! 

Peepsqueak story link:  http://www.readmeastory.tv/category/read-me-a-story/

Amazon review link:  http://www.amazon.com/Peepsqueak-Leslie-Ann-Clark/product-reviews/0062078011/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_3?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=3&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Please SHARE this with others.  Peepsqueak is waiting for you!!

love, Leslie Ann and Peepsqueak!

A Warm Heart

What warms your heart on a cold day?  What warms your heart when the tides of change come crashing in?  What warms your heart when the” no’s” become overwhelming? What warms your heart when the crowd scatters and you are “Home Alone”?

I have a whole list of favorite things I like to look at periodically.  These are things that Warm My Heart.   I found myself smiling and even laughing. They are things I feel that God has blessed me with.  When I look at them I see stories! I see people, I see events…  and more.  Life is so much more than what we see during our day.  Life is a tapestry of stories that intertwine and make memories for us.  Some are so real we can almost re-live them just recalling them to our memories.

Favorite Things

1. God my Father, Jesus my elder brother, the Holy Spirit my helper.
2. All my Family
3. Friends / art friends
4. People
5. Rosie and Violet
6. Coffee with cream
7. Purses
8. Odd things for the house
9. Floor Pillows
10. Blankies
11. Coffee Shops
12. Art galleries
13. Hankies
14. Sketch books
15. Lists
16. Personal chef
17. Trip to Maine and beyond
18. Jeep
19. Toys
20. Children’s books
21. Goat yogurt and blueberries
22. Zinnias
23. Colors : purply blue, raspberry, Yaya green
24. Good movies with popcorn
25. Breakfast in bed with a good magazine.
26. grandsons!
27. my SONS.
28. a zillion best friends!
29. colors
30. the valley between Kenosha and BaileY
31. the mountains
32. a crackling fire in the stove
33. falling snow
34. deep snow and 4wheel drive
35. My cozy studio
36. a good book
37. a comfy chair
38. writing a story
39. a bike ride . . …… and today…. Matthew!

Today’s Warm Fuzzy came from a friend.  She took this wonderful picture of her son sleeping with my Peepsqueak plush.  He is so cute!  Matthew is on my list!

What are your favorite things?  I am sure mine will grow!!

Spring! Cometh!

 

 

Winter is on the way OUT!  I say this as a huge storm is coming into Colorado right NOW!!  No, I did not go to the grocery store in freak out mode stocking my cupboards. Instead, I spent a bit of time today digging in my garden resisting the urge to acknowledge the storm at all!  ha!

Alas, tonight I will hunker down with my pens and paper and continue to work towards deadlines for up and coming trade shows. That is the good thing about storms!  They keep me focused.  I wonder how many artists are like me?

I have one problem.  I can’t seem to go out to my studio to work.  It’s covered with papers, receipts, file folders etc.  It is my new book-keeping system in progress. Eeeeek!  My friend is helping me set up my Quick Books program.  She entered all my checks, deposits etc, and sent me the disk. I bought the program, installed it, imported my files… … then I went to reconcile the two bank statements that my friend did not add and suddenly I am thirty dollars off!  What on earth?  What could I have done?

So, I did what I do best,  I locked the studio door and went in the house. ha!  My right brain is not in the mood for numbers!  Happy Spring everyone!

 

Designing With Color! Moving Past Boring

There is so much involved in designing.  One must be up on the trends for color and pattern and more. I always have my eyes open to finding things I love to look at!

Here are the Pantone color trends for 2013.

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=21005&ca=4

I had to take a close look at them. . . some of them bore me unless they are paired with an “eye-catching” color.  Color is so amazing!  It can make your day!  It can bring a smile to your face, and warm your heart.  It can also bring you down. Why else do people get depressed when they experience too many gray rainy days?  All that because of color? Yes!  Think of the feeling you get when you take a walk and come upon a beautiful scene.  Do you ever “OOOOoooh and Aaaaaahhhh?”  Do colors grab you?

Colors can calm the soul.  One of my favorite movies is Miss Potter.  I like her spunk, I LOVE that she talks to her cartoons,  and I also love the scenes of her beautiful English countryside.  The colors speak peace and tranquility.

One might want calm and peaceful and serene colors for the baby nursery.  So why did I decorate my first child’s nursery in bright sunshine yellow with brown and Kelly Green accents?  ha!  Because I crave bold colors!  All I could think of was that my baby would wake up and want to be inspired by what she saw.  The room had to be warm and happy and that it was!!

As the room progressed to fit two more daughters into it, we moved to pinks and browns. I loved it, but the girls were not really drawn to it.  Interesting.

In my house, you will find that colors change often.  If I could, I would paint my house every year!  My husband jokes about our bathroom being smaller because of the many times I have painted it!  I am thinking of a new color as I type!!!  I am leaning towards a beautiful blue with just the right amount of purple in it!  Baby blue is okay, but I always want something with a little PUNCH in it! I like to walk into a room and hear my heart sing! La la!  Wall colors can be muted but if that is the case, in my house, the paintings must sing!  Oh how I love a noisy house filled with color.

So what am I to do?  Follow the trends?  Or start my own trends?  Am I brave?  These are the questions every designer must face.  I always lean towards being a renegade trend setter!  ha!

Bear With Me

Peepsqueak LOVES BEARS!  …. and so do I!! I LOVE toys!  I love weird toys, stuff animals, special teddy bears, and more. Having three grandsons gives me a great excuse to buy MORE toys!  I took a trip to the thrift store just this week to look for action figures!  I ran them through the dishwasher and stowed in my big toy trunk.  Three more trucks are sitting near the book-case in the “YaYa” room.  Its great fun!  On Tuesday I played “Superhero”!  My youngest grandson loves the stuffies!  Including my own little Peeksqueak plush by Merry Makers.  If you want to order one, you can go to the website, or call them.

retail orders online at http://www.merrymakersinc.com and retail and/or wholesale orders at 888-989-0454 or via email at merrymakers@merrymakersinc.com

They are a great toy company.  I want ALL THEIR TOYS!  ha ha!

You can also find Peepsqueak on his Facebook page.  I am going to have another book Give-A-Way as soon as the new toy gets here!  Peepsqueak and I are so excited!  I may also put it on this Word Press site so stay posted!

The Master List!

Hooray for The Master List! There is nothing like getting all your thoughts on paper…. and yes, I said paper!  Sitting right in front of me where I can doodle on it, cross it off, highlight it etc. I have tried the electronic list making but nothing quite satisfies this artist.

All my ideas are added to my The Master List.  For a creative person, this list is quite freeing!  I can stop trying to shuffle all of this around in my head.  Yes, these items and more have been yelling at me from my head!  ha!  Everything was fighting for recognition… saying things like,  “Me first!”,  “NO! Me first!”

Now I can decide who is first!  Does this sound a little scary to you?  Leslie is hearing things?  I assure you, this is the world of many of us who are visual thinkers!  The world speaks to us! Being the cartoonist that I am, I can actually imagine people as cartoons.  Many of my Facebook friends can attest to that fact.  It’s quite fun!

Okay,  Now to the next step.  Working at crossing off all these things on the list!  I will keep you posted.

So what do you have on your list?

On Target? – What are you living for?

 

I have thought about how important it is to live a purposeful life each day!  I am always busy, but I want to be busy doing the right things each day.  I don’t want to waste a moment! Think of December.  Will you carry out any major goals before then?  Do you have a goal?  Your chances of accomplishing goals are better if you keep them in front of you! Write them down and then look at them each day. It’s okay to change your mind about a goal too.  We are complex beings. We can change our minds!  It only means we are growing!

Look at this website I found for girls in Dallas.

http://gllopinc.org/about_ourorg.html

Our Vision To empower girls from the inside-out. We envision girls celebrating their femininity. We envision girls at the conclusion of each program level possessing the understanding, wisdom and knowledge to live life on purpose. We envision girls better equipped to make good, sound decisions to do all that they purpose to do. We envision girls developing a plan and taking action, not allowing their race, gender, community, or financial status to limit their potential. Our Mission Our mission is to inspire girls from all walks of life to discover who they are, to connect with other like minded girls and to pursue their purpose with passion

After reading this I found myself wanting to attend!   We did not have anything like this when I was growing up.  Empowered with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, making sound decisions, taking actions, no limits due to race or finances. (those are excuses) inspired! discovered!

What are your first steps in the right direction this year?  Mine is to make the MASTER LIST!  Then I can fill in times and plans to carry out the things on my list! Perhaps I will even share my list with you in another blog.  For now, I leave you with this.

Ephesians 5:15

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),

One Step at a Time!

Have you ever started a new chapter in your life?  Have you ever dared to do something you never did before?  Did you feel launched into it and found yourself in free fall? You are not alone. It happens all the time! Anyone who wants to do something worthwhile in life has to take risks and sometimes those risks lead to even more risks!

When my art career began, I was imagining all the possibilities. I dreamed of success. I created many fun little cartoons and talked about what I wanted to do with them.  Then one day, I ran into a friend who was DOING what I wanted to do.  She shook me!  She said, “Les, you have to go to the N.Y. Stationary Show and you have to go NOW!

I had heard of this show. I had many of my friends online talking about going.  This was back in the late 90′s.  There was something in her voice.  It was more like a command from heaven than a gentle nudging from a friend.  I made up my mind to go!

This was huge for me.  I had only been on an airplane once for a 45 minute flight. I practically sat on the lap of the man sitting next to me… asking him what this bump was and what THAT  bump was!    I decided I better pray about this trip.  I told the Lord that if HE wanted me to do this then he would have to make the way for me.   A few days later someone had put an envelope in my mailbox. It was  $300.00.  Enough for my flight!  It was not long until I was flying across America to New York City.  I met up with my girlfriend and stayed with her uncle and aunt. We took buses, rode trains and cabs.  Once at the show we had to pedal our portfolios. I am NOT a sales person. … but there I was asking people where their art director was and if I might have a minute with them.  Over and over.  Hmmm…. it became a little easier each time.

One last company sat down with me.  They looked through my whole portfolio and asked if I had anything more?  I pulled out one last picture of a little baby.  That was it!  That was the one the art director liked.  She asked me if I had any more and I told her I would email them to her when I got home. You better believe I was sketching babies on the airplane!

This was one of my first “be brave” moments. Over and over the good Lord has taken my by the hand and shown me what to do next.  Some would say, “you are weak if you need help for everything.”  But I say,  I am smart for asking.

I have a few more adventures I am yearning for.  There will come that day, when the dreaming is over, and the bags all packed and ready to GO!

What are you waiting for?  Be Brave!!!!!

He’s Here!

Place your order online or by calling retail and/or wholesale orders at 888-989-0454 or via email at merrymakers@merrymakersinc.com.

Is Spring Springing?

I love flowers!

The weather is teasing me!  A warm day, a nice breeze, flowers peeking from the cold wet ground, and then WHAM! A freak snow storm!  Such is life in Colorado.  Peepsqueak is not worried.  As you can see in this picture, he is thrilled to find the first Spring flower.

Do you have any flowers up yet?  We only have a few tulips and iris peeking out of the dirt. Flowers are still a few weeks away.  I am ready!

 

Pajama Day!

Pajama Day!  I love the thought.  A day to stay inside, kick back, and coast. A day for breakfast in bed!  Toast, eggs, coffee with cream and strawberries on the side with a good book or magazine to follow!  Aaaahhhhh!!

As much as I love the idea, I rarely do it!  The last Pajama Day I had was when I had the flu three years ago! ha!  I suppose it is because I associate pajamas with the END of the day, with going to sleep. … and personally, I would rather be AWAKE!

Perhaps I will get in my pajamas just before dinner. Perhaps I will make eggs, toast, coffee with cream and strawberries on the side for dinner and cozy up with my good book for the evening.  Yes,  Pajama Night!!

Surviving Your Colonoscopy 101

Yep!  I did it!  I made it through another colonoscopy with flying colors!  I will let you in on a little survival secret.  How to drink the yucky liquid without tossing your cookies.

Try this method.  This is all you need:

1.  9 – 8 oz paper cups with straws

2.  “The drink”

3.  A timer

4.  A computer and the Pinterest website

My colonoscopy required me to drink 9 glasses of “the drink”.  One glass every 10 minutes!   EEeeeek!

Simply pour the liquid into the 9 cups. Next, go to the Pinterest website. Most of you who know Pinterest, know, that it is a great sucker of time. That is what you want,  you want to be taken away to Pinterest Land and lose track of what you are doing until the timer goes off! Soon you will be ready for cup #2, then #3 and on to # 9!   Viola!  You are done!  Thank you Pinterest!!!! …. and yes,  everything came out just fine!  haha!

Fresh Air!

It is a great joy to be an artist!  I rarely get tired of creating new things. When I am not creating, I am busy thinking about creating.

Occasionally I get stuck.  A design might not be working, a color might be off, a story might need more tweaking etc.  This is when its time to take a break!

Saturday was just such a day. The blue skies of Colorado were mesmerizing. The crisp clean air and the white, bright snow were a refreshing sight!  My husband and I walked along this lake soaking it all in.

Sure enough,  upon returning to my work, I could see what I could NOT see before, a new perspective!  So if you get stuck,  take a break!!  Get some fresh air!  Your work will be waiting for you only this time you might just find the solution you were looking for.

My Myself and My QR Code

I have no idea why I am getting such a kick out of this?  This is my website.  This little square with the black lines is me!  Ha ha!!  If you want to see the image you might have to click on it.

Share this:

Come February, without fail, I  begin to feel the effects of Spring Fever. My tulips are peeking out, our trees are budding, and my heart begins pining away for warm weather.  THEN it SNOWS 8 inches! haha!

There is no complaining on my part.  Colorado needs the moisture!  Like Peepsqueak, (above) I put on my coat and scarf and set off in our winter wonderland.  Spring will arrive as it alway does, but there are sidewalks to shovel and a wood stove to load and lots of indoor activities to keep me busy until snow gives way to rain and flowers.

I Remember When . . .

Oh little Peepsqueak.  This picture of you reminds me of something that happened to me when I was little.  We were visiting an aunt in Washington.  She had a rope that dangled from a tree in her backyard. She also had a big DOG that came running into the yard barking at ME!  I jumped on that rope and UP, UP, UP  I went!  I did not even know I could climb a rope!  I just did it!  ha ha!

Most of my art comes from my imagination, but it is also from my memories and from my life experiences. All that being said, I think I can still climb a rope!