a calender for owl lovers...

I am so completely thrilled to finally be able to share about a neat collaboration I was apart of. Shivani of the very loved blog, My Owl Barn invited me along with other artists to submit an illustration featuring our beloved feathered friend, the owl. You have an option of downloading the complete calender for 2011 (I'm the month of July!) or customizing your own calender with your favorite illustrations. Oh, and did I mention that it is free!

(photo, My Owl Barn)

Go to My Owl Barn to download and/or customize your own calender and enter an amazing giveaway (owl plus anthropologie, enough said)!

Read the Owl Calender story along with all the illustrators who participated. The illustrations themselves are very delightful, whimsical and darling (there 30 illustrations total).

P.S. Some of you may have already seen my illustration for the calender. It's available as a postcard set at my second shop, The Kindly Owl.

the mandrake is back & other things

My mandrake illustration on a postcard was a favorite item in the Littlebighead shop. Finally, I have restocked but now will be available at the Kindly Owl. Along with this postcard set is a new set featuring two folksy little owl friends surrounded by vines and watched over by a little mandrake head.

I have also brought down the prices on most of my original illustrations at Littlebighead too...

the burrow opens...

I'm here to announce that a new section at the Kindly Owl is now opened. It is called 'The Burrow' and it is where you will find vintage and gently worn odds and ends type things. It's for things I see that others may be able to enjoy and it's also a purging place for me and the things in my home, closet, etc. I've often thought about doing what so many other neat etsy shops have done by selling secondhand wares. I look at how inviting and wonderful many of these shops look but have never known if I could or would fully commit to such an endeavor. Not only that, but I didn't want to open yet another shop (as it is I have too much going on often times). I thought it would be fitting to have a nook and cranny within my new shop for just such an idea. 

I have listed a few things so far, nothing in a cohesive theme but like I said, odds and ends.

The Kindly Owl and Nocturne Flora

Littlebighead has finally opened the Kindly Owl shop! There are a several items listed with more on the way. I
think I pretty much announced what the Kindly Owl is all about a couple of posts ago. I've made a couple of owls with the question of which sized face is generally favored. It was pretty even between the small face and larger face but I think I will continue to make the pocket owls with the larger face for a more 'owly' look. I do, however, have the smaller faced owl available in the shop!

I also mentioned that with the Kindly Owl is in a collaboration with Helena of Faunfare. She has blogged a beautiful post announcing our creative project Nocturne Flora. I can't match her literary skills so I would love for you all to read her post. I am pretty excited for our venture and you can find her Nocturne Flora creations as well as my contributions for it.

(a sleeping mandrake herbal doll for Nocture Flora)

I am truly excited for this creative process with Helena. She is wonderfully smart and creative with her ideas and products. It's been great going through this process with her as an idea, with a deadline (to help me most definitely!), to it's birth and for it's future growth. I will always been thankful to her for her support and encouragement and to Etsy for it was the forum in which we met (as well as some other dear friends). We do have more planned for this project so stay tuned for more information and updates as they come :)

a kindly owl preview

As some of you may know, I am starting a new endeavor and within that, a wonderful and creative collaboration. Littlebighead will be expanding with the beginning of a new shoplet called The Kindly Owl (also known as Kindly Owl Herbs). Thanks to my friend Helena, I've been encouraged to no longer let the idea fester away inside my head but to finally bring it into realization. It will start off small but I am hoping that it will grow into something larger and fun. Actually, the whole idea of The Kindly Owl started about a year or so ago. I had purchased a few books on herbs and plants and was eagerly trying to gain as much knowledge as I could. Nattie, too, like the idea of herbs and flowers and of learning how to create herbal products that she too, could have a part in and 'sell' (she's has quite the entrepreneurial mind). I thought what a great idea, a project that both her and I could do together. Thus, the idea of The Kindly Owl began.

Natalie was very excited to make her own teas (which is one of the products we would like to offer). I was trying my hand at several variations with different herbs but it was her, not I, that struck gold. She wanted to make her own tea and all I did was put out a few herbs that she could use. She came up with a very yummy floral tea and named it Fairy Flower tea. I still need to find out if there are any rules and regulations about the selling of herbs/teas but I am sure that her tea will be the first to sell in the shop.



Another interest of ours is the Mandrake plant. I fell in love with this plant the very first time I was introduced to it by the wonderful world of Harry Potter. I had been wanting to try my hand at making some dolls and thankfully, again, with the help of  Helena, I've been encouraged to make some mandrake themed items to be a part of our collaboration known as Nocturne Flora. Both of our shops will be featuring a few mandrake items that have helped our creative sparks collectively. Helena makes wondrous natural perfume oils that just smell absolutely amazing. She also makes delightfully magical little felted creatures (which I am a proud owner of a couple of darling owls). She has a few things up her sleeve for Nocturne Flora including expanding the idea to other beautifully dangerous plants as well. For my part, I will begin with a little sleeping mandrake doll. The top leafy part of this doll is filled with a relaxing herbal blend by Mountain Rose Herbs so that you can take this doll to sleep with you (if you like, of course). So, here is a little sneak preview of the sleeping mandrake doll...



Eventually, I will make more mandrake dolls including one like you see above with Natalie. I am still working a bit on shape so that it won't look too much like a ginger root like our little 'Drake Manly' does.

Well, I wasn't expecting to 'reveal' so much of this until the shop opened but oh well! I love sharing! Which leads me to a question I very much need your help on. I will also be making little owls for the shop. I am still working on shapes and such but have so far come up with two variations. What I would like to know is, which one do you like more? The one with the smaller face or the one with the larger?





I am still not sure which one I prefer more since they both have endearing qualities to me. Please please let me know because I am a bit stumped as to which one I will decide to make more of.

Well, I'm off now to do some things domestic, recreational (hopefully) and creative alike. Hope to hear from you all very soon! :)

owls and gratefulness

The days here in Southern California are fickle; going back and forth from overcast and drizzle to bright blue skies and sunshine. As I write this, I feel quite and still, trying not to give in to some discomfort in my body. Every day is day to day and I am thankful that for a good while now I have felt okay and not have had to make an ER appearance. Monday was another endoscopy with a new GI and so far, what the results tell me are: evidence of Grade I relux esophagitis of the esophagus. The mucose apperared granular. Evidence of erosive gastritis of the antrum. The mucosa appreared granular and erythematous. Evidence of nonerosive gastritis of the antrum. The mucosa appeared granular and erythematous. The duodenum appeared normal. I meet with the GI again in early June to go over the biopsy results and take it from there. 

My intent in this post was not to start off with this subject, so I apologize. Life is a mixture of so many things and though I do want to share all the good in my life (like most people do) there are shadows that lurk here too. This issue with my health is definitely one of them and in my attempt to always be real with myself and others, I share it here. 

With that said, I move on to the subject of things that make me happy. I am deeply devoted to my daughter as most mothers are to their children. There are obvious reasons why she is dear to me but I am also grateful just to have her. I am not sure if we will ever have another child again, not that we don't want to. All these issues add up and it can be very discouraging to know that this might be the extent of our family. Those times when I feel the pang of wanting more children, I just look at the one I  have been so graciously given and I am thankful. It amazes me how much she wants to be with me and wants to be like me. I am doing my best to hold on to every moment since there very well may be the day when she won't want the similarities anymore. For now I am grateful when she wants our tuesday movies (and/or games and spa) sleepover nights (just her and I, no daddy!) and when I rummage through her backpack and find her sweet little hand drawings of momma's favorite: owls.

Recently, in an email. I found out that Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets is having a contest. It's design the best bag ever and the winner of the contest gets free groceries for a year! I thought it would be fun to enter in, even though I know there will be thousands of amazing entries most likely. Nat was thrilled too, until she found out she could not participate because she is not old enough. That knowledge came as a blow and she was devasted. While consoling here, my brain was already trying to come out with what I would submit but that didn't last long. To ease her pain of not being able to draw something herself, she quickly came up with an idea for me to draw to enter in. How could I say no? I told her I would do this in her honor, to show her creativity through my drawing. Of course, her idea including an owl, a tree and a reusable bag. Here is her sketch she did for me and after is the final resuly I am submitting to the contest. 

I finished this last night while having our movie night in her room. She approved and gave suggestions (the color of the owl for example). She also wanted to include a eight point star above the owl and I traced over it for her. I am proud to submit this in and though I prepared her that we might not win (because she is sure we are) and told her the fun is in that we did it together. These are the little things that hold me up. Her enthusiam and her wanting to be a part of everything that I am. I pray every day for her and that the ties that bind us together will never be severed or damaged. I know she is becoming her own person with every day and I want to encourage her in that way but there is nothing like her fondness to be like me and like all the things I like too. 

As I wipe tears of joy off my face, I also wanted to share a couple of new things. I am putting it here not only to share, but to keep myself accountable for discipline. I have had the idea of littlebighead opening up another shop on etsy for awhile. A place to extend my love for the natural world of herbs, tea and more folklore ideas. A place to also serve the 'business' that Nat wants to have with me to sell our own blends of teas and herbal products. Awhile ago we agreed on the name Kindly Owl Herbs and I used it for my second twitter, herb and flower. I've held off on this idea for awhile with various other things taking precedent but now it's returned, thanks to the encouragement of my friend Helena. I won't say too much (yet) but we are currently collaborating on a line for both our shops (kindly owl and hers at faunfare) that I am pretty excited about. I am thankful for her organization and drive because it is certainly helping me out :) So more about this project as it continues in growth and in execution. 

For now, I wish everyone a blessed day. I have domestic duties, artistic endeavors and a commission job all waiting for me...