evolution of a dragon

this month i've been participating in the #30DaySketchChallenge over on instagram and i'm still trying to get in the groove of sketching a little bit of something each day (unexpected renos mean having my bed in the middle of my studio space which has added a bit of challenge to the work schedule as i'm constantly tempted to lie down for a nap and build pillow forts!) i was quite surprised at how unnatural it seems. i can doodle all day long in illustrator but taking it back to the traditional pencil and paper i keep drawing a blank (quite literally). so it is definitely a challenge, but one i'm up for.

one of my first sketches was the start of a dragon i wanted to do for one of my new love cards. since i'm so much more of a digital sketcher i never finish these pencil or pen drawings so i thought it would be fun to show how it evolved from that original drawing.

the top left is the original challenge sketch and then, since i love everything to have some patterns on them i traced the original multiple times on tracing paper (because if i'm going to draw it's definitely tracing paper and ink for me) and doodle out patterns and then finally take the final concept into illustrator, colour him up and then voila… there he is on a super sweet new card (seriously this pick up line would totally work on me ;)

i'm loving him! he's definitely going to show up on more stuff soon

first one who uncovers the hidden symbols will win of these cards - leave your answers in the comments

check out the love dragon and the other fun new love cards now in the online shop here and popping up in our stockists soon!

anyone else taking on any challenges this month?

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the year that can go away now

that was 2014 for me. Until December rolled in. 2014 was a challenging year. Both professionally and personally. But as I sit here on the first day of 2015 I remember that it's the challenges in life that truly define you. Or should I say, how you overcome those challenges is what defines you. And I feel soooo ready to get 2015 started!

If you follow me on social media (instagram is my personal fav so go follow me now because 2015 is going to be even more fun to watch play out) you'll know I took a step back and hibernated after the One of a Kind show ended. I was completely burnt out and honestly needed to digest everything before I could share it. I'm kind of introverted that way. I don't really like to share personal stuff with people, honestly even with friends (except for those handful of close ones!) And my personal life was suddenly the most interesting part of my day. Well sort of. Lot's of unexpected business stuff was playing out as well but it was all too overwhelming for this little peep.

And since I'm navigating away from Facebook I thought all of this makes for great blog content. And I do need to write more. I feel like a different person going into this year, and I want to share that journey of growth. I learned so much from others this past year, that I want to be able to share my growth with you.

Oh My God. So sappy. Not what some might be used to. But that's the way I'm rollin' these days. I'll do a post more on the challenges that were 2014, but this is New Years Day, a day to celebrate and look forward.

This year the business is moving into some very different directions. Can't tell you all of that now, but here's some fun new things.

I'm not sure if you've noticed but I have a huge green heart. I love the outdoors and yes I'm not afraid to admit I have Tree Hugger tendencies (or if we're talking winter I prefer the term Iceberg Hugger - but we're talkin trees here) I definitely feel out of sorts here in Toronto. It's not that the city doesn't do great things for the environment, but it's definitely not as much of a focus as I am used to, and what I think it should be. So not only am I making the personal pledge to do more (yes you can always do more) but thunderpeep is going green too. Not only that, I'm also pledging to do more to remind the world why the human

As of January 1st I'm switching over from the great FSC papers I've been using to a 100% Post Consumer Waste card stock for cards and any paper products will be printed on a wheat/fibre mix paper (yes I said wheat paper). Envelopes are going to eventually all be the awesome new brown bag envelopes you may have noticed I used for the Holiday cards. 100% recycled and 20% post consumer waste material. I won't be using anymore coloured envelopes. Cards sleeves are a necessary evil but I've found some that are actually certified compostable. What??!!! Yesssssssssss! So excited. All these things are great and I'm so happy with the move, but it will also bring a slight price increase, but that won't come into effect until February 1st. So head over to the online shop and stock up at the old prices ;)

I'm really excited to launch the first new collection of 2015. I'm feeling a lot of love lately. I've been spending a lot of time with some great friends and well, this single lady has a very fun new secret crush, all of which has led to some very fun new lovey cards (you know I don't really like to use that Vday word ). All this love and going green led to the naming of the new collection, The 50 Shades of Green collection. I know right! So Excited. These cards are a bit more sweet than saucy. That's just how I'm feeling these days. And they are the first cards to come out with the whole Tree Hugger treatment. I'm aiming to fully launch them the week of January 5th to give you lot's of time to get some for your special friends.

Lastly, my trip to Iceland has been postponed. But don't be sad, I'm sure not. You're going to be super excited when you hear the travel plans I have instead. And just between us, I'm now aiming to spend next New Years in Iceland so that'll still totally happen.

Oh yeah, I'm also dubbing 2015 as the year of the Trolls.

More to come…. How about you? What are your big plans for 2015?

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Yay!

I haven't blogged in forever, so you know what that means…. it's the Holiday Show season.

I tried really hard to be prepared ahead of time, but that just never seems to work out. But as of this minute the Polar Nights Collection is all finished and printed, along with the 2015 calendar. I haven't shared much of them as they were pretty last minute. But if you follow me on Instagram (@thunderpeep) I'll be sure to post photos from the show. And once the show is over all the items will go up on the etsy shop (which is actually closed down for the duration of the show)

See you on the other side!

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All sorts of excitement!

Well, the show season officially kicked off this past weekend. Along with a whole bunch of new product. Whew. It was exhausting getting here, and still so much work to be done between now and the end of the year. But Goonies never say die, right ;)

This past weekend was one of my favourite shows, the Danforth East Arts Fair. As an East Ender myself this show has has special meanings for many reasons. It's right in my neighbourhood. I have made a ton of friends at the show customers and vendors. It was my very first big 2 day outdoor tent show and has always been super successful so I tend to launch a lot of new product here. I guess we kind of share the same quirky sense of humour - and it's a great barometer for what will be popular. We are so much more twisted in the East End of town ;)

There were 2 definite hits this year, not surprisingly both dwell a bit more on that twisted side of the tracks.

Ghost Friends is officially a bestseller after selling out at #Deaf14. Now available in the Etsy shop

I keep getting requests for a new Best Friend card so i was super excited to launch this one. I mean Come On… who doesn't  want to come back and freak out all your frienemies! I love a good Ghost story and this one brought out some really interesting ones from my lovely customers. I wonder if Trolls can be ghosts?

Old Milk is Gross. Your Old Friends are not. Also now available in the Etsy shop

In my circle of friends I'm always the one who will sniff milk (or pretty much anything) to see if it's safe to consume, but do I actually sniff my friends to be sure they are still fresh enough to stay friends with? Well only my close friends will know the answer to that one (and yes someone did actually ask me if I did that over the weekend!!??) But you can let your friends know if they pass the Old Milk test with this awesome new birthday card.

There are even more awesome new products being uploaded to the Etsy shop this week, I'll showcase most of them as we head into the next show, Etsy: Made in Canada on the 27th. I'm pretty excited for this one. Not only because I got to work with my lovely ladies over at The Toronto Etsy Street Team and 416 Hustler Team on organizing the event, but because it's the first EVER nationwide event to help promote the Shop Local movement here in Canada. Etsy is really working hard to make Canadians aware of all the amazing talent here and all the incredible locally made goods so this event will see pop-up markets in 26 cities from coast to coast. If you're in Toronto you can check out our show at the MaRS building (College and University Ave) as well as our sister show over at OCAD. If not check out the MIC homepage to find a show near you (ps --> Vancouverites yours is in Robson Square, AwEsOmE!)

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Let me introduce you...

When I was younger I LOVED chain letters. I was big into penpals and letter writing though so not a huge stretch.

Then when email came along and spam was invented (you know, those friends who would forward Every Single Funny Joke/Photo etc) I absolutely hated it all. I didn't want to be sent anything that would bring on bad luck in 24 hours if I didn't pass it along or whatever crap it was spewing. Thank god those days are long gone. Or at least they can be hidden in your facebook feed ;)

So when my fellow stationery buddy Queenie of Queenie's Cards sent me an email about participating in a blog hop I instantly cringed. But then I read further and realized this was kind of like those recipe chain letters and I kind of loved those. (who else is in on starting this up with me?)

So welcome to my Blog Hop post!

As I mentioned I was tagged to participate by the uber sweet Queenie. We met a while back at a show and slowly had some email chatting before finally sitting down to chats and eats at The Wren (yes I pretty much go there with anyone and everyone!) She designs an great line of cards over at Queenie's Cards right here in Toronto. She did her first Stationery Show last spring and we're super excited to see her make a huge mark on the Stationery scene.

Check out some of my fav cards

seriously… I love to drop an F bomb in real life, but would never mail one. This card is perfect!

I still own and use a calculator. Word. Love it!

So now… on to me. I have to share some tidbits now.

1. What are you writing/working on?
At the moment I'm prepping for show season (show prep is a full time job in itself!) which starts in about 3 weeks {yikes} I'm launching the new line of stationery on the 13/14 of September at the Danforth East Arts Fair and still putting the final pieces on the Holiday line coming later this Fall. In the longer term I'm just starting on the Polar Nights Collection launching this winter (well I guess November isn't quite winter but it'll feel like it) and even more exciting = my first book. It might have Trolls. And some online workshops. And of coarse all the fabric goodness for my collaboration with Quilter Steff over at Pickled Herring Designs. Oh Yeah and OF COARSE planning my big 40th birthday party this November ;) Man, it's no wonder I have no life, when do I have time to sleep!

2. How does your work differ from others in your genre?
I think thunderpeep stands out because it's very much me and my sense of humour/adventure. The weirdest things tend to come out of my mouth, or I latch on to something someone has said to me that I totally take out of context, and most of that ends up on a card. There are some gorgeous illustrated cards out there but I really love to focus more on the typographic styling of my cards, because it really is all about that cheesy line, telling it like it is! And I love typography. 

3. Why do you create?
Oh gosh. I wouldn't know how to not create. It's just a part of me, I don't even think about it. I'm happiest when I'm lost in the world of design.

4.How does your creative process work?
I don't have a specific process, I'm a very digitally oriented so all finished artwork is created in Illustrator. sometimes I doodle out the beginnings of the design and sometimes I just get down and dirty on the computer. I have a big sketchbook that I'm constantly jotting down sayings or little ideas or doodles and when I'm looking for inspiration I just open to a random page. It's all very organic, which I love, but is sometimes a bad thing, trying to get myself to work when I'm just not feeling it is really tough.

Now, let me introduce you to amazing creative spirits that I'm better for knowing.

First up is Ele from Minouette. I first met Ele through the Toronto Etsy Street Team, she's our Captain. A couple of years back I was invited to become a Leader on the team and I've been able to get to know her a bit better working on various team events (including the upcoming Etsy: Made in Canada show - are you coming?) and now I'm honoured to share a bit of her with you. 

Ele combines her artistic side with her scientific side (because she's also a Marine Geophysicis who's lead an incredibly interesting life so far) in creating lino block prints, fabrics and other goodies.

Magic in Antartica

Polar Bears and Aurora Borealis, 2 of my favourite things

combining Art with Scientific Women - Florence Nightingale

My next uber cool and creative friend is Katie from Heart's Haven. I also met Katie through the Toronto Etsy Street Team and we quickly became show buddies! Katie's an East Coaster at heart, with a whimsical spirit, maker of lovely recycled wears, screenprinted beings and loves greyhounds! Plus her Grandma sounds like the second most awesome grandma ever (no one person alive is as cool as mine was) Here are some of the pieces I love from her collection.

Free the Bears! I'm patiently waiting for cool mornings to be able to wear my Bear infinity scarf

Greyhounds and scarf and skin! I'm loving this fuscia

with every broken heart we should become more adventurous - quote from her page not mine!

And to end this gorgeous Blog Hop Post I thought I'd share one last thing that inspires me. Since I'm planning my first vacation in what feels like forever (in celebration of my 40th Birthday) to one of the most magical places on the planet, I thought I'd share one of the insanely creative Lyric videos by my fav of fav bands Of Monsters and Men. If I could live in this video I would!

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We're celebrating a wee bit over here….

My {not so} little Etsy shop is oh so close to a milestone 1000 sale and that means it's time for a little bit of celebrating.

Now, maybe I can't clink shot glasses with you BUT I can offer you something {not really} even better. For the next 24 hours the ENTIRE shop is 50% off - yes even the custom listings - just use the code: 1000AWESOMES at checkout for the deal of a lifetime {seriously I haven't had any shots yet….}

All orders using the code will get some extra love with their order - and if you're lucky #1000, well you'll be getting some serious extra love.

Thanks for hanging out on this journey with me. No matter how far or how close I've had fun with every single order!

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