Babar in the big city:)

This one is heavily inspired by my kids and Babar. 

HAVE A LOVELY WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

it aint over...:)

Well... not everything was coming up helen... yesterday. Gouache was being very bossy. She was telling me - "Helen, you have to plan... think it through... choose your colors ahead... sketch. Spontaneity doesn't cut the mustard in this case." I was telling her - "Sweety, I have ADD and three children... work with me here:)"

In the end, this portrait of Lola dancing is the only thing I can show. 

I'll be at it again. I will make make friends with gouache:)

(Gouache, if you are reading my blog... " I love your smooth buttery texture and how fast you dry. See ya soon:)

gouache in the past...

I found these gouache experiments I did some 17 years ago... Ooooh, it's been a while...

Today, I'm going to do some new gouache experiments. I'll show you tomorrow if anything good comes out:) 

Psssst... my father's day print is now available on monkeypowered:)

mushrooms on the wall...

I just had to have a little more fun with my mushroom pattern!

pattern preserve...

When I was a kid , me and my mom used to go for a mushroom picking expeditions in the forrest near by (in Siberia). Mom would make preserves with the mushrooms... I'd watch... Mmm... the earthie fresh smell of the forrest.

I haven't had a pickled mushroom in 20 years. They completely lost their appeal during my first pregnancy, and have never regained my trust since then. However, I would like to share the picking experience with my daughters. Maybe strawberries? Or apples?:)

This pattern is about picking mushrooms after the rain.

A little collage I've been working on for father's day.

HAVE A  FUN WEEKEND!:)

Norway... my way:)

This pattern was made for a Norwegian hotel (their brochure for kids)... and is one of the funnest ones I've ever done. I love the growling tiger. He needs anger management classes. Who could be angry when it's ... sunshine... ice cream... flowers....

This is Lola and Margo on their way to catch the yellow bus this morning. The rain makes everything look so fresh and vibrant. My camera and the overcast are good friends:) It's still raining. I'm fighting the urge to sleep through the day... with my 3rd cup of coffee. 

gum-ball evolution...

If we got paid in candy...  how many gum-balls would it take to make us happy? My girls would take a candy over a dollar any-day... but I have almost completely lost the lust for sweets. Dark dark chocolate is the only thing that still "works". However, I will always enjoy looking at candy! Love the different packaging, the colors, the shapes. Love the gum-ball machines in the lobbies. They are just such shot of color and fun:)

It's raining work... over here... in my office. I'm putting my work face on... opening interruption protective umbrella over my desk, and leaving the procrastination and bloggdom behind... only until Tuesday:) 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, EVERYBODY:)

stainless steel, baby, yeah!

Excited to share this little bit of news with you today: stainless steel water bottles with my designs are going to be available at BlueQ on May 21st. This was one of my all time favorite projects to work on!

I've been waiting to hold one in my hand since I've completed the designs. Being patient is not what I do best... but a week... that's not that much time:)

* Correction! Looks like they are already available! HERE:)

a must share...

Take a look at these one of a kind hand crafted cuties from MISAKO MIMOKO (etsy store). These adorable plushies lovingly put together by Eva Monleon in a beautiful city of Barcelona. She makes me want to go grab a needle and make something. 

Ahhhh.... no time for crafting lately... The blanket of work has covered me whole. For now it is all just dreams and plans... and quiet admiration of this misako mimoko plush:)

woodland in other colors...

It is turning into a pattern week... :)

This is the pattern that I've done for BlueQ's overnighter bag (check it out here).... but in different color variations. 

Every variation gives this pattern a different mood.

On a side note: I take this overnighter bag with me when I go grocery shopping and it works wonderfully. Plus... people always ask me where I got it... and that totally makes my day!

posh folklore...

A new pattern to share with you today. I've made little collages with it to illustrate how it might work as a wallpaper.

have a...

I'm eagerly awaiting this Sunday morning (May 10th)... as I have been promised 'sleep-in time', special breakfast and royal treatment all day! I am planning on milking it for all it's worth(ha:)!

Happy Mother's day to all the mommies out there:)

goldie-locks and the three bears:)

Quick..... before the bears come home... check out this pattern. Is it too hot or too hard? Or is it just right?:)

I had fun making this one. 

surtex banners 2009...

Oh boy! Here we go again:) The SURTEX show (selling and licencing art and design) is just around the corner! May 17th - May 19th in New York in Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

I can't make it this year, but as always... I'd be represented by my lovely Lilla Rogers Studio agents:)

Above are my 2 banners for the show. I think they turned out great!

my little quest...

For a while now I've been on the look out for a book that will help me explain to my kids how they came about into existence. Sort of a 'first step into sex education' kind of book. Turns out it's a hard book to find if you are looking for no religious content and good illustrations. If you know of such book for little curious mind - please, let me know:) If not... well I would have to illustrate my own version of what happens:) That, of course, could be fun!

The pictures above are from a beautiful 1967 edition of 'Wonderfully Made'.... It's well written and beautifully illustrated, but, unfortunately, adds religion to science. It's a great source of humor and illustration inspiration to me, but not so much when it comes to unbiased version of 'birds and bees'  story:)

on top of the kleenex mountain...

Me and the girls spent this weekend under the weather. No fun:(.... but thankfully, it seems like  it's getting better. To get my good spirits back I'm off to get some DayQuil and watch cartoons with the crew:)

The illustration above was made a few months ago for Today's Parent magazine.

more unicef kids...

This pattern was also created for Unicef. Can't wait to see what they do with it:)

The comments were so wonderful... I've decided to giveaway 3 books instead of two:)

Here are the lucky commenters:

• Magrats

• S a n s k u :)

• Emjie

Please e-mail me ( dardikATsympatico.ca ) with your address.

Thanks to all for playing along, and... there would be more ... I promise:)