It's a cool crisp fall morning here. A nice cup of tea always warms me up! Happy Tuesday!

©illustration used in a children's reader for a major publisher.

I had the pleasure of illustrating three educational children's book readers for a major publisher earlier this year. I can't talk too much about the books until they are published next year, but here's a little peek of the art from one of the books.

Soar to the Stars

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights only)

I used to dream as a kid that I would get to ride on a magical unicorn or pegasus, so this art was especially fun for me to make. Hmmm....I must admit that this thought still gets me excited! Have a great weekend everyone!

Editorial Illustration in Best Health Magazine

I had the pleasure recently to work on a spot illustration for Reader's Digest - Best Health Magazine. It was for an article on water safety for pets. I got to paint an adorable bulldog wearing a life vest and jumping into a lake. It was fun to illustrate and I was so happy to get my sample magazine in the mail recently. This is a Canadian magazine, so I enjoyed reading all about Canadian summer vacation hot spots and all too!

Greeting Card Design

I've had the joy of illustrating a lot of children's greeting cards lately. Although I love drawing just about anything, children's art is one of my favorites. I really enjoy planning the idea of what I want to illustrate as well as actually creating the art. Here's a girls Valentine's Day card...(go figure with all the hearts, right)! that I recently made for Gartner Greetings. 

In this post, I thought I'd share some information that I've learned in my 10 years as a greeting card planner and designer. I hope this helps you on your journey into the fun world of greeting cards! 

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights)

Cover Art

With greeting cards you have to remember that you need to leave room for a title and maybe a subtitle on the cover art. It is always best when you can plan the words to fit well within the design of the card. Here on the cover art, I left room at the top middle to top right for a one line title, like 'Granddaughter' or ''Daughter', for example. I also planned space inside the big heart for a subtitle. I felt that that was a nice way to work the words into the design of the card. It's like the girl kitty painted the words inside the heart.

The reason why it is important to have a title at the top third of the card is because that is what the buyer will see when the card is sitting on a rack in a store. If the card is not seen, then it is not sold. And most of the time people look for cards they want to buy, by looking at the titles that they fall under. Like Mother, Husband, Birthday, etc.

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights)

Inside Art

Inside the card, I created spot art to go around the words that are on both pages 2 and 3. I left the background white because I felt that it was a nice contrast to the pink background on the cover and it also allows the words to be very legible. With greeting cards, the words are just as important if not more important than the art. Have you ever picked-up a greeting card because you loved the art, but then put it back because the message inside wasn't right for the person you wanted to send it to?! 

I hope to share with you more greeting card information in my up-coming blog posts. Good luck with your greeting card art!

Happy Valentine's Day!

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights)

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! This year I helped my daughter make 36 valentine's for all the kids in her Kindergarten and reading classes. It was a lot, but we had a good little assembly line going. She wanted to make them not buy them...is she my daughter or what?! There was lots of excitement when she opened her valentines but I was super impressed when she told me that even though it's fun getting valentines and candy the best part of it was giving them to others. Awe...guess were doing something right. :)

Great Reviews for my Children's Book App!

I am so happy to see the great reviews that the 12 Days of Christmas, children's book app, I illustrated for Polk Street Press got! 

Featured in Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly – This Week in Apps

★★★★ from Common Sense Media and SmartAppsForKids.com

“Polk Street Press has taken its turn with the old chestnut, providing cute animated vignettes to go along with the lyrics. Withrow’s colorful and charming illustrations are animated just enough to keep little eyes engaged.” – Kirkus Reviews

“The video recording that kids can create of themselves singing along with the song is a fun, holiday-spirit option to share with grandparents or friends” – Common Sense Media