Happy New Year To All...

Hope you have a roaring great New Year.  Success, Happiness, Health and Friendship are wished for you.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ WINTER

©Ginger Nielson

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ MAIL

©Ginger Nielson

Clay Bake Angels... and More

For years we used to make these flour/salt dough angels, snowmen, cookie shapes,
 and ornaments. Here is the recipe and some hints for creating your own angels.  To see any of these charts larger, just click on the image.

After you knead the dough cover the dough with a wet paper towel to preserve the mositure.  If you don't do this the dough will become too dry.  If your dough is too wet you can put a little flour on your hands before you begin to roll out the body parts.  Create 11 balls of dough in sizes similar to those above.

Once you have them all ready you can begin with the wings and place the head between the two wings.

 Next you will begin to assemble the angel.

Once the angels and ornaments have baked to a nice hard finish you can paint them with food color, watercolors, acrylics, or just leave them plain.    When you pack them away after the Holiday season, you can store them in air tight containers for the next year.  Our collection grew over the years.

Here is a hint.... the smaller the object the less time it takes to bake. So check your creations after the first 20 minutes or so.  These are about 3 inches high and maybe an inch and one half wide.

Once upon a Starry Night

..While shepherds watched their flocks by night....

This week our church hosts the Shepherd's Play, performed by the Life Sharing Communities in our area.

The Shepherd's Play

Now in its seventh year, the Shepherd’s Play will be performed at the Union Congregational Church in Peterborough. The play is an abridged version of the Oberuferer “Shepherd’s Play,” a medieval mystery play.

Our heartfelt performance began as an in-house production, following the Monday evening church supper. However, it has now grown to a community event, drawing a full house. This year’s performances will take place on Monday, December 13th at 7:00pm and Friday, December 17th at 7:00pm. Admission is free

You may want to know more about the community at this remarkable farm. Their goal is to share joy, work and a meaningful life in a community of care.  Here is a link that will help you get to know the wonderful people at Plowshare Farm in Greenfield, NH.

Conversations with myself

Each time I revisit this unfinished story I find a new direction for the main character.  This scene will definitely stay in the book.  The entire story has changed a bit over the past two and one half years, but I love the character I created and want to do it justice.  BLINK will have a few secrets to share with the village that lies below the mountain on which she lives.

I have the main idea worked out and there is a beginning and an ending. It is just how I want to get from point A to point B that takes some real crafting along the way.  I am sure it is that way for other writer/illustrators.  My work is kind of an inside/outside kind of process.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ PHENOMENON

Surprisingly enough the newest additions to Santa's flight school were a phenomenal group of Flying Poodles.

More Sticker Pages available

There are several more pages of downloadable stickers on my website on the BOOKS page.
You can download them to your desktop and print them on Avery Large Round Labels #5294 or a similar product that will have a 2.5 inch diameter.  The stickers are fun to use and I think some of the children who have contacted me have just printed them on paper, cut them out, pasted them on paper and written their own stories to go with the illustrations.

Here are a few thumbnails images of those that are available now.   You can find all of them on the link above and more are on the way .

A NEW Set of STICKERS ~ IN MY BATH

There will be more to come, but this set is all about IN MY BATH by Beth Bence Reinke.
You can find the PDF HERE and right click to SAVE it to your desktop.  It is also linked to the BOOK PAGE on my website, if you forget this link.

                       Have fun with these.  I used Avery Large Round Labels # 5294 to print these.

Little Charley Thornpaws ~ Sticker pages

This is another set of stickers that matches the new book, "Little Charley Thornpaws."
To download this set just CLICK HERE.  You will go directly to the PDF which you can either print from the site or download to SAVE on your desktop for printing later.

These stickers will print on AVERY Large Round Labels # 5294.  Some of the stickers are left as
line drawings so you can color them in yourself with markers, colored pencils or even with your paints.

Seasonal Downloads coming your way...

I have started uploading some PDFs for your enjoyment.  There will be sticker pages available for all the books I have illustrated.  The pages will be uploaded in portions ('cause I have to create them first)...

 But here is a link to the first one..  

a full page of POODLES and some of Santa too.

All you need to do is right click on the PDF page  and SAVE PAGE it to your desktop.
Then print out the stickers to Round Avery Labels # 5294

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ PREHISTORIC

A visit to the interactive prehistoric tar pits, 

a virtual experience coming to your neighborhood later this year.

(word to the wise:  best to leave the dog at home....)

©Ginger Nielson 2010

Flying Poodles is a BEST APP for Christmas *:)

An interactive story, written by Karen Morss and illustrated in a traditional style with children in mind, the APP is only 1.99 at the Apple APPs store.

CHRISTMAS APP BY: POODLE DOG PRODUCTIONS

RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5
BUY IT? YES
IPHONE / IPOD / IPAD APP: $1.99
UNIVERSAL APP: YES

The book is also available at any and all bookstores with the ISBN ( 978-0-615-38490-0) reference and on Amazon.com for the full book price.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ SAVOUR

©Ginger Nielson

This is an older illustration, but one that helps us remember to savour the memories of summer days.

It is almost time....

Soon enough the bears will return to their warm cozy forest places for a long winter's sleep...and we can once again put up the bird feeders.

When Disaster Strikes.... and why you always need a back up

Because my husband is a computer geek, guru, professional and more, I always have an able pro at my side when I have a disaster such as the one I had yesterday.

First of all he had convinced me to get a new extra external drive for back ups with loads of GBs.  I am glad he insisted.  Most of the time I remember to back up what I need as I work on a book or project.  I don't use automatic back up because I create so much in a day it would overload the external too quickly. I kinda like to pick and choose and try not to duplicate too much.

Yesterday was a lesson in being too lazy to do the normal back up.  Here's a clue...back up everything you think you will need before you do any UPDATES that your computer insists you need.

I was in the UPDATE mode when the computer told me to restart.  When I did, however, the computer would not start up. I did all the fixes that the Mac manual and professionals suggested and still ... nada.

When my husband started hearing the constant "chimes" from my mac as I tried all the book solutions and called my mac computer people... he came into the studio and began his magic.  He also asked why I didn't call on him first.  (Well that one was easy...he was repainting our guest bathroom.)

He was able to restart everything but he had to reinstall the operating system from scratch.  Here is the main reason for a substantial back up.... sometimes when you have to re install the OS on a mac you might lose all the data on your hard drive.  In this case my accomplished "geek in residence" was able to restore the OS without losing a bit of my work.  Had the work disappeared I would have lost the final images, the PDF and all the CMYK conversions I had just finished for a new book.

What did I learn.  Two things.
 1.) Back up is essential.  AND....
 2.) If you have an expert in the house, don't be afraid to ask for his help first.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ SNEAKY

Just when Henry found the best cushion in the house, along comes trouble!

Snow could be on the way soon....

These party animals must be having their last fling before finding a warm place to spend the winter.

Another review for the Poodles who Could!

I am always happy to see great reviews for books and when they happen to be for authors for whom I have illustrated, I am even happier.  Here is a great review for Flying Poodles, A Christmas Story.  Karen Morss is the talented Renaiassance Woman who created the story.

Karen's own personal story is just as exciting and entertaining.

I was able to include the northern lights in some of the illustrations.  My mother grew up north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. Her stories about the Aurora Borealis always intrigued me.  I did visit Alaska, but only in the summer, so I have never seen these first hand, but hopefully I will return to either Norway or Alaska and view them for myself.

Meet the models... Flying Poodles A Christmas Story

Just for fun, why not have a look at the page Karen Morss created to show off her models and the voices for the Flying Poodles.  I had such a good time creating characters for Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Miss Sally.

In case you didn't know it, our beloved author, Karen, is actually Miss Sally.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ AFTERWARDS

Oh my goodness...... where's the duck?

©Ginger Nielson

The Adventures of Cali is now an APP

A book I illustrated, The Adventures of Cali, by Michele Lallouz Fisher has just been released as an iPad/iPhone App. I don't think the book is still available, but I am sure you will love the story in this form. You can read along or hear the story, whichever you prefer. When you see how Zachary transports little Cali the Caterpillar home from California to Florida you will certainly be smiling if not laughing.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ Spent

Gloria SPENT all her money and is left with only this button which somehow got into her piggy bank.

Good thing Trick or Treating is not far off.... she won't need any more than a costume and a bag to gather some treats.

Little Charley Thornpaws ~ The Color Pages

Here are some color pages for Little Charley Thornpaws.  The book is available from the publisher, 4RV Publishing LLC, and soon from Amazon.com and any and all bookstores.

To use the color pages you only need to click on the image for it to open in another window. Then you can either right click to download to your desktop or click and drag to your desktop.  If you want to print and color you can do that, or you can color in the computer with a paint program and then print and keep.
You can download more than one copy and have fun on a rainy day with your family and friends.

Want to get the MOST fun.... get your copy of the book. A day in the life of Charley will amuse and entertain you.  Caelaach McKinna's excellent and imaginative rhyme sets the tone for the day.

Charley will remind you of your own pets, and most especially if you have a cat!

Little Charley Thornpaws ... A Sneak Peek

Oh Charley!  What a rascal you are.

Now available from the publisher, 4 RV Publishing LLC.... 

Little Charley is waiting to surprise you.  The storybook is perfect for preschoolers and K-1 and any adult who loves cats.  Each spread features Charley doing what he does best.

Caelaach McKinna has captured some of Charley's best moments and I was happy to have the fun of illustrating them.

Here is a sneak peek.

Illustrations copyright Ginger Nielson and 4RV Publishing.

There is a trailer featuring CHARLEY here.

A new book!

Little Charley Thornpaws written by Caelaach McKinna is now available from the publisher, 4RV Publishing LLC.  A picture book for the young and young at heart, the full color illustrations are accompanied by Charley's antics.

Page by colorful page, you will fall in love with the little cat. You can order the book here.
And in a few days I will share more with you.  This book was  a pure delight to illustrate.

Flying Poodles Sticker page

These are the Flying poodles and a some friends.  I made a sticker page that correlates with the Avery large round labels #5294.  Unfortunately my Macintosh Dreamweaver is not set up to give you an instant download. However if you do want a set I can easily send it to you via email.  I won't share your email with anyone and you can ask privately for the page by sending a request to me at....

gingernielson(dot)gmail.com    That dot in the center stands for @

If you want a set I will email you the doc that fits the label size mentioned above.

Once I figure out the work around for the mac dreamweaver website I  will post them there as well.

Flying Poodles : :Max Maze

Something just for fun.  You can click on this image for the full size version and download to your computer or drag to your desktop for printing.  If you get really stuck, and I don't think you will, you can email me for the answer.

  There are also color pages for all the Flying Poodles and Santa on my website.  Same as here, just click to get the full size downloadable picture for coloring.

The very last rose, and the end of the leafy show...

The leaves have peaked and begun to fall.... everywhere.  We track them inside on wet shoes and find them blowing in after us as we come inside with a stack of logs.  Fireplaces are the new gathering spot in our home.

Even with one half of the sky a deep slate gray there was a surprising element as I looked up to see this very last rose.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ SPOOKY

Maybe not so much spooky as forlorn, but the fact is that this young turkey vulture can tear things apart in an instant and that beak is pretty awesome.

FLYING POODLES IS NOW AVAILABLE AS AN iPAD APP

This is something completely new for me.  The book I illustrated for the talented Karen Morss is now available as an iPad App.  Just in time for the holidays and at such a fantastic price.  I heard the audio and it is adorably enhanced by the sweet voices of the poodles.   Karen actually set up her own recording studio in home to capture those children's voices.  There is something for everyone in her story.

Just imagine what would happen if all of Santa's reindeer came down with the flu.  Do they even give flu shots for reindeer?  I think not.  You will love Karen's well executed rhyme as well as the emergency, the rescue and the unlikely heros who save the day or night as it may be.

                The app is available via  iTUNES and I think you will really enjoy the adventure.

The Flying Poodles Color pages

Flying Poodles, A Christmas Story is now available from the author's website and will soon be an iPad app. Karen Morss ,the talented author, wanted you all to have color pages as well.

                      There is a link below for all the pages.

The free downloads of the POODLES are now available online.  This is little Max, one of eight flying poodle dogs. You can download and color all 8 doggies and a couple of extras at
FLYING POODLES COLOR PAGES

This is little MAX. He is wearing a hand knitted nose warmer. You will need to read the book to find out why.

A beautiful day in the Neighborhood

Sharing what happens each fall in New Hampshire....  The past five days have been sun filled, pure blue sky  days.  With the colder nights the leaves lose the normal green and turn into a fantasy of color.

This last one is the view from my studio window.  In some weeks the view will change to one of snow covered branches