Just got back, and I'm already asking a favor.

Please do me the favor of voting for my Worry-Woolie notebook on the Etsy Storque back to school voter! It's the green fuzzy guy pictured above.

Vote here:
http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=61

The one with the most votes will be featured in the Members' Choice Gift Guide and on the Etsy blog.

Thanks, you're a peach! :D

Another Special Edition Worry-Woolie notebook

I have a Brand new striped Special Edition Worry-Woolie notebook with lovely soft black and white striped fur, available now in my etsy store. Small enough to accompany you anywhere, this miniature monster will do your worrying for you. Just log your frets and cares on his understanding pages, and he will grant you comfort and peace of mind as you wander through the world.

Sign up for my mailing list to keep up to date on other new products coming out soon!

WINNER of the Nightmare Snatcher naming contest!

The yellow Nightmare Snatcher's® name is TROGNUF!

It was a hard decision as there were so many great submissions. Thanks and the grand prize go to Jen (littlebiskit on Craftster) and her daughter for this winning submission. I think the name fits in great with my other Snatchers and the story behind the name was too adorable to ignore:

Trognuf is what it sounds like when my daughter (almost 2 years old) says "Strong Enough," which I would think that the snatchers need to be. But your yellow guy (girl?) looks pretty laid back, so I think a lazier pronounciation (such as my daughter uses) would be fitting.

But wait! As I said, it was a difficult decision as there were so many great submissions, so I decided to give everyone a prize and to award 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place prizes as well.

2nd place: Charmquirk for submitting: Mandiprog
3rd place: Kyoko for submitting: Giloli
4th place: LadyGreywings for submitting: Skirr

For 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place I will be giving out $10 gift certificates to be used on a Nightmare Snatcher® in my shop! And for everyone else who submitted a name I will be giving out $5 gift certificates for use towards a Nightmare Snatcher® journal in my shop. Prize gift certificates cannot be used on Sales section items or Worry-Woolie notebooks.

I will message all participants with your unique gift certificate codes tonight! If you do not receive one, and you entered the contest, feel free to let me know at: sarah@nightmaresnatchers.com

Thanks so much for participating!

Sketch Tuesday 5-12-09: Octo-alien illo sketch

Remember the kinda an octopus/jelly fish thing from last week? Here he is in action. Click on the image to see it larger. This sketch has been in the making forever. Let's see how long it takes to become a finished painting.

Join Sketch Tuesday! Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. If you use Flickr, be sure to join the Sketch Tuesday Flickr Pool and submit your sketch. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

Sketch Tuesday 5-5-09

Kinda a octopus/jelly fish thing. Don't ask me, I just drew it.

I've been bad these few weeks and keep uploading Sketch Tuesday on Wednesday. :\

Join Sketch Tuesday! Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. If you use Flickr, be sure to join the Sketch Tuesday Flickr Pool and submit your sketch. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

*CONTEST*: Win a FREE Nightmare Snatcher journal!

THE CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Thank you for all the submissions. The winner will be announced tomorrow!

****************************************************************


I have a brand new yellow Nightmare Snatcher journal available in my shop that needs a name. Name my yellow friend and you get to take him home for your very own! Now, only one name and winner will be picked, but you can submit as many names as you want.

Note that I enjoy names that have a reason or a reference behind the name. For example my Lumpkin journal is named for 'Fatty Lumpkin' the pony in the Lord of the Rings and Fribbler comes from the word 'fribble' which means to waste or fritter something away. So if you have a reason for your choice be sure to communicate that to me as well.

You have a week, from 5-5-09 to 5-13-09 at midnight, to submit as many names as you want. So let the naming begin! Winner will be announced here after the contest ends!

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

•Submit your name/names here in the blog along with your e-mail address/some way to contact you OR e-mail your entry to: sarah@nightmaresnatchers.com
•Please note that if you submit your e-mail here on the blog, it will be visible to the public! If you e-mail me instead, your e-mail will be kept private.
•If you have a reason for the name, submit that too! I'd like to hear your thought process.
•Contest ends Wednesday, May 13th 2009 at midnight EST.
•Submit as many times as you want up to the deadline! There is no limit on entries.
•Winner will be announced on Friday, May 15th, 2009.
•PRIZE: 1 Yellow Nightmare Snatcher, as of yet unnamed.

*NEW* Worry-Woolie Notebook added to the Spiderbite Boutique!

I have a Brand new Worry-Woolie™ notebook with lovely soft yellow fur, available now in my etsy store. Small enough to accompany you anywhere, this miniature monster will do your worrying for you. Just log your frets and cares on his understanding pages, and he will grant you comfort and peace of mind as you wander through the world.

Click the image to find more info on this little guy and/or purchase!

"The Rime of the Worry-Woolie"

I'm a Worry-Woolie
Friendly, furry, and alive;
Lend me your worries, frets, and cares
I need them to survive.

If you have doubts you need to share
I'm perfect, can't you see?
What you have is what I need,
We're complimentary.

Let me share your worries
Let our friendship be unfurled
And I'll be your companion
As you wander through the world.

Sign up for my mailing list to keep up to date on other new products coming out soon as well as special deals!

Sketch Tuesday 4-29-09: Revamp!

I didn't post my new sketch on here yesterday as I got lazy and only posted it on my Flickr. Anyway, here it is!

It's the little guy from my previous Sketch Tuesdays up to no good. This illustration is for a children's book I am working on with my father.

Join Sketch Tuesday! Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. If you use Flickr, be sure to join the Sketch Tuesday Flickr Pool and submit your sketch. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Calling all sketchers, artists, and doodlers: Sketch Tuesday

Tuesdays suck. In fact I'd go so far as to say that they are the suckiest day of the week. Sure Mondays are no fun, but at least you've still got some of the weekend high going. Wednesdays, at least you're halfway through the work week. It's those Tuesdays that seem to have the least hope and joy. So let's make them more fun and productive.

Every week join me in doing a sketch for Tuesday. There is no theme. The point is to show us what you're working on, what just happened to come off the top of your head, to show our work without the pressure of presenting a finished masterpiece.

It's a chance to exhibit our work process and to give each of us incentive to consistently produce new work.

There's a Flickr Pool where we can all upload 1-2 pieces a week for Tuesday. Fun? Fun!

Sketch Tuesday-ish: 4-21-09

This is week number 9 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. And I'm a bit late considering it's now Wednesday morning. Better late than never though, right? This sketch is... well I don't know. Just an image that popped into my head.

Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Sketch Tuesday 4-14-09: The little critters of nature, they don't know that they're ugly!

This is week number 8 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. I made some weird little guys this week. Not intentionally weird, more the 'I didn't do so well' kinda weird. I blame taxes.

I drew an otter-mouse? I don't know what it is, but I know that with his anatomy moving around ain't going to be easy.

And then there's Robo-Decapito... It's a robot head. I spent a lot more time on the neck than on the actual head. I should finish the head. I just got bored. Maybe I should give him a body too. He does look a bit forlorn. I'm a cruel maker.
Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Sketch Tuesday 4-7-09: The return of my little friend.

Those of you who have been following my blog may recognize this little guy from week 2 of Sketch Tuesday. He's changed just a little bit, in the eyes and body shape. He's a little more bean shaped. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how he's going to look. Today he's skipping along, digging through the trash, and jumping with an inner tube!

This is week number 7 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Angell Street: Sketch Tuesday 3-24-09

A sketch from real life, a spot on Angell Street here in Providence. And yes, Angell Street is spelled correctly. This is as far as I got before I decided it was too cold to sketch outside. Not too exciting, but I think it's good practice all the same. Angell St., like much of Providence is on a hill. Hence the angling.

This is week number 5 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Wee sleekit cowrin tim'rous beastie Sketch Tuesday 3-17-09

I didn't really like anything I sketched this week, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Thus all I shall post is a wee mousy that was quickly doodled in the corner of one of my larger sketches. I think he's kinda cute. I hope you think so too.

This is week number 4 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Look ma, no hands Sketch Tuesday 3-10-09

Week number 3 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. Upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

If you're on Etsy, check out the New Sketch Tuesday thread for today and add a link to your sketch.

Unfinished sketches...

A revamp of an old illustration I was never satisfied with. This one is pieced together from several layers of tissues paper scanned in individually. I've been tending to work this way lately.
I keep repositioning the arms and the book on this one below. Still working on it.

Beetles... Old Sketch Thursday 3-5-09

This week's old sketches are inspired by Weirdbuglady's post about scarab beetles. Two stag beetles I drew at RISD's nature lab. The nature lab is a great resource for drawing various plants and animals with the added benefit of their arrested mobility (though I suppose most plants are usually immobile...).

I always planned to make it a habit to go in and draw the animals and bugs there, but these are about the only ones I ever got around to. Both are pretty much drawn to scale.


And here below you can see the adorable stuffed silverfish that I ordered from Weirdbuglady's shop. Unlike real silverfish he is quite cuddly and does not eat book bindings or paper, which is fortunate because he currently inhabits my bookshelf.

The Neverending Painting... lala la lala la lala la

Here's an acrylic painting I started once upon a time and never finished. It's for a story I wrote in college and began painting in Nov. 2005 ,which is pathetically long ago. My goal: Complete it within the next seven days. Finishing off an old painting, I hope, will help me to ease back into painting. I will rely on you, dear readers, to chastise me if it is not done.

This photo shows more texture than I would like, if/when I scan it, it shouldn't show up anymore. Anyway, suggestions made by others that I need to implement:

1. get rid of the tangent made between the hand and the sidewalk.
2. have some overlap on Red Hood from the groceries

And my own plans:
1. make the hands actually hand-like. I kinda just fudged them in there.. poorly.
2. Redo the outside scene (what's there now was meant to be a temp sketch)
3. Put a label on the bag
4. add more groceries to the bag
5. finish off the window
6. mayb put something on the wall. Not sure about this one.

Wish me luck!

New Sketch Tuesday 3-3-09

Week number 2 in the New Sketch Tuesday project. Be sure to upload your sketches to your blog, Flickr, or wherever you post your work online. Any Etsy illustrators who use Flickr I would encourage to tag & add their sketches to the Etsy Illustration Flickr pool!

So let's get to it. My sketches for this week are all from 2 children's books I am working on. Some quick character sketches, trying to figure out expressions etc.:

And then some small composition sketch tests:


If you're on Etsy, check out this New Sketch Tuesday thread and add a link to your sketch.

A Friday Find for you, my friends...

A fun Friday find for you, my dear readers. I thought it might be a nice change to use my Friday blogs to post things that I have discovered which I find inspiring and/or fun. After all, it can't be all about me everyday because I'm just not that interesting. So without further ado...

I'm told it is a common superstition that beginning a sea voyage on Friday is unlucky. I suppose if you believe that, it is appropriate to post this video today. From the Australian band 'The Basics', a video for their song "With This Ship" as directed and animated by Matt Arnold. The video consists of the animated and perilous journey of a tea kettle ship across the sea, accompanied by a catchy tune. Anyway, I'm no music critic so I won't try to expound upon the awesomeness of this track. But I know what I like, and I like this so check it.


And if you like that, I believe you will also enjoy 'Hearts a Mess', a song from Gotye, The Basics' front man Wally De Backer's side project. It too is filled with animated goodness and vocal bliss. Animated by Brendan Cook.

Old Sketch Thursday

As I've been cleaning up my workspace, a long and arduous task, I started flipping through my old sketchbooks. It's a very weird feeling to look at your old work. It's nostalgic, amusing, and often downright embarrassing. So I thought it might be fun to post some blasts from sketchbooks past. I always liked these three sketches from different books circa 2004. I never ended up using them in anything though.

Snuffy. So named because it reminds me of Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. His feet came from the idea that he was as tall a tree, so his feet remind me of the base of a tree trunk:
This little guy is about the size of a mouse and I imagined he used his prehensile hands and feet to climb up the stalks of plants, his tail was used for balance, and his long snout was adapted to sip nectar out of flowers.

While this creature may look frightening, he's actually very harmless. His mouth, which is comprised of several holes, filters plankton from the water for him to eat.Well, I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane. I'll have to think of some excuse to put these guys into a drawing sometime.

New Sketch Tuesday 2-24-09

A new little project of mine. Every Tuesday I will have a new sketch to show on my blog. Having a deadline will help me to keep getting new work done. I'm doing this with a few other artists, with our group effort we should be able to keep it up. I hope you enjoy.

This week's is a sketch for a scratch board piece that I will make into an art print. I hope to complete it in the next 2 weeks or so.

A small planning sketch for the scene. I'm just trying to figure out the composition at this point and I will blow up the whole image bigger so I can make a more detailed sketch:


And then a more complete and larger (though not yet complete) sketch of the girl from the scene. Can you tell from this blog and previous blogs that I like making illustrations of girls with their hair blowing in the wind? haha. Her head will probably be turned more away from the viewer to make it appear that she is looking at the tornado. I just can't help but want to draw the face though. The plaids in her dress are hard to figure out...
Stay tuned to my blog for a completed illustration of this. And come back next week to see my new sketch! Same Bat time, same Bat channel.

SALE INVENTORY RUNNING LOW!

My 2008 Inventory Sale is running out of well... inventory! I've already sold out of Crubbly, Hugmitten, Groulby, and Fribbler. There are only 4 styles left. Be sure to get them from my 'sale section' while they're still around because they're going fast! Last chance for a deal on your Nightmare Snatcher® journal purchase!

Featured in Disney's Wondertime Mag... Fact check?

One of my journals was in Disney's Wondertime magazine for the month of February! Hooray, right? Well, Any exposure is good, but:

1.) They called it a "Monster book" instead of what it is, a 'Nightmare Snatcher journal'.

2.) They said it was made by "Nightmare Snatcher", when it is in fact made by Spiderbite Boutique.

3.) and they indicated that you should buy it at a store that I know longer wholesale to. I would obviously have preferred that they linked to my site. I could really use the sales and having it link to a store I don't sell to any more, doesn't really do me any good.

4.) And lastly Wondertime magazine looks like it's getting shut down.

Oh well. There's no such thing as bad publicity, right? When did magazines stop fact checking? Alright, I'm done whining. At least they didn't say my product sucks.

Work in Progress

Another sketch I'm in the middle of, again for a short story written by my Dad. Enjoy.

Elkton's Undead: My acting debut

A short 10 minute film made by my friends in scenic Elkton, MD in 2003. And you get to see ME as an extra in it... Isn't it exciting? Aren't you thrilled?! Can you spot me? My biggest scene is in the outtakes at the end of part 3 of 3 where I don't do anything. Yeah... I'm lame. However the video is not. It's fun. Watch it, in order of course.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

Sketchiness...

Spot illustration for the chapter page of a story I'm working on illustrating. It's the moon in case you couldn't tell... Should probably get some reference images and a compass for this one. It's lopsided. Drawing freehand circles was never my strong point.


And another spot illustration for another short story. I like to think it's obviously a calf, but just in case you were wondering, wonder no longer.

Special Edition Striped Nightmare Snatcher!

Here is the newest Special Edition Nightmare Snatcher® , the Hugmitten style with special black and white striped fur! Woohoo! Okay, so he came out a month ago, but I still think it bears mentioning. Available for purchase at my Etsy shop! As someone who prefers to work in pen & ink and scratch board, I'm partial to black and white. The black and white stripes also make me think of Tim Burton. Most of his movies seem to have creatures and costumes that have black and white stripes as seen below. From left to right all sporting their stripes: 'Vincent', Beetlejuice', Miss Spider from 'James and the Giant Peach', Katrina from 'Sleepy Hollow', and Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett from 'Sweeney Todd'.

By the power of Greyskull!

A polaroid of my sister and I as children of the 80's. No real reason to post this other than, well.. it's He-man and He-man is awesome. Look at those sweatpants and that wood paneling. Now I'm sure you can truly appreciate why so many people are trying to bring the 80's back... Yeah, not really.

I'm the little one on the left, holding the sword in the correct hand for the He-man stance, I might add. Even that young I knew what was up.

UPDATE: Sad Songs and Sweet Dreams

Here's the full image of the illustration I'm working on, with nonsense text to be filled in later with the real poem. Still some things to work out, need to make the grass cross over her legs, the underside of her dress show a bit, work on the folds of her dress, etc. Made with pen & ink on scratchboard. See a detail image in my previous post.

It's for a zine my father and I are putting together of his poetry with illustrations by me of course. If you're interested in knowing when it's coming out, join my Mailing List!

Sad Songs and Sweet Dreams

Here's a detail image of an illustration I'm working on. Not a finished illustration yet, the anatomy and pen work need some tweaking, need to make the grass cross over her legs etc. Made with pen & ink on scratchboard.

It's for a zine my father and I are putting together of his poetry with illustrations by me of course. If you're interested in knowing when it's coming out, join my Mailing List!

Big *SALE* at the Etsy shop!

A special sale is going on at the Spiderbite Boutique etsy shop for the New Year! I'm selling a bulk of my Nightmare Snatcher® inventory at a discount in the SALE ITEMS section of my shop.

The sale only lasts as long as the inventory, and once they're gone they're gone. So be sure to get the ones you want ASAP before someone else snatches them up! The offer is only valid in the Spiderbite Boutique etsy shop. Don't have an etsy account? Worry not! It's free to sign up. All you need is a valid e-mail address, you pay through paypal, and etsy doesn't send e-mails to it's customers unless requested.

If you are interested in purchasing multiples of the same style/color just ask and I'll be happy to let you know what's available!