Holly Doodle Designs

Gosh, that is a question I’m asking myself lately!  It has been a whirlwind month of vacation, getting ready for back to school, and then school starting for my kiddo on August 12.  WHY does school start so EARLY now?  When I was a kid, which I admit was about an eon ago, we started school AFTER labor day.  What’s up with starting in the first half of August?  It’s really crampin my summer style.

So I thought I better pop in and let you know I’m here.  I actually have been really busy with getting some illustrations and paper dolls ready for sale.  I’ve been sketching and coloring like crazy and have also been completely redesigning a brand-new website to showcase my work.  I’m going to be having a Grand-opening for the new shop and will be doing a give-away.   I’ll be sure to tell you when it all goes down.

Also, I’m going through all my goodies and letting go of a ton of stuff.  I just can’t justify having a whole room for my crafting, so I’m going to be selling lots of great stuff on BOTH etsy and ebay so I can downsize to a few cabinets and drawers!  I’ve listed my amazing  pink foofy, ruffly vintage prom dress on ETSY tonight.   You Silver Bella girls may remember it as the one that Andrea wore for vendor night last November.  She was a dream in it!

Also selling some other good stuff on EBAY like this charming little velvet strawberries wicker purse (all original berries!), a couple of rolls of AMAZING pink, mint green, and cream/white FLOCKED vintage wallpaper, and other things here and there.  Check in now and then to see, if you’d like.

Girls, I just want to also take a moment to thank you so much for your encouragement regarding my illustrations.  I’m working like crazy to get them ready for you.  I hope you love them!

As I’ve mentioned, I’m really focusing on my illustrations (trying HARD not to call them doodles, but it seems so…. self important to call them illustrations still!).  I’m going to be launching a line of paper dolls, as well as prints meant for framing.  It’s super important to me that I have girls of lots of varying skin and hair colors.  I want every mommy to be able to see their daughter when they come looking for something for her room.  It’s such a special thing.  When I was a little girl, there were never brown-haired, brown-eyed dolls!  They were all always blond, blue-eyed, fair-skinned babies.  I remember when my mother found a doll with brown hair, it was so fun and special that she looked like ME.  So I can’t imagine how it must feel to the mommy of an African-American or Latina, or Asian little girl to have to search so hard for a dolly that looks like her daughter.

ALL that is to say, I’m trying to find the right skin tones.  Here is a little sweetheart in pig-tail puffs that I sketched out tonight.  She is not the final draft, just a very loose sketch and quick coloring to practice with sketching an African-American child.  I think she’s adorable, in her jammies and ready to brush her teeth. Her lips are a bit lipstick-looking, so maybe a paler pink next time.  It’s just a practice sketch, but I like her.

And then I thought I’d also show you how my crazy brain works when I sketch.  Here is a baby… I don’t usally color in with pencil lines still showing, but I was trying to show you how I do a drawing.  I actually sketch in pencil the actual body, then clothes over top.  Then I line it, then erase the pencil, then color in.  So this is just an example to show you because people have been asking me about it.  And as far as pens go, I just use microns or even sharpies.  I get them at Hobby Lobby, or online.  Nothing too special, although I’m going to research a better liner.

So anyway, this is sort of a random post about nothing, but I appreciate you checking it out anyway!

Have a lovely day.

Last week we took a little 13 hour (each way) drive to the Georgia mountains to see my husband’s family.  We stayed in a cabin in the woods, in the mountains.  I don’t mean in a very wooded area, I mean IN THE WILDERNESS.  Our last night there, I heard a noise and looked out the window to see a HUGE BLACK BEAR come up on the porch!  It was very frightening for this suburban girl, let me tell ya!  I told my husband that he was very lucky it happened on the last night there, because otherwise we woulda been campin at the La Quinta Inn about 2 hours away in the city!

There were 3 little girls there, cousins, and I made them all paper dolls to play with.  The funny thing is, none of the parents would let them cut them out and play with them because they all wanted to frame them, so we have to make copies for them!  Poor girls!  But it was really fun to make them.

I’ve had lots of people ask me about my illustrations, so I’ve decided to do a line of paper dolls and some illustrated prints.  I’m working on them now, and they will be in my etsy shop or on my website soon.  I’ll let you know when they’re ready.  The one here is one I just quickly doodled for my niece today.  Two of my nieces are staying the night with me tonight, so we’ll be playing paper dolls soon, as soon as I can make them and get them some clothes drawn!

Also, I just want to say something to you.  I want to thank you for leaving me such lovely comments and sending such sweet emails.  Your encouragment means so much to me.  I am so grateful for you and for our wonderful virtual community.  Thank you so much for your gentle kindness and for nudging me along when I need just that.  You are a treasure and a blessing to me every single day.  I do not know how I got to be so blessed to have such sweet friends (actually, I do know where my blessings come from, in spite of me not deserving them!), and I am honored to be in this little blog world with you.

I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday afternoon.