SCBWI Art Contest Update

I'm excited! I recently found out the illustration from my March post, won an art contest sponsored by SCBWI Carolinas. (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). The SCBWI Carolinas graciously offers a writing and an art contest each year. The criteria for art was to illustrate an emotion- boredom, sadness, happiness, fear or love that was either for the 0-3 or 3-7 age group. The judge was Thomas Truong, Publisher at Little Tiger Group.
Here is my illustration representing boredom for 3-7 yr olds done in acrylics. Many thanks to the hard working SCBWI Carolinas team, especially Bonnie Adamson, Teresa Fannin and Deb Johnson and congratulations to all those who entered their written and illustrated work.

Thanks for all the nice comments on my Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/WendyElliottDesigns/

I appreciate the thumbs up. They keep me going!

Smiles,

Wendy

Bubba Collecting Birdies

This week, May 1-7, has Wilmington, NC all abuzz as the town opens its doors to golf enthusiasts and professionals. Eagle Point Golf Club is hosting the Wells Fargo Championship which is part of the PGA Tour. The course is beautiful, the weather is lovely, the participants are generous and thoughtful and the golf is spectacular! Enjoy ya'll.

I thought it would be fun to make a portfolio piece to capture the spirit of things. Here is one of my favorite characters, Bubba, bringing home some birdies! Way to go Bubba! #Bubbaismychamp!

Smiles,

Wendy

Easter Picture Books for Children

I wanted to share this blog post with you today as I’m sure many of you will be out this weekend doing some eggs-tra-special shopping.

Creating Easter baskets filled with cute lambs, jelly beans, coloring books, crayons, stickers, garden seeds and beautiful hand dyed eggs is so much fun. The designer in me is always ready to try something new. One year, I even made hand painted bunny dolls. I will have to share that with you on a future blog post.

When we create Easter baskets, we have an amazing opportunity to share the gift of the Easter story with our children and grandchildren. For example, as the gift giver, the items in your kid’s baskets cost you something. You paid a price. A price was paid and something was redeemed. 

In a much greater sense, God did the same thing for you by having his son, Jesus, die on the cross for you. Jesus paid the price for your sins. God redeemed you and it cost you nothing because your heavenly Father knew you could not pay the price. It was too great for you to bear. Easter is the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection and his power over death. The joy we experience at Easter represents our new eternal life with Christ….and it costs us nothing….because Christ has already bought us with his blood.  All we have to do is believe.

Here are 6 of my favorite Easter picture books to help you share the Easter message with your little ones. Make a trip to the library this week and look them up. I’ve also included the Amazon link if you want to place an order today. 

1. My Easter Basket and the True Story of Easter by Mary Manz Simon

2. The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs illustrated by Nancy Munger

3. The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story written by Jan and Mike Berenstain

4. God Gave Us Easter by Lisa Tawn Bergren illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

5. The Beginner's Bible The Very First Easter 

6. The Donkey Who Carried a King by R.C. Sprout illustrated by Chuck Groenink

Smiles and Happy Easter,

Wendy

Math for the Heart

How do you express yourself?

Recently I took part in the SCBWI Carolinas Annual Art Contest. The illustration prompt this year was to express yourself by choosing a feeling and communicate that feeling in an illustration. The emotion choices were boredom, sadness, happiness, fear or love.

This is my entry expressing B-O-R-E-D-O-M. 

It got me thinking. What emotion do I express most days? How does that emotion effect me, my family, my relationships?

I was not very good in geometry class but I do remember the transitive theorem that states:

If A=B and B=C then A=C. 

If you apply the same theorem to expressing yourself, you could assume that

A= The stuff you feed your brain.

B= Transforms your heart.

C= Determines how you Express Yourself.

Think of all the stuff your brain gets fed in a day. I’m not talking broccoli and lean meats. (Although I’m a true believer in Whole 30 eating-check it out.) I’m talking about feeding your eyes and ears with good stuff, wholesome images and truth. What are you watching on T.V, listening to on a podcast, reading before bed? Is it feeding your brain or attacking it?

Whatever you are feeding your brain, transforms your heart. Are you feeling nourished and energized or is the life being sucked out of you? 

Your heart is the generator that determines how you express yourself. Whatever your brain takes in, your heart expresses.

So, given our theorem:  

if A=B and B=C then A=C

If the stuff you feed your brain transforms your heart and the transformation of your heart determines how you express yourself.

then

The stuff you feed your brain will determine how you express yourself.

Lots to think about so you won’t get  B-O-R-E-D!

PS I just did a Google search about the transitive theorem. Apparently, it’s not really a theorem but a postulate.

I’m rolling my eyes,

Guess what emotion I’m expressing now?

Smiles,

Wendy

We Love Because.....Valentines

I wanted to share a Simple, Fun and Meaningful Valentine's Day craft with you that you can make with your little ones. It's loaded with happy colors and will provide fun memories with your favorite little crafters. Go ahead, invite the neighbor kids over too. The clean up is easy!

To make We Love Because....Valentines, you will need the following items:

• White tissue paper.
• Red, orange, and pink acrylic paint (available at any craft store)
• Tray for mixing paint
• Flat paint brush 
• Stiff white paper (I used mixed media paper)
• Mod Podge (waterbase sealer, glue)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Permanent marker
• Paper hole punch
• Ribbon

How to Make We Love Because...Valentines

Pour a teaspoon of paint on the mixing tray and add a few drops of water.

Paint a few brushstrokes on the tissue paper.  FYI, the more transparent, the better the outcome because some layers of color will overlap.

Let dry. (Give the kids a snack and read Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, while you wait. Did you know, Eric Carle creates his picture book illustrations with painted tissue paper too!)

Once the paint is dry, make a heart template.

Use the template to outline the shape of the heart on the mixed media paper.

Using the flat brush, brush on a thin layer of Mod Podge on the heart.

Tear off a few pieces of the painted tissue paper and lay them down on the thin layer of Mod Podge.

Brush on a little more Mod Podge on top to seal the tissue pieces in place.

Repeat the last two steps until your heart is full of color! 

Let your tissue paper hearts dry overnight.

Cut each heart out.

Use a paper hole punch at the top of each heart and run a piece of ribbon through to hang.

You can vary the look by using a big section of painted tissue paper rather than tearing off pieces. *Note-typically the bigger pieces get more wrinkles in them when the glue is brushed on. You can also mix your own colors and draw your heart shape freehand.

Are you wondering why they are called We Love Because... Valentines? Because of God's incredible love for us, we are able to love others. 

We Love Because He First Loved Us.  1 John 4:19

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day,

Smiles,

Wendy

My 2017 Tomie DePaola Award Submission

This is my submission to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for the 2017 Tomie DePaola Award. As SCBWI promotes, this award is given annually to an illustrator of promise chosen by Tomie himself based on a given prompt. Of special note, this will be the last year for this award. I can't thank Tomie enough for all he has meant to me on my illustration journey and all he has done for children's literacy. Even though this award will not bear his name in the future, it will be replaced with the SCBWI Board of Advisors Illustration Award. The prize will continue to be a trip to the SCBWI New York Winter Conference with travel, tuition and hotel included. 

The prompt this year was to cast yourself as a child in a picture book. Show your autobiographical character in a scene and make sure to convey the emotion of your character. The viewer should be able to read the emotion of the character immediately.

I have childhood memories of playing outside all day long in the summer. This illustration shows me with my Grandma Lena, who lived next door. She had a green thumb and could often be found outside tending to her favorite poppy and peony gardens.  I must have followed her around the yard for hours at a time as we became "garden buddies." She had a gentle, kind, spirit and tolerated my antics on many days. But just like her vibrant poppies, Grandma had a fun energy that always captured my curiosity. As this illustration shows, I managed to capture her attention too!

Congratulations to all the talented people who submitted this year. You can see the winner along with Tomie's comments on the SCBWI website.

Here's Your Sign

Our family likes to watch Jeff Foxworthy on Netflix. His humor about some of life's observations can remind us all of funny family settings and experiences. Once in awhile, Bill Engvall will join him on his Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Our favorites are the “Here’s Your Sign” jokes. How could stuff that is so obvious trip people up?

The answer is because we get so caught up in the moment. Whether we feel the emotion of joy, fear, surprise, wonder, amazement, it takes time for our brains to process what is happening around us. And because we respond without thinking, we blurt out the first thing, which often doesn’t make a lot of sense. 

All of these same crazy emotions flowed from what the shepherds had just experienced, the night Jesus was born. They were doing their normal blue collar jobs, nothing special, just trying to watch their sheep in the dark. When suddenly, the night sky lit up with streams of light piercing the atmosphere. If that wasn’t enough, an angel appeared and the glory of the Lord shone around them. You know that had to be bright! 

The Bible tells us in Luke 2:8-20, the shepherds were terrified and this is the point where they were probably ready to say something that didn’t make sense. None of it was making sense. They needed a sign!

So the angel told them-“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Then the shepherds did something that made a lot of sense. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

This week, spend some time processing your Savior’s birth and stand in awe of his wonderful signs of grace.

Smiles and Merry Christmas,

Wendy