mirdinara

Two elephans

2012-03-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

My fingers itched to post another illo from my new book. It is still in the construction mode, but I might be posting a few sneak previews. Boy, I'm telling ya, this book makes me so excited.

Hello March!

2012-03-03T19:56:00.001-05:00

Hello March! I have been waiting for you and you have come!
And let the count down begin - 3 months left before Sabrina is turning ONE ;-)))) That means lots of preparations on my side for her First Birthday Party - invites, guests, favors, decorations, cake, outfits, photographer, presents, clowns etc, etc... I'm preparing a photobook that captures all the moments from her first year. And also I am working on this top secret project for Sabrina at the moment - I'm illustrating a book that teaches numbers. And I couldn't resist and here's a sneak preview.

Hurray to spring!

2012-02-22T22:46:00.002-05:00

Just a few more days and I tend to think it's spring! I don't care that officially it doesn't come until March 21st. It my world it starts as soon as the month of February is over. Hurray to spring!

Grow!

2012-02-17T20:34:00.001-05:00

Happy weekends! Yes, I'm still alive. I survived the worst first two days after the wisdom teeth extraction. People have been saying it really hurts, but I never knew it will be this bad! What makes it even more painful is that I'm trying to stay away from the painkillers as I'm still nursing. Well but this evening I started feeling much better. My husband + I + Sabrina even took a short walk around our apartments.
It is still cold. I can't really complain as there is no snow. Days are sunny but cold. I'm so in the summer mode already, I'm counting days for winter to be over.
Despite the cold weather I still take Sabrina out in the carriage. We have one of those flat bed ones where she loves to nap. She sleeps so much better in the fresh air and that leaves me some opportunity to doodle. This sketchbook is getting filled up pretty quickly since I had Sabrina. I rarely have time to get to my computer anymore. So it's pretty much the color pencils and this sketchbook.

Pencil flowers

2012-02-15T12:17:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting at home today thinking about life :-) Today Sabrina and I have something in common - our teeth. Well, while she is teething, I got all four of my wisdom teeth pulled this morning! So right now I'm all drugged up and miserable. All I can do is just surf the web and post about my pencil drawings.. Why do people come with teeth?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T07:54:00.002-05:00

Be my Valentine!

2012-02-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

Here's a lil' bit of my love for my niece and nephew and my friend Lila. I made only six Val cards this year. Three of them are going to be sent out tomorrow. And I have other tree left. I'd love to send them to the first three people who will leave me a comment on this post and later e-mail me (dinara2209@yahoo.com) their address. Cheers!

Happy Friday!

2012-02-10T08:49:00.001-05:00

This weekend I am planing on working on some handmade valentine cards, how about you?

New Personal Stationary

2012-02-08T20:06:00.000-05:00

It's time to refresh my stationary. When I sell things on Etsy I always try to include a few nice notes along with the package.

More color pencils

2012-02-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share my excitement - my new color pencils that have arrived last week. So many gorgeous shades that make me want to draw all day long.

We are 9 months old!

2012-02-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

We turned 9 months today! Time truly does go by so fast! My little Sabrina has got 8 teeth, she learned how to dance, clap her hands, wave good-buy, point at characters in her book, say "Mama", say "Mah" for Matilda, say "Emo" for Elmo and I can go on and on! She amazes us every single day. We look at her and wonder who is this little person we created :-) She sure does have her personality and her "likes" and "dislikes" :-)

Here's the fabulous photo that Traci Ryant took. I can' wait to receive the prints and to hang the photos on our walls.

This was the place I grew up in

2012-02-03T21:24:00.001-05:00

I did this map for They Draw and Travel. It is about the region in Tashkent city called Chilanzar where I grew up in. I haven't visited it for a very long time and I'm sure today it looks nothing like it was when I was seven. Even this map is probably not the most perfect, but this is how everything was located in my little head -all the places I often visited and all the paths I often took.

We lived in those tall apartment buildings, but we weren't very high - we lived on the second floor. Right across the river there was my elementary school and the school of music next to it. Every morning my mom walked me to the school and back. There was a beautiful alley of trees and in the fall those trees were of all colors. My mom taught me how to spot the most brilliant colors and shapes and we would collect them for our herbarium. The panorama was breathtaking so that many artists would come and paint the scenery and I really loved watching them working with oils.

red and pink

2012-01-27T20:44:00.001-05:00

How about your plans for the weekend? I don't really have any, I'm just hoping it is not going to snow. Sigh, when will those hot days come?

Washi pencils from Etsy

2012-01-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with these pencils! Beautifully handmade by Melissa Griffith these 10 pencils are very worth purchasing! They are wrapped in gorgeous japanese washi paper and very fun in use! My heart sings every time I open the beautiful box.

Blue Pencils

2012-01-20T20:34:00.003-05:00

A teeny tiny frame for teeny tiny blue flowers.

More Flowers

2012-01-17T22:55:00.002-05:00

Blind doodling

2012-01-16T20:04:00.003-05:00

Every day I spent no more then 5 minutes to warm up and blind doodle. Blind doodling means you just draw not even thinking about it. And no matter if it's good or bad you have to finish it. It is not about perfection, it is about loosening up your brain.

Flowers, flowers.

2012-01-15T20:32:00.001-05:00

I admit, I have been spring sick again. I really miss spring and can't wait for it to come. Last year I drew "LOVE" themes all February. But this winter all I want to draw is flowers!
Here my newest addition to my sketch book.

Logo Design Vol3

2012-01-14T19:18:00.000-05:00

Today I tried self portrait. It is nearly impossible to ask anyone in my family to take a picture of me, so I set the timer and ran a few times in front of the camera.

Anyway, let me show-off a little here and show you what I've got in the mailbox :-)

Hello Weekend

2012-01-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

Despite the snowie weather outside, I'm looking forward to this weekend. We are taking Sabrina to Traci Ryant to get some beautiful portraits taken. I picked a few cute dresses for her and my mom is styling a matching headbands. Now I'm only hoping for a sunny day.

Pillows on Etsy

2012-01-12T01:02:00.002-05:00

Etsy update here! Please head over to see what's new there :-)
P.S. Big thanks to little miss Sabrina for cooperating and modeling for me here :-)

Night time pencil flowers

2012-01-07T20:29:00.002-05:00

My night time sneaky drawings continues.. After a long long time of not being able to draw I have such a great thirst for drawing not for a client, not for a project and not for a certain deadline, but just because, just for my soul. I decided since I'm still not getting any sleep anyway (baby Sabrina has a really bad reflux or GERD issues), I get to doodle in between the hour that she is sleeping.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, friends!!! Make a wish and it will come true this year!
May this year bring you nothing but luck, joy, love and happiness! oh yeah, and lotsa lotsa giggles too :-))
Thank you so much for visiting me here every once in a while! I appreciate your attention and I'm always so happy when you leave comments for me!

Robots

2011-12-29T22:26:00.001-05:00

Etsy Update! My robots are available here :-) Caution! They are extremely lovable :-)

Crafty Holidays

2011-12-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

I feel very crafty lately. I wake up in the morning and the first thing that come to my mind is "stitching". It must be some kind of a contagious crafty disease that I caught from spending too much time on Etsy. Moreover, I bought a cross-stitched iphone case and can't wait to start it.

Cards are on the way

2011-12-22T23:10:00.000-05:00

I get mad at myself for leaving things till the very last minute all the time! My mom says I inherited that character after my dad, but my dad never admits that :-)) To be honest, I think mom is rights..

Nevertheless, I'm mad because my cards are being late to my dear recipients this year. But good thing I have a plan for the next year and I promise to start x-mas preparation in September.

My x-mas cards this year

2011-12-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

I'm picking up my cards today from a local giclee shop, so excited and can't wait to see them in person ;-))

Holiday mode

2011-12-13T11:53:00.001-05:00

X-mas tree - check!
Gifts - check! (well the most part)
Photo with Santa - check!
what's left is to finish up all the freelance jobs and get ready to celebrate!

P.S. I am Instagram addicted, find me there, I go by mirdinara ;-))

the finished chair

2011-12-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

Lovely Mike Edwards came to my teeny tiny studio to photoshoot some of my work. He also spotted the chair I painted a few weeks ago. Remember I promised to share the photos of the finished chair, well, I hope Mike is not mad at me for posting these images.

2011-12-08T22:42:00.002-05:00

a little renovation here... please bare with me as I'm trying to make it as cozy as possible :-))

We are SEVEN months old

2011-12-05T01:00:00.001-05:00

Time flies indeed! I can't believe my tiny girl is getting bigger and bigger :-) She can sit unassisted, she reaches out for toys, she laughs and giggles, she loves Matilda and wants to pet her all the time :-)) what else?! Oh yeah, she met Santa for the first time yesterday and oh boy, I'm so proud of her she did so well.

A cup of snow

2011-12-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

Hello December! Before the winter kicks off I want to fast forward all the cold days that are yet to come.

New chair project

2011-11-25T21:01:00.003-05:00

I got myself a new project - painting a chair for my little studio. My old chair was very huge and squeaky, so I made my husband take me to IKEA in Pitsburg PA to get a new one. As soon as I saw this model I said - yes, this is the lucky winner that goes home with me, but hubby disagreed, because his understanding of coziness is this: [click here]. But after long debates and disputes and speeches, we took a nice yummy lunch break at IKEA's cafeteria and then returned to our chair dilemma. And with his words "Oh you take it but I don't want to hear your complains in a few days", I gloriously grabbed the box and brought it home ;-)

This Thanksgiving I woke up (well, Sabrina woke me up) very early. But luckily it is a much deserved day off and I went to my parent's for breakfast. Then, while my dad took Sabrina outside for some fresh air, I stayed with my mom in the kitchen. And while she was cooking and preparing meals for our Thanksgiving dinner, I set next to her and was busy painting my new chair and gossiping like a chutter box.

I wish we had more days like this, but I'm very thankful for those we have had!

P.S. a picture of the finished chair will follow, I promise!

Hand painted kitchen towels

2011-11-21T21:05:00.000-05:00

I like experimenting with new material. I really wanted to try this for a long time, and now preparing for Holiday Art Crafts Show was just a perfect occasion.
The process was very enjoyable - I handcarved stamps, then applied fabric ink on it using 1" brush and stamped it onto a cotton fabric. And then repeated that hundreds of times in order to make 20 towels ;-)

Family Portrait

2011-11-19T20:10:00.001-05:00

I was just being silly today playing with this funny photo of us :-) But if serious, I realised that I'm always playing a photographer role in our family and never have any good pictures of myself. So looking through Sabrina's photos I found out there are very very few of me and her. And of course even those are out of focus or my face is in a very comic situation.

Smile on Uppercase :-)

2011-11-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

Hello hello :-))) Here's my smile for the morning :-)) - a little feature in Uppercase :-)) This was the only piece that returned from my spring art gallery show and it is sitting in my living room now. But I'm not an art collector, especially when it come to my personal art I would rather have it in somebody's room. So it's up on my Etsy now.

pattern exersise

2011-11-07T12:36:00.001-05:00

Patterns make me happy. The possibilities of combinations are endless.It's like finding your zen. I promised myself to practice patterns every day for no longer then two minutes. Despite of the end result I will hang these pre-cut painted papers and see how my skills progress. :-)

Autumn colors

2011-11-01T22:43:00.001-04:00

Hello November!

2011-11-01T09:05:00.000-04:00

Hello Weekend!

2011-10-28T21:39:00.000-04:00

The Christmas season is hitting! So that means good-bye weekends. I will be busy preparing my merchandise for Christmas shows. I hope to take pictures of my process, but it is problematic at times, because I usually I work at night when a little monster of mine is deeply asleep, so therefore I'm lacking a good source of light.
P.S. I can't believe we're talking Christmas already! It is still May in my head!

Mike Perry

2011-10-27T11:00:00.001-04:00

Mike Perry came to C-town and gave a fun lecture along with a workshop on the following day.
He's one of those people that you would love or hate. He is certainly a provocateur who creates chaos. But it was a good experience - he dares to say out loud what others are afraid or shy to even whisper. I'm not even mentioning his dirty language, but if he was any different - he wouldn't be Mike Perry. I can't say I liked his attitude on day 1, but after getting to know him a bit closer and spending some time at a dinner afterwords I changed my opinion 180 degrees. I like his spirit, he stays genuine and follows his heart.

And here I'm showing off a poster I designed for his visit.

P.S. I asked him to sign this poster for me and he asked if he could do anything inappropriate. I said - sure, go for it! And he drew boobs all over it :-) Hm.. I think baby Sabrina will find that interesting ;-)

Susquatch

2011-10-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

Lots of exciting things have been happening, I've been busy working on some great projects and, of course, my own cute project called baby Sabrina, that always keeps me occupied ;-)
Nevertheless, this Monday was a great start. it kicked off one of the best shows at AG called "Sasquatch". Here's my contribution.

and this is what it looks like in the gallery, next to Claire Mojher's two great pieces!

I'm in Illustration Now! Vol 4

2011-10-06T22:11:00.001-04:00

Ta-dah! ta-dah! ta-dah!
This day have come and today our postman has brought my Illustration Now Vol4! I'm so so so honored to be given two spreads in the book. Please check out page 292!

We are FIVE months old!

2011-10-05T22:45:00.003-04:00

YES! It is true! :-))) And we already started on fruits and vegetables.
Oh boy, this is a one very stubborn baby I'll tell ya! There are so many things that happened - she was colicky for a while and cried nonstop 23 hours. Then, just like magic, colicks went away. Later we realised she didn't like taking bottles. So we started rice cereal from a spoon. Then I gave her to a daycare place nearby. Wait till you hear this - she got kicked out! Apparently because she didn't let any other babies sleep and eat well :) But she is such a sweet and dear baby, she is so smilie and gigglie, so so lovable and so so kissable :-)) How did I live all these years without her?!

TDAC book is out!

2011-10-01T20:31:00.000-04:00

I'm so so excited! The book I've been waiting for is here!
There was a little launch party at The Learned Owl today and Salli Swindell was signing the books! I brought my little Sabrina with me and we had such a great time hanging out with Salli and wondering around the store. Sabrina was such a good girl - she was very generous on smiles today and every single person in the bookstore was given one :))
Please check out my contribution to the book - a recipe for salad called "Olivier".

Print never dies

2011-09-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

Today we had such a fun time at Zygot Press. Learning about type, playing will letters and making prints was all we were doing all day and I loved it! I'm so going back again!

Autumn

2011-09-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

+ Happy Birthday to me ;-)

2011-09-09T21:59:00.000-04:00

Happy day!

2011-09-07T14:12:00.001-04:00

iPhone skins

2011-09-04T23:43:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to get to design few skins for iPhone 3 and Droid phones. Now they are available in some Walmart and American Greetings store locations.

1st of September - bell ringing!

2011-09-01T04:00:00.012-04:00

I can't believe it is September already! Wait!.. I can't believe that this September I am a mom already!
Many years ago in 1987 my mom took me to school for the first time all dressed up in a blue dress + white apron + enormously huge white bow on my hair, holding a big bouquet of flowers and a brand new (smelly) backpack. The Bell ringing was a breathtaking ceremony. Or it seemed so to me back then. The graduating class of 1987 came to greet us (the little first graders) and they took us from our parents to enter the "big world of knowledge" singing and marching to the music.
For those of you who know me now, I wonder if you can recognize me on these photos :-)

On photo1: 1st grade. I'm the very first girl from the left. Behind me, the very tall one - is my mom.
On photo2: 1st grade. I'm the second from the left, hiding behind my flowers
On photo3: 2nd grade. I'm the fifth from the right in red shoes.

Isn't it great that thanks to technology we can still keep in touch and find each other years later! I reconnected with many kids from my class and it's so great to say "hello" every once in a while!

Bottles-Shmattles

2011-08-30T22:19:00.000-04:00

I feel like I wanna write a letter to every single bottle making company and ask them to stop calling themselves "Number1" or "the best" or so and so. Because baby Sabrina just hates and can't stand any of those fansy-shmancy bottles. I had to introduce her to baby cereal earlier then doctors usually recommend, and she loved it and learned to eat from a spoon so quickly. It is so funny to watch her open her mouth really wide and getting all excited for more :-) I'm hoping my "bottle" drama is officially over! And I'm very happy about it!

Some new postcards

2011-08-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

I'm back with my birds ;-)
It took me a while to update my Etsy. But, finally I did it and my posters are available for sale there. Take a peek. Also, I made new postcards and business cards to match the theme and to write little thank-yous to my dear etsy shoppers.

Happy Friday!

2011-08-26T13:14:00.001-04:00

Lets hope that hurricane Irene will pass by and not damage us.

Lunchbreak doodles

2011-08-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

My sketchbook is growing bigger and bigger. I feel like it became part of me. For the long three months of my maternity leave it made home under the stroller. Now, since I'm back to work, I keep carrying it in my tote along with my lunch box. But things are always rush here and I never have a chance to doodle through lunch like I'd like to. Today was an exception ;-)

My old cat

2011-08-24T09:17:00.006-04:00

One day on my little sister's 8th birthday my dad brought home a gray Persian kitten. We named her Mahrik (which is a made up name that stands for something being fluffy, kinda like a terry towel). For sometime we thought Mahrik was a boy, until one day when she brought us kittens :)) She was a good cat who caught mice, took good care of her little kittens, secretly sneaked into my bed (though she wasn't allowed according to my mom's rules), played with us, pooped on my mom's expensive rug and who was included in every birthday card signature. When we traveled to America she traveled with us and got lost in JFK airport, but luckily was found :-)). Then we grew up and each of us got a family of our own and Mahrik stayed at my mom and dad's house where she got chased by my not-so-little-anymore-sister's cute little daughter.

She was a good pet! We had to end her misery and put her down last night because Mahrik was suffering from cancer, could hardly walk and breathe, lost her vision and was bleeding and wasn't getting any better. She was such a good pet!

Salut!

2011-08-07T00:44:00.005-04:00

Another busy week ahead! Keep up with your energy and stay positive!

My website!

2011-07-27T12:30:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited to introduce my brand new freshly baked website!
Please visit http://www.mirdinara.com/

Big big big thanks to the greatest person - Darren Di Lieto (a founder of "the Little Chimp Society" and "Hire an Illustrator", and the author of the book "Mail Me Art"), who has been so kind to build it for me!

Privet

2011-07-25T23:32:00.000-04:00

Привет [pree-viet] - hello informail (rus)

Bonjour

2011-07-25T13:36:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I updated my Etsy shop, so I'm in the process of creating a series of posters and have them available on my Etsy page..

Chill

2011-07-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

Oh boy! I didn't realize it would be such a problem switching to a bottle feed. I have tried every single method found online, I've asked every mom about their experience, I've read many books and consulted our pediatrician - everything works theoretically. In reality I need to return to work in less then a week and we need to start daycare. Yesterday I spent all day pushing the bottle - it was a day full of tears, both mine and hers and mine again.. Then, after a long battle, baby gave up and took 2 oz. and fell asleep right away. The next day it started all over again. And this time I gave up because I simply can't resist her tears.

Night time drawing (Part III)

2011-07-16T00:48:00.001-04:00

another night...

I'm on Uppercase 10!

2011-07-14T12:43:00.000-04:00

Last month I submitted my cat Matilda's painting to the Pet Project on Uppercase. Yesterday I open my mail box and there it is - the issue 10 sitting there waiting for me :))) I flip pages and page 9 features my painting, photo of me, links to my blog and etsy and my whole letter to Janine (you can see it on the page to the right from the painting)! I smiled and said - YAY!

Night time drawing (Part II)

2011-07-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

Another night, and I just put my baby down again and YAY it's my drawing time! I know I should be getting some sleep whenever she is sleeping, but I find such an incredible thirst to draw, that I'd rather trade.
This is another part of the same drawing I'm currently working on. Can't wait to reveal the whole thing :)

Night time sneak drawing

2011-07-08T22:09:00.000-04:00

Oh my! Baby is finally asleep! Dishes done! and I can finally turn on my computer and check what has been happening in the world while I was busy with my baby. There is so much to catch on - emails, Pinterest, facebook, blogs, etsy... and (Tah-Da-a-a-ah!) - photoshop. I get exactly two hours before I turn into a zombie :) Here's a sneak peek of something I'm working on right now.

Carefree Campaign for Johnsons & Johnsons (Part II)

2011-07-02T22:38:00.000-04:00

What is it - photos of bathrooms? Haha, yes, this is part of the Carefree Campaign - Stall and Mirror Decals in Canadian gym clubs.

Carefree Campaign for Johnsons & Johnsons

2011-07-01T11:30:00.002-04:00

This spring I have been really busy working on "Carefree" campaign for Canadian marketplace. I designed 5 illustrations of feminine hygiene pads (yoga, business purse, airplane chair, running machine and spinning bike) oriented on business and sport women.

My interview on TDAC

2011-06-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

I was flattered and honored to give an interview on "They Draw And Cook"! Thank you Salli, thank you Nate for having me featured, I'm a big fan of your both projects!

Please come visit TDAC and check it out here :)

My sweet little girl

2011-06-29T16:06:00.000-04:00

How much fun can you possibly have with a sweet little girl? As she is approaching her 2 month I can see big changes in her already - she smiles to me, she knows my voice, she knows it'a a night-night time, she knows it's a morning and everybody must be up as soon as the sun comes out! There are still things she needs to learn about - like there are Saturdays and Sundays, and we (adults) really do care for those :-D

Morning Flowers

2011-06-24T22:32:00.001-04:00

Every morning (well mostly when it's not raining) I pack a quick breakfast for myself and take the stroller outside. There is this bench under trees covered in shadows and while my baby is asleep I sit there and doodle flowers in my sketch book over and over and over. Well, she is not a good sleeper, so that usually doesn't last long, plus it gets hot by 11:00am anyway, so we return home.

My Cityscape tape

2011-06-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

I'm back with my tape :))
I just wanted to show off and share a nice post (click here) on TapeSwell about my Cityscape pattern ;-) Big thanks to Kat who wrote up a story about me :))

P.S. Leen, your package is going to be sent tomorrow!

Map of Tahskent

2011-06-19T22:34:00.002-04:00

Hello :) Check out Salli's and Nate's new baby project called "They Draw and Travel", where you get to illustrate your favourite city. I have so many cities in mind that I want to illustrate, and I decided to start with the city I was born and grew up in. Of course it's fairly impossible to talk about a city in out illustration, there are so many fun places left out to be included in this map, but this gives you an idea of what kind of a place Tashkent is.

And the winner is...

2011-06-15T15:07:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for participating in the giveaway and for all your sweet comments. I wish I could pick every single of you as a winner! But according to the http://www.random.org/ the lucky person is...

Thank you, Leen, and please e-mail me your address so I can send you the Cityscape Tape!

Cityscape Tape Giveaway!

2011-06-08T14:56:00.001-04:00

Remember my cityscape skirt, then a pillow? Guess what - this design has been turned into a tape I created for TapeSwell.
Not only you can you use it as a packaging tape to wrap your gifts and parcels, but you can also create your unique pencil jars. The tape is clear with continuous black ink design on it. Please visit TapeSwell.com to purchase one - it is only $7.00.
And for my blog readers I am giving away one CityScape tape - all you need to do is just simply leave a comment here and I will draw a name on July 15th which is exactly a week from now.

We are ONE month old!

2011-06-06T12:48:00.000-04:00

We turned one month already! There were lots of crying, lots of rocking and singing (I never knew I could sing :), many many sleepless nights - but I'm so proud that we gained 2 pounds. I'm so sure there will be more of all these to come and I tell myself - well I was a nonstop-all day-all night-cry-baby but my mom and dad somehow managed to raise me :)) And I just can't wait to see what my little angel will grow up into!

Pomegranate

2011-05-29T17:39:00.001-04:00

Pomegranate is a symbol of fertility in many cultures. I started this illustration long time ago and gave up. And then re-found it in my old files a few days ago and decided to leave it unfinished - just the way it is.

Postcards

2011-05-23T21:26:00.000-04:00

Oh, baby, baby! Big thanks to each and every of you for your kind wishes :)) Little did I know being a mom is such a busy job. But I enjoy every minute of every sleepless night.

Before my little Sabrina appeared I had left so many thing to show you and post about, but these busy days leave me no chance to even think about anything besides poopy diapers.

I made these postcards to send to friends and not only, but there is no way I can make it to the post office any time soon :)

My First Mother's Day

2011-05-12T14:09:00.000-04:00

The day I have been waiting for has finally come - please welcome my little daughter Sabrina Mila, who was born on May 5th at 3:43am, 7lb 13oz, 20in.
This Mother's Day was not just a holiday for me - it was the day we got home and started our new life ;)There's a lot to learn and a lot to give, therefore I'm sure you'll understand my absence in this blog world, however she is all I want to post about and talk about :)

AG Annual Fine Art Show 2011

2011-04-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to post about this for a long time now. These are few photos from opening night of the AG Annual Fine Art Show which took place at SPACES gallery on April 15th. I was so honored and pleasantly surprised to receieve "Best of Show" for one of my pieces. Remember the one that I was working on in the winter and promised to reveal as soon as it gets finished? - here it is, please scroll down - it is the very last one.
Here's us - my husband+me+our baby, behind us are two of my pieces.

My mom and dad looking at my other pieces - Uzbek Summer

My birds..

and this pink fellow is the winner :)

Easter

2011-04-25T22:57:00.000-04:00

Hope your Easter was sweet as a chocolate bunny, colorful as painted eggs and happy as happy could be!
My grandma celebrated Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated by a different calendar. But this year both Catholic and Orthodox Easters fell on the same day. I might going to develop a new tradition of my own and paint a wooden egg instead, that way I will get to keep it for as long as I want to. This is what I did last year (click here).

Earth Day

2011-04-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

Today was the Earth Day and I wanted to re-use something that was meant to end up in the garbage bin.
About a year ago I had this post about re-using old glass jars and ever since I have collected quite a lot of those (thanks to my husband who can't survive a day without pickles). So today I decided to paint those jars and find them a new meaning :))

AG Gallery Show 2011

2011-04-20T23:12:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to catch up with everything over here. I don't even know where to start.. Maybe I'll start with the AG Gallery Show that kicked off on April 11 and will run through April 29. I didn't have a chance to take many pictures, but here're few of them.

Busy bee

2011-04-10T00:16:00.001-04:00

Lots of good things have been happening this past week - I have been working on amazing projects (which I can't reveal yet), I have been preparing for my solo gallery show at AG Creative Gallery (which starts Monday April 11th). And!- I got the 1st place (Best of Show) in the 32nd Annual American Greetings Fine Art and Design Show :)) There's still more to come, but for now I need to go and get some rest, because tomorrow I am starting with deep cleaning my place from all the messy jungle I created over these days, and hopefully making it look like something it was before..

Just saying hello

2011-04-04T11:51:00.002-04:00

Just saying hello here.. Hope everyone's weekend was nice. If you ask me I'd say - wait, what weekend? - I barely had time to fix myself something to eat. :))

International Birds

2011-03-27T10:10:00.001-04:00

If only we could speak birds language, or if birds could speak human - we could learn a lot from each other ;) I'm in the process of preparing for my AG gallery show which starts on April 11 this year..

Watermelon

2011-03-21T12:45:00.001-04:00

The only fruit I'm really really missing right now is watermelon. Our uzbek watermelons are soo rich in flavour, sweet and smell so good. Here in supermarkets they sell watermelons, but they are not quite the same kind. They look like them, but they definitely don't taste as good. Could it be the sun, or the soil, or farmers, or what? I have no answer, but I miss those days when we had a watermelon every night after dinner all summer long.

Did you smile today?

2011-03-20T00:47:00.000-04:00

Hello there ;) Here comes another saturday along withsome other little things to take care of. I've been extremely busy these days, but you know what - it's good to be busy - that keeps this world spinning. But never forget to take things easy and smile time-to-time.. Others might think you're a little cuckoo, but who cares as long as you keep in a good mood!
P.S. here's my today's show off - my new paper cut project called "Smile" :))

For Japan with LOVE

2011-03-18T07:43:00.002-04:00

Please join a day of silence as a way of honoring people in Japan.

What is inspiration

2011-03-16T04:58:00.003-04:00

I was asked to think about what inspires me. But what is inspiration? I don't think I fully understand it.
It's the same if you're asked to describe what fulfills you when you're hungry. Maybe you find it fulfilling because you are hungry in first place? Yes, maybe an inspiration is your desire or craving for something specific you're hungry for, something that is missing and you want to find it?

I grew up in Uzbekistan were there is no ocean, no sea, no lake around. My dad traveled a lot and one time on his way to Japan he got caught by a sea storm. I still remember his stories about that experience. Listening to all that I grew up dreaming that one day I will be picking up seashells from the bottom of a sea or an ocean.

Now I realise I use this motive a lot - it is like my inner naive wish. I think no one knows completely what is their inspiration. Because it is something we can't measure - we just follow our instincts. And sometimes those instincts come from our child dreams.

P.S. my thoughts are with Japan!

Our life.

2011-03-15T11:57:00.003-04:00

Back in those good old days when my father used me as a remote control to flip through TV channels, when we woke up every morning to the playing radio in the kitchen, when Sunday morning laundry turned into never-ending ropes of fresh sheets that smelled like a lye soap, when we shared a phone line with our neighbors next door.. there was something special about those good old days..
Our everyday life has changed so much since then!

Baby Shower Invites

2011-03-12T22:20:00.006-05:00

While watching what is/was happening in Japan these days I felt so sorry for all those people who're being miserable, when someone like me somewhere on this planet was a little too excited over these baby shower invitations.

As my due date approaches my anxiety increases. But I'm glad I can still occupy myself with little projects like this one. My parents are throwing a baby shower for me and I decided to design the invitations myself. I really wanted them to be letterpressed and packaged in a box with a chocolate bar :))

Laurie, who owns Lucky Bee Press did such a great job on the letterspress! I was amazed by the quality of the press and the color match. So my invitations came out just as I envisioned them. If you're considering letterpress, please contact Laurie - she is a professional and she takes the projects seriously! You can find Laurie on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/luckybeepress

P.S. my thoughts are with Japan!

8th of March

2011-03-08T13:35:00.006-05:00

Today - March 8th - is the International Women's Day! Back in the Soviet where I grew up it was a HUGE holiday, just like Christmas or New Year. As kids, we were preparing a special entertainment program at schools for our moms and grandmothers. All women dressed up in pretty outfits and men gave flowers to their moms, girlfriends, wifes and sisters.

I remember my mom getting her hair done for this day as well as spraying on a little extra perfume :-D. And in the evening my parents always took us kids to an amusement park and treated us with ice-cream and cotton candy! Sweet days!

Save me from what I am

2011-03-07T15:52:00.000-05:00

The first week of march went by so fast. I have a tendency of getting swallowed by my work and projects and get disconnected from the real world, news and TV.. When I'm working on something extremely interesting I feel like my clock is fooling me.. because it seems like I checked time few minutes ago, but it has actually been few hours.. That's when I start getting mad that we people have a luxury of only 24 hours a day - and there's nothing we can do about it ;-)) then I force myself to go to bed, hoping the morning will come sooner then it should :))) Yeah, but that's who I am.. how about you?

1st day of March!

2011-03-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

In my world, spring starts on the first day of March! I don't have patience to wait until March 20th, so I prefer celebrating it as soon as February is over! So, Happy Spring Day!

Spring is on the way

2011-02-25T20:08:00.002-05:00

I think I am having a spring-dehydration-symptom. This winter seems to never go away. And it feels like I desperately need oxygen. Can't wait to be able to open my windows as wide as I can to let the cool night breeze fill up the entire room and give me goosebumps. Can't wait to wear sheer summer dresses and yellow shoes and paint my toes in happy colors.. Oh, those days.. Technically we are only few days away from the spring, but that doesn't mean, of course, that the old mother winter is going to give up that easily.

Meanwhile, I've been working on something.. something sping-likey. Can't reveal the whole thing yet, but wanted to share bits and pieces :)

To all you peeps from cold places - just hang in there - sunshine is on the way :)

My Flickr Group called "shopping at mirdinara"

2011-02-22T09:45:00.001-05:00

Hello friends!
I always wondered what happens to my little painting and crafts and other little things after people purchase and receive it from me.
If you don't mind sharing your photos of little things your have purchased from me in the past, please submit some to my newly opened Flickr group, I would be extremely happy and excited to see them.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1599072@N24/

Thanks a lot for your contribution!
Dinara

P.S. Special thanks to my friend Randall for these lovely photos he took for me!

Smile!

2011-02-17T07:35:00.002-05:00

As the week-end comes closer and closer, I thought I would give myself a new die-cut project to keep me occupied. Otherwise I turn into a lazy couch potato.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T14:43:00.000-05:00

Home Sweet Home

2011-02-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

All done! Yay! It took me three days, 1.5 pack of blades and no fingers were cut :) Try it in your spare time, it's really cool! I can compare it to push-ups - it hurts your muscles, but after it's done you feel so proud of yourself :))

Up close

Framed

This is what was left :)

Feeling sick

2011-02-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

Oh, it is no fun being sick on Valentine's Day :(( I hope your LOVE day is full of smiles and happy surprises :))