The book is out, and it’s coming to your town, to a bookstore near you… so step right up and join the circus!

The plot of the book revolves around a mystery… circus props are disappearing and Ella (the elephantine start of Circus Fantastico) dons her detective cap, and takes magnifying glass in hand (err… in trunk) to solve the case! The book includes a magnifying glass so that you can help Ella solve the mystery!

And speaking of myteries…

How many pencils to you think are in this jar?

(Which, incidentally was a 40oz jar of E.D. Smith Peach-Orange-Mango Preserves… Mmm-mmmmm)

Inside this jar are ALL of the pencils (now just itty bitty nubs) that I used in the making of the illustrations for Circus Fantastico!

 SO HERE’S THE CONTEST…

From now through August 31, 2010 I will be accepting guesses…

Whoever guesses correctly, or (in the tradition of The Price Is Right) the closest guess without going over the correct amount, will win….. (drum roll please)…

Their very own signed copy of Circus Fantastico!!!

Send your guesses to: molly@idleillustration.com

And the coolest thing happened… I won!

Here are some pictures of my portfolio.It’s a simple old-school screwpost portfolio made by Pina Zangaroo. The cover is black book cloth and the pages inside are simple clear polyeurethane sleves.

I like these because you can individually insert pages- just the exact number you want- so there’s not that akward moment at the end where folks keep turning pages but there’s nothing there.

If you visit the online portfolio at my website- the images from left to right are in the same order that they appeared in my hard copy portfolio at the show.

But in the display portfolio, I featured the sketch for each piece opposite the finished work… something like this…

With two exceptions…

I added a title card piece at the beginning…

and one at the end…

 Fourteen pieces total.

And that, as they say, is that!

The past few months have been beyond busy and while a million to-do’s were vying for my attention, I

stumbled  across the sketch for this piece that I scribbled a couple of years ago.

Laundry called, promotional cards sat beconing to be designed, but this little sketch  sat quietly and seemed

to say: “I think you’d feel better if you finished me instead.”

And it was right.

Whether you are messing about in boats, or messing about at the drawing board… messing about is

 good for the soul.

Earth Day is almost here! Well… actually every day is Earth Day, as we’re all here, on the planet Earth.

And as long as we’re here, we should be doing something good for it each and every day!

A couple of years ago a group of inspired,  eco friendly moms commissioned me to create some illustrations

for a cd they were producing titled: My Changing Planet.

The album has just been released and it is so totally fun! My boys I have been singing along with songs like

“Penguin Petition” and “Gas Guzzling Blues”.  It’s been great reinforcement to the green ideas we’re trying

to incorporate around the house. Hearing my 5 year old ask- “Can I recycle this?” makes me a very happy

 mom indeed.

But, one of the very best things about My Changing Planet, ( toe-tapping tunes aside), is something that

 warms your heart and not the planet…

 100% of the profits from the sale of the CD go to benefit The Nature Conservancy.

 Now that’s cool.

Visit www.mychangingplanet.com to listen to the tunes and learn more about what we can all do to help our

changing planet.

They’veinfluenced my work in so many ways. And to that end I’ve named my upcoming workshop on colored pencil techniques “Glorious Prismacolor!”

This half day workshop is being hosted by AZ Art Supply (Located at 4025 N. 16th Street Phoenix, AZ 85016)on February 27th from 9am-Noon. And if you’d like a sneak peek as to what’s in store you can come to a free demo this Saturday, January 23 from 10am-Noon.

Be sure to register early for your chance to win a set of 60 Prismacolors!

Now that really would be glorious!

What with one deadline and another the holidays have snuck up on me again!

 It’s just like my Manna says… “You either have 6 months until Christmas or 6 days- there’s no inbetween!”

And with that in mind, I invite you to join me (and wrap up all of your holiday shopping) this weekend at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe!

Books make a fabulous gift for everyone on your holiday list! And I just happen to have a new one out…

I’ll be at Changing Hands Bookstore from 1-3pm this Saturday, December 12 signing copies of Nighty Night Noah, and my latest release: Nighty Night Baby Jesus.

I hope to see you there enjoying a bit if holiday cheer!

The Reviews are in! Well, at least the Kirkus Review is in, and the folks there had nice things to say about Nighty Night Baby Jesus…

” This sweet and simple story follows ten different animals as they approach Mary and the Christ Child in the stable. Each animal in turn makes its own sound when it sees the baby, until Mary finally politely shushes all of them so her child can take a nap. The rhyming text is short and pleasant without being saccharine, and even toddlers will be able to understand the plot and chime in on the animal sounds. The gentle ending refers to the Christmas star as the nightlight for the baby, with the title as the final phrase. Idle, a former DreamWorks artist, uses bold, stylized shapes and exaggerated lines that show her animation background, and Mary looks a bit like Disney’s Pocahontas, but kids will be drawn to the illustrations for their movement and bright colors. (Picture book/religion. 2-5)”

Could do without the Pocahontas reference… I was going for “Byzantine art meets Art Deco”… but what can you do? All in all a good review  ;)

It’s been 3 years since Pennies from Heaven was released, and I just recieved a copy of a promotional video

interview  created by Abingdon Press in anticipation of the book’s release. Looking at it, you can see that I

was also anticipating the arrival of my second baby boy, and was VERY pregnant when it was filmed! 

Take a peek at the Pennies From Heaven Press Interview 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a94GWb_dSys

(too late) that a bumble bee had snuck in for a sip too! OUCH! After cleaning up the spewed soda,

and fetching some ice for my wounded sweetheart, I started wondering about how often we ingest insects

without  knowing.

Sneaky little buggers!

Then I thought… I bet this doesn’t often happen with snails or slugs.

But better to be safe than sorry!

So, when you’re out enjoying your Memorial Day cookout-

“Bee” on the lookout for these gastronomical gastropods…