I'm extremely grateful to Ginger Nielson for tagging me for theMeet My Character Blog Tour and my illustrations on her blog " GingerPixels" Ginger is a wonderful friend and fantastic children's illustrator! this is her illustrator below

Ginger and I have been online illustrator friends for years and I'm honored to consider her a friend, and to be inspired by her wonderful work and her diligence in creating characters and books that delight children and grown-ups!






And now, it is my turn to tell you about a character in a picture book I have written and am in the process of illustrating:

The first question on the blog tour is: 

What is the name of your character?  The name of my main character is Aunt Meg, and she is actually my twin sister shown above.

When and where is the story set? The story is set in the present, in Maine, and around the United States.

What should we know about ? You should know that the story is based partially on my twin sister Meg, and some wonderful handmade items she creates with much love, thought and time, only to have them blow away on a blustery day. 

 

What messes up her life? The wind picks up and begins to create chaos out of Aunt Meg's wonderful creations all around the United States, creating fun and confusion wherever they land. Aunt Meg needs to decide how to handle the result of the wind blowing her work hither and yon.

 What is the personal goal of your character? Aunt Meg's main goal is to create these items to bring joy to each person she gives them to. Her goal is met, but not the way she expects.

You can see more of my work on my website at www.amycullingsmoreno.com

and now....

I have the pleasure of passing the Meet My Character Blog Tour to  an amazing children's book illustrator. I will post more tomorrow so that you can follow the blog tour and see the work of this illustrator.

Welcome Spring! It's been way too long since I've posted on my blog. I will attempt to begin again.

Now that the snow seems to be leaving..for good, I have more energy for blogging.

I have also updated my website at www.amycullingsmoreno.com

Kindle possible giveaway

ttps://www.facebook.com/eReader1?sk=app_204684816209053
Kindle is offering a possible giveway if you follow these directions. Who knows..it may be worth it. I'm going to try. It's on my wishlist, although I was trying to decide if as a children's illustrator it would be a better idea to get a color nook, but I'm leaning toward the Kindle.

Spring has Sprung

Once again trying to catch up on the blog. It's been so busy lately, with another move planned, and lots of art to do. I just wanted to at least show up here and send a greeting to anyone who reads Cachibachis. May you all have a wonderful day!

Catching up During the Holidays

I've been working on so many different online projects that I haven't visited my blog lately. It seems I use twitter and facebook much more often lately.
I'm at @illustratr4kids on twitter for anyone interested in tweeting together.
I also have a facebook page for my children's illustration biz, for anyone interested: facebook illustration page

Here's hoping you all have a peaceful day, even in the midst of the scurrying and craziness that can come at this time of year. Take a deep breath, find a quiet place to calm your nerves and regroup..then get back to the energetic creative activity and live life fully. That's what I'm planning on doing. <3

PiBoIdMo begins tomorrow!

Check out Tara Lazar's blog, where she gives out the info for the second annual Picture Book Idea Month..complete with prizes, daily inspirational messages and feedback on the ideas that win by three literary agents.

It promises to be an inspiring month. The challenge is to come up with a picture book concept a day..whether it's a title, character, plot idea or anything picture book related.

Children's illustrations for USDA..a video of the illustrations

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Children's illustrations for USDA This is a video I made of some of the illustrations I created for a large USDA educational project for preschool children. Watch the video and leave a comment!

What is this? Animoto makes killer videos from your photos. It's free for 30 seconds. Make your own.

Copyright © Animoto Productions, 2010. All Rights Reserved. Animoto Inc, 214 Sullivan Street, Suite #2F, New York, NY, 10012.

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATION

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATION
is Julie Fortenberry's informative blog about....you guessed it....children's illustration.
Take some time to read her posts and see the lovely art by a variety of children's illustrators.

NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program

NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
Check out the National Novel Writing Month program for Young writers. The NaNoWriMo is closing in on us in a few days...so get ready to write!

Keith Robinson, Writer of Young Adult and Children's Fiction

Keith Robinson, Writer of Young Adult and Children's Fiction

In my recent decision to begin to work on self-publishing my own children's books, and other work, I have been researching the field and the different publishing options. I just read an email with information about Keith Robinson.
Keith has had tremendous success at self-publishing in recent times. Check out his blog for information on his books and how he has achieved this success. Keith Robinson, is also the owner of www.enidblyton.net, a website dedicated to Brititsh children's writer, the late Enid Blyton, who was author to almost 800 children's books.

Sal and Pen � Being Drawn in

Sal and Pen � Being Drawn in
Take a look at some of the wonderful illustrations here....

The Exquisite Corpse-A Collaborative Book with Top Authors & Illustrators

The Exquisite Corpse is an old game where a story is started and then passed along to the next person to continue it. Here is a new online story written as a collaboration by top children's/young adult writers and illustrators. Jon Scieszca began it and has passed it along to other well known writers and illustrators.
Here is link explaining it.

Thank you for The Versatile Blogger Award from Ginger Nielson!

My wonderful illustrator friend Ginger Nielson gave me this award. I am so grateful to Ginger, not only for her friendship, but for the inspiration she is to me as a children's illustrator and writer. In the midst of a busy life with it's challenges, Ginger maintains a work ethic that tops nearly any I know of. Her illustrations reflect that work ethic and the joy she has.

Here is the challenge involved in receiving this award.

1. Thank the person who loved me enough to bestow this gift.

2. Share seven things about myself.

3. Bestow this honor onto 15 newly discovered or followed bloggers – in no particular order – who are fantastic in some way.

4. Drop by and let my fifteen friends know I love them

Here are seven things about me:

1. I have a twin sister named Meg who is an amazing artist and ultramarathoner. I was inspired to be an artist at a very young age because of her artistic talent and personality.

2. I was born in Connecticut and later moved to Upstate New York, in the beautiful Finger Lake region. After that I lived in Boston, La Paz Bolivia, Miami, Northern Virginia, and now Tallahassee, Florida.

3. I studied art in Boston, Mass, at a small commercial art school on Beacon St. We only had 13 people in our class, and I loved it.

4.I met Joan Walsh Anglund when I was young and she signed a small children's book for me with one of her wonderful small drawings as a part of the signature. It has inspired me for years as I've worked in this field of children's lit.

5. The older I get, the more I enjoy learning and trying new things. I especially enjoy taking painting classes, and would love to learn another language and take violin lessons. 

6.I am a mom to three teenagers and it's a crazy, busy time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

7. We just moved to Tallahassee, Florida after living in Northern Virginia for over 13 years....not having ever heard much about Tallahassee much before a job change brought us here. It is beautiful here and the people are fantastic. I think it's the world's best kept secret.

I am sharing this award with these talented illustrators....it may take me awhile to get 15 due to being on and offline..but here they are:
Scott Nelson
 Nikki Boetger

Paige Keiser

  1 Attached Images

Tallahassee's First Night

Tallahassee has a fantastic art scene with venues for local musicians, actors and artist to showcase their talents. This band was fantastic.

Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog: SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference interview: Francesco Sedita

Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog: SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference interview: Francesco Sedita

Alice Pope, former editor of the CWIM book is stepping down there, and has begin here with the SCBWI blog

The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature; The NCCIL

The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature; The NCCIL
there are some wonderful children's art lessons here, based on the illustrators of childrens books, including David Diaz, Peter Sis, Robert Sabuda, Betsy Lewin and others. I'm bookmarking these ideas for myself and my art classes. Great inspiration

Current News - SCBWI

Current News - SCBWI
Golden Kite Golden Dreams...celebrating over 30 years of Art from the SCBWI's Golden Kite Awards

Artist Profile: Leo & Diane Dillon - The NCCIL

Artist Profile: Leo & Diane Dillon - The NCCIL
two of my favorite illustrators..check out their profile here. I wish there were more places online to see the Dillon's gorgeous illustrations.

Art for Small Hands

Art for Small Hands
is another wonderful blog with creative ideas for teaching young children art and how to explore the world in fun ways