Small changes. . .

Trying to unify this painting so it isn't so spotty. Improved??

Better late then never.

This was supposed to be my Christmas card, but life happened and I only just finished it today. I could pretend I was incredibly organized and that I am going to use this next year, but I'd like to share it now, while we might still be thinking about the Christmas tree and gifts.

New blog

I am inspired by my friend Peggy to try something new. She has decided to do something creative each day for a full year. To keep her honest, she has a blog where she's recording what she's up to. The theme she chose was "birds". So far, her projects have been sewn. Check out this adorable embroidered needle case she made:

So, following in her footsteps, I have decided to challenge myself to my own 365 days of creativity. (sort of reminds me of the movie Julie and Julia where Julie cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook) Last year, I started to work on a book project of my own. I have named the place where my characters live Sugar Hill, and each day I will do something to flesh out the little world of Sugar Hill. Day 1 was today. I will post something tomorrow.

Thank You!

This post is for Labadia family. Years ago they bought a snowflake that I painted and donated to Robert's Snow, a fundraiser to raise money for cancer research started by Grace Lin. Since Robert's Snow, I have published several more books. I was contacted recently by the Labadias about my most recent book. Around Thanksgiving they welcomed their grandchild, Vaughan Timothy Labadia, into the world. Congratulations Rick and Mary Ann, and thank you for your support!

Blobman

Thomas made this short stop motion video with the help of an animation book he got for Christmas. Maybe if I can't be an animator, he can.

Enjoy this holiday season with some friends!
With best wishes, Liza

Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet

Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet

Snow dogs

This is what it looks like if you love snow, but you're little and cold:This is what it looks like if you're not:

Marcel the Shell with shoes on

This is just about the most adorable little shell I have ever seen.

My new handbag

I will do just about anything to avoid doing some things. This is why I decided that I just had to make myself a felted sweater handbag yesterday while I should have been cleaning. I followed the instructions that I found on this great blog: The Inadvertent Farmer .
The whole thing took less than two hours and was very simple. I used my felting needle to tack things in place, but then needed to hand stitch as well. Definitely try this with any old sweaters you have hanging around.

Event this Saturday at the Brown Dog, Hinesburg, Vermont

more Bible sketches

sketch, sketch, sketch. . .

That's all I have been doing these days. It feels wonderful to sit and draw, but I am ready to paint. Right now, I am working on illustrations for a children's Bible. In this sketch, Jesus is calming a storm.

work in progress

Here's a sketch I am working on. Spring mailer?? It's not like me to think ahead.

Kitchen finally done!

This was formerly our front hall and Tom's makeshift office.


This was the old kitchen and is now our family room.



This was our big project this summer. We moved our kitchen into the front hall, turned the kitchen into a family room, and redid the floor. It was a long haul, but thanks to a very hardworking and dedicated carpenter, we wrapped this up in September. I am just now putting pictures up for people who saw this in progress and want a peek at the finished product.
There's a little bit of distortion in the photos (I put them together as panorama in photoshop).
The family room is a sunny yellow and the kitchen is avocado. Thanks to Susan Sargeant for the color inspiration.

revision

Oops. It turns out that no one knew what the purple cutout in the bow was. Thanks to Photoshop, I have now fixed it.
In case it is still not clear, this mouse lives in the wreath and she has cut fabric out of the bow on the wreath to make herself a dress. Let me know if this is still just a big mess.

with or without snow?

Sometimes it's hard to decide whether or not to add snow to my illustrations. Most of the time I like a painting better with it, but this time, those who have seen it so far prefer it without. What do you think?

with snow. . .
without. . .

Happy Birthday Julia

My friend Julia and I spent the day together yesterday as parent volunteers on a field trip to Fort Ticonderoga. I am not sure I would have chosen to spend my birthday that way, but it was a beautiful day, and the kids were great. The foliage was perfect, and from the fort, which was set up high on a rise beside Lake Champlain, we could see for miles. Happy Birthday Julia!

Mary Had a Little Lamb

A little reader for this sweet nursery rhyme:

Great news!

October 1st, Kirkus reviewed our new book Ten on the Sled! It's such exciting news. Thank you Kirkus. I hope this book now finds its way into the hands of many little readers who can enjoy it. Here's what they had to say:

TEN ON THE SLED
Author: Norman, Kim
Illustrator: Woodruff, Liza

Review Date: October 1, 2010
Publisher:Sterling
Pages: 32
Price ( Hardback ): $14.95
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
ISBN ( Hardback ): 978-1-4027-7076-0
Category: Picture Books
Classification: Seasons

A caribou, polar bear, moose, wolf, walrus, squirrel, bighorn sheep, fox, hare and seal all pile onto a toboggan, beginning a North Country riff on the familiar chant: “There were TEN on the sled / and the caribou said, / ‘Slip over! Slide over!’ / So they all slid over, / and Seal spilled out.” One by one, the animals tumble off, each with a different active verb (Hare hops out, Sheep shoots out, Walrus whirls out, etc.). The final line of each stanza is printed with lively disorder, swooping, jumping and sliding on the page. Woodruff adds extra humor by collecting all of the fallen animals in an increasingly bigger snowball that rolls down the hill alongside the toboggan. What with animal identification, counting, vocabulary building and print awareness all scaffolded on a can’t-lose rhyme, this one’s a keeper. (Picture book. 3-6)