Now Accepting Applications for New Daddy

It's a fact: more and more children are being raised in single-parent families.
Most custodial single parents are female.
You can say kids get married too soon, you can say children shouldn't give birth to children... you can say any number of things regarding this single-parent phenomenon, but it will not stop it from being true.

Teenage pregnancy aside, this can still happen to anyone, at any time. It happened to me, after several years of marriage and three children. Now it is happening to my daughter. Although she is a mature young woman, with nearly 10 years in the US Army, and she first met her husband when they were in grade school together, she has recently become the single parent of her own little boy.

My daughter is braver than I am. When my marriage ended, I said I would never love anyone again. She is in no hurry to be romantically involved, but she isn't going to hide in a shell the way I did.
This design is inspired by my daughter and my little grandson, who both deserve to have someone else to love them. -- Maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the future.

Now accepting
applications for
new daddy.
Please send current
resumes to Mommy

Generally speaking, this design shouldn't be taken too seriously!
But, still, you never know when the right person might see this and arrange for you to meet their husband's brother, or whoever.
There are good men in the world, too, you know -- the kind you want your son to be someday.

Don't tie me kangaroo down, sport

P.L. doesn't really like everyone to know she has a soft side. She doesn't understand why I feel the need to inform the world, either, but I think someday she'll understand.

One of P.L.'s admitted soft spots is for animals. Not just fluffy kittens and wiggle-nosed bunnies, but animals she's never actually gotten to touch. Koalas, dolphins, penguins, tigers, kangaroos.... ooh, kangaroos. That particular love goes back a long way, even before visits to the zoo, back to the flannel pajamas she used to love to wear as a tot. They came with a kangaroo cap and a pouch/pocket to carry an adorable toy joey.

We recently saw a picture of a road sign that tickled her fancy. It reminded me of our Tank Xing design at AmeriColors. But instead of warning of deer crossing, falling rocks, children crossing, or even tanks crossing, this photo showed a kangaroo crossing sign.
P.L. loved it. She even wants one in her bedroom. I reminded her that it's illegal to swipe road signs, and it's inconvenient to go to Australia to do so. And it won't help the kangaroos, either. She had to concede on that point.

So we decided it was time for a sign. We created our own, along with the words, "I brake for kangaroos."







P.L. now has in requests for even more kangaroo designs. I'm trying it with different colors, but I know that there will be more detailed illustrations of these fascinating marsupials in my near future.

And when it gets to be a little warmer, maybe we'll even go visit some kangaroos and their friends and relations, at Kentucky Down Under.
I haven't been there yet, but I think it'll be a terrific place to draw.

For now, though, maybe P.L. will be happy with this t-shirt.



If you would like to affiliate this design through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel from your website.

Penguins (purple and otherwise)

Penguins -- they are the new Cabbage Patch Kids. I know Tickle-Me Elmo is waxing nostalgic, and Wii is making a grand appearance for Christmas. But these cute little fellas from down south (way down south) grab your heart strings in a special way.

Remember the waiter penguins who danced with Dick Van Dyke's Bert in the movie Mary Poppins? Remember Chilly Willy in Walter Lance's Woody Woodpecker cartoons?

Even if you see these little black and white birds in person, penguins seem cute, perky, and full of fun. At wildlife parks and zoos, you can watch them slide on ice and dive into their cold pools of water. With movies like March of the Penguins and Happy Feet, it seems more people are really getting to know these natives of Antartica.

I'd been meaning to draw some penguins for a long time. You know how I am -- unicorns, owls, pandas, and other adorable animals.
(P.L. rolls her eyes here!)

I put some ice skating penguins online early Thursday morning. They went "live" later. I struggled with tweaking the section a bit that night, and finally rebooted the computer. When I came back into my store area, I found someone had already ordered a white hoodie bearing this speedy skating penguin.

Wow! Someone was just waiting for this little guy to appear. What luck for both of us!

I believe these talented penguins have been especially commissioned by Saint Nick himself to deliver messages and what-not around the Big Toy Shop. Who wouldn't enjoy a work break with a steaming cup of cocoa from one of these cute little guys? After all, I'm afraid the climate wouldn't suit actual gophers there.

I'm dreaming up stories about Santa's penguin assistants at the North Pole. Poor P.L. is groaning and hiding her head under an Artist at Work throw pillow. (Ooh, my penguin pal will look so cute on one of those!)

I'm already ordering one for a friend. I think I need penguin buttons or magnets to give out in lieu of cards at work. It would be fun to have one on a long-sleeved shirt or hoodie. I wish I knew how to make plushy animals....

P.L. says I'm getting a bit carried away, and she will be forced to pretend she doesn't know me. Ha! Wait till she sees the picture of her wearing her latest tee, with a lavender penguin on it. I can't wait.

If you would like to affiliate Penguins On Ice through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.