We're moving!

I've told almost everyone, so I might as well announce it here: I'm moving at the end of the month, almost six years to the day when I came to New York. I'll first be down in North Carolina, and then once my boyfriend gets his work permit, I will join him up in Montreal! Chelleline Cards just got into a store up there, and the cards will probably be there before I am! I'm a little sad to be leaving New York, but very excited to start this new chapter. Keep you posted!

When it rains, it pours

I'm not exactly sure what inspired my recent spurt of creativity - whether it was repressed from a month of filling orders (which I love but frequently leaves me little time to create) or whether it was speaking to a shop owner who encouraged me to do more birthday, animal- and New York-themed cards - but I have created 11 new designs in the last week. The first batch was revealed in the last post, and here is the second round:



This birthday card illustrates a popular Russian birthday tradition. It's similar to the American pin the tail on the donkey and the Mexican pinata in that the birthday child is blindfolded, then led to a place where his or her gifts have been tied to a suspension rope. The child is given a pair of scissors and must try to cut off their presents while blindfolded.



Riders of the F train in Brooklyn will be familiar with this card, which is modeled off the Kentile Floors sign between Smith-9th Sts and the 4th Avenue stop. Kentile Floors made asbestos tiles, among other types of tiles, and went bankrupt in the 1980s after a number of asbestos-related lawsuits were filed against the company.



This card is a variation of my popular Heart Bubbles card, and features the same little girl blowing bubbles that spell out 'happy birthday.'



This card was intended to be a Father's Day card, and still can be used as one, but I left it blank so that it could be used for other purposes.



Mother's Day featuring a flower mother and her flower children. The color palette of the flowers is inspired by a flower clock I bought in Perugia in 2008.



This Mother's Day card is actually inspired by a photograph my boyfriend took of a mother duck and her little ducklings in Prospect Park back in July 2009.



This card is a variation on my New York Valentine card, and features the same little boy and girl sitting on a bench in Central Park. Only now, it's springtime: the grass is turning green again and the lake is thawing. If only it would happen soon enough!

It's Party Time!

Now that Valentine's Day has come and gone, I can breathe a little and create some...at least before the run-up to Easter/Graduation/Mother's Day/Father's Day.

The other day, I sat down and worked on a few birthday cards. Here are the results:



The buyer at one of my stores (and former boss and now friend) suggested a few months ago that I make a birthday version of my wedding cake collage card, which I finally got around to doing.



Another Octopus birthday card! This one is juggling the letters to wish you a happy birthday.





I call this series (the seal and the elephant) "Party Animals." :)

Love at first sight, or the red thread of destiny

The red thread of destiny. Chinese legend says that a red thread ties your foot to the foot of your soulmate at birth. The string becomes shorter and shorter as your lives approach each other. Here, I've depicted the classic "love at first sight" on the street. The boy and girl do not know it yet, but they are destined to be together.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! This is my most recent card, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit - which starts on February 3, 2011. Legend says that the order in which the animals passed the finish line would determine their order in the Chinese Zodiac. The rabbit finished fourth, after the tiger and before the dragon.

Chelleline Cards in TimeOut New York!

Hello folks! I'm in the December 9-15, 2010 TimeOut NY issue, in a feature on local handmade holiday cards. You can also see more of my cards, along with those of other NY artists, on their slideshow here.

Birthday Fireworks

Seriously, I have the hardest time trying to think of ideas for birthday cards. I have no idea why. But I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out!