Baby Bookworm

The other week I got really into finding the perfect baby book for our little girl. I searched high and low and found some great books, but in the end I really wanted one with vintage illustrations, and I bought THREE! Two of them were only a few bucks on E-bay, and the third I got for $20 from SophieHardy on Etsy. And that one isn't even a girl book--it's a book for a baby boy, but I loved it so much I thought that I'd still love it even if I never have a boy.


Anyway, I saw a lot of wonderfully illustrated books when I was searching, so I decided to feature several of them here.

The books above are the ones I bought. (Click image to enlarge):

I'm A Boy :: Vintage baby book from Etsy

Baby's First Diary :: Sweet little vintage book from Ebay. Shaped like a cradle!

Our Baby's Book :: I wish I had more images of this. It's got the best illustrations. 

Above (click image to enlarge):

1. Tony Sarg's Baby's Book :: This book is out of print and I've found a couple of copies of this online. The illustrations are great and the copy is clever, too.

2. Baby Book by Sara Midda :: Charming watercolor illustrations, modern book.

3. All About Baby Journal :: Cute little book with flat color illustrations. 

Above (click image to enlarge):

4. Petit Collage Deluxe baby BOok and Memory Box :: Cute book that comes in a neat box, too. Lots of pattern and lots of pockets and envelopes for storing little things.

5. My First Year by Beatrix Potter :: I've always loved Beatrix Potter's beautiful watercolors and the characters she creates. The baby book mom got for me was by Beatrix Potter, and I was very close to getting this one for our girl.
6. The Big Book of Me :: Contains lots of vintage-style illustrations.

Images from top: Etsy (3); Ebay (5); Flickr (4); Ohdeeoh (2); babble.com (2); amazon.com (7).

Wuthering Heights cover redesign: I hate you

If you've noticed the earth moving and it hasn't been the devastating earthquake in Haiti, it is probably Emily Bronte rolling over in her grave.

HarperCollins has redesigned the cover of Wuthering Heights in favor of a new Twilight-inspired design. Wuthering Heights is a favorite book of vampey main characters Bella and Edward. So, a classic has been given the fresh young face of a badly written romance novel. Could it get any worse? you ask. Oh, but it can. If the Harper US version isn't bad enough, check out the Harper UK version with that pseudo-Art Nouveau/Curlicues typeface and cover shot that is inconsistent with the photography on the Twilight series. Oh, and let's not forget to mention that tag line: "Love never dies." Read more here at Media Bistro and here at Guardian.

Is this new cover design a smart move on part of HarperCollins in order to draw more teenagers to a classic, or it is another case of compromising great material in favor of extra sales? You know what I think. What do you think?

Left to right: Twilight cover; HarperUK Wuthering Heights cover; HarperUS Wuthering Heights cover

Design Project Throwback: Vienna Secession

With all this nostalgia I've been experiencing lately for the Vienna Secessionists' work, I started looking back at my old school project that I did on them. Part of the project was a book. I featured a lot of the work of the movement and wanted to complement it with handlettering and some other hand drawn supporting elements that fit the aesthetic. I'm posting the spreads here for reference for the project I'm currently doing for mom. It would probably be better to post the great photos that Jeff WIlliams shot, so I'll try to do that later.

Folded Books

Incredible folded books by different artists, featured on Elle Decoration via Freshly Found

Four Score

I just finished putting together, with the help of my family, a 124 page book for my grandmother's 80th birthday, and it's available to buy! It's a coffee-table sized book, app 11x13, filled with oversized images from my grandmother's life.

I'm thrilled with the outcome of the book. I'd like to shoot the jacket with more color, and i'm planning on doing that soon and probably updating it. You can click here and preview it and get details.

Four Score

a tribute to Maxin...

By Sarah Robins McMur...

Book Preview

Children's Book Illustration, cont'd part 4

...and more. I just posted all of these since I couldn't pick





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Children's Book Illustration, cont'd part 2

...and more

Children's Book Illustration, cont'd

...and more

Children's Book Illustration

I found a new site that satisfies many of my cravings for children's book illo: Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves.

Here are some of the illustrations included there.

Forever Young

i have lately been designing a coffee-table sized book of images for my grandmother's 80th bday...kind of a chronology of her life in photos. so, lots of scanning involved. ive had so much fun looking back through these pictures and wanted to post a few here for you all. hope you enjoy!