put an egg on it

I live with my youngest sister and our general rule of thumb when it comes to cooking is ... yes, put an egg on it. Deborah is a gourmet chef as far as I'm concerned and her calling card is a poached egg on top of: salad, soup, pizza, you name it! I illustrated her mantra for her for Christmas.

And if we aren't putting an egg on it ... we're probably putting a bird on it.


photos by sarah fritzler

a bear and his dog

 I love the story this picture tells. A bear and his dog. Artist Sarah Maycock makes only a single part of her paintings perfectly clear. In this one, I think it's their smiles. :)

painting by sarah maycock for "luka & the fire of life"

london calling

Hey ho! So many fun new blog visitors and friends. It's a lovely side effect of Gabby's link love over on Design Mom. Thanks for stopping by!

Yesterday was my friend and coworker's birthday. She recently returned from a trip to London with her new husband so I picked up Tula Moon's London Note Card Set for her birthday. I love the textures and colors! The designs were inspired by vintage quilts ... wouldn't you love that flag on your bed?

More of Tula's work over here. I love this one!

images via barns & noble

painted masks

Once again Oana Befort created something beautiful. Oana is quickly jumping the ranks of my favorite illustrator/bloggers of all time. Everything she creates is stunning!

images via oana befort

friendly doodling

Just a little doodling during a phone call with a friend last night. I think I get this from my mom. We never know what we'll create over a phone call.

doodlings by sarah fritzler

tom & huck

Did you see Google's logo today? I'm a big fan. Happy 176th birthday, Mark Twain.

p.s. I secretly want to be a Google logo illustrator. :)

2012 calendar round-up

Birds & Bunnies calender by The Wild Unknown

I never actually buy calendars, but I love them. I'm not sure why that is? I think it may be because all of the most beautiful calenders don't have spaces to write on and then what's the point? They look lovely, but I rarely just need to figure out what the date is. I suppose that's why I stick to the oh-so-useful but oh-so-boring online Google calender. Someday, when I have a kitchen of my own, I'm sure I'll feel differently.

Even though I'll probably go calendar-less for another year, I thought I would share my favorite 2012 designs. So many talented illustrators out there!

Botanical calendars by Rifle Paper Co.

2012 Print calendar by Chipmunk Cheeks


Buy Local calender by Claudia Pearson


2012 calender by Bookhou at Home

+ see post below for another favorite

the language of flowers

This morning I'm admiring this 2012 calendar by The House That Lars Built. It's a love poem written in the language of flowers. I didn't know such a thing existed! It would be interesting to decode the poem here.

Are you taking part in Cyber Monday? Half of me wants to boycott, but the other half thinks I should do all my online Christmas shopping today.

current work: hand lettering

Here is a little peek at some hand lettering I've been working on recently. I finished the project today and it's off to the mailbox to meet our guests. I'll share pictures of the completed invitations soon!



Thankfully, I had this beautiful wedding picture to inspire me.
A beautiful couple deserves a beautiful party!


p.s. Elizabeth wore her mom's dress! I love that.

[hand lettering by sarah fritzler \ photo credit Jim Rice]

books & doughnuts

We stopped in at Powell's Books a few weeks ago and I was so excited to find an old copy of Homer Price, by Robert McCloskey. I was surprised when my friend hadn't ever heard of it!? I think it's McCloskey's best work (next to Centerburg Tales ... also too little known). So I thought I would share a few of his Homer Price illustrations.







... and now you know why I love cake doughnuts so very much.





And what do you know? I just discovered this old Home Price film. Who would have thought. The acting is ... uhm. But I like that they made the actual doughnut machine.

Maybe you should just go read the story instead ... don't let this acting scare you!

feathers & freedom

I love these prints from Small Talk's etsy shop ... even if they are living in the "no consequences 60's." ;)

i found waldo

He showed up between my brochure collection at the office this morning. Word has it he's already been past a dozen desks. I think it's safe to attribute the sticky-note-basketball and text-bubbles to the guys in the Accounting Department (A Nepal [Accounting + IT] vs. USA [Creative + Operations] basketball tournament is going down in the shipping room as I type). I decided to send him to Mexico ... to eat tacos.

I love my office-mates.

why draw?

(click image for larger view)

why draw?

Haha. This sketch by my friend, Amy Sibert, cracked me up! I love all of the stick-people personalities she created.

[illustration by Amy Sibert]

illustrated family tree

I was inspired by this wedding tree to illustrate a family tree for my friend's baby shower last week. She had a little boy, Jamison, who makes the family into FOUR. I thought that four was by far enough to start a family tree!



"Leaf your thumb prints on the tree to create your own family tree."

I included a bag of green stamp pads to create the "thumb print leaves" that will fill in the tree. My friend thought she might date the first set of "leaves" and have the kids add more leaves throughout the coming years. I love that idea!



Congratulations on your baby boy, Lynette and Jamie Hull!

[photos by sarah fritzler \ thanks to Deb for "modeling" the frame for me]

some ideas work — some ideas don't

That's just the truth of it. In fact, the ideas that usually work for me are the ones that come at the 11th hour when I think I've run out of ideas. My concepts for a recent nautical themed design were no exception. I had so many ideas in my mind that I simply couldn't get down on paper. Thankfully, the light bulb went on at the 12th hour ... just in time. :)

Here are a few of the designs that just didn't work out how I envisioned:

And here is the final artwork that just felt right (yay!):


[designs by sarah fritzler]

silhouette masterpiece theatre

Have you discovered the Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre yet? Well you're in for a good laugh! Welhelm Staehle has a slightly morbid, but witty sense of humor and his silhouette designs are beautiful. I love his mixture of imagery, paper and type!

But enough description—scroll down to see. :)










See more Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre here.

a rainy day

sketching (on a sunny day)

It's a cold and rainy day here on the front range (I love rain in Colorado!), which reminded me of this quick illustration I did for Mandy at Belle & Boo. I would love to have a "lie in" today (I love British terms!). Maybe read a little Sense & Sensibility, a warm mug of black tea with milk and a little sketching.

Which reminds me, here are a few sketching pictures I forgot to share.
Happy rainy-day everyone!

Chariots of Fire is my constant sketching companion

I LOVE tracing paper

{photos by me}