Shiny new blog!!

It's been quite a while dear blogger friends!
Hello Niccoco has a shiny new blog over at wordpress, go on and take a look at the recent happenings by visiting me there!
xoxo,
Nicole

popping in to share the rest of the jungle crew with you today!
along with the hippo gift certificate i designed the invitation for the shower and the thank you notes!


who doesn't love a playful monkey? he's most certainly my favorite of these characters!

hippo gift certificate

peeking in to share this sweet little hippo gift certificate that i was commissioned to create a few weeks ago for a dear client. it was part of a baby shower gift and couldn't have been a better more thoughtful idea for her daughter's first baby!

i'll have more to share soon featuring this hippo and a couple other fun jungle characters!

allison and anthony

remember these boston terrier wedding portraits matt & i created? well this commission was inspired by them but featuring black cats! i jumped for joy at the proposition because i have the perfect model, even though he can't sit still, my very own black kitty licorice!



we had fun creating each in our own style, but adding similar touches with the border and colors



congratulations to the couple, anthony and allison!

daily doodle day #18

the beautiful bright blue jay is today's daily animal doodle!
i'm thoroughly enjoying opening my watercolor's each day, even if its only for a few moments.

daily doodle day #17

i can safely say i've never drawn a camel in my life- until now!
while looking at a number of camel photos, it struck me how top heavy they are... and by the looks of it, they shouldn't be able to function and hold themselves up! my favorite part about this guy is his eyes. i normally stick dots in place of eyes, but camels have such heavy eyelids. adding that tiny line, i think, made all the difference in his expression!

daily doodle day #16

the doodle for day number 16 is a hummingbird and who ins't awestruck by these lovely creatures :)
as soon as i started sketching this morning i knew i was inspired to take this doodle further!
i began a flowery wreath in ink and have plans to continue and finish with a watercolor wash.

a little side note of inspiration... we just bought these stamps and i am head over heels with the design, everything is made up with hearts! swoon! i've been gazing at these lovelies which i purposely placed on my desk for some cheerful eye candy.

daily doodle day #13

i doodled up a red bellied woodpecker in ink and watercolor! i think my favorite part about them is the pattern on their wings- oh so lovely!

daily doodle day #12

there is this fun little project that i was introduced to be the multi-talented emily... it was originated over at the papersparrow where a new animal is the inspiration for a doodle a day. i'm a bit behind and just started today, on day 12!

can i just say i am loving this idea & seeing other creatives knock out some most excellent drawings! it's a great exercise that keeps the imagination wheels turning- who know one of these doodles may turn into a shiny new complete piece!

my very own print...

of my very own drawing!
I ordered this a couple of weeks ago from society6- they were offering a fantastic special for designers & I just couldn't resist. The best thing about the print is the size, its about 12 times larger than the original drawing! I draw itty-bitty so seeing my work larger than normal is pretty fantastic :)

ready to go!

snapped right before mister chipmunk and a few other goodies were packed away to be shipped to their new home!

miss yarn hair >> a doodle

you should know by now my love for drawing ladies with large imaginary hair! i doodled this one quick and light-boxed the watercolor overtop, so if mistakes happen no re-drawing is needed :)

i kind of love the idea of yarn hair. perfect print to hang for all you avid knitters and crocheters out there! i'm going to keep playing with this idea, so you may see a new version in the shop!

new york inspired

last week I was lucky enough to spend three days in new york to celebrate my birthday! I made a couple of new york inspired thank you's featuring lady liberty (even though we didn't see the actual statue of liberty we did see one made entirely out of legos...)
Here is the watercolor wash and the almost finished note!


and just a few snapshots from the trip...


Matt in line for the lion king! and yes, it was amazing.


a new york slice, as big as my head!


charming detail at the carousel in central park


there was about a dozen of these illustrated windows, they were so fun and brightened up our walk to Fao Schwartz

lady with fantastical floral hair

a new lady with a flower garden atop her head. next, a veggie garden? yum!

good morning rooster >> a new print!

yesterday I revealed on flickr a sneak peek of my latest drawing soon-to-be print!
very enticing isn't it? 

here is the finish! I made a few color changes but overall the palette stayed the same. I went back and forth and back again on wether to have a background color or even lay in a background. I admit I loved it on screen and in thought but once it was printed I really didn't like it. at all. I reminded myself that I'm going for clean and simple and left the background white, that way the sunshiny yellow can stand out.

the print is now available in my shop and to celebrate the first official day of summer use the code YAYSUMMER to receive 10% off anything in store. limited time only so move fast :)

hope something today...

makes you smile!


happy friday!

new new new +links!

hello dear blog! it's been so long, you probably thought i had forgotten all about you. 

but don't fret i have lovely things to share like my shiny new etsy shop hello niccoco that I have been filling with prints

Etsy helloniccoco

also i'm currently a part of the papernstitch exhibition this month, and couldn't be happier! i credit my first sale to being a part of brittni's lovely round up of shops & i hope to make a few more by the end of the month. 

lastly, this may be old news to some but in april i received an email from society6 (where i've been uploading designs & selling prints and yes even iphone/pod cases!) that my "all you need is love" design would be a part of urban outfitters print shop. i couldn't believe my eyes, but it was true! i've sold a handful of prints since being on the UO site and it's been a great experience. 

i promise more updates in the futures especially of sneak peeks of new prints for the shop! 

Love is all you need

and here is the other half to join this first design.
the deeper colors seems to pop more for me so i went with the second color scheme.
i can't say it enough, i just love how easy it is to switch and play with color in illustrator! seriously, its the tops!

all you need is love

a fun little design that will soon have an accompanying one to match- bet you can't guess what that will be!


all you need is love in pastels and an orangey orange


all you need is love in blue-y greens with a popping yellow

even though its monday...

today will be top notch!




its true! sometimes we just need a little sunny reminder that it can and will be a good day :)