We headed to the farm Saturday and spent the day. Amy turned me on the polaroid app for the iphone so I went around and took some pictures.

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I've had an iPhone for the last couple of years and this summer upgraded to the 3GS. Yes it is quicker and you can do more with it and these are reasons I why I think every illustrator/designer needs an iPhone:

Email: The number one reason I got it and the feature I use most. Since I want to keep my flexible career, being reachable is key.

PDFs: This was the reason I switch from using a palm phone to and iPhone. iPhones can read PDF files and since a lot of my jobs specs come in as PDFs I really needed this feature. When I had my Palm phone, I would have to wait until I got back in the studio to respond to an email about a job, or while on vacation, I would have to call someone to log into my webmail and tell me what the PDF said. When you work in children's publishing, deadlines are tight so people usually want a answer that day.

Social Media: I stay connected through twitter and facebook through my phone while I'm out of the studio.

Mobile Portfolio: I have a collection of work pieces within my "photos" area that can be easily scrolled though if I need to show someone my work.

Apps: There is seriously a app for anything. The app store is chocked full of great apps and many of them are free.

The only downside I've found is that they are not able to view websites in flash, but I can live without that.

And personal reasons you should have an iPhone - especially if you have kids:

Video & Audio: You can record on the fly and have a record of cute voices forever:

Movies: It also comes in handy for watching movies during those long restaurant & doctor waits (I currently have Nemo, Cinderella, Dora, and various tv shows on it for just those occasions)!

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Thanks to Jeff Fisher, I'm quoted in the October Issue of HOW magazine which happens to be the Self-Promotion design Annual. If you are any kind of artist selling your work, this particular issue should be on your shopping list every year. This is a really great article about social networking for creatives and Jeff does a great job of it with his business. I met Jeff on the HOW forum around 8 years ago and he has always been so helpful to those newbies and veterans in the design field. Be sure to follow him on twitter and become a fan on facebook.

I thought I'd share my full interview so you could see how I use social networking:

1. Prior to your involvement in sites defined as "social networking" what
constituted the online presence/involvement of your business? Website? Forum
participation? Online portfolios? Blog?

I've always had an online portfolio and website, but when I first started out, I participated on a lot of forums. I read more than I commented or posted and then moved onto blogging that opened me up to other illustrators who were more on my level (career-wise) and I could connect to them better.

2. When and where did your business first venture into social networking?
LinkedIn? Facebook? MySpace? Twitter? Other?

I've been on LinkedIn for a good while now and have been able to find some good contacts that way. I've also found it to be a great place to update my mailing list. With everything going on in the economy, I've found that a lot of publishers have laid off their creatives so I've been able to see who all is where now.

I've never been on MySpace - it's always seemed so "high school" to me and most of the people I've seen on there have beer parties every weekend!

I joined Twitter in February of this year. It became an instant addiction, but in a good way. I've been able to network with a lot of other artists and it makes it feel like I'm working in the studios with other colleagues. I know a lot of people on twitter just like to have large following numbers and will follow anyone just so those will follow back - I follow people who I'm truly interested whether it be their art, a service or their personality. I don't have time to weed through people I'm not interested in.

I joined facebook a month or so after twitter. I've been resistant to joining facebook because I didn't want to mix business with personal. I didn't want to hook up with old friends (there's a reason they are "old" friends!) and didn't necessarily want to mix my personal conversations with business. I've been able to keep it pretty professional by automatically posting my tweet to my facebook status*.

*Note: since this interview, personal was bleeding over to professional a little more than I liked, so I've started a fan page that is business related. To get all my business "friends" to meet me over there, I posted this status:

"Attn: FB art/design friends: I'm switching business things over to a fan page to separate personal from biz here on FB. Please, don't take it personal if I unfriend you, I just need to redirect your friendship over there -... we can still talk:) To get my updates "fan" me over here: http://www.facebook.com/HOLLiCONGERstudios and "follow" me on twitter. Thanks for understanding guys!!"

Almost everyone has fanned me over there now.

3.What business benefit did you initially see with your initial social
networking experience?

In a way it makes me more accountable. I usually let people know what I'm working on or what I have coming up and since I've publicly mentioned it, I feel like I really need to follow through on it. It also make me feel like I'm working with others in the studio.

4. What social networking sites or tools are you currently utilizing to
market and promote your business efforts?

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

5. How do you specifically make use of these resources as a self-promotion
tool?

I mention what I'm working on and link to what I've been working on (usually housed on my blog agirlwhocreates.com). I've mentioned my online shop some (typographyphotography.com) to generate business - but overall I use it for networking.

6. Which social networking resources is currently the most effective in
bringing business to your firm?

I haven't been on twitter long enough to see how it's bringing business my way. LinkedIn lead to a pretty lucrative design/illustration contract that feeds me work monthly. I found the company through another contact and noticed in their profile that they were hiring in-house positions. I emailed them to see if they would be interested in working with me on a freelance basis. They said yes and they have been one of the best clients I've ever had!

7. Have you recently moved away from using certain social networking sites
that you used more in the past?

I don't participate or read many forums anymore. I started finding them less and less helpful to me professionally and there tended to be a lot of nay-sayers and know-it-alls that I just didn't like to be mixed with.

8. What social networking resources do you see your firm making greater use
of in the future?

I love twitter and see myself using that more and more. I like the real-time aspect of it.

9. How do you balance the expression your company brand and your own
personality in your social networking efforts?

I think it's important to show your personality, but I've chosen to have a more professional appearance on the internet as a whole. Everything is searchable and what you say could come back to haunt you! I mention my family, etc. every now and then and talk about by daughter a good bit (she's my studio assistant and I will miss her terribly when she starts kindergarten in the fall!) but don't discuss my beliefs or political views. I have gotten a little more personal on twitter & facebook only because it's more real-time and I tweet on this-and-that that's happening right then.

10: What one piece of advice would you give other creatives as they consider
the possible use of social networking opportunities for marketing and
promotion of their business?

If you're using twitter for your business, keep things professional. Make sure you don't say anything you wouldn't want your client or potential clients to read. Personalize your twitter background. I'm surprised how many creatives I follow that use one of twitters unattractive backgrounds. Take the time to add your style to it. Make sure you link to your portfolio or blog in your profile. I have several artist who follow me and I don't follow them back because they haven't included a link in their profile. i want to know who they are and see their work. Also, take your client list and promo mailing list and see who all is on LinkedIn and Twitter. Maximize your marketing efforts that way, plus it's free!

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Today's the day!! When I got up this morning I saw that my husband had tweeted some of the lyrics to Martina McBride's "In My Daughter's Eyes." Which was so not cool - trying to make me cry. If you haven't heard it you can here. Prepare for boo-hooing! I kept it together though. She was raring to go this morning and couldn't wait to leave wearing her cute little uniform.

I made her note and packed her lunch (today's ice cream day!):



And off we went to school. Once we turned down the Kindergarten hall, she started getting apprehensive. When we left she started crying and had to leave her that way but we've already heard that the tears dried up when we left. I didn't cry a bit! She's been too excited for me to be sad.

And here's a shot that every parent can get on the new day of school:



Bright white new shoes! Today is the last day they will ever be clean :( To celebrate tonight, we're going to the Rainforest Cafe (her choice)! Thanks for all the well wishes via comments, facebook & twitter. I appreciate it!!

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One last piece of art to wrap up the countdown. This has been in my sketchbook for a while and thought it was a perfect piece for this little series.

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The Woog's allergies finally caught up with her today so she's been resting all afternoon so I decided to do a quick piece on my own.


Tomorrow: Art for 1 day to go!

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Knowing my work, you should have expected an alphabet so that's what we did today. The Woog wrote her alphabet and I used her letters in this design.



Tomorrow: Art for 2 days to go!

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Picked some veggies in our garden today and decided to make a school picture of them all. I let the Woog draw her's first and decided who would be in her class. Then I did mine real quick (but didn't name them like she did).



Tomorrow: Art for 3 days to go!

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Didn't get a chance to post things yesterday but we did finger print art. This is apparently what we will all look like on the first day of school (art directed completely by the Woog).



Tomorrow: Art for 4 days to go!

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Decided to do some art on the chalkboard today. I drew the bus and she added "her friends" in the windows and colored the bus some.



While I was getting this post together, I heard her in the kitchen yell "Daddy, come look at my bus, it's better than Mommy's!" So you be the judge (I think it is better).

Tomorrow: Art for 5 days to go!

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Today we visited my MIL and she gave the Woog a bag a school supplies so the entire way home she drew pictures. When I opened the car door, about 30 separate pictures she had drawn in a 1 hour period fell out. She cracked herself up while drawing them all. Most were portraits and the one she did of her daddy as a duck chicken was hilarious. It's isn't school themed but made with brand new school supplies so I guess that counts. You can see her cut drawing here.

Since we were out and about most of the day so I had to squeeze in this little collage while sitting with my grandmother a bit with nothing more than a pen, glue stick and Walgreen's school supply ad.



No bad for a quick 10 minute collage! I'm hoping tomorrow we have more time to make a bigger project together. She's had something in mind all along to make!!

Tomorrow: Art for 6 days to go!

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I've been making lunch box notes for every school day since she was three. She went to Mother's Day out twice a week, but now that she'll be going five days a week, I've got to carve out some time to make one for everyday. I usually make the notes the morning before school, but I don't think there will be time so I'll have to make them in advance. I started photographing the notes but they piled up quickly and haven't been able to shoot them individually yet (my plan is to compile a book of all the pictures, while the actually notes will stay in her keep sake box). You can see some notes here, but here are some of the notes from last year (click on the image to read the notes):



Today we collaborated on a little project. Much to the Woog's delight, they will have ice cream in the cafeteria. So, I decided that she can get ice cream every Friday. I wanted to include a little ice cream cone in her lunch box on Fridays so she would know when she could get it. No note, no ice cream. So she picked out the colors and did some stamping on the ice cream while I put everything together and added more color. I then laminated it so I can reuse it for the entire year:



Tomorrow: Art for 7 days to go!

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Well, we're finally here. Nine days away from the first day of Kindergarten so to celebrate (and help us both get prepared & excited) we're doing school themed art everyday until THE day! We haven't nailed down exactly what we'll do, but some days we'll be on our own and others will work on a piece together.

This transition wouldn't be as easy if it wasn't for:

• If my aunt teaching Kindergarten across the hall from the Woog's class


• Knowing that this school is the best school for her and in line with our family teaching & values


• Her being so excited to start school and looking forward to it for more than a year.


• Looking so darn cute in her school uniform.


• Me being excited and geared up with so many ideas & prospects to grow my business even more under a more steady (& quiet!) schedule

My contribution for today's art was to make the series header and little countdown tag above.

You can check out her art celebrating 9 days to go here!

Tomorrow: Art for 8 days to go!

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Freshly picked bright and early this morning. I think tomatoes are the only things that's really going to grow well for us this year. We'll do more expeiments next year.

p.s. i've always wanted to do one of those little vegetable faced pictures. Check out Geninne's radishes.

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Above is my journal "entry" from the weekend on the farm. We took it easy because of the intense heat and didn't really do too much. The above pretty much sums up our time there. You can see the Woog's entry here (as you can see, we worked on the lighting bug page at the same time!).

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Personalized Father's Day gifts from the Woog: Etched "frosty" mugs. She wrote their names and I copied them onto the glass with etching cream.

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Another weekend at the farm yielded carpet removal from the dining area, living room and den (reveling beautiful red oak wood floors) so I didn't get a chance to write in my journal over the weekend but the Woog did. We also hung up a swing in the front yard for it. She wants to paint it pink but I think she's going to have to settle for red or brown.

We re-arranged some furniture and brought my great-aunt's cedar chest into the living room to use as a coffee table. There were just a few of her things in there. She had no children so I think my grandparents ended up with a lot of her things. Below is a picture of her I found in the chest (I've always thought she had the coolest middle name):



She was born in 1900 and died in 1995. The only thing I really remember about her was that my granddaddy would pick her up and take her to church every Sunday. I used to always wonder if my brother would take me to church when I was older. I didn't think so then and I still don't think he would :)

In keeping with the historic theme of the summer I signed up for ancestry.com to document some things. I haven't really found out anything I didn't know, but it will be a good place to have everything documented.

This weekend I plan on taking it easy, exploring some of the old barns, more photography and catching fireflies with the Woog. I saw some old Ball canning jars in the garage so we'll catch them with those. One good thing about your grandparent's living through the depression is things you played with and used when you were a kid, can now be used and played with by your kids because they saved EVERYTHING!

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This summer we have decided to spend the weekends without cable tv, internet access or air conditioning. We'll be spending time at my grandparent's farm about 30 miles from our house. The farm has been in my family since around 1918 and is where my grandparents lived up until 4 years ago when they had to move to assisted living. My grandfather passed away a couple of years ago and now my grandmother (who will be 93 this week!) lives with my mom just down the street from us.

In the last couple of months my husband and I had a realization on how we spend our family time and on the long drive to Surtex a few weeks ago it became clear to me on what we needed to do. My grandparents' house has been vacant for a while but has been pretty well maintained for such an old house. We're stepping in and cleaning some things up, making repairs and restoring some woodwork so it will become a place where family can come and enjoy it again.

The above picture is of the porch swing that has been in place all these years. I remember being around four or five and swinging on it. The Woog and I got some pretty good time on it this past weekend. Still had the same old feel and same old creeks.

The Woog and I have brought along our new Moleskin journals to document our summer while still being creative on the weekends. I packed up a little journaling kit for us to use with paint and color pencils.



I did a few pages (which will later include some photographs I've taken) and here are a couple:






The Woog also did a few pages and they can be seen here.

I'll try and blog once a week on our weekend "adventures." Stay tuned!

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Still in Sutex catch-up mode but wanted to post this. Candi commissioned this piece for her daughter's graduation Saturday. Her initials are "AND" so her artwork signature is an ampersand (pretty cool huh?). The Dilhoffs now have 3 original Junk A Dooldles™ in their home. Thanks Candi!

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Above is the completed booth. It wasn't all on the floor like I expected so that was good. I had a great first day and got to meet a lot of familiar bloggers like:

Carol Eldridge
Tara Reed
Cindy Ann Ganaden
Liz Goulet Dubois
Laura Fry
Mary Beth Cryan

Plus several others that I can't think of right now (sorry guys - my brains pretty much mush right now), but hopefully I will later.

I made a few good contacts and one really great one about 15 minutes before the show closed. I've heard that tomorrow (Monday) will have the most people and Tuesday's crowd will start to dwindle as the day goes, but it could only take one good contact to make the show successful and so far I have several!

I'll try and blog again tomorrow night!

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I'm here! After months and months of working on things for Surtex, it's finally here and I'm ready for it! Today was the set-up day and it was pretty rough. There was no air conditioning on, my booth was by the huge open dock doors and with all the humidity and heat, my tape wasn't sticking to the walls and my things kept peel and pop off. So, we went and bought scotch tape and that was working but only a little, so I'm heading back bright and early in the morning to see all my work on the floor and tacking everything up with command poster strips (I boughts all they had at the CVS by our hotel). Hopefully with the air on tomorrow everything will stay stuck. I'll try and post an image of the complete booth set up tomorrow.

I finally got to "meet" my fellow Illustration For Kids member Jannie Ho. We didn't get to talk long but am sure we'll make up for it in the next few days. My booth is next to Monica Lee, Barbara Johansen Newman, Caleb Gray (the only exhibiting artist, I think, who is from my neck of the woods), and Nancy Woolf (who's work is super cute!).






After set-up we walked back to the hotel (our hotel is in a perfect location!) and then headed out to eat at the Bread Factory and then to Time Square. Since I've never been to New York, the crowds and sights were pretty insane. I'm already tired of all the honking :)

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We left yesterday for Surtex and since we drove from Nashville, we went through Virginia and Pennsylvania (both of which I have never been to). It was an amazing drive and although I'm from the country, I've never seen so much countryside. I did not expect to see so much and am kicking myself for not bringing my professional camera (I didn't want to lug it all over NYC). All I brought was my little Samsung pocket camera. I'm going to have to come back and go on a barn "photo safari." We made great time yesterday and spent the day today in Intercourse, Bird-in-hand & Strasburg, PA (which is Amish country) before heading up to Bordentown, NJ which is where we're spending the night tonight. Tomorrow we'll head into the city and set-up the booth at Surtex. I'll try my best to post about it all tomorrow night.

Below are some doors from Strasburg today (love doors!):

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Here's my tree display from yesterday's ornaments. All my painting & gluing is done so tonight I get a manicure and I'll be set!

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Quick iphone picture of what I'm working on right now. A couple of ornament mock-ups from my designs.

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Starting to pack up all my supplies for Surtex and trying to think of what I might need if I ran into issues with anything. We leave bright & early Thursday!

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