Coming to Decatur GA

Traveling with Just Like Me

Hello Good People What's good? I have been on a tour for my new book Just Like Me with Random House and Knoff books. I am so very excited to share this wonderful book with you all. It is a book of poems about the things that children or girls go through growing up. We had such fun putting this book together. It made us think about our own childhoods and how we wanted to put into words and pictures what it looked like to us. I didn't have a clue how this book would effect the readers. It has been overwhelmingly sweet and touching. Every single child has shared something about how this book has touched them and I am so blessed to hear each of them Here are so pictures from one of my visits. It was with Embrace Girls in Miami Florida with Velma Lawerence who runs this awesome after school program for girls. It is fabulous. This women should receive every award afforded. She gives from the heart to these young ladies and teaches them so much about how to care for themselves spiritually, emotionally and physically. It's amazing to watch them. I learned so much. I wanted to share with you.

I have new book coming out in few days called,"Just Like Me". It is my very first book of poems for children. While the book focuses on girl as the subject it is not just a book for girls, but all children. I think that children of every age and culture will find themselves in any of these poems. My book birthday is January 14th, 2020 I can't wait to share it with you all.

Well, Happy New Year Good Peoples! I'm back and I am so glad to be cause I miss you all so much and Wix wasn't working for me and I was missing comments and such and I really wanted to get back into blogging this year. Posting a little more and getting to interact with the community and visit your beautiful blogs and share what is going on in my studio and do some tutorials and craft project here as well. A few years back this blog was really busy with visits from everyone and everywhere. I had fun making friends and visiting other peoples blogs. We nurtured and made wonderful relationships and a lot of the artist and illustrators that came to visit here have now become published illustrators, designers and artist and crafters and I am so happy about that. I am wanting to come back to share and encourage and show up. My desire is to share what really goes on in my illustrative world. To tell you about the good, the bad, creative and mad. Hopefully leaving you inspired to try something new. For you to share what you have learnt as well. Social Media is a beast. We know this. I want to create a safe place for people to come and be inpsired, uplifted, filled up and encourage to spread your wings and fly. ALL and I do mean all are welcomed. Kindness and only kindness is shared here. So if you are looking for something to make you smile, create, sing out loud or even dance a little bit, keep coming back! Big Hugs to you all and Happy New Year!

Hello Wonderful Peoples! Hope that you all are doing well and getting along wonderfully if not... I hope it gets better. I am finding that sometimes when things are crazy and just messy it can sometimes be God or the universe telling us to move. We can be such creatures of comfort. Not wanting to move from a familiar or comfortable place cause we don't know what may out there. It's scary, but sometimes we can stay in a place to long to our own disservice and detriment. Sometimes I am afraid to move. I don't want to make a mistake. I don't want to mess up. What if I fall? But then, What if I fly? That is the real question. Fear comes to keep us safe. That is the purpose for it, but sometimes we have to do it afraid, scared, shaking in our boots. You will never ever know the greatness that is waiting for you if you never jump! No, jumping is not easy, but it is necessary if you are ever going to do something great! With that I am jumping from this blog. I have been running Oohlaladesignstudio. blogspot for almost ten years now and I need to jump and do something different. It's been so very wonderful and sweet being here and I look forward to sharing with you on my new blog page at Vanessabrantleynewton.com. Yeah, " It's about time V!" some of you are saying LOL! Yes I have a new website and I will continue my blogging over there so please come and visit when you have a moment. I would like to personally thank all of my blogger friends,family and followers for your awesome support and I do hope that you all will come and visit my new space. Where there will be videos and interviews and yes illustrations and stories and fun stuff. I love you guys so much.... I really do. Thanks so much, Ms.V

Happy New Year Everyone! Hoping that your New Year will be out of this world wonderful!

Still working on gif. So here is a gif for you! Big hugs and a wonderful New Year to all!

I just loved Colorforms when I was kid!! Oh my goodness they where the most awesome things in the world. I have been hunting down manufactures all day to now create my own clingies!! This is the first of my collection!! She will be placed onto the same laminated chipboard and will have cling pieces to dress her with. Can't wait to see her all packaged and such! She won't be in time for Christmas, but something fresh for the New Year! Okay going back to play now! Later good peoples!

I think I'm getting the hang of Gifs! Okay now onto short animation. I hope to do a small stop animation really soon. Keep hope alive. Have a great day!

This time playing in the snow! Oh boy this is fun. Once I master how I did I will share it with you. Later Good People!

She's waiting for snow.

They came bearing gifts. Not just toys and food, but they came sharing their love, community, unity and such. Stuff that can't be brought with money. They came with open hearts and plenty of hugs. They came with laughter and songs. They came and everything changed. The gift without the giver is bare.

Are you finding it harder to find the joy these days? With the elections and the shootings and the killings and just the very air of the world right now? It can be so very overwhelming to the mind, body and soul of a person. So many questions. So many why's. It can drain the life out of you. Joy is not about happiness or prefection. Joy, is an emotion. It is a choice. A choice to turn off the news or deciding to extend kindness to others. It is smiling at someone even if they don't smile back at you. If you are looking for prefection you will never find it in this world. It's filled with imperfect people at every turn. I often find joy in music. Music is so very important to me. I couldn't do what I do or even make it through the day without a song. Music is very powerful and can bring the heart joy. I find songs that lift me and help me get through the day. Find a song to fill your heart. Wishing your heart joy and music! ROCK ON GOOD PEOPLE!!

It is so very important that every child gets to see themselves beautifully illustrated in picture books. I never saw myself in picture books until I saw the "Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats. I didn't see myself on tv or in magazines as a child. I thought that I was invisible for a very long time. Is is now my desire to illustrate every child. Show them that they are special and unique. I want little brown girls and boys to see themselves as princes and princesses Kings and queens. This is a little project that am working on. A Very Brown Princess and the green the Pigeon pea! It's a little Spanish and a little African and a whole lotta Gullah with just a touch of Crucian! It's all to funny as well. Wishing you all a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! Hugs V

I am so looking forward to the movie, " Hidden Figures". It inspired this little piece for the cover of the fall issue of SCBWI. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. SCBWI.org. If you are interested in learning about how to write or how illustrate children's books you want to start here.

Sometimes we live life just waiting for the other shoe to drop. We expect bad things to happen to us most of the time. I use to think like this. Recently I just went through one of the roughest seasons in my life and people had lots to say. I find that some folks just like to hear themselves talk. They don't want truth they just want to have their ears tickled with negativity and then want to spread it everywhere they go, but what if those same person lived with expectancy? Expect some joy, peace, creativity, laughter and love. What if they went to their mailboxes and found some good news or a check? What if they expected good news on the daily news? What if they looked for it in every situation? Disappointment shows up because you expected it too. Doubt, hurt and fear showed up because you expected it too. It had to show up so that you won't think you are crazy. My challenge for you today is to EXPECT something WONDERFUL to SHOW UP TODAY! Just for today!

https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Little-Glam-Tammi-Sauer/dp/1454913932/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471613248&sr=8-1&keywords=Mary+Had+A+Little+Glam

Sending healing thoughts your way.

School Library Journal

I was commissioned to do the cover of SLJ for the fall. School has already started for some and I can't believe it's almost here again. Time to get ready I guess. Have a wonderful week!

Quietly singing, " He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" and He does. I know it doesn't look like it to some. I know that the world feels like it's vibe is slipping off it's axis, and that people are loosing their minds, but none of this is catching the Creator off guard. He is still in control and even if you don't believe in Him, He believes in you. Sometimes we dim our lights so that we don't stand out, but now is the time to let the light of love, kindness, understanding, brotherhood and community come forth like never before. God, I know your listening. We need you right now. We need YOU!