my life for the past few months

hello! yes, i'm still alive and kicking. my life has been rather hectic for the past few months... work has been really busy, i've been gestating, i've spent practically every weekend cleaning for an open house, and dave and i have been working hard to get our new apartment ready by move-in -- which has to be soon since i am due 1 month from today. =) not to mention mommying anna jae and dealing with life's general issues. no big deal.

i'm about to post something about my reno, which is **this close** to being finished. the apartment is getting painted this week, kitchen going in, and then floors go in next week. and then we clean up and move in! it's pretty exciting, though highly stressful. i have learned that with reno, the name of the game is "flexibility". good thing parenting has prepped us for that.

in other news, our wonderful current apartment is still for sale. it's just the market... but please, if you know anyone who is looking in brooklyn, send them our way! it's a great space in a friendly, warm building with an amazing live-in super. we're excited for the new space, but sad to leave this one.  http://abacusproperties.com/index.cfm?page=details&id=25244

these reno posts will likely be the last for a little while, as i move this blog to my main site. and, you know, i'll have a newborn to contend with. ;-) but the reno has been fun, i think you'll like the choices so far. =)

NSS done, changes for Nic Studio to come!

so, the national stationery show is over. whew! i do have some pics to post, in addition to what i posted via instagram during the show. but i have yet to put them together. yes, it's been more than a week since NSS ended, but two days after it was over dave and i packed up anna jae and drove upstate to spend a week with his family. it was a nice, forced break from *most* work (yes, i took work with me), but i am now frantically trying to get all my orders together and out to my lovely buyers. not to mention custom work and show follow-up! oh man!

i'm not really complaining though. the show went really well, i have a lot of new stores to add to my list, not to mention cards to add to my etsy store and wedding items to add to the ready-to-order section. none of this will be done soon, however, because i have to revamp my site!!! it's in the works, has been for a while, but was put on hold for the frantic NSS prep. i promise that a new site and new blog will be done rather soon.

in the meantime, follow me on twitter for all updates. we'll chat again soon!

Stationery Show sneak peek!

i'm in the home stretch! the stationery show is a mere week-and-a-half from today, and i'm making my way through my to-do list. ok, so there's so much more yet to do, but i'm getting there!

i wanted to give you a sneak peek of some work i'm really excited about -- my new full-color-painted wedding sets and notecards. if you haven't explored my website in full, you may not know that i am, first and foremost, a painter and illustrator. i have been painting in oils since the age of 10, and got my degree in illustration from syracuse university in 2000. although the bulk of my work is illustrated these days, it is rarely painted. both my new note cards as well as some of my new wedding sets explore my true passion as an artist, without giving up the humor and fun that i put forth on my previous stationery work.

i will be premiering 3 out of 5 of these painted wedding sets at the show, with all pieces set to launch in july. these are so much fun -- they are rich, colorful, lighthearted, and full of personality. they are like nothing you've ever seen offered before in the wedding invitation market. i'm so proud of the work i did on these. but i don't want to give everything away, so i've just add some detail shots below...

above: details from the NOLA wedding set. inspired by my travels there in 2011. bright colors, authentic details, plenty of NOLA flavor. all images drawn and digitally painted by nicole block, © 2012

above: details from the moroccan wedding invitation set. inspired by my honeymoon to morocco in 2006 -- one of my favorite trips of all time. rich colors, vibrant contrasts, intrinsic details. all images drawn and digitally painted by nicole block, © 2012

above: details from the coney wedding poster invitation. inspired by old coney island, carnival and freak show posters. all images drawn and digitally painted by nicole block, © 2012.

i hope i get to see you at the show so that you can look at these beauties in person, and hear more about what is to come. visit me at booth 1969! 

i owe you all an explanation (and an announcement.)

so... i've been the absentee designer. i haven't been posting on my blog. i've been intermittent at best with my twitter. if you follow me on twitter or are a friend of mine on facebook, you know i've been suffering with terrible migraines as of late (i am a chronic migraine sufferer anyway, but they've gotten to be unbearable on a daily basis for the past month). and yes, yes, i'm prepping for the stationery show, which also has me going crazy.

but it's not the whole story.

there is a REASON behind all the migraines, the tireds, the everything.

yep! oh, the miracle of life, making women miserable for at least 3 months, all throughout history. =D i am due with our second child at the beginning of november. we're all pretty excited (terrified) about it. anna jae is very into being a big sis now, and can't wait to go with me for my first sonogram next week to see the baby. she'll be almost 4 when he/she is born, so it's going to be a big change. but she's all about that responsibility right now. it's super sweet.

what you see above was the postcard-style announcement we sent out to family members. we did this with my first pregnancy too -- it's a nice way to tell people in a more personal manner that a new little person is coming, even if you can't see them all to break the news. the illustration is actually from my new card line (i didn't have time to make a new one for this occasion, and dave just loved the idea of him getting a big belly, which will never happen).

so, there's our little nugget of info. for all of my friends who have been worried about my migraines, there's nothing to be concerned about. it happened with the first pregnancy too. mother nature is just a bitch. ;-)

wow... it's been so long

happy april all! yes, yes, april. and i haven't posted since january. gah. well, at least you know i've been busy!

a lot has happened over the past few months. a lot of work, firstly... which is never a bad thing. i've been terribly busy. custom, line work (NSS 2012 show prep time!), etc... you're going to see a lot of interesting new stuff from the nic studio this year, and i'm so excited about it. there will be a few sneak peeks at the end of this post.

then, of course, there was life. my little girl was lovingly renamed "the germinator" this year -- as it was her first year at school, she had at least one new cold a week. no exaggeration. and as a result, i was constantly sick. colds, strep (lasted for 2 weeks), and finally a really bad flu that had me in bed for days. ugh. pretty.

and of course, i had the anniversary of my dad's passing on march 25th. the lead-up, day-of, and aftermath were all pretty rough on me, and i crawled into a virtual hole for a couple of weeks. i'm back and i'm fine, but it hit me harder than expected.

but life moves on, and some things are so good that they can't be denied. this upcoming saturday (the day before easter), i get to celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss. dave and i can't celebrate during the holiday weekend, but we will get our celebration the following weekend, which just happens to be our 12 year dating anniversary. gosh, 12 years... we almost say 13, because we were "friends" for a year before we were officially together. he's my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the best daddy ever. yes, i can still get mushy after all this time.

our little miss is bigger and bigger every day. she talks a mile a minute, and i often compare her chatty personality to this volvo commercial from a few years back. she has her moments, of course, but at 3, what else could we expect? she's awesome and funny and sweet, and she makes our world better.

and then there's work! work has been great. i've really expanded my scope and started to incorporate more of what i really love -- painting. i've been painting since i was 10, and once it's in your blood, it never leaves. it's my ultimate joy and therapy, so i'm so happy to be doing more work with it. i've also begun a new luxe line of wedding invitations, and overall things are moving in the right direction.

sneak peeks are below. thanks for reading! i'll keep you all up to date more as the stationery show draws nearer.

the wedding tree, printed for an aussie in green

i wanted to share the results of this job i did for a lovely fan in australia, which was ordered and shipped at christmas! yes, it was quite a rush, but i think the final piece turned out so well! since the set was unconsciously influenced by a certain book, i love the use of the green and white -- it evokes the book cover! a special thank you to my letterpress, peter kruty editions, for doing stellar work (as always).

my favorite part of the wedding tree set is the RSVP card. something i had a lot of fun with, for sure.

for this or any other ready-to-order wedding invitation suites, please check out the nic studio wedding collection.

happy 3rd birthday to my little miss!

yes! it's officially anna jae's 3rd birthday! nope, i'm not mourning the fact that she's getting so big so fast... i've always been a person to enjoy whatever new stage i'm at, and it's no different with my daughter. i don't miss my daughter as a baby! no no, i like anna jae now as she is at the moment. she is smart, and funny, and silly, and beautiful. she stands up for herself when needed, and won't back down, but she'll likely just take you out with too big of a hug. she understands people, and she has a grasp on life. she is amazing beyond belief... and i am so proud to be her mom.

i won't beleaguer this post with too much boasting... i'll just leave you with her annual birthday gift from me: a new painting each year that represents who she is at the moment (you can see her first and second birthday paintings on my blog). this will tell you a lot about her personality...

 dave and i discussed the painting for this year and wanted to get more detailed without getting cluttered. all we knew that we needed in there were her school uniform (she just loves school), and her ivy doggie. then dave suggested putting her in a car and having the "big dinosaur" in the background -- that's how she refers to the blue ape on the car lot off the BQE that she just loves so much. he's like her friend! she makes up stories about him and everything. perfect. good idea dave!

well, it can't just be the big dinosaur and anna in a car! i decided to flush it out with some of her most favorite things/places: the geico billboard, target, and yes, ikea. what can i tell you -- my daughter knows her branding! and latches onto it! yep, this is anna in a nutshell. oh, she'll tell you if she's wearing something from target, or playing with something from ikea. oh yes, she will. =)

happy birthday to my goofball. mommy loves you.