Chieu Anh Urban's Blog, page 7

Away We Go! Activities by Toddler Approved

[image error] Photo courtesy of Toddler Approved.
I love these playful, oversized activities from Toddler Approved!The shapes and transportation projects coordinate well with Away We Go! and will continue the fun exploration of shapes.


Photo courtesy of Toddler Approved
Swing over to Toddler Approved to check out the preschoolprojects and great ideas for Away We Go! A Shape and Seek Book. 

You may also like: Away We Go! Shapes and Transportation Activities

A Fun School Visit!

I've lived in this area for quite a while, and for the first time had the opportunity to visit St. John the Evangelist School, with students rangingfrom Pre-K through 8th Grade.  They invited me to join them for Author Day,and I truly enjoyed meeting the delightful children and faculty.



I met with the students in two groups, starting with Pre-K - 3rd Grade.  We talked about what it means to be an Author/Illustrator, and discussed my art style in Away We Go!, drawing with shapes.  The children were adorable and eager to participate.  I was impressed!



The second presentation was with the amazing 4th - 8th Graders.What a great group of kids!  I shared my children's book process, and how to develop an idea and get it published.   They were fun to talk with and had lots to add to the discussion. 




These illustrators were ready to work on their own drawings,
creating animals and vehicles using only shapes.




I invited the students to submit their shape creations for an art contest.All the drawings were very creative, so I decided everyone is a winner!YAY!


Wow!  How great are these drawings from the lower grades?Good job Emily, Luke and Tiffany!



And the creativity continues, with the upper grades.Well done Emma, Alice, Matthew, Nicolas and Maggie!



I made a bunch of sketchbooks to deliver to all the talented winners!



I hope the children enjoyed my visit as much as I enjoyed spending time with them.  It was a big treat for me!
You may also like: Away We Go! Shapes and Transportation Activities

Books and Smiles for Haiti!

Hello Authors, Illustrators and children's book community!Please join me in sharing your wonderful stories and gifting autographed 
children's books for the lovely children in Haiti.  The gift of books 
will brighten their day, and let them know that we are thinking of them.  
A big thank you to President Steven Mooser ofThe Society of Children's Books for Writers and Illustratorsfor kindly donating two boxes of books and jump starting the campaign!The amazing people of Life Connection Mission are dedicated to getting the books to the children.  They are a non-profit organizationserving the poorest children in the Western Hemisphere.
Photo courtesy of Life Connection Mission
I am collecting board books, pictures books, beginning readers, andinformation books with pictures, such as animals, computer/science, space, etc.
  My goal is to have an incredible collection by the end of the school year.  And I see school and church bake sales in my future, to raise moneyto ship the books to Haiti.  I am very excited and look forward to partnering with our talented children's book community.
Photo courtesy of Life Connection Mission
I will update often with books that are collected, and together
we will see our efforts grow.  Please spread the word!It warms my heart to see the smiles on the children's faces when theyreceived my books this past summer.

Thank you for your kindness.  I look forward to hearing from you!
chieuurbanstudio@gmail.com

Operation Shower at the Barclays

Remember when I was so excited putting together the Away We Go!diaper cake and books for Operation Shower?The amazing event took place in August at the Barclays' PGA Tour in New Jersey, with Hostess Melissa Joan Hart. 

Photos courtesy of Operation Shower
Check out the video from Fox News and photosby Uptown Girl Photography.  I just love this organization.The moms are beautiful and glowing!

Despicable Me "Just Because Party"

My littlest minion is a big fan of Despicable Me.  Have you seen the movie?She asked me last week if we could have an end-of-the-summer celebrationwith a Despicable Me family party.  What a fun idea, and why not!





I began by creating minion goggles and logos from the movie characters,Gru and El Macho.  Being a graphic designer sure comes in handy.  Feel free to print from my Despicable Me printables for your minion event!




Our kid-friendly Despicable Me menu included hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and mini-meatball sandwiches.My girls enjoyed dinner from the Gru and El Macho trays.I've created a template if you want to make these easy trays, andyou can print and cut out the Gru and El Macho logos from my printables.




I filled the yellow minion glasses with pineapplesand the evil minion glasses with blueberries.  For the crazy purple hair,I used felt wool.  You can find them at Michael's Craft Store.




Yum!  For dessert - chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, toppedwith chocolate piped minions.  I used Merckens chocolate candy melts.I really need to practice more with piping chocolate.  It was tricky because the melted chocolate would cool too quickly
in my piping bag before I was finished.  I recommend working withthe chocolates one color at a time, before moving to the next.




The party hats were my favorite things to craft!  To make these, print out the large goggles from my printables and cut them out.Glue them onto yellow poster board (4 1/2" high), including a stripof black poster board for the goggle bands.  Cut out the mouths and glue them onto the hats.  I made six hats from a $1 yellow poster board.




We had lemonade with dinner.  That was a winner, from our usual milk-with-dinner rule.  I printed, cut and glued the minion goggles from my printables onto disposable cups, and glued googly eyes over the printed ones.  Don't these look silly?




We had a super fun end-of-the-summer celebration and family dinner.Good luck with back-to-school season!  Are you ready?
[image error]

Urban Girls' Show and Tell #1

I'm always inspired by my girls, and their talents.  Did you know they are my critique group?  I work with the best!
Mouse with strawberryMy teen, Yaya, is amazing with paper.  She's passionate about origami, and I fall in love with everything she creates. I started teaching Yaya origami when she was ten years old,
but she has super-exceeded my skill level.  That's pretty cool! 


Self portrait in pencilYounger teen Juju is a beautiful illustrator, and enjoys all mediums.She uses my traditional art supplies much more than I do.
I honestly wish I can draw like her!


"Entrance to Butterfly Oasis"And the "baby" of the family, Moo Moo, has sweet, innocent, creativity. I treasure the way she thinks.  Butterflies, unicorns, princesses...  I love it!
Thanks for taking a peek.  I'm a proud and blessed mom! [image error]

From Idea to Publication!

An interview I'm working on inquires about my children's book process.
Great idea!  I hope sharing a post about my Away We Go! book journey 
will be helpful for inspiring authors and illustrators, and fun for everyone. 

Many of my ideas stem from restless sleep.  
Instead of counting sheep, I'm thinking of new concepts.The idea of die-cut shapes working into transportation vehicles transpired from my original idea, of shapes and animals.


I start off by sketching and brainstorming in my sketchbook.I don't think my drawings and writing are comprehensible to anyone but me.Yes, I'm a very messy thinker.



This sketch illustrates my efforts to work the die-cut layers into each spread, so they fit together nicely.  The die-cuts make this a novelty book,and the most challenging process of the book format.



Once I start working on a project, I'm always thinking:in restaurants, waiting rooms, and in the car at the school pick-up line.When my sketchbook is not handy, I'll draw on any piece of paper.



After fleshing out the design, and feeling really good about it;
I'll create artwork and put together a dummy, complete with die-cuts, cut tediously by hand.  Artwork for Away We Go! was created on the computer, in Adobe Illustrator.



Upon completion (a big YAY! moment), I make a video of the dummy with page turns, and demonstrate each spread and die-cut feature.I upload the video and submit a link along with my proposal for publishers,and hope with fingers crossed, for the best!



Away We Go! was acquired by Scholastic, roughly 8 monthsafter submission, and published approximately two years later. :)And the fun starts all over again, with my next restless night!  LOL

This Made My Day!

I am touched to receive these pictures from Life Connection Mission,a Christian non-profit organization serving the poorest childrenin the Western Hemisphere.  My book donation is such a teeny-tiny gesture compared to the amazing people in this organization, who pour their hearts, efforts, and kindness into this wonderful cause.








How adorable are these children?!  :)

A Fun "Meet & Greet"

I was invited by OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates to participate
in a writer's "meet and greet", at their National Convention in 
Washington, DC this weekend.  Yes, I'm slowly venturing out of my 
"mommy world" a bit more, and enjoyed meeting some fun personalities!



Frances Park, Ginger Park, Dr. Wah Sang Lee - Unsung Hero
Sisters and authors Frances and Ginger Park are really sweet, pun intended.In addition to writing books, they are owners of Chocolate Chocolate,a shop in Washington, DC that I must make a point of visiting.

Author Frances Park, Stan Lou - VP Education and Culture of OCA
Author Martin Gold - Forbidden Citizens
Honoree, Author and Talk Show Host Ginny Gong
Hung Nguyen - Candidate for VA House of Delegates
Vicky Wong - President of DAE Advertising 
It was a lovely afternoon, followed by dinner and movie with my girls.
A perfect way to end the day!

Summer Treat - Rainbow Jello!

[image error] I hope you are having a fun summer!My girls are really getting into the summer groove, and all this laid back fun
reminds me that I need to start making some of their favorite treats.I began making rainbow jello when my debut book was published,Raindrops: A Shower of Colors.Since then, this colorful, jiggly dessert has been a favorite.We also make it for school bake sales, and it's always the firstto go.  The recipe is easy to make.  Enjoy!