Past, Present and Future!

 It seems as if it was just yesterday ...

but it was actually a little over two years ago
 (August 2010)
when Ooh La Frou Frou's
very first post was created.
If you've been with me from the beginning,
you may remember my
 butterfly and green Louboutin shoe illustrations
embellishing the Christian Louboutin 2010 campaign image
(below) in that very first post ...


If you've been with me for a while,
you also know that when this blog began,
it was all about a fantasy world I created
starring eight illustrated fictional city girls

that came right from my imagination ...


Many of the illustrations were created simply for the blog alone
and some were created specifically to be placed on cards
that I sold on my website  ... these are just a few of
those illustrations... do you remember them?








Well ... that was just the beginning ...
(which is now the PAST) ...

PRESENTLY ...
I am in the planning stages
of an exciting new website and blog design!
Still MUCH more to go before it will be ready,
but I wanted to give you an idea of my
FUTURE
plans.

With a bustling custom illustration career
and feeling the desire to stretch far beyond
eight illustrated girls created for the blog ...
 I knew it was time for a change.
The new website (called SANDY M) will reflect the
growth of my career, showcase custom illustration
and feature items for purchase
 that will carry my fashion illustrations
and illustrations of anything I find beautiful and chic.
I want no boundaries ... the sky's the limit!

That's all I can say right now ...
(I can't tell all my secrets, after all!)
... but, I just wanted to let you know ...
more fun to come ... stay tuned!



Ooh La Frou Frou is the blog of
artist and illustrator SANDY M.
To inquire about ordering a
custom illustration from Sandy,
drop her a line here.

Follow SANDY M on
Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Fall Inspiration

You know those times when it seems that
every moment you've been on the run?

We all have those weeks sometimes

and this has been one of those for me!
It's been a VERY busy studio week ...
custom illustrations all in a row
and I love it!

So, this week I leave you with
a few recent Pinterest pins
I've found very fall-inspiring!
Such as ...

I've loved all of the fall fashion inspiration
now that the weather is turning cooler ...

... and all of the inspiring ideas for fall entertaining ... 

like this one that gives you 35 amazing pumpkin recipes ...


... or using real sticks for delightful
caramel apples ...


... or fall tablescape ideas to remember ...
like this leaf-embellished chalk board menu ...


... and hanging mini-pumpkins ...


... or perhaps hanging leaves ...


... and the simplicity of white ...


... or pumpkins with the look of chalk ...


... or the glimmer of gold ...


... and simply autumn images that bring to mind
sweet memories and joy ...




What have you found inspiring lately?
Are you filled with the magic of fall yet?
I'd love to hear!

Ooh La Frou Frou is the blog of
illustrator SANDY M.
If you're interested in a custom illustration,
contact Sandy here.

Images used in this post
can be found on
the Pinterest boards of
SANDY M.

Welcome Fall Party

With visions of colorful leaves to come

dancing in our heads ...

  

... my husband and I
decided that this last weekend
was the perfect time to
have a little private
"Welcome Fall Party."
With Autumn's arrival right on our doorstep
(officially beginning this Saturday!)
we wanted to enjoy the feeling of
starting the fall fun early.
So, we took a leisurely drive out to our favorite
farm stand and bought four 7' tall bunches of these ...


.. they had these beautiful gourds there ...


... and we bought two of these ...


... and two of these in brilliant orange ...


... and couldn't get away without claiming
some of these ....



After tying our cornstalks to the top of our car
and nestling our pumpkins, mums & raspberries inside ...
we headed here ...

... and before we knew it, we were
sitting at a picnic table with this
in front of us ...


It was a glorious pre-fall weekend.
We tied our cornstalks with
fall-colored organza ribbon to our porch posts
and placed our mums and pumpkins there too ...
and a walk to the art and antiques fair
that was in our park just
down the street from us
topped the weekend off perfectly ...




Are you getting anxious for fall glamour?
Do you plan on doing any fall decorating?
Hanging leaf ornaments from chandeliers,
perhaps, or dressing in an autumn ballgown
just for the fun of it,
like the girl in one of my illustrations?
I'd love to hear!

Ooh La Frou Frou

is the blog of illustrator SANDY M.

For custom illustration, contact Sandy here.

The first five images above
can be found on Sandy@OohLaFrouFrou's
"Seasons" Pinterest board.
The remainder of the photos
are personal photos of SANDY M.
Illustration entitled "Autumn Ballgown"
by illustrator SANDY M.

You Say It's My Birthday?

You say it's my birthday?
Yes, it is!
And I DO LOVE birthdays!


And what better day to fill up with
things you love, don't you think?
I know I'll be trying to fit as many of those things
into my day as possible ...
 things like ...

~ delectable treats ~

~ sparkle at every turn ~




~ a pretty bouquet for my nightstand ~

~ shopping for boxes brimming with happy ~

~ and pretty gift-wrapped perfection! ~

So, since this is my birthday week,
I'm off to play as much as I can!
But before I go, I wanted leave you with some links ..
 if you love the gorgeous sparkly cake servers above,
they are from Leif and they have other
sparkly utensils too ...
they were featured recently on
The Demoiselle
"A Modern Damselle, Accessorizing Life"...
{a lovely blog to visit that's made some exciting changes!}

FASHION WEEK
Also, remember, if you aren't one of the very lucky ones
walking amidst the glamorous sea of yellow taxis and celebs
in NYC right now for Fashion Week (September 6-13)

{like the fashionista in my illustration is below!}...


... the next best thing is that
you can feel as if you are
ACTUALLY THERE
by viewing some of the live-streaming runway shows ...
you can find links to the live shows
 and more NYFW info here!

SPARKLE
In closing,
did you see last week's Sparkle post, when
I announced that a pretty pink book called
SPARKLE by Cara Alwill Leyba
of The Champagne Diaries,
would be released October 9
and that it would contain an illustration
 of a Sparkle girl created by moi (!)
just inside the cover?

Well ... guess what?!?

SURPRISE!!!
The book has been released early!
You can order it on Amazon NOW
and have some pretty pink on your nightstand
before you know it!
PLUS ...
 it's a #1 BESTSELLER ALREADY in the
"Happiness" category!
(I can't imagine a better category to be No. 1 in!).
Congratulations to the author, Cara ...
it was an honor to create a little illustration sparkle
for the fabulous book,
SPARKLE!

Have an awesome and glamorous
 September week, everyone!


Ooh La Frou Frou

is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M.

If you are interested in a custom illustration,
you may contact Sandy here.

Image Sources:
Images #1-#5 you can find on Sandy@OohLaFrouFrou's
Pretty Things board on Pinterest.
Image #6 (sparkly utensils) from Leif via The Demoiselle
Image #7 and #8 (flowers) on Sandy@OohLaFrouFrou's
Pretty Things board on Pinterest.
Image #9 (girl shopping) via Sandy@OohLaFrouFrou's
Shopping board on Pinterest.
Image #10 and #11 (gifts) via Sandy@OohLaFrouFrou's
Gifted board on Pinterest.

TAXI GIRL illustration by SANDY M

SPARKLE GIRL illustration by SANDY M
(commissioned by author Cara Alwill Leyba
for the book SPARKLE)