Crabby Mermaid

look at this cute lil guy! I just started following and they have been making *the cutest* snow people! I had to try it. And now I’m obsessed.

brush markers

The request was this hymn with a simple red flower. I hope the recipient loves it! ❤️

paints and brushes, as always 🫶🏼 (use code CRABBYMERMAID for $$ off!)

A friend asked for blue hues on Amazing Grace…and I like the way it turned out!

Fun fact: even tho there are a lot of verses for amazing grace, it’s only two “rows” of text, which means in every hymnal I have, it shares a page with a friend. My friend had this design idea in order to “hide” the other text, and I think it worked out well!!

watercolors and brushes and pens
gold signo

…another hymnal art! I really like the way this turned out - a different style than what I usually do!

Another card! This is such a cute design that I absolutely did not come up with on my own, but instead watched ‘s reel at least 100 times. It turned out so cute!

I’m getting back into the art-swing-of-things, for sure, and finding my way by re-creating pieces and things I see on insta. Hopefully soon I’ll get some orig creativity flowing thru these veins again!! ❤️🫶🏼

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I haven’t done one of these in a while!

Last year I accumulated a bunch of hymnals and vintage music, did a bunch of art similar to this…and the books have sat on my shelf for a while - until now! A friend wanted O Holy Night and I happened to have *one more* of those - she’s lucky I found it! 😂❤️

Anyway. It was fun painting these again. If you’re ever interested in art painted on vintage hymnal pages, let me know. I have stacks of hymns just waiting for watercolor 😁

🎨 paints and brushes

Are you a poinsettia person? I used to be, then someone (maybe Facebook?) told me that they are bad for animals. And because everything on the socials are true, I did none of my own research and stopped getting poinsettias.

Anyway.

I followed a tutorial by to make this cute …I actually screwed it up a bit but bc this design is so forgiving, you can’t really tell. I don’t think. Or can you? 😂

🎨 for sparkle!
🖌️ petal brush that is AMAZEBALLS. Code CRABBYMERMAID for $$$ off!!

There’s no place like gnome.
Chillin’ with my gnomies.
Gnome for the holidays.

Theres (g)no(me) end to the puns.

Ok, fine, I’ll stop 😆

This lil guy turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself! And with a throwback to that “g” I became obsessed with a year ago

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Once again, these acrylic markers. So good. Snag them. Code CRABBYMERMAID.

(And the glitter pens. Always the glitter pens!)

🎄•merry & bright• 🎄

One of the things I struggle with in art - always - is shading, shadows, and light source. It’s like I’m dyslexic about it. My middle says “just draw a circle where you want the light to come from and that makes it easy!” And I said, “thank you for that advice” while already knowing my brain still doesn’t comprehend it 😂😂

WELL ANYWAY. This merry & bright was supposed to be all about the light and the shading, and I pretty much flubbed that, but I still like how it turned out. And so did the middle, so that counts as a win ❤️❤️

Followed reel to make this (I might’ve gotten those shadows and lights nailed if I had watched her YouTube tutorial! 😂)

Used paints, duh. Like always.

You guys: these white acrylic markers from are so good. Go snag yo’self some for yo’ stocking, bc I know y’all are out there buying your own stuffers. Code CRABBYMERMAID for $$$ off!

hello december

as the big texted last night when I told her tomorrow was december first: “ew. actually yay. every day is one day closer to summer.”

a girl after my own heart.

brush pens and glitter pen
use code CRABBYMERMAID for $$$ off!

Good.
Bye.
Nah.
Vember.

Historically, I dislike November a LOT. A lot alot. It’s the prickly-est of all the months (which is why I decided to make a November cactus!!).

Anyway, as such, it’s easy to find all the rotten November things and focus on them, which is what I do (I could teach a 400 level master class on this technique at this point😂).

However, today I decided to flip the script and find all the fun things that happened this month:

• Two U of Illinois football games (they lost both, but let’s stay positive here)
• birthday fun with great friends
• state vball spectator with my middle
• first viewing of Christmas Vacation with friends (a tradition!!)
• providing a thanksgiving meal for a family
• brunch and shopping day with my big
• HS drama performance
• fun Thanksgiving with all sorts of fam
• finished multiple good books

And that’s just the stuff in my camera roll.

For the most part, this November has been fine, and if it wasn’t for this expletive expletive expletive back/hip pain, I might even say it was almost a success. Alas. Here we are.

But still: Bye November! I’ll never be sad to see you go, you prickliest of months. 🌵🎃

🎨 use code CRABBYMERMAID

When I think about why I don’t letter/art/post as much as I used to, my go-to is “we’re so busy!” And…it’s not wrong. We *are* busy. Three-kids-in-more-activities-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at busy. Our schedules are frequently crazy, insane, bonkers.

But….the thing is….that’s just the easy out. We’ve never *not* been busy. We’ve never *not* had three-kids-in-more-activities-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at. But for over two years of busy, I did art/lettering and posted stuff fairly consistently.

So what changed in the last 6+ months?

It’s something I probably spend more Brainspace™️ on than necessary, bc I have a desk loaded with supplies I love but feel overwhelmed by. And in the end, I think it comes down to this: I feel like a phony.

Now listen, I don’t say this to get compliments. I wouldn’t believe them if you said them, bc this thought has nothing to do with anything except my own perceptions of my (very) imperfect work. And it’s a vicious cycle…bc the less lettering I do, the more out of practice I become and the more difficult/time consuming it becomes to do things well, which leads to more frustration….

So anyway, I’m trying to get back into this stuff and embrace the effort and get it thru my skull that we’re all just faking it here on the ‘gram (ok, you’re probably not, and maybe not you, either, and that guy over there is *def* not faking it but whatever 😂🤪). Hopefully I can get my feet back under me and churn out some bangin’ caption-content, even if my lettering is uneven and has eraser rips. 🤷🏻‍♀️🫶🏼❤️

Have you decorated? Is your place merry-fied?

I have…..3/4ths(?)…decorated. ish. Maybe 4/5ths. It’s almost there. ish.

ANYWAY. Thought I would try this out. Thoughts? I keep working on this technique.

USE CODE CRABBYMERMAID!!

rest

I got this prompt idea from my best calligrafriend who, despite being a full time working mom and wife, posts remarkable art and captions every.single.day. Does the girl rest? I’m not sure, bc she was already in my DMs in the 5 o’clock hour on Saturday morning!

Head over to her (always amazing) post to see what we were chatting about so early, and how I sleuthed what song she was gonna use… and then listened to it on repeat. Big 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 to you, my calligrafriend.



🎨 pretty sure this is a group of paints from the always gorg

You might be able to use code CRABBYMERMAID for even more $$$ off! (Not sure but worth the try!)

Doorbuster alert!

We couldn't wait to start the holiday deals. Grab these favorite sets for your favorite artist (or yourself!)

You can’t see the sparkle, but it’s there. (I’m speaking literally here but hotdamn if that doesn’t hit figuratively!)

Some friends and I put together a food basket as part of a Thanksgiving program our school is doing to help families in our district. I included this little card, sparkle and all.

Happy Friday!

watercolors, glitter pens, fine liners! USE CODE CRABBYMERMAID for $$$ off!

Did this end up looking how I wanted?

NAH. 😆. It did not. Bonus points if you can guess what I was going for 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Anyway.

It’s firmly NAH-vember, as in nah, no, no way, want none of it, NAH!! November has almost always been the least favorite, then in 2020 it really took a dive into the sh***er and hasn’t recovered. So far, November 2023 has me with a purse and wallet that’s lost in the mail and terrible back/hip pain. But at least I’m gaining weight and unable to workout. 😑😑😑😑

For what it’s worth it’s supposed to be 70* here today so I’ll take that win. And wish I could go for a run. 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️😥 😂

Has it been a month? I bet it has.

November, the worst of the worst, is here and I committed to myself to getting back to the art desk every day this month….so here I sit….no art yet, but at least I’m here.

Now…how to get past whatever block is going on in my brain…..

It’s cold, grey, and pumpkiny outside….. 😒

watercolor pencils

Any takers on what I learned yesterday?
👩🏻‍⚕️🏥🩺

I haven’t done this in a while….

three years of •hello october•

Faves?

October - Oh, Hi. You’re here. greeeeaaaaaat.

I have had my AC off for probably 3 weeks (or more?) and on October 1st it was so hot I had to turn it back on. So take that, fall. Keep being summery. 🍁🍂😎

duh

…just a little something I made for using their fine liners. Doodling used to be my go to (now it’s lettering!), so this was fun to CREATE (ya see what I did there? 😂)

Last weekend was HOCO 23! The Big is a junior now, which is a lot of fun but also heart wrenching but also awesome but also OMG JUST ONE MORE YEAR.

Anyway.

The flat lay is her hoco dress. It doesn’t do the dress justice, so 👉🏼 for a pic of my beaut.

🖊️ white signo

• show me the honey •

Ok fine, after yesterday’s little rant about fall I now have to tuck my tail a bit to say this: we are making Pumpkin Spice Honey! Well, technically the bees make the actual honey…and we have to call it “honey with added pumpkin pie spices” or something like that, but it definitely has a fall vibe to it (like these honeycombs!) and it might be the best thing about this dayum season thus far. It’s so good!! A little dab in my morning coffee and *chef’s kiss* I can face the dying leaves with a touch less angst. 😘

🎨 watercolor palate, duh

Credit to: .cozy.lettering for giving me the idea a while ago!

hello ALL. Not fall.

Bc fall can “f” off.
(ya see what i did there? 😂)

Hear me out: Everyone loves this one part of fall that acts like summer. ITS BASICALLY SUMMER but with dead/dying things. No one is cheering for this damn season come November. 🤮🤮🤮

I said what I said.
(happy monday, I’m just over here putting the crabby in mermaid today 😂)

🎨 trusty watercolor palate that I 🫶🏼

🥰😍

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Art created by: Crabby Mermaid

A card made for a coworker who is a dear friend. Not a great pic, but I tried new techniques and spent a lot of time on this and thought I would share.

Reflecting Light • Sam Phillips

I’m taking a page out of my dear instafriend (song)book and posting lyrics today! I even styled my lettering a little like hers, and I think this caption will lean a bit Jessica-ish, so I’m basically a copycat. Hopefully she isn’t offended.

This song has been in my ears for the last few days, and I’m not sad about it. I just keep listening to it and trying to figure out what Sam Phillips is trying to tell me with these lyrics.

🎶 I rode the pain down
Got off and looked up
Looked into your eyes
The lost open windows
All around
My dark heart lit up the skies

Give up the ground
Under your feet
Hold on to nothing for good
Turn and run at the mean dogs
Chasing you
Stand-alone and misunderstood

Now that I’ve worn out
I’ve worn out the world
I’m on my knees in fascination
Looking through the night
And the moon’s never seen me before
But I’m reflecting light 🎶

I’ve even googled what other people think she means…but I haven’t quite landed on anything solid. I *think* it’s about coming up from the bottom, but I can’t quite fully grasp what she’s trying to tell me. So I keep listening. Over and over. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

My 16 year old actually introduced me to this song (along with a multitude of other great tunes), so maybe I should ask her what she thinks the lyrics mean. 🤔

Do you have any thoughts? Give this song a listen, FOR SURE. 💯 worth your ear-time.

🎨 I think made this beautiful, shimmery, light-reflecting paint that was obvi made for this song

Hey pumpkin, it’s Friday. Have a good weekend!

🎨 watercolor pencils, trying a new thing 🤷🏻‍♀️

I mean. Y’all seem to love fall. Meh. 🍁

glitter pens! So.many.colors!
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My lefty blog is up on KINGART !!

Tips for Lefty Lettering Artists Get inspired by lettering artist, Shannon of Crabby Mermaid on Instagram, a she shares 4 Tips for Lefty Lettering Artists pertaining to grip, products that are key to success, and techniques to try.

Why hello, September. I’m a day (or 5) late and a dollar short, but now that Labor Day weekend is officially over, I guess I’ll recognize your arrival. Even tho it’s not my jam. Unless you keep the 80 degree temps. Then you can be my jam.

These autumnal beauties are brought to you by *chef’s kiss*

Tonight I’m leaving straight from work to go to book club. Is that the nerdiest sentence on insta today? Kinda sounds like it.

This January our nursing unit started this little club and it has inspired me to read more books this year than in the last 10 combined (probably, it’s an estimate). Besides our monthly picks, I’ve read dozens of others books, with some notable faves. It’s been really nice…but also (I think) some of the reason I’ve backed off on lettering and art (my brain can only handle one hobby, I guess?? 😂).

What are some of your recent faves? I like compiling a list…and putting them on hold at the library and sometimes forgetting to pick them up so I get to re-add them later. Such is life 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hello August, fancy seeing you here. 😏

My feelings about August are….complicated. On one hand, it’s the last of the glorious, wonderful, and exhaustingly busy summer months ☀️; The Big turns SIXTEEN in four days 🥳; the kids start school again 📚🤓 and our life swings more toward “ordered chaos” than “complete entropy.”

But August always leaves me feeling a bit sad - there’s something to be said about the “freedom” of summer, even if it’s crazy. And then you have those ‘ber months coming up…and that alone can make me scream 😱😨

But anyway.

Hello August. You are here and I hope to squeeze every last bit of summer out of you. And also: THE RETURN OF THE G. Yaaaaaasssssssss.

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I have a friend who loves Sasquatches (Sasquatchi? What is the proper plural??).

Anyway, idk why she likes them, she just does. And she’s having a baby in December. So, obviously, I had to paint a baby Sasquatch. 🤷🏻‍♀️

🎨 + 🖊️