It Figures

After missing the last few days (it's been a crazy week), I knew I had to go all-out for the last Valentine muralcle of the season, and here it is! My vintage-Valentine tribute to my own special Valentine (and resident economist).

For the first time ever, I drew an original drawing and used that as the basis for the muralcle (okay, I borrowed the stance from this Valentine BUT STILL). It was fun! And I enjoyed figuring out the right colors on my own. Plus, I got to flex my (obviously considerable) pun-making muscles, and reinterpret the Mac in chalk (try not to look too closely at the perspective on that thing).


Dave's first-view reaction: Wait, is that-- That's not from the fifties, right?*


*He did eventually get it. "Don't you recognize the boy? And the clothes? And the little laptop? And the puns?!"

It's No Mystery

Drawing this muralcle was made notably easier by Dave's trip out to Blick's today, to replenish my collection of skin tones and red (see how I was able to actually fill it out this time?). I, for one, can't believe that the Valentines countdown is almost at an end, with only three (!!!) more drawings before I throw in the chalk-stained towel for the foreseeable future (don't be expectin' no COUNTDOWN TO PRESIDENTS DAY!*.

So enjoy today's Sherlocky Valentine, complete with bright reds and pigeon toes!

Dave's first-view reaction: Are you trying to tell me something by putting a little puppy in the corner?**


*Although...
**I really wasn't. The great "should we get a dog" debate is still very much underway, and I can't decide if the week we've just spend dog-sitting helped or hindered the "let's get a dog!" camp. Exhibit A: this photo of Dave with the rent-a-dog, which shows both her sweet if sort of annoying and uncomfortable desire for Dave's attention and Dave's mild resignation of said attention.

You Suit Me To a Tea

I love tea. And I am very particular about it. It has to be made in the exact correct way* or I get grumpy and then Dave makes fun of me ("The water is boiling! Why haven't you poured it yet?! POUR THE WATER!!!!"). We have a very sweet little tea set that I had to fight to get onto our wedding registry, and I use it every single day. For years, I used to carry extra teabags in my purse in case we traveled and I couldn't find my favorite tea. One of my favorite gifts ever is a bag of very nice tea leaves (warm and rich with a subtle smoky flavor).

I'm just saying. Tea is pretty great.**

Dave's first-view reaction: You suit me to a tea? ["Yeah. Does this make you want to drink tea?" Thinks for a moment.] No.


*Pour boiling water over teabag (honey optional), then add milk. NOT water and then add the teabag. And don't even get me started on adding milk before you add water.
**These Valentines won't all be just my favorite things, anthropomorphized and decorated with puns, mostly because in the '50s they didn't have iPhones or episodes of Park and Rec.

You're Just My Type! UPDATE: Now With Video!

I have a thing for typewriters. Part of that is because I am, technically, professionally, a writer. But also, let's be serious here: they're soooo cool. I have a mint-green Hermes, a "I support you trying to write a novel" present from Dave. And it's wonderful. If I had the technical know-how, I would totally try to rig up one of those typewriter-laptop hybrids. Sadly, I have to get my typewriter jollies from vintage novelty cartoons...LIKE SO.

Dave's first-view reaction: She looks like Betty Boop.*


*Don't they all?

Orange You My Valentine?

More anthropomorphized food! I wasn't sure if I would do this one, because when you picture an orange wooing a lemon (as we all do, from time to time), it's sort of morbid to put them on top of a juicer. Ooooh, unless they're suggesting making orange-flavored lemonade (lemon-flavored orange juice?). That actually sounds really good.

Dave's first-view reaction: Why do all these cartoons meet such gruesome ends?

Hope This Hits the Spot

As a former archer, I knew I would somehow have to shoehorn a bow and arrow into this project. It proved surprisingly difficult to find an archer Valentine that didn't include either Cupid or horrendously insensitive racial tropes, so I was very pleased to find this one.

UGH these little cartoons are TOO adorable. His itty-bitty bow! His quiver! His apple cheeks! And don't get me started on the little girl's heart-patterned dress. Modcloth, can you get on that, please?*

I was so overwhelmed by the cuteness I missed what Dave noticed right away, which is that the little boy is about to shoot the little girl with an arrow. Because nothing says young love like a Hunger Games style fight to the death.

Dave's first-view reaction: [silence. "What?" I ask.] It's just...it's kind of...["What?"] She's just standing there. Like she doesn't know what's going on. ["So?"] I mean, isn't he about to shoot her? [Oh. Hmm.]


*Thanks

Just Small Fry

No, you're not seeing things. What you have right here is a drawing of two eggs in a frying pan, surrounded by not one, not two, but THREE separate puns.

I'm incredibly fascinated by the writing of this Valentine, especially since they bypassed the more common forms of egg punnery (ie replace "ex" with "egg," making "egg-ceptional," "egg-cellent," "egg-sperimental physics," egg-cetera), beginning with a callback to the frying pan, proceeding on to the expected (egg-spected) "good egg" line, before hitting it out of the park with the surprising, evocative "heart of gold." Color me impressed.


Dave's first-view reaction: That's pretty punny.*

*It's gonna be a long two weeks.

You Keep Me On My Toes!

It's Day Two of "It's a Christmas Muralcle: Valentine's Day Edition!" I've already run out of red chalk and last night sliced off the tip of my middle finger in a mandolin*, so we're off to an excellent start!

As soon as I saw this sweet little ballerina, I knew that she would have a place on the board. Little tutu! Little ballet slippers! I. Died.

Side observations: How much do I love these easy-peasy cartoons? Answer: sooooo much. This lady got done in an hour, and I wasn't even moving fast. NO SHADING! NO SHADOWS! TYPOGRAPHY IN THE HANDWRITING OF A KINDERGARTENER! Why didn't I do this all Christmas?

Dave's first-view reaction: You keep me on my tooooes? You keep me on my TOES? What does that mean? Does that have another meaning?

*It went like this: "Oh, is this a mandolin? Cool! Can I try it?" "Well, okay, but be careful, because it's really sharp." "Don't worry, I'm really good with stuff like--oh, I just cut off my finger."

I YAM Crazy [to do this again] About You!

A few days ago, I took stock of my life. Things were going well. Some busy projects had wrapped up, I didn't have any travel plans, I was on top of my work. "Hmm..." I thought. "How can I ruin this?"

Yes, I'm back for another holiday countdown, and this time I'm bringin' the love with Valentine's Day. I missed the first two days of February because I realized this was a ridiculous thing to do poor scheduling! But I'll be back every day until Valentine's with another charming drawing.

I debated for a long time what to feature with these muralcles: cartoons? Movies? Fourteen different versions of Cupid? But in the end, I decided to go with a collection of my favorite vintage Valentine's, heavy on the puns, light on the unintentional double entendres.

First up, YAMS! IN LOVE! This is the kind of gold that dominated the market in the fifties. Your move, Hallmark.

Dave's first-view reaction: This is happening now?