drawing

Wild Things Mail Club

| terriaw

Join the August 1 waitlist for an envelope once a month, full of wonder!

Small Illustrated Wonders and Stories, Delivered Every Month

A monthly collection of illustrated paper goods inspired by the natural world—gentle, story-driven, and designed to be collectible.

Sign up here!

Be the first to know when the first collection is released.

What is This?

There are small worlds everywhere—tucked beneath leaves, hidden in garden corners, woven quietly into the changing seasons.

The Wild Things Mail Club is a monthly mail subscription built around those worlds.

Each collection is illustrated by hand using watercolor and colored pencil, then turned into a set of paper goods—postcards, greeting cards, stickers, bookmarks, and small printed pieces—designed to feel like something found and kept.

It’s not just stationery. It’s a monthly moment of delight in your mailbox, a collectible art experience, and a break from the digital world.

Wild and Free Mail by Terri Wilhelm

What You’ll Receive: Tier 1: Nature Wonders

Each month, you will receive a themed collection that may include:

  • An illustrated postcard
  • An coordinating greeting card with envelope
  • A die-cut sticker or sticker sheet
  • A bookmark
  • A set of tiny nature notes

This club may grow additional tiers where you could also receive washi tape, notepads, sticky notes, enamel pins, art magnets, a coaster, a custom mini puzzle or a mini zine artbook compilation.

Wild and Free Mail by Terri Wilhelm

Monthly Themes

Each month’s collection will explore a different corner of the natural world:

  • Hidden undergrowth
  • Garden wanderers
  • Tree canopies
  • Under the sea
  • Quiet winters

…and the small stories that live within them.

Why You’ll Love it

This new club is intended for those who:

  • Love nature
  • Love stories
  • Notice small details on walks
  • Love collecting stationery, paper, texture, and quiet rituals
  • Still believe in the charm of sending and receiving something in the mail

This is for you.

What You’ll Receive – Tier 2: The Storykeeper

Those who join the waitlist now for Tier 2 will receive something special each month:

  • A story card—featuring a new character and story each season.
    Each story card will be part of an ongoing series, with the story connecting from one month to the next.
  • A collectible paper artifact or ephemera from the character and their world.
  • All monthly items listed in Tier 1 above
  • I hope to offer access to behind-the-scenes, process inspiration and product sneak peaks

There will be a surprise bonus item for early founding members!

Animal Character illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

Come find the small wonders.

Sign up here!

​Wild Things Mail Club is a monthly invitation into a world of curious wanderers, hidden discoveries, and nature-inspired stories. Each mailing contains illustrated treasures designed to be collected, kept, and revisited like pages from a beloved field notebook. 

The August 1 collection is coming soon. Secure your place now to receive our next curated box of hand-illustrated wonders. Join the waitlist to be notified first when we open for new members.

Hand Drawn Repeat Pattern

Hand drawn pattern by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

One of the lessons in the Surface Design Immersion course I’ve been taking for the past couple months includes creating a hand drawn pattern. I love everything analog! This method is such a great way to understand how repeating patterns work.

Hand drawn pattern Step 1 by Terri Wilhelm

My vision was to draw bits you might see on the forest floor when your walking on a trail in the woods. I personally love to pick things up and bring them home with me as reminders of the adventure and for drawing reference.

Step one was to build a repeat tile by hand using a square piece of paper and a black pen.

Hand drawn pattern Step 2 by Terri Wilhelm

Step two was to cut your square paper in half both ways and rearrange the sections. Then you can see how the motifs connect across edges and how the patterns flow when repeated. It’s magical!

Hand drawn pattern by Terri Wilhelm

After digitizing this pattern in Adobe Illustrator, I loved it! But it was all line work and I wanted it to be a little bolder, so I filled in all the shapes and colored it with my collection color palette. This is the First Frost color palette.

It has become my hero print for my new collection – coming soon!

Mood Board, Color Palette, Motifs

Moodboard by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

I’m taking Bonnie Christine’s Surface Design Immersion 2026 course to learn how to turn my library of nature-loving, story-driven illustrations into patterns and products to market to the world.

In Module one, our mission was to design a mood board to reflect the inspiration for a collection of patterns we are going to illustrate and design. I love to create whimsical, story-filled wildlife illustrations inspired by the wonder and diversity of the natural world. So my mood board is filled with my own photos I’ve taken on many trails, a trail map from a local forest I love to hike through, color swatches I painted with colors I use frequently in my artwork, trail treasures I’ve collected, and one of my own wreath illustrations. My husband said: “that looks like you!”

Moodboard by Terri Wilhelm

Inspired by wandering forest paths and collecting little wonders along the way, this collection will celebrate the textures and colors of the woodlands. Leaves, pinecones, mushrooms, feathers, and bark will become simple illustrated motifs, paired with warm earth tones and mossy greens. The patterns will capture the feeling of slow nature walks and the joy of bringing small forest treasures home.

Wreath drawings by Terri Wilhelm

A woodland-inspired collection based on forest walks and found natural treasures—leaves, pinecones, feathers, and mushrooms. Earthy greens and warm autumn tones translate these organic textures into playful, nature-inspired surface patterns.

Postcard by Terri Wilhelm

Next up are some of the color swatches I painted. A nature-inspired palette that captures the gentle rhythm of woodland wandering, from sunlit clearings to shaded forest floors. Warm earth tones—soft sand, honeyed ochre, and rich bark browns—ground the collection, evoking tree trunks, fallen leaves, and sun-warmed soil.

A few pages of motif sketches. Inspired by forest trails, evergreen botanicals and the magic of slow forest wandering. Earthy textures, delicate natural elements, and whimsical details to create a serene cozy aesthetic roosted in quiet emotion, connection to nature and storytelling – some of my favorite things!

Stay tuned for more progress as I begin to develop a placement pattern and repeat patterns for this collection.

The Birds are Back

Bird illustrations by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

Have you been noticed migrating birds returning to your area this early spring? I’ve been seeing more robins, more mourning doves, more killdeer, and I’ve been hearing more and more birdsong each day. I’m deeply connected to the rhythm of the seasons, so I’m excited every spring to discover new birds returning.

I finished this hand-drawn bird illustration collection featuring a variety of colorful North American songbirds, carefully rendered with watercolor and colored pencils. Each bird is illustrated in a natural side-profile pose, highlighting distinctive plumage, markings, and personality.

Bird illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

The composition includes a diverse mix of species—from the bright red cardinal and vibrant goldfinch to the deep blue jay and the striking red-winged blackbird. Softer neutrals like finches, chickadees, and woodpeckers balance the palette of warm earth tones and bold, lively hues.

Bird illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

I wanted to capture the delicate beauty of backyard wildlife. The illustrations are designed to translate seamlessly into a repeating surface pattern, making them ideal for textiles, stationery, wallpaper, and nature-inspired home décor.

great lakes wildlife mug by terri wilhelm

I kept them as simple patterns without any layers of motifs, similar to my Great Lakes Wildlife pattern, my National Parks Wildlife pattern and my Zoo Life pattern. It turns out they print well on my products!

Bird illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

The illustrations celebrates the charm and diversity of everyday birds, bringing a sense of nature, movement, and gentle color into any design.

Bird illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

Can’t you just picture a cheerful kitchen towel or fun sticker sheet of backyard birds!

Stay tuned for a preview of an upcoming bird pattern!

The Best of 2025

Winter cabin illustration by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

I made so much art this year that I adore! I created the art I want to see out there. Cheers to the best of 2025!

I completed six collage illustrations of six different habitats – marsh, shoreline, wetlands, nature preserve, under the sea and tree canopy. I fell in love with doing these collages, which is a technique new to me. It’s fun to dream up a habitat and fill it with flora and fauna. My goal is to complete six more habitats in 2026 so I will have a total of 12 and then hopefully hold an art exhibition.

I also created a lot of other art that I love. I honed in on my focus and specialty – to specialize in storybook art with whimsical, handcrafted charm reminiscent of children’s book illustrations or educational posters. With my love for observing the natural world, I’ve been able to translate everyday moments—flowers in bloom, birds in the yard, shoreline scenes, and afternoon hikes in the woods—into whimsical sketches, watercolor illustrations and hand-lettered pages.

Terri Wilhelm illustrations 2025

I am so grateful I got to travel to Naples, Florida earlier this year for some rest and relaxation and one of my favorite things – beach time. I also got to spend time at the lake house on Lake Michigan in Door County. And we had a new deck built in our backyard, where we love to hang out.

Terri Wilhelm adventures 2025

Many local micro adventures brought me great joy!

I have a couple specific goals for the new year:

  • I want to finish the artwork and publish two picture books. I already have the storyboarding done so I just need to illustrate the final artwork. I have character designs and briefs for at least three more stories but I really want to accomplish this goal so my target is two books.
  • I want to illustration six more collage illustrations of more habitats so I have a set of 12 total. Then I want to show them off all together at an exhibition.

Cheers to more art and more adventure in 2026!

Deer on the Run

Deer on the run by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

I painted a few quick illustrations lately inspired by the deer you see grazing in the snowy cornfields at dusk in winter.

Deer on the run by Terri Wilhelm

I love doing this landscape orientation. I cut a piece of Fabriano Studio Watercolor hot press paper size 11 inch by 14 inch in half, taped off the edges for a nice clean frame and painted a dusk background.

Deer on the run by Terri Wilhelm

Then I worked from the back to the front, painting and penciling in the silhouette of tree along the horizon line, added some remnants of corn stalks in the background, added several deer on the run and filled in with more scrappy piece of leftover cornstalks up to the foreground.

Deer on the run by Terri Wilhelm

I also made a couple smaller pieces using the Hahnemuhle Agave Watercolor pads whihc com in 8 x 10.5 cm. Such a fun quick size to work on!

Deer on the run by Terri Wilhelm

I still have the other half to paint a wintery scene on, maybe reindeer grazing in a snowy field or squirrels chasing.

First Snow Bunnies

First Snow Bunnies by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

I recently illustrated this trio of bunnies sitting in the snow, gazing upward toward a deep blue, snowy night sky. I envisioned a peaceful and magical scene, as if the rabbits are watching their first snowfall or marveling at something shimmering above them.

First Snow Bunnies by Terri Wilhelm

Ideas almost always start out with a pencil sketch which leads to a watercolor illustration. I painted this one on Fluid 6 inch x 8 inch hot press paper.

First Snow Bunnies by Terri Wilhelm

Each bunny has its own subtle personality—one looking up with its head tilted, one sitting squarely forward, and another posed more upright. Sparse winter plants on either side frame the trio, adding a touch of quiet wilderness.

First Snow Bunnies by Terri Wilhelm

I turned the watercolor illustration into a greeting card and postcard—a warm, whimsical, and serene winter feel—perfect for a holiday greeting, a winter note, or any message meant to bring a sense of calm wonder.

First Snow Bunnies by Terri Wilhelm

Stop by my Zazzle shop to check them out: Greeting Cards and Postcards!

We got over 10 inches of snow lately so I’m in the mood for winter illustrations. Stay tuned for more sweet storybook charm!

Tree Canopy Illustration

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Tree Canopy! I wanted to evoke a tree canopy teeming with wildlife in a playful and artistic way.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues to a warm glow, depicting the sky at dawn or dusk.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

And then I added lots of collage elements, beginning with a cut out of a gnarly oak tree canopy.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

The big oak tree is centrally placed, with thick, textured brown branches extending outward and upward, with clusters of green oak leaves and acorns and touches of fall color here are there.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

Throughout the tree, you will also find woodpeckers, a blue jay, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, several crows, a hawk, and owl, a squirrel or two, a chipmunk, even a raccoon and squirrel hiding in their hollows. Two monarch butterflies flutter by.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

This piece is three-dimensional full of detailed flora and fauna, beautifully captures the rich ecosystem of a temperate forest during fall, inviting viewers to explore every corner of the scene. Similar to the rest of my series of habitats, this composition balances naturalistic detail and biodiversity with a whimsical, storybook-like charm.

Tree Canopy Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

I encourage you to visit my other habitats in this series:

Under the Sea, The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.

Under the Sea Illustration

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Under the Sea! I wanted to evoke a sense of the rich biodiversity of coral reefs and ocean life in a playful and artistic way.

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues, depicting the sea from shallow to deeper water as it moves downward. And then I added collage elements.

under the sea by Terri Wilhelm

I love the lone seagull floating at the surface of the water with three more circling in the distance.

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

I added lots of marine life, from a sea turtle swimming peacefully, to a shark lurking in the background, to an octopus among the coral reef and sea plants to a variety of fish in different sizes, shapes and colors scattered through.

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

The ocean floor has a variety of red, yellow, purple, and pink hues, enhancing the diversity of the ecosystem, with long swaying seaweed framing the corner.

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

Another whimsical, colorful, and educational illustration, for educational purposes or storybook art.

I almost forgot to tell you that I used fluorescent paint in a few spots and this is what the original looks like when shining a blue light on it!

Under the Sea by Terri Wilhelm

Check out my other habitats in this series: The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.