13 Black Cats Designs

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part Three

2012-01-24T12:27:00.000-05:00

Stories From Both Days

The Artisan Group's Table Display

Normally I write about each day at the lounges but some unforseen "distractions" has muddled my memory as to when people came around so I am going to pick a few photos and tell a bit of a story about them. If you would like to see all the photos of the Gift Lounge visit The Artisan Group's Facebook Page and don't forget to like them while you are there!

Jeremy Irons with SariBlue

I was pretty excited to meet Jeremy because he was in one of my all time favorite movies. When he came over to our table I introduced myself and said "I know you have been in a ton of movies and have done a lot of amazing work both in film and out but I must tell you that you were in my all time favorite movie" To which he replied "Really? Which?" and I said "The Lion King" which was greeted with a confused smirk, chuckle and a bit of shock. I really do not think he was expecting that but it is the truth.

Bailee Madison with The Write Stuff

What a sweet little girl! The last time I saw Bailee she was practically half the size she is now. While she flitted around the table like a hummingbird on a sugar high, delighting in everything we had, Valerie and I chatted with her mother. Through the conversation I found out a little something about Bailee, something she likes more than anything and it just so happens that I can make what she loves. I have made arrangements to get this item to her and as soon as I know she has it I will post a little story about it. I don't want to ruin any surprises after all.

Janina Gavankar admiring JuditB Jewelry

Once Janina came to the table it took her a split second to remember us and she gave Valerie a big hug. Last time she visited us was at the Emmy Gift Lounge and she chose Gary Hirsch's Bots as her favorite thing in the whole lounge! This time she picked a most beautiful bracelet by Lapis Beach and featured it on her website.

Janina wasn't the only one...

Raphael Sbarge, Valerie and Me (and darn-it I am actually wearing heels)

Raphael was one of the nicest celebrities (actually the ones that stopped by our table were all very nice) He was genuinely interested in everything on the table asked questions and told us he had a surprise for us. We had to wait a little while but when the surprise came it was a big one! There will be 8 pages total and four have already been posted. We can't thank them enough for the feature!

Another great surprise came when Actress Tess Hunt and Glee Actor Josh Sussman made this as a thank you to our group:

Thank You Artisan Group from Tess Hunt on Vimeo.

This has to be one of the coolest things and it is so great being able to see a true reaction to your gift as it is opened. (My gift is opened just after the 7:00 mark) Oh and Tess, we certainly don't mind the video being long..

Well, that is it for today, there will be a few more stories soon so while you are waiting hop on to Twitter tonight at 8pm EST and join in The Artisan Group's Twitter Party. You can win fabulous hand-made items like the celebs got and it is a ton of fun. Just follow @TheArtisanGroup and @BlackCatDesign and brush up on your trivia! See you there!

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part Two

2012-01-21T17:51:00.000-05:00

It is setup day!

We are lucky to have two members that happen to live in the L.A. area and we were grateful for the help. Both Rachel Leathers and Jean Roth came to the hotel to help unpack, put the risers and backdrop together and unwrap all the displays. There was a lot to do and they both made it smooth. Setup didn't take long and cleanup wasn't bad which left us plenty of time to make sure everything was perfect.

After bidding goodbye to Jean and Rachel, Valerie and I headed back to the room to get ready for the industry mixer. This is where agents, publicists, PR people and the like head in and look around at the vendors. It is also a chance to meet the other vendors.

When we came back to the roof where the event was to happen, we were once again blown away by how lovely the venue looked.

Looking from our table to the entrance

Photo wall for when the celebrities arrive

How gorgeous is this?

Yup, that is cake! Well, sort of, the outside was but the inside was not. It did have to be there for three days afterall.

The rest of the night was mingling, seeing the now familiar faces of the talent agents and hors d'oeuvres.

Stay tuned for Part Three!

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part One

2012-01-19T11:17:00.000-05:00

Yup, it is that time again, awards time and once again I flew out to California to represent the fabulous artists of The Artisan Group as well as myself.

The next few days will be behind the scenes, great photos and a few fun stories about my time there. So let us see, where to start? I guess the flight out would be a nice start. Last year at this time (if you happen read my blog at all) I was stuck for 10 hours in an airport because of a crazy snowstorm, not fun at all. This time the flight was smooth and I got to L.A. a day before set-up.

The beautiful L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills was to be the backdrop for the event and I must say, it was beautiful and I enjoyed my time looking around and having a hot apple cider with cookies while I waited for Valerie to arrive.

How beautiful is this room?

I didn't have to wait very long before Valerie pulled up, I saw her this time because the balcony overlooked the street.

Hi Val!

View of L.A. from the balcony

After we got settled we decided to take a walk up to the roof and see the pool and where the event was to take place. If you squint really hard you can see the Hollywood Sign up in the hills (I will save the pool picture for later)

Since we were all settled in we decided to have one nice dinner because the rest of the time would be hectic working (but a ton of fun too!)

Val saw Phyllis Diller, I saw the back of her head

Settled and full from a delicious dinner and excited for tomorrow we headed to bed.

Stay tuned for part two!

The Real Meaning Of The Holiday Season - Year Two

2011-12-01T10:54:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems it is that time of year again, it seems like just yesterday that I wrote this post about why I dislike this time of year so much. I have to be quite honest, in this whole year I really feel that things are worse than they were before. From the behavior of people on Black Friday to the greed of stores cutting into the holidays of their employees. I see people struggling to buy expensive gifts out of their means to the recipients not appreciating what they were given

Then there is this gem:

If this doesn't scream self-centered, unappreciative, spoiled brat I am not sure what does.

I don't understand how people are not angry with what the holidays have become. Everyday I see a boatload of wish lists of items that cost hundreds of dollars (some are in jest, I understand but most are not) After the holidays I can guarantee that these same people will be sulking if they do not receive a good portion on their list.

Last year I did a little experiment to try and make myself feel better about the holidays and to take my mind off of the people I miss so very much and I am going to do it again. I managed to give a smile or two to some people and maybe a happy tear to others. It would be great if maybe you can do this too, you would be surprised at how something so simple as a few little heartfelt words can make such a big difference, not even an iPad or a flat screen tv can do that.

Here are the rules once again if you aren't familiar with them from last year:

This is what I have decided to do (and you can certainly make your own rules as to how you pick people if you decide to play along) First take the first two people on your facebook account that pop up in your friends list on the side. Think long and hard of something to give that person and send that gift in words in an email or write it on a piece of paper to hand to that friend. Do it everyday until Christmas, or if you are so inclined until New Year's Eve.

Now here is the catch:

1. You can not make it public it is a private thing shared in an email/paper between you and the person.

2. You have to pick the first two people that pop up in your friends list and if they were chosen already you must go to the next one in line.

3. and finally the most important rule, the gift can not cost money, none, ziltch, zippo. It can not be a tangible thing. This means you can not gift someone a luxury yacht, a giant diamond ring or a wardrobe full of clothes. I want you to think very hard about that person and what they truly need in their life.

To make it easier you may link to this post or copy and paste it into the email. Explain why you are playing along or not it is up to you. Maybe, just maybe it will make you feel better too.

and in case you are wondering if I found what I want for Christmas the answer is no, I am still looking, it is not something to hold or unwrap, it is something to be found... a simple 5 letter word

Buy Handmade and Support The Arts

2011-11-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again and what is better than finding that perfect gift for someone you love? Finding that perfect gift from a local artisan.

The Artisan Group has top of the line artists that create an array of wonderful hand-made gifts for just about everyone on your list. Why not head over to their Gift Guide for a small sampling of what they have to offer? It is great to buy handmade, you are not only supporting small independent businesses but giving a high quality gift that was made with great care. Just click the logo above to be taken right to their guide and Happy Shopping!

Zooey's Gift

2011-11-18T16:25:00.000-05:00

For those of you that follow my blog you know that I will be sending this pendant to none other than Zooey Deschanel and I am so happy to do so. My group, The Artisan Group, which I am partnered with Valerie of The Beez Kneez has been in direct contact with a total of four actresses. They will be receiving a bag full of handmade gifts from our members and everyone is busy creating and researching what each actress likes. Would you like to know which actresses will be receiving the other gifts from our members? Make sure you become a fan on Facebook and you will be the first to find out!

Zooey's Pendant

Tucked inside a little box

All packaged up and ready to go

COMING SOON!

Floral Pendants

Although the above pendants have been spoken for they will soon appear in my Etsy shop. I had to track down and order more of these settings, it wasn't easy but I found a handful and they are coming from a long way away. Stay tuned here and as soon as I get them in my hands I am going to paint them and list them.

Are there any flowers and colors you would like to see first?

We Are So Excited!

2011-11-14T15:48:00.001-05:00

We are so excited to be sending this hand-painted necklace to none other than Zooey Deschanel along with some other gifts from the talented artists of The Artisan Group! Zooey is currently the star of New Girl and is an actress, musician and singer/songwriter. Not only will she be receiving my necklace but also some fabulous stationery, spa products, jewelry and much more from the other artists!

Thank You

2011-11-11T11:54:00.000-05:00

Sergeant Nicholas Cutro
1st Infantry Division, Vietnam 1964-1965

This blog I think will be a difficult one, no, I know it will be. I don't normally allow people to peak into my private life often, or ever really other than rants from a job, how annoyed I am at driving anywhere or maybe a peek into what inspired a painting. Truth is that a lot of my personal life is painful to think about as it is filled with way too much loss on so many levels yet it does not compare to the loss many of our servicemen and women have.

I am not sure why I decided to write this post, well, yes maybe I do but I will get to that in a few.

Above is a photo of my father, Sergeant Nicholas Cutro, 1st Infantry Division - I am afraid I can not remember the Signal Battalion he was stationed with - Vietnam 1964-1965.

I was able to watch The History Channel's program Vietnam yesterday. If my dad was alive today I know we would have watched it together. I get my love of history from him and to this day I have not found someone that would spend hours wandering museums with me reading everything it had to offer. I miss that.

My dad didn't share much about his time in Vietnam and that is understandable. The stories and photos he did share involved friends, boot camp and small stories that did not go into the actual horrors he lived through during his time there and I never asked.

My dad had a very hard life. His mother died when he was only four and his mother's sisters ripped him and my aunt away from their father and separated them. They were also abusive toward him yet my dad always seemed to have a smile on his face, even in the end. He was a first generation American and as soon as he could he volunteered to join the army and enlisted to go to Vietnam.

When my dad came home from service there was no one to pick him up or greet him at the airport and this was before people began to take things out on our service men and woman. When I was watching The History Channel's Vietnam I was moved by the entire program but one thing that was said hit the hardest and in a way inspired this blog. In one segment toward the end Barry Romo had been talking about how proud he was to be returning home in his dress uniform until he reached American soil and found what awaited him, from people the refused to sit near him, to the whispers, points and and shuns. After 40 years, it brought him to tears.

Now comes the reason for writing this blog today. I have swore many years ago, whether I agree with something or not it is irrelevant, that I will never, ever treat a vet the way my father and those that served were treated when they returned home. I would like to take a moment right now to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Everyone screams freedom at the top of their lungs but not everyone will stand up and fight for it and to you I am grateful.

My dad, whom I miss very much, passed away in October of 2001 from the effects of cancer due to being exposed to Agent Orange while serving his country.

The Artisan Group's Holiday Gift Guide

2011-10-01T17:07:00.000-04:00

For the past few weeks The Artisan Group has been putting together a holiday guide with all of our members lovely handmade items. Since there are over 450 members in the group there are many items to choose from so why not support handmade by clicking on the picture above?
Also...
The Artisan Group is just a few fans away from kicking off a MAJOR giveaway so click above to read the rules, be sure to comment and like or follow and Good Luck!

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Emmy Gift Lounge Wrap-up With Some Candids

2011-09-30T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is the last of my Emmy Gift Lounge write-ups. I think I will just post a few candids that we received thanks to our incredible photographer Eric! Most of these photos were a surprise to us. I certainly had no idea they were being taken.

America Fererra

I had the pleasure of meeting America once before at the Sundance Film Festival. She remembered me from the last time which is very nice. I guess she doesn't often get told that someone's favorite movie by her is "Real Woman Have Curves" and is instead always associated with Ugly Betty, maybe that was why she remembered.

She is such a soft-spoken person. America does not like to take photos with products which is fine but if you ask her to pose with you she will. I remember upon meeting her at Sundance she asked if she had to take photos and I told her no so when we met her again we didn't ask her to take a photo and instead used our valuable time to talk with her about the group.

Next is Nia Peeples. Again she remembered me and I had mistakenly mixed up her friends but she made a joke and we had a good laugh about it. At these events we are only supposed to have around 30 seconds to a minute with each celebrity but Nia stayed a very long time with us. I think she picked up everything on our table and from her messages and Tweets to us it seems she has to fight her daughter for some of the gifts we gave her.

Nia Peeples and Valerie

I love this photo! This is Valerie and she is showing Nia a wristlet made by Tina Dean Designs. The look on her face was just as she was told that it is made out of VHS tape...

and this was after when she was showing everyone in the room.

Actress Beverly Mitchell was also very into our group and was kind enough to send one of our members a personal email. This is Beverly learning about "Plarn". The first photo is her trying to figure it out and the second is when she realized the purse I was showing her was made out of grocery bags.

Dot-Marie Jones of Glee visited our booth and loved the smell of Bellaroma's Banana Grapeseed facial scrub that she passed it around and she wasn't the only celeb that liked our members bath and body products!

Glynn Turman and his wife

In case you were wondering what the look on Glynn Turman's face was all about, I just told him the sundae I am holding is soap from AJ Sweetsoap!

So as I wrap up the final post I will leave you with a few celebs that liked our whole group so much they held the whole bag for a photo-op! So thank you to all the celebs, press, and talent that passed by our table and stopped to talk with us and thank all of you for reading along as I shared some stories.

Rex Linn and Joe Mantegna

Tony Denison and P.J. Byrnes

HUGE Blog to Blog Giveaway!

2011-09-28T16:27:00.001-04:00

Yup you read that right and I am participating in this incredible giveaway so click above to read the rules and Good Luck!

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Stories From GBK Primetime Emmy Gift Lounge

2011-09-26T14:35:00.000-04:00

I have a few more stories to share from behind the scenes at GBK's Primetime Emmy Gift Lounge. Are you ready? (of course you are or you would have already closed the page) I will also unveil my most treasured photo at the very end

James Woods and Ashley. Ashley is wearing Seeing Is Believing's ceramic pendant

James. I did enjoy meeting him. Valerie had met him ages ago and they chatted a bit about that. (Valerie's husband just loves her James Woods story when she shares it and I am sure he is happy to hear I have one now too ;) After I told James about our group we got to talking about the pendant around my neck, it was a tiger, hand painted by me on canvas paper and set into a bronze pendant. He told me that he has some miniature paintings from France, painted on a turtle shell and from the 1700's. Quite honestly I could have talked to him all day, he is an intriguing personality.

Michael Trucco with Autumn Bradley Designs

First I would like to thank Autumn for sending this necklace to the show. Valerie got to put the necklace on and I got to take it off. All kidding aside though Michael is a pleasure to talk to. He remembered both of us from the Golden Globes and was excited to see what we had on the table. He chatted for a bit and I forget how it came around but he said he was old. I am not sure if he will stumble upon this but if he does, I was right, I am older than you and besides, you are a guy and guys always look better with age. Do cylons even age at all?

Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming, you have no idea how excited I was to see him on the list. No really you don't. He has to be one of the best character actors there are (and regular one too) and I waited all day for him to come into the room so I can meet him. (I did see him once before, about two years ago when he floated by me on a Macy's Thanksgiving day parade float) I saw him arrive because our table was right next to the photo wall but he had walked past the door without coming in. This does happen from time to time so all the celebs do not have to wait if a room is busy and ours was pretty busy the whole time. It was a good 2-3 hours before he made it to our room (which is a very long time as most celebs are in and out quickly)

When he finally came into the room Valerie and I shook his hand and I said how I was waiting to meet him. Alan is every bit as gracious as you would think he would be. I then told him about TAG and he ended up choosing Elle Moss Photography's self portrait to pose with. When he picked it up he said "She is absolutely stunning" and we absolutely agree

Elle Moss Photography and Alan

and now for my most treasured photo:

While the above photo is one I will always treasure because I admire Alan so much it is not the most treasured photo from the weekend's events. This one is.

Our waitress heard that we were getting together to celebrate our birthdays and surprised us with this.
All four of us blew the candle out together.

"Huh?" you might be saying. "This is the most treasured photo out of all the celebrities and excitement? I don't get it."

Well here is why, it is not so much the picture of the dessert that makes it my most treasured but what it revolved around.

Both Valerie and I as well as two friends who live in California happen to have birthdays that fall with-in a month of each other. (from August - Sept) This year I changed my birthday as the day my real one was on was one of the worst days I have had in a while. I won't go into it because quite honestly I do not want to even think about it so I decided the day after my real birthday to change my birth date temporarily to Sept 16th to make up for it.

After the show was over we all walked a few blocks down to Beso. I have been waiting to order the fried banana split since looking at the online menu for the past month. I had to make sure I tried everything but didn't fill up so I had room for dessert. The evening consisted of a delightful dinner, fun conversation about the days events and quite a bit of laughter so I just want to say thank you ladies for giving me a fun night out and some smiles, it made up for everything. I had a great time and I am hoping to do it again at the next show.

Valerie and me...thanks for the fun time!

Stay tuned and I will share a few candid shots our wonderful photographer took as well as a few more stories for you very soon...

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Stories From GBK Primetime Emmy Gift Lounge

2011-09-23T19:13:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay as I know you have been waiting for pictures. Both Valerie and I have spent the last two days uploading, tagging, tweeting and sharing the photos with our members and now I have the time to write a little blog post about the experiences we had.

Héctor Elizondo

First I have to say how honored I was to have people start to remember me not just by face but some by name as well. It is a pretty darn good feeling especially when you have met people maybe once or twice. I found myself getting pulled into photographs and not because I asked to be there but because they wanted me there. (anyone that knows me knows that there are giant chunks of time, sometimes years that go by where there isn't one photo of me anywhere) What could I do but hop in and smile (though I think I shall plaster a bit more make-up on next time) I made sure that any photo I got in did not taint another artist's photo op. I know how upset I would be if I got a photo of my product and saw the rep in it. So I was careful and happy to say that both Valerie and I managed to get every single member of our group at least two celebrity photos with their work and some as many as four! Pretty good feat since we had 30 members represented at the event!

Another good feeling was that people were recognising my work on the table. Actor A.J. Buckley, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting before chose my illustration to pose with but as he picked it up he said "This one is yours right?" and he was right.

A.J. Buckley took a photo alone and with me

Robert Morse was another celebrity that remembered Valerie and me from the Golden Globes. I had handed him a dog for a picture and as I was walking away he grabbed my arm and I found myself in a picture again. He then posed for a photo with just Wags And Wiggles cute little dog and squeaky toy.

Robert Morse

One thing that neither Valerie or I expected was the amount of guys that appreciated hand-made items and how long they stayed at the table talking with us. Three guys in particular were very into our group, Jeff Probst, Jason Isaacs and Jordan Bridges. Jordan's wife is a jewelry maker herself and Jeff and Jason just really appreciated everything. While my friend Margaret would have died to be able to meet Jeff Probst I thought is was quite surreal to be speaking with Lucius Malfoy. All three men were a delight.

Jeff with Sweet Stella's, Jason with Joy Bots and Jordan with Papermuse Designs

The day was very fast paced as always but the events are becoming more like a get-together. There is nothing like big smiles from Rico Rodriguez, his family and agent. They are a blast to hang around and while Rico was making his rounds to the other tables I stood and talked to his sister Raini. I told her I missed her at the Kid's Choice Awards event and she said she was filming for Disney! Very excited for her! Just as Rico was being ushered out of the room to go to the next he ran back in and gave me a big hug.

Always a pleasure to see, Rico Rodriguez

I have plenty more stories to come but I think I will stretch them out a bit so stay tuned. Besides, don't you want to see the picture I treasure the most?

The Emmy's Whirlwind Part Two

2011-09-21T14:58:00.002-04:00

GBK and Tic Tac Event Wall waiting for the celebrities to arrive

Well now here comes the hard part, beyond the coodination, recruiting, organizing and actually making the product that goes into the gift bags, it is waiting for the photos to arrive. Yup, that is the hardest part next to waiting to see if the Spalsh Magazine interview you gave didn't make you sound like a total bumbling idiot (I did fine as I practiced in my head but then he asked me a question and my thought process flew out of the window and I became a mumbling fool) So since I am waiting for photos to share and stories to tell I will instead share some really great things that were happening yesterday.

First lets start with this:

Nia has been wonderful to us from the second she met us, she is a bundle of smiles and fun. When she came into the room we gave her a little background on our group and she asked questions, picked things up and had a great time. I got to spend a little time with her daughters who I have to say were adorably dressed. They took a liking to one of our members Zipper Bracelets and I let them each pick one out to take home. We are so happy she liked us enough to Tweet us several times as well as share our Holiday Guide to all her followers but the biggest surprize came when she tweeted one of our members, Deb Soromenho of A.W.E. Shop and said that she was wearing her earrings that she gifted in an upcoming episode of Pretty Little Liars!

We also received word from Beverley Mitchell who was just as radiant and nice as she appears on tv

Beverley also took the time to contact one of our artists Ilene Price of Ilene Price Design with a personal email saying her products embody everything she stands for. Yes the Tweets, emails and excitement were flying yesterday so much so it was hard to keep up! What a great feeling though and I am so happy that all the hard work everyone did paid off better than our wildest imaginations!

OH! and I almost forgot this:

Janina had picked Gary's Joy Bots as her favorite thing in the whole gift lounge! The WHOLE gift lounge and let me tell you that duffel bag was HUGE! What an honor and congratulations goes out to Gary!

If you would like to see more great press from The Artisan Group follow along on Facebook or our Blog and of course we have our very popular Event Guide and our Press Release online for you to see as well.

Stay tuned for photos of the event, hopefully they come soon...

What A Whirlwind! Part One, Meet And Greet

2011-09-19T14:33:00.003-04:00

The W Hotel - Hollywood, California

Months of planning, recruiting and organizing has come to a close as GBK Productions Primetime Emmy Awards Gift Lounge has finally ended and oh what a rush! When Valerie and I first arrived at the event in the W Hotel in Hollywood there were people scurrying around with glue guns, flowers, lighting and a whole plethora of fun things that will later make the event into a beautiful, warm hallway filled with pink trees and Tic Tacs!

A rather lage sign made of Tic Tacs welcomes attendees to the Gift Lounge

Yes that is a Tic Tac Dress and it took 3 people with glue guns all day to do it!

Finishing Touches

Our table was lucky enough to be placed in the very first room with the event sponsers Ancestry.com as well as CNN Heros, The Cravory and Haan Therapeutics. The best part was that we could see the antics that went on while the celebs posed for photos at the staging area. Nia Peeples, who is always such fun ended up laying down on her side as she hammed it up. We were also thankful to have a 10 foot table so everyone's displays had room to shine. Set up didn't take very long to do being we had a giant 5 foot banner to piece together (I am the putter-together-er as this is not a thing Valerie, um, I guess I can say enjoys, She does the budget which is something that throws me into a lobotomized state)

Our Display Table

With our table set up we could walk around and see what others were doing so we walked along the hallway and got to meet everyone. Some of the sponsers I remembered from past events like the Wine Chateau and it was nice to say hello to them. Some sponsers ran up to us and told us they heard about us and couldn't wait to see our table! It was quite a surprise and an honor.

Walking around I noticed a table with these beautifully illustrated books on them. I got to chat with their rep and learned about the book, the more I learned the more I fell in love with the whole concept surrounding it so if you ever get a chance, pick up a copy of "Just Like You" written by Robert Kroupa and pass it along to every child you know.

While we were getting to know some of the sponsors, we had the pleasure of trying some very tasty h'orderves. My favorite was a skewer with avocado, mozzerella drizzed with balsamic, an olive and black, red, or yellow tomatoes. Music was playing and excitement was in the air but the night had to end and Valerie and I headed upstairs to our room.

That is a quick little behind the scenes for the first night. Our celebrity pictures should be arriving soon. I know our members are so excited to see them and as soon as we share them with The Artisan Group Members I will share them with you too and all the stories that go along with them...

...but before I go here is a little look into the event just after we set our table, don't mind the music or quality as I had a little point and shoot to film with

To read about other members experience visit here

Today We Remember

2011-09-11T07:03:00.000-04:00

I don't often stray from art topics but today I am going to make an exception, I hope you don't mind.

Today is a somber day, yet it is also a day filled with hope. 10 years have passed but for some, time has not moved at all. I can play that day perfectly in my head almost second for second and I am sure that it will always be there with me. If I close my eyes I can still smell the smoke that lingered even days after. I remember clearly the posters that lined the fences in downtown Manhattan and low-life vendors trying to make money with their T-shirts and memorabilia. I remember the eerie quiet of the week where no planes flew and I remember standing in Liberty State Park a week later, looking over at the smoldering buildings and not having any words, no one had any words.

I passed under the World Trade Towers quite often, went to events there, shopped there and had clients that worked there. I passed the globe many times and went back to see it not long after they allowed people in the area.

It is hard to explain to those that do not live in the areas where these acts happened. It is something that we have lived with every single day since the World Trade Towers came down. Not one day has passed where there isn't a news story pertaining to 9/11, it is always here, always a reminder and proof of that came just a short time ago when many people panicked as an Earthquake hit the East Coast. Many flashed back to that day and the fear was very real. Normally being exposed to things for a long period of time you would become numb or desensitised to it but quite the opposite happens. I have a very hard time with footage from that day, even now as I write this there are tears in my eyes. If you did not know someone that died that day, you surely knew someone that did and quite often several people that did. Many also knows someone that responded that day and years later are fighting for their lives from being exposed to the toxic dust.

Yet here it is 10 years later and from the ashes life rises again. Buildings are starting to form a new skyline, a memorial is being finished and a lone survivor that has stood amongst the rubble, removed to be nursed back to health will again take it's place where it stood before.

I am not sure if I will make it to the museum, maybe some day I will. I am not sure of the emotions that will inevitably come while walking there though I am sure I will not be alone in the sadness. I think if I do go it will be something that just happens and not planned upon.

I do ask one thing, please. I do love your comments but if you wouldn't mind leaving anything political out. Everyday politicians use this event for many reasons. I don't want to taint the people's memories that have lost their lives, whether in the attacks, fighting overseas, or suffering from diseases because of the toxic dust. Let this be a day we remember them and only them and hope for a future of peace.

A Gentle Breeze/A Raging Wind

2011-09-10T18:32:00.001-04:00

Well it seems as if most of you are interested in how I come up with designs, or what inspires them so what better time to start than with my new(ish) Pinwheel design.

I had actually drawn this several weeks ago on a scrap piece of paper while at work. There wasn't much happening, barely any customers and everything was straightened so to pass the time I got a piece of paper and started to doodle. I had stuffed the drawing in my pocket and when I got home tossed it on my pile of ideas and it sat there for quite a while.

Fast forward a bit to where Hurricane Irene was making its way up the East Coast. I didn't want to risk damaging my computer so I decided to go through my pile and see if I could entertain myself with a painting. I have to laugh a little now because as my basement was flooding and the trees were whipped to a frenzy I sat and inked out, then painted a simple little pinwheel. A little toy that relies on a gentle breeze to entertain. Funny how those things happen sometimes.

Pinwheel Avery Label

Pinwheel Invitation

Pinwheel Sticker

A question posed to all of you...

2011-08-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

I hope all of those that are on the East Coast are drying out and have minimal damage from Irene. I would like to make things a bit more interesting for all of you and I am posing some questions over on Facebook. Would all of you mind heading over and answering? It would greatly be appreciated!

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Get Ready For Halloween!

2011-08-17T22:16:00.002-04:00

Get ready for Halloween! In my opinion it is the best holiday of the year. The colors, the smells of spices and cooler air, the rustling of leaves ablaze in beautiful colors and of course black cats, yes Halloween holds a special place in my heart, it is a time for remembering those that have passed on and the Earth begins to sleep. The best part? Scaring the crap out of the kids that come to the door for candy (and a few adults too). You have to earn the candy around here.

I love designing for Halloween. Green and orange happen to be two of my favorite colors. I love the folklore surrounding some of the icons of the holiday and I have found that people who love Halloween are pretty passionate about it just as much as I am. It is the one day I truly enjoy.

Click the picture to see some of my designs, everything form Halloween Invitations to Trick Or Treat Bags

All of my designs are original, drawn by hand or rendered in Illustrator, are fully customizable and top quality. All designs can be made as Halloween or Samhain by simply changing the verbiage. If assistance is needed feel free to contact me via my shop contact form and I will be glad to help.

The Emmys Are Almost Upon Us

2011-08-04T14:34:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe that The Emmy Awards are right around the corner. So much hard work and preparation is coming to a close. Not only have I been preparing for the gift bags but I have also been hard at work with Valerie from the Beez Kneez on our group The Artisan Group and getting ready to launch my Etsy shop in the very near future.

The Artisan Group if you have do not know is a creative group of very talented artists that all pull together to exhibit at some of the top Hollywood Gift Lounges, not only will we be appearing at the Emmys but also at the Golden Globes and The Oscars of 2012. I could not be happier and more excited.

I wanted to do something a little different besides tile necklaces. I decided to really change things and head full steam into a new direction and soon all those wonderful things will be available for you to have as well.

The gift I will be giving will be a hand-covered frame with a hand-formed poppy flower and a brand new illustration from me. Of course it will be listed in Zazzle as soon as the boxes are packed and the frames are on their way to California. If someone perhaps does not like the illustration they can always change it out for a photo of someone they love. I wanted to do something useful and pretty, hopefully I achieved that.

Close-up of the flowers that will adorn the frames. All hand-formed and punched out of acid-free paper

The assembly line, well part of it, there were a LOT more petals to assemble!

The final frame before adding the illustration. This is the display piece going on the table.

All tucked away, waiting for a ribbon and a seal

Little tokens to hand out to the press and any of the children that acompany the celebrities

I am so excited for this show, more than any I have done before and just wait to see what I have in store for the next show! I already have the supplies.

A Funny Little Thing

2011-07-07T12:47:00.000-04:00

It is sometimes funny how things work out. I have been toying with the idea of combining two of my loves, painting and jewelry making, into one.

Acrylic on canvas set in a metal pendant

I recently posted a picture of two pendants I made some weeks ago and said I was thinking of making more in the future. Well the feedback was great and I decided to order some pendants of all different sizes to play around with. As I am chatting with everyone about it Kristal (a very talented person in her own right and co-owner of Atutudes) asked if I could copy a photo she took. I told her it depends for fear it would be a human she wanted painted but asked her to send it and I will see if I could. When I opened up the email there in front of me was a beautiful cat with stunning blue eyes, yup, I think I could do it I said and she was thrilled.

Now here is where some panic set in, could I really create Sierra the cat as she looks? I have never been asked to paint a portrait before and was nervous it would not look like her but I grabbed my brush and tried, it is a cat after all and I stare at them all day. The portrait took me a rather long time compared to anything I have painted before, about three and a half hours and is roughly an inch and a half tall but Kristal was so happy when she saw it posted and that makes me happy too. I just wrapped it up all nice and snug and I am on my way to the post office. I am glad my painting found a home where it will be cherished.

Sierra The Cat

So what do you think? Should I continue with this new venture?

H U G E Giveaway From The Artisan Group!

2011-06-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

Thank You SO Much!

We did it! You all helped us reach 1000 fans! Thanks for sharing the love and to show some love back we would like to give you a chance to win the items from some of our artists - including me!

Head on over to The Artisan Group's Blog for all the details and to see what you could win and while you are there pay the other artists a visit and "like" their pages or follow them on Twitter

GREAT GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-06-08T13:37:00.002-04:00

The Artisan Group has come so far in the short amount of time I have been working with them. It is amazing what can be achieved when you work together with like-minded people that have the same direction as you. In just 3 short months we have managed to gather nearly 300 of the most talented artists that are out there and are followed by nearly 700 Facebook fans.

700!

Can you believe that? We are blown away by the support we received and in return we plan to share some love back.

The Artisan Group would like to celebrate their fans by hosting an amazing giveaway! Twenty-four of our talented members have agreed to help sponsor our giveaway by donating a fantastic product from their shops.

Details are here

We have many other fun things coming down the line so if you want in on the fun follow along, join in or if you happen to be one of the talented artists that we may have missed head over to The Artisan Group's site and apply.

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2011-06-07T11:32:00.000-04:00

How wonderful is this bracelet? You know what makes it even better? It is on it's way to me!

This bracelet was custom made just for me by Autumn Bradley. She makes Boho Rock and Modern Rustic Jewelry in her Hell's Kitchen NYC studio. She has great designs for men too so if you need a last minute gift be sure to head over to her site http://autumnbradley.com/ and take a look around.

This ring is made by Stephanie Stargell. Recently she had some difficulty with her Etsy Shop (You may read about it here) and it took 6 very long costly days for Stephanie to get her shop back up and running. Since then she has opened a shop on ArtFire and is trying to make a transition over there. I would like you to take a look. She has over 2000 sales and 100% positive feed back from Etsy so you can shop with confidence and worry-free.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2011-05-25T17:42:00.000-04:00

Yes it seems as if I have fallen off the face of the Earth as this blog has been sitting for far too long but I managed to get a minute between painting, creating, a little bit of freelance work, prepping for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards and working with my new group The Artisan Group. There is little time for anything else but I wanted to take a moment to spotlight three people for three different reasons, a sort of thank you if you will.

Bellaroma

Peruvian Cacao Bean From Bellaroma

Diana is one of our Artisan Group artists that is participating in the Emmy Awards Gift Lounge alongside me. I happen to follow Diana on Facebook and one day she was having a giveaway contest. I clicked "like" to show that I liked the product she was offering for the contest not realizing that I had entered the contest (shows how astute I can sometimes be) Well, low and behold, after the first winner did not come forward I became runner up! I received a rather large bottle of Peruvian Cacao Bean lotion and I must say it smells divinely. The super thick lotion has a pleasant hint of chocolate, not overpowering but a nice light scent. I applied it in the morning and the scent lingered all day long.

The nice thing about Bellaroma's line is of course the all natural ingredients and I for one love that. My skin is super sensitive and anything harsh gives me hives, rashes and even sometimes blisters.

If you would like to try Diana's products head on over to Bellaroma and take a look at all she has to offer.

Clover Stone Designs

Beautiful Bracelet by Clover Stone Designs

Stephanie of Clover Stone Designs is also a member of The Artisan Group and was needing some help with her logo, a re-vamp of the old one she had. I started off redrawing her cloverleaf so she would have a better graphic to use if necessary so she can play around with it, in exchange she is sending me this lovely bracelet made just for me.

Stephanie has some wonderful items in her shop including some necklaces that will be making an appearance at the gift lounge. and 15% of all sales are donated to chromosome disorder research

Edi's Little Treasures

Custom Ring by Edi's Little Treasures

Oh how I loved this ring when I first saw it. There are plenty of Bird's Nest rings on Etsy but this one, well it was perfect. Sad part was that the original ring was sold and also a size 7 (my ring finger on my right hand is a 5, the left a 4) so I put it out of my head for a while chalking it up to fate. The thing is though I would keep returning to her shop to see if she relisted another ring and a few weeks went by without one.

I decided to reach out to her to see if she could in fact make another one, in my size. Luck would have it that as soon as I sent the email a reply came back and before I knew it I had my ring and I couldn't be happier. I plan on wearing it when I head out to California in September for the awards show gift lounge.

Edi makes wirewrap jewelry that is absolutely beautiful (I have my eye on the Key Pendant next) She is a pleasure to work with and I highly recommend her if you are looking for something well made and unique.

I suppose I should get back to work now. I have been reorganizing my Zazzle shop and branching off into a few new ones that will soon be released. It is quite overwhelming but it must be done.

The Artisan Group's first of three Emmy Award Twitter Parties!

2011-05-02T12:14:00.000-04:00

A N N O U N C I N G The Artisan Group's first of three Emmy Award Twitter Parties!

The 63rd Primetime Emmys are taking place on September 18, 2011, and we're kicking off Emmy season with three super fun Twitter Parties! Our first party takes place on May 11th, and if you follow along you could win some of the swag the celebrities will receive!

Here's how:

Follow @theartisangroup, @sweetstellas, @atutudes, @ajsweetsoap

Follow #theartisangroup
Answer trivia questions about your favorite Primetime shows, actors, moments, what YOU think should be nominated for an Emmy this year (be sure to respond directly to @sweetstellas, @atutudes, or @ajsweetsoap)

Win prizes, drawn at random! Winners will be announced on Twitter, and reposted here on May 12th!

What are some of the prizes that you can win? Only some of the most lovely art from Artisan Group members, which is being crafted by their very hands to be gifted to celebrities at the Emmy's Gifting Suite!

An 8x10 print from ArtbyAfton

$15 credit from Little Free Radical

Silver Spiral Earrings from AWE Shop

Popcorn Soap from AJSweetSoap

Stationery Set from Beez Kneez

Stationery Box and Custom Notestack from Sweet Stella's

$20 Giftcard to Honeyprint

Set your clocks, program your Blackberries and iPhones! Join us on May 11th at 8pm EST to win some amazing handcrafted Emmy's swag!

The 2011 Kid's Choice Awards

2011-04-07T14:41:00.000-04:00

Rico Rodriguez and myself at the 2011 Kid's Choice Awards Gift Lounge

The pictures are in and I had a great time at the 2011 Kid's Choice Awards Gift Lounge at the SLS Hotel in LA. One of the best moments was when Rico, his mother and agent remembered me from across the room. He has to be one of the funniest kids I have ever met, full of sugar kind of silly and a pleasure to talk to.

Another great moment came when Rizwan Manji, who plays Rajiv on the show Outsourced showed up with his sister and niece and nephew. The little girl remembered me from the Golden Globes and she asked if I had another pretty necklace (I had given one to her special at the Golden Globes because she was being fussy at the time) So I made sure she got another but to my surprise Rizwan's nephew asked for one too. I thought perhaps he wanted one for someone special but he told me he kept the last one he got from me on his bed post because he really liked it. How sweet is that? Of course I gave him another one and he posed for a photo with his uncle and the box the necklace came in.

Rizwan and his nephew. Rizwan is holding a very funky iPad cover from the BeezKneez

I also had the pleasure of meeting Paris Jackson, daughter of the late Michael Jackson. Understandably no photos were to be taken but I have to say what a wonderful, pretty, articulate person she is. She did take a liking to my necklace as well and that is also an honor so of course I gave her one too.

I met a lot of up and coming stars, and ones that are a star in their own right. It was a fun, relaxed atmosphere where bikes were being ridden around the floor, people were wearing fuzzy slippers and candy and toys as far as the eye could see, Oh and I can't forget the lollipop wall that you posed in front of as you came into the room...Best toy yet? the Boogie Board! Check it out, it was a blast to play with.

Here are some other photos of the people that were kind enough to choose my art to hold. If you like the painting you can find prints and other products here: Calliope Dreams

The lovely Paula Abdul with my painting "Neptune"
and the gift necklace with the same painting on it.

Spencer Grammer with my painting "Gayle"
and the gift necklace with the same painting on it.

Bruce Davison of the Xmen (and many other fabulous things)

My Time At The Sundance Film Festival 2011

2011-01-26T21:09:00.002-05:00

Well we actually arrived a day early and woke up to find that we had nothing to do for the day. A quick trip to the hotel lobby and all the rack cards gave us some direction. We would head out to Antelope Island to see some bison and well, antelope. The drive out there was of course stunning aand we made our way across the miles long bridge to the island. Antelope Island is surrounded by a lake so rich in salt you can not sink and the only thing that survives in it are brine shrimp. We were met by a rather playful magpie that gave us a game of tag as we attempted to take his photo. We drove around the island for a while, saw bison, antelope and mountain goats.

A small portion of the Montage Ski Resort, Deer Valley Utah

The next day began among some beautiful scenery. The Montage resort of Deer Valley Utah held our gift lounge for the Sundance Film Festival. It is perched high on top a mountain and the road ends right at the hotel.

Set up was pretty smooth and we were put in the corner (which works for us since we could put the art up against the wall on the chair railing) A delicious spread of fruits, cheese and breads were conveniently set up in the middle of the room, oh and some to-die-for Tomato Hummus.

One of the first celebrities to enter was Kevin Sorbo. Now you all know how big of a sci-fi geek I am and his show was one of my favorites. He actually chatted with me for a while and wanted to take a photo with me (which of course I was not going to say no to) I thought it was very nice of him.

This lounge was very different this time. It was more for the Turner execs than anything else but I must say we were very well received by them. Apparently word got around and some of the execs came looking for us. That was very cool. I did manage to give out information on some of our artists when asked and one of them walked away with two of my necklaces which I happily gave to her. She said they were for her daughters but joked that they could borrow them from her. I don't mind, I was just glad she liked them so much.

We ended up finishing up early and decided to go downstairs to Daly's Pub. I had the best veggie burger on the planet, Long grain jasmine rice with mushrooms and zucchini diced in, topped with alfalfa sprouts and avocado on a toasted bun. I wish it was not so far away because I really would like one now.

After the first night we were offered tickets to see one of Sundance's movies. Never one to miss an opportunity like this I decided to grab them and enjoy. I picked the tickets by time and had no idea what the movie was about. We headed down into town and found the theater and waited in line for it to open. The movie we were about to see was called "Kaboom" and um, well it was certainly different. I got a few laughs out of it but I can say it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I had fun regardless and it was more of an experience than anything else.

The next day was similar to the day before. mostly execs and few celebs which made my job very hard. I did manage to rotate the art so at least everything got into a shot. A few celebs did not have time to pose and the photographer decided to snap a few of me talking to them. Unfortunately it was snowing and everyone was more interested in skiing than they were in the gift lounge. Only a handful of celebrities showed during our stay, Luckily Chaske Spencer was nice enough to hold two members artwork and the band One Rebublic each held something.

All was not lost though, we made a few good connections for our artists, picked up a couple of new talent, got to see a Sundance movie and had some great food with a few laughs.

My Time At The Golden Globes Gift Lounge Day Three and Four

2011-01-24T15:20:00.002-05:00

Ok, I am sorry this has been a little behind but we had the rare occasion of back to back shows. Only two days after I landed home from LA I had to turn around and head to Utah for Sundance. (more on that in later installments)

Well everything went off without a hitch the next morning and we were the first to arrive in our room so we had a chance to walk around to meet other vendors.

The first celebrity we met was Naveen Andrews. Val and I are such big LOST fans that it was a real treat. Naveen is a very soft spoken man, at least he was to us. We chatted for a minute or two and then he took a photo with one of our artist's paintings. Then he told me something that made me happy but I will get to that a little bit later.

The good thing was that The George Lopez Foundation was next to our table so even if certain celebrities did not walk around being gifted we at least got to see them. There were a few that stopped by only to do that. Katey Sagal, Jesse McCartney and Joe Montegna were a few that were there to only sign the guitar.

I guess I could pick a few of the names I met during the next two days and tell you a little bit about them since the event is such a fast paced blur. I have my list in front of me of who was scheduled to be there. Not all of them showed but I will try to remember the best I can.

Jennifer Love Hewitt: What a lovely woman and beautiful too. She was very interested in our work and asked a few questions which made my job easier. She took a liking to some of our artists work and was very interested in hearing how some of the pieces were created.

Handmade paper rose on my coffin jewelry box

Tiny bottle pendant necklace

Billy Gibbons: Both Billy and his lovely wife Gilligan arrived in the back way behind our table (there was as sliding door that we were next to) I needed no introduction and held out my hand to shake his. I talked to them for a little while. He was drawn to my handmade coffin jewelry box and I was rather intrigued by the mass amounts of skeleton keys hanging around his neck. I will be sending him a print of one of my versions of a skeleton key.

Billy and Gilligan Gibbons

Chelsea Traille: Got the best dressed award in my opinion and what a beautiful woman. She took a liking to my carousel horse pendant and chose that to hold for a photo. It is quite an honor when someone chooses your work and admires it.

Katherine O'Hara: A funny, funny woman, I always enjoyed her work and was honored that she liked mine. I was actually surprised that she chose my coffin to be photographed with but she really liked it.

Michael Clark Duncan: We had a great conversation about cats. He loves them and has a few and I rescue them and have many. He was drawn to Debbie's iPad cover and that is what started the conversation. I told him that "The Green Mile" made me cry. I said I was only able to watch it once and he said the same thing.

Grey Damon: Instead of posing with our artwork Grey decided to take a photo with the both of us and pulled us in. That is me in the red and Valerie in the pink

and last but not least (the thing Naveen told me about that made me happy): My favorite character from LOST...Terry O'Quinn. He came in from the back door behind our table as opposed to the regular door. I was on the other side of the table bending down with the bags when I looked up to tell Val something, as I did that Terry came in from behind her and I let out a gasp. I apologized for reacting that way but he really caught me off guard. Thankfully he was laughing at me and very sweet. He took some time to chat with us too and told us about a new show he is going to be in.

My Time At The Golden Globes Gift Lounge Day One and Two

2011-01-17T23:27:00.002-05:00

Ok, first things did not start off good at all, a simple direct flight turned into many hours of nightmare. Originally I was supposed to fly out on Wednesday morning, fly directly from my airport to LAX and I was supposed to land at noon. Well that is not exactly how it happened. See we had the pleasure of another snowstorm and my flight was to leave smack dab in the middle of it. Great.

The day before I got a cancellation of my flight but they were kind enough to rebook it for me, only problem it was landing AFTER I was to take off to return home, well I am not sure if Continental has the knowledge to actually manipulate the time space continuum but I am guessing they do not. The only other option was to take a flight out of La Guardia and it would not be a direct flight (shudder) There goes a big taxi bill as there is not one person I know of that will go anywhere near that airport. I scrambled for a car and got one only to be told a few hours later that I am not guaranteed a ride in the morning because of the snow. Now I am pretty adaptable but this was really taxing every ounce of sanity, the only thing I could come up with was to go to the airport the night before and sleep there until my flight at 10:30 am. Yes 12 hours in an airport, on a cot, yay me.

Skip ahead to actually landing in LA. I was lucky as we were told that my flight was the only one going out before 6pm so I did make it, a bit ragged looking but here I was. I was supposed to have a shuttle take me to my hotel but when I called there wasn't one available, Thats just great until I found out it was a town car picking me up, finally something goes my way. Now never having the chance to ride in such a thing I did a silly thing. The car pulled up and I walked my luggage around the back of the car and was going to fling it in the trunk, Um yeah, apparently they don't want you to do that, nor do they want you to let yourself into the car either (well, now I know) The driver was nice though. I will say that I was in LA for about a half hour and I already had to dispel the myth that people from New Jersey DO NOT fist pump and we do not act like what you see on tv nor do we talk funny so stop it all of you (pointing my finger), it gets tiring defending my state, I had to do it the whole time.

Check in went smoothly and I walked to the drug store, no not the one that is four blocks away but the one that was about two and a half miles all because I can not seem to keep Willshire and Santa Monica straight.

After my five mile round trip walk I got ready for bed that is until Shannon and Valerie showed up. I finally got to meet my partner in this venture and one of our talented artists and we got along instantly. I was exhausted but they convinced me to head downstairs to the bar. I was already in my PJs, Shannon put hers on too so I figured what the hell and downstairs we went. Carlo was the bartender and he was making drinks for Val and Shannon while I admired the Absinthe decanter thing they had (The hotel is one of the few that serve Absinthe) The night went on and somehow it ended with Shannon and I eating pizza with Carlo and the concierge (Steve?) Carlo thought I was 28, bless his heart because he wasn't even close.

The next morning was set-up day and due to a bad GPS that thought it would be funny to take us to the right street at the wrong end we ended up just making it to the London Hotel at the last possible second. We rushed upstairs and quickly set up just in time for the press to show. We were in a room with the best people. There were five vendors with us. The Wine Chataeu (which I happen to drive by on my way to work, small world) An awesome Vegan Chocolate company called Chocalive, and let me tell you that their chocolate is absolutely delicious and a California cheese company called Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. There isn't a blue cheese on this planet that tastes that good. We also had The George Lopez Foundation which is such a worthy cause. We had the best room in the house as far as I was concerned (wine, cheese, chocolate, art and charity) and the other vendors were a blast to hang with.

A little later in the Meet And Greet we heard that George Lopez was around and he was making his way to our room. It took a while but he showed and Valerie is a big fan. She got him going and joking around and there was some photos of most of us doing a secret sign George taught us. He was also filming for his show I believe. After the Meet and Greet we had to bring up all of our gift bags with the help of Johnny who works at the London. We unloaded everything pretty quick and then it was time to rest because tomorrow was going to be an exciting busy day.

Stay tuned for Day Three and Four of my adventure at the Golden Globes awards show...

The Meaning of Christmas - part 2

2010-12-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it, I sent out my last "gift" and I thought it might be harder to do but it was not. If I did not get to you it is not because I do not care. SO in parting of this little experiment I would like to wish that you all find what you truly need way deep down inside and that it makes you happy :)

To read part one please go here:

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Getting Ready For The Golden Globes

2010-12-15T16:27:00.001-05:00

A little more than a month away and I will be heading out to Los Angeles for the Golden Globes. The past few weeks have been very busy with putting together my submissions for the gift bags. I decided to go handmade for this event and made glass pendants featuring my work.

I had to make 100 of them which really meant 150 because I allowed for error since this is the first time I am making them. There were a few duds that have been tossed aside and only the good ones remain to be given. It was quite a learning process.

To present them I have small Kraft and Chocolate boxes in which I attached (alright hand-cut and glued) each label then closed with some raffia ribbon. Inside I included a necklace tucked in a small paper bag so it doesn't rattle around, my business card, a sample of my work and a coupon for OnceUponAPuzzle.com where I illustrate puzzles.

Two days after I get back from The Golden Globes I head out to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival and I am really looking forward to that. My only regret is that I won't be able to see any of the films while I am there but I will be sure to take note of them. The place it is being held at is absolutely stunning and I wonder if there is a broom closet I could stay in for I would happily do just that to wake up to the view the hotel looks over because it is simply stunning.

For Sundance I have chosen bottle cap pendants, or maybe I might do a mix for both events, I have not decided yet. The bottle caps will go on ribbon necklaces as opposed to the ball chain ones. I like the glass pendants better only because they are a little bit more low key and that is just my personal taste, The bottle caps are a bit more funky. Sundance sort of snuck up unexpectedly and had I had more time I would have made something completely different. I am saving that idea for the MTV Movie Awards, Emmy's or AMAs, as there are a few more events coming later in the year and I will be better prepared for it.

I am not sure who will show for either Sundance or the Golden Globes though I have heard some rumors. I have two people in mind I would love to meet, chances are slim but I know I will have a great time at both events. I will be sure to post photos as soon as I have them.

Poinsettia And Holly Christmas Stocking Kit

2010-12-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

I received my samples today of my Poinsettia And Holly Christmas Stocking Kit and they look wonderful! I think I am getting the hang of designing for fabric and it is a lot of fun.

The Poinsettia And Holly Christmas Stocking Kit is available for purchase in one yard (two stockings)

or on a fat quarter (one stocking).

Fat quarters are on sale until December 3rd for half price and come up automatically when added to your Spoonflower cart

Also newly available is Silly Little Birds

Happy sewing!

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The Real Meaning Of The Holiday Season

2010-12-01T08:56:00.005-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about something I would like to do for the holidays to make them a bit more bearable for me. Over the years I have become, I guess the best word for now would be jaded. My friends know how much I hate this time of year and sometimes it becomes a joke, or they roll their eyes and chalk it off to me being me but in reality it is a very painful time of year, a time when I miss the people that have gone from my life or the people I am no longer able to be around.

While a big part of the reason is the above it is not the only reason, for you see I also have a part time job in retail and I see the ugly underbelly of it all. (This is where the grouchy, jaded part comes in.)

I see stores opening on holidays to get more money out of shoppers and they take no consideration for their employees and families, most of who have no choice but to go to work. I see the pushing and shoving. I see people struggle to buy things out of their means for gifts because it was what was asked for and I see people asking for things that have heavy price tags. There are those that take no thought into what they are giving and just grab what is at hand and those that put so much thought in it only to have the gift returned to the store because the recipient didn't like it.

When the holiday is over it gets no better, I hear people complain they did not get what they wanted or mock gifts they were given. I hear them complain about a cost of a gift they were given and how they spent x amount of dollars on them. It saddens me to no end and I have been trying to think of a way, for myself, to try to put some meaning into something I hate so much.

Now here is the catch:

1. You can not make it public it is a private thing shared in an email/paper between you and the person.

2. You have to pick the first two people that pop up in your friends list and if they were chosen already you must go to the next one in line.

To make it easier you may link to this post or copy and paste it into the email. Explain why you are playing along or not it is up to you. Maybe, just maybe it will make you feel better too.

-and if you are wondering what I want for Christmas, well I am asking for nothing for what I want can't be bought or given, it is something that I need to find

Doctor Mew?

2010-11-29T17:31:00.000-05:00

ok, so this time I am going to show you something I fell upon that I find so very clever. I am a Doctor Who fan as anyone that knows me knows and, well I kind of like cats (yes an understatement) so I think this is the most perfect poster on Zazzle and I just had to order it. You can tell which Doctor is which and the artist did a wonderful job.

New Doctor Mew Poster by jennyparksillus

If I were a guy I would have gotten the tie too :)

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Black Friday Deals Leaked at Zazzle!

2010-11-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

Black Friday Deals Leaked at Zazzle!

Take a look at this preview of the Blitzen Deals that Zazzle will be running on Black Friday! The deals change every two hours and from 8 PM to Midnight, they will be repeating the two most popular deals of the day, so be on the lookout for what they are!

Friday, November 26, 2010 (PST)

12:01 AM      50% Off All Mugs
2:01 AM       $10 Off All Custom Binders
4:01 AM       75% Off Harry Potter T-Shirts
6:01 AM       70% Off Holiday Cards and Invites
8:01 AM       50% Off Christmas Ornaments
10:01 AM      $20 Off iPhone & iPad Cases
12:01 PM      75% Off Business Cards
2:01 PM       65% Off All Posters
4:01 PM      $8.80 Off $0.44 Postage Sheets
6:01 PM       50% Off All T-Shirts
8:01 PM      Friday's Favorite Deal Repeat
10:01 PM     Friday's Favorite Deal Repeat

If you are looking for coordinating business supplies don't forget to go to Pen And Ink

Love Paris? Visit J'adore Paris

Happy Thanksgiving!

Popular Christmas and Holiday Stamps

2010-11-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Christmas Holly Postage Stamp

The above by far has been my most popular postage stamp in my stores. There are a ton of great designs out there and this one is still going strong for the second year in a row. I want to thank all of you for that, it is quite an honor.

Zazzle is once again offering some coupons that are a pretty sweet deal. I am afraid it is not on postage but it is on cards that match the postage AND a free shipping coupon too! Cards will be 40% off for the rest of the day but the free shipping coupon is good until the end of December.

Use Code ALLFFHSDEALS for 40% off the cards and FREESHIPFORU to receive free shipping on orders over $50. All of the details are at the end of this post

Greenman Holly Postage Stamp	Holiday Door Postage Stamp	Poinsettia and Holly Postage Stamp
Snowman and Kitty Postage Stamp	The Sleigh Ride Postage Stamp	First Snowflake Christmas Postage Stamp
Santa's Belly Postage Stamp	Polar Bears Christmas Postage	Merry Christmas From The Cat Bah Humbug Postage

* 40% of the greeting card and 20% of the bag, mug, bumper sticker, poster/print, ornament, apparel, business card, button and invitation net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying greeting cards, bags, mugs, bumper stickers, posters/prints, ornaments, apparels, business cards, buttons and /or invitations are purchased and the coupon code ALLFFHSDEALS is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from November 19, 2010 at 4:01pm ET through November 21, 2010 at 11:59pm ET. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. This offer does not apply to custom frames or screen printed apparel. This offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

* To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 50.00 dollars. The coupon code FREESHIPFORU must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. The free shipping offer is for economy (or standard if economy is not available) shipping to U.S. addresses only. Offer does not apply to shoes. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from October 16, 2010 through Decemeber 31, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Poinsettia and Holly Christmas Stocking Kit

2010-11-21T10:21:00.000-05:00

Poinsettia and Holly Christmas Stocking Kit

It is that time of year when everyone busies themselves with crafts for the holidays cutting, sewing, gluing and don't for get the glitter. Recently Spoonflower had a contest and here is my entry. It is made to go on a full yard of fabric so there was enough room to make two stockings. One large and the other a bit smaller. There will also be one that is available on a fat quarter of material. Once the colors have been approved I can release it to be sold on Spoonflower and it shouldn't take too long. If you do happen to order one of these for yourself please send along a photo of the finished project. I would love to see it and of course share it!

If you really like my kit won't you please stop by and give it a vote?

Christmas Stocking Contest

All you have to do when you get to Spoonflower is find my design and click it to turn it green, then go to the last page and save your vote! No registration is needed and you can vote as many times as you like until the end of the contest. Thanks again and Happy Crafting!

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Poinsettia and Holly Cards

2010-11-17T19:26:00.000-05:00

Funny how things happen really...

I was wandering around Spoonflower and had come upon a weekly contest that they hold. The contest (that is ready for voting any day now) is that of "Design a Christmas Stocking" one one yard of fabric. Sounded like fun so I thought I would give it a go.

I wasn't really sure what to do, at first I thought a faux quilt with some Christmas-y type colors might be nice but when I began it just wasn't going right. I started going about it all wrong and put down the mouse and picked up a pencil.

I have found that when I do not know what I want to draw or paint I begin to just draw giant loose circles. Now normally I would not do this on a really nice 24"x36" 100% cotton paper but I had a good feeling about it. Goodness knows I have been staring at that particular piece of paper for days, it has not told me what to do with it until the circles began. Out of the circles came a poinsettia. Keeping in mind this was for a Christmas stocking I imagined the flower sitting in the heel and although I am aware that holly does not grow on vines I took some artistic license to fill the rest of the space with my interpretation of them.

This is not the normal size I usually paint but today the paper finally spoke and I am quite happy with it. I plan on entering it into the Spoonflower contest and I will post it here when the voting begins but in the meantime I have put this design up on Zazzle. So thanks Spoonflower for the inspiration, it was kind of nice designing again.

OH! Don't forget to use this coupon if you are ordering from me:
FREESHIPFORU (for free shipping over $50)

Poinsettia and Holly
1.5" Photo Binder

Poinsettia and Holly
Wish Me A Merry
Christmas Button

Poinsettia and Holly Mug

2010-11-13T16:43:00.003-05:00

Mushrooms Recipe Letterhead - TBA

Well it has been a while since I have been in my Zazzle stores because of my computer. I do a little bit here and there and I am happy to say I was welcomed back with a TBA!

A few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain. Outside my office window was a gigantic mushroom growing in the grass. It wasn't anything special, just a giant blob of white fungus but it inspired me and I began to doodle mushrooms. It so happened that instead of tossing the doodles aside I transfered them into Illustrator and colored them with pretty colors. The final result is what you see above.

It is taking some time to complete the full range of products but they will be done I promise.

Mushrooms 1" Binder

Mushrooms Tie

Mushroom Bag

Pink Poodles On Parade

2010-11-12T20:09:00.001-05:00

Pink Poodles On Parade

Pink Poodles On Parade fabric swatches

I was recently contacted by someone that had interest in my Pink Poodles On Parade design. She explained that she collects poodle fabric and would like to make a dress out of this design for her granddaughter.

I immediately sent away for a swatch on Spoonflower - in order to sell fabric on Spoonflower it must be approved by ordering a swatch. The reason for this is because printing on fabric is a whole different world away from printing on paper. You must learn about gamut colors and how they print (red not being an easy color to reproduce BTW)

Today I got those swatches and I could not be happier with them. If you happen to like poodles or pink they are now available to purchase in my Spoonflower store along with two matching fabrics, one of polka dots and one of stripes. There are a couple of other designs as well. If there is something on my main site or in any of my Zazzle stores that you would like to made into a fabric for purchase feel free to send me an email and I will see what I can do for you.

4 Hour Zazzle Sale

2010-11-05T12:26:00.000-04:00

For Four Hours Get 50% OFF Of All Hoodies
Save over $17 From Noon to 4pm!

It's a little colder out now, so why not warm up with a custom one-of-a-kind hoodie. Get your hoodies early because these 50% savings will not last long! If you start shopping now, you'll have plenty of time to find the perfect hoodie for you and anyone else! Order sweatshirts in every color, send one to a friend, and save another for the holidays. Starting under $20, half-off hoodies are one of the best gifts that you'll find, so buy yours now!

If you don't have time to shop (or you missed the 4 hour sale altogether), don't worry! Hoodies are 20% off for the rest of the weekend, so don't forget to order soon!

and don't forget you can change any of my T-shirt designs to a hoodie by using the customize button on the product page although the code works on T-shirts and Baby Tees too.

Use code: HOODIES4SALE

* 50% of the Hoodies net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying Hoodies are purchased and the coupon code HOODIES4SALE is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from November 05, 2010 12:01pm ET through November 05, 2010 4:00pm ET. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

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Tomorrow Is The Big Day

2010-09-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is it, the day we have been striving for so many weeks now. Once Upon A Puzzle is going live and you can finally see all the wonderful things we have been creating, with many more waiting down the line

I have been working with a paintbrush in one hand and the keyboard in another while Beth diligently writes stories and ties up all the loose ends. Sunny, pictured above, is our muse and as you can see she is all ready for Talk Like A Pirate day where we will have a special promotion for that weekend of Sept 18th-19th.

There are pirate stories, fairytales, a trip to the zoo and more adventures for your child to go on. Take your child's name, friends and favorite things and add them to our stories and artwork for an unique, fun gift. We will have puzzles, notecards, stationery and stickers to name just a few.

So hop on over for our grand opening, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook to be the first to learn about all the new exciting things we have waiting in the wings (Oh and coupons too).

Getting Ready For...

2010-09-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

Alright, I know, January is a way off but it will be here before you know it. I have begun to work on the gifts I am giving at the Golden Globes and the Oscars. This time I am stepping things up a bit and really putting thought into it. Ok so my computer has become a glorified Kindle that can only do simple basic things and answer email. I have had to find other creative outlets to occupy my time. The bad thing is that I have a ton of Halloween designs waiting to be put up on Zazzle.

Back to the awards shows...

I have been making some wonderful little pendants and necklaces that feature my artwork. Some of them will be little glass tiles, some on bottle caps and still others on mini dog tags (the dog tags to come later) I have also decided to sell them on Etsy for all of you to own too so stay tuned in to my Etsy shop. I will be taking photos of everything in the next two weeks and hope to have a friend post them for me very soon. In the meantime here is a little sneak peek:

Oh Well...An Update

2010-08-23T17:13:00.001-04:00

Next weekend was to be the Emmy event I was participating in, then further down the line the AMAs. Unfortunately due to a contract dispute (which has just been settled) I will not be participating in either of them.

I do however have some events coming up in January and I am very excited about them. The first is to be the Golden Globes.

I ordered the supplies for the gift bags to one of the shows this afternoon. I have been sick the past three days and I slept off all of Sunday. I just can't bear to watch tv so I pulled up the computer to the couch and I surfed under the comfort of a soft blankie with a box of tissues and miscellaneous cats by my side. I ordered enough supplies to offer extra to anyone wanting to buy them. What is it you ask? Well can't tell that either in case it is a complete disaster and they do not come out right. It is something new I am trying with my artwork, it is not a new technique by any means, just something new for me.

Some of you may be wondering when the next issue of Indie Arts And Illustration is coming out. Well Dorothy planned for it to hit the virtual stands in September but it may be delayed a bit. My 10 year old Dell XPS, the one I love so dearly is starting to show it's age and can not keep up anymore. It might be a while before I get a new one of have this one upgraded if that is possible. Since I am the one that does her layouts it is my fault the issue is backlogged. We do have a great lineup for the next issue, I can promise you that.

I think that will be it for now, whatever bug I have is really draining me and my whole body aches. It is time for some more rest.

NEW Flat Rate

2010-08-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!

Today I got an email directly from Zazzle telling me that there will now be a flat rate on shipping on all paper products! How great is that especially with the holidays coming up!

[Seller Announcement] - New Flat Rate Shipping

Dear Zazzler,

After a thorough analysis of the recent change to flat rate shipping on invitations, we've decided to extend flat rate shipping to all paper products. This means that all cards, postcards, business cards, photocards, envelopes, stationery, letterhead, and flyers will also ship standard for $7.95 or less, no matter what.

We also wanted to inform you that for screen printing, we’ve eliminated up-charges for different colored t-shirts and reduced the charges applied for additional ink colors. As a result, customers will enjoy lower prices on their screen printing orders.

We’d like to assure you that both of these changes will be beneficial for Sellers and Customers alike, so please be sure to promote and take advantage of these new adjustments.

Sincerely,
– The Zazzle Team
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Since Nothing Is Doing On My End

2010-08-04T13:57:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess it was inevitable, my computer is finally showing it's nearly 10 year age. I really can't complain as it has served me well.

My poor computer's graphic card seems to be going and it is having trouble keeping up with just about everything. So until I am able to save for a new Dell XPS things will be a bit slow.

In the meantime I want to show off a friend of mine and her wonderful ETSY shop - Tiger Head Designs. Artist Lora Shelley has some really great pieces included in there

There is a definite sweetness to Lora's work when she depicts animals and her color palette lends itself to an old fashioned charm. I am reminded of a children's book illustrated a time long ago.

My favorite pieces, although it is hard to pick are Tiger Grrrr, Singing Fox and Kitty Finger Puppet

Tiger Grrr:

This charming piece drew my eye immediately which is odd because pink does not normally do that. I think perhaps it was the overall painting and the little story I had made up in my mind when I saw it. The tiger sort of gave me a chuckle.

Singing Fox:

I am instantly reminded of something that happened just a few weeks before. I was driving home from my sister's house and I saw a fox jumping gleefully amok in a field full of sheep. He had no interest in the sheep but was bounding through, perhaps chasing bugs until he disappeared into the woods.

Kitty Finger Puppet:

Well this just made me laugh because this is often the last thing I see before getting pounced by one of my kittens, paws stretched out doing one of those wrestling ring dives from the headboard of my bed.

There is so much more to gaze upon including some ceramic hand-painted pendants (one of which I am a proud owner of) so go and take a look at all the wonderful treasures that you are sure to find in Lora's shop. You might become a fan too.

My Day (and Night) At The Playboy Mansion

2010-07-20T20:40:00.010-04:00

Well they are finally here, photos of my trip to California to represent our little group of artists. First off I can not believe I was offered this opportunity but so glad it came my way. It was a difficult thing to do but also a ton of fun and I met so many nice people along the way.

That day started out in a panic for it was 45 minutes before I was to leave for the mansion and I still did not have two of our boxes. Thankfully the post office spared me a severe panic attack and produced them just in the nick of time. I ended up getting the worst taxi driver for my very short ride over to the mansion (my trip was THREE times the amount it was to drive back to my hotel room, hmmm caught on to that fast and didn't tip him.) He assumed I wanted a tour of the stars homes and to see where Michael Jackson lived, sorry dude, so not interested.

I got there around 4pm and things were starting to get set up and two very nice security guards helped me with the boxes, perhaps because I was looking so lost, confused and I might add pathetic. While they were doing me the favor along came this comically grumpy man yelling and screaming toward (not exactly at) me about who I was, why there was a taxi in the driveway (which I am guessing by the amount of people that ran toward it was not a good thing) and none of the information I was telling him meant anything to him. I really could not help but laugh at him because though I knew he was serious there was this "I give up with all these people, grumble, grumble, grumble" quality to him. Off he went flailing his arms muttering away. (he later came up to me and appologized and we had a very pleasant conversation. I was just glad he relaxed though I certainly could understand why he would be so uptight)

I spent a while fixing up our table and getting to know some of the other vendors and the photographer, oh and the handful of peacocks that roam the grounds. ah and I almost forgot, a woman wearing nothing but blue paint, eyelashes and heels. Thankfully she was sitting down by the pool and not standing. It would be a bit difficult talking to someone with their breasts at eye level, well that is unless you were attracted to breasts I suppose. It was hot and I was stuck in a cocktail dress and heels, or as I liken them to tiny little torture chambers, especially since I was standing on uneven flagstone all night. Right in front of me though was the famous grotto (alright, I admit, I didn't know that until I was there and someone told me that was what it was)

I did not have to wait that long before the guests arrived and I was very excited to see that Apolo Ohno was on the list. I was one that was glued to the tv watching him skate in awe. Just because he was on the list did not mean he would be there but I was hoping he would show.

All of the celebrities walked into our area, only certain ones were allowed in and proceeded to visit each table. I was introduced, shook hands, got a hug or a kiss on the hand or cheek and told them a little about our group. I got to chat with a few of the athletes and celebrities on a more personal level too. For the most part everyone of them was kind to me and seemed interested in our art.

One celebrity that stood out the most to me was Quinton Aaron. I can not say enough kind words about this man. He definitely won the sweetest, most polite celeb of the night award.

Another very pleasant man that I met was Jamal Sharif Anderson. He was kind enough to pose with two of our artist's works. He also happened to be from New Jersey, not too far from where I live. Those two celebs were not the only ones I enjoyed meeting. There was Craig Robinson, Christopher Owens, Hill Harper, Nicholas Gonzales, Nick Barnett, Ryan Mathews, Roger Cross, Russell Westbrook, Takeo Spikes, Willie Gault and quite a few others but as soon as I saw the light blue shirt from across the pool I was a bit gushy and in shear awe. It took forever him to get around to where I was at and then finally...

I held my painting back just so he would hold it and he did so making silly tiger faces as the camera snapped his photo. I thank him for being a good sport, he made my night.

Apolo was not the only Olympian to show. I got to meet Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso too (both of whom are super sweet and by the way Julia is also a painter) They were all a real treat to meet and talk with.

The night came to an end just a bit after 2 am. I was tired as it was 5am from my side of the states and my feet hurt all the way up to my knees. I did however get to spend a little time in the party tent and had a bird's eye view the whole time during the meet and greet.

across the grotto into the party
the grotto with the mansion in the back

the mansion and party tent

Sew Buttons On Ice Cream

2010-07-04T16:49:00.004-04:00

Sew Buttons On Ice Cream Birthday Invitation

It is time for ICE CREAM!

I once knew someone that would use the phrase "Sew Buttons On Ice Cream" quite often. I was thinking about him the other day and, well this illustration came out.

I know I have been a little bit absent as of late but many things are happening around here, most of them beyond my wildest dreams.

I think perhaps I have mentioned somewhere before that I have been working as a puzzle illustrator and I love my job there. We are getting very close to launching the web page, perhaps it will make it by September. Once Upon A Puzzle is a unique adventure that is quite unlike anything else out there. I can't wait until we get online and you can see all of the neat stuff developing behind the scenes.

In other news (and very BIG news) I will also be taking a trip across country to Beverley Hills and the Playboy Mansion, yup, I typed that right, Playboy and before you get any ideas it has nothing to do with the magazine, trust me I wouldn't sell a one if I were in it. What I will be doing there is representing a handful of artists at the ESPY Awards Gift lounge. It is the first time out for me and I do not know what to expect. I am a bit nervous and a little overwhelmed. (I said yes to doing this and then thought, "What the hell did I just do?") You know, that is ok thiough, it is an opportunity that may never come about again so why not grab a hold and go with it. Thankfully my very good friend's husband lets her out of the attic every once in a while to be my travel buddy (really all I had to say was one word...Disneyland)

So this design will be my last at least for the next two weeks or until things settle down. Wish me luck, I might need it!

Sew Buttons On
Ice Cream Shirt

Sew Buttons On
Ice Cream Letterhead

Sew Buttons On
Ice Cream Bag

MTV Movie Awards

2010-06-10T00:31:00.004-04:00

They are finally here! The photos from MTV's Movie Awards have been posted! well some of them anyway

Ronnie Magro and Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola from MTV's Jersey Shore

If you would like to see the set-up and get a link to view all the pictures hop on over to my website and take a peek.

Next up the ESPY Awards in a couple of weeks!

From Here On Out

2010-05-31T21:26:00.002-04:00

I have moved the story of my little charges over to a new blog so the people who follow me for my art can continue to do so and yet if they are interested they can follow the story elsewhere

And Sometimes It Is A Pile Of Poop...

2010-05-30T16:43:00.007-04:00

I know that there are a few people that have been following my kitten story and ask about them from time to time. I do not have good news for you today. It seems as if all the kittens have the FELV virus and this afternoon I had to put Cassandra to sleep (thank you Julia for being there with her when I could not) Two of the other kittens are not doing well and the third is not as healthy as he should be. I was told to expect the worst and I have though I am armed with and arsenal of Pedialyte, vitamins, pumpkin, a sock full of rice and a host of other things that could help. I won't give up as long as they do not (or are suffering)

I have great friends in Sara Inc and without them I don't know what I would do. I owe you all big time and I have ideas on how to pay it forward but in the meantime if anyone would like to make a donation (or even better adopt) then visit their site and open your home to what will become a part of the family

It is funny how something that has come into your life for such a minute amount of time can make such and emotional impact on you but these little guys did. I know I did all I could, I know that it would have been worse if they were out on the streets but I do feel helpless and sad because they are so little and young. It isn't easy but I would have done it again if I had to.

I am not sure who in the cosmic universe thought it was a good idea to give a clinically depressed animal lover a litter of sick kittens but when I meet the one responsible I am going to hurt him/her badly.

Goodbye little Cassy

Sometimes Things Are Not So Rosy

2010-05-29T12:36:00.003-04:00

Yesterday mom cat was dropped off to be spayed, tested, and ear tagged in the event that she could not be tamed (we are still working on that part) I returned later that day to pick her up and found that she is FELV positive and I am heartbroken. I also understand that there is a good chance some of her kittens may have it too and that I should prepare myself. What I did not prepare myself for is the quickness of loosing one of them. It happened this morning at 2 am, one of the little ones died in my arms, he was so little and so young.

I have had many, many pets and the loss of any of them does not get easier, this one is certainly no different. There are things that go through your head when something sudden like this happens, the "what if I only" are there, even if it is an irrational thought, but as a dear friend reminded me, at least he died in my arms and was very loved instead of being outside all alone. I just wish I could have done more, so goodbye little guy, you were here only a short time but you were such a pleasure to have around.

Great Memorial Day Sale At Zazzle!

2010-05-27T17:50:00.000-04:00

50% off posters
40% off business cards
30% off aprons
20% off stamps

Visit Pen And Ink for more great business cards, and postage

Just use code MEMORIALSALE when checking out

* 50% of the poster net sale price, 40% of the business card net sale price, 30% of the apron net sale price, and 20% of the stamps net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased and the coupon code MEMORIALSALE is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid from May 27, 2010 through May 31, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Read All About It

2010-05-24T15:43:00.005-04:00

It is finally here! I am being featured in a magazine along with 11 other very talented artists and I am so excited.

Read about Diane Duda, Gina Minichino, Laurie Hardin, Lisa Marie Robinson, Liz Hall, Lora Shelley, Mariana Musa, Melissa Hamilton, Rebecca Bowker Czosnek, Tricia-rennea Wilson, Zoya Geacintov and myself.

The magazine has lots of beautiful pictures created by the artists themselves and a light, candid interview with each of us. The magazine is available in the USA, UK and Canada so far though they will be opening it up to more countries soon.

Kitten Cuteness For Charity

2010-05-17T12:35:00.004-04:00

Kitten Cuteness Card

As any of you that follow this blog know I have found a litter of kittens in the window well of my basement. Since these little guys and their mom need to be checked and spayed and neutered I figured they can at least help me pay for it.

Yesterday I took the little ones outside to expend all of the energy kittens seem to have a boatload of. I happily grabbed my camera of course and caught some very cute poses, not hard to do when your subjects are as darling as mine. Thus "Kitten Cuteness" was born and all the proceeds from the sale of these items will go to defer vet costs.

I have a few bits of cuteness up currently and will be adding more as my models do their thing. Stay tuned for more kitty antics as the days go by, I am sure they will provide me with plenty of material and keep your fingers crossed that mom can calm down enough to be placed in a loving home.

Feel free to spread the word, refer my products or if you are able maybe purchase a few items. I will gladly take any help I can get.

Kitten Cuteness Mousepad

Kitten Cuteness Bag

Kitten Cuteness Magnet

Everywhere, Cats

2010-05-16T12:04:00.004-04:00

Floral Calico Kitty Rescue Bumper Sticker

Now, I can't imagine why I have cats on my mind, well maybe I could and I guess these floral calico cats came out of my recent backyard find.

I have found that I am quite fluent in Cat but my Kitten is not so good. One quizzical tilt of the head of any of my cats and I know immediately what they need, they have me trained well. Kittens are not so easy. They mew and cry all of the time and sometimes I think it is just because -with no reason behind it.

I love these little guys, the entertainment is endless and yesterday after a little play session some of them were so tired they started to fall asleep standing up. Their little eyes would droop and over they went into a deep little kitten sleep. I am glad they are here, they make me feel needed which is something I do not often feel anymore and I am enjoying the time I have with them.

If you purchase any of the Floral Calico Kitty line (or anything in any of my stores for that matter) it will help me to make sure these little guys get the care that is needed. Vet bills are costly and there are five kittens and a mom, all of which deserve a better life than that of the street reproducing.

Floral Calico Kitty
Blue Bag

Floral Calico Kitty
Orange Mousepad

Floral Calico Kitty
Pink Sticker

Usquequaque Prosum

2010-05-15T09:52:00.008-04:00

Usquequaque Prosum, I recently learned this phrase while working on a freelance job. Usquequaque Prosum means, if loosely, "Always Do Good"

Now anyone that knows me knows how much I love animals and there must be a cosmic sign over my home that only animals can read and it says I am a safe haven.

For about a week I have seen a beautiful orange and white tabby, rather young and very elusive and it wasn't until 2 days ago I understood why.

I had begun the task of yard work after not being able to get outside because of the weather or other engagements. Against my house was a bunch of tall weeds that have taken root in the spring. I have an old picnic table that houses my container garden up against the house and below it is a basement window-well...and well that is when I came across this:

Yup 5 of them all tucked away next to the window shielded from the elements by the well cover and safely under the table, perfect spot. I certainly do not need any more animals as I have 6 cats of my own but if I do not do something now these little guys will reproduce and become an even bigger problem so guess who has a litter of kittens for a while? Now of course I wouldn't let mom stay out there making more kittens so out came the Have-A-Heart trap and within an hour she too was caught.

Thankfully I have friends that volunteer for S.A.R.A. a wonderful rescue and they have been giving me guidance, lent me a cage for mom and a lot of other help. I never had baby kittens before as all my cats were young adults when they adopted me so this is certainly a learning experience and I am a nervous new mommy.

Since this is kitten season and they are so overwhelmed I will be taking care of these guys until they can be checked and fixed as well as their mom. Hopefully I can work with mom so she can be placed in a home. Right now she is feral and maybe with a little love and lots of patience I can turn her around...spaying might help too.

I have seemed to go off the subject of art which is the norm for this blog but animal welfare is very important to me and I wanted to share. Maybe it will inspire some of you to "Always Do Good" in whatever is close to your heart.

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Pirates, Princesses, Time Travel, Fairytales, Super Powers And More

2010-05-11T12:53:00.005-04:00

Hmmm, where have I been? Yes I have been laying low and by my own admittance have slacked off on any Zazzle updates. It is not my fault so much as I have been getting work quite regularly.

One thing that I have been making progress on is with a company called Once Upon A Puzzle. Now we are not to the point of going live just yet (hey I am painting as fast as my little hands allow me) but things are moving along almost smoothly. If anyone is interested in following a brand new company from the ground up head on over to Facebook and Once Upon A Puzzle, become a fan (or like us as it is now called) and maybe even take a guess as to what is brewing on my end. (yes puzzles are involved but it is so much more than that.)

On another note that top secret project that I have been working on, that very hush, hush one is off to the printers for a proof. I guess I can let you know that very soon a new magazine is being launched called "Indie Arts And Illustration" I have been helping a friend with the layouts and each issue will feature 12 artists. The first issue will be available for purchase very soon and don't forget to keep an eye here to find out where and when. You might even know a few of the very talented artists that grace the pages of the first issue and if you don't then you are sure to become new fans of them.

The Espy awards as well as the MTV Movie awards are just around the corner and I am so excited about it and wonder who will be receiving my work.

I also have a website that I am redesigning for a very talented artist named Lora Shelley. I am giving her a whole new updated look to showcase her beautiful artwork.

I guess that is all for now. I must get back to painting, I think time travel is the order for today, perhaps even a few superpowers too, we'll see what comes out the end of my brush.

Secret Project is Almost Ready

2010-04-27T19:21:00.004-04:00

Well, That very special project a friend and I have been diligently working on is almost ready to go to the printers and be proofed. There are a few minor details to sew up and then I can let you all in on it. I know you won't be disappointed at all and I can't wait to share it all with everyone! It is really hard keeping a secret but I am pretty good at it.

Getting a Head Start

2010-04-18T19:27:00.005-04:00

I thought since I was in make a few adjustments to my website I would get a head start on May's freebie. Go to Freebies on my site and download a trio of beach bookmarks - a little early but i am sure there is beach weather somewhere on the planet right?

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When It Rains It Pours

2010-04-17T19:47:00.003-04:00

When It Rains It Pours, always a statement that draws up bad omens. Most people think of bad things coming at them in droves, floods and being so overwhelmed that they can't come up for air, to me at this very time, the rain represents a good thing, the kind of rain that makes things green and flowers grow. The kind of rain that washed all bad away and gives you a new chance.

I have been a bit absent here on this blog as well as in my Zazzle store but for very good reason. I have been approached by a company for a very special project, one so special I can't really tell you what it is yet but i can tell you I am enjoying it immensely. I get to do what I do best and that is use my imagination to create some fantastical things. This special project is taking up quite a bit of my time but in the end it will be worth it. I am very excited about it.

Add to that bit of good news is that I am helping a friend on another ambitious project and that takes up all my free time for the next week or so. I will be able to tell you a bit about that probably by the end of the week.

Another thing is that I finally took the plunge into fabric design and opened a store on Spoonflower. Well the store has been there for a while but now there are things to purchase. Fabric design is a slow process so there isn't much there yet because of approval times. I even entered the watercolor design contest they recently had and came in 42nd! Ok, go ahead and laugh but I can say that I am quite happy about it. Why? Well, I am brand new there, no one there knows me, other than a small post on facebook I did no advertising yet I managed to come in smack dab in the middle. I think that isn't to bad really.

Last but not least I will be working with Lora Shelley on her new website. Lora is an amazing artist and we are going to make her website show you how good. Right now it has been sitting there and it is going to get it a little love and attention. This too is a very big project and one I am excited to embark on. (It is also nice to not be staring at my work all the time too)

So if I am missing in action, it is for a good reason, some of you might enjoy the fact I am not blabbering on, some of you might miss me, either way it is all good...let the rain come down

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Great Sale On Business Cards

2010-03-20T09:22:00.005-04:00

Burned Butterfly
Business Card

Starting up a new business or need to freshen up your business or calling cards? Zazzle is having a generous sale on their business cards (and that means anything printed on business cards). The cards are easily customized right online and shipped directly to you. Just place your order in the cart and enter code BIZCARDS5010.

We have quite a few new designs over at Pen And Ink as well as fun styles at 13 Black Cats DesignsYou can add anything you like to my designs, change the fonts and colors or even make your own cards from scratch!

Fiesta Business Card	Cordelia Chubby Business Card	Siesta Motel Chubby Business Card
Black And White Dotted Flowers Business Card	PICK-A-COLOR Dots & Stripes Chubby Business Card	Crazy Squares Business Card

and that goes for anything on business cards including Emergency Information Cards, Bookmarks, Gift Tags and Birth Announcements!

Pet Sitter's Information
Card - Cat

Pink Cupcake
Birthday Gift Tags

Baby Sitter's
Information Card

50% of the business card net sale price will be deducted when one or more business card packs are purchased and the coupon code BIZCARDS5010 is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from March 19, 2010 through March 31, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

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Upsy Daisy Bear

2010-03-19T14:16:00.002-04:00

Upsy Daisy
Custom Invitation

I actually painted this little guy some time ago. He adorns a wooden baby frame and is painted in acrylic. The inspiration for this came from my little, then one year old niece. She would put her head on the ground and her little butt up in the air and giggle like there was not a care in the world.

After scanning in the bear and making him a silhouette I made two backgrounds in yellow and green adding tiny little polka dots to both.

Hopefully this little guy gives you a smile just as the inspiration for it gave one to me.

Upsy Daisy Turning *
Personalized Birthday Card

Upsy Daisy Shirt

Upsy Daisy Bag
Makes a great diaper bag

Springtime Trio Heralds In Spring

2010-03-15T21:02:00.004-04:00

Easter Trio Bag

Springtime is not too far around the corner, we've already sprung ahead in most of the country, much to my chagrin. (I would like that hour back please) I do however look forward to digging in the dirt and making things grow. This however attracts many little furballs to dine in my garden as if it were an all you can eat salad bar. It is ok though, I enjoy their company and as long as the destruction is down to a minimum I can share.

Today I gave a new twist to one of my designs which happened quite by accident. I intended to make a simple trio of my bunny, chick and carrot but when I put it on a tie the pattern was quite nice. So here you have it, Some sugary sweet little critters and a carrot. I hope you enjoy it and it brightens your day.

Easter Trio Tie

Easter Trio T-Shirt

Easter Trio Mug

Freebies Anyone?

2010-03-15T12:50:00.005-04:00

13 Black Cats Designs is growing thanks to all of you. We have a brand new website and exciting news to be found there, hint, see awards shows. I made things easier to navigate and I showcased a few of my extra outside painting hobbies like my jewelry. We also have four new staff members to introduce you to.

To celebrate the launch of my new site and to thank all of you for supporting me I am offering a couple of freebies just for you! Every month (maybe more) I will have a design for you to use and it will be available on my website. Jan, Feb, March and to give you a head start April is posted. There are free recipe cards, gift tags, notes and two cute Easter cards for you to print out. If you want to stay notified when there are new freebies posted just click on over to my Facebook page to become a fan or follow this blog and you will never miss a one. (if you love Zazzle coupons this is the place to be too)

So enjoy your gifts, I really hope you like them!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-03-13T20:49:00.003-05:00

My how the last few days have flow by and that is probably because I have been glued to the computer redesigning an all new website. The launch should be soon as I have a few more photos to add and such (and there is trying to take a photo of my new staff members, they just won't sit still) The new design will have much more information and a slicker look and a few surprises just for you.

While I am here I wanted to tell you of a good deal they have over at Greeting Card Universe. when you buy 10 cards they will only cost you $2.29 each plus postage. Not bad really if you think what you pay in a card store. Just use promo code SPRING229. You can mail them now, set a future date or have a whole bunch shipped to you to give out personally PLUS they can be personalized right online.

Here are a few of my Easter cards, some funny pet cards and a line of baby's first Easter cards plus a link to my store. The site also has many more talented artists to choose from if mine are not your cup of tea.

ProKeds Customizable Sneakers

2010-03-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

New ProKeds sneakers for men

(and the women who love to wear them)

Zazzle has launched a new line of ProKeds sneakers for men, of course the ladies can wear them too. Available in both low and high tops.

Skeleton Keys Keds Shoe

These sneakers can be easily customized by you right online, no design skills needed. The particular shoe above can become any color with just a click of the mouse. Control the color of each panel of the shoe, the sole and the laces

(the above photo shows different color schemes of the Skeleton Key shoe)

I have been looking at all of the new designs various artists have made and there are some great shoes floating around on Zazzle. Below are some that I personally like:

Kawaii Lilly of the Valley by PeppersPolishMafia	Flowery Pattern by mydeas	Electric Guru! by FairyWoods
Neon SkellaBaby by HahpiStuff	Black Grunge City Don't Stop The Music by malibuitalian	Green Square Pattern by DonnaGrayson
Electric Guitar Keds Shoe by Mousefx	Gothic Black and Pink Hearts by KirstenEdwards	Rockin' Shreds by TheSpottedOliveKicks
Kiss Of Fire by rdwnggrl	KRW At The Hop Retro Records by KRWFancyFeet	BW by KittensCustoms

And The Catalogs Begin To Arrive

2010-02-23T12:47:00.002-05:00

Now is the time of year when seed catalogs begin to grace my mailbox in droves. While today is rather dreary and a bit cold, thumbing through the pages makes it all seem to disappear. I love gardening, I love flowers and I love dirt. I also love growing my own fruit and veggies even if the amount of space I have is small.

Veggie Lover Print

I was insprired to make some vegetables recently, well I made a carrot for an Easter design and it sort of fell along that way. These veggies took all day to make in Illustrator because I was drawing them with a mouse, not an easy task but someday I hope to get a Wiacom tablet.

I started with basic shapes and added frilly brushes and my own patterns to them. Although it took a very long time to draw these I am considering a fruit line and a floral line too (the head of lettuce sort of looks like a peony) I have begun to post them on Zazzle for you to enjoy.

Lettuce Tie

Corny Cookout Invitation

Radish Grocery Bag

On another note I want to thank all of my customers and fans that follow me. You are most appreciated and I treasure every kind word that is given. You all make what I love to do worth doing.

Today I Thought I Would Have Some Fun

2010-02-16T19:16:00.002-05:00

Today I thought I would ask some friends for inspiration. I sent a message out asking for a color and a basic shape, the first one that responded would get the honors (though until now they did not know what that honor would be)

The first response I received was the color yellow and the shape was square. It came from Shannon Justice of Lollipop Labs Studios, a very talented artist in her own right.

So square it was and yellow, well let's just say it was a bit of a challenge. Although yellow is one of my favorite colors it is very hard to not make it glaringly bright. I started out by playing with a few yellow colors, some on the green side some a bit toward orange with nothing quite doing it. I opened Illustrator up and began drawing squares and that didn't work either so I cheated a little and used the rounded rectangle shape to make a pattern in Illustrator. Back to Photoshop. When all else fails start playing with filters, adjustments and distortions.

I began with a slight noise filter to break up some of the solid color and then applied a cubism effect which turned the noise into a random pattern of squares. I brought the rounded rectangles into Photoshop placing them on top of the yellow background. Still it wasn't right so I thought I would select the rectangles and cut the shape out of the yellow background. I thought some white was needed to break things up and added a white stroke. After playing around with it for a few hours I am happy with it and I began to post it on Zazzle.

Now you might ask what honor did Shannon receive for this little game of mine? Well the design is named after her of course.

Shannon 1" Binder

Cordelia

2010-02-16T09:57:00.002-05:00

Cordelia Invitation

This is my latest design for Pen And Ink called Cordelia. It is funny how things can sometimes spark an idea really. Every morning I happen to watch reruns of the tv show Angel. Now I can practically recite the whole series but I just never seem to get tired of it. Recently I took notice of a particular shirt that one of the characters named Cordelia was wearing. It was a bright orange color with giant circles down the front and back. While I personally could never pull off a look like that it really worked for her and it stuck in my mind. Now fast forward a few weeks and something jarred me to actually get that design out of my head and on to paper, well virtual paper anyway and thus Cordelia was born.

I have set this line up with the ability to change the background color to anything you would like. I personally like the orange but I realize orange can be an aquired taste. Cordelia looks great with a light pink background or a darker colored orange. You also have the ability to change the text colors with ease. It certainly will grab the attention to anyone carrying one of your business cards, of course there are other coordinating products to go along with them.

Cordelia Chubby
Business Card

Cordelia Tie

Cordelia 1" Binder

It Has Been A While

2010-02-12T18:45:00.002-05:00

Well it seems I have been absent here for a while. Time really flies when you are in the midst of chaos, even if the chaos is a good thing. There are some bright things ahead for me but I will share them another time. Like half the world I am trying to get things done before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I have a choice, t.v. or the internet but not both, such are the choices you have to make when you own an old house. I have to choose between an air conditioner or a vacuum in the summertime (guess which one wins) or else I am trudging down the dark, dank basement to flip unmarked fuses. Again I am rambling which happens when my mind is trying to remember too many things.

Recently the North East was pummeled with a ton of snow and while I do not mind the winter or the snow I laughed at my friends complain away and long for the Springtime. That got me to designing some things for Ostara and Easter. I posted the first thing tonight, there are a few more in line for tomorrow.

Gingham Carrot Card

Gingham Carrots is the first in an Easter series and maybe even a new vegetable series too now that I am thinking of it. This design took a few minutes in Illustrator. The gingham I already had made and the carrot was as simple circle stretched out and leaves added via the spiral and arc tool.

Be sure to look for the Easter Bunny and Chick coming soon. It is a carry over from my Always Remember Me shop on Zazzle but it is getting a fresh new look.

Sorry to cut this short, Opening Ceremonies are about to start. Have a wonderful weekend all!!!

Gingham Carrot
Veggie Lover T-Shirt

Gingham Carrot Mug

Gingham Carrot Bag

Hearts For Haiti

2010-01-21T11:46:00.002-05:00

Hearts For Haiti

an artist's project

Everyone is aware of the devastation that has occurred in Haiti this past week. We have all seen the images and many of us have felt helpless. Recently a bunch of artists headed up by Jamie of Jamie Creates decided to put their talents to use for a good cause.

Hearts 4 Haiti is a Zazzle store that features donated designs by various artists. All of the designer's fees will be donated to the Hope For Haiti relief efforts. I am proud to join my fellow artists with a design that I have donated.

My Design: Give A Little, Gain A Lot

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

If you are an artist and would like to make a contribution to the store please visit the Hearts For Haiti Facebook group for instructions.

Wow, What A Week!

2010-01-16T13:12:00.004-05:00

Well it has been quite a week for me on Zazzle and I have been blown away by the success of my relatively new store Pen And Ink. Zazzle has chosen it to be a featured store last week and has awarded me two Today's Best Awards and I am honored.

It is funny sometimes where inspiration comes from. All last week I have noticed people putting old retro photos of themselves on Facebook. It started me thinking a bit of my childhood and the summers my family and I would spend down the shore. Most of my childhood was spent in Wildwood, New Jersey at a place called The Siesta Motel. It is funny how some things can fly you back in time and for me it was the colors of this motel. It was a throwback from the fifties even if it was the early seventies at the time and it was all done up in black, white and baby pink. I remember it as if it were just a few moments ago and I remember it clearly. After time they remodeled the place and it was painted in the neutral colors of brown and cream, not nearly as special as it once was. Sadly the hotel has been knocked down to make condos but it will forever live in my memory.

Siesta Motel 1" Binder
TBA winner and
Most Viewed 1/15/10

Siesta Motel
Recipe Letterhead
TBA winner

Siesta Motel
Business Card

Gifts For Gardeners

2010-01-15T19:41:00.003-05:00

I admit, I haven't been updating here as much as I should but in my defense I have been a bit busy trying to tie up loose ends in my stores. That includes adding to existing designs like my Spring Tulips.

Spring Tulips Garden Journal

The one thing I have always wanted to see Zazzle carry is journals (and address labels but that is a different story) Anyway I decided to take the already existing calendars and make one myself.

I love gardening, I love flowers and all the things they attract. I like mud and the smell of dirt too and I don't mind worms and bugs. I have a very large shoebox filled with little envelopes of seeds, old favorites and new ones on the market. I will try it all although not to full success but where is the fun in that? I am not by any means an expert gardener either, I just love to sit in my backyard on the hammock my dad once sat in and stare at the blooms gently swaying in the wind. I could do that for hours.

Above is a garden journal that I had designed for myself. There is plenty of room for notes, different seeds and plant types and in the back is a few pages set aside for recipes. I have already started filling mine up with my favorite plants that are just waiting for spring thaw. I think if you are a gardener, you just might like it. Zazzle was even kind enough to award it with a Today's Best Award.

I added some more products to the Spring Tulips line. I had made this background for a design from my Pen And Ink store. I thought it would go perfectly with the tulips. You will find binders and letterheads that can also be used for gardening and a whole array of matching products too.

Spring Tulips
Garden Binder

Spring Tulips
Letterhead

Spring Tulips Bag

Next thing to tackle is a very outdated website, oh where to begin with that...

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It's Party Time!

2010-01-03T15:51:00.004-05:00

Ahhhh, the holidays have come and gone and I can come out from hiding. While I was ducking behind the couch I was playing with some color. Anyone in the Northeast right now can tell you it is cold and today the wind is raging to the point of almost being frightening. To keep the thoughts off of the rather large tree in my backyard I decided to add to my Celebrate section as it is not very full by any means. I can say I had quite a bit of fun doing this design and it didn't take me very long in Illustrator but did take quite a while in Zazzle.

Party Hats Photo Card

First off I wanted to take advantage of the great photocards Zazzle now offers. I set this one up in both horizontal and vertical with thoughts of using them as announcements or thank you cards for after the party. It is easy to personalize, just upload your photo and type in the name and it is ready to go.

I added a whole line of party supplies, things for the birthday boy or girl and some things for the professional party planner too.

Party Hats Card

I'm The Birthday Boy
Party Hats Shirt

Party Hats Invitation

On another note though I had planned another tutorial for everyone as I was working on an illustration for the Owl and the Pussycat. Well as I was drawing and inking the design I realized that I had mixed up two nursery rhymes in my head and there is a moon jumping cow where she is not supposed to be. Make sure you look for the NEW version soon, as for me I am going to call it an early day of designing.

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BIG After Christmas Sale

2009-12-27T12:13:00.002-05:00

Zazzle has a great sale running today, up to 75% off!!!

15% OFF T-Shirts
10% OFF Mugs
20% OFF Tote Bags
20% OFF Aprons
40% OFF Prints
50% OFF Ties
25% OFF Mousepads
75% OFF Cards, Photo Cards, Invitations
30% OFF Embroidery
25% OFF Business Cards

Use this promo code to get these great savings:
ZAZZLEACSALE

Alice In Wonderland

2009-12-15T19:42:00.003-05:00

Alice Playing Card - Card

I don't know many people that have not been inspired by Alice In Wonderland, there are many movies, games, tv mini series and artwork out there all depicting Alice and her menagerie of characters that travel through Wonderland with her. While watching SyFy channels Alice series I was inspired too, well, sort of.

I have always wanted to design a set of playing cards featuring different fairy tales or animals and I guess the thought hit me the other night. Now most of what has been out there lately has been very dark and goth looking, American McGee's version comes to mind. Now don't get me wrong, I love those versions immensely but since I have been endlessly painting in red, green and white for the holidays I wanted to use color. My mind also tends to live on the dark side of things so that is another reason I shy away from creating darker artwork.

Although people are not a strong point for me to draw or paint I attempted and Alice and Queen of Hearts card. I am not sure why people are so hard for me to depict, perhaps it is because I never really learned or maybe it is just not one of my favorite things to do. I tried to give it an old fashioned card feel, an expressionless face staring off in the distance and I think I achieved that.

I started out making a short list of things that stuck out for me in the story and then cut it down to a few subjects. I lightly sketched the outside of the card with those objects trying to keep Wonderland and Alice's world separate to an extent. I always loved Dinah so I made sure she was in there. The flamingos are a favorite too and of course the Cheshire Cats grin. I tried to fit the Mad Hatter in there but the only thing that made it into the final design was his hat. Add the White Rabbit and his pocket watch, a dancing tea set, and of course the looking glass and I had my outside design.

The harder part was getting Alice and the Queen to align. I drew a grid and that helped but I was having such difficulty with Alice's dress lining up with the Queen's cape so I had no choice but to give Alice a cape too. I thought about making the Queen older but it sort of looked out of place so I made her about Alice's age and I think it worked ok.

This is my first attempt at trying something like this. I would like to do more fairy tales, perhaps I think I might attempt a Mad Hatter/Cheshire Cat card next...hmmm....

Alice Playing Card
Tie

Alice Playing Card
Bag

Alice Playing Card
Letterhead

13 Black Cats Designs

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part Three

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part Two

2012 GBK Golden Globes Gifting Suite Part One

The Real Meaning Of The Holiday Season - Year Two

Buy Handmade and Support The Arts

Zooey's Gift

We Are So Excited!

Thank You

The Artisan Group's Holiday Gift Guide

Emmy Gift Lounge Wrap-up With Some Candids

HUGE Blog to Blog Giveaway!

Stories From GBK Primetime Emmy Gift Lounge

Stories From GBK Primetime Emmy Gift Lounge

The Emmy's Whirlwind Part Two

What A Whirlwind! Part One, Meet And Greet

Today We Remember

A Gentle Breeze/A Raging Wind

A question posed to all of you...

Get Ready For Halloween!

The Emmys Are Almost Upon Us

A Funny Little Thing

H U G E Giveaway From The Artisan Group!

GREAT GIVEAWAY!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

The Artisan Group's first of three Emmy Award Twitter Parties!

The 2011 Kid's Choice Awards

My Time At The Sundance Film Festival 2011

My Time At The Golden Globes Gift Lounge Day Three and Four

My Time At The Golden Globes Gift Lounge Day One and Two

The Meaning of Christmas - part 2

Getting Ready For The Golden Globes

Poinsettia And Holly Christmas Stocking Kit

The Real Meaning Of The Holiday Season

Doctor Mew?

Black Friday Deals Leaked at Zazzle!

Popular Christmas and Holiday Stamps

Poinsettia and Holly Christmas Stocking Kit

Poinsettia and Holly Cards

Pink Poodles On Parade

4 Hour Zazzle Sale

For Four Hours Get 50% OFF Of All HoodiesSave over $17 From Noon to 4pm!

Tomorrow Is The Big Day

Getting Ready For...

Oh Well...An Update

NEW Flat Rate

Since Nothing Is Doing On My End

My Day (and Night) At The Playboy Mansion

Sew Buttons On Ice Cream

MTV Movie Awards

From Here On Out

And Sometimes It Is A Pile Of Poop...

Sometimes Things Are Not So Rosy

Great Memorial Day Sale At Zazzle!

Read All About It

Kitten Cuteness For Charity

Everywhere, Cats

Usquequaque Prosum

Pirates, Princesses, Time Travel, Fairytales, Super Powers And More

Secret Project is Almost Ready

Getting a Head Start

When It Rains It Pours

Great Sale On Business Cards

Upsy Daisy Bear

Springtime Trio Heralds In Spring

Freebies Anyone?

Busy, Busy, Busy

ProKeds Customizable Sneakers

And The Catalogs Begin To Arrive

Today I Thought I Would Have Some Fun

Cordelia

It Has Been A While

Hearts For Haiti

Wow, What A Week!

Gifts For Gardeners

It's Party Time!

BIG After Christmas Sale

Alice In Wonderland

For Four Hours Get 50% OFF Of All Hoodies
Save over $17 From Noon to 4pm!