vol.25

The newsletters have gone out...

...and a winner was selected! Aimee H. your name was chosen for the e-love giveaway. Thanks to all those who have subscribed to the list. I now have exactly 100 subscribers! How exciting is that? I am *still* enjoying reading everyone's comments and new product/art suggestions. Keep em coming.

If you havent subscribed yet, you can do so by clicking the envelope below. I never send more then two e-mails a month, and never share your address with anyone. I wouldnt even if they offered me a year's supply of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, and believe you me... that's something. ;)

I think from this point on, I will let the winner choose their print of choice. It really only makes sense!

I'm having a hard time believing that summer is over already. Seems we never really had a summer, the weather was so weird. Oh well, cozy nights by the fire is seeming nice. I'm also excited to start adding christmas cards and tags to the shop. fun fun!

after a stream of unfortunate events...

I now have a new cell phone! My previous cell phone was the Katana, and I really did like it. Unfortunately so did the herd of wild squirrels roaming our neighborhood. After leaving it (my old cell phone) outside, one night... they decided to help themselves to dessert. A long night and a few teeth marks later resulted in a somewhat dysfunctional cell phone. Unfortunately, I wasnt eligible for an upgrade until November. Fortunately though we had a really nice sprint employee that was able to move my time up a little sooner. :) So, I am now the proud owner of the Instinct.

The touch screen definitly took some getting used to, and its the first "non" flip phone I have owned, so it is taking some getting used to, but I really do love it. It is the most expensive cell phone I have owned. My husband (over the years) has always tried getting me to go for the more option oriented (more expensive) phones. He just may be the biggest cell phone fanatic you will ever find. To this day he still has no idea how I "got by" with my katana, since it lacked the ability to take video.

While I really dont need all the fancy gadgets on the instinct, I love that I can reply to an e-mail on it, (even if it takes me forever!) but what I think I will love most... is being able to re-list sold items in my etsy shop. This will be very convenient while I am away for short little weekend trips, and dont want to pull the listings from my shop. I even got to use that handy dandy feature this weekend while we were away visiting family in Eugene OR this last weekend. Handy indeed!

Any other instinct owners out there care to share their opinions?

the journey...

A new print! This one has been in the making for quite some time... It is actually my second attempt, my first attempt resulted in a corrupt file while doing the final save. Normally it wouldnt be too big of a deal, but since I had created all 6 colors, it was like losing 6 images all at once! My computer was running pretty slow at the time, but 2 gigs of added ram has really helped speed things up. Running my photo editing programs takes up SO much ram. Now, it is a super speedy machine, and I am loving it!

This print was created to coordinate with "remember happiness" although the colors are slightly different.

Also, here are the first prints in a new space themed series...I promise to try and list some more boy themed art. I know my shop is really lacking in this area, and I admit it is definitely a challenge for me! :)

"blast off" is listed here

 
"You are my star" listed here

These two prints are also listed as a print set... HERE. :)

Anyhow, that is my brief update, I have another book themed print almost finished up as well. I have SO many sketches waiting to be digitally colored. It must be close to 12? I guess you can tell I would rather sit with my clipboard and pencil then to sit at my computer. :)

Well, hope everyone had a great middle of the weekday. :)

princess for a day...

Trinity was asked to be the flower girl in a cousins wedding this last saturday. Of course if you know Trinity, you would know that this is right up her alley... She loves anything girly, and leaps at the chance to dress up. On this particular day people were asking her what her name was and she was replying "princess."  She really was on cloud nine.

I was trying to take the opportunity (in between tending to trin) to re-aquaint myself with the art of wedding photography. I have another cousin and very good friend getting married in January, and I have been asked to take their wedding pictures. I'm nervous, but because I do know them (and the entire wedding party) so well it really should be quite a bit of fun. :) I have been reading online, and researching things so that hopefully by then I will be prepared for anything! The last wedding I shot was with a 35mm slr, and I had my lens decide to quit 2 days before the wedding. yikes!

This upcoming wedding is giving me more then one excuse to finally purchase an external flash for my camera, and a few more memory cards. Wish me luck!

-in other news... I am really anxious to learn how to embroider, I would love love to design a few of my own embroidery patterns, but of course... this would be easier if I knew how to embroider. :) So, I have done a few google searches and found some great tutorials! It seems coming up with a set of patterns really would be fairly simple, but I just worry about offering a set to sell, that I cant really test-drive myself. If I do get a set created, is anyone willing to test them out for me?

Here is a simple scrapbook idea...

Hi everyone! Yesterday didnt end up working out for posting the pictures of Journeys scrapbook. So, today I snapped a few and also scanned in my "blueprints/inspiration." 
These were created for a 4x6 sized page, I am sure they could be converted for 8.5x11 use fairly easy. But, the pictures sizes listed are figured for a 4x6 page. :) Anyhow, the areas left white indicate a picture.

you can click here to get these sketches at full size

I buy those cheap albums and pay around a dollar for them. I remove the art/photography that is inside the front and back covers, and voila you have a really cheap completely customizable scrapbook. :) I have included pictures of the scrapbook I did for Trinity (my oldest) so you can get an idea of how it might look finished. :) Why do I do the albums at this size? Well, for several reasons. One 12x12 sheet of cardstock goes a LONG way when cut into 4x6 sizes, and the smaller layouts make it so much quicker for me to finish a page or two. Something that is VERY crucial with a newborn baby in the house. :)

Here is the cover for Trinity's book. This was the first scrapbook I have ever finished. I TRULY believe that keeping it small, kept it from seeming overwhelming.

Here is the inside covers
 

and a couple of the pages from her book.

Below is the beginning of Journey's scrapbook
 
So far it has been FUN working on, she will be 3 months the 5th of October, and I'll have yet another month to do. I have really really been wanting to do a little mini scrapbook of our home as it is now as well. It seems to change so often, I really think it would be fun to document the changes. :)

What do you think? Have you ever scrapbooked at this size?

love happens...

and isnt it great that it does? :) This cute couple have been in my "to digitally color" file for a couple of weeks. It feels good to finally get them done. I had wanted to illustrate my own robot pair for awhile now. :) Hope you all enjoy the result! They're listed here:

Lately, I have really been wanting to change up my store branding a little bit. I like my existing logo... but I feel that I need to somehow include a little bit more of my style in the logo. I mean... the logo does not even have a heart in it, and I can count on my fingers the prints listed that do not have at least one heart in them. :) So... I am working up some new logos, and I am hoping you will weigh in and give me some advice on them. Changing your logo really isnt probably ever a good thing to do.. and I have always battled with keeping things the same, I get tired of something and want to change it. I guess that was one of the reason's I started designing logos for other people, it helped satisfy my need to design. :) But anyhow, I have a couple in the works and I will try and get them posted in the next couple of days.

Also a little later today I am going to try and post pictures of the couple of pages I actually finished for Journeys mini scrapbook. :)

Audrey Hepburn inspired...

A new print just listed in the shop! :) This one was fun to create... and I hope you all enjoy.

Wasn't Audrey Hepburn just the sweetest person? :)

The quote reads:

"for beautiful eyes, look for the good in others,
for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness,
and for poise,
walk with the knowledge,
that you are never alone."

Well, I am going to keep this short, I am off to enjoy what's left of this gorgeous saturday!

i heart tjmaxx

hello! How are things going for all of you? I hope well. The weather here has been very odd, but I am enjoying it. I have never been much of a winter person, but I do generally manage to enjoy fall. :) Well, this year is no exception! Mine and Jaydon's 5 year anniversary is next month, and I am super excited about that!

BUT... anyhow onto the title of my post... why I love tjmaxx. I can always find super nifty deals for the home. :) I have been on a hunt for a new comforter for quite awhile now, and finally found the perfect duvet cover at tjmaxx just yesterday!

I love love it to pieces, the only thing I am worried about is how long the color will stay this bright white. :) BUT, it is a duvet, so I can always throw it in the washer. { I apologize if the wrinkles hurt your eyes... I admit to never ironing my cloth napkins, clothes, or anything else that happens to need it. ;) }

WARNING: The wrinkles are VERY obvious in the picture below... you may want to scroll past it... :)
The colors in this really went GREAT with the rest of the room, and I stole that brown pillow from the living room couch. It was originally purchased from pier1 last fall. Oh! That brings me to another project that has been running through my mind... updating the living room colors/theme. I have been checking out hotels in Seattle for mine and jaydons potential anniversary trip, and fell in love with the colors in a few of the more modern hotels. .. grey and orange. This particular hotel (hotel max) is completely inspired by art, and I would love to stay here! note: I havent decided on the exact color of orange just yet... but maybe a little brighter then the rust color seen here.

I have been seeing a bunch more orange lately, and I think fall has more then likely sprung that trend... but nonetheless I love it! Of course, I am talking only changing it by bringing in oranges as accent colors, pillows, and art, maybe a few other pieces... but painting the walls grey is an idea I would love to see follow through.

Oh- and here is some pictures of the shelves in our room. I rearranged things again, and also found all of my vintage cameras in a box outside in the garage. :) yay!! (psstt: They are inspiring a new print)

...and one more thing, I recently had a request for more boys themed art... and I am granting that request! I currently have 2 space themed prints and also 2 circus prints waiting to be colored. I am excited about finishing them up, but have been busy working on christmas cards! Yep, I already have three finished. I'll give you a sneak peek at my newest one...

We made a trip to bestbuy over the weekend, and bought 2gigs of extra ram for my computer. Something it was DESPERATELY needing. :) It sped up my computer like something fierce, and I am enjoying it taking less then half the time it used to take to finish up a piece of art. Which has finally allowed me the time I needed to finish up my very own scrapbook paper, for Journey's mini monthly scrapbook...

Here they are printed, I love how they turned out! Of course I am coordinating these with some bright colored cardstock as seen here.

I have some little sketches drawn out on graph paper, which will really speed up the creating process. I'll be sure and include a scanned copy for your own use in the next week. :)

Well, thats my update for this beautiful thursday! I hope everyone has had a great week!

I am thankful...

sooo very thankful that my little angel is now sleeping through the night! She was 2 months to the day just yesterday. I was a little hesitant to post my good fortune at first... for fear of jinxing myself... but its been a week and a half now, and it seems very consistent! yay! She sleeps from 9:00-6:00/7:00 am. I generally wake her up to feed her before we go to bed, but she practically sleeps through it. :) Anyhow, I just wanted to share that little piece of good news!

Also I added another TTV version of this up and coming new popular print. :) Its a personal favorite of mine, and I think the message it send is VERY important. Especially for little people growing up in today's time.

Not all prints translate into a TTV format, but I think this particular print turned out beautifully. :)

Happy Saturday everyone!

lets go fly a kite...

New art! Inspired by the lovely Mary Poppins. :) Trin loves this movie, and is constantly bouncing around the house singing this song. I think since it is the ending song it is the last thing she hears, and is fresh in mind. :) I listed it saturday morning, and you can be the first to own it... right here.

So, anyhow... this print is also inspired by an original (and my first!) acrylic painting. :) I need to photograph and list it soon. Which brings me to my next announcement. :)

ALL originals in the store have been HEAVILY discounted. I have been itching to paint with acrylics and am finally making time to do so. :) Which means... I need to make room. One day I will have my own studio, with plenty of room to store piles and piles of paintings... but until then, I need to do some storage control. :) So, my loss is your gain.

Well, I hope everyone was able to enjoy the three day weekend. We had family come in, and also helped my sister move to a slightly larger home. Yesterday we watched the parade, and barbecued.

The morning parade was a little on the chilly side, which made me a little concerned for Journey... but we just kept her extra bundled and I think it worked out just fine. :)

We live about a block from prime parade watching real estate, so that is always nice. Everyone generally meets up over at our house and we walk on over to watch the parade.
I think my favorite part of the parade is watching the lipizzanner horses I love watching their unique dancing movement. I dreamed of owning my own as a child. However I must admit I was quite content when I received my first horse, and it was nothing but a quarter horse. :D

Alright, hope all is well!