vol.25

NEW art - i am a bookworm

I've FINALLY finished this one! I had a little bit of trouble getting the colors just right. It did take considerably longer to color then most... but I am so liking how it turned out. I think it would make a perfect teachers gift.I listed it in the shop just a few minutes ago...

Jaydon fell asleep in the recliner. We have had 100+ temps here this last week, and it has really taken it out of him in the evenings. Hes a framer so in the heat all day long... :( Our house progress has slowed considerably... but I guess he deserves a break. ;) I do have quite a bit I can share of the kitchen AND bathroom... so I should try and get some posts up, cause it IS exciting! BUT, for now I'm going to find myself a fluffy goose down pillow, I have a feeling I'll probably have to wake Jaydon up by way of an ice cream sandwich... cause I think hes OUT. :) night all!!

Dont forget to enter the giveaway!!

Giveaway with csn stores win a starburst mirror!

Blissliving Home - Ashley Citron Duvet Collection    from csn Mattresses

Look what I found while browsing csn mattresses. Is it not absolutely GORGEOUS? The colors are so perfect together, as soon as I seen this pewter grey paired with this delicious yellow I instantly felt the need to create! :) I need something with these colors in the shop... like yesterday! :)

A few days ago a man from the promotions department at csn stores contacted me about hosting a giveaway for all you suuuper sweet vol25 readers. :) I virtually jumped over to they're online store (there's csn and then there is csn and there is csn mattresses) and immediately decided I was going to have a problem picking out an item for the giveaway. I fell in love with waay too many things that I knew you would all love as well!

 

BUT.. as soon as I seen this Ashley Sutton Starburst Mirror my heart skipped a beat. :) I have wanted one for like EVER, and this one was soo reasonably priced at 39.99. It has a 4.5 star (out of 5) rating and was reviewed by 12 customers.... so this added to my must have-edness. If that is even a word. :) The good news is that YOU can own your very own starburst mirror. Details and rules will be explained at the end of this post...

I browsed they're store and created a wish list of sorts. If I could re-decorate my living room, this is most certainly what I would do! Well today I would... ask me tomorrow and I'll probably have a color palette involving purples. ;)

Products and links: a) Van Gogh Designs - Brittney Loveseat b) Avenue Six  - Curves Button Back Chair c)  Ashton Sutton - Starburst Mirror d) Kosta Boda - Bali Blue Vase e) Walker Edison - Wave Oval Coffee Table f) lounge art print by vol25 (me!)   g) Jill Rosenwald Rugs - Fallon Yellow / Ivory Contemporary Rug

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok! Here are the giveaway rules. I've decided to add a few more ways to make your comments count. Been seeing this done on other blogs, and figured I may as well give it a try!

To enter:

1.) Leave a comment here telling me where you would hang your starburst mirror if you did indeed win. For EXTRA entries... you can:

2.) Blog about the giveaway (leave the link in a separate comment)

3.) Follow me on twitter ( http://twitter.com/vol25 ) and be sure to tweet about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment to your twitter page.

4.) Adding one of my blog buttons (shown in the right hand sidebar) to your own blog also counts toward an extra entry. If you've already done so... thats great, (thanks!) and perfectly fine! Just be sure to leave a link to your blog in a separate comment. :)

5.) and last but not least... signing up for our newsletter, (see the pink flashing typewriter in the sidebar?) will also earn you an extra entry. Leave me a comment stating you subscribed. :)

(Important- leave a comment AND e-mail address PER extra entry or it won't be able to count)

Also important- Contest will end 12:00 am Thursday August 14th! Winner will be chosen using random.org. :)

Thanks so much to CSN for hosting this giveaway! Best of luck to everyone!! :) OH- and happy friday!

press- decor8 mention this morning!

Holly from decor8 (link has NOW been fixed!) wrote up a super cute post this morning on trailers. :) She was kind enough to include my remember happiness print! Anyone up for smores? ;) You really should check out the post, it will make you want to go camping!! :)

blog re-design and august's featured blog!

I've been busy trying to de-clutter, and better utilize the space on my blog. :) I changed my columns around again...moved them back to the right. I can't decide which way I like better! I finally learned how to make the best use of my navigation bar, and added some buttons! I've also started a monthly featured blog, and I'm pretty excited about that!

This month its lexy art, she is a super sweet inspiring australian artist who works magic with her colored pencils. If you havent stumbled upon her blog yet, I'm thrilled to introduce her to you! :) I already have plans for next month's blog... but its a secret (shhhh. :) )

 

My absolute favorite drawings of hers has got to be the siamese fighting fish pair...

 

photographs and artwork property of lexy art. :)

Lexy also has an etsy shop!!

I've also finally learned how to add my blog button complete with the code you can copy and paste into your very own blog sidebar. Hopefully that will make it easier. Been scouring the web for instructions on how to do this, but I couldnt quite figure out how to word my search correctly. BUT lo and behold today I finally found a link that was sooo helpful. I want to share it with you all, cause I know how frustrating it was to find the info myself. :)  Her blog is called a Heart for Home, and she was VERY thorough in her instructions, jet on over and learn how to add one to your blog! :)

So anyhow, I feel somewhat accomplished for the day. Now... if I could just get my newsletters finally sent out!

post it love- guaranteed to put a smile on your face. :)

I seen this video over on mixed plate, and HAD to share with you guys. :)

I rarely browse you-tube, and went through what seemed like a half hour of trying to remember, then resetting my password... just so I could log in and post this to my blog!!! Hope you enjoyed it. I thought it was cute. :)

a positive thought goes a long way...

Because I know this is true I've decided to add a regular monday feature to the blog. I say regular, but we'll see. It seems few things (other then dirty laundry) are regular and expected in my life. :)

So, whats this new regular posting going to be about you ask? Well, since I am a HUGE quote lover... I'm going to give you a positive new quote every monday to get you through the week. Some food for thought in a way. :) It will also be a good way for me to feature some of my amazing flickr favorites! They're all so inspiring to me, so it will be fun to try and match them up with a new quote. :)

Ok! This week I came across this quote and HAD To share it. Its by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

flickr photo credit: j0seph504 (love it!)

I think this quote is a great reminder for anyone who feels they're struggling with any talent. I think it would be perfect in a craft room, and I'm already planning to add this one to the shop somehow! :)

zazzle update!

Hello everybody! Time for my regular re-curring zazzle update. I mean, really have I told you how much I love this website? ;) I have also found some items on zazzle that I'm sure you'd love too... so I'm going to add a regular zazzle feature to the blog. I sold the above t-shirt yesterday morning. :) I was really excited to think of someone wearing my design. It was kind of like the ultimate compliment. It also just so happens to be my favorite t-shirt design! So anyhow, if your in the CA area, be on the lookout for someone wearing my turtles! ;)

I also sold 50 of these moving postcards.

Remember them? Well what is so totally GREAT about zazzle, is the ability (if the artist decides to allow) to customize the items listed. So, my customer was able to add her address to the back of the cards, saving her the time of writing on all 50. I've had so many people ask if I can customize these, and I'm happy to be able to let them do so now. :) Another thing on the cards: People have asked if I could change the "WE" to "I" and again I couldnt do so since I had ordered them from a printing compnay. Now I can though! I'm working on the I design and should have it listed on zazzle a little later today! So totally happy about zazzle. :D

If its been awhile since you've stopped by you definitely should take a peek again! I'm so happy with how I've managed to make my page look. :) Been dabbling a little with html coding, and boy has it been a bunch of work... and stressful! But, the end result is definitely worth it. I'd take a screen shot but for some reason my print screen button isnt working!?

I recategorized all the categories, and have about 450 products listed now. :) Does anyone have any designs they'd like to see make it into the store if they aren't already? 

Zazzle itself has been really generous in promoting my shop in the last week they have awarded three of my designs they're "todays best award."

 

 

...and now they have my store listed under the "featured stores" along with another 10 zazzle stores. Its been nice! I've set a goal for myself to make it to pro-seller status. To do so you have to sell more then 100.00 worth of merchandise for a three month period. I've already met that goal for this month and qualified for a small bonus. :)  I designed a shirt for my dad using his landcruiser and a couple coffee cups. I'll have to take pictures of them when they come in! :)

I suppose I really need to get my day started. I have a custom order I'm needing to draw, and I should probably get started on that.

One more thing- You  may have noticed that you can now search my blog, for previous posts, ideas etc. :) I've been wanting to somehow add a search function for like ever.So I'm pretty excited to have that off my list of things to do with the ole blog. :) Typepad has made a big update, and I can even share my posts with twitter. How nifty is that!?

Dont forget to let me know if you have a design/product you want me to add to zazzle!

the dog days of summer...

they're so terribly rough. Really they are! :)

especially when your like Journey here... and cant stand the water. ;) Or at least thats what WE thought. In all fairness she did skip her afternoon nap, but I still never thought she'd fall asleep in the pool. She looked so sweet basking in the sun. I had a hat on her, but for some reason she kept taking it off. :)

We went to mom and dads on saturday. My brother and his wife were able to come home for the weekend, so the guys spent the day working on they're landcruisers. I got some good pictures, so I thought I would post them here. I'm sure my brother will appreciate them, so suffer with me ok? ;)

this is my dads 68 landcruiser

and my brothers... I think his might be a 72 like Jaydon's but I cant remember! :)

leaving moms. I was sure Trinity would have a kink in her neck by the time we got home. :) We had decided to take the landcruisers for a drive, and Jaydon and I showed mom and dad, roman and shaela a piece of property we're interested in building on. I'm not getting my hopes up... we've seen so many house/property be sold around us. Someday we'll list our house. I just hope the kids haven't left home by then. ;)

this is the property. Its nestled between an orchard to the left, and vineyard down the valley below. Its soo peaceful, and about 3 miles from town... 3 acres, and an absolutely beautiful view. I love smelling the grapes around here in september, and I can only imagine how good I smell them from here! :) *sigh* to dream huh? The worst part is, we can afford it! So I'm like trying to give the hubs a nice push to finish the bathroom... our goal is to list the house the first of august, but we'll see. I'm not holding my breath! ;)

Here's the same piece of property. It was super nice outside, had cooled off just enough. After looking at the property we drove to the grandview DQ grill and chill. yummy!

Anyhow, that was my weekend. How was yours?

self portraits are for squares.

 
really they are! :) See, they look like perfect squares huh? I'm re-doing my thank you cards again... and needed a couple new pictures for the card... so that led to a mini portrait session. I rarely ever take self portraits, and I'm usually glad after I do. After all my girls need SOME pictures of me. Even if they are goofy ones right? :)

Here is what the new card looks like.

I'm also getting anxious to have some new business cards printed. The bicycle print definitely should be on a card! Also planning to design a bookmark to showcase some of my products from zazzle. :) Still having a blast designing stuff, and I think I have about 15 pairs of new Keds shoe designs awaiting zazzle admin approval. So in the next few days I will probably have a HUGE amount of inventory added.

Also: I thought I should note, that I definitely plan to add some dark colored clothing to my zazzle shop. It takes a special process in photoshop to learn how to apply your images to dark clothing... otherwise all the white on the image turns transparent... BUT I am googling it, and reading up on tutorials. Hopefully I can master the technique. :) When I do I will no doubt start a new blog post featuring a dark colored apron. ;)

Thanks for all your positive feedback on the zazzle shop. :) Its SUPER exciting to hear how excited you all are about it. :D

Well, I'm off to do some housework. I pulled out the girls' plastic play food... and it looks like a chef and baker got into one HUGE food fight in my living room.

Definitely needs cleaning up before Jaydon gets home. :) Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend. My brother just *may* make it this weekend. Looking forward to seeing them. :)

I am now a proud zazzler...

yep! I sure am. :) I'm really not sure if that is even a word... but I'm going to use it anyhow! Some of you (or ALL of you) are probably wondering what the definition of Zazzler is. So, I guess I better fill you in. :)

Zazzler: verb: To be completely smitten (and undeniably addicted) with an online, print on demand shop called zazzle. It is much like cafepress, but in my opinion much better. :)

I've had a shop on zazzle for a few months now, but havent really promoted it. As an example, you  guys are even just now hearing about it! How awful is that? :) Well, after a super sweet blog friend suggested I bring back some more tote bag designs in my shop, I decided to take another look at Zazzle. After all, they could print the totes for me, and other then my time I wouldnt be out any initial cost. :)

So, these past few days I have been spending ALL my spare computer time trying to stock my shop. I figure the more products available the better, right? Its been pretty time consuming, but I have to admit its really rewarding to see a print turn into a t-shirt, mouse pad, doggie shirt... and even a pair of keds shoes! :)

However, much to my excitement this morning Zazzle recognized a shirt I designed using puff of love (remember him?)

 
I did switch it up a little, adding a cute frame for him to peek out of it. Anyhow, they chose my image to be included with 26 others in they're "todays best" category! Can you say excitement? wow. I compare the feeling to making the front page on etsy. :)

I circled my design... pretty snazzy huh!? The BEST part of zazzle, is that anyone can design they're own product. Using any photograph or image you have, you can customize your own item. You can even design your own skateboard. :) Another really neat thing about Zazzle is they're referral program. You can read more on it here. Basically though how I understand it is this; you can earn 15% on any product purchased that you referred. There are bonuses involved as well, but I havent read up completely on them. :) I've been doing some research online and it seems as though quite a few people are making a pretty regular monthly income on just referral royalties. They have a flash panel you can use on your blog. (did you notice mine on the right sidebar!?) and anyone who clicks over from your blog and makes a purchase gives you a nice little bonus as well. :)

In fact if you were to click over to zazzle from my blog panel, and then purchased one of my products, I think I even get the referral bonus on top of any royalties I have specified on that particular item. :) Pretty nifty huh? Makes you wanna head on over and start your own shop. You really should! I'm thinking though, that like everything else... it takes some time to become established. You have to promote it, and keep things fresh and new, dedicate quite a bit of time, until you establish a following. But who am I to give advice? I havent even made a sale over there... yet. :)

However... this week my fan club has grown to 6 people! Definitely a step in the right direction. ;) I think what I enjoy designing the most is the Keds shoes.

 

They are a little more on the expensive side. Priced at 65.00, so I dont plan to sell very many. But, they're fun to design. :) Recognize the lemon from Journey's b-day? Thanks Tiff for pushing me to use the lemons!

I've had soo many people tell me I should sell my prints on t-shirts, and I'm pretty excited to be able to do so now. :) I'm slowly starting to add product lines to the zazzle shop, each product line is titled the same as the print's title. So lets say your really loving the "life is like riding a bicycle print" and would be interested in products using this same theme...

 

..You would see listed in the right hand navigation bar product lines and underneath that is the title "life is like riding a bicycle.." click on that and you'll see that there are actually 29 products listed in that specific product line.

 

pretty nifty huh? :) I kinda thought so! So have you guys already heard of Zazzle? Anyone have a zazzle shop already? They also have a 30 day money back guarantee. Which is good in my book. :)

Before I go, just a little reminder that the sale is still live in the artfire shop. I'm now a little more familiar with the artfire selling system! Thanks to everyone for supporting me over there, I know its different then etsy and takes some getting used to. But, I am loving how streamlined everything is. Even the sold items section is easier to navigate. :) I'm still not really liking the message system. But, I probably just need to take some time to get used to it. :)

I'm going to sign off now, and get some cleaning done before Jaydon gets home. Anyone figured out how to have your dryer fold your clothes for you? ;)