4th of July

Wishing everyone a Happy July 4th.. please be safe and take a few minutes to remember those who are not home, but away fighting to maintain our freedom.

100 for 100

In celebration of the release of my new customizable holiday cards, I have decided to offer a special on note flat style. Order between now and November 15th (my birthday!) and get 100 cards WITH envelopes for just $100! (not including shipping) These are beautiful, two sided cards, fully customized with your photo and greeting. Email me for more information.

I have been spending a lot of time at the computer over the last week trying to catch up and make a little bit of money to pay vet bills. argh. Sweet doggie Ginger is probably recuperating from surgery as we speak. I need to call in about 45 minutes to see if she can come home. She had to have a tumor removed from her leg, her teeth cleaned and stuff ( eew) and her claws clipped because she is old and can't keep them worn down as much. I won't clip them anymore because I inevitably cut too deep and I can't stand the feeling that I might have hurt her. Our sweet girl is about 13 years old and thankfully the doctor says she is in great shape for such an old doggie from rough beginnings. She was abused as a pup and we adopted her as an adult. She is just the sweetest thing now. Anyway, I got a bit off topic there.

I just completed a new blog banner and business card design for the talented mosaic artist Michelle Legler. You may recognize her by her fabulous mosaic cupcakes! I had a lot of fun doing a 'mosaic' design for her since her taste is so similar to my own. She didn't have any changes to colors or designs...
Also, I got to do another calling card design. They are so fun. This one is for sweet Kim at ArtDog'sLife. I wasn't sure about the design because she was a little ambiguous in her description of what she wanted but I guess I know her well enough that she loved it. I got to use a lot of my vintage buttons and ephemera and the doggie in the locket is Kim's sweet dog Chance Marie who is the queen of their kingdom. Speaking of doggies, I better go pick up mine.

Inspiration in small pretty packages

Hey all, I am enjoying my visit with Joleen who is up from a very smoky Southern California. Fortunately, neither she nor any of her family has been affected by the fires and I learned today that my friends parents were safely back in their home after being evacuated. Joleen came up partially to do a holiday photo shoot with our family and those of some of my friends. Here is one of the shots she did of us. As usual the little outshines either Mom or Dad so this image of her with our legs is pretty par for the course in our family :) Actually Joleen got some very nice shots of the three of us but I am holiding those back for holiday cards :) If you live in Southern CA I urge you to consider booking a family photo shoot with Joleen. She is fun to work with and is great with kids. I am not just saying that because she is my friend either...

In other news, Cerri from Little Pink Studio contacted me a few days ago asking if I was going to Silver Bella. Alas, NO I am not. About one art retreat a year is all I can manage with a wee person in the house. She is unable to attend either and we were lamenting about how we feel left out of some of the excitement that a lot of our fellow bloggie buddies are sharing. We're seeing lots of teases for great stuff for the boutique and class preparations and swaps.. and dang it, we feel left out! Well, Cerri hatched a plan to bring a little excitement to NON- Silver Bella attendees by inviting a handful of crafty bloggers to create KITS for special projects that will all be offered up for sale the weekend of Silver Bella! We're happy to announce... the Joli Paquet project!


Currently there are 7 great gals signed up to present packets of artsy fun; including Cerri, Holly, Lori, Heather, Joleen, Cheryl and yours truly. Joleen and I have already finished our initial kit offerings and I am working on another smaller one as well. Stay tuned for more info coming soon.