Cheap Wall Art (I mean frugal)

The walls at Print Possible (my other, other job) are bare. Have been for 2 years. We keep meaning to put something up, but time keeps moving on and the walls haven't dressed themselves. Well, no more naked walls! These will be hanging very soon. (click on photos to enlarge)

The 16 frames all laid out on my floor. I'm going to try and hang them with sticky-back velcro so they will (hopefully) be easier to align.

I bought some 5.5 x 5.5 Nyttja frames at IKEA ($24 for 16 frames!), scoured my clip art books, did a little printing and cutting and voila, instant art.

The frames still wrapped up and some trial images printed out.

I created a template in Illustrator so I could print the images 2 at a time. I printed the trim marks as solid lines for easier cutting and because the picture frame border would cover any cutting mistakes.

A closer look.

I printed the "border" on kraft paper and the butterflies on white. I ended up changing the corner images to include some of the border because the corners on their own (see photo 3) were to overwhelming when they were bigger.

Thrift Store Gold (or Silver in this case)

Yesterday, Little Cat A and I went to a local thrift store. It's been a very long time since I've been on the thrift store circuit. Back when I was an owner at Room With a Past, I hit thrift stores and garage sales weekly to gather inventory to revamp for the shop. After a few years of weekly hunting, I was burned out and had to take a couple of years off. But, I'm ready to get "back in the saddle" and hunt again. I was rewarded on my first time out by finding this silver toast holder.

I've been wanting/needing a file folder holder (say that 3 times fast) and did not want another black plastic one from the office supply store. I love the font, the patina, the look, the everything! about this toast holder (I mean folder holder). All this enjoyment for only $3! (contented sigh...)

Some Free Love

Ok, I've been wanting to do a free download for quite some time now, but had no idea how to do it. Once again, it's Cathe Holden to the rescue. She gave me some pointers (ok, she told me exactly what to do). Let's see how it works. Please click here for a download of this:

It's an 8.5 x 11 pdf of Valentine's gift tags/lollipop holders. I created them for my daughter to pass out to her pals in class. Just print, cut and attach a goodie to each tag and spread the love. Little Cat is is going to punch two holes in the center and "weave" a lollipop stick through them.

Please let me know if this download works for you and how they print for you. I'd really appreciate any feedback. I want to get it right so I can do more freebies in the future:)

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Whitney

New Designs for the Shop - Scooters, Scrolls and a Bird

I've been eager to sit down at my computer and work on some new stuff for my etsy shop. Having to get year-end bookkeeping stuff done at my "other" job and having to get a new laptop and transfer everything over to it has kept me in a very left brain place lately. I needed a creative fix and I got one. Two glorious days (while the kids were in school) at home, alone (except for the dog that loves to sit in my lap and rest her head on my keyboard, which makes it challenging to type) to play and create. Oh the joy!

A modern scroll do-dad sort of thing.

The color ways the modern scroll do-dad comes in.

A different modern scroll do-dad sort of thing.

The color ways the different modern scroll do-dad comes in.

A little retro scooter for her.

A retro scooter for him.

Technicolor sound wave? Party Streamers?
Who knows, but I liked it.

I know, I know, birds , birds, everywhere birds,
but I can't seem to get enough of them.

Look What "Oh So Beautiful Paper" is Sharing

Haven't picked out your Valentine's Day card yet? Take a look at Nole's, Oh So Beautiful Paper blog. I think she has got WONDERFUL taste and always showcases the most lovely paper goods. She was kind enough to include my Book of Love in her first installment of Valentine's Day cards. I did submit my entry to her and I'm honored she chose to include it. Take a peek here.This is my favorite. It's a print. I just love it!

Another Valentine After All

I THOUGHT I was only going to create one design for Valentine's Day, but I came across a couple of cupid graphics that inspired me. I decided to do a PDF Valentine Set for the etsy shop. I tried to make them flexible to use.

The PDF files all printed out.

Everything cut up and ready to give.

Each little Love Note is for writing something you love or appreciate about someone. Similar to the Bucket of Love concept, but instead of having all the notes in one place, I like the idea of hiding them all over the place so they can be found for days on end.

The Petite Valentines are for using as gift tags (maybe with a Hershey Kiss taped to it?) or punch a couple of holes in it and "weave" a lollipop through.

The labels are just for fun; sealing envelopes, decorating a package or making Valentines with.

When Good Dogs Do Bad

Would you think by looking at this

I would ever need one of these?

Well, my furry pal, Lola, and I went visiting yesterday to my good friend Denise's house to meet the newest addition to their family. Cookie, a Malti-Poo puppy. We thought it would be so nice for Lola and Cookie to become friends. Well, not only was Lola less than patient with the pup (a tad snippy, actually), but she went No. 1 on a cool, round mattress that D has (of course, it was new). So, not only will I be replacing the mattress, but sending this apology card. I designed it last summer when I found the dog graphic and thought it was hilarious. Who knew it would come in handy! I hope it's the last time I have to use it.

A Great Way to Start a New Year

I came across this blog the other day called Simple Mom. It's fantastic! I was most intrigued with a posting she had called "20 Questions for Planning New Year's Goals". I promptly downloaded the pdf and printed out a couple sets. One for me and one for the LOML. I just love the way the questions are worded. Very gentle and yet thought provoking. Look at the questions here and see if they speak to you.

If you have the time, this is another great article from her site about setting goals or making changes without the pain.

My First Advertisement!

If you get a chance, check out my first advertisement. Stephanie over at StephModo contacted me about advertising on her blog. I checked out her blog and promptly said YES!. Her blog is just wonderful and has a bit of everything; some design, some food, some personal, some everything! Take a peek here. Thanks Stephanie!

Valentine for the Shop

The Book of Love

I don't do a lot of designs for holidays. Just a few for each one (at most). I just finished my one and only nod to Valentine's Day for my esty shop. The idea came from the Christmas gift (The Bucket of Love) I made for my husband. That project was loads of work. It was worth it, but I wanted to come up with something a little more user friendly for the shop. Enter "The Book of Love". All the giver has to do is decorate the heart (if they choose), fill in the pages with the things they love about the person, pop it in the envelope and voila, instant valentine keepsake. I have enough supplies to make 10 (my first limited edition!).

The heart and envelope are red pearlized paper.
The heart works as the to/from tag and to keep the book closed.

Once the heart is removed, the book opens.

The inside front cover (on right) and the first page to write on.

Samples of the pages to write on.
They alternate in the book. 10 pages total.

New Year - New Face (kind of)

Here's to 2009 being a year of prosperity, love, kindness, appreciation and laughter! (And on a personal note for me, here's to being more patient and creative. Well, and organized too.)

With a new year I thought it time for a new approach . That approach being one of not hiding behind my computer. If I were in the entertainment business, I wouldn't want to be an actor (no lime light for me, thank you very much), but a set designer/builder. I like the creating, the behind the scenes. I'd much rather put a party together than attend one.

But, I've noticed loads of people put their photos on their blogs and I really like it. It's so much more personal to me. More friendly. SO, I've officially left my comfort zone and put my mug on my blog page. It's GINORMOUS!! I don't know how to make it smaller. If anyone knows how I can make it smaller, I beg of you to leave a comment or email me and tell me how. Quickly, so I can stop the cold sweats. Oh my, I miss my comfort zone already!

Happy 2009!!

UPDATE: 1-28-2009 Cathe Holden over at Just Something I Made came to my rescue and told me how to make my mugshot smaller. She actually sent me a smaller photo for me to drop in and emailed me the steps she took to make the photo smaller. It had to do with Photoshop Elements and making the photo 125 pixels. THANK YOU CATHE!!