Be My Valentine - A Valentine's Day Card Roundup

Hi there. How are you?

Valentine's Day is no big deal at our house. No cards, no presents. It really just another day for us. We even used to host an Anti-Valentine's Day party when we lived in Rockford.

I don't do Valentine's day, but I must admit that I love paper valentines and always have. I have fond memories of decorating the shoe box to bring to school and exchanging goofy E.T., Care Bear and Rainbow Brite themed cards with all the kids in my class. As an adult, I'd send out homemade Valentines to friends and family instead of sending Christmas cards.

I've designed a new valentine this year featuring my sweet little fairy wrens. I've always thought they looked like they were talking to each other, and this is what I imagine they'd say.

Do you send/give valentines? There are so many artful, irreverent, and quirky Valentines available these days. I've pulled together a selection of my personal faves I've found on Etsy.  Enjoy!

1. You Make Me Happy by Meg Gleason/Moglea
2.You're Doing it Wrong by JulieAnnArt
3. Foxy Valentine by Michele Maule
4. There is Nobody Else by Emily McDowell
5. Capture my Heart by Jenipher Lyn/Nightly Doodles
6. You're Cute by Me!

If you'd like to see more of my Valentine finds, check out this Pinterest board.

That's all for now friends. Ta-Ta!
 

Will You Be My Valentine?

Greetings friends!  With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I'd share my Valentines with you.

My “Just a Little Love Song” collection features 3 different collages I created, all based on lovey-dovey Beatles song lyrics. You can buy these cards individually or in a set of 6 (2 of each design).

I just introduced the "Just For Two" card to the shoppe.  I created the original mixed media for my solo show at JR Kortman's last February and thought it would make a sweet little valentine.

I've also got the trusty ole' "Smooch" card available. I made this one back in 2008 and it's easily one of my top sellers.

All of my cards are made by me in my studio, using an archival ink printer. Each card measures 4.25" x 5.5"(folded) and is printed on a nice matte paper.  Though I intended these cards as valentines, you could send them any time!

Please do check out my Sale section in the shoppe. I've got many tiny originals available for a steal.  Art makes a great Valentine's Day gift!

Ta-Ta for now.

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I Wanna Hold Your Hand

The sun is pouring into my house today and I'm just eating it up! We don't get too many sunny days during the Illinois winter, so one must savor the time that the warm yellow thing is out and shining.

I've got some new Valentine cards in my shop. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is part of my series featuring lovey-dovey Beatles song lyrics. I made the original collage with notebook paper, magazine letters and masking tape. The cards are printed with my fancy Epson printer and look superb. The prints are then adhered to white 4" x 5.5" card blanks and come with a matching white envelopes.

Though I tend to sell the most of these Beatles cards around Valentines day, I keep them in my shop year round. Its always time to hold a hand and need some love!

My Valentines are available individually in my Etsy shop for $3.00 each. If your are interested in a set, I'd be happy make one up for you.

Scoutie Girl Blog Feature

Happy Monday friends. With a week of final exams ahead of me, this particular Monday doesn't feel as daunting as usual. All I have to do is proctor and grade. Its a nice way to ease back into school after the winter break.

I'm thrilled to be featured on the Scoutie Girl blog today. This is a big, cool deal! Scoutie girl is a has a huge readership in the handmade art community. I'm hoping it is a boon for my etsy shop. Three of my pieces are featured in the article. I also talk a bit about my collage process and how my passion for collage emerged back in 2006.

On the Etsy front, I have listed my new Valentiny cards. These tiny cards exude cuteness! Since they are so tiny, (just 3.5" x 2.5" when folded) they cannot be mailed, but they are great for gift enclosure cares, a child's Valentine party at school, scrapbooking, or even framing. If you are interested in larger, mailable versions of these cards, just drop me a line and I'll be happy to oblige.

Until next time. Ta Ta.

Happy New Year

Happy 2010 friends! I hope that this new year brings many good things to all.

Sadly, I've reached the end of my 2 week vacation and I am reluctantly thinking about going back to work tomorrow. Its been a glorious 2 weeks and I've relished all of my free time!

During the break I made some new art for the shop and further experimented with oil painting. I am working on a small oil painting of my own and Matt and I collaborated once again on a larger piece. Both are close to finished. I'll be sure to post when they are complete. I created the cute little "Valentiny" ACEO, which is for sale on Etsy. It will also be available as a card in the near future for all your Valentine needs. I'm also cooking up some tiny ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") valentines with matching tiny little envelopes.

Happily, I said goodbye to two large original mixed media pieces during the holiday season. "Petals and Postage" (above) sold at the Wallblank holiday show and "Necessity Breeds Invention" (below) was sold via Etsy to an old friend of mine. These are the first mixed media pieces of this size (8" x 10") that I've sold. I'm happy to see that going big is finally paying off and it motivates me to make more in this size.

I'm looking forward to 2010 and there are already some big plans in the works. I am hoping to enter and show at 2 local juried art shows AND......go to Italy!!! I'm working on a passport at the moment and am trying to sock away all of the money I can to make the trip happen. Wish me luck.

Off to enjoy the last few hours of freedom. Ta Ta!