Annual Holiday Sale is here!

Hi there. How are you? A belated Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I hope you had wonderful time celebrating with friends and family.  For the first time in many years, Matt and I are actually not traveling for Thanksgiving. We got to celebrate right here in Carbondale with some dear friends. I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to be at home all weekend. I am a huge homebody!

Holiday BOGO Sale! 

With Thanksgiving each year comes my annual sale. All of my paper goods (prints, calendars, or cards) in my Etsy shop are BOGO! Buy one get one FREE! Yippee! 

Here are the Details:

1. For every paper good you buy, choose another of equal or lesser value for free.
2. Place all items in your shopping cart and press APPLY SHOP COUPON CODE.
3. Enter code BOGO14 and you're all set!

The sale runs now through Sunday November 30th.

Click HERE to shop!

Thank you for your continued support friends! Ta-ta for now.

A Birdie and Bucktown

"Female Cardinal" 8" x 8" mixed media on cradled hardboard, $150.

Hi there. How are you? 

Yep, I went there....Another bird piece! This one features the female cardinal my favorite feathered friend. I know that most prefer pretty red male cardinal, I like the female's "mohawk" and her slightly rounded form. Are in you interested in purchasing this cutie? Do get in touch. 

Next Weekend: Bucktown Arts Fest!

Next weekend, Matt and I will be packing the Element and heading up to Chicago for the fabulous Bucktown Arts Fest. Join me Saturday August 24th and Sunday August 25th, from 11 am to 7pm in Senior Citizens Memorial Park. Find me in booth #18, which is located right on the park grounds. I'll have some brand new work debuting here. Hope you can join me!

And last but not least....

I've got a birthday coming up over Labor Day weekend. I've decided to celebrate with a "BOGO" print sale in my Etsy shop. Details forthcoming. Be excited!

So, ta-ta for now. Do enjoy your weekend friends! 

Tinker Prints Now Available.

Hi there. Happy Friday! Any big weekend plans? We are going to be sticking close to home this weekend, as it's our last with Jack before he heads back to Rockford.

As promised, I've been adding new merch to my Etsy shoppe.  This week I have started to list prints of my Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum commission. You can see the whole collection of 10 pieces here.

The cutie shown above is entitled "I feel at home" and features a child's size rocking chair that sits in a sunny corner of the Tinker kitchen.  My inlaw's actually purchased this piece at the exhibition opening, and it now sits in their kitchen.  I love that I still get to visit it there.

All 10 of the Tinker prints, along with card sets are available for purchase in the Tinker Museum store in Rockford.  (I believe there are also a few originals available for sale too.)

Ta-ta for now!

Etsy Updates!

"Unwind" 8" x 8" archival print

Hi! How are you? Can you believe it's almost August?

It's been busy around here.  My stepson Jack has been staying with us, so we've been taking lots of little side trips around Southern Illinois. We also took a week long trip up to Rockford and Wisconsin, saw a concert, and had an art show. (More about the art show later.)

My long neglected Etsy shoppe is finally getting a facelift. I'll be slowly adding new prints and originals to the mix.  My newest addition is "Unwind", an 8" x 8" archival print of a piece I sold earlier this summer.

Doesn't this print just scream "dog days" of summer?  Bring a little bit of summer nostalgia to your home year round by hanging this print on your wall.  (Those cold, dark, winter days will be here before you know it!)

Thanks for looking! Enjoy the last day of July. Are you doing anything exciting in these "dog days" of summer? Do share.

Ta-ta for now. 

Back to [Art]Work

Greetings friends!

I've taken a hiatus from my online life for the last week. It felt good to unplug, and spend time in my offline life. There were lots of visitors around for the holidays, including Matt's brother Luke from Bulgaria, my brother Kyle from San Diego, and my uncle Matt from San Antonio. Fun times!

The first week of my Christmas vacation flew by, but I did manage to get some art making in. I made wedding invitations for a client and for myself. (More on that coming soon!) I also had time to make a new chair piece.

Meet "What You Love",  an 8" x 8" mixed media work on cradled hardboard.  This piece not available at this time in my Etsy shop, as I'm saving it for my upcoming solo show at JR Kortman Gallery!  This is my first EVER solo show at a gallery, so you can imagine my excitement. The show will go up for the first Friday in February and be up for about a month. I'll pass along more details when I receive them. I'm hoping to debut several new pieces for this show, so I'm trying to make the most out of my free time this week. 

"What You Love" is available as an 8" x 8" archival print in my etsy shop. 

Ta-Ta for now!

New in the Shop - Harmony and Beauty Print

This past summer, I created "Harmony and Beauty" on a piece of vintage ledger paper. While preparing for my last art show, I found this tucked away in a folder amongst my art supplies.  Its time for this pretty one to be released out into the world.  You can now purchase this as an 10" x 8" archival print in my etsy shop.


Find "Harmony and Beauty" here.

Old Print - New Size

Good Day Friends!

It's hard to believe that the holiday season is indeed upon us with the current 70 degree days we are experiencing. I got a good dose of holiday cheer last weekend, while exhibiting at Frost and Friends. I'm amped and ready for this busy time of year.

Thanks to all who came out to Frost and Friends.  It was packed to the gills and lots of fun. I enjoying being able to interact with buyers at shows like this and see what they gravitate to in my collection.

"Meant to Be" attracted a lot of attention at the show.  Several people requested that I print this in an 8" x 10" size.  They spoke and I listened.  Both of my "supersized" 12" x 15" prints are now available in my etsy shop at the 8" x 10" size. And at the $18.00 price point, they make a superb holiday gift.  Just pop them in a 8.5" x 11" frame and they are ready for gifting.

I'm now prepping for the December 2nd Rockford Handmade Market. Expect to see more details on this show soon.

A Supersized Giveaway!

For years, patrons have requested that I "supersize" my work. I finally did it!

Meet "Meant to Be", my first 12" x 15" print. This is a big print of my original "Meant to Be" collage. This sucker will cover some wall space! I am really happy with how my original 8" x 10" work translated to this larger size.

"Meant to Be" was printed with my fab Epson printer using archival pigment based inks on 13" x 19" artist quality matte paper. The image is centered on the paper with a white border for your matting/framing convenience.

To celebrate my jump into jumbo, I'm giving away a "Meant to Be" print! (a $40.00 value)

Want to enter?

Just follow my blog and leave me a comment. If you already are a blog follower, just leave a comment.

The winner will be chosen at random from all those entered on Saturday morning 7/31, whenever I get my butt out of bed. (I'm so official aren't I?) The winner will be posted later that day.

Meant to Be is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

And the Winner is.......

bored, originally uploaded by l_budde.

Well, I don't have one yet. I am still waiting to hear back from the winner of my "Come Sit Next to Me" print. If I don't hear back soon, I will choose another winner, so don't lose hope yet!

I will leave you today with this beautiful self-portrait photo from my student Leah Budde. I just love the genuine expression she has on her face here. Check out her photo stream on flickr....She has quite a knack for self-portraiture.

Happy Tuesday.

New Art and a Giveaway!

Well Hi!

I finished a new piece over the weekend. After hours of stippling its time to show it off. "Come Sit Next to Me" measures 8" x 8" and it was created on cradled hardboard. Though I have made many chairs, this is my first couch, and I'm quite pleased with the results. This piece is made entirely of magazine (I usually put some plain paper in these pieces) and was finished off with a little black Prismacolor technical pen and a while gel pen. I can't help but stipple.....It adds that little bit of character and dimension.

The "Come Sit Next to Me" original is not yet for sale, but it is available as an 8" x 8" archival print in my Etsy shop. I've also decided to give away one of these prints! Yahoo! Freebie!

HOW DO YOU ENTER?

Just leave me a comment on this post and make sure I have a way to get a hold of you.

EARN ADDITIONAL ENTRIES BY:

1. Following my blog.
2. Twittering about this giveaway.
3. Blogging about this contest, linking to this post.

* Make sure you let me know you've done these things so I can give you the extra entries.

THE DRAWING WILL TAKE PLACE:

• Sunday, 7:00 central time.
• Winner will be announced Monday morning.

ACEO Four Pack!

ACEO's (Art, Card, Edition, Original) are easily the most popular item in my shop. Those tiny 2.5" x 3.5" beauties can be made quick and sold inexpensively. I often make them while I'm at school and the kiddies are busy working.

When I got my fancy-dancy Epson R2880 printer I started selling ACEO prints. These have also become quite popular and a great way to collect my art on the cheap.

I've decided to offer a "4-Pack" of my ACEO prints at a discount. You can choose any 4 ACEO prints from my shop and pay just $14! My ACEO prints sell for $4.00 each, so buy a 4-Pack and save two bucks.

Check out the "Tiny Prints" section of my Etsy shop.

Off to Yoga. Have a great day!

My Love Affair With the ACEO

ACEO stands for Art, Card, Edition, Original. Funny name, I know. These tiny pieces of art measure 2.5" x 3.5" and are the same size as a trading card. I have grown to love working in this compact format.

The ACEO grew out of the ATC, Art Trading Card. Born in the 1990's, the ATC is a piece of art meant to be traded, not sold. ATC "swap meets" were organized and artists traded their wares just as children traded baseball cards. As their popularity grew, artists did start to sell their ATC's and called them ACEOs.

I was first introduced to the ACEO when I started selling on Etsy. One of my fellow Etsyians suggested I try the format as I was already working quite small. The size is perfect for my tiny collage work, and because they are so small, I can sell originals at a very reasonable price. I quickly became hooked on the ACEO!

You will notice that most of my ACEO's have rounded corners. I found these card blanks on ETSY in the shop of Fanshefolds. Frances handcrafts these blanks, which are available in many different colors and finishes.

ACEO's have become the top seller in my Etsy Shop. Once an original sells, I will offer it as a print. I don't make prints of all the pieces I sell, just the ones I really like. Because these ACEO's are so detailed, I can even enlarge them to 5" x 7" and they still hold up.

I hope that you enjoy your weekend. Not much in the works for me, which is just the way I like it.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!