Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 88

Weekly Sponsor Spotlights: Be Present Retreats, Stephanie Lee, Close2MyArt, Blue Muse Jewelry, Experimental Art + Picture Frame Bracelet

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information!
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The Be Present Retreats are an invitation to pause in your life and gather in an intimate creative community to explore, create, discover, and soak up the world around you. Each retreat takes place in the Pacific Northwest and includes time spent in creative community paired with exercises and workshops to remind you to open your eyes and heart and be present on your path.
Come along in 2011 and gather for laughter and connection, share your stories, eat delicious food, play with paint and words, and find your way to the quiet where you can hear your soul's truth whispering inside you. Registration for the Pen & Paper and JOY retreats has begun. There are still a few spots left in each retreat. Learn more at www.bepresentretreats.com.
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There is an eternal fault line on which our hearts walk. The ground is constantly shifting and it is our perpetual endeavor to find our footing, to maintain a sort of balance. When there is so much fighting for attention in your mind, when you are aching to capture a true depth of your spirit on the page, journal writing can help clear the path to seeing, to cutting to the chase and get there. There. To truth and to what you really want to say even when you don't always know exactly what that is. A clearing happens in that space between written word, when you have put it down in ink on the page, when you have left the room and gone on to "reality". When you gift yourself with conscious time with you, your thoughts, and the journal page, you have planted a seed in your mind and watered it there with the black ink from your pen. And now you must let time bring forth a sprout. That growth of opening heartspace happens while you are going about your business.
Through playful and introspective exercises, this four week e-course will get the ink flowing freely on the pages of your journal so that you can draw out, word by word, a sort of guide to carry with you while navigating your emotional shifting ground. Lighthearted and excavational, truth-telling and heart opening, the questions you will learn to ask (and find your own answers for) will take root in your heart so that you can dance with the seismic activity that is a life lived consciously. Class begins January 10th. Registration is open NOW!
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our website: CLOSE2MYART.com.

our blog: allendesigns.typepad.com

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Blue Muse Jewelry is a collaboration between two sisters, Kelly Letky and Conni Bills, who, for the past five years, have used their love of handmade jewelry as a way to bond and spend lots of time together. Their favorite material is precious metal clay, and they also work with artisan glass and semi-precious stones. Creating unique, one-of-a-kind pieces is their way of adding a little beauty to life, everyday. Visit their etsy shop to see more of their work, and Kelly's blog for updates, imagery, and writing on life, art, and working as a graphic/jewelry designer.
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Do you want to find the natural artist in you? Amelia Critchlow's e-course, Experimental Art, explores a variety of art techniques - including collage and photography - in experimental ways whilst having fun with an on-line community, sharing ideas and work produced. This 6 week course is for busy people who want to take their creative inclinations to the first step, or people already practicing art and want to try something new and getting fresh inspiration, all from the comfort of home. The 6 week course costs £75 ($116 based on current exchange rates) and includes an extensive look at a variety of artists, with many pdfs, web, and book resources. Each participant gets individual feedback from Amelia too - a qualified tutor and practicing artist in the UK.
The next 6 week experimental art e-course (Winter 2011) starts Monday 10th January 2011 and for all those who sign up in December you will receive a FREE sketchbook, posted out to you wherever you are in the world. So for those who've been thinking of doing the course, now is a great chance to get your guaranteed place and a sketchbook! See here. Be sure to check out Amelia's website where you can find her gallery, blog, and more. For testimonials about the course, see here.

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Welcome to my lil` corner of the world, thank you kindly for your interest! A picture frame bracelet is a great gift giving idea for Moms & Grand Moms who have it all. Bracelets are made with premium Czech glass beads & antiqued silver plate frames; they are strung on thick stretch cording. Bracelet measures 7" around which is a good fit for an average wrist. If you need a larger size, I am happy to accommodate your need at no charge. Just contact me after the sale. Every bracelet is a treasure for me to work with, and I hope you will treasure wearing or giving yours. *FREE* I will insert your pictures, after purchase send your pictures to me jewelryboutique@att.net. You will receive a completed bracelet to keep or gift. And for PHOTOGRAPHERS, I offer a volume discount. If you would like to offer my bracelets to your clients, let's make a deal! Please visit me on Facebook for online specials. To find out more about me visit me at my website or Etsy store.

dear you, happy hoildays

to all of you, whoever you are, wherever you may be, whatever you may be celebrating or grieving, i wish for you this: that you embrace the magic of the season and that you let it heal and nurture and inspire your spirit, however weary or uplifted it may be.

there is magic in the celebrating and there is magic in the brokenness. i'm embracing it all and wishing you the same sweet surrender during this amazing, amazing time of year.



from our little corner of the world to yours: happy holidays and big, big love. xxo, kelly, john, and mr baby true who is loving his first christmas!

links galore for your hoiday week browsing

(celebrating my making it through 11 weeks of mamahood by taking a trip to an anthropologie dressing room for the first time in over a year - oh how i've missed that place! ruffle dress is from target)

it's christmas week. i'm so hoping you guys are enjoying the quiet or the chaos, wherever you may be in this part of your life. for me, i'm pretty much homebound these days with our little tiny baby. it's so cold outside that we've barely left the our super cozy coop. which, you know, is just totally fine with me.

i've been meaning to share these links for weeks. as i'm finally finding my way out of new mamahood fog, i thought i'd pull them all together for some holiday week browsing for you guys. have a magical christmas and i'll see you next week.

much xxo, kelly rae

ps: i'm so totally sprinkling in some cute photos of baby true in with these links because i cannot help myself.

-totally loving that my pal leigh (aka curly girl) started a blog.
-i'm a new designmom fan - totally inspired by how she runs her hugely successful creative biz with SIX kids at home. if she can do it, i can too:)

-loving this collection of taking flight
-this blog post had me almost peeing in my pants, it was so funny
-i think this is the best idea ever.



-this had me beaming and grinning.
-this made me chuckle because we are so totally a part of this baby name thing that's happening in the world.

-did i tell you that i met this lovely blogger? she's a new friend!
-and this one too!

-totally loving this handmade goodness.
-loving mati's aha moment - a teaching moment for all of us.



-during maternity leave, my book reached 110 reviews on amazon, all but 11 of those reviews are five starts. i am super proud of this.

-if i weren't so in the midst of finding my way in my new world right now, i'd totally take this class.
-three of my favorite people on earth are collaborating, and it's going to be a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

-john and i both agree that this book rocks. and it inspired me to get this new lens which i have not taken off my camera since i got it last month.


currently reading:
-this book which i read years ago but now it makes so much more sense.
-this book which helped me unearth a huge aha moment last week (i'm working on writing it all down)
-i know it's totally silly, but i really want to get this book.
-and i'm also reading this book which makes new mamahood feel less crazy, though i've certainly embraced my inner crazy these last many weeks.
-i've already pre-ordered friend sarah's book, and misty's too!



i am so in love with this audio documentary called born

- john gave me this and i do not leave the house without it.
- i finally gave in and bought a pair of these. i do not walk around the house without them (even when we've got the heat set to 72).
- coveting this

- completely inspired and blown away by this (because this is what's it's all about, right?)

XOOOXXO!

a bit of holiday decor

we've never been HUGE holiday decor peeps, but i think baby true has changed all of that. i want to create the magic now. i want the festive, the color, the twinkle. so, we put up our little tree over the thanksgiving break, and while everyone else was at the mall on black friday, i was at my favorite junk shops buying vintage christmas decorations (though i did manage to sneak a quick visit to target, too, for some surprisingly cute ornaments!).

here's a quick tour of some holiday decor at our home (more home photos, room by room, coming super soon by the way!)

i found the awesome stockings (made from old vintage quilts) at the junk store. there were only three and i scooped them all up. they're nice and hefty so they can fit lots of treats. one day i'll make an extra one for bella but for now i'll share mine:)



the collection of vintage (and some not so vintage) christmas trees is something i've been wanting to do for years. i've seen this done in magazines galore as well as in the homes of my friends (like hula) and finally, FINALLY we made it happen. i had so much fun shopping for these little trees...



i think my fave decor of all is the collection of vintage ornaments strung together and hanging from our dining room chandelier. love, love. and baby true just stares and smiles each time he sees them. it will be hard taking these down.



on the table below the chandelier sits a simple little arrangement of vintage candle sticks holding vintage ornaments.



we've got this little tree on the kitchen island. the blue birdies made from yarn were the surprisingly cute clip ornaments found at target! the tree sits on a cake stand which sits on one of my favorite old plates.



this little arrangement is in our entry way. totally love that old velvet green ribbon, a few more little trees....



i'm a sucker for teal. total sucker.



i was inspired to put some of our favorite childhood christmas photos up so i clipped them to a few twigs placed inside a vase. LOVE. you can see the whole thing here. next year we'll add photos from baby true's first christmas.



it was love at first sight when i spotted this pink fluffy vintage tree. it's upstairs in our bedroom and holds our collection of glass birdie clips (vintage + new).



ps: true says hello! he smiles wide like this many many times during the day. i have so much to catch you up on around here. he's 11 weeks....time. is. flying.

i love this post from jenny doh

(mr. true, 10 weeks.)

as our little family continues a bit of maternity leave, i've got a couple more inspiring guest post that i'd like to share. today's post comes from the amazing jenny doh. although we've never met in person (yet!), we worked together on a few projects when she was the editor-in-chief for the somerset mags and again most recently on a project for her highly anticipated book coming out next year called Art Saves (it's going to be amazing). jenny also runs Crescendoh, a site full to the brim with inspiration and stories - a daily must read for me. like me, jenny's previous life in social work weaves its way into her work and i'm always always so inspired by her commitment to thread together creative passion with community with compassion. as a strong leader in our community, she does it very very well.

right around the time of true's arrival, this is what arrived in my mailbox - an amazing and oh so thoughtful handmade gift from jenny herself:



so sweet and thoughtful and meaningful, right? my heart nearly skipped a beat when i opened up the package.
and the little details are precious, like this one:



i immediately placed it in his room with other meaningful treasures:



i love jenny's words below...how already, 11 weeks into mamahood, her words ring so very true...i know you will agree.


"Your universe will change."

That's what my dad said to me when I became pregnant with my first child more than 16 years ago. I heard what he had to say but didn't really get it. Sounded pretty melodramatic to predict that my universe would change. Surely an exaggeration.

So months later, there I was, in the hospital delivery room, with the birth of my first child. A creature who I hadn't met before but who I had created. A creature who I knew right away that I would do anything for. A creature to whom I'd give all that I was and everything that I had. A creature who made me realize that this world is bigger than me. That this world doesn't revolve around me.

Indeed, a creature who changed my universe.

Seasons change. And I now find myself to be the one dispensing what some might consider melodramatic as I say things like "Your universe will change" and "enjoy it, because they grow up so fast." In fact, I've said these things to Kelly Rae … upon first learning of her pregnancy, and now, with the expanded universe that True brings for her.

One blink, or maybe two blinks are all it will take … and True will have graduated from milk to rice cereal, and eventually the training wheels on his bike will no longer be needed, peanut butter sandwiches will be made without help from mom, showers will taken without help from anyone, algebra equations solved with occasional help from both mom and dad, and insightful essays about classic works of literature written and aced. It happens so fast.

And in between all the joys of sandwiches, showers, equations and essays, there will be great challenges to be overcome. Like teething, potty training, bullies on the playground, trips to the ER, tears of disappointment for this, that, and the other.

My dad was right. It is through parenthood that I am able to see the vastness of the universe. And incredibly, it is this vast universe that continually opens my eyes to knowing that if I want to be a person with lasting significance, I will be there for the smallest of things for my children.

Weekly Sponsor Spotlights: Rita Maria, Lindy Gruger, Alexandra Saperstein, Tri Originals, Fredbean's Nook, Gwynnie B Designs, Margaret River Stompers

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information!
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creating art is my way of communicating my deepest thoughts and feelings. it can be a little intimidating to put some of my paintings "out there". it almost feels like i'm exposing my journal for everyone to read. why create something if it isn't going to be personal to you? not being able to paint would be the same as taking away my ability to communicate. with many of my paintings you might notice that i usually title the piece after a quote or i'll include the quote in the painting. its usually something that i've connected to in some way. maybe it's in the form of a song or a poem. i will jot it down on whatever is in front of me. sometimes i'll carry a quote around for years until i can illustrate it in a way that just feels right. i'm really not a good writer or speaker, but i know when it is important to me, i can say it best with a brush and some paint. just like my own spirit, my work may appear very whimsical and colorful on the outside. however, if you look deeper you would see that it is very honest, meaningful and bittersweet. i leave you with not just my work, but my inspirations, my secrets, my journal; hoping that it will inspire you to express yourself as well. i invite you into my world www.ritamariagallery.com.

come visit my esty shop and mention "kelly rae" in the coupon code and receive 20% off all prints and originals!
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Hi, my name is Lindy Gruger Hanson and I work out of my home studio in Bend, Oregon which I call "Color Spirit Studio". Painting refreshes my spirit! My paintings are a way to express my inner vision in what I call my symbolic language. I believe art can be healing, like a breath of fresh air rejuvenating one's soul. I love color. I love texture. I like to take shapes, lines, textures and colors to create a world from the imagination. Inspiration is everywhere – a red next to a blue, a line from a song, birds, gardens, trees, a photo, a snippet of conversation. My aim is to create paintings with the belief that art can inspire people, make a house a home, and bring joy and positive energy into the world! I hope it can lift your spirit! I have colorful prints and greeting cards in my Etsy Shop and original paintings can be found on my website. In my Etsy Shop, all Kelly Rae Readers receive a 10% discount with purchase, along with a free gift when you use the discount code KELLYRAE2010. Good through the end of December. I hope you'll come by and check it out!
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For many people, there is a real gap between the life/relationships/body we hope and envision for ourselves, and the ones we actually wake up to each morning. For nearly a decade, I've worked with adults individually and with couples to radically change course and close that often elusive gap between their deepest goals and their daily reality. As a Licensed Professional Counselor/ Marriage and Family Therapist in Portland, Oregon, I aim to generate deep and lasting changes in a significantly shorter period than traditional counseling often provides.

Additionally, I work with clients outside of the Oregon area online and via phone who struggle with emotional overeating issues. It was just a few years ago that I lost nearly 70 pounds myself! When I'd look at pictures of myself at size 16, then 20, then 24, I'd tell myself "The camera adds ten pounds," then it was "The camera adds fifteen pounds," and then finally, "I hate cameras. They make me look 67 pounds heavier than I am!"... So if I can lose weight, so can you! You can find me at my private practice website at www.alexandrasaperstein.com and at my brand new health/weight loss support blog, You Are Scrumptious! I offer free consultations by phone.
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Tri Originals is about the excitement and positive energy of life every day and a reminder to enjoy the moment. Whether you are celebrating a race or celebrating life ... I truly believe that you can if you tri! Receive a 10% off your order until December 31st, 2010 code: SPOTLIGHT
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Each piece of Fredbean's Nook jewelry is created with pride, care and attention to detail. By combining my love of wire and seedbeads, I feel that I've been able to create wearable pieces of art. All designs have been created using handcrafted components and tiny seed beads, meticulously hand-stitched by me, to form dainty peyote beads. Feel free to contact me with custom orders.
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If you stop by my seaside studio you'll find a delightful mess of color and beads, twinkling lights in purple and clear, paint on everything, and 4 silly animals helping out. The dogs, Lucy and Louie, are all dressed up for the holidays in velvet and rhinestones, while the 2 cats, Fatso Skinny and Bleu Kitty look at us as if we're crazy! It's a happy studio filled with holiday music and laughter, which makes for an atmosphere full of inspiration. Please stop by my blog Beautiful heART to see what's new in the Gwynnie B studio, and my Etsy shop and website to see all of my handcrafted pretties. May everyone have a beautiful holiday season full of wishes and kisses and lots of fudge!
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Hi, I'm Deb, the face behind Margaret River Stompers. I have always loved bright colors and am happiest when creating colorful combinations for baby shoes. My baby shoes and boots are lovingly handmade to order from my home-based studio and shipped within 2-3 days. Come and check out the full range of funky shoes on my website. With the help of my daughter and sister I also provide children's T-shirts and kids room art which are all unique items and not mass produced.
**International online sales are welcome**. SHIPPING is AUD $15 for unlimited items purchased for the months of November and December. I would encourage you to get together with friends to share the shipping costs.

hello, love

(hello, love - new original painting)


even though:
my hair is dryer than ever before.
my skin is breaking out.
i have never looked or felt so tired.
even though...
the wrinkles are spreading
i am wearing unflattering yoga sweats most days.
i have pounds to lose and arm cellulite (true!)
i desperately need new makeup.
even though...
i am working my way up an emotionally deep well
the tears are frequent
showering is less frequent
even though...
i am exhausted.
i am scarred.
and it all feels unrelenting

even in a time when everything about my physical appearance says i should feel unpretty, i feel, oddly, more pretty than i've ever felt before. i'm not a girl who considers herself naturally pretty, but since true's birth something has shifted. maybe it's an acceptance and an embracing of womanhood. maybe it's the tenderness i'm finally feeling toward myself. maybe it's self compassion for my weary, worn out spirit. maybe it's the emotional recovery i'm feeling on so many levels, the soul work.

whatever it is, it's a gift to see my own little light coming through in my tired eyes. no matter how weary. or stressed. or or or or....this is new for me. it feels incredibly refreshing, like some unseen force/self expectation weight has been lifted. it reminds me of when i fell in love the first time with john and how beautiful i felt. that's what this feels like. i feel beautiful inside falling in love all over again.

thank you, baby true. and hello, love (again).
you.are.rocking.my.world.

a blushing baby true

hi friends,
just a quick reminder that the online shop CLOSES TODAY! it will reopen in early spring with all kinds of good stuff but if you are wanting prints or skins (laptop + iphone), get those orders in today, today, today!

also, i wanted to share this cute video of baby true. i'm making funny bop noises with my mouth and he thinks it's hilarious. i love how he's so totally blushing....hard to believe it's been 10 weeks....wow.

house tour photos coming up next!

spirtuality + parenting = rocking my world

(brian, gina, me, john - on our wedding day)

so you guys remember when gina wrote this post just days after baby True was born (and while she was here helping john and i settle after the hospital stay). so many of you responded to her post that i asked her to write another one but this time on what she calls the spirituality of parenting. gina, more than anyone else in my life, has a special gift for bringing the concepts and ideas around spirituality down to earth. she uses her mdiv degree (master of divinity) paired with her lcsw (master of social work, licensed) to counsel people in her private practice. she is so, so wise and has been this way since met her at the age of 12 (no lie). i love the above photo of us at our wedding where she and her husband brian officiated the ceremony!

i cannot tell you how much i love this post from her. the wear the pants section changed my world and i will never ever hold baby true again without hearing her words in my heart. the last paragraph about spirituality and relatedness is so aligned with my beliefs that i was shouting yes, yes, yes as i read her words.

ps: really hoping you guys are enjoying these guest post. maternity leave continues for me and i'm so grateful. yesterday i had the most profound aha moment of my adult life. i am working on writing it all down to share here in this space soon:) baby true says hello!


(gina + her youngest)

Spirituality and Real Life Parenting

Remember back when I wrote my last post and True was only five days old? Since then, I've been sitting back and reading the guest posts and Kelly's posts on this experience of early motherhood. (And haven't they all been wonderful?) During this time, I've been letting it all soak in while thinking about something that Kelly asked me to write about long ago. She wanted me to write about the spirituality of motherhood, of parenting. She knows (she insists) that I've been working on creating an e-course on spirituality and real life. And what feels more like "real life" than parenting? In my experience, few other things draw you so hard down to earth, force your presence and attention into this moment, and get so gritty and, well, real. We're talking spirituality where the rubber meets the road, in action, face to face, in your face. So, in that spirit, I'm sharing with Kelly (and all of you) a few thoughts on the spirituality of real life parenting. It's not the motherhood you imagined, were told about, or saw on TV, but the parenting you're living right now.

Wear the pants

Being a parent changes your spiritual life forever. And if you think spirituality is all meditation, quiet, and smoothness then you'll watch that evaporate as fast as a drop of water on a hot skillet. Your development as a spiritual person is happening while you're parenting, in every moment. I've always loved Thomas Merton's response when asked how he spends his day as a Catholic monk- "What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe." So, take that spiritual self off its high horse and get down on the floor with the baby. That's where it's happening! What I wear is t-shirts that can get spit up on them. What I do is nurture. How I pray is hold.

Have unrelenting acceptance for that which is unrelenting

In a hard moment that first week with True, Kelly looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "It just feels so unrelenting." I didn't say it out loud then but in my head I thought, "And that is parenting in a nutshell." It is the first shock of parenthood…that the baby is there ALL the time, that children need ALL the time, and that you are never at any moment not a parent. It is unrelenting. That is exactly why it is so critical to bring your spirituality into, rather than separate it from, your life as a mother. Because your spiritual needs are also unrelenting. They will not go away just because you are now more distracted than ever. In fact, those needs will make A LOT of noise if left unattended and spiritual needs left unattended leave an easier entryway for depression, apathy, anxiety.

Balance: not just a cheesy catch-word for modern parenting

Perhaps the hardest part of nurturing our spiritual lives while parenting is to find the balance between our external reality and our internal desire. We cannot depend on being away from our children in order to be or become spiritual people. That is why I stress the need to be spiritual in the total and complete midst of day to day mothering. But I do believe we need to be away from our children at somewhat regular intervals to gather back into ourselves and listen to the still small voice inside. Living with children, especially small ones, is not quiet. And it can be hard to remember who we are and what we need amidst the cacophony of their needs. So, take that walk, take that breath, take that retreat. Take the time, not just because of your own inner being but because the spiritual life of your child, so intimately connected to your own existence, depends on it. We can only give the fullness that we ourselves possess.

Spirituality is relatedness, and parenting is relating

Finally, I want to express why I think spirituality is so important to parenting. People often ask, what is spirituality? There are definitions as diverse as spiritual paths but I agree with and am thankful to this book for it's definition of spirituality as being primarily about relating…relating to the people in your life, your environment, your heritage and traditions, your body and, finally and maybe, something larger beyond yourself. It's about paying attention to your experience of being a person in the world, developing your inner life, and connecting to wisdom in its many forms. But, more than any of this, I have always believed that you can tell a spiritual person by the way they relate to others. Relationship is where we find wholeness, but it is also where we are usually most challenged. And what relationship can matter more than our relationship with those we share our beds, houses, bodies with? That is why every small, daily moment of parenting matters and that is why we need spiritual resources within ourselves as deep as the ocean of love we have in our hearts for our children.

p.s. I want to shout out here to a great book called Finding Your Inner Mama edited by Eden Steinberg. I've never understood why it isn't more popular. It's a fabulous collection of essays on spirituality and mothering!

shop closing, 2011 product sneak peek, and more...

Hey guys,
I wanted to let you know that the online shop will close on Wednesday (yep - that's THIS Wednesday) and will remain closed until February when it will reopen with all kinds of new products (your old favorites, too), and original paintings.

So yes, online shop will close WEDNESDAY, wednesday, wednesday. Please get your orders in now so we can get them shipped off to you (or your loved ones) by Thursday morning. We are sold out of most everything but we are shipping lots and lots of signed/matted prints, laptop skins and iphone skins - totally LOVING how much you guys love these skins (me too, me too)! Oh yes, we've got signed copies of my book, too (for the creatives in your life)!



I also wanted to give you sneak peek at what's coming in early 2011! Isn't this a great photo? I love the styling that the creatives over at DEMDACO did with the new products - LOVE! We've got big (18x24) canvases that are insanely affordable and so well done (just like the current canvases in the line only bigger!) as well as girlie sculptures, artist sketchbooks, whimsical fabric ornaments, and more, including many many MANY new canvases in a variety of sizes.

Retailers, I'll be at the Atlanta gift show in January and would love to meet you! Please stop by the DEMDACO showroom on Saturday, Jan 15th at 6pm where I'll be signing new product. I'd love to see you and I'd really love for you to see the new product!