who's on society6?

With the holidays coming up, I wanted to give personalized gifts to some of my family. Several of them could use new phone cases (including me!) so I went onto society6 to learn how I might upload my art. The end result is that I now have the beginnings of a society6 shop and with just a little bit of browsing I'm finding quite a number of talented artists I'd never met before. It looks like it's going to be fun!

I've only uploaded two artworks so far, but little by little there will be more because the gift-giving season is upon us and I've got to figure out what I'm giving to whom! I've quite a bit of art to upload that I think will look quite delightful on a laptop skin, phone case or print. So many possibilities... I'm curious to order some and see how they actually are in person.

Pretty!

If you're on society6 do let me know so I can follow you there. I'd love to find some of my twitter and blogger friends and check out your shops!

for writing home ♡

Tried my hand at making fill-in-the-blank note cards today. I was a bit rushed on this project, but they were well received and seem like they'll be useful, so I'm pretty pleased. ^_^

My colleague's 19 year-old daughter is leaving home tomorrow to begin her independent life in a new city where she'll study music, dance and theater. Her mother was proud but a little distraught that her "baby" was leaving the nest. She held an impromptu going-away party this evening, so I quickly made this card set for a gift.

Naturally they'll call, email, text and communicate with all the modern methods we have today. But the note cards will be a personal item in her own handwriting that I hope will bring happiness to her family's mailbox. (I deliberately neglected to put any space for writing bad news or disappointment on the card. They're *just* for sending good news and cheer!)

The daughter is a very cheerful, bubbly and outgoing girl, so I wrote the prompts on the cards to reflect that. I was also thinking about what her mom might want to know: who her friends are, how she's spending her time, how things are going ... even what she's eating! I added some music and art prompts on the card too, since these subjects are such a big part of her personality.

I gave them to her with a tiny bouquet of colorful paper flowers. Each card fits perfectly in a pretty little envelope upon which I placed a Forever stamp (since I hear rates are rising in April).

My idea is that it will be easy to jot a few updating tidbits on a card, seal it up and send to whomever she wishes. Although they started out as postcards, I'm glad I decided to give them envelopes ~ if she gets inspired to write more, it will be easy to mail everything together.

I wish her good luck in her new adventure!

handmade with love

Not having any cousins around, but having lots of grandparents, aunties and uncles in the area, my boys get a bit spoiled with presents this time of year. They don't earn enough allowance to buy gifts for all the adults they receive from, but I think it's important for them to give and not just receive.

Our solution is to figure out a project each year that they can pour their creativity into and make gifts with their own two hands. In the past we've made jewelry or large paintings. This year, everyone got a five-piece note card and envelope set with a mix of art on the front. They were fairly easy to make and turned out pretty cute. Here's a little sample of some of the art and how we made it:

1}

For this one, you need some brown watercolor paint, various sheets of colored paper, glue, a bird punch and a cat punch. Punch bird shapes out of the colored paper and glue them on to your painted tree. Then punch a little cat at the bottom gazing longingly at the flock. The punch-outs were only $1 each at Michael's - can't beat that.

2}

This worked best with my little one's tiny fingers. He dipped directly into the paint and blobbed on a rainbow of colors with a cheerful result. Entirely his idea; no two are alike!

3}

Straight watercolor here; no special technique.

4}

For this one, we used a doily as a stencil, carefully painting one color in the holes and another color out from the edge. Pretty and easy, too! Someone with nice penmanship can make it into a "thank you" note if desired.

 5}

Paper, glue and ink: taking advantage of my son's passion for drawing chibi manga figures. He drew a bunch of different characters, then we cut around each one and glued it onto the card over a paper oval (cut out from a stencil for evenness). I helped him outline the shadow and he colored it in with black ink. Totally cute!

We tied each set in a bundle with a little ribbon and they made the perfect gift for aunties, grandmas and big sisters ~ although most said they intended to keep them for themselves and never actually use them. :)

As for me... besides the portrait that I shared with you earlier, I was also able to help someone give a special gift to his parents. They needed a new mailbox, but instead of just giving one straight out of the box, this one was sanded, primed, and then handed to me to paint something personal on it. The numbers were obvious, but since the mom and dad are of Irish and Italian descent, the son asked for these flags to be painted as well. After that, it got a spray of clear-coat for protection.

He must be a really good son and know what his parents like, because I'm told that his mom nearly cried when she saw it. She must be very fond of her country and her mail. :)

Or, maybe it's just proof that everyone appreciates a personal touch.

Merry Christmas!