Unique and Extraordinary Gifts! Crafter Alert!

My Cafepress Products have arrived and r 4 sale now!!

My Collage Art (Let Them Eat Cupcakes and Rainbirds on a Cafepress Apron, Tote bag, Jewelry box and Greeting Card Wow, in all honesty I didn't expect the quality of the cafepress products that I created to be so great!! It was my first time creating products via cafepress, so I ordered a batch to see the results. I thought maybe things would look digitized, poor quality or small in size... I was so wrong! The tote bag is large enough for a weekend trip or a full-on grocery! In addition, I think the blank canvas areas are fantastic for crafters to embellish and personalize the bag (something I would totally do!)

I absolutely love the results! So if you're looking for a unique gift look no further, I currently have four cafepress basic shops. One containing Barack Obama illustrations that I did for the Chelsea gallery show that I was a featured artist in, entitled '52'. Another two shops with Halloween Illustrations called AmarettogirlBoo and AmarettoBoo2 and this main shop with my collage designs.

There are sweatshirts, tank tops and other products at the shop. I especially love how the 'Let Them Eat Cupcakes' collage looks on the apron too - excellent gift for a baker and again allows enough room for personal embellishments for all of you crafters!! The jewelry box with the 'Rainbirds' collage is decadent with its high-gloss, polished wood and white, cushy velvet interior!

My 'Rainbirds' Collage printed on a T-shirt via Cafepress on sale now! Detail shot of Greeting Card and Jewelry box

My Spoonflower Custom Fabric Arrived!

Wow! I am so, so, so impressed! My custom order of my collages and illustrations onto fabric via Spoonflower (my new favorite company) has arrived. Except for the first 'Let The Eat Cupcakes' print (which I ordered a larger piece of). I only ordered small 8"X8" swatches of the fabric before I make in the investment into yardage. It looks like I might have to adjust the scale to which the large one was submitted (the pattern is rather large), but overall fantastic results! Check them out!

This last one is great for making Ipod cases!

Hope you like them! Let me know what you think!

Amarettogirl Designs on Cafepress! Lets Go Shopping!

Come visit my store on CafePress! Like Etsy, Cafepress is yet another way artists can sell their goods online. The difference - Etsy is for handmade products (my greatest love -all things handmade), Cafepress is a site that allows you to create preexisting (manufactured) products such as mugs, pillows, aprons, tote bags with your own imagery on it. I think both sites are wonderful and offer very distinct opportunities for artists. So since shameless, self-promotion is a wise marketing tool, a new feature of my blog will be featuring something new that I'm selling either through my Etsy shop or my Cafepress shop. Today I'm featuring the 'Let Them Eat Cupcakes!' collage I made on a pretty nifty canvas tote for only $17.99! (I think thats a pretty good deal considering thats MY original art and I won't be selling them forwever! In addition, you shouldn't pay that nasty carbon-foot-print-tax on using plastic bags anymore!) Let Them Eat Cupcakes! Tote Bag $17.99

Guerilla Art and First GIVEAWAY!!!!

So thanks for waiting so patiently!!! The first monthly giveaway piece is ready to go!!! So here is how and why I am doing this giveaway of art (in this case A SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT of a collage art piece that I made for Illustration Friday prompt; Forgotten. The collage you see above entitled 'Rainbirds'.)

Guerilla Art Kit by Keri SmithI'm a big proponent of Guerilla Art (you may have seen the book in my suggested book list). In the way we often think of small random acts of kindness making the world a better place - with Guerilla art Keri Smith shares her vision of small random acts of ART making the world a better place. Often the art is 'anonymous' (which is a beautiful way to do something selflessly) for example: you're scanning a book or magazine in the bookstore and out between the pages falls a drawing left there purposely for you to find, keep or pass on...and you know not by who, such is the nature of Guerilla art.
I think those of us in the blogosphere can adopt this idea even if not anonymous, and I have already seen creative bloggers out there begin to do 'Giveaways' where the payment is not monetary, nor even an object of equal value, but instead the payment is made in an exchange of connection. Such was the case with my wonderful blogger friend BEATRIZ, a fellow artist living in Italy - her blog http://suitcase-contents.blogspot.com/, is listed under my favorite bloggers list and has already completed her first giveaway!!!

So here is how it is going to work. I will pick the receiver/winner of the photographic print on the Fourth of July through those who have left a comment!!! It will be my way of celebrating independence and I will choose the receiver/winner by reading through all the comments left for the print and seeing who left a comment that truly touched the answer to my comment question. So here is your comment question:

In this collage I use the parasol as a symbol of bidding fairwell...though goodbye's can be somber and difficult aspects of our lives - they can also be releasing and un-inhibiting, as well as a form of independence. This is why I entitled the piece Rainbirds...the rain has set her free - flight - birds...so what is your Freedom-Through-Goodbye story??

Leave me a comment and I will choose from among you - but if it becomes too difficult to choose I will use a random number generator to help me choose. You have from now to the fourth of July (which is over two weeks) to comment - please be sure to leave your email address with your comment so that I can contact you! I will announce the winner and their blog on the fourth of July post.

http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/

Marie Antoinette Inspired Collage

I'm getting ready to write another 'Inspiring Artist' Blog, but until I have all my facts straight I thought I would share another collage with you all!!! I did this one right after I returned from the Europe trip. It is directly related to the images, Laduree treats, color and Marie Antoinette Exhibit that I saw while I was in Paris (See past posts). I cannot tell you how relaxing collaging like this is!!

Soon I'll be putting prints of my collages up for sale on Etsy...but I've also been inspired by other creative bloggers to do GIVEAWAYS once a month of collage prints - so let me know if you would be interested in me- doing that kind of thing. I was thinking I would post the small artwork as Giveaway art, then choose a 'comment' to which I send the piece to FOR FREE!!!! I believe in exchanging too, so lets see how this goes! Anybody interested in me doing this??

Relaxing with Collage!

Herstory exhibit is finally up and done I can relax again. As usual, I was a chump and forgot to take pictures of the opening event!!! However, one of my students did and as soon as I get those images from her I will post them here for you all to see the exhibit yourselves, as though you were there!!!

And as usual I fretted over nothing...the student support I received was phenomenal. More students than my faculty co-workers came out to support me which was sad but much more meaningful - since in the end that is who all the work was for.

I have been so busy getting ready for the Herstory exhibit that I haven't been able to do anything fun and relaxing, now I can. However, worse than that is not having anytime to collage (which is a new relaxing habit I picked up as opposed to knitting and crocheting...

I love origami and scrap-booking paper, though I'm not much of a an oragami-ist or scrapbooker. I also never truly understood the power of a one-medium-only pair of scissors, until I played with fabric and paper crafts.

So if you never considered collagen like this you should!! It's a delightful way to spend a couple of hours. Find a range of different patterned papers and play!!




If you really like one of my collage illustrations, soon I will be posting some these in my etsy shop!

Love Story With No Words

Well, here we are one day away...

I have received some awesome feedback to my blog questions and I'm going to post those responses as tomorrows special VDAY BLOG! So its not too late to add your responses to those last two blogs.

Also here's an awesome tip- if you're running out of time and need to do some serious lovenote gifting go to this awesome PHOTOJOJO site designed with us creatives and photographers in mind. You are going to love these easy peasy ideas. Just click on this little arrow: