Monday, June 27, 2011

Luna... A New Family Member (adorable alert!)

My daughter and her boyfriend just got a sweet little kitten a couple days ago. They named her Luna (pictured). I haven't made it to PA to meet Luna in person yet, nor have I had the opportunity to make a card with her picture on it, but I promise I will. In the meantime, here are some of the cutest kitten cards I've ever seen. I may have gotten carried away, but where does one stop when the selection seems endless (all images are clickable to see a larger version).




Artists (not necessarily in order): Doreen Erhardt, Ricky Knowles, Yvonne Carter, Great Scott Designs, Catherine Sherman, Valerie Waters, Tamera Dawn Adams, Photography TK, Dogbreedz, Michelle Dokos, Moonlake Designs, Sharon Miller, Ed Denton, Elizabeth Williams, Morgan and Cameron, Kimberly Palmer, JustbyJulie, Samantha Bell, Debbie Fieno, Christy DeKoning, Carolyn Grossman, Maria Dryfhout, Polly McMillan, Michele McCauley, Natasha McManus, Bobbi Holmes, Lisa Solonynko, Joline Railey, A January Production

Update: Here are a few cards I made using Luna as my model.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Appreciation

I’m dedicating this post to all of the wonderful people who I have met through GreetingCardUniverse.com, as a "thank you" for the helpful resources they provide. The three that I’m highlighting here are just the tip of the iceberg. There are SO many exceptionally talented and helpful people at GCU, but the ones I’m posting about below have personally given me assistance within the past few weeks.

Peggy, of DogBreedz, helped me deal with my grief over the recent loss of my cat, Missy. Without Peggy’s kindness and ability to help me through it, I’d probably still be stuck in a very unhappy place. Thank you, Peggy.

Something else that caused me some grief recently was trying to figure out setting up a business page on Facebook. Now that I’m committed to learning more about FB, I'm glad to have had the good fortune of finding someone who was willing to help me find my way. Tracie, of Photography TK Designs has created a terrific resource for GCU artists on Facebook called Greetings & Gifts Resource Center. It offers an excellent promotional opportunity for artists and online greeting card storefront owners, who might be starting out or are not yet getting the visitors that they’d like, to get exposure. I’m pleased that GCUCommunity brought this resource to my attention recently, and I’m grateful to Tracie for creating and maintaining it--and especially for helping me break through the hurdle of the FB promotions and go all in. Thank you, Tracie!

Finally, since I mentioned GCUCommunity, I want to pay homage to Corrie Kuipers, the creator of this incredible resource. Corrie is a veritable fountain of knowledge when it comes to making one’s way through Greeting Card Universe and creating marketable cards. She understands the ins and outs, and helps others do the same with her Nuts & Bolts articles, her Critique Clinic, and her efficient advice and examples (also, here's a quick "shout out" to Shelley for helping with a critique of my card recently). Corrie also keeps artists updated with what’s hot and what’s not in colors and style, and she’s quite intuitive in foreseeing what newbies (like me) need. And when it comes to finding the best guest bloggers out there, Corrie is an expert. So thank you, Corrie; and thank you, EVERYBODY (artists, reviewers, bloggers, admin, etc) who’s working and contributing to make GCU the best supplier of greeting cards on the net.

Monday, June 13, 2011

OMG! They're SOOOOO Pretty!!!

I 'stumbled' upon this website recently. The beauty of these stunning bird photos simply takes my breath away.

You MUST go see them. I guarantee you will not regret it.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Learn To Draw Vector Cartoons

I'm trying to segue my cards into Cardtoons (cartoons on cards), but I'm still lacking a lot in cartooning skills. So I started searching the net, and what did I come up with? A very cool site that offers links to creating 30 Cool Cartoon Characters! I also bought a book that offers lots of insight into every aspect of cartooning. It's called Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels.

So I'll be busy for awhile trying to make my cartoons more upscale and usable in my cards. lol.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Monkey Fun!

There's a lightning round contest at GCUCommunity.com, and the topic is Monkeys! The top banana over there, Corrie Kuipers, shared a card which she created (left) that totally reminded me of a two-page scrapbook layout that I made (years ago) for my son, who was certainly a little monkey when he was young (he's an adult now, but still likes to monkey around a lot).

Here's my layout spread entitled, "Mommy's Little Monkey" - and the second page is the one where I shared pictures of him playing his own little game of monkey-see-monkey-do (click the pic for larger view of the scrapbook layaout):

Yes, monkeys really are cute critters... making them quite popular as subjects for greeting cards (especially in the "thinking of you" category - heh heh). Here are a few adorable cards that I found at greetingcarduniverse.com (and there are plenty more where these came from):



Below are all the participants in the lighting round:

Sun at Night Studios, Sun at Night:
Collecting Monkey Art: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
One of the most popular primate art is the collection of the three wise monkeys otherwise known as: See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil...

Brenda Thour's Card Shop, Brenda Thour:
Time For Some Monkey Business
I have been looking at the Greeting Card Universe site and came across these cool monkey themed greeting cards and would like to share them with you...

Naquiaya’s Cards, Naquaiya:
Monkey Business
Why are we in love with monkeys? How much are we really like them?

SmudgeArt, Madeline Allen:
Monkeys in the Garden
I hit the pillow and before I could count to ten,
There were monkeys in my beautiful garden….


Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi:
Monkeying Around With Monkeys
I love monkeys, I don't know anyone who doesn't love monkeys...

Salon of Art, Doreen Erhardt:
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
This past month, I’ve had the privilege of reading an Advanced Copy for the purpose of writing a book review of “The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary…A True Store of Resilience and Recovery”...

I Love Cuttables, Cindy Johns:
Monkey Fun
Here's my layout spread entitled, "Mommy's Little Monkey" - and the second page is the one where I shared pictures of him playing his own little game of monkey-see-monkey-do...

Sheryl Kasper Card Store, Sheryl Kasper:
No Monkeying Around
Did you know that Monkeys are not only cute and adorable, but they can also be a service animal too?

Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush:
Monkeys are Everywhere
Monkey themed greeting cards...

Cards from the heART, Lisa Charlton:
Chimpanzee
Chimps are Primates but they are not Monkeys. If you want to know if a Primate is a Monkey, look at their bums… only monkeys have tails.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

BLOG CARNIVAL I:


SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVING IS EASY
(GCUCommunity had their 1st ever blog carnival, and I participated. Below is the entire list of participants)

Floating Lemons, Mariana Musa - Summertime at Greeting Card Universe
The days are full of sunshine and the temperatures are slowly rising...

It's a Beautiful World, Catherine Sherman - Summertime Flowers and Fruit
The fragrance of roses all summer long, the juice of ripe fruit on our lips...

Sun at Night Studios, Sun at Night - Summer Celestial Events and Art
The summer month of June is just around the corner...

What Dreams May Come, Maryann Nolan - Discontent for Summers Past
Ah summertime, full of sunny days, steamy temperatures, blue skies... I long for thee!

I Love Cuttables, Cindy Johns - More Father's Day Cards
While I'm on the topic of Father's Day (see the 'funner' stuff below)...


Naquaiya's Cards, Naquaiya - Summertime, and the Living Is Easy
Summer is a time for a little fun, a little soaking up some nice warm rays...


Shelley's Card Creations, Shelley McLeod - Is Summer Almost Here?
Well, after two 80 degree days, we are back to 50s and raining...

Painted Cottage, Judith Cheng - Summertime
Nothing beats sketching by the water after our long winter...

DogBreedz, Peggy Mundell - Summertime, Meet the Breed
Summer is around the corner...

Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush - It's Summertime and the Living is Easy!
It’s hard to believe it is approaching summer what with all the rain we are getting in the northeast...

Salon of Art, Doreen Erhardt - Ah, Sweet Blessed Summertime
I was born in 1961 in a suburban area and the memories of those summers will always make me grateful...


DB Visual Arts, Denise Beverly - Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Sum, Summertime
That song always makes me sing it whether I want to or not...

Cherie's Arts 'N Crafts, Cherie - Summertime, and the Living Is Easy
One of the things that I love most about summer is being able to lay outside...

Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi - Summertime Food 'n Fun
That's right folks, Summer Is Finally Here...

Sheryl Kasper Card Store, Sheryl Kasper - Summertime Grilling
Have you been thinking about the warm days of summer during the cold days of winter...

Card Art From the Heart, Sue Baumgardner - Summertime and the Kids' Education Goes Out the Door?
Learn how to teach your own children and as many others as you decide to include...

Aura2000, Aura2000 - I Love Summer!
Maybe it's because I'm born in Summer, but I just love this time of the year...