Artstravaganza

Time to finish up all the odds and ends today before the show this weekend. Tomorrow I need to be packed and ready to set up. I am in the tent this year and am not sure how I will set up my booth, so it may take awhile. The last day before a show is always a little stressful, hoping you remember to do and pack everything you need. Of course, for me it is a minor concern, I suppose, since I am only 10 minutes away! Can't imagine traveling for this. The thought of that just wears me out. Am I getting old?

Another concern is that the postcard, provided by BOMH, does not even say the location on the front of the card, and I've had people confused as to where it is! I hope that the customers find us!!! For any St. Louisans, it is at the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Oak Knoll Park. Hope to see you there---although not between the hours of 6 to 9 Friday night, when I'll be at an anniversary party and my son will be selling for me (hopefully!).

Chocolate is therapy

Had votes for the Chocolate is therapy mug as well so decided to make one of those. I'll let you know if any of these sell at my show this weekend! It is listed in the sidebar to the right...Artstravaganza at the St. Louis Artists' Guild. It is a three day show, and I am a little nervous about Friday night. We had another engagement so I am having my son and his girlfriend take care of my booth for 3 hours. I hope that they can handle it. I won't be taking credit cards or personalized orders that night, so I think they will be okay.....

Coffee is therapy

Another new image for the travel coffee mugs. I like the colors and the lettering--wonder if the saying will sell. A few years ago, I did a "Chocolate--it's cheaper than therapy" card and T-shirt (on my etsy site) and while the cards sold okay, the T-shirts didn't. Still have a bunch of those...guess people don't want to admit to eating a lot of chocolate, or needing therapy! I'm figuring coffee drinkers are proud of it! Who knows?

The letters are: C, from a plant stand in St. Louis Hills; O, the Chinese symbol of heaven and earth at STL Art Museum; F, from a painting at STL Art Museum; F, the railing at the Contemporary Art Museum in STL; E, from a painting at STL Art Museum; E, from a house in St. Louis Hills.

Let me know what you think. If you comment, I will post your first name in letters on my blog!

Pray always

Another example of my letter frames. This one is in a stand and I painted "always" on the front---after I took this picture. I will take another picture of the "finished" version this afternoon, because I want to post it on my etsy shop. These letters are in ivory "frames" and set in a brown base. They are: P, from a gate at the City Museum in St. Louis; R, from a lamp in Palm Springs, CA; A, from a painting at the STL Art Museum; Y, from City Museum.

I like the sentiment and try to remember to pray always throughout my day. I remember a saying that says something like: "If you only say thank you, that is prayer enough." I think that is probably the most important part of prayer, but not sure it's enough for me! But right now I'm thankful that it is finally a beautiful, sunny, seasonably warm day here in St. Louis! I'm also thankful I'm inside right now because tons of acorns have been falling outside my window and they sound like they would hurt!

Hello Kitty

Okay, I did a mat for cat lovers, too. Can't play favorites, you know. Not sure if I need anything in the background, other than the tiger stripe. And there is always the question, will they want a pink and blue mat? But I liked these letters--they are all from the Saint Louis Art Museum. I think it's kind of cute, but who knows if it will sell. Maybe I'll try these pet mats on etsy today.

Puppy love

Someone at Art in the Park suggested that I do a photo mat for pet photos.....so here is one that I came up with yesterday. I worry that it might be hard to read--with that 3rd P being a little different. All 3 of the Ps are railings--the first from Oregon, the second from the STL Zoo and the third from STL Science Center...you know what the U is (I hope) and the Y is from Country Club Plaza in KC. I was thinking, for a cat, of doing Hello Kitty!

Hot Stuff

This is an insert for a travel coffee mug. I've been successful with a line of mugs that ask the question: "Where'd you go to high school?" That's a big thing in St. Louis and I have a lot of mugs with different school names--mostly the Catholic schools--SLUH, Cor Jesu, Rosati, DeSmet etc. But I haven't had a lot of luck with other mug designs. So the other day, I thought maybe I need something cute and colorful (some of my other mugs used the graffiti letters and were darker). So here is my attempt at cute and colorful. I need more ideas of what sayings to use, so I'd welcome any suggestions.