Dolls, prints, and panties for the Buffalo Indie Market

I have been very busy working on so many things for the Buffalo Indie market on February 6, 2010. I am finally finished with all the goodies and photographed them as well. 

Most of my items have a Valentines theme because that is the focus of the Indie market. I screen printed panties and tops with my 'Droopy Heart' logo. They can be worn as a set or as separates. 

I also had 4x6 inch fine art prints made of my artwork. I used the company iprintfromhome and was very satisfied.

I made about 12 'Droopy Heart Rag Dolls' which are all one of a kind with hand painted faces. All have a droopy heart and are named.

I also screen printed cards that will be perfect for Valentine's Day. I will have some original artwork as well with me. 

Just found the 2010 Handmade Olympics

I just discovered the '2010 Handmade Olympics'. 

This is a fun event that you can nominate your items and others artists items to be judged. There are 8 categories to nominate in with different themes. Each will be judged and winner will be chosen to win some great prizes.

Check this out and start nominating at the rikrak studio blog.

Good Luck!

New Orleans Saints going to the Super Bowl

I am so happy for the New Orleans Saints. They are going to their first Super Bowl ever, and I couldn't be happier for them. 

New Orleans has such a great community, the people are so friendly, and they deserve it. 

My husband and I were in New Orleans for the first game of the season and we were offered free tickets to the opening game by such a lovely man we knew from the hotel. We didn't take the tickets because we had just gotten off the airplane and had our bags with us still. 

We feel so bad now for not taking the tickets because they did so well this season. We thought to ourselves when offered the tickets, "It's the Saints, like my beloved team the Buffalo Bills, they aren't that good." I am glad to say that I am kicking myself for saying that.

Well lets go Saints =) 

Lock to my heart fairy - Ebay auction

Update - sold

I just listed this original painting on ebay.

A perfect gift for that special person or for yourself for Valentine's Day.

12"x12" acrylic on wood and varnished. Also ready to hang so no frame needed.

Exercise with a pole dance workout and Martha Stewart.

Every new year people think of resolutions to better their lives. This 2010 year is no different and many people plan on eating healthier and exercising more. All month TV shows such as Dr. OZ and Martha Stewart have been promoting this healthier way of living. 

Today Martha Stewart showed different forms of workouts, one for every type of person. The one that stood out to me was the pole dance fitness workout. Martha had the owner and instructor of S factor, a pole dance studio that focuses on this dance as a workout. 

The owner of S factor showed the viewers a few different sexy but strength training moves. She even got Martha to try out the pole, which was great and funny. Martha is always trying new things and isn't afraid of possibly making a fool out of herself, which she didn't do today. Martha was just as good as the instructor =)

I first heard about this pole dance workout, when a studio opened a few years back around the corner of my house, in Buffalo, NY. The studio is called Pole Play and from what I hear is still going strong. This studio, like others, focuses on core strength and feeling sexy and good about herself. It focuses on women and does not discriminate. 

I plan on trying this workout and hopefully making it to the pole. I did the beginner video at home on 'exercise on demand' and let me tell you, it was hard. I only was doing dance move, let alone the pole, and it was difficult. Plus I have no upper body arm strength, so that doesn't help. 

So for 2010, keep moving and eating healthy like Martha and you will feel better. 

Facebook fan page

So I started my facebook fan page a few months ago and I have a lot of fans, but I would always love more. Facebook is great because you can meet other people from all over and you can view all their handmade goodies. 

To fan me click here

I usually fan you back if you have a fan page. 

Candle lit for Louise

I lit a virtual candle for my little girlie ferret Louise that I lost on Tuesday. 

To see it click here. 

You can light a candle for that special pet that is no longer with you too. 

My little girlie ferret is in heaven now

Yesterday my husband and I had to put our little white ferret to rest. We miss her so much. She was our 'little girlie' for 7 years and was such a sweet heart. 

She was very sick. She had adrenal disease, but was doing fine with it. She started to get very skinny about 2 weeks ago, but was still eating and drinking and was still playing all around. 

On Monday night I noticed that she couldn't walk. She also seemed very out of it. I knew that she was sick. I thought that she had a cold. I held her the whole night. 

My dog 'Puppy' even knew something was wrong because she kept going up to her. Puppy was very uneasy. Dogs are so smart that way. 

My husband and I took her to vet the next morning because she started having seizers in my arms. The vet said that she was in a coma and they believed that she was diabetic. She wasn't responsive, so we had to make the choice to put her to rest. We didn't want her to suffer. 

I was very upsetting for us. We both cried so much. She was apart of our little family for 7 years. We are going to bury her at my parents house back in Buffalo with all our family pets that have pasted. 

We are now just trying to keep her sister from being lonely by holding her all the time. We had her out with us on the couch all last night until we went to bed. My husband put a stuffed animal (one that is ferret safe) in the cage with her so she didn't have to sleep alone. He wanted her sleeping in the bed with us, but I had to say no to that one. =(

It is so hard to say goodbye to a pet because they are not just pets, they are family. Now she is in heaven with all our other family pets. She was our 'little girlie' and she will be missed. 

Iprintfromhome Prints came in!

They are finally here!

I ordered some test prints from iprintfromhome a few days ago and have been waiting for them in excitement. I ordered some 4x6 inch prints at $.30 each and two 8x10 inch prints at $2.00 each. I used my 'Thank you dollars' so I didn't pay anything. 

*more on 'Thank you dollars' later.

I chose to order these on lustre kodak paper which is a combination of glossy and matte paper. I usually do all my prints at home on matte paper, but I wanted to see how the lustre would turn out. The lustre finish has a slight gloss tint to it, but doesn't look like a photograph in the turns of gloss. I didn't order any in matte, so I cannot compare. 

Finished Product

The 4x6 inch prints came out so lovely. I compared them to the prints I do at home, and besides from the lustre finish, they are very similar. The prints came out clear and very vibrant.

Before I ordered, I touched up the image on my computer and brightened the colors up a lot. I notice that prints no matter where you print them from always come out darker, so brightening the colors up before ordering is a must. 

The 8x10 inch print were kind of disappointing to me. They came out on the same lovely lustre paper and had great colors, but were very blurry and pixelated. This I do not believe was the printers fault, but mine for not having the correct resolution or something. I am not to sure what happened there. 

I did email them late last night,  about how to fix the pixels, and am waiting a response. 

My Recommendation

Over all I am very pleased with the prints and will order more 4x6 inch prints from them. The 8x10 inch, I need to fix the pixels before I order anymore. 

Oh and another plus for me is that iprintfromhome is located in Buffalo, NY (my hometown) so I am supporting my local business. 

Thank Your Dollars

*Now back to the 'Thank you dollars'

So the best part of the whole order was that I used my 'thank you dollars' promotion. 

If you are referred to iprintfromhome by a friend, you get a $10:00 credit to your new account. I used this credit to order all these prints which was great so I could test the prints before ordering a large amount. 

*To get your $10:00 credit in 'Thank you dollars' 

Sign in as a new member and enter "TWEET - referrer's name" in the registration box when you create your account.  

So for example if I refer you it would look like this ( Tweet- juliafinucane ). Hopefully if you are reading about this promotion here, you would be kind enough to put my name as shown above =)

Once that is done, they will then deposit $10:00 into your account.

New Valentine's Day Items

I am working on some great items for Valentine's Day and the Buffalo Indie Market. I plan on putting these items up on Etsy as Well. 

I came up with a 'Droopy Heart' design for a Christmas gift for my sister and she really liked it. I put the design on a shirt and panty set for her gift. I am planning on making more of these sets and also some greeting cards for the market.

Above shows the finished set I gave my sister. 

I think this would be perfect for Valentine's Day and that special someone. 

I will be at the Buffalo Indie Market

I will be participating in the Buffalo Indie Market on Feb. 6, 2010. I will have a table along with many talented artist and crafters from the Buffalo area. This market is very close to Valentine's Day so stop by and shop handmade for that special someone.

The market will be in a new location at Juniper restaurant on Elmwood Ave. It runs from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm. 

I am so excited to be apart of such a great market. I wanted to do this show in the past, but I was always away from Buffalo on the dates. This will be my first Buffalo Indie market and look forward to meeting many new people.

I will be selling my original art, art prints, rag dolls, clothing and other goodies at the show. 

Please stop by, say hi, and shop if you are in the Buffalo, NY area.