Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm am SO excited for today, and hope you all are as well! Thanksgiving is on of my favorite holidays because of all the delicious food, and also it's the official kick-off to Christmas!! I'm not one to go out shopping on Black Friday, but now that I'm an online shop owner, I have to do a LOT of prepping to make sure I'm ready for the online shoppers. So here are my holiday WEEK deals!

From now through December 1st at 11:59 p.m.:

• Receive a FREE 8" x 10" piece with every custom item order!
• 20% off any orders over $60! Enter promo code TURK3Y(Must total to $60 before Shipping and Handling!

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving spending time with all that you're thankful for! Now go stuff yourselves full of deliciousness, enter a food coma, and get to shopping! =)

Photocopy

Ladies and gents, I love looking at all the great pieces that others are making with their crayon art, but I am ashamed of artists who steal photography. If you ever come across someone who's stolen another artists photos, please report them - especially on Etsy! It's not fair to falsify your product to the buyers, nor is it fair to the original artist. 

I want to thank the fellow Etsian, thekyladesign, who noticed another "seller" who had stolen my photography for one of my pieces, Rainbow Falls. Etsy has been notified and hopefully the "seller" straightens up her act! Here's the link to her shop. I'm nervous that the tie-dye she's selling is also a photo she stole, so if you find it somewhere else on Etsy, please report the seller directly to Etsy with a link to the original artist's work. 

As I wrote to the owner of Change of Heart (who stole my photography), "Etsy is a site for honest, hardworking artists who respect one another." Anyone who isn't begin honest, or isn't respecting other artists' work should not be a part of that network. I understand that there are always going to be people who are only after their own gain, which is sad. Artists are especially subject to being copied, having their styles copied, and overrun by others with ambition for money. This is why artists need to stick together and look out for one another! 

I've reported the seller to Etsy and am not sure what the result will be since they will not keep my updated on the results of my reporting of the seller. I also sent the seller a message asking her to use her own photography. We'll see what happens… so if the following links don't work, that's a good sign! Here's the link to her shop, ChangeOfHeart, and here's the item using my photography, listed on September 25th. Now, here's the link to my item which had sold on July 18th of this year. Yup, they're the same. Not just one of the photos for this item, but BOTH! Grrr... just makes me upset. 

Well, thanks for listening to my vent. On a brighter note, this is looking to be one of the most beautiful Fall weekends in Michigan ever! I can't wait to be spending time with my boyfriend's family up north and to see all the lovely Fall foliage. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Just plain honored!

This morning I discovered a message in my Etsy inbox informing me that I had been featured in a new blog post on A Bit of Bees Knees. When I checked out the post, I was blown away that I had been included in this collection of Amazing Artists: Julian Beever, Margaux Lange, Shu Uemura, Dalton Ghetti, and Janine Golbert. Some of whom I had heard of before, some who are new to me, and all of which are fantastic artists! Thank you, Brittany, for loving my art and including me in this post! Check out her blog - it's full of great posts ranging from art, to home tips, all kinds of fun things! =)

ten scenic drive

Ok, I can't even express how excited I am about the Crayon Art taking off! And look! Another blog has featured my shop! I LOVE this blog. The author, Kristin, has a super fun writing style and is incredibly artsy herself. My favorite thing I've seen on her blog: Bachelorette party cake. Cracks. Me. Up! I can't wait to plan a party and have this as the piéce de résistance. Take a look at her latest post (here) featuring JK Create's Crayon Art! 

I'm scrambling like crazy trying to get a bunch of new pieces up, getting orders ready to ship, and having art prints made of the most popular works. I'm so excited to see how the prints turn out! I'll even have prints on canvas made which are GORGEOUS! 

I hope you all are doing well, and sorry to be neglecting my blog! I'll have other crafty non-crayon things up soon. Cheers!

Rain, Rainbows & Melts

It has only been a few days since I launched my Etsy site, and the feedback has been overwhelming! Already, I've been featured in a few treasuries, been favorited, made contacts, and had a major confidence boost (extra perk). Take a look at the lovely Etsians who have shown my artwork a little love, and peruse the treasuries they've created. I want to say thanks to each of you and I wish you the best!

Mommy's Craft Box created this bright and beautiful Color My Summer Treasury











Curious Little Bird pulled together a lovely Rainy Saturday Treasury

I just love this collection of melty goodness I'll Stop the World and Melt With You Treasury organized by Rachel








And the lovely Tracy (Luv Laugh Sparkle) featured one of my pieces in her fresh and fun blog!

It's up! It's up!

The long wait is over! My Etsy site has officially launched, and within a few moments of posting, I already have become a favorite by a few members!! I'm so excited about this site as it's a huge step in my creative goals. So go ahead and check out what I have listed. As a reader of my blog, you can get 15% off any order - including custom pieces! Enter coupon code C2OBLOG. Also, if you're within a 30 mile radius of Lansing, MI, I will deliver the piece myself for FREE! Just enter LOCAL30 as your coupon code. Here are a few highlights of what I listed, enjoy!

JK Create's Etsy Site

 

Mural, mural, on the wall...

Hello there! I just finished a mural for Gear Up College Day Camp at MSU and have to show it off. This thing was the 2nd largest mural I've done (largest being 12' x 7') and the beach scene was a blast to do. It's for a luau party, so I thought, "What better than a beach sunset?" I absolutely love painting sunsets. They're are quite possibly the most amazing moment of my day. Living on a body of water makes it even more magical, although the Rocky Mountains have breathtaking sunsets as well (though I prefer the sunrises in Colorado).

This was my first mural. I designed it while on a missions trip in Gulkana, Alaska. Everyone pitched in with painting it and the villagers loved it! This was the bus stop for the village children, and was just a plain shed before we got our hands on it!

Just after I moved back from Colorado, I had the opportunity to paint several murals in a residence. Here's one of them:

And now, to the most recent! I was so excited when my friend asked me to do a backdrop/mural for the program she works in. Gear Up is such a great program, and the people are wonderful! I had the chance to go to hang out with them this past weekend and we all had so much fun! Without further adieu, here it is - the progression of a mural!

Ta-daa!!

The kids I babysit for - they LOVED it!

Painting is such a release for me - especially large scale paintings. And I definitely needed that stress-reducer after the past few, well, months. But an even better way to calm down, regroup, and reload? VACATION!! I'm leaving tomorrow on a road trip for one of my best friends' wedding in Montana! Justin and I are driving out and will arrive on Wednesday. I can't wait to see everyone! And it's in Kalispell, aka: Glacier National Park! I bet there will be some pretty awesome sunsets to inspire me. =)

Quick update for those who are waiting for my Etsy site to launch: I'll be posting everything at the beginning of July. Since I'll be gone for a week and a half, I'd rather not put up the shop and then make any orders wait until I return. So it will be up there soon and thanks for your patience! "See" you all soon!

Breathe in, breathe out, repeat as needed...

It's one of those weeks where I keep telling myself "just make it through the weekend..." That's pretty much been my life since January. I'm SO exhausted, but also excited. It's at this time I turn to age-old words of wisdom. "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Right, I'll keep that in mind. And then there's, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Sure... Well let's focus on this one: "This too shall pass." Phew, okay. Just get through this week... =)

The chaos that is crayon art. The mess extends beyond the
boundaries of this photo.

One of the things that's bogging my mind is this weekend when I'll have art displayed for the East Lansing Art Festival! It will be located within Blue Midnight (the hookah club across from the Mariott) on Saturday and Sunday. My "krayon art" (I'm debating spelling it with a k... I know it's a little tacky) will be displayed along with artists from Bossa Koba. I've never been part of an art show before, and am SUPER excited! I've been lining up, attaching, and melting crayons for the past few days and still have many more pieces to finish up tonight so they'll be ready to set up Saturday morning! And, after the weekend, whatever doesn't sell at the art festival will be put up on my Etsy site. So keep an eye out for the new site, it'll be here soon! 

Etsy Ladies

This is a blog dedicated to all those wonderfully talented and fabulous sellers on Etsy! I want to feature a few of my friends who have shops on there. It's so difficult to make yourself stand out on a site with thousands upon thousands of sellers, and these women are so gifted at what they do. So show a little love and check out what they have! Their sites are full of great gifts for anyone - including yourself!

JengaJam is owned by one of my friends who is not only awesome at crocheting/knitting, her paintings are beautiful as well! Unfortunately, those aren't up on her site since it's dedicated to knits. But you have to see all the crocheted/knit products she had! I just adore the baby hats and flower headbands she does. Look at how adorable they are!!

Fashion Lovers Dream is the site of one of my newest acquaintances. I met her out in CO last week and am blown away at how talented she is! She makes beautiful jewelry that I pretty much drool over. Don't worry, I didn't get any on her pieces! Not only is her stuff suited for any occasion, but her prices are extremely reasonable. Not like others who seem to slightly gouge their customers. I'm in love with these earrings and am purchasing them...now. Yessss... sorry to disappoint those who wanted them, but she has lots of other great stuff in her shop as well!

I'm moving toward setting up a small Etsy shop for stationary I'm designing. Right now it's all in the early processing stages, but I'll let you know when it's up and running! Yay!

For all of you Etsians who have shops - PLEASE - tell me what they are!! There's nothing better than helping out friends and knowing that someone you care for made something you own. I love that feeling. So share your site and I'd love to feature you as well!