The Lost Art of Letter Writing

I always get saddened when I hear about the current state of the Post Office, how they are losing money and how they are having to cut back on services.

When I was growing up in England, I had several pen pals around the world, and I eagerly looked forward to receiving their letters and reading their news.

Run Like the Wind - Galloping Paint Horses Customized Letterhead by 3DDesignsByJayne

The postman slid our mail (we called it "the post") through a slot in the front door and it landed with a thud.  I loved it as my mum skimmed through the post, separating the bills from the personal items, waiting to see if there was something there for me.

Sadly, those days are gone. With the advent of email, text messages and Facebook, it's easy to keep in touch with friends and family around the world without having to make a trip to the post office or buying a stamp.

Don't get me wrong, I love being able to share photos and notes via the internet. But I do miss the days of sending and receiving notes and cards for any occasion or even "just because".  There was something more personal about it.

Panoramic View Stationery Design by 3DDesignsByJayne

Nowadays, it seems that all I get in the mail are begging letters from charities, or clothing and garden catalogs.

I can't even complain that all I ever get are bills, because I pay all my bills online, and so most of the bills I get are ebills!

So what am I going to do to save the Post Office?

Wishing Well Thatched Cottage Postage by 3DDesignsByJayne

Well, I'm going to start my own personal challenge to get back in the habit of sending "smail mail" letters, notes and cards again. And I'd like to encourage others to join me.

Purple Aquilegia - Columbine Flower Postage by 3DDesignsByJayne
Check out more postage stamps online at zazzle.com

To that end, I'm going to highlight some of the wonderful stationery, letterhead and stamps that are available on Zazzle.

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My first selection is this letterhead with a vintage world map in the background., from cutencomfy. I've always loved the look of old maps and atlases, so I really like this design.  It would be perfect for sending personal letters and notes to friends and family around the world.

Vintage World Map Atlas Historical Design Customized Letterhead by cutencomfy

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As I have mentioned before on my blog, I'm a fan of owls. I love hearing them in the night, and I like them decorating my home.  I found this Musical Tree Owl letterheard from CuteLittleTreasures particularly appealing.

Musical Tree Owl Letterhead by CuteLittleTreasures

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This elegant letterhead with a side border of Vincent Van Gogh Branches with Almond Blossom by Ladiebug can be personalized with your name. Adding personal touches like this really enhances your correspondence.

Vincent van Gogh Branches with Almond Blossom Personalized Letterhead by Ladiebug

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I really like this elegant damask letterhead from cutencomfy. It's the sort of timeless design that can be used for personal or business correspondence.

Elegant Cocoa Damask Cake Pop Personalized Letterhead by cutencomfy
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Back in my penpal days, when I lived in England, and had penpals in Europe, the U.S. and Australia, the different stamps on the envelopes really fascinated me.  I probably should have taken up stamp collecting as my hobby, but regretably, I never did.

I've enjoyed creating postage stamps with my designs on Zazzle, a couple of which I posted above.  You can see more of them here.

There are some beautiful postage stamp designs of Zazzle (I have a feeling I wasn't the only designer on Zazzle who thought it was really neat to be able to create an official stamp with one of my own designs!)

Below are just a few and then I'll add a Linky Tool for my fellow Zazzle designers to add links to their own stationery and postage stamp designs.

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Fall is my favorite season I think.  I love anything will fall colors on it and this postage stamp from photographyvicky certainly fits that bill!

Vermont Autumn Postage Stamp by photographyvicky

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I've always loved the Impressionists, such as Monet and Renoir. I love this postage stamp from masterpiececafe featuring Monet's Water Lilies.

Water Lilies, Monet, Vintage Impressionism Flowers Postage Stamp by MasterpieceCafe
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Although I'm originally from England, I now live (and have lived for the past 30 years) in Texas. So to me there is no more iconic flower that the Bluebonnet, the State Flower of Texas. This postage stamp from Rossicards features a patch of glorious blue blooms.

Field of Texas Bluebonnets Postage by RossiCards

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Here's something I've never mentioned before in this blog -- I'm a multi-cat mom. I never meant to end up with a house full of cats, but when a stray cat showed up in our back yard a couple of years ago, looking very malnourished, we started leaving feed out for her. She seemed to live in the thicket in the then undeveloped lot next to our house. She would eat and then disappear. One day, we got to find out what was keeping her so busy next door when we looked out to see her leading her FOUR KITTENS under the fence and across the lawn to our patio.

Long story short, a few weeks later, we caught all five of them, got them spayed and neutered and added them to our household. Callie (the mom) bonded strongly with another stray we had taken in and they are now inseparable. They all live indoors and we can't imagine life without them.

This long ramble about our cat family is by way of introduction to this cute "World's Best Cat Mom" postage stamp by BlessingArtAnimals.

World's Best Cat Mom Stamp by BlessingArtAnimals

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There are so many wonderful designs of letterhead, stationery and postage stamps on Zazzle, I could go on and on.

Now it's your turn. If you are a designer on Zazzle you are invited to add a link to your Easter themed designs in the Linky Tool below. Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Easter is Almost Here

A few weeks ago, I wanted to create a 3D scene in Vue that I could use for Easter products. After struggling to get the exact scene I wanted all in Vue,  I ended up doing a mixed media piece.

I started out by rendering a scene with a cluster of Easter eggs, nestled in some long grass and dandelions, with a background of tree-lined fields, and a nice hazy spring atmosphere.

Once the render was complete, I opened the resulting image file in Photoshop Elements, created a new layer and added a sweet Easter bunny, which is a png file from Bez Boardman and Antje Darling's ABC's Hi-5 Springtime kit at Renderosity. I'm really happy with the resulting image and have used it on cards, postcards, gift boxes and even this plate.

Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs Party Plate by 3DDesignsByJayne

Another item in my Easter line is this sweet card with an Easter chick and eggs.

Easter Chick - Happy Easter Card by 3DDesignsByJayne

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There are many Easter designs on Zazzle, ranging from cute Easter bunnies and Easter eggs for the kids, to spiritual designs like the one below.

Faith (blue, silver, black) cards by biblegifts316

The beautiful card above, from biblegifts316, reminds us of the true meaning of Easter while the lovely stamp below, from deemac1, features an iconic Easter scene.

Easter medium sized stamp by deemac1

Vintage designs are popular, such as this one featuring an Easter chick and the greeting "Welcome Easter Morning" by forbes1954.

Easter Vintage Postcard by forbes1954

Some are postcards, like this lovely one of a well-dressed Easter bunny decorating Easter eggs from easterfun which can be mailed or framed and displayed as artwork.

Bunny Painting Easter Eggs Post Cards by easterfun

If your children are going Easter egg hunting this year, make sure they're well equipped with a tote bag for their treasures, like this one from DoodlesHolidayGifts

Easter Egg Hunt tote bag by DoodlesHolidayGifts
Find other Easter Bags at zazzle.com

I'm going to finish with this lovely symbol of Easter, the Easter Lily. I love the white the white lily stands out against the green leaves and background on this card from catherinesherman.

Happy Easter, Easter Blessings, White Lily Cards by catherinesherman
Browse more Easter Cards

Now it's your turn. If you are a designer on Zazzle you are invited to add a link to your Easter themed designs in the Linky Tool below. Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Inspirational Quotes on Posters, Cards and More

Some bad weeks at my day job have had me feeling low and seem to have sucked the creativity right out of me.  I've had a hard time completing any art projects and I haven't had the energy to blog either.

Well enough of that.  I will not let it get the better of me! 

Today I thought I would add a quote to this render that I did recently. I think it makes a great inspirational poster. In fact, I think I might revisit some more of my art and see if I can find suitable inspirational quotes to go with them.  It might make up for the recent creative doldrums!

Ride the Sky Poster by 3DDesignsByJayne

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I've always liked this quote about rain, ever since attending a Dale Carnegie seminar many years ago, and it always makes me think of Fred Astaire.

Dance in the Rain Goldfinch Postcard by 3DDesignsByJayne

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I knew if I looked around Zazzle, I would find lots more inspiration and as always, my fellow Zazzlers didn't disappoint.  I'm feeling better already :-) 

Here are just a few of the inspirational items I found:

I love the idea of an inspirational fridge magnet. You can give it as a gift to a friend, or to yourself, and be inspired each time you go to the fridge.  

Note to self ... good idea... I see some magnets in my creative agenda....

what lies behind us ... fridge magnet by ginnyl52
Look at other Inspirational Magnets at zazzle.com

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Framed postcards are an inexpensive way to create an art installation and they make great gifts. Your friends will appreciate an inspirational postcard like this one from smangieri.

"When you feel like giving up..." Post Cards by smangieri

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I love the quote by Plato on this poster from Inspiration Posters and it's certainly something I try to live by every day. You never know what other people are dealing with and a smile or act of kindness goes a long way.

Kindness Posters by Inspiration_Posters

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This beautiful motivational poster from LifeArtHouse would look great in the home or the workplace.

Discipline Motivational Poster Print by LifeArtHouse

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Inspirational quotes don't just come on posters, cards and magnets - you can wear them too, such as this Environmentalist T-shirt from holiday tshirts.

Be the change t-shirt by holiday_tshirts


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I'm certainly feeling in a more positive frame of mind after researching this blog post.  Of course, I've only scratched the surface of inspirational and motivational quotes available at Zazzle.

Now it's your turn. If you're a designer on Zazzle, you are invited to add a link to your inspirational or motivational quote-themed designs in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Love is in the Air!

Well okay, technically we're still one month away from Valentine's Day, but now is the time when people start thinking about it.

I was excited to get an email from Zazzle the other day, notifying me that someone had purchased 20 customized copies of my Cartoon Horse Valentine's card.

Cartoon Horses Valentine's Card by 3DDesignsByJayne
Browse Valentine's day Cards online at Zazzle.com

It occurred to me that I don't have very many Valentine's themed items in my Zazzle store at all, but I have some images that I think I can work with, and I'll start that this week.

The card below is one I designed for my store at Greeting Card Universe. Unfortunately it has yet to be approved, so in the meantime I've added it to my Zazzle store. Note to self, allow plenty of lead time when submitting designs to GCU.

Pink Heart Valentine's Card by 3DDesignsByJayne

While I may not have many Valentine's Day themed cards and gifts, other Zazzle designers have been busy creating, so I took a peek around and here are just a few of the things I found.

No matter what style of Valentine's card you are looking for, there's something to fit your needs.

I like this one from TheCandiedThread. Not sure what it is, it just appeals to me :-)

Valentines Day Greeting Card by TheCandiedThread

I love this sweet little vintage Valentine's card for kids, from kidsonly. Perhaps it's because I'm a tea lover :-)

Vintage Valentine's Day Card for Kids by kidsonly

In addition to thousands of cards, there are also other Valentine's themed items on Zazzle, such as this cute "Cardinals in Love" mug.

Cardinals in Love Mug by pasaiidesignstudio

This Love postage stamp from ViolettoDesigns will add a touch of elegance to your correspondence.

Love Postage by ViolettoDesigns
Create your own postage stamps at zazzle.com.

I could go on, there are so many wonderful cards and other items. But now it's your turn.

If you're a designer on Zazzle, you are invited to add a link to your Valentine's Day-themed designs in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Try as I may to find a "niche" for myself and my 3D digital artwork, I'm not having much luck.

I tend to stick to landscapes, often with a nostalgic touch to them, but every now and then I have an inspiration to do something else. 

For example, the image below, "The Fairy and the Tiger" was created in DAZ|Studio back in 2009 or thereabouts.  I'm very proud of the fact that it placed second in a competition for 3D digital drtists entitled "You Animal, You" in which artist were invited to create a scene which included any animals.  The fact that I also included a fairy was rather unique in the competition!

Fairy and Tiger in the Jungle Poster by 3DDesignsByJayne

I'm thinking about doing another fairy or fantasy image, because I always love the ones I see other people do. I'll be sure and post it on my blog if I ever get around to it!

While my mind was on fairies, I took a look around Zazzle, and here are just a few of the beauties I found.

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While not all of these are 3D digital renders, the first one certainly is (The designer uses the name "Renderly Yours" which was a big giveaway to me, lol!)  This lovely design is available on a number of different products, including an iPhone case and a ceramic ornament.

Fairy Light Ball Note Cards by RenderlyYours

My very favorite fairies of all are Cecily M. Barker's Flower Fairies. They are all adorable and each one has its own character and charm. flower_fairies has so many lovely cards in their store, it was difficult to pick just one to showcase here! This is the Bind Weed fairy.

The Bindweed Fairy Post Card by flower_fairies
Browse other Fairy Postcards

We can't talk about fairies without including Tinkerbell, can we? Disney has lots of Tinkerbell items in the store, including this cute mousepad.

Tinker Bell Pose 21 Mouse Pad by disney

In this calendar, featuring the Fantasy Art of Molly Harrison, you can see not just one, but 12 of Molly's unique fairy and other fantasy paintings.

2013 Fantasy Art Calendar by Molly Harrison by robmolily

The last one I'm going to share with you is this lovely vintage poster entitled The Visit at Moonlight, from Postershoppe.

The Visit At Moonlight Fairy Fairies Posters by postershoppe

Now it's your turn. If you're a designer on Zazzle, you are invited to add a link to your fairy-themed designs in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

 

Get Ready for the New Year with a Calendar

This is the time of year when we start making plans for the coming year -- things that we want to start doing, such as being organized, remembering to blog on a regular basis, meeting with clients, work on our art, designs, garden -- whatever our passion.

What better way to help keep track of those plans than with a calendar.

Now I have a confession to make -- I haven't designed a calendar this year (in fact, I've never designed a calendar).  That's not to say I don't like calendars -- I love them and usually have one in the kitchen, one in my office/studio, one at my day job, and my hubby has one in his office too.

My personal favorite subjects are horses, wildlife and birds, and gardening.  So I'm going to browse through Zazzle and see what calendars I can find that feature my favorite subjects and share them with you here.

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The first calendar I have selected is the 2013 EQUUS calendar from artCWRW. This is digital art at its very finest. I have followed this artist on the art website Renderosity for many years. In addition to producing some stunning artwork, CWRW has created some great resources for other digital artists, some of which I use myself in my own art. I didn't realize until today that CWRW is on Zazzle!

EQUUS 2013 Calendar by artCWRW
View other Horse Calendars

My second selection is by UTeezSF and is filled with great photographs of horses of all shapes and sizes.

Horses Calendar by UTeezSF
View other Horse Calendars

This calendar features some beautifully detailed artwork of one of my favorite birds - the hummingbird.

John Gould's Hummingbirds Calendars by Zoology_Boy
Browse Hummingbird Calendars

As I have mentioned before on my blog, I'm very partial to owls. One of my biggest thrills is to hear the hoots of owls in the fields behind our house late at night. We were even lucky enough to see one once.

This calendar features some great photos of a variety of species of owl.

Owls calendar 2013 by clarelh
More Owls Calendars

Dave's Garden is an internet community of gardeners.  This wonderful calendar features the winning photographs in their annual photography competition, which had 2,800 entries!

Dave's Garden 2013 Calendar by davesgarden
Make a calendar at zazzle.com

My final selection features the beautiful impressionist water lily paintings of Claude Monet, offered on Zazzle by Masterpiece Gifts.

2013 Water Lilies Collection Calendar by MasterpieceGifts
Browse Monet Calendars

Well those are just a few of the wonderful calendars I found, I could have listed so many more, but it's getting late.

Now it's your turn. If you're a designer on Zazzle, you are invited to add a link to your 2013 calendars in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Give Thanks for Thanksgiving!

Here we are now in October and once again, I'm lagging behind in my blogging!   I'm just too busy creating art these days! Haha!

Before I get going with this post, I want to thank everyone who added links to their wonderful Halloween designs in the Linky tool at the end of my last post, Summer is Over, Get Ready for Halloween.

Reading my post again inspired me to make some new Halloween creations of my own, including this Trick or Treat goodie bag.

Trick or Treat Tote Bag by 3DDesignsByJayne

And I made this cute little Patchwork Applique Halloween card last weekend.

Applique Style Patchwork Halloween Card by 3DDesignsByJayne

Even though it's not even Halloween yet, my mind has moved on to Thanksgiving.  (Kind of like in Hobby Lobby where the Halloween stuff gets puts out on the shelves while I'm still trying to find July 4th decorations, and the Christmas decorations are out already in September!)

I started out by creating a Thanksgiving card for my store at Greeting Card Universe. Then I added it to my Zazzle store too.

Plentiful Harvest Thanksgiving Card by 3DDesignsByJayne
Browse more Thanksgiving Cards

I like to use my designs on different items, so I started thinking what else I could create using this design.

Plentiful Harvest Still Life Placemat by 3DDesignsByJayne
See more Thanksgiving Placemats

I hit on the idea of creating placemats when I was cleaning some rather old and battered placemats that have seen quite a few Holiday seasons. I also added the design to a plate and a tile/trivet.  Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure I can change the size slightly and wrap it around a mug, a teapot etc.  But that's a project for tomorrow night after work!

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Now it's time to look at just a few of the wonderful items the talented artists and designers on Zazzle have created.

If you're sending out cards or invitations for your Thanksgiving celebration, adding a Thanksgiving postage stamp is a nice touch. This digitally painted stamp by Cheries Art has a lovely country flair to it.

Plaid Border Happy Thanksgiving Stamp by Cheries_Art

There's an almost overwhelming selection on Thanksgiving cards, from the traditional, such as this one by Vintagecards ...

Thanksgiving Fall Elegance Greeting Cards by Vintagecards

... to the amusing, such as this "I'm Thankful for Vegans" card by koncepts ...

Thankful Turkey Greeting Cards by koncepts
Browse more Thanksgiving Cards

This personalized Thanksgiving recipe book by cutencomfy is a wonderful way to keep the family recipes together and pass them down to the next generation.

Custom Personalized Thanksgiving Recipe Book 3 Ring Binders by cutencomfy
View other Thanksgiving Binders

And speaking of recipes, of course the cook has to have his or her very own apron such as this Gobble Gobble apron from Holiday Shirts.

Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving apron by holiday_tshirts

What could say "Thanksgiving" better than football and turkey?

Football and Turkey PERFECT! Apron by sportydesigns

The designers on Zazzle have created such a great range of Thanksgiving T-shirts it's hard to know where to start, but for myself,  I particularly like this classic Thanksgiving design by Memory Lane.

Autumn Harvest T Shirt by Memory_Lane

I laughed out loud when I saw the next two T-shirts.  After all, everyone has their preference!  I just wish I had thought of this first!

Funny Thanksgiving Breast Man Basic dark t shirt by koncepts

Are you, or is someone you know a "Breast Man" or a "Thigh Man"?

Funny Thanksgiving Thigh Man T-Shirts by koncepts
See more Thanksgiving T-Shirts

These are just a few of the items I noticed. There are many, many more.

Now it's your turn.

If you're a Zazzle designer, you are invited to add a link to your Thanksgiving cards or other items in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.