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.

Summer is Over - Get Ready for Halloween!

Well here we are in September already.  It's hard to believe summer is officially over (this being Labor Day weekend and all).  Looking back at my blog, I see I lagged a bit in August with only one post.  I'll see what I can do about stepping it up a bit as we head into fall.

It will soon be time to break out the fall decorations for the house. I love decorating for fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving as much as I do for Christmas.

I recently bought this Cobweb Mantle Scarf from the Victorian Trading Company and can't wait to decorate our mantle!

Having my mind on the fall Holidays has got my creative juices flowing a bit (they had been in the doldrums for a while) and I spent some time working on a Halloween piece which I used to create Halloween cards and invitations.

Jack-O-Lantern/Haunted House Halloween Invitation by 3DDesignsByJayne

I also created a poster and a stretched canvas with it.

Jack-O-Lantern and Haunted House Stretched Canvas by 3DDesignsByJayne

I've seen some wonderful Halloween items created by other Zazzle designers so I thought I'd share some of them here.

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How could I not have thought of doing something like this?  Every kid has to have a bag for their Halloween goodies, right?  Great idea!

Trick or Treat Tshirts and Gifts Bag by halloweengifts
See more Halloween Bags

  This one looks like the sort of thing the older kids would carry -- Give me Candy... Or Else!  lol!

Halloween Trick or Treat Goodie Bag by SquirrelHugger
See more Halloween Bags

I like this haunted house Halloween card by Celebration4all.  It's the sort of scene I had in mind when I created my own design, but of course I was working in a 3D graphic program so it came out quite different.

Happy Halloween Card by Celebration4all
Browse other Halloween Cards

Among our house full of cats, we have two black cats so I love anything with black cats on. This vintage style card is lovely.

Vintage Halloween Black Cat, Witch's Broom and Hat Greeting Cards by Tchotchke
Browse more Halloween Cards

 

Now it's your turn. Now it's your turn. If you are a Zazzle designer, you are invited to link to your Halloween 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.

Rainbow in the Clouds

In 2007, my husband and I were married just outside of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Then we hopped a plane for our honeymoon on the island of Kauai.

It was the most incredible trip and I took tons of photographs, some of which I'm going add to my Zazzle store as posters and postcards etc.

This past weekend, I was going through the photos from our honeymoon and came across a photo of a rainbow in the clouds at Kalalau lookout, on the Na Pali coast.

Kalalau Rainbow Poster by 3DDesignsByJayne
Browse Rainbow Posters

It's a spectacular location offering views of steep cliffs and the sea some 4,000 ft below. As we stood at the lookout, we were lucky enough to see this beautiful rainbow as the shone refracted off the water droplets in the mist.

The group of loud, obnoxious tourists who got to the lookout about five minutes after we did saw nothing, as the clouds had closed in and completely blanketed the area.

I admit I had to suppress a little smirk as we walked past them on our way back to the parking lot!

I also used the same photograph to create a postcard and this matching postage.

Kalalau Rainbow Postage by 3DDesignsByJayne
Browse more Rainbow Stamps

Below are some more rainbow postcards from Zazzle artists, including this spectacular double rainbow in Montana, from Zazzle designer pageandturner.

Double Bows Post Card by pageandturner
Browse more Rainbow Postcards

And here's another double rainbow, this time from designer beckbeck221.  I always seem to see double rainbows when I'm driving or when I have no camera.  Why is that?

Postcard Double Rainbow Over Water by beckbeck221
View more Maine Postcards

In addition to actual photographs of rainbows, some designers have used rainbow colored patterns in their designs, like this abstract rainbow poster by abbeyz71.

Abstract Rainbow Poster by abbeyz71
More Rainbow Posters

Rainbows also feature prominently in fantasy art, such as this beautiful Unicorn of the Rainbow Art Poster by romanceworks.

Unicorn Of The Rainbow Art Poster/Print by romanceworks
See more Unicorn Posters

And finally, if you're an animal lover like me, you can't look at a rainbow without thinking of the beautiful poem, Rainbow Bridge. This poster from Absoluteinspirations can be customized with your pet's name.

Rainbow Bridge Poem Customize Today Posters by Absoluteinspirations
More Rainbow Posters