Hummingbirds - Flying Jewels

I love this time of year for a number of reasons.  First, being a keen gardener down here in the hot and humid South, I can start kidding myself that really is getting cooler outside.

And second, this is the time of year that the hummingbirds gather and prepare for their annual migration south.

This year we've been hosting them on and off since May and I've been spending a lot of time on the patio with my camera trying to catch a good photo.

I think I was successful with this shot, and the quotation by Robert Brault is very appropriate. This poster would make a nice gift for anyone.

Hummingbird Poster with "Little Things" Quotation by 3DDesignsByJayne
View more Hummingbird Posters

Just the other day, as the sun was starting to go down behind the house next door, I saw a hummingbird approaching the feeder on the patio.  I snapped some photos and loved the way the sinking sun shone through the blur of her wings.

The only problem with the photo was the background -- a not very interesting view of our neighbor's brick wall!

So.... I played around with the photo and used a texture from a set that I had purchased to get rid of the blah background and isolate the hummingbird.  Then I did the same thing with a photo of some fuschias that I had taken and merged them together.

The result is this customizable greeting card. It can be made into a birthday card, a "thinking of you" card, or whatever the buyer is looking for.

Hummingbird and Fuschia Customizable Greeting Card by 3DDesignsByJayne
Find more Hummingbird Cards at Zazzle

I love the way this turned out and added it to some stickers too:

Hummingbird and Fuschia Sticker by 3DDesignsByJayne

Looking around Zazzle, there are some beautiful products from other Zazzle designers featuring hummingbirds. Below you will find just a few of the selections I found.

This lovely hummingbird with fuschias postcard is available in the NationalWildlife store. I didn't know the National Wildlife Federation had a store on Zazzle, but they have some beautiful items, created with photos that have been donated to them by the artists.  

Hummingbird and /fuchsia postcards by nationalwildlife

This postage stamp from tracidwilson, (no relation to myself!) features a photo of a hummingbird with a beautiful orchid bloom.

Hummingbird with Orchid Postage Stamps by tracidwilson

We seem to have mostly female hummingbirds in our garden at the moment (I think the males have already started heading south). I love this sticker from Diane_Jacky which shows a male ruby-throat and some bright red blooms.  Hummingbirds love red!

Hummingbirds: Ruby-throated Round Sticker by diane_jacky
View other Hummingbird Stickers

This lovely postcard from designer angelandspot has a vintage feel to it.

Vintage Hummingbird Post Cards by angelandspot

As you see in the photo at the top of this post, I have a couple of hummingbird feeders out at this time of year. But check this out!

Zazzle designer Gramabarb has used this photo of lots of hummingbird feeders on a porch.

She says: "These delightful hummingbird photographs are from http://www.ustream.tv/channel/katersch who has given me permission to make custom cards. She wants you to enjoy her Porch.

Watch the live action of these little jewels of the bird world."

What fun!

Hummingbird Porch Card by gramabarb

OK - that's enough from me.  I need to make some more nectar for my hummingbird feeders!

So now it's your turn. If you are a designer on Zazzle you are invited to add a link to your hummingbird 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. 

Gift Wrap/Wrapping Paper - Perfect for Any Occasion

Okay, so I haven't posted in here since MAY!!!!  No excuses, well unless you count a full time day job, a part time job on an equestrian website and an emerging art career, as well as my Zazzle store, 3D Designs by Jayne.

Other than the day job (pesky things, but one does need to EAT), creating art seems to have taken more priority than actually blogging about it, BUT, I promise to do better in future :-) 

There's no doubt I've been lax at keeping up with the new products at Zazzle this summer.  I completely missed out on the flip flops and I haven't got around to creating any wallets yet.

But this morning, after sweating in the garden for a while, pulling weeds, I started thinking about a white Christmas and decided to create some wrapping paper for my Zazzle store. 

Snowman with Snowflakes and Blue Stripe Paper by 3DDesignsByJayne
Look at other Christmas Wrapping Paper at zazzle.com

I could even make a Christmas card and a gift tag to match, right?

Snowman with Snowflakes Gift Tag by 3DDesignsByJayne
Create your own personalized address label at zazzle.com

Snowman with Snowflakes Christmas Card by 3DDesignsByJayne
Make a card on zazzle.

But I digress, we're talking about gift wrap here and the next design I worked on was this simple, yet elegant Christmas tree, on a dark green background.The tree was part of a set of design elements purchased for commercial use, and I had fun placing it on my template so it would tile nicely.

Tone on Tone Green Christmas Tree Paper Gift Wrap Paper by 3DDesignsByJayne

Here's another holiday gift wrap using design elements purchased for commercial use. This one looks like golden jewelry, studded with large blue cabochon jewels.

Holiday Jewels on Deep Red Ground Wrapping Paper by 3DDesignsByJayne

So I'm having a blast with these today -- and I'm only thinking of Christmas at the moment - the possibilities are endless!

For example, this lovely aqua and green squares gift wrap from RiverJude will work for many occasions and is suitable for gifts for men and women.

Blue Green Aqua Squares Modern Wrapping Paper by RiverJude

This gift wrap from Cutencomfy features the birthday girl or boy's name in neon bright colors on a black background.

Personalized Custom Name Collage Colorful Birthday Gift Wrap Paper by cutencomfy

And this gift wrap from designer kitandkaboodle (love that name!) features adorable little blue, pink, green and yellow ducks so it's perfect for any baby shower, whether it's for a girl or boy.

Cute Ducks Baby Shower Wrapping Paper by kitandkaboodle

This wrapping paper, or gift wrap, has only recently been added to Zazzle, but already there are lots of designs, suitable for many occasions.  I've just scratched the surface here, but now I'd like to get back to making some more for my own store!

So now it's your turn. If you are a designer on Zazzle you are invited to add a link to your gift wrap/wrapping paper 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. 

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.