Minted Art: Zebraba Tile

I'm excited to share that one of my recently launched art prints with Minted has been featured in an email highlighting the Pop Art movement as well as on the gallery wall of a very stylish beauty blogger. I'm pleased to introduce Zebraba Tile ...

shown in daffodil yellow, see more colors here

In this piece I've combined three of my favorite things: animal subject matter, the contrast of black and white, and repeating pattern. It kind of reminds me of an ink blot but with a tangible subject matter.

Pop Art email from Minted

Look at this beautifully feminine gallery wall by Teresa of Money Can Buy Lipstick! I love all those blush pink tones. Is it any wonder Pantone choose a soft pink shade as one of its Color of the Year picks for 2016?

photo from Money Can Buy Lipstick, see more soft pink prints here

All of the links above to Minted are affiliate links. I believe in the quality of Minted's prints and I'm confident in sharing their products with you. If you purchase from one of my links I will make a couple bucks, help a sister out?

Minted Art: Aquamarine No. 2

I opened my email to a happy surprise and saw that Minted featured one of my art prints, Aquamarine No. 2, in their email about color theory and what an analogous color scheme is.

I am particularly fond of this particular color pairing and find myself gravitating toward it often.

The other print in this series is Aquamarine No. 1 and can be found here:

All of the links above are affiliate links. I believe in the quality of Minted's prints and I'm confident in sharing their products with you. If you purchase from one of my links I will make a couple bucks for my copy & paste troubles.

Cyber Monday Deals at Minted.com

If you haven't ordered your holiday cards yet, now is the time! Minted is offering 15% off AND free shipping on all holiday cards. If you're in the market for stationery gift items or art prints for those stylish friends and relatives of yours EVERYTHING else on the site is 25% off.

If you have a photo in mind for you cards, use the Minted’s Find It Fast function and see your photo in every holiday card design on the site. It makes picking your design much easier (or is it harder when everything looks good?). Use the code CYBER2013 for your holiday card discount.

Not into that "traditional" family holiday card thing? Try a card featuring your favorite furry friend. I hear pets are the new kids. ;)

If your pet wont pose in antlers in real life, they'll be happy to wear them on a card in this Reinpet design.

Don't forget mom, there is a ton of stylish, pretty and modern stationery available too! Use the code MON25 for maximum savings!

Try Chic Stripes or one of the other awesome designs available!

I love animals and old school sneakers.

I have always loved animals. Over my lifetime I've lived with and loved 5 cats, 8 dogs, 1 pony, 8 horses and one little brother. To say I am an animal person is an understatement. If I'm at another person's home for a social event and there is a pet running around, I'll spend more time talking to it than the people. So a few years ago, when I discovered the work of Sharon Montrose, I was beyond excited.

She is a brilliant photographer. Her studio shots are so clean and airy feeling with a fantastic use of white space that offsets the intimate portrait of her subjects. While the execution could feel cold and scientific she chooses the shots that give a sense individual life to every animal. Not to mention the sheer detail of their textures; the rough bristles of a coat, the shiny wetness of an eye, the strength and hardness of a shell, it's like feeling with your eyes. Check out The Animal Print Shop for yourself and I dare you not to fall in love.

"Baby Zebu No. 2" by Sharon Montrose

I also love old school sneakers. (Now, just bear with me here.) The first pair of new "school shoes" that I can remember picking out were black, low top Vans with the white side stripe. Imagine my surprise when I get an email for The Everygirl's weekly feature and the first photo is Sharon Montrose wearing a pair of slip-on Vans in black and grey check. I mean, come on! Awesome animal photos AND old school sneakers?! She is now my photography hero.

Vans Old Skool™ Core Classics

April's First Friday Art Post: Original Prints on Etsy

Welcome to the inaugural First Friday Art Post! The first Friday of each month I'll bring you great art from around the web, kind of like my own little art walk.

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I love printmaking. In college I was lucky enough to take a printmaking class in my last semester where we learned various processes from intaglio etching to lithography to reduction woodcuts. There is something so satisfying about the printmaking process. I love all aspects of the production itself, from the mixing of inks, to setting up a system for perfect registration, to rolling plates through the press. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a drying rack full of prints, drying and waiting to be editioned.

It's no secret that I love art. This has manifested itself in a bit of an art buying habit that I don't see the need to correct (Mr. P may disagree). Etsy is one of my favorite sources for finding original prints at less than bank-breaking prices. I love that the world-wide art community is so accessible via Etsy. I can buy a piece from a local artist or from one half the world away.

Without further ado, let me showcase some of the art prints I've already purchased for myself along with some of the pieces I have my eye on this-very-moment.

Own it ...

Peacock linocut print by Zoe Badger / ZebedeePrint

Minted: Wall Art for Awesome Babies

I don't know about you, but when Spring rolls around I get antsy for change. Not major life-changing change, but aesthetic change. I'm happy to banish the grey skies and cold temperatures for a brighter and sunnier point of view which, for me, translates to adding more color to my life and my living space. Occasionally this means I put some sort of bright color in my hair but more often it means I buy art.

Maybe it's the art school kid in me but I am a bit of an art junkie. I give myself a small monthly budget for buying art from independent artists which means I spend way too much time trolling the web for budget friendly originals and prints from relatively unknown artists. Over the last year I've found that Minted has an ever-growing selection of outstanding art prints available in a variety of sizes, prices and color options. Some of them are even customizable and make great gifts! Plus, they are all created by Minted's infamous global community of designers! (Of which, I am lucky enough to be one.)

A color that has really grabbed my attention lately is pink, but not super sweet pastel pink. I'm really digging bright pinks, especially when paired with darker, sophisticated colors. While I am not inclined to base a room in my (temporary, sigh) home around pink but I am an equal opportunity color appreciator so I still have fun designing the "idea." Using Minted's groovy new inspiration board builder tool, I've matched up some pink-ish prints to curate a collection that is both sweet AND smart yet doesn't scream "Princess Party." This is the kind of art that would be perfect for a baby girl's room yet is adult enough to "grow up" as she does. Shoot, she may even take them to her future dorm room!

Colorful Girl collection of art from Minted

Inspiration: Charley Harper

[source]

I only wish I the same sensibility for color, shape and composition!

[source]


[source]


He's funny too! (I had that original Nokia cell phone!)
[source]

[source]

[source]

Chair Made of Muscle?

My creepy is showing but this was too awesome not to share!

Meaty Man-made Objects by artist Simone Racheli

[found via epotpourri]

One Year Pupiversary

Custom Vintage Image by Hot Digital Dog

Have I told you that I love quirky pet portraits? Well, I do. We've had our mutt pup, Minnie, for nearly a year now and I would love to commission a custom portrait of her.

She's sure got a good mug for portraiture!

Here is a small, quirky collection of my favorite pet artists:

Beautiful Maiden Mutt, Italian Renaissance Court by Pomopets


Embroidered Portrait of Your Pet by Badbird



Custom Commission by Lynn Culp
(She's a homie from Denver to boot!)


Custom Eight Inch Pillow of Your Pet by Handmade by Boni


Custom Pet Portrait by Paint Your Pooch


Paper Collage Portrait by The Paper Pooch


Acrylic and Oil Wash Portrait by Vayda's Pet Shop


Acrylic Painting Portrait by Eddie and Olive

There are soooo many options out there. How will I ever choose?

Inspiration: Gina Triplett

I absolutely love Gina Triplett's work. I couldn't tell you exactly why, it's just a feeling. Joy in color. Animals. Dynamic composition. Love! I only wish I could do this kind of thing though I would settle for owning it.

I bought this print through Thumbtack Press in an 8"x10" and have it hanging on the wall by the dining room table. I only wish I could afford more in larger sizes!!

Here is a print of hers nicely translated to fleece blanket format for sale through Urban Outfitters for the low price of $32!

New Blog Discovery & Packaging

I just found what may be my most favorite blog to date. It's called The Dieline and it's all about package design which is something that I find utterly fascinating. It wasn't until working at Impact Confections that I ever really thought about package design. Now I can't ignore it and I love finding beautiful designs as well as functional. There is something about pairing a great product with great design, both form and ornament, that excites me.

Here are some tasty image snippets from The Dieline blog.

If you've ever been in a liquor store, you'll recognize these labels.
I quite like the simplicity, they're also very memorable. I've never
had the wine but hear it is quite good for the price point.

This is one of the concepts for Mockingbird Lager. I would buy it just for the bottle!


Pretty bottles from the Belvoir Fruit Farms

While I'm on the topic I should give a shout out to my brother-in-law at Wink for this super sweet design.

Look! A new flavor!
Not only are these containers attractive and made of
recycled plastic, the stuff in them smells awesome too!
Daub & Bauble

While we're on packaging, these are packages that I designed ... not as hip as the examples above but they fit into the brand's identity.

[Melster Candies, Inc.]

Inspiration: Jermaine Rogers

Jermaine Rogers is known for his rock posters. He's done an incredible amount of show posters for more bands than I could list. What I love about them, aside from the semi-creepy nature, is the great use of color. It's almost acidic but the strong blacks and whites help to balance out the "neon-ness."

I've had a hard time finding good images to post but here are some. Check his site for more.

[Summer]

[I Am Not Lost ...]

[source]

I saw a print of this at the gallery I used to work at and planned on buying it. When I returned the show was gone. I really, really wish I had been a little faster to get back and purchase it!
In the future with my big bucks ...

Etsy: Pet Portraits

These are not your standard "pet portraits!" If I had the money and a pet, I'd totally get one.

[Pomopets]

How awesome is this embroidered portrait? [BadBird]

[colormutts]

[PaintYourPooch]

[pidgepidge]

[RoseThistleArtworks]

[lovingclementine]

[kat4526]