New Products in the Shop!

Hello friends!

Many of you have stopped by here from time to time and seen some of the illustrations I've done for Illustration Friday, primarily. Well, I have taken several of the most popular designs and have made available a whole new set of products on my CafePress shop, just in time for Christmas giving (or anytime). I created a new section in the shop called New Arrivals which features these new products. Here are a few of the highlights - I hope you'll check them out!

This design called "Open" is featured in a framed print, on mugs, t-shirts and more

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The "Wedding" design is featured on t-shirts, mugs, and a decorative keepsake box.

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This illustration of Noah's Ark appears on a wide variety of cute kid's stuff.

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This tongue-in-cheek design called "Missing" would be cute for a single friend or even for the laundry room!

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The "Big Easy" Alphabet is a fun design for anyone that loves New Orleans or the New Orleans "vibe".
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And here are some other "old" favorites that may be new to you...see them on a wide variety of products here...

BTW - CafePress is running a Free Shipping Special for orders of $75.00 or more for a limited time. So, not only Just Bee 'n Me merchandise, but TONs of other cute merchandise, and better yet, the ability to make and ship your own products, on-demand, from your own images and photos. It's so fun to make your own one-of-a-kind, personalized gifts...perfect for Christmas!

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Thanks, as usual, for stopping by...it warms my heart more than you know!! And please stay tuned - I'm getting closer and closer to finishing the Calendar, and will offer it on CafePress just as soon as I possibly can. (I'll be posting a Sneak Peek at May by tomorrow...)

I Need a Little Christmas, Right This Very Minute!

Take some of this...

Do some of this with it...

Add a bit more of this...


If there's any more room, add some of this...

There, that's better...now it's starting to look a little festive around here...

I've done more decorating since the tree, but this is all I have time to post right now - I just couldn't wait any longer!!! Ahhhh...now I feel better...

More to come...

Allow Me to Introduce...

my awesome, lovely, smart, sweet BFF Connie. Connie and I go WAY back - to the late 70's to be kinda exact... We went to High School together and were the very best of friends. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding to Buddy back in 1980 - here's a photo of them from 1981:

I tell you, the woman hasn't aged a minute!! Well, to make a long story somewhat shorter, Connie and I remained friends in the early 80's, but my family's move to another town, then my marriage took me farther and farther away - and eventually out of state. During those earlier years we stayed connected by phone (we have the type of friendship that can pick up where it left off even if it's been a long time) - but once I moved to Colorado in 1998 we both lost track of one another all together....

But then, my 22 year marriage ended and I found myself back in Texas. Meanwhile my dear old friend Connie was trying to find me - and through the magic of Google found me indeed - read my blog cover to cover to catch up on my life and times, and true to form, when she emailed me to say "Is it really you?", we picked right up where we left off, like life-long friends do, and we are BFFs once more!

Well, my point in all this is to introduce you to Connie who has now entered the exciting world of blogging, and to encourage you to pay her a visit at http://conniebrz.com/. And let me tell you, she has some stuff to blog about! She and Buddy ( still together, but with the addition of 4 kids, 3 dogs, 4 cats, and 3 cows) have established a real estate investment/renovation enterprise for real people. They buy investment houses, perform the renovation, and then rent them out - and they are quite good at it: Case in point, their current transformation project, "The Magnolia"

You can also read an ongoing series of renovation articles written by Connie about this particular project at: http://www.atticmag.com/interiordesign/renonation.html

On Connie's new blog, she shares practical, fun insights into the joys, frustrations, and foibles of remodeling, house hunting, and life in general - and she does so with such wit and warmth - she is so darn funny - what a gifted writer!! You'll find LOTs of tips for your own renovation/remodeling projects or home buying adventures...all set to the sweet rhythm of family life and lasting love...

I hope you'll stop by and say "hey". Then you'll be blessed to know the wonderful gal I'm SO privileged to call friend...

Belated BFF Thanks and More Creative Goodness

While I was away at the beach, my incredible box of prize-goodies arrived from my BFF Melissa at the Inspired Room. I was the blessed grand prize winner from her gala co-party with The Blissful. I couldn't wait to open it!

Eiffel Tower earrings, a subscription to Cottage Living, a sweet note, and some yummy truffles were waiting for me inside

Oh goodness these are WAY cute!! Love 'em!! Thanks Melissa!!!!!
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And the fun and inspiration goes on and on at The Inspired Room - Melissa's next awesome adventure is called "Creative Inspiration Week" and it begins on Monday December 3rd - don't miss it!! She'll be hosting numerous creative folks sharing what inspires them, glimpses of their creative spaces, festive holiday ideas, and more!! That Melissa knows how to throw a shin-dig, so be sure and stop by all throughout the week!!!!

Thanks Melissa for sharing your vision and creative inspiration with us all - what a blessing you are!!

Calendar Sneak Peek: September

Hello friends,

First off, I just want to say thank you - I'm always so happy when you drop by!! You guys will probably never know what and inspiration you are to me - and what an encouragement! So again I say, with a heart full of gratitude, Thank You!!

Just wanted to post another mini sneak peek at just a portion of my calendar design for September. I am rocking right along with the calendar, but it will take most all of my spare time to get all the designs done by December the 17th, my self-imposed deadline - so thanks also for your patience as I post a little less and skip Illustration Friday - I have no choice if I am to finish...

Ahhh..but there's so much to post about, so I will burn some midnight oil and manage to post as often as I can. Some highlights still to come:

• My First Ever Blog Give-Away
• Brand new goodies in my store
• Fat-Free Fridays (should be fun)
• Awesome Introductions to some Awesome Bloggers
• Deck the Halls, Y'all
• and more....
  

Please stay tuned...this would be no fun at all if no one ever came by!! I love you guys!!

Thanksgiving Memory Making

What a WONDERFUL time we all had at the beach for Thanksgiving! 14 of us gathered in a beach cabin near Galveston for a fun-filled 4 days of memory-making. Wednesday was relatively warm and the kids actually got to play in the water.

My new daughter sculpted this incredible sea turtle on the beach - my new grandson shows the scale of the sculpture.

The beach cabin has plenty of kitschy decor - so fun!

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Thursday, the cold air started to pour in - but we all enjoyed it - it just doesn't quite feel like Thanksgiving if it's not a little chilly. And my oh my, you should've seen the food - we could have fed another 14 people easily. We all thoroughly enjoyed bustling around, pulling together the feast...

My brother's lab Sandy could not understand why she wasn't invited
to the Thanksgiving feast.
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I was so grateful that I brought lots of craft supplies for me and the grandkids, niece and nephews to create with - we were forced indoors pretty much all day Friday and Saturday as the cold increased and the rains came...

We did manage to have a wonderful fire on the beach both Thursday and Friday nights - so cozy...

The cold and rain couldn't put a damper on our incredible memory-making Thanksgiving - we had a blast and have already agreed that we will return to the cabin for Christmas of 2008 - it's becoming a regular family holiday tradition. I was so thankful that my new sweet hubby was there, along with one of his daughters and 3 of his grandkids, to share in the fun, food and family fellowship - it was awesome!!! I hope each and every one of you had a warm memory-making Thanksgiving as well!

PS - Don't forget to check out the Merry-Making Christmas Gift Guide - Ive added 2 new artisans since I first posted. If you are an artist or craftsperson offering your wares online and you want to be included in the guide, please be sure and leave a comment on any post and I'll get it. Also, whether you're an artisan or not, I invite you to include a banner ad for the guide on your site - it's a nice bit of "customer service" to your blog readers. Click here to find the HTML code. Thanks all for your support of these great artisans!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like...the 4th of July??

Mini-sneak-peek at part of the July design

Working on the July design for my 12 month calendar 2 days before Thanksgiving and 5 days after posting the "Merry Making Christmas Gift Guide" is really messing with my internal holiday clock!! To top it off, my family is heading for a beach house on the Texas coast for 4 days to celebrate Thanksgiving and relax together - talk about confusing!! Oh, but it gets better - a nice cold front is heading our way and will reach us by Thursday so at least it will be cold at the beach... huh??

Actually, my family went to this same beach house last year for Christmas and it was cold but WONDERFUL! Here's a few photos from that trip...

Brrrrrrrrr - what kind of crazy people fish in 38 degree weather?? That's my sweet sister-in-law under all the layers...

We're heading back to this same beach house for Thanksgiving...can't wait!

Actually I love the beach any time...it was quite beautiful!

This year will be EXTRA special because my Sweet Hubby will be there by my side - our first big Holiday as husband and wife - joy, joy, joy!!! We are going to have such fun with us and all the family there together!! And to make things even sweeter, his second daughter and 2 grandkids (10 and 8) will be joining us all too!! Yay!! I LOVE BIG FAMILIES!! I am SO BLESSED!! I will have LOTS of photos to share, no doubt - please stay tuned...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas too...

OK, back to Christmas for just a bit - these days it seems you have to start gathering Christmas stuff well before Halloween if you're going to have a shot and having a decorated house for the season. I'm not quite sure what happened to the days of trudging around in the chilly Texas air looking at Christmas tree lots for a REAL tree on about December the 17th or 18th - but that's how we used to do it. The tree went up about a week before Christmas and we all gathered around and decorated it with one or two colors of glass ornaments, handmade felt ornaments, silver "icicles", and a star on top - that was about it...and we loved it! But hey, I have to admit I love decorating the "new" way too - designer colors, gorgeous trimmings, swags and sparkles and candlelight and on and on...the main thing that will make today's designer Christmas like the spirit of Christmas' past is to have family close by to share the season and to keep God at the center of everything....then no matter how humble or how ornate, the real reason for Christmas is what will shine through in everything you do...

SO, here's a little peek at some of my Christmas decorating goodies I've gathered (not the greatest photo, but you get the gist) - we'll start the decorating process after we return from the beach this weekend - should be fun!

But for now, onward to the beach for lots of fun, food, family, and RELAXATION...

So, to all of you I wish a safe, tasty, fun, family-and-friend-filled Thanksgiving Holiday!! I am so thankful for so many things - the Lord and the miracles He's done in my life, my incredible new Hubby (one of those miracles), my wonderful family, this great country we live in, all my many blessings...WOW, I am so blown away!!! And I count YOU, beautiful blog buddies, among my many blessings!! Sharing my heart and art with all of you and having you share your life back has been an incredible joy to me! Thank you for being a special part of my life....

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3