Fur In The Paint

Fresh off the presses my latest squidoo lens features various horse themed mugs and cups and included ceramic coffee mugs, stoneware, pottery and travel mugs. I’ve included some of my zazzle mugs as well as some of Amazons finest equestrian themed cups.

Show Girls - Belgian Horses by WildFacesGallery
See more Mona majorowicz Mugs
$15.95

Horse Mugs With Quotes
Playing a little with adding meaning to the artwork.

“Friend, our closeness is this, anywhere you put your foot, feel me in the firmness under you.”
- Rumi

Horse Mug Right Side Horse image
Horse Mug Left Side quote

Liberty - Horse Mug With Quote by WildFacesGallery
make money as an artist using Zazzle.
$15.95

“Between whom there is a hearty truth, there is love.”
- Henry David Thoreau

Horse Mug Right Side Horse image
Horse Mug Left Side quote

Truth Horse Mug by WildFacesGallery
More Horse Mugs
$15.95

Thursday is now Shameless Self Promotion Day
Todays Theme: Horse Pillows!
So I have been hitting the zazzle extra hard the past few days. As I said before only so much creative juju at any given time so now is my squidoo/zazzle time. The plan is whenever these times roll around I’ll plug squidoo or zazzle or like in todays case, both. The other thought is that Zazzle has sales regularly and I will post the code for you to enter that is good for either buying my product, someone else’s product or making your own.

You know like in case you look at the below pillows and think “Oh … I want one.”

But then go “Holy crap! $60 for a throw pillow … is she insane?”

Windswept - Bay Horse Pillow by WildFacesGallery
More Horse American MoJo Pillows
$59.95

And to that I would say “Yeah but these are uber huge designer pillows (20×20 inches) made by single moms and stuffed with awesomeness.” Plus that’s as cheap as I’m allowed to sell them for.

But I got your back my dear bloggie folk. (your welcome)

Zazzle tends to run sales with something like 30% off coffee mugs or 50% off magnets. They pretty much have a sale for something at all times. So just hang in there and perhaps eventually the items you’ve been dying to get will go on sale.

Kindred Spirits - Horse Herd Designer Pillow by WildFacesGallery
View more Horse American MoJo Pillows
$49.95

Fort instance I bought several mugs and magnets yesterday that came out to half what they would normally run because of the sale so now I can actually sell them at the gallery for the same amount they go for on zazzle and I actually make a little extra.

At any rate the current code is: STPATTEESALE which is good for $5 off any St. Pat’s Day t-shirts now through the 8th. Just click on a pillow image and go browse through the imagination factory that is Zazzle.

Devotion - Mare & Foal Designer Pillow by WildFacesGallery
Browse more Horse American MoJo Pillows
$59.95

See I told you they were stuffed with awesomeness.
To view more horse pillows both with my designs and others you can visit my latest squidoo lens Horse Pillows

To view all of my horse pillows, other critter pillows and the approximately 120 other items I currently have for sale you can visit my Wild Faces Gallery Zazzle Store.

Puzzles are a great family activity or simply a nice quiet way to spend an evening. With the holidays coming I created several holiday inspired puzzle pages. So if you’re a puzzle person … check ‘em out.

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Christmas Red 1000+pc Jigsaw Puzzle by George Kovach

Santa Puzzles
As the name suggest this page is choked full of Santa Puzzles of every shape, size and difficulty level.

These are perfect for stocking stuffers, a holiday family project or pretty much anyone on your Christmas list.

There are classic and vintage images as well as newer and more modern Santa puzzles. There’s sure to be one for every taste.

As a kid my grandma always had a puzzle out for the holidays that anybody could sit down to work on. It still holds many fond memories. So check out the Christmas themed as well as other puzzle lenses listed below and create some happy memories of your own.

Christmas Puzzles
Christmas Village Puzzles
Religious Puzzles
Snowman Puzzles
Angel Puzzles
Coca Cola Puzzles
Fairy Puzzles
Horse Puzzles
Gothic Fantasy Art Puzzles
Horse Puzzles For Kids

In honor of Cyber Monday
Yeah okay it’s not what you think. Besides my horse pages I’ve also been working on puzzle pages and some book pages.

A couple of friends were reading various paranormal romance book series and kinda got me hooked. So I created squidoo pages for them. Most of these are kinda for the young adult ages (along the lines of Twilight saga) but the Anita Blake are completely adult content with the sex and violence getting far more graphic the deeper into the series that I go. I’ve never been a reader of romance, but add a few vampires, werewolves, zombies and some sprinkling of trolls and faeries and apparently I can’t get enough. So at any rate

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Fallen

The Books Of Lauren Kate
Yup I already mentioned this one to you but since it’s not yet indexed by google I’ll mention it again.

The story line surrounds Luce who finds herself in a boarding school for delinquent children. She is scared because at a party when she snuck off and kissed a boy he somehow burst into flames. Her parents seem afraid of her and she thinks she just might be a little crazy as she sees shadows moving in dangerous and sinister ways and that no one else can see.But everything changes at the school. She meets Daniel who for some reason hates her and yet she has the distinct feeling that they’ve met before. It turns out they have. Indeed they have been falling in love over and over again throughout history until she dies. Only to have it all repeat itself again.

My previous post The Books Of Lauren Kate

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Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls)

The Books Of Maggie Stiefvater
Some of you may be familiar with Maggie (I know Angela is) as she was an amazing animal artist. I discovered her blogs just about the time she got signed with a publisher. Her writing became a huge success and as far as I know she has left the art behind.

So this summer during one of the artfairs I was in need of some reading and Mike pointed out Shiver at Target. I read it and then the following two in the series. These are a really good young adult type paranormal as the sex and violence are very mild. Maggie has created a wonderful world with werewolves that shift because of temperature changes until eventually they become all wolf.

I enjoyed them mostly because I was familiar with the author but if I had young tweens it would be a perfect read for them.

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Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Book Series
Here’s a strictly adult type paranormal romance. The early books in the series deal more with murder mysteries that Anita Blake must solve. But as the series progresses (and so far there are 20 books int he series and counting) both sex and violence become far more graphic.

Anita Blake is an animator (she raises zombies for a living - mostly to settle legal disputes) but her powers grow and she becomes a much feared necromancer.

These books are filled with all sorts of mythical creatures but circle primarily between vampires and werewolves and of course she has powerful love interests in both factions. There are also zombies, ghouls, trolls, fairies and some far more unheard of kind of supernatural beasties.

The mysteries are intriguing and the storyline a fun romp on the paranormal. Currently I’m not yet half way through the series but I’m pretty sure I’ll see it through to the end.

The Page which describes all my Paranormal Books Series is Paranormal Romance Books Series

My Other Lenses Regarding Paranormal Books
House Of Night Vampire Books
The Vampire Academy Books
The Outlander Series by Diana Galbadon

Since Christmas is just around the corner I’ve been created lenses at a fast and furious pace I thought I’d hawk a few. The nice thing about creating these pages is there’s no shifting between the hemispheres (as in right brain- left brain) so I can take a break from framing and type away wildly on the computer for my down time. As opposed to painting which is not so easy to hop back and forth.

At any rate here’s what I’ve been up to.

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Breyer: WEG Esprit Water Globe

Horse Snow Globes
Collecting snow globes is often a wonderful holiday tradition and soon become treasured family heirlooms.

While some of the horse snow globes featured here are of a Christmas theme many of the horse snow globes on this page are far too beautiful to be seen only during the holidays and are truly worthy of becoming part of your permanent home decor.

These tiny little horse sculptures entertain and enchant as some of these globes are also music boxes which adds a whole new dimension of enjoyment.

These snow globes make a perfect gift for the horse lover on your Christmas gift list.

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Trail of Painted Ponies Poinsetia Pony Christmas Ornament Gift

Trail Of Painted Ponies Horse Ornaments
These Trail Of Painted Ponies Christmas Tree Ornaments are all festively decorated with hand-painted holiday themes.

There are the miniature sculptural horse ornaments with various Christmas themes painted on their sides as well as the more traditional Olde World look of hand-painted and hand blown ornaments which have an heirloom quality about them.

Mix and match for a stunning horse filled Christmas tree.

As you all know I love pretty much anything to do with horses and so collecting them in ornament form is a real pleasure.

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Nene Thomas Couture Carousel Horse Burgundy Dahlia

Horse Ornaments
This page is dedicated to horse ornaments of all varieties. I have a selection and sampling of all of the horse ornament makers such as Breyer, Nene Thomas (which is the horse ornament shown here), Trail of Painted Ponies as well as a Horse Of A Different Color horse ornaments.

Many of the ornaments on this page are for Christmas but a large number are not holiday specific and can be enjoyed as a part of your decor year round.

I am particularly fond of the romantic imagery used by NeNe Thomas (see Carousel Horse Ornament right.) These truly are little works of art.

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Woodland Santa Horse Ornament from the Horse of a Different Color Collection

Horse Of A Different Color Ornaments
The Horse Of A Different Color Horse Ornaments line is as varied as it is beautiful.

This page is primarily dedicated to horse Christmas ornaments though there is a nice selection of horse ornaments that could be displayed for all year long enjoyment. Also included on this ornament page is miniature Horse Of A Different Color Figurines which are the same size as the horse ornaments but without the hanging cord.

They are the most visually stunning horse ornaments on the market today. Most are hand-painted and each truly is a miniature work of art.

These little artsy horses are so unique and beautifully done that you’ll want to collect them all.

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Ravensburger Silent Thunder 500-Piece Puzzle

Horse Puzzles
I was surprised at how many beautiful horse puzzles there are on the market. Many fine equestrian artists like Chris Cummings and Lesley Harrison have recreated their art in puzzle form. Any horse lover or art enthusiast is sure to find a puzzle to please.

In addition to artistic horse puzzles, there are also 3d Horse puzzles, Glow In The Dark Horse Puzzles, Photographic Pictur Puzzles and Horse Puzzles for kids. There is even one horse puzzle with over 13.000 pieces and is quite huge in size. So yeah, there is something for everyone from the novice to the experienced puzzling enthusiast.

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Breyer 2009 Andalusian Beautiful Breeds Ornament

Breyer Horse Ornaments
I’ve been collecting Breyer model horses since I was a small child. They were always on my Christmas list and always tended to be my favorite toy every year. I still on occasion collect a Breyer model horse from time to time. So its no surprise that Breyer makes outstanding horse ornaments as they are known for their attention to detail and high quality figurines.

Breyer makes a wide assortment of ornaments and while most are holiday themed there are also plenty that fit into year round decor.

There are Breyer Beautiful breeds ornaments, Stirrup ornaments which have the current Breyer Holiday Horse in miniature mounted in a silver stirrup. There are hand blown and hand-painted glass ornaments, Carousel Horse Ornaments as well as some Racing Horse ornaments.

There is sure to be a horse ornament here to please all tastes.

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Mythical Horses Scarf by Laurel Burch

Artistic & Elegant Horse Scarves
Scarves are an elegant and easy way to add artistic flare to any outfit. This page was created to showcase some of the beautiful equine designs by Laurel Burch who’s authentic designs have hand rolled hems, made from unbelievably soft silk, use her original artwork and often come signed. Many have the added touches of sequins or long decorative fringe.

Additionally there are a couple of horse scarves by other designers but since I am the artsy fartsy type the Laurel Burch horse motif scarves are the main focus of this page.

And some of last years Horse Gift Pages Freshly Updated.
Breyer Collectible Holiday Christmas Horses
The Best Horse Books For Horse Women
the Best Natural Horsemanship Books
Carousel Christmas Tree Ornament
The Best Horse Books For Children
The Best Horse Books For Horse Lovers
Plush And Stuffed Horses
The Classic Horse Books Of Marguerite Henry

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Fallen

I’m back from my event and will tell ya’ll about tomorrow. But for today I just published a new book lens covering the Young Adult Paranormal Romance genre by Lauren Kate.

I found these books rather fascinating in that they coupled the traditional paranormal romance (if there is such a thing) with biblical stories. It took the complex concepts of angels and demons as being more than just good or evil but combinations of both things.

The story line surrounds Luce who finds herself in a boarding school for deliquent children. She is scared because at a party when she snuck off and kissed a boy he somehow burst into flames. Her parents seem afraid of her and she thinks she just might be a little crazy as she sees shadows moving in dangerous and sinister ways and that no one else can see.But everything changes at the school. She meets Daniel who for some reason hates her and yet she has the distinct feeling that they’ve met before. It turns out they have. Indeed they have been falling in love over and over again throughout history until she dies. Only to have it all repeat itself again.

For more information visit my lens The Books of Lauren Kate

Dolly Mama’s Witch Counted Cross Stitch Kit-6X10 14 Count

SO my Squidoo pages have been doing really well for me and traffic and sales are such that I could see how if someone made enough of them and did a good job, you could potentially make a living from it. Mind you I’m a long ways from that but my earnings and sales have increased far past what I ever expected so now I’m all motivated to keep making pages.

Here’s my latest just published this morning. Halloween Cross Stitch Patterns.

And here’s last year’s Halloween specialty Vintage Halloween Postcards

Halloween Stories
I gotta start choosing my Halloween story this year and the Budda is thinking about sharing his personal Halloween story about of Weremice.

Oh the horror!

Dimensions Counted Cross Stitch Christmas Sled Stocking

So I’m trying to pop out a few new lenses during my between show downtime because otherwise I’ll be making Christmas lenses in November and since most lenses take a few weeks to a few months to rank well … well I thought I’d just get a jump start and do Christmas in July.

So for any cross stitchers out there here’s my latest Cross Stitch Christmas Stocking & Needlepoint Christmas Stocking lens. It chocked full of beautiful kits and designs for all ages and tastes.

For the rest of you … excuse my pimping of squidoo lenses on my art blog, but a girls gotta do what she can to get a little love from Google.

As promised I am running over some basics in regards to selling your product. This seems like a good time to do it since I’m actually preparing for my first event which is this upcoming weekend. My experience selling art is primarily through art fair events where I am the actual seller and these tips are geared for this market, as opposed to galleries where the gallery deals with the patron.

No Hard Selling Please
While hard selling works (think used car salesman) in the end I want anyone buying my work to be thrilled with the experience and definitely don’t want them to have felt pressured into purchasing. Repeat sales are a huge part on my income. I like to develop collectors since I tend to do the same events year after year. Anyone experiencing buyers remorse after feeling pushed into a purchase will not buy from that artist.

The Importance Of Quality
I know you’ve heard me go on and on, on this topic but it’s pretty important. Once again if a product lasts people will be more likely to buy again. For me that means no fading of framing materials or prints and especially NOT the original work from using inferior products. It does cost more but anyone who knows art will appreciate and value this and using all conservation grade products has sold more than one or two pieces for me. Art is often seen as an investment. It needs to last.

Booth Appearance
Keep it neat and professional. This means avoid overcrowding, (yeah I struggle with this one from time to time) never have art setting on the ground, keep it as open and spacious (ie not trap or cave like) so people feel like it “safe” to come in and browse. In a like manner try not to sit in the front. Buyers are wily prey and many will avoid entering on this principle alone.

The “S” Rule
Again regular readers know what this is Shiny Stuff Sells. Lighting is an absolute must for indoor events and when outdoors only use a white tents or canopies. You may think a colored tent stands out in a crowd but it will cast funny colors on your product and/or absorb light once again making your tent a “cave.”

Demonstrating Your Art
Patrons, art event staff and judges all love an artist working their medium. Now I realize depending on your genre’ this may not work but for those who it does, if at all possible demonstrate.

Giving Out Business Cards
So I am kinda against the flow of the general populace on this but I keep my business cards in the back or on my person so a patron needs to ask for one. My reasoning? Well … first if they aren’t willing to ask they probably don’t really intend to use. And most importantly it offers me a chance to interact with the lookie-lou and see if there is something I can help them with (ie to get them to buy now instead of later)

Handling the “Be Backs”
So anyone who has worked any kind of event here’s this statement dozens of times a day. Most people never do and never have any intention of doing so. I’ve come to the conclusion that people really want to tell you they appreciate your work but just not quite enough to spend money on it. Saying this allows them to assuage any guilt they feel for not buying anything. Which of course is unnecessary and has been know to excite the newbie artist. So if you’re a lookie-lou and really don’t plan to come back, then just say you really like the work and move on.

Now for the artist a good plan of action is to have some sort of incentive to bring them back to your booth. Like a flier or postcard saying they get something FREE (everyone’s favorite word) with a purchase made at this event. Now the free thing doesn’t have to be a big thing. Perhaps a free notecard or 10% discount. I also have offered a free shipping deal if they order from my website within the next month. This generally only works a handful of times. Again most people really have no real intention of buying. But then you just never know. NOTE This free promotional piece should not be advertised in front of other patrons or everybody will want to partake of the deal.

So there you have it. If you like more information on what I discussed here as well as more info on the subject in general please visit my squidoo page Selling Art: Tips From An Art Fair Veteran

So I’m still working on making lens and have crossed over the 100 lens mark. My pages are getting sales most every day and that bit of change everyday is adding up and keeping me motivated. In fact things are going so well that I’m actually building two new website. One will be for cross stitch which since I’ve been framing for so long I know quite a bit on the subject and the other will be about art fair. This is a proactive step in case Squidoo ever closes up shop. Google makes changes regularly and so writing platform collapse all the time. Yup I created a blog to drive traffic to my website and then started squidoo as a backup plan for the blog. And now I’m creating new websites as a backup plan for squidoo. Ah the circle of life.

The inspiration for making these pages was that having had a frameshop as part of my gallery for the past 20 years (Yikes … time really flies) many stitchers complain about the difficulty they have in finding patterns. Currently I have well over 20 cross stitch pages and plenty more in the works. Here’s just a sampling.

Additional Cross Stitch Related Information You’ll Also Find On These Pages:
A Selection Of FREE Horse Cross Stitch Patterns
Tips For Creating A Beautiful Cross Stitch
Tips For Framing Your Cross Stitch
A Quick And Easy Way To Stretch Your Needle Art Yourself

So here’s some cross stitch lenses for any stitchers out there.

Dimensions Counted Cross Stitch, Galloping Horses

Horse Cross Stitch Patterns
Dozens of Horse Cross Stitch patterns To choose from including some fine art images that have been made over into patterns. If you are a horse lover or know someone who is, you’re sure to find a pattern here to thrill them.

The Horse Cross Stitch Patterns Categories Are:
Art turned into Cross stitch patterns
Stylized Horse Cross Stitch Patterns
Traditional Horse Cross Stitch Patterns

Dragon Knot
Cross Stitch Pattern

Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns
Again dozens of patterns to choose from. Collected here are dragon images that range from the whimsical, to the mythical. There are a few stunning Celtic inspired Dragon cross stitch Patterns that are really stunning.

Categories Of Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns Found Here:
Exotic Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns
Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns
Cute Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns
Dragon and Mythological Creature Pattern Books
Cross Stitch Supplies

Baby Buggy Girl Birth Record Counted Cross Stitch Kit-13X15 14 Count

Baby Cross Stitch Patterns
This is a big page (or rather 2) filled with a wide assortment of baby cross stitch patterns ranging from the traditional baby samplers to fun and whimsical designs.

On page two I have matching sets of various baby cross stitch patterns for samplers, baby quilts and baby bib as well as addition cross stitch patterns for baby quilt and bib.

The images range from traditional teddy to your favorite Disney characters like Winnie The Pooh, Tinkerbell and Princessess.

The Remaining Cross Stitch Pattern Pages
Fairy Cross Stitch Patterns
Geisha Cross Stitch Patterns
Angel Cross Stitch Patterns
Cat Cross Stitch Patterns
Tiger Cross Stitch Patterns
Rooster Cross Stitch Patterns
Thomas Kinkade Cross Stitch Patterns
Wolf Cross Stitch Patterns
Dolphin Cross Stitch Patterns
Big Cat Cross Stitch Patterns
Eagle Cross Stitch Patterns
Shaun The Sheep Cross Stitch Patterns
Mermaid Cross Stitch Patterns
Dolly Mama’s Cross Stitch Patterns
Jim Shore Cross Stitch Patterns
Beatrix Potter Cross Stitch Patterns
Unicorn Cross Stitch Patterns
Snowman Cross Stitch Patterns
Santa Cross Stitch Patterns
Religious Cross Stitch Patterns
Madonna and Child Cross Stitch Patterns

Most Recently Added
Dog Cross Stitch Patterns
Deer & Moose Cross Stitch Patterns
Frog Cross Stitch & Needlepoint Patterns
Hummingbird Cross Stitch Patterns
Owl Cross Stitch
Peacock Cross Stitch
Cardinal Cross Stitch Patterns
Ballet Cross Stitch
Dragonfly Cross Stitch Patterns & Needlepoint Patterns
Coffee & Tea Cross Stitch Patterns
Butterfly Cross Stitch Patterns
Wedding Cross Stitch Patterns
Cabin Cross Stitch Patterns
Rose Cross Stitch Patterns
Lighthouse Cross Stitch