Back from Hangout!

Back from Hangout!  Good times, good music (the Chili Peppers especially made my weekend/month/year, they were SO great live)... Oh, and that's me and my girl Keri sporting our magical headbands at the Edward Sharpe show.  Yes, I was the craft nerd that brought a glue gun/feathers/sparkles to the beach and have decided that if this whole art thing doesn't pan out I will travel the globe selling custom headbands at musical festivals (kidding.  kind of.)  Anyway, it was really nice to take a break and recharge 'mah batteries, but now it's back to the grind...  Realizing that June is only a week away (what?!), so it's time to hunker down and get ready for the Atlanta Gift Show in July...  Feeling inspired again, so time to break out the paint brushes...

XO,
Genevieve

P.S.- I'm now on Instagram under username genevievegail :)

Things to pack for Hangout

Headed out to the Hangout Music Fest at the crack of dawn Friday morning!  Cannot wait!!!  Making my list of things to pack...

1.  Super-cute-stitched-up backpack to haul water bottles, towels, camera, keys, etc.

2.  Chunky glitter polish - it's an OPI Kardashian Kolor, don't judge, it's good stuff and will make your nails look like they were painted by a unicorn ;)

3.  L* Space Fringe Swimsuit

4.  Shades (and sunscreen, etc. to beat the heat)

5.  Road Trip "Mix Tape" with diddies from the bands playing at the show to get us girls pumped up for the weekend ahead!

Alabama Shakes Hold On
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Home
Red Hot Chili Peppers Soul to Squeeze
Steve Winwood Back in the High Life (despite Steve-O rockin' the mullet in this video, the song still remains one of my faves)
Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy You Are Not Alone
The Greyboy Allstars Still Waiting
There's a ton of other great bands to mention that will be there but it's getting late and I've got to start packing!


Talk to y'all next week!
XO,
Genevieve

Mod Podge Rocks Feature!

Hey Guys!

I'm so excited about Amy Anderson's new book, Mod Podge Rocks!  I've been a fan of Amy and her blog for a long time now, and a fan of Mod Podge for even longer (full disclosure: I am not getting paid to say any of this, I just really love the stuff)!  It's always been one of my favorite crafting mediums, so I was pumped when I found out my Dress Form and Bird's Nest Boxes would be included in her book.  Thanks so much, Amy, YOU rock!

XO,
Genevieve

P.S.- Hubs is having gallbladder surgery Monday (tomorrow) morning so any prayers/good vibes/etc. you could send our way would be much appreciated!!!
UPDATE: Surgery cancelled...to be continued...

To Cleveland and Back... Pulsar and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

So Wednesday I hopped on a plane to Cleveland for my meeting I mentioned a couple weeks ago.  It was awesome.  The people I met with were super nice/creative/fun and I really hope we can partner on some products in the upcoming months...  Can't say much about the details, but overall it went really well and they have even offered to show some of my work at Surtex!  The timing couldn't have been more perfect as I decided not to have a booth this year, but now I still get to have a little bit of exposure at the show in their booth and hopefully some new leads may come of it...  So, if you are at the show, hop on over to the 3 Birds/Pulsar booth #545 and check out what they have to offer :)

Now you may be wondering why I have the pics posted above... Well it turns out that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is also in Cleveland!  I have always wanted to go there as music has always had such a strong influence in my life/work.  I had an hour to kill before I needed to head to the airport, so after my meeting I was offered a ride to the Hall of Fame in their Tuk Tuk!  What?!  Yes, they have their own motorized rickshaw (I told you they were nice/creative/fun people!).  We pulled up to the building and they just so happened to be having a special exhibit on one of my all-time-favorite-favorite-favorite bands, The Grateful Dead.  Such an awesome/random/grateful day...  Thank you, Pulsar!!!

New Paintings and Happy Accidents

Introducing 2 new canvases I licensed to Oopsy Daisy!  I really love these...  Even though they are intended for Children's art, they could totally be used in a grown-up space.  In fact, they will soon be hanging in my hallway :)

These pieces were a little different for me, as my inspiration didn't start with having a specific image in mind, but rather started with the blank canvases themselves.  I was walking down the aisle at Hobby Lobby and saw these large square canvases and just had to grab them.  I usually paint on a smaller scale so they're easier for me to put directly on my scanner and get ready for product design/reproduction, but in this case I said "what the heck, I'll paint how I want to, and figure out the details later..."  Sometimes you have to strike while the inspiration is hot, right?!

So I had a great time painting, and then had to figure out what I was going to do with the large finished pieces.  I did some research and found a local print shop that does "image capturing"- basically a fancy word for taking a nice high-res picture and putting it on a disc for me.  I then took the files and color corrected them in Photoshop to match my original paintings.  I had the option for the print shop to do the color correcting but it saved money to do it myself (not to mention I'm so picky about color I felt more comfortable doing it anyway).

The whole process worked like a charm and has opened up a completely new world for me and my art!  This was probably something a lot of artists out there already do, and I feel kinda like "duh!" for just now having this a-ha moment, but for me it took stepping outside of my box a little bit to figure it out and apply it to my work.  I'm so glad that I did and now have tons of large-scale painting ideas swirling around in my head!  Don't you just love "happy accidents"?!

Have a great week,
Genevieve

The Month Ahead...

Hi Guys!

Just thought I would check in as it has been a while...  How are you?  Things here have been a little crazy and are about to get crazier within the next few weeks, but always thankful to have work on my plate :)

Some big news is that I decided not to do Surtex again this year.  A lot of the artist blogs I follow are talking about their prep work and getting excited about the show since it's coming up soon, and there is a slight pang of "Did I make the right decision?  Maybe I should have done it again this year..." but overall I feel good about my choice.  Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut, you know?!  It's a great show and I may do it again in the future but this year just didn't seem right for me like it did last year.  Instead my licensing strategy is to single out the companies I would like to work with and pitch collection ideas catered directly to them.  That's really how I have gotten the bulk of my licensing gigs anyway, and for me that just seems to be my best way to work.  More focused, actually :).

So, with that being said, I actually contacted one of the companies on my "dream client" list the other day and now have a meeting in a couple weeks to pitch to them!  I'm very excited about it and I'm going to be working like a mad woman to get this presentation complete.  *Fingers Crossed* it all goes well :).  After that goes down I will be re-packing my bags for a little R&R/Girl Vacay Time at the Hangout Fest!  Cannot wait!  Work hard, play hard, right?!  So that's my next few weeks in a nutshell...  I'll try to get back on the blog soon because I do have a few posts on the backburner I would like to share with you guys...  Until then...

XO,
Genevieve

Before and After: Hanging Baskets

So...putting our house on the market has been a TON of work!  I will say though, that it has been nice to get everything de-cluttered, beautified, and completely organized!

While working on some "curb appeal", Hubs and I hit up the garden center and got some plants for the front and back yards.  To save some money I went with the cheap-o hanging baskets as opposed to the fancier/expensive ones, and just decided to spruce them up when I got home with what I had around the house.  This project was super easy and free to boot!  I used some leftover jute rope from a previous project and busted out my ol' trusty glue gun...  So far the baskets have held up great, so I definitely think I'll be doing this project again...  Next time though I will probably use a wider/chunkier rope- it will save on glue time and stand out a little more too I think...  Anyway, I know this project is too simple to do a step by step, but just thought I'd pass it along in case any of you out there are looking for some inexpensive ideas for your outdoor spaces :)

And here is what we've been scattering around in the other planters and flower beds...


P.S.- For my local peeps, let me know if you know of anyone looking for a cute little starter home in Oconee County!

XO,
Genevieve