Naked Pixels

Closed for Christmas!

Thank you all so much for continuing to be patient with the less frequent posts, lack of new designs, and general "Yeah... I'll get to that" way things have been going as I try to get through to the end of this year. And thank you for shopping in my Zazzle store! The month of November was the first month that I had a sales total that qualified me for a volume bonus on my commission! I simply don't have the words to tell you all how happy it makes me to see that people really do like my work, and to be making some money from that even as I'm overwhelmed by so much of what's going on in daily life around here. The daily stuff may get me down and prevent me from always having a smile on my face, but the response to my art has put a smile in my heart.

I've stuck to my promise to post at least once a week until things are ready for me to go back to a more regular schedule with the art and this blog. Next week is an exception. I'm taking the week off for Christmas! I'm in the middle of that push to have things ready in time, and Christmas Eve will bring time with my husband, parents, sister, and neice and nephew. And staying updated as NORAD tracks Santa! Posts will resume after next week has come and gone.

I wish each of you the very best Christamas ever... at least until next year!

What Color is Your Christmas?

There was a bit of excitement in my area one day last week when it looked like we could get some snow! A few hours of snow, resulting in maybe a half inch on the ground, sure to be melted away by the next day is still a cause for celebration around here. Snow just doesn't happen very often along the Gulf Coast. That got me thinking about the idea of having a "White Christmas". We never do.

Christmas is really warmer colors in my mind. Golden stuffing, and golden brown ham with brilliant yellow pineapple slices and ruby-red cherries on top. Red wrapping paper, with sparkling gold ribbons and bows. Red stockings waiting for Santa to fill them. The red of Santa's clothes, and Rudolph's nose! Rich brown reindeer pulling a red sleigh. It does get cold enough for people who have fireplaces to build fires. So when I think of the winter, I do think of red, orange, and yellow flames dancing in a fireplace. (Our lack of snow is mostly due to weather conditions other than the temperature. It's a myth that it doesn't get cold enough here.)

Of course, Christmas is accented by many other colors. Green trees, with lights and ornaments of every color! And the fruit salad on the table is almost like a bowl of Christmas lights, with all the different colors of fruit. Besides the red and gold presents, there are presents wrapped in many other colors, with ribbons and bows in blue, green, purple, and white. But it seems that my Christmas i mostly red and gold. And, in spite of being a winter holiday, it brings many memories and feelings of warmth for me. (Or maybe that's because it's a winter holiday... a nice contrast for balance.)

What color is your Christmas?

Cyber Monday Geek Shopping! Teacher gift's, too!

There will be real posts with more meaningful content later this week! It almost happened today, but then I remembered everyone is sitting at home shopping. To help you with that, I've got two things for you... a sale code for free shipping on Zazzle, and I'm featuring today some of my designs that would be great for any geeks on your list this year! Some of them would also make great gifts for teachers. A math mug for a math teacher, perhaps?

This free shipping code from Zazzle is only good for Cyber Monday! Put in FREESHIP2DAY at check-out for free shipping on all orders! And don't forget that you can always check the coupons page to see what discounts Zazzle is offering.

Okay, geek gifts time! Some of these have picked up in sales recently, and it made me realize quite a few people may be buying for their favorite geeks, or possibly their favorite teachers. (Then again, they could just be buying for themselves. So tempting while holiday shopping!) If you don't have a geek to buy for... well, everyone should have at least one geek around... go find one! But until you find your geek, there are still plenty of other designs you can check out in my store.

You Don't Understand Math Mug by rosaamarilla
Make personalised mugs on Zazzle

This is also available on a shirt. The mug, though, makes a great gift for a teacher!

Scrodinger's Cat "Wanted" Poster by rosaamarilla
More posters at zazzle

There are several products with this design on them in my Math & Science line, and all of them have become more popular through the month of November. Makes a nice gift for a science teacher (especially a physics teacher), or your favorite science geek.

He Who Controls The Spice Magnet by rosaamarilla
fridge magnets online by zazzle

This one is for a sci-fi geek. There's a whole line of these for your favorite Dune fan. Because controlling the Universe has to start somewhere!

Happy shopping, everyone! I say doing it at home is the way to go... you stay comfortable, and you still get to enjoy the smiling faces and hugs when they unwrap the gifts.

Art Challenge for the Holidays

Yesterday was the first day of November. The day after Halloween. I do my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons, and the first thing I heard when I walked into the grocery store was Christmas music.

The day after Halloween!

Christmas just isn't what it was when I was a child. Some of that is the difference in perspective. Christmas just looks different when you're only about three or four feet tall. It's a time when ignorance truly is bliss, and you can enjoy the tree-decorating because you didn't have to haul the tree in or straighten out the lights, dance around while cookies and candy are being made because you didn't have to buy all the ingredients, and presents seem to magically appear because you didn't have to buy and wrap them all.

Some of the changes to the Christmas season are a matter of other changes in life. My grandmother passed away a few years ago just before Thanksgiving, and we lost my grandfather earlier that same year. Christmas just hasn't been the same without them, and I especially feel my grandmother's absence in the kitchen. As difficult as it can be to make room for everyone around the table, that kitchen is just a lot emptier with one person missing.

It's still Christmas, though! My mom makes a great meal herself, and my sister's kids are now there to run around and tear into packages. And even if the exact names and position in the family of various family members has changed over the years, we all still go to the same house, sit around the same table, and spend that time together. It's different, but it's still worth it. It still matters.

That's something you really can't put a price tag on, and no store will ever have control over it, no matter how early they start the music or how many sales they have.

What does this have to do with art? I'm getting to that. Indulge me for another minute or two, though.

I've just explained why Christmas matters to me. You could give it any other name, though, and it would still matter. You could call it Hanukkah, Yule, Three Kings Day, or any number of other holiday names related to this season. I'm not too picky about the religious or cultural basis for the holiday, as that doesn't have much to do with what makes it, for me, "the most wonderful time of the year".

I know what's going to happen. It happens every year now. I'm going to get annoyed by the music. I'm going to want to start mowing down crowds of people with my shopping cart. I'm going to feel the burden of the financial balancing act. I'm going to feel the pressure to get everything done in time. I'm going to want to pay the bell ringers to stop ringing. (Which is a clear sign that it's all getting to me, because those bell ringers are doing a wonderful thing and even dropping a little change into their bucket matters.)

Then I'm going to get an email from my mom.

She puts a quote from Dr. Seuss at the end of her emails during the Christmas season, and it always seems to show up just in time for me. Just before I reach my holiday breaking point. The quote she uses is the last couple of sentences from this:

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?"

That gets me through the holiday stress until I can see Linus explain, once again, to Charlie Brown what the true meaning of Christmas is and that little tree gets some love. And that's not about the religion, but about having that one person who will remind you that there's more to this than the stress, rush, and marketing. It applies to whatever name you call the holiday.

Again... what does this have to do with art? I have a small challenge for each of you this year.

Get the jump on your inner-Scrooge by expressing what's good about this time through your creativity! It doesn't have to be something big. If your holidays are already full of things to do (as most people's are) it would probably be best for it not to be something big. But do something that will fill you with holiday cheer. If you like to bake, bake some gingerbread men for yourself one afternoon. Or spend a couple of hours one weekend helping your kids make some Christmas cards for a few of the people on your list. No kids? Make a card for someone special yourself. (One of my most prized possesions is a green and red crayon scribbled card my nephew made for me his first Christmas. Looks like chicken scratch, worth more than an entire museum.) If you have the time and like to knit or crochet, make one of the gifts on your list by hand.

I'd love emails and/or comments if you decide to do this. Share the holiday love! Feel free to wait a few weeks before you get started, though. After all, it was just Halloween!

Holiday Shopping and Coming Attractions

A message from Zazzle went out a few days ago reminding all of us that the holiday shopping season is almost here. I thought this was one of the most interesting things in the message:

Black Friday is November 27. Cyber Monday (which beat Black Friday in US online purchases in 2008) is November 30.

Honestly... I'm not just saying this because I sell things online... save yourself some trouble and buy what you can early from the comfort of your own home.

Or, you know, if you enjoy the crowds, lines, adults fighting over a toy like it's the last piece of food in a village going through a ten year famine, and getting the finger in traffic as often as the radio plays "Jingle Bells"... To each his own.

As for what to expect in my store for the holidays? Not too much holiday-specific stuff. I'll certainly be adding a few things here and there, but I'm more comfortable with doing designs that can be enjoyed all year long. There should be at least one new line showing up in the next couple of months, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of two. A few of the old lines will be expanded. This is the time to buy a shirt that you thought your sister would love a couple of months back, but you just couldn't justify spending almost twenty bucks purely on a whim. Or getting those shoes that you know would look adorable on your kid, but fifty dollars worth of gas in the car was more important than fifty dollars worth of adorable on your kid's feet.

(Side note: I was so happy with how these shoes turned out when I designed them that I ordered a pair for myself. If you're going to buy shoes, order them soon. Zazzle prints most stuff and sends it out really fast, but shoes take a while because of the process used. They are worth it, though! They are actual Keds shoes, not just made in the same style, and I love mine. The sizes seem to run a little small, so you may want to order one size larger than what you normally wear.)

I had intended to slow the Zazzle designs down a little for a few months while I focus on some other things, but I've been keeping a list of ideas for future designs and this is the perfect time to pull it out. And since I'll mostly be focusing on "new designs and products" rather than "Christmas-specific new designs and products", I'll be happy to throw you some links to other Zazzlers who are decking the halls and cooking the Christmas goose.

Just don't look for too much of it before Halloween is over. Please... I don't want to start Christmas while there are still pumpkins on porches and little goblins on sugar highs.