fookaDESIGNS

I can't eat another bite!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a wonderful day. It's hard to believe but this is the first year that Mr. Fooka and I made an entire thanksgiving meal on our own. No help from anyone! We've been together for over 11 years and this is our very first, on our own, REAL thanksgiving... just the two of us. It was AWESOME! We had SO much fun cooking, eating and even cleaning up the mess. :)

For all of you looking for a great after Thanksgiving deal be sure to check out my Black Friday Sale!

Black Friday Sale!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:46:00 +0000

No need to wake up super early, or wait in long lines for this sale. Just be sure to stop by the fookaSHOP some time on Friday (11/27) for FREE shipping on your entire purchase. Simply type in "Black Friday" in the buyer's notes section at the time of purchase and I will reimburse your paypal account as soon as possible. Please note that I will be out of the studio for the Thanksgiving holiday but I will return on Monday (11/30) making all necessary reimbursements and shipping orders promptly when I get back. Have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

100th post!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Woo-hoo! It's my 100th post! I'm not sure why that is so exciting. I guess maybe because I've been really good about keeping up on the blog lately (did you notice?!) and when I saw that this is #100 it felt like a pretty nice accomplishment. Yay!

Okay, so on with the post. I had some down time today so I decided to create a postersketch which I haven't done in forever...I think the last time was post #27...not really but it was way back in October....of LAST YEAR! Anyways, this combo was created by searching the word Asia on Etsy. And of course the original inspiration came from my "Japan Sun" illustration at the top center. All the rest are wonderfully talented Etsians listed below. Be sure to give them some love. Enjoy!

Sybile
WilliamDohman
PetalMix
SquishiSushi
Yukidesigns
TheNebulousKingdom
Ahpeele
caughtredhanded
Yukidesigns
saffronsparrow
Sybile

I want that!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Did you know there is an "I want that" section of this blog? Yup! Over there on the right side ....scroll down a bit....you'll see it. In that section are handmade items that I think are way cool and deserve to be seen here. Of course, it's a great place for me to refer family and friends when they are looking for rad gifts for ME! (wink, wink)

Anyways, this section inspired me to add an "I want that" featured item of the day to my blog postings. Maybe every Wednesday? Maybe a weekly feature and I could call it "I Want That Wednesday". Okay, so I don't have all the details worked out yet but I do know I will be doing my first feature soon! Do you have something from your etsy shop that you think I would like to add in this section? What are some items from other shops that you love? Leave a comment about it and maybe your item will be chosen as the next "I want that" item!

Giveaway

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Super awesome giveaway...be sure to check it out:
Rae Gun Ramblings: Advent Giveaway Extravaganza Day 3: Guest Giveaway Noggins

All You Need is Love.

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:46:00 +0000

The Beatles said it best...

But I think I illustrated it pretty well ;)

Love Love Love is a cute little illustration that would brighten anyone's day! I hope you are having a lovely day!
xo~Shanon

Loved it!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Last night Mr. Fooka and I curled up by the fire and watched Horton Hears a Who and I must say it is absolutely adorable! I loved it! Everything about it was too cute...the story, the characters, but I think I was most impressed by the animation. Everything was SO realistic, from the opening drops of water running down a leaf to the birds feathers flying through the sky. It was really amazing! It's a must see in my opinion. :)

Let it Snow

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

Well, I'm not so sure if I'm ready to see snow quite yet but I am happy to see that I've been featured in this lovely treasury! Thank you to pfdoriginalartworks for including my Snow Bird print with this beautiful snowy group of handmade creations. Be sure to click on the link and leave a comment if you are so inclined. :)

FF: Pretty in Purple

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Lucky 13

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Today is Friday the 13th and it's your lucky day! Wait...What? That's not the way it works!? Well it does today my fookaFRIENDS 'cause today only you can receive 13% off your entire purchase when you order $13 or more (are you noticing a theme here?) from the fookaSHOP. Simply put "lucky 13" in your customer notes at the time of purchase and wait for your adjusted total before checking out at paypal. Hurry...before your luck runs out!

p.s. if there is a fooka item that you've had your eye on but it's not listed in the shop just let me know and I'll add it!

Bedtime Stories

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:06:00 +0000

My sister, mom and I threw a baby shower for my brother's wife, and I must say we are some great party planners. My sis came up with the great Bedtime Stories theme and we just had so much fun with it. We started with the cute bedtime themed invites you may remember from an earlier post.

We set up baby books within all the decorations to add to the bedtime theme.

The color scheme came from the colors in the baby bedding, which we had all set up in the crib to hold all the gifts (which was overflowing for the baby and soon to be mom).

Of course we had to have a cute matching banner.

And what would be better to serve at a bedtime themed baby shower than cookies and milk?

Yummy frosted sugar cookies.

And delicious chocolate sandwich cookies.

Served with regular, chocolate and strawberry milk...mmmmm!

We placed trays of cookies out on these adorable pillows that my talented mom made!

At the end everyone left with a Sweet Dreams goody bag stuffed with a moon and star cookie! This was such a fun shower, I think everyone enjoyed it I know I had a blast planning and setting up! Is anyone in need of a professional party planner? :)

Trick or Treat

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Happy Halloween everyone! Today there is a special TREAT for everyone in the fookaSHOP......Now available are large format prints!

One of my October goals was to add some large format prints into the shop and there's nothing like waiting until the last possible minute! It's still October (barely)! Anyways, there are a couple available so far....hopefully more soon.

Have a safe, and spooky happy Halloween!

Bedtime Baby Shower

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:43:00 +0000

Just thought I would sneak on for a bit to show everyone my latest invitation design. This invite is for a baby shower with a bedtime theme. I just love the cute little owl family....it looks like the "new parents" could use a little (or a lot of) sleep! LOL! speaking of....I think I'm gonna go catch some z's myself. good night fookaFRIENDS!

Great Day for an Art Fair

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:24:00 +0000

The Aaron Douglas Art Fair was a great success. The weather was perfect and the crowd was wonderful. Thank you so much to all my fookaFRIENDS who made it out to see me this year! It was so nice to see your friendly faces and so awesome to meet new friends! I couldn't have asked for a better show. For those of you who weren't able to make it, here are some shots of the event.

One of the best parts about this show is that I get to share booth space with two wonderful artists....my little sister (from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program) and her grandmother. Here is a pic of me and my sis after we set up our show. She is such a talented artist and does amazing watercolor paintings. I'm so impressed by her work and so proud of her!

Happy Fall Y'all!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:38:00 +0000

It's officially the first day of Fall. Yay....a new season! While I'm a bit sad to see Summer go...so long snow cones, I am happy to see Fall here....hello hot coco! With the change in seasons I thought it would only be appropriate to change my avatars here on my blog, on my etsy shop and on my facebook fan page. :) And here is a print to get you ready for the change in seasons.

I have to say I love all the seasons! But with the cooler weather, football games, the changing leaves and snugly sweaters...Fall is looking inviting! Which season is your favorite?

I'm in!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Yay! I just received word late last night that fookaDESIGNS will be showing at the Aaron Douglas Art Fair next Saturday the 26th! Due to a mis-communication I'm finding out kind of late but I'm still super excited. I hope it's not too late of notice for you...I would love for any of you that are in the Topeka area to make it out to the fair and see me. The event is from 11-5 featuring all kinds of local artists with live music and yummy food. Best of all, it's FREE! It will be a great time. Hope to see you there!

Studio Love

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:40:00 +0000

I love my studio! Which is a good thing since I spend so much of my time here. :) But seriously, it is one of my most favorite places to be. I have endless possibilities to let my creative mind flow. I can paint, draw, cut, paste, design, sew, listen to music and so much more! I love it here! Here are just a few reasons why:

One of the first things I did in my studio was put peg board up covering one entire wall. With a coat of paint, it's the perfect way to have your tools close at hand and displayed so nicely. I got this idea many years ago from a Martha Stewart magazine (thank you Martha!) and used it in my pantry as well as here in my studio. Love it!

I also added a couple of shelves with totes to keep organized!

Some of my favorite things in my studio are my paint brushes (in plastic cottage cheese containers of course). Unfortunately, I don't use them as much as I would like but they are always there for me when I need them.

One of the newer items in my studio is my very cool Logan mat cutter. I never thought I would enjoy cutting mat's as much as I do now, before I got this handy tool. This is SO much better than running to the frame shop every time I needed an mat cut.

And here is one of the older, more cherished items in my studio.....my grandma's sewing machine. I actually have both my grandmother and my grandmother-in-law's old sewing machines...they are exactly the same so whenever a part fails on one, I can swap it from the other! Now if I could learn how to sew besides cloth napkins and tablecloths! haha

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Epson photo stylus R1900 printer. It's AWESOME! (nuf said)

And finally the number one reason and probably the most obvious reason why I love my studio is because of my mac! I love my mac....given to me by the person I love the most in this whole world...my hubby. ;)

Birds of a feather

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:16:00 +0000

They say birds of a feather flock together...well that sure is the case with my newest illustrations.

I spent most of the weekend cooped up (pardon the pun) in my studio creating. It was one of those weekends where the ideas just kept coming to me and it was like I almost couldn't keep up! The ideas were just flowing in and before I knew it my sketchbook was nearly full! Don't you just love those kind of weekends? :)

As always these will be available in the fookaDESIGNS shop.

Thank You!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:42:00 +0000

I recently created this fun retro style card as a thank you to a friend of mine. I liked it so much I decided to add it to my paper goods section of my shop.

I thought it would only be appropriate to take this time to thank all of you who have become a follower of this blog and a fan of my recently created facebook fan page. You all rock!

Become a fookaFAN

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:44:00 +0000

I finally decided to take the plunge and create a fookaFAN page on Facebook. I hope this makes it easier for all my fookaFRIENDS to find me and stay updated on fookaDESIGNS new items, promotions, sales and much more! So be sure to become a fan today!

Oh, and if you're not a fookaFRIEND yet be sure to sign up and join the mailing list to get in on the fooka loop. You know you want to...all your friends are doin' it!

Both of these button features are conveniently located to the right of this page too...so click away my friend!

Seeing Stars

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:18:00 +0000

I'm loving these beautiful "fall-like" nights. The chill in the night air and the clear skies make a perfect setting for star gazing. And if it's cloudy you could always look at my newest prints from my star gazed series. :)

I'm adding them to my shop and hope to be mounting them on artboards soon! Keep an eye out for these shooting starts before they fizzle away!

Look what I made today

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:02:00 +0000

Okay, actually I didn't make these TODAY. But they are my latest creations. Four individual 6 x 6 inch digital illustrations simply titled, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. I plan to mount them on artboards as well as have giclee prints available in my shop. Check back soon!

Greater Kansas City Humane Society Art Auciton

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:05:00 +0000

I'm happy to say for the 3rd year in a row I will be participating in the Greater Kansas City Humane Society Art Auction. Every year fookaDESIGNS donates a piece of artwork to be auctioned off with all proceeds benefiting the shelter and their homeless animals. This is such a fun event and it gets bigger and better every year. My contribution this year is Lil' Mutt:

This is one of my mixed media upcycled pieces created from vintage postcards, colorful papers and pen and ink. Lil' Mutt is one of my favorite pieces from my upcycled series, I almost hate to see him go but I know he'll go to a good home. ;) Plus it's for a great cause so it's a win win for everyone! If you are in the Kansas City area I encourage you to attend this fun event. To find out more please visit the Humane Society website.

Also, be sure to visit my family blog to find out more on how to support the Topeka Helping Hands Humane Society. Thank you!

A new look!

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:54:00 +0000

FookaDESIGNS got a little makeover the other day. I decided my website needed some attention which in turn made me realize my blog and shop could use a facelift too. It's nothing major but it is refreshing. Check out the website at fookaDESIGNS.com

Flintstone Feet - Refreshed

fookadesigns@gmail.com (fookaDESIGNS) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:26:00 +0000