Valentine / Love Sale

For quite a while now I've had a pretty dismal collection of images for Valentine's Day. Not that I've got anything against it, it's just that I'm not a frilly, gushy, kinda girl. (Though I did always appreciate my husbands gifts of roses & chocolates) And I have to confess, my timing has never been really good around that time of year, 'cause one has to plan ahead for these things. Ya know, images need to be gathered, drawn, planned etc. plates made, rubber made, announcements made, etc. etc. When one is a "one woman show" it sometimes hard to get all the things you want & need to do - done. This year I actually managed to do it though I'm cutting it close in getting the rubber out in time for my customers to have lots of time to play.

And as usual I'm having a Pre-Sale to introduce them and I'm going to be placing my order for the rubber pressing anyday now.

I think of Valentine's day as more of a "express your affections for those you love" kinda day, whether it's someone you have romantic feelings for, wanna sleep with, or family & friends. I think it's a good opportunity to let the people in your life know how you feel about them and it makes those people feel good that someone is thinking of them in a nice way. Kinda like how it was in grade school, everybody in class usually got a Valentine whether you really knew them or not. I think it made everybody feel a little special and there's certainly no harm in that!

That said, I'm also a bit of a cynic & realist

Pardon me, I was just interuppted by one of my cats bringing a mouse in to play with. I had to rescue the mouse & get it out of the house. These silly cats of mine don't get that they're supposed to keep mice Out of the house instead of bringing them in to play with. Now, where was I...

Oh yeah, about me being a realist & a mite cynical.. The images I've created of hearts, are overall "grunge" partly because, if we're honest with ourselves love can be a little messy. It's not all bon bons, pretty lace, blue birds singing, soulfull staring into each others eyes, etc., etc. You get my meaning, sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's messy, funny, frantic, impossible, ordinary, lonely and sometimes it hurts. We've all been through it at some time or another. And I thought having some images that can be used to express some of that messiness might be appropriate.

Okay, the other line of reasoning for the "grunge" hearts is the vintage aspect, I love vintage stuff, and I think the hearts can speak to a more romantic vision. Think of unending love for the ages, or love without end or love standing the test of time (ooh, those sound like good ideas, I'll have to make a note for next year) I also saw the pop art aspect, after I had them laid out, it reminded me of Jim Dine's artwork & a little of Andy Warhol.

So, that's my verbal bit about the stamps, go see them. And, if you're interested in the Vagabond Die Cut machine inspired by Tim Holtz, my sale is back on, here's the direct link.

I'll be back later with a couple of comments about mine.