I Resolve To...

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That time of year again where we dust off the 'ol note pad and write down the things that we SWEAR we are going to do to make the upcoming new year uh-may-zing.

• Make Yellow Heart Art even bigger and better! When I started as just a print shop back in 2011 I really thought that that would be my only avenue. Since then I have also made graphic art necklaces, plushes/pillows for your home, scarves, stamps, coasters and wooden necklaces. I always think I can't think of any more products but turns out I still can (I blame Yellow Heart Art for why I can't sleep at night, ever)
• Style my hair more. I have ALL this hair and all I ever do with it is part it on the side, barbecue it with my flat iron, and call it a day. It's time for my 'do to be more creative.

• Do more projects for "me". True Story: I'm a graphic designer and sell my artwork for a living yet there is not a stitch of my artwork ANYWHERE in my apartment.

• Learn to crochet. This has been on my list for a while. My grandma taught me how to crochet back when I was like 11. I kind of remember it and think I can pick it up again. I'm lucky to be 28 and still have my grandmother in my life, my goal is to make her something using crochet really soon. I know she would be so stoked that I actually made her something with a skill that she has been trying to teach me for years.

• Use more coupons. It's like they're giving you free money, I would be stupid to not look for more of them.

• Actually use my vinyl cutting machine. I have had it for a while and have not cut any vinyl using it yet because, well, to be honest I have zero time.

• Take more photos. I used to be a picture taking foo' (thats "fool" for those of you that don't speak gangsta) but I can't remember the last time I took artistic photos with my camera. Bub, do you hear me? We're going on a photo adventure soon. Get ready.

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• Lose weight. Yes yes I know I know its one of those things everyone always says their going to do. This was actually my resolution last year, and I did everything in my power to try to shed the pounds. I did weight watchers, a high fiber diet so I would stay full longer and eat less, a low carb diet and cardio. If anything I kept gaining weight, it wasn't making any sense so I went to the doctor and he believes he knows why I wasn't able to lose the pounds last year, so we are going into 2013 with a new plan and per my doctor's instructions trying a FINAL new method! I hope this frekkin works, homegirl is sick of tugging at her clothes every time she sits down or gets up. Honestly, I don't need to be stick thin, I just want to be comfortable in my body regardless of what the number on the scale is. I'm more about "feeling ok in my clothes" rather than reaching a certain number.

What does 2013 look like for you? :)

A look back on 2012

I had so much fun putting together this post and seeing all the things that has happened to me and Yellow Heart Art this past 2012! Here is a quick little year in review

February - Purchased a ticket for a creative conference in Arizona, little did I know the people I was about to meet would be life long friends.

March - was contacted by Rachael Ray magazine to potentially have my camera plush appear in their Summer issue, had to send out my plush the next day! Also met some amazing friends at a creative conference in Arizona. I love these girls so much and they have all helped me by giving me advice and input with Yellow Heart Art! Plus they're really rad and awesome <3

April - Officially launched our wooden necklace collection!

May - Got the word that I would be a vendor at Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn NY

June - Had my first ever Renegade craft show in Brooklyn, New York. My booth neighbor was Project Runway Winner Jay Mccarol. It was so amazing to meet my customers in person, I would do it again in a second.

July - Something is delivered to my door step to "Yellow Heart Art", I open it up to find a thank you note from Rachael Ray magazine for letting them use my camera plush in their magazine. This was my first ever paper magazine publication!

August - FAB contacts me about running a deal on their website, I say "hellz yeah!" and my FAB deal goes live. Also "PS. I made this" tweeted a link to my FAB deal (umm, SWOON MUCH?!)

September - Took a mini break from Yellow Heart Art to go on vacation in Ireland with the bubs! While over there I get an email letting me know one of my prints was featured in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine.

October - Debuted our rubber stamp collection the day before Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island. We were with out power for close to 2 weeks, and in that time so many of you guys offered to send me anything I needed. You all were amazing and I can not thank you enough for all the love and concern.

November - Started to sell a Hurricane Sandy Relief print where all proceeds went to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. To date we have raised over $150 to give to the ASPCA to help pets that were abandoned during the storm.

December - contacted by Sony to make special "Sony camera plushes" to be given away as christmas gifts at their holiday party.


ok, I can not WAIT for 2013. I have even more new ideas for Yellow Heart Art! You all have been sooo amazing and supportive of me and my art! As a thank you I am giving you guys some crazy deals with my end of year clearance sale! Select 8x10 prints are 50% off and all our necklaces are still 50% off! Help me get rid of this stuff so I can add to my 2012 awesome list :) stock up for valentines day!

That time another man got me a christmas gift

How was everyone's holidays?! I just frekkin LOVE christmas. When else can you bake an insane amount of cookies, leave them out for a magical man who breaks into your house to do the opposite of robbery, and wake up to a glorious amount of gifts?!

Exactly. Never.

This christmas was amazing. There was a giant gift in our living room that Bub was waiting to open for weeks. He had no clue what it was, and I kept saying to him "I wrapped a single hershey kiss and put it in an obnoxiously large huge box to throw you off, its nothing, really"

Ok, so I lied

ROCK AND ROOOOOOLLLLLLL

By the way, if anyone is wondering what to get me for my birthday I will take some ear plugs and a vodka cranberry, hold the vodka.

One plus to having a boyfriend who is super supportive and follows your business's facebook page is that sometimes he surprises you with fun etsy stuff that you post on there that you really really really wanted.

I had saw this cute ring dish on etsy and fell in love. I have no place to put my rings, and I loved that the artist customizes the dishes by carving initials into it! (B+T are our nick name initials, promise I didn't get someone else's gift)

The best part? The fact that this gift was from "Henry Waterton". Bub had no clue who Henry Waterton was, but felt the need to keep the note in the box anyway. I was like "Bub, Henry Waterton is your alias on etsy" He was super confused for a second. You see, Bub was my first sale ever on etsy. He didn't want me to know it was him so he purchased a print from my shop as "Henry Waterton". He never changed his etsy name and now all my gifts from him are from Henry, but I feel as though Henry and I have made a real connection over the years so I decided that I can call him "Huck" now. So, thanks Huck for the dish! Its Le Adorable.

Speaking of handmade, Bub also made me a super cute elephant tissue dispenser

The tissues come out of his trunk, I want to spoon with him at night I love him so much. I named him Elfred. Elfred, meet the Yellow Heart Art readers, Yellow Heart Art readers meet Elfred.

Oh and the-most-awesome-gift-of-them-all? An airplane necklace from Tiffanys. Bub is in the airforce and I just love it oh so much.

How was your christmas loves?!

The Book of Awesome, Day 1

Fun fact about me: I love buying little itty bitty cute journals. Other fun fact: I think they are just too frekkin cute to ruin the inside with my non-sensical scribbles.

Its a vicious cycle really. I want to fill those pages with doodles or thoughts but after doing it for, like, a day I get unmotivated and stop.

I came across this pin on pinterest (unfortunately its a photo from tumblr with no source) where someone suggested for the new year write on a piece of paper something awesome that has happened to you, stick it in a jar, then at the end of 2013 read all the pieces of paper and look back on the year.

I love this idea, but didn't want a ton of loose paper lying around. So I dug up my 30 cute journals and decided to start a "book of awesome" tradition.

Basically its where I jot down one quick thing that has happened to me that day that was awesome. I am not going to do it everyday, only when something really big happens.

Like:
• MY CAR IS FINALLY PAID OFF!
• got a ha-uge camera plush order from Sony
• Bub surprised me with my fav. flavor of ice cream

you get the idea. what would your book of awesome say?

Copying VS. Inspired: Creating a Brand Identity

The world is full of inspiration, its what helps us stay creative and come up with new ideas.

When making items for your shop or coming up with a brand identity for your business or blog its important to really know where the fine line between "inspiration" and "copying" come into play.

Being a graphic designer I see it from every angle. As a designer I see my work being copied and it really breaks me heart. 9 times out of 10 the person copying me really didn't mean no harm and just thought they were being "inspired" by me, when I of course make note of how they point blank stole my artwork they then see where I am coming from and most often are very willing to take down the art in question. It's usually followed up with an apology from them and then we go hold hands and frolic in some meadow somewhere. It's kinda magical.

I also see "copying" on the other side of things too, when dealing with a client I'll sometimes get someone send me another person's logo or design work followed by "I want my logo to look JUST like this"
Unfortunately I can not make your logo look JUST like that. It's not fair to the artist who created it and its not fair to the current owner of that logo whose shop is being identified with it. I can be inspired by it, but I can never ever point blank duplicate it.

Some people have a hard time understanding this, and I can see why. You see your friend wearing a super cute gray sweater with orange heart patches on the elbows, you ask her where she got it, then you go to the store and get the same exact sweater.

But designing a brand identity for yourself (or coming up with products for your shop) is a lot different than just buying the same mass produced sweater that your friend has.

The items in your shop or the logo for your blog is your finger print. It is is unique to you. When you go and copy piece by piece another artist's creation you are hurting both people, yourself and them. You are taking someone else's hard work, someone else's design and just "recycling" it for yourself.
When this person finds out they will be hurt, mad and confused. You should never ever steal another artist's ideas, the reason why we are all doing what we do isn't JUST for "The money", its also to let our customers and friends see a little peek of what makes us different, what makes us stand out from the rest.

I designed this logo for Jessica N Designs recently. I want to show you the difference between being "inspired' by her logo and "copying" her logo (by the way, these examples are designed by me, they were not found on cyber web land :) )

See how for inspiration logo for "Leonora Lee Photography and Design" I used some of the flower elements and the script font concept for the tag line? Yet you see these 2 logos and they still look different. Jessica N Designs and Leonora Lee Photography have their own brand identity and their own "fingerprint". Simply changing some colors around and changing a font doesn't get you off the "copying" hook, you are still stealing the artist's concept and design integrity.

This concept also carries over for when you design items for your shop. There is nothing wrong with being inspired, just don't ever ever copy. You wouldn't like it if it was done to you, right?

Basically, when coming up with a brand identity for your shop, make sure to make it unique to you.

S is for Christmas?

I'm on team Christmas, I love the holiday, I do, but buying for so many people can be super stressful. The bubs and I have to buy for about 25 people every year, and of those 25 people 5 of them also have birthdays between November and January.

Whenever I can I try to also include a handmade gift. Handmade gifts can be tricky though, you don't want them ooze with cheddar (see also: Cheesy)

Last Christmas one of the gifts I gave me nephew, Stefano, was this piece of original artwork for his nursery.

excuse all the watermarking, my art has been circulating on pinterest unsourced and it makes me wanna punch someone in the throat.

I love how it turned out! If it didnt take me hours to make a single letter "S" I would contemplate selling them in the shop (who knows, maybe they'll make a cameo in the Spring 2013 collection!) 

Are you giving and handmade gifts this year?

Come Inside

I can't wait for the day that I get to have enough living space to decorate it all swanky-esque and say to people "come inside and look at all this amazingness that stands before you"

Then people will let out little gasps of "ooohhs" and "ahhhhs"

I showed Bub my interior design inspiration board on Pinterest the other day and was shocked when he was on board with my picks. High 5 team Leonora

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 That couch? Those pillows? That round shelf? Hellz frikken yeah

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pipes as shelving units? Sold.

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I love the idea of stenciling a fireplace to make it modern.

what are your interior design boards? Link them in the comments! Would love to follow you :)

FREE Holiday Printables!

Who doesn't like blinging out their Holiday Gifts? Well, bling on girlfriend because I am giving you some free Holiday Gift Tags to jazz up your presents!

Just right click, open in new tab, right click to save again, then BAM print these bad boys out on your printer!

For the most part they are "holiday neutral" so no matter what you celebrate you can use these guys! Also, I tried to keep them some what generic so you can also use them other times of the year too!

Remember, don't be on Santa's naughty list, these tags are for PERSONAL use only, please do not copy artwork. You also can not re-sell or make a profit from these tags :)

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Gift Guide! The DIY Lover

I love a good DIY. But a lot of times I get turned off the with idea of buying supplies in bulk just to make ONE item out of it. I always end up having a decent amount of supplies left over.

So, for the "do it yourself-er" this holiday season I compiled some really fun DIY kits!

1. Make your own wave Tote Bag! By Brooklyn Assembly
Thank you tote bag gods for creating a CUTE and FUNCTIONAL tote bag. You no longer have to use the itchy freebie that your local library gave you. You are welcome.

2. Make you own cheese kit by Urban Cheese Craft
I am a sucker for really cute packaging and cheese.

3. Make your own Kaleidoscope by Urban Outfitters
Few things, I had to spell check "kaleidoscope" like 30 times b/c there was no way girlfriend was getting that word right no the 1st time. Also? The fact that you can jazz up a toilet paper tube with some bling is pretty rad in my book. A+ urban outfitters.

4. Make your own Sunography Prints
I actually own this  kit, it takes photography back into its most archaic form. Its actually kinda refreshing to not have to "upload" your photos to anything and print them out. You take an object, leave it on top of the supplied paper, let it expose itself to sunlight, then once you remove the object it leaves a white silhouette of it behind on the paper. Kids, you can now capture Peter Pan's shadow.

What gifts are you giving everyone this year?

Geometric Holiday Gift Guide!

Do you guys know Jessica of Son of a Sailor? She makes killer jewelry, I should just re-route my paycheck to her bank account because I plan on owning her entire shop.

She asked me and a couple of other shop owners to round up some of their favorite products for a holiday gift guide series.

I was so stoked she asked me to be a part of it! Here are my faves for the geometric lover in your life.

1. Sure, you can drink coffee out of that All State Insurance mug you got for free when you signed up with them, OR you can drink out of this beauty. When I think mugs I think of dads sitting at the kitchen table at 8am in their tighty whities sipping out of some lame-o “best dad evah” mug. But this mug? This changes everything. Who knew mugs could be swoon worthy! $16
2. There are so many iPhone cases on the market, but there are a few that actually make me go “dayum girl I gots to have that!”. It’s modern, sleek and well all around awesome. $18
3. Ok, hear me out. I was so anti this whole new antler trend. It kinda creeped me out, I thought people were going around herding deer and ripping off their poor antlers. Little miss city girl over here had no clue that deers actually shed their antlers naturally (hey, no judgment, home girl is from NY ok?) so when I found out that important piece of information that instantly became a game changer. I love how the shop, The Painted Antler, “girled up” these antlers and made them sleek, modern and stylish. It would never occur to me to paint an antler. I absolutely love it and can see all my SOS jewelry being hung from it! $64
4. Whenever I wear “everyday” jewelry I always go simple and modern. These triangles are just the right amount of “statement” with out being over bearing. I love how you can add a tiny pop of color to your ears. $12
5. I own a Krust bag and let me tell you, homegirl has talent. The bag is stitched so perfectly you would think you bought it at a coach store or something. I love how she doesn’t just take pre made fabric and bust out a bag, she actually takes the time to create her own shapes and patterns by cutting up the fabric and stitching it back together. I’ll take one of everything please. $50
6. Spoiler alert: I own so much son of a sailor swag. 2 necklaces and 2 bracelets (and even more added to my christmas list) (do you hear me santa? don’t make me make any threats) (just give me my SOS and your cookies will go untainted) I had the opportunity to meet Jessica at Renegade Craft Fair over the summer and shes super sweet and amazing! You can tell her and her husband put so much work into their craft, and it shows. The quality is superb and I always get asked “guuuurl where did you get that necklace?!” every time I wear it. They are great for layering (Since they are perfectly dainty!) or wear by itself. They are my go-to necklaces. $30

What are you planning on giving your loved ones this holiday? Also, all these items were picked out by me but Jessica used her mad graphic design skillz to make a pretty sweet collage. She really knows the way to my heart is a nice clean white collage graphically designed well. Swoon.

You can see more holiday gift guides by visiting Jessica's blog!

Oh, hey, in case you missed it our ha-uge Cyber Monday sale is STILL happening! All items in the shop are 20% off with code HOLIDAY20, also all our necklaces have been reduced down an additional 50%, plus all orders over $30 gets a free gift! Enter "FREE GIFT" in the notes to the seller box at check out to redeem (Must be $30 after any coupon codes and before shipping fees to be eligible)

SALE SALE SALE! Black Friday is Here!

That's Right! Enter "HOLIDAY20" at check out for 20% off your ENTIRE Yellow Heart Art Purchase! Also we are giving all orders that are $30 or more a FREE surprise gift! To redeem your gift just write "FREE GIFT" in the "notes to the seller box" (NOT the coupon code box) at check out.

RULES AND REGULATIONS: Free gift of $30 or more is only valid on orders that are over $30 BEFORE shipping fees and AFTER any coupon codes are applied. If your order equals less than $30 once you redeem any coupon codes then you will not receive your free gift. This offer is good from Friday, November 23rd 2012 till Monday, November 26th 2012 11:59 EST. Other items excluded from this deal are: Any prints that will go to Hurricane Sandy Relief and The Birthday Club Goodie Bag. Thank you for understanding and Happy Holidays!

Click Here to get your savings on!

EXCLUSIVE EARLY BLACK FRIDAY DEAL!

Kicking off the black friday week with a super crazy pants deal.

I decided to stop selling the wooden necklaces in the Yellow Heart Art Shop.

Why, you ask?
Well, I decided that I want to try to consolidate my shop a bit for the time being. Originally Yellow Heart Art was strictly a print shop. I was able to design a new print line frequently and constantly offer new silly prints for you guys to nab up!

But now that I have added stamps, scarves, necklaces and plushes to the mix I feel as though my prints are getting lost in the shuffle. I want to try to keep my shop a "home decor" shop for the time being. If down the road I come up with some killer designs for new necklaces then of course I wont hesitate to bring them back.

But for now I am ready to say "see ya later" to them (cause this isn't goodbye quite yet!)

So guess that what means for you? You guys get to nab my existing necklaces at 50% off!

Once they are sold out thats it though, so I would quickly get on it! They retail for $30 but I am selling them at a reduced price of $15!

Pretty sure you are going to kick christmas's ass this year with this deal. Plus Also? I have high quantities in some styles, so they would make perfect bridal party gifts as well!

Best part? NO COUPON CODE NEEDED! The price is already reflected in the listing!

Now, who wants a great deal?

I am Thankful For... (A link up party! come join us!)

Julie of Julie Ann Art asked me and Erika to be a part of her "thankful for" link up. I was so stoked to do it! A part of me wondered what I could write about. She had brought this up to me before I had went through Hurricane Sandy. It's kinda funny because I really have a new found appreciation for things I completely and 100% took for granted.

1. Electricity
I was with out electricity for close to 2 weeks. Driving with out traffic lights and not being able to use our electric stove was a huge eye opener. I had never gone that long with out power before. You use it for everything…EVERYTHING.

christmas in NYC

 2. The Bubs
I am so thankful I have me a Bub. He drives me absolutely insane, but I wouldn't have it any other way. He scratches my head when I have a migraine, he makes me chicken soup when I am sick, he tackles me down to the ground for no good reason at all, he pinches my butt as I run up the stairs in front of him, he always kisses me goodnight and he is my biggest fan. He supports me and my handmade business so much that he even bought me a website 2 years ago (oops). Every time I make a sale he gets just as excited about it as I do.

3. My contacts
Take your hand. Now place it about 1 foot away from your face. Yeah, thats pretty much the distance I can see with out wearing glasses or contacts. I am so grateful that I have a way to correct my vision so I can see things clearly. Sure, they pop out on occasion when I drive and they sometimes cause me to awkwardly wink at strangers as I try to get them to shift back into place but I love them.

4. My family
My mom is amazing. I can go to her for anything at all. She totally 100% gets me. We also laugh at ridiculous things together. My brother is pretty rad. He is constantly checking in with me to make sure I'm ok.

5. My Talents
I am so happy that I am a creative person. I absolutely love what I do. I love to design new pieces of art on the computer, I love to take photos, I love to make jewelry--if it involves cutting and glueing I am there.

6. The internet
Pinterest? Nuff said.

7.Mascara
what? I'm vain ok? Homegirl likes her lashes long and voluminous awright?

8. My Car
my little blue honda fit is FINALLY paid off! Guess who was the first person to put a big 'ol scrape in my car once it finally belonged to me? Give ya one guess who *cough see number 2 cough*

It's your turn! Grab the button below, place it on your blog (so people know where to find the link up!) and link up your blog post below! Please, keep it clean guys! No giveaway posts or a link to your blog, only link to your "grateful for" posts :) thank you so much!

<a href="http://yellowheartart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP8QS7_5AZvG8sQG3zSN6iLp6zSdFZVaKWiexl68Ihwbr1HdG9lE3GUZ5EYvy8R4iJk5nvXPFoVftD21pCShx_hU_EPqsSGPLLdbavIMJEKiMp1ltp0JNXzW_xYqHpz4xECorOk95Lv4w/s800/thankful%2520for%2520button.jpg" border="0" alt="Rouge & Whimsy" /></a>

The "To-Don't" List

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Most people make a list for their goals and dreams.

Well today I am going in the opposite direction. I am making a list of mistakes I have made in the past and will vow never to do ever.again.

So, why the list?

Because, ya know, as time passes you think to yourself "oh hey, my stomach didn't hurt THAT MUCH after having indian food, I'm sure i can give it another go". No, no you can't and never should give it another go. For sake of all humankind don't ever eat indian food ever again (no, really, we all had a meeting, the vote was unanimous, do not eat it)

*ahem*

Dear Leonora:

• Do not cut your hair above your shoulders. It took you 4 years to grow it out, you even bought clip in hair extensions that on occasion would fall out and make passerby's think you are battling some freak disease where you hair falls out in 7" wide mullet clumps. Let's just not do this again, kay?

• Do not eat garlic or peppers. You know why, we do not need to go there right now.

• Do not get straight across bangs. They get stuck in your eye lashes. Side bangs from here on out ONLY. Do you hear me? SIDE BANGS ONLY WOMAN.

• Do not wear 4" heels to a wedding. You never ever make it past cocktail hour in them. You then pull a "wilma flintstone" and are rockin' a cocktail dress barefoot.

• Do not buy fake costume jewelry. They turn your wrists and fingers green. Unless you are part of the avengers leave the green to the HULK.

• Do not put eye liner on your bottom lid. Yeah, you look more fierce than Heidi Klum once you apply it (yeah, I said it, and what?), but the second you blink once it ends up everywhere BUT your bottom lid.

• Stop pulling out those little mascara clumps in the shower. You rip out 4 lashes at a clip each time you do it. I know you think to yourself "no no, this time I will JUST get the clump" you never ever do. Not once.

• Stop trying those little turd balls at christmas. You try chestnuts once a year for the past 10 years and have hated them every time. Let's just move on and accept the fact that chestnuts will not be roasting on your open fire this year.

Awright, heres to not doing any of those things ever again (Disclaimer: while typing this I just ripped out a mascara clump...and 4 lashes. Dang it)

What are some things that would be on your "to-don't" list?

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hey in cased you missed it!

• Be sure to link up with us this November 20th by telling us what you're thankful for! Information found here.

• Our Hurricane Sandy Relief Print is still for sale! Proceeds go to those affected by the hurricane, so far we have raised close to $100!

• Didja see our new product?

New Products!

Some of you may have already seen my new stamps that have hit the shop. I literally rushed to take the photos and upload them to Yellow Heart Art the day before hurricane sandy hit. I was with out power and the internet for almost 2 weeks so I wasn't able to promote them much.

But, here they are in all their rubber stampy glory

camera stamp by Yellow Heart Art

Happy Mail Day Stamp by Yellow Heart Art

oh hi stamp by yellow heart art

Handmade with a ton of gooey love stamp by Yellow Heart Art

custom initial stamp by Yellow Heart Art

There will be more added once the holiday season is over, but for now scoop them up and get some for christmas time! Do ya dig them?

Need Your Help! Come Join us :)

Sometimes in life, in the midst of busy life, we forget all the good things we have. As it nears Thanksgiving, Julie of Julie Ann Art, Leonora of Yellow Heart Art and Erika of Rouge & Whimsy are hosting up a link-up party to share what we're most thankful about this season.

Rules: 

The link-up will go live Tuesday, November 20 at midnight Eastern time and your post will show up on all three blogs.

You must link to just  your post, not your entire blog, with what you are thankful for. 

You must link back somewhere in your post to one of the link-up hosts. 

We're so excited to see what you all are thankful for! Be sure to come back here to link up, as well as read all the other posts people share.  Grab a button to spread the word!

<a href="http://yellowheartart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP8QS7_5AZvG8sQG3zSN6iLp6zSdFZVaKWiexl68Ihwbr1HdG9lE3GUZ5EYvy8R4iJk5nvXPFoVftD21pCShx_hU_EPqsSGPLLdbavIMJEKiMp1ltp0JNXzW_xYqHpz4xECorOk95Lv4w/s800/thankful%2520for%2520button.jpg" border="0" alt="Rouge & Whimsy" /></a>

Day of link-up:

Link your post with your thankful post. Please remember that you must just link to the thankful post, not link to your blog home page. Your post will show up on all three blogs -- rouge & whimsy, Julie Ann Art and Yellow Heart Art. Be sure to check out what everyone else is thankful for too as well. :)

Rock to hide under, Party of 1?

be kind print by pen and paint

I had ordered my bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding back in August. The wedding place made it clear that once the dress came in you had to quickly pick it up and pay any remaining balance you had left on the dress in cash.

My friend lets me know a few days ago the dress was finally here. I felt bad for not being more excited about it, I just felt like the dress came in at such a bad time. It was low on my priority list at that point since my apartment was still with out power, bub and I were staying with his parents, bub was working crazy hours at the base due to all the sandy drama (him and I barely had any form of communication for 2 weeks)  & I just needed to get back into my normal routine stat.

So I made time this weekend to head over there. I expected this to be a wham bam thank you ma'am kinda deal. Run it, get the dress, and run out.

I go to get the dress and I see her hanging up on the rack. Its really pretty, in fact it will be the first bridesmaids dress I will actually wear again (hell I'll even wear this dress to the McDonald's drive through I dont care) (actually I dont eat McDonalds, swap McDonalds with Starbucks and we got ourselves a legit hypothetical here guys)

They tell me I have to try it on. Lately I have been having some serious body issues and really didn't want to see myself in a strapless dress at that moment in time. But, I go and try it on and discover that the zipper will not go up. Not because its too small, but because the zipper seems to be faulty.

The woman comes over, calls for back up, and neither one of them can get it up. They tell me this is "normal" and to go to alterations for them to lube that sucker up.

When taking off the dress I notice a pull by the bodice. Now I start to get peeved b/c I am spending a little less than 1 weeks salary on the dress when all is said and done and I am receiving a dress with a pull and a zipper that won't go up. Homegirl does not need a wardrobe malfunction a la Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl style happening at my friend's wedding.

So, I run to alterations and of course have to wait 20 minutes for the woman to see me. She tells me that the way the dress is these zippers tend to get stuck blah blah blah. I also show her the pull and takes it to the back to see what she can do.

While waiting for the dress to come back out a woman waits in line behind me. I joke with her that if I ever get married I am thinking about eloping because if I am dealing with this much drama over a bridesmaids dress lord knows how much baby daddy mama drama I will be dealing with when it comes to an actual wedding.

She tells me her son is getting married and she just can't wait for it to finally be done with. I wasn't sure why she couldn't wait for it to just be over, so I asked her and she tells me why.

Her 29 year old son had stage 4 cancer.

This is the part where I begin to feel like a huge giant jerk. I start to look for some giant boulder for me to crawl under but the bridal shop was fresh out of them (weird).

The seamstress brings my dress back out, I still see the pull, and when she asks me if the dress is ok I quickly say "ohmygoditssobeautifulthankyousomuch!" rip the dress off the hanger and bolt out of the salon.

I believe that sometimes you meet certain people at certain moments to give you a reality check. Is the dress perfect? No. Will anyone notice the pull? No. Should I worry about more important things? Yes.

In other news, I finally have my power back! It was gone for 7 days, we had it back for 2, then lost it again for an additional 4 days. I was never more happy to finally turn on a light switch in my apartment and to see glorious florescent light glaring back at me that.

I am still selling this limited edition print in my shop where the proceeds go to hurricane sandy relief. I want to thank all you guys who have purchased the print, you are all amazing.

SIDE NOTE: if my friend whose wedding I am in happens to read this post, please know that I am super stoked to be in the wedding and I LOVE the dress, this post was not about ripping apart the dress, it was about my "ah-hah" moment <3 love ya Courtney!

NEW PRINT: You can help hurricane sandy victims

As some of you may know I live on Long Island, one of the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. I wanted to do something to try to help with the relief efforts to get us back to a sense of "normalcy". You can read about my previous post on Sandy here.

I created this limited edition print where proceeds from this artwork will go to Hurricane Sandy Relief.

I Can Handle Anything by Yellow Heart Art

Please do not feel pressured to purchase this print if you do not have the funds right now, you can also help by spreading the word about this print to your friends on your facebook, twitter or blog. I appreciate any and all help!

As of yesterday I still have power, its been a little spotty but I think that is because they are still working on restoring the other blocks in my neighborhood. Most of my family and friends will still be with out power for up to another week. The temperatures are starting to drop from the 40's to the 30's and now possibly 20's. They have no heat and we are trying any and all ways to keep them warm during this time. Thank you all again for the continued support and kind comments/emails/tweets. Your positive spirits have helped keep me in a positive frame of mind, I love you all!

Why I Have Been MIA, My Hurricane Sandy Story

5:30pm on Monday, October 29th.

The lights keep flickering as I am watching my homegirl Teresa on Long Island Medium. I sit there on the couch waiting for the inevitable. The house rattles and I am convinced the air conditioning unit in my living room is going to be pelted at my forehead going 90mph.

7:30pm pitch black.

Hurricane Sandy hit and the power was officially gone. I was convinced that maybe I would be without power for 1 day, maybe 2 days tops. On Long Island we rarely get "hurricanes", they usually start out as a hurricane down south but by the time they reach us up here they are down graded to a tropical storm.

Bub was out playing "Captain America" on the fire truck. So I figured I should call him to let him know we lost power and that I was ok.

Except the cell towers were also taken out, so my cell phone was pointless at this point and was now my flashlight.

With nothing else to do I sit at my kitchen window and look outside. I see what I thought was lightning, the sky lit up about 3 times over the course of 20 minutes. I later realized those were transformers on the power lines going up in a blaze of glory.

About 2 hours later a fire truck pulls up to the house.

Bub runs off the truck, comes up stairs and tells me "Babe, it's bad out there"

There is one thing you should know bout bub, he is a "tell it like it is" guy, so for him to say it was bad I knew it was bad.

He had to leave me again to go on more fire calls which consisted of gas leaks, fires, trees down, power lines down, pretty much anything you can think of.

The next morning we drive around the neighborhood, this is what we see all around us.

 Trees uprooted and in the power lines

 Trees taking out cars

This was a side walk.

 a tree down in my parent's back yard, there is bub in the bottom left hand corner cutting it down

Tree taking up the entire block and into more power lines.

So, what I thought would turn into 2 days TOPS with no power turned into 7.

DO YOU HEAR ME? SEVEN.

The first few days were manageable, I laughed in the face of Sandy saying "YOU'LL NEVER BREAK ME!"

But by day 6 she broke me, she broke me hard.

Yes, we had a generator, but the problem was we couldn't run it 24/7. We would run it for a few hours just to keep the fridge cold. We also have an electric stove so cooking food was pretty much non existent. By day #4 we finally found a way to hook it up to the heat because in New York temperatures were rapidly dropping from the 50's, to the 40s and now 30's.

I was worried for this little guy the entire time

you see apparently birds can't be in a climate thats below 50*, so I had get super creative to keep him warm.

I tried filling up chinese food containers with hot water, placing them in a cooler, then putting his cage on top of that so the heat could radiate in.

I tried packing socks full of those hand warmers that skiers use to put in their gloves to keep warm and tie it in the cage where he usually hangs out, but apparently a pink argyle sock hanging in a bird cage looks threatening and birdie bugged the eff out.

It's ok birdie, I'm bugging out too, we are in the same boat buddy.

Things were starting to get really bad starting day 3. Since 90% of long island was with out power that meant that 90% of the gas stations were also out of power.

No power = no pumping of gas

No pumping of gas = no one filling up their generators

Not being able to fill up your generator = people stealing generators from people's backyards in a desperate attempt to get power to their house

People waited hours...HOURS in the hopes that the gas station they were currently waiting in line on had gas to spare. No one can fill up their cars or gas cans to keep their generators running.

People were getting cranky and getting cranky fast. A woman ran over a gas station attendant when she found out there was no more gas for her car, a man stabbed another man at the gas station battling it out for gas, they had to call in the Air National Guard and the Police to "babysit" the gas stations and generators so people could "play nice".

 Driving was also fun. Most traffic lights are out at every intersection so it was an awesome game of "HOLY SH*T I MIGHT DIE RIGHT NOW BUT IM GONNA BOOK IT HARD AND FAST AND PRAY I DON'T GET T-BONED"

The grocery stores are bare, they have zero perishables on hand.

In all my 28 years I never ever would have guessed I would experience ANYTHING like this.

Most of my family is STILL with out power, they are saying they might be with out power for an additional 7-10 days ON TOP OF already not having power for 1 week.

Things are scary right now,  at first I was all like "this is no big deal, just a little storm" but the more time that goes by I am seeing the devastation. It's a hard pill to swallow knowing that the red cross and other organizations are sending aid to a place where I live and call home.

I want to help too, once I get my feet back on the ground I will be selling new items in the shop where the proceeds will go to the Sandy Relief Efforts.

Please, keep us in your thoughts. I just want life to be normal again. I am one of the really lucky ones, things could have been a lot worse.