I’ve been working on a new project over the last couple of weeks and it’s taken much longer than I was anticipating. I’ve been holding off on working on anything else until this one was finished, but if I had known it would take WEEKS instead of days? Yeah…might have rethought that whole plan! At any rate, it is finished now (almost) & ready for the big reveal – TA DA!!!

I started a second Etsy shop to house all of my silly critter prints, paintings and silver pendants – Cagey Critters. Huzzah!

My main shop was starting to feel a bit convoluted with so many items (5 pages worth!). Because the style of the silly critter animal paintings is so different from my wide-eyed girls, it felt like they needed their own home. Seeing them all on a page with the silver pendants mixed in looks so much more cohesive and much easier to browse if that’s the style you’re looking for. I can just imagine someone stumbling onto my bright teal rabbit print & then poking around the shop looking for another print to pair it with for decorating a kid’s room. And then finding…Richie Tenenbaum? Or my Day of the Dead print? Not helpful!

So what started out as a little housecleaning project ended up bogging me down for weeks as I figured out a name, fiddled with a banner, photographed all of the silver pendants & then edited those photos (which reminds me…I’m missing the monkey silver pendant. Whoops!). I think it helps to have a few shots of a model wearing jewelry too so that you can accurately gauge the size of a pendant. Shooting self-portraits where you’re trying to have a tiny piece of jewelry in focus? And not look like a dork? And you’re on your balcony where the light is better & it’s really cold out still & your nose is starting to run? Yeah. That’s the glamorous world of Etsy!

Minor whinging aside, I am quite pleased with the way the new shop turned out. It will be interesting to see how running 2 separate shops goes. People say that it’s twice as much work since you have to double your marketing efforts, but at least the marketing can be more targeted. For kids’ rooms and nursery decor, I can direct people to the Cagey Critters shop. A lot of my other work does end up in kids’ rooms too (like the robot print or the Where the Wild Things Are print), but it’s usually a bit older & definitely appeals to a different decorating style.

Let me know what you think! Any glaring errors or major mistakes? Do the images look weird on your monitor?

(sidenote: I edited all the pictures on my laptop & then sat at my main computer to start adding them into the Etsy listings. I ended up having to re-edit every single one of them because they were way too dark. Apparently the glossy screen of my laptop tilted at the angle that allows for comfortable viewing of the television whilst editing photos is NOT accurate at any other angle. Doh!)

Click to buy the pirate locket on Etsy

I’ve been photographing and updating my Etsy shop with the antique lockets that local shoppers have been snapping up at my market events for quite some time.  I love the style of the antique patina locket settings I’ve found and think they compliment my paintings perfectly – just like treasured heirlooms found in your grandmother’s jewelry box.

Click to buy the fox hat girl locket on Etsy

I’m always on the hunt for the perfect shade of Czech glass beads or tiny vintage brass charms to adorn the necklaces. This is precisely the reason why it’s taken me so long to add many of the styles to my online shop – if I run out of a certain bead or charm, I need to take new pictures. I have folders full of  pretty locket photos languishing on my hard drive, some with me wearing them too (oh, self portraiture…how I loathe thee!), that unfortunately can’t be used anymore because I’m completely sold out of a specific charm. Hopefully one day I can design my own and have them made specially for me. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Click to buy the orca whale locket on Etsy

All of the lockets open up too, so you can put your own little picture or note inside. Someone asked me what was inside my own the other day & I replied, “Nothing, yet.” I opened it up to show my curious friend what the inside looks like anyway & discovered a pill that I’d completely forgotten about! Apparently the lockets can also store medication, just make sure you set a reminder!

After plenty of proofing, I’ve got some new prints available in the shop! Part of my January plan to get organized includes getting my Etsy shop up to date with all of my prints and lockets and original paintings that I have available. So far I’ve only finished adding the prints, but that is a long, very dull process that I love to avoid. It can be lots of trial & error to color correct the prints to match the original paintings, all of which requires patience & good lighting. Both of which I seem to be running low on these days!

Thanks to coffee, I powered through & it was totally worth it. After doing an inventory of all of my work, I realized I’d missed a few paintings from last year! “The Little French Girl” (inspired by the movie “Amelie”) & “Dorothy” never made it into the shop as prints even though I’ve been selling them in person at markets for over a year. This has now been corrected and their smiling faces look quite at home in amongst my newest friends. Speaking of…may I introduce “The Seamstress”:

“The Seamstress” started as a sketch on the loveliest textured cold press paper. As I kept working with her, I began painting in some color, drawing a looping thread-like border and finally delicate touches of gold in the Singer sewing machine details. The original work sold just a few days after I’d completed her and I have to admit I was a little sad to let her go so quickly.

I’ve always admired people who have the patience and skill to sew their own clothes or stitch beautiful details into cozy quilts. I’d love to become a better seamstress myself, but my tendency to want to follow my own path instead of the directions can be a bit of a problem. A sturdy seam ripper is my best friend!

Hanging “The Seamstress” in your craft room might be just the thing to inspire wonderful new creations!

Also new in the shop are these little darlings, “Chloe and Vince”:

Chloe and her pet turtle, Vince, have been inseparable ever since she discovered him paddling around a rather large crystal punchbowl left on her doorstep. You can often see the happy pair out on their daily walk, making sure to stop for puddle splashing and the occasional carrot. In the evenings, Vince enjoys being read to, preferring the genres of historical biography and science fiction.

Click here to see more art prints for sale.

I have plenty more paintings and lockets and silver critter pendants to add to the shop, so my next task is setting out to photograph everything. We have such short hours of daylight and such cloudy overcast skies that this is proving to be a bit of a pickle. As much as I prefer natural lighting, I may just have to make do without. Or maybe book a holiday to a sunny beach somewhere instead! That counts as a tax write-off, right?

I finished some new paintings in my critters series recently & though I haven’t added the original paintings to my shop yet, 4 new prints are available. I’m excited about these ones because I focused on some more neutral background colors, which should mix & match nicely with the rest of the animals in my growing menagerie.

A Wee Birdie print, 8″x8″

Click here to visit the art prints section of my shop.

I’d like to shoot photos of them all, mixed up & in different arrangements to show all the possibilities. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to do that soon as I’ve got a little surprise up my sleeves for the holiday markets!

I’ve been working with a custom frame manufacturer based in the USA to come up with a really lovely framing option for these cute critters. I usually show a sample framed photo in my listings – square, white, clean lines. Unfortunately, frames like that are proving very difficult to find!

Mouse & Kitty print, 8″x8″

There is the Ikea Ribba option, but the square size they make (9″x9″) means you would have to get a custom mat cut. Also, since a lot of these prints end up in children’s rooms, I’m finding it difficult to recommend the Ikea frames in good conscience. Yes, they’re cheap. That unfortunately includes the glass, which is notorious in picture framing circles for being such poor quality that many framers won’t touch it. It shatters so easily that the framing shop I use won’t do a custom mat & framing job for someone bringing in an Ikea frame unless they also replace the glass. Yikes!

Miranda & her Baby print, 8″x8″

I’m feeling the pressure of the ticking clock as we wind into Christmas shopping territory, but hopefully I will soon have a framed print option that will include a made in the USA square white frame, custom cut mat & UV protective plexiglass – shatter-proof, easy to send in the mail & will protect the art itself from fading even when hung in the sunniest of spaces. Huzzah!

I had a great time at the Blim Community Market on Sunday, despite rushing back from Seattle late Saturday & getting very little sleep. It was a rainy day, so the shoppers were a little sparse, but that meant that I had time to chat with my neighbors & even do a little shopping of my own. How cute are my new earrings from The Tiny Fig??? Love ‘em!

One of the things I love about doing local craft markets is getting feedback on new products. I’m always trying to come up with something new so customers have a reason to return to my table month after month to see what I’ve been up to. (Unfortunately the shows have been taking up so much of my time that I have been falling behind in updating my online shop. If they ever master cloning, I could use an extra k.g.b. to shoot photos & list all of my new goodies while I’m in the studio painting. Wouldn’t that be nice?)

That said, I *do* have something new in the shop today – Acorn Bookplates ready to be personalized with your name!

I love the tradition of bookplates & am thrilled to add a second design to my growing bookplate collection. I’m sure the pot-bellied robot will play nice with the acorn girl. Right?

If you’re a Vancouver local & want to catch me this summer, here’s a list of where I’ll be over the next few weeks:

Upcoming Markets

May 30th ~ Portobello West

June 20th ~ Main Street Car Free Day

June 27th ~ Portobello West