Thompson Family-Life

*new* digital Washi Tape Frame kit!

Learn more about it and purchase it here! You can also read some new NEWS about Kitschy Digitals in the same post over at the Kitschy Digitals Blog. :-)

Here they are, they come in these TEN yummy colors!

And some art examples from our Creative Team and me... :-)

From Anna Backstrom...

From Karli Plant...

  

From Stina Glaas...

 

From Rachel Fischer...

 

And me...

Make sure to read the post to learn more about these projects! I've also written up an easy Tutorial on how to use these! :-)

I promise to write more of a blog post in a couple days. The boys will be on their way to Memphis to stay for NINE days.. yes NINE days. Holy-freedom-of-the-universe-for-danielle-and-ethan... SWOON!! we have so much planned for our loooong "Staycation".. we can't wait. And this break has been well earned, let me tell ya. It will be a relief to be only responsible for ourselves for all of NINE days... sigh... :-) :-) Happy, Happy.

Thanks for the comments in the last post! I always love "hearing" from you all! :-)

reminder, weekend photos, sneak peek & a new dolly

Just a quick reminder that my Picture Frame Wall Decals are still on Pre-order through tomorrow. I will have some in stock in the shop after I put in this first big order at the printer, so if you miss the pre-order, I'll still have some that you can choose from! :-) REMEMBER: If you buy 3 or more decals you get 15% off your entire order! Just input the coupon code "decals15" at checkout! :-)

The boys and I went to a beautiful park right near our house this weekend. It has a stunning lake. To think we lived here for 10 years before we ever knew this place existed. It's totally hidden!

This shot reminds me of an old faded postcard... :-)

Some ice cream was in order after a hot, HOT day outside...

(I used some new actions on the above photos by Leah Profancik. Her actions are my favorite. I use her color workflow actions on ALL of my photos. This new Summer Skies Actions set is so yummy.)

Here's a sneak-peek of a new digital kit I'm working on.. I'm using my new *beautiful* Washi tapes to make these tape frames you can use in your digital scrapbooking, digital art, or use them to frame your photos on your blog! I will have personal and commercial licenses available for these. I'm SO excited about these! Here's the yummy sherbet orange color...

 

Our 11 year wedding anniversary is this Saturday and my sweet husband is getting me a new doll. :-)

 

A blondie. Never thought I'd go for a Blondie before a brunette or raven haired girl, but I love her coloring and her short bob!

And speaking of Blythe, I did a recent custom order headband for someone and it turned out so cute. Here's Pauline modeling. :-)

(unfortunately i won't be doing any more custom headband orders b/c i can't ever seem to fit them into my schedule.. :( Thankfully I have very patient customers who got these!)

I've been having some major blythe-photo-taking withdrawal and I have a head full of photo ideas that I haven't had time to pull off. But next Friday, Ethan and I will be CHILD-FREE for a little over a week and we have BIG plans to do lots of things at home that we never get to normally do. Go to a movie every night. Go out for dinner every night. And I plan on taking lots of Blythe photos and doing some serious thrifting, estate-sale-ing, etc, etc, sans crazy boys of mine. ;-)

And remember this post? I FINALLY got these back from the printer. I had some printed for me and a few other fellow Blythe enthusiasts. :-) They really came out great. Can't wait to wear mine! :-)

I hope everyone is having a nice week! :-)

 

Random image Saturday...

... while I sit here with the boys. Ethan is in San Francisco this weekend having fun with a friend, so it's just me and the boys. We've already been up for 6 hours and it's only noon. Yay! ;-) We went straight to the park at 8:30am to beat the heat and have already gotten ice cream and baths. And yes, it's only noon. We'll be going to the pool later today and dinner at the in-law's!

So I thought I'd post some images that I've posted on Flickr over the past week or so that I haven't posted here... while I take a rest from the day's busyness.

I got a Diana Plus for Christmas like 2 Christmases ago. I *finally* used it in Florida last year.. and it has taken me *another* year to get them developed. Lovely. I had a mental block about taking photos with that thing for some reason, especially because I thought it would be really expensive getting the film developed. But then I found out that Sam's does 2 week developing for like, $2 or something. Crazy!

I still have alot to learn with that camera, but i did get some good ones that I liked! :-) I guess there's really not THAT much to learn, but i'm sure there are all sorts of tricks you can do to get some cool pictures. I'm also presently bidding on an Anscoflex camera so i can try out some TTV (Through the Viewfinder). I was so inspired by Tara's TTV shots, I asked her how she did her's and she was so kind to give me the low-down on how it worked. I had a vague idea from researching it a year or so ago, but now i have a better idea. Looking forward to it! 

We had a *wonderful* weekend last weekend and I never shared a few photos from that. We decided we were going to go all out and have some water fun in our back yard (we bought a blow up pool at Wal-Mart and a Sponge Bob slip n' slide.. oh yeah.) It was tres fun. 

 

Then we had a yummy picnic in the front yard with some groceries from the Farmer's Market... divine!

 

 

Campbell was especially all over that watermelon. :-)

And here he is with watermelon smeared mouth and a shiner he got while playing tug-of-war with a friend over a Thomas Train. You can see who won that battle. ;-)

I'm not sure what this face is about, but it cracks me up.

Another random image for you... we had some long-time friends in town this week and the "adults" actually got to go out for dinner that night (which was so nice!). We went to Cake & Ale which we've never been to and it was *SO* good. Since I had a reprieve from my normal everyday grungyness, I thought I'd take a photo. I got to wear my vintage shirt from Half Calf and my little patent leather (?) bow headband from J. Crew. If you look in the top right hand corner, you can see my 2 horses I got for my Blythes.. can't wait to take some photos!

Here are some other images I created for the shop to show people what they can do with the decals. I'm thinking I'd like to do a photo shoot with some interiors with actual product shots of the decals on the walls.. but for now, these provide some ideas. It was funny looking through some old photos for these... look at Cam's bald head!

 

 

Thank you to those that have placed orders for these! Pre-orders end next Friday, the 26th.

I've posted some *amazing* eye candy over at the Kitschy Digitals blog over the past few weeks... don't miss it! I first made an announcement about 2 new Creative Team Members, Waleska and Karli!

Their post is chock full of super*cute projects!! Here are a few of my faves, but hop over to the blog post for everything.

These 2 by Waleska.. seriously cute... :-)

 

 

And you can see tons by Karli in the post, and it was hard to pick favs because there are so many... but my fav part was the fact that she planned her daughter's bday party around a "Sweet & Sour" theme using the lemon from the Kawaii Cute Fruits kit and the cupcake from the Kawaii Cute Cupcake kit.. LOVE! and hold onto your seats....

... SHE MADE A CAKE USING THE LEMON TOO.

oh yes she did.

 

Cutest cake I've *EVER* seen.

How CUTE is this photo of the party table?

 

The invite..

 

And a super*cute and kitschy digital page... I adore this so much I can't even say... how cute is that vintage hamper she's sitting on? and i LOVE how she used the Prize Ribbon kit!

I also just did an entire post on Garden Girl artwork.. if you aren't familiar with them, they are the Design Team over at Two Peas in a Bucket where my digital kits are sold. They are super talented! I posted tons of their work using some of my digital kits.. here's a mosaic I made of them all.. but check out the post for more info and for a closer view! :-)

Vinyl Wall Decals are available!

Yaaay! They're in the shop!

**Edited to add! I forgot to mention in my rush to post this that the first person to place an order will get 50% off their entire order! :-) I will let you know by the end of the day if you were that person! :-)

ALSO, and this is at any time that you place an order for decals from my shop, if you purchase THREE or more decals, you get 15% off your entire order. Just input this coupon code at checkout: "decals15" **

Important info: Pre-orders for these will end June 26th, 2009. At that time, all orders for decals will go to the printer/cutter. Expect a delivery time of 2 weeks after June 26th to allow for printing and shipping (possibly sooner).

 

 
If there is a color you'd like for the full-color frames (not the flat cut vinyl frames), but you don't see it above, let me know and I might be able to fit in a custom order for you. :-)

:-)

All fixed. :-)

:(

If you are trying to access my Kitschy Digitals {Goods} store, I've totally screwed it up... I'm working on it now to "fix" it. SNIFF! :( (For those of you with Big Cartel shops, I had no idea changing the "theme" of your shop, changes it indefinitely!! UGH! there's no reverting back.)

:::::: cry! ::::::

:-(

Decals are a *go* and Attention Photographers!

I'm so excited but after working out some printing kinks over the past week, these Picture Frame vinyl decals are a go! I've decided to do these on a Pre-Order basis at first since I'm sort of testing the waters on these. (not testing the product, testing my customers! :-) This is a new experience for me, so I want to be sort of conservative with the way I approach it and I feel like this is the best way.

And it's GREAT for those of you that are interested in these, because you can tell me exactly what you want! :-) When I say "pre-order" that basically means that I don't have the product in stock yet. So you will be able to select what you want, complete your purchase (you will still pay the full amount plus shipping) and then you will receive your product in a couple weeks. (Possibly sooner, depending on where you live.)

I will be taking pre-orders for *one full week*. If I have to extend that time to fulfill a minimum order at the printer, I will let you know. I can give you more details on this once I get the decal listings in my shop. Once we do this first big order, I can decide how I want to sell these in the future and if I can keep stock on a regular basis in my shop(s).

In the meantime, I'm looking for some beautiful interior shots from any photographers out there that might be willing to do a "trade" of some sort. I'd love for customers to see how these decals will look on the wall, but I (like most) can't afford to buy decals and put them directly on walls for lots interior shots. lol! I would, but my home doesn't have good light for photographing. Also, that would get expensive! :-)

Alot of decal sellers super-impose their decal artwork onto photographs of interiors which I think for the most part works great. SOOOO, I'm offering 50% off my decals if you are a photographer and you have an interior shot that you would let me use for advertising purposes. They would mostly be used in my shop listings (I'll probably be selling these in my Etsy and Kitschy Digitals {Goods} Shops.) If you have any other ideas, I'm open to those too! I'm open to trading anything in any of my shops... let's make a deal. ;-) I of course would want it to be *fair* for both parties, so I'm open to options!

I hope to have the decal pre-orders up this week. There will be lots of choices of styles of frames, and also lots of color choices. There will be the full-color three-dimensional looking frames and also some flat cut-vinyl choices, as you can see in the above shot with the little girls and the wardrobe. I LOVE the look of mixing the two together! :-)

Here's what will be available for pre-order... I will have exact color options for you for the flat cut-vinyl silhouettes later this week. LOTS of colors! :-) (remember, that colors on your monitor will never match exactly what printed material will look like... this will give you an idea. BUT I have colorized these images using Pantone Color Bridge, so if you need Pantone numbers to see EXACTLY how the color will look in person, I can give you that. What you see on your monitor will give you a very good idea though. :-) The gold frames are actually from the original full color photographs that I took. So there will be no pantone colors available for those.)

Let me know if you have any questions! Also, email me at thousandclowns (AT) yahoo.com if you'd like me to add you to my email list for notification of when these pre-orders will be up... I'm planning for this week! Email me at the same address if you are a photographer with interior shots! :-)

**Edited to add: If there is a color that you'd like to see the full-color frames in that you don't see here, I might can add a few custom orders depending on how many orders I get this week. If you have a general idea of a color, email me at the above email address, or even better, if you have access to a Pantone Book, you can give me exact colors.**

decal update & NYC

I've been meaning to post about NYC this week but I've been so busy getting caught up... just wanted to give you guys a little picture frame wall decal update. :-) These things have been quite the adventure! WOW. Thank you to all of those that have been interested in these and have been so patient in waiting. At the beginning I was sort of taking my time, but now I'm like READY for these to be done so I can get them in the shop! :-) I know alot of you are actually waiting on them (which is awesome!)..

BUT I really want them to be perfect and since they aren't the standard flat cut-vinyl decals that you normally see (although I will be doing some of those too), they are actually 4 color process printing, so I want them RIGHT. So I've been going through a few sample prints from the printer and ironing out the kinks. I'm hoping by next week we'll have it nailed down. I'm just really finicky about print quality, and something that the average person might not mind, bothers me. Not to mention, this is one of the larger projects I've ever worked on for my shop(s) and much more of an investment, so I naturally want it to be RIGHT the first time. So just know, they will look great when they're ready!

Hopefully, the final print run will run smoothly (and fast) and I can get them in the shop ASAP. It's hard because I'm a one-woman-show around here (aren't most of us? :-)... and I have so many other projects going on simultaneously, not to mention, my priority, my family! And just taking the time to enjoy the summer and do fun stuff with the kids.

So bare with me! Here's a pic of some sample prints that I got from the printer today... for proof that I am actually working on these. lol! ;-)

NYC was GREAT!! It's always a bit daunting when I go on a really fun trip like this, and I want to do a blog post about it, but there's just so MUCH to say. :-) It was so great on so many levels, mostly a trip that I just REALLY needed. Things have been so hectic around here (mostly my fault because I seem to have WAY too much on my plate these days!! Totally self-imposed though!) and you know how you just get in that tunnel-vision mindset in your day-to-day life ("ok, i've got to get this, and this, and this done TODAY and then tomorrow, there's this and this and this...") and you don't just step back to remember. "Hey, I really need to take the time to ENJOY myself and RELAX."

That is what this trip provided for me. It was so nice to have just *girl-time* which I really don't get alot of. My free time is spent with my 3 boys... so girl-time is a luxury. ;-) Monica is a good friend of mine (and I know I've talked about her before here)... we might go long periods without seeing each other or even talking (she lives in Birmingham, Alabama), but we start right where we left off. She's a totally chill girl that I love hanging out with! A perfect person to travel with too, which I think is hard to come by. Honestly, there aren't alot of people that I'd want to travel with.

Lol! The sometimes stress of traveling, brings out the worst in some. (WHOA.)

Monica had never been to NYC before (as an "adult") so that was fun revisiting some of the places I've been before so she could see them, and seeing new places that I had never thought of visiting.

When we got in Friday morning, the first thing we did was grab lunch because we were STARVING. Luckily she found some killer restaurant reviews online... and to our benefit, every restaurant was AMAZING.

We ended up doing Italian. It was a fantastic little restaurant called Inoteca (looks like there are 3 locations). It wasn't your typical *heavy* italian food, which I loved. We had a yummy calimari salad for an app and then I had the lasagna. Insanely rich. And not TOO MUCH like your typical lasagna would be at an italian place (can you tell there's a real lack of good Italian in Atlanta?)

And *wine*. Can I just say that I don't drink much for the simple fact that I'm ALWAYS so tired and drinking  just makes me tired and usually grumpy(er)? But on this trip I drank. Alot. And it was so nice. Lol! Well, "alot" is relative for me. ;-) It was so nice to sit back and drink some really good wine in the middle of the day. And to eat a meal slowly, instead of scarfing everything down as fast as possible because I have a terrible-two-year-old pitching a tantrum. THAT was a GIFT! :-)

Then, we of course had to make a bee-line over to Soho to Purl and Purl Patchwork (I think it was here first, that or the Garment District!). It was so cool to get to see these stores that send a newsletter to my inbox every week or so. They are so inspiring! And the staff at both places were so nice and helpful. First we hit Purl....

 

 

 

Cute window displays... above is the GLORIOUS Babette Blanket that I have the pattern for but have YET to make (Free Time, where art thou?!) 

And the super-cute huge granny square blanket.. that one actually looks doable for someone that lacks free time. ;-)

 

 

Purl Patchwork... this was a real treat. I've ordered fabric from them many times.... I'm sure you've all seen this wall of fabric embroidery hoops. :-)

 

We asked if we could see some of the Liberty of London fabrics in person since they keep them in the back on huge bolts... I actually bought some 1/4 yard bits of 3 patterns... SWOON! :-) I hope to use them in that paper piecing quilting method I mentioned... I bought 3 that are on the wall above.. can you guess which ones?

After that we did Tinsel Trading (of course!) and M & J Trimmings which I had never been to. Um, *whoa*. That place was a Mecca! I got tons of awesome trims and ribbons for some future Blythe Headbands. I'll have to post some photos of my loot.

That night Monica mentioned that we should go to the Rainbow Room at the top of Rockefeller Plaza. It's super over-rated, but she heard that there's an incredible view. So I was game. Boy, we didn't know what we were in for. 

- Alot of old rich ladies and old rich men

- A swingin' band playing

- VERY overpriced drinks ($20 for a coffee? oh yes.)

- REALLY bad service

- And the view wasn't even that good. It rained all day friday (but we were ok with our travel umbrellas!), so the view was foggy at best!

We got a good laugh out of the experience. This is what was going on at the OTHER side of the Rainbow Room. We didn't quite fit in to say the least. ;-) But it was a hoot to watch.

 

 

The view, although foggy, was cool to see nonetheless..

Saturday we did a yummy brunch at Cousin John's Cafe & Bakery in Park Slope (we totally fell in love with this area) and then went to Renegade and it was amazing.. just a HUGE event. We went to Renegade in Chicago 2 years ago and this one was way bigger. I saw TONS of things that I loved, lots of things that inspired, and lots of people/shops that I know (from afar) online.. so cool to see/meet them in person. I didn't take many pics at the festival, but you can see some posted in the 2009 Brooklyn Renegade Flickr set here! :-)

After Renegade, we retreated from the heat at the Brooklyn Brewery which was in walking distance from the festival. Quite a different scene from the hipsters at Renegade... the Brew Pub was more of a frat party scene. But great beer! And I'm not a beer person... but it was good. :-) Monica, Ethan and Monica's boyfriend (and our college friend) Casey are big beer connoisseurs... they all home-brew, so they love going to these breweries. Ethan shed a small tear that his wife got to go before he did. ;-)

After that, we went to the base of the Brooklyn Bridge for pizza. Then walked the bridge at sunset. I've been to NYC many times, but have never walked the bridge. Totally worth it! And especially beautiful at sunset!

We were determined to get the Bridge in the background of this photo.. hard to do when you're doing the hold-your-camera-out thing. But we got it!

 

This little stranger decided he wanted to be in our photo. :-)

Me and my ginormous camera bag and my horridly-humidity-tormented hair... i could NOT believe how humid it was there! i live in the South. It's HOT here. But it was awfully hot there too. This photo was not totally in focus (poor Monica had to use my monster of a camera!)... but good for documentation. ha-ha.

 

 

 

 

Then Sunday, we went to *another* amazing brunch, this time at Freeman's. This place was sooo cool inside. Rustic and whimsical. And yes, with lots of taxidermy (well mostly mounted heads) on the walls. I don't know if it's the craft-world's obsession with animal images, but I just LOVED this part of the restaurant. Totally endearing. (Unless you're not a fan.)

And the food WAS INCREDIBLE. And I had the most amazing cocktail. I want to make it at home! I wish i knew what was in it.. I can't find it on their online menu. It was called a "Gypsy Rose".

 

This wall was right near where we sat. There were photos of Presidents underneath.

 

 

After that, we didn't have a whole lot of time before our flight, but we were able to make it to a Vintage Clothing sale that we received a flyer for. Sounded cool, so we checked it out!

It was in a basement of a building with the most amazing graffiti art on the walls. The clothes were equally amazing (along with some equally amazing price tags. Who knew vintage could be so expensive. ;-)

I didn't see anything that I could afford but I did see an amazing Mod Pose Doll that I picked up to see if she was for sale, and the salesgirl gave me an eat-$%@-and-die-look when I asked her if it was for sale. Guess not. ;-) Wish I had gotten a photo!

 

 

So that was our trip! We could've used another day (there's just SO much to do!) but we'll save it for the next time we go. I love that city. I have to admit every time I go, i fall in love (especially with Brooklyn - er, parts of it at least!), and think "wouldn't it be fun to live here?", but then i spend ALOT of time riding the subway, getting lost, riding in hot taxi cabs, getting stuck in NYC traffic and I remember that I LOVE having my car. :-)

It's so funny just the dichotomy between the people that live in NYC and the people that live in my city. Not to generalize, but it's different. :-) Going from LaGuardia to Atlanta's Hartsfield airport is like a culture shock in itself. :-) I have to say that hanging out in NYC even for a couple days will make you want to go on a crash diet. ;-) Even the men are super skinny. It was nice to see the pleasantly plump Southerners when we got home and feel a little bit more "normal" ;-) It's always good to be home!

Packing & Horses

So I need to be packing right now, but I thought I'd do a quick post before the NYC preparations are in full effect. :-) I'm getting my very first facial today (gift certificate from Ethan for Mother's Day!) at Key Lime Pie, and I'm a bit worried because my skin is CRAZY sensitive and I can just see my luck that my face will be all sorts of screwed up when i go on this trip. oh yes, that would be my luck. :-) But I'm really excited about it!

ok, moving on from that random tidbit...

I wanted to share a few things inspiring me lately...

HORSES!! Actually I've been so into the sort of retro horse thing for a while now... Etsy called it "Equestrian Prep" this week. I actually have big ideas for a horse theme digital kit that I can hopefully pull off in the next couple weeks. I've been so sidetracked by Blythe Headbands and Wall Decals (and that thing called Life & Kids!!)) that my digital design has been neglected. I'm ready to get back into it full-swing. If i would just stop coming up with new ideas that I have to follow through with (um, tiny-sized headbands and wall decals anyone?) then i could get digi-focused again!! :-) I've got SO many ideas swirling in my head for new kits. I can't wait.

Ok, back on the horse-train...

One of my crochet necklaces that I made last summer (I miss making these.. wish they weren't so time consuming!)

 

This baby was hard to part with...

 

My Prize Ribbon kit....

I've been obsessed with finding vintage horse embroidery patterns... luckily, Gina from Doe-c-Doe has so generously shared her patterns with us here and here. I'm SO doing these!! (thinking positively right?! Finding free time? hard thing, man. :-)

 

Make sure to check out Gina's Etsy shop as well where she shares her vintage inspired jewelry and amazing embroideries! She's insanely talented! Just look at this and this!!! OMG! :-)

Here's some vintage horse embroidery goodness from Etsy...

 

And this purse is to.die.for. Wish I could spring that price tag! :-)

 

I am *LOVING* this vintage horse fabric on this little girl's dress!! ADORE!

 

And as always, I'm in love with Kinchi's vintage horse fabric children's clothing... :-) She is so brilliant.

 

I scored these for Cam many months ago. :-)

Here are some gorgeous horse embroideries on Flickr...

this one by La La Laurrenn...

To die for vintage embroideries...

 

These equally to-die-for horse cross-stitch pieces...

 

(i have plans to make some cross-stitch patterns for Kitschy Digitals {Goods} and a cross-stitch themed digital kit! can't wait!)

Thanks for rolling around in the vintage horse inspired goodness with me. I think what draws me to these icons and images is that they remind me of my childhood where I spent alot of time at my grandparents' home, out in the country, where horses could be seen in the pasture.. I was always the grandchild that wanted to go ride the neighbor's horses. My cousins were never quite as enthused. ;-) I used to ask, and ask, and ask. And I always wanted to own my own horse and "ride" in competitions. I'm not sure if it was the idea of getting to wear those cool equestrian outfits or what.. it just all seemed so grand and romantic. 

And speaking of, I've been equally obsessed with finding horses for my Blythe. It's a strange thing with dolls that have such big freaking heads, finding the right "scale" of props to go with her. :-) I'm pretty sure all of the Rement and other props are 1:12 scale. So I found some toy horses that are at that scale, but i also realize that my dolls' heads are going to look freaking huge next to those small horse heads. Lol! But if I get a larger horse, then their bodies will look too small for the horse! lol. Dilemnas, dilemnas. I know, such things to worry about. ;-)

So i went with the 1:12 scale and we'll see how it goes. :-) Photos to come! Riding outfits and all! I guess I can live my "riding dream" through my dolls. Heh, heh. ;-)

I looked at local stores like Target and Wal-Mart and couldn't believe how hard it was to find a "normal" looking horse... all of the horses for Barbie (and yes, even Bratz and Hannah Montana!!!) were so strange looking. They were too stylized. I just wanted some regular old vintage style horses.

World Wide Web to the rescue.

Unfortunately i get this odd looking doll with this one. ;-)

 

ok, off to pack!! will be back with lots of NYC pics! Have a great weekend!

**oops! edited to add.. looks like Blythe is 1:6 scale (der.) So these would be too small correct? (i don't *get* scale and numbers. lol! Call me dumb. That is ok.) These (or one of them) is yes, a Breyer horse. So all i could find is a 1:9 scale horse from Breyer. No 1:6 scale. Maybe I'll try that?**

***oops! take that back! Just found a 1:6 scale horse! YAAAAY!! :-)***

Blythe Headband Tiny Bazaar shop update

These headbands will be available in my Tiny Bazaar Etsy shop at 11am Eastern USA time, tomorrow, June 3rd if you're interested! :-)