Sunday, December 5, 2010

Holiday Spirits are Rising!


My 20% off sale went well and now I have 3 Multi-Pack orders to work on. (Thanks Holly M., Stacy M., and Christina R.!) I'm printing out my customers' cards right now, under the mistletoe... well, not quite, but I did decorate my place last night. (see above)

I also finished up the latest addition to my store, all-new Christmas gift tag designs. I have a new 3-pack and also a customizable "from Santa" tag. Just send me your child's name and let me know how many tags you'd like and I'll create a reserved listing just for you to purchase in the shop.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63670111/christmas-gift-tags-set
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63671122/customized-christmas-gift-tags

Friday, November 26, 2010

20% OFF and more at The Nancydraws Shop

Hello!

Can you believe that December is almost here and that 2010 will soon be over? I have been preparing The Nancydraws Shop for the holiday season and wanted to be sure that all of my friends and fans know that I will be offering a shop-wide, five-day sale from Sunday, 11/28 through Thursday, 12/2.

When you shop during this sale, you will automatically get 20% OFF of everything in the shop, plus free shipping on all orders!

Please be sure to stop by: http://sancynam.etsy.com/ and spread the word!

Thanks & Happy Shopping!
Nancy

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New Goals

I have taken on some tasks for the fall to achieve more creative momentum, and so far things are looking good. I am in week four of Etsy.com's "Holiday Boot Camp." Each week, participants are given a business-related article or two to read and a list of shop-tweaking tasks to complete in order to get everyone ready for the online shoppers who will be browsing for unique and creative items on Etsy. I'm also working on a few new items to post in my shop. This past week we were asked to update our bio or public profile, which was helpful because it is similar to my other big fall goal: applying for the NYFA grant.

The application for the grant is going to be much more challenging, a 700-word resume and 200-word artist's statement is required, along with eight examples of my work from the past 5 years. Selecting the work examples is no problem; luckily I have more than eight images to choose from. I am planning on getting started on the writing next week, some kind of rough draft. I know I am probably the world's best expert on myself and my artwork but I think explaining that in 700 words is going to be difficult!


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Custom Bonanza!


As promised, I am revealing last Sunday's source of awesome inspiration.... a wedding card for my friends Holly and Craig, who got married in Las Vegas early in March!

Holly had worn a headband with devil horns and a veil for her bachelorette party. That headband sparked the idea... I feel that Holly and Craig have a devilish nature in common, so I drew this cartoon portrait of them as devils and did a little play on words: "Devils May Care," to state their obvious love and care for each other, but also to indicate their quickly pulled together (but well-thought out) nuptials.

I had this image in my head for a few weeks before having the time to execute it, so I'm pleased with how it turned out, and so are the newlyweds.


Baluchi's, one of the restaurants that I illustrated for the Park Slope Reader's restaurant review asked to purchase a print of my artwork! You must stop by some some of their delicious Indian cuisine and to check out the print, everyone is really nice there. I am very flattered to have this print displayed in the restaurant. I also added a small caption to let people know it was published in the Winter 2009-10 issue, along with my credit. I am working on getting in touch with other managers at restaurants that I have illustrated in the neighborhood to see if they would like to purchase prints.






I re-purposed one of my existing illustrations to give as a retirement greeting card to a nurse at my allergist's office. She's been working at that office since before I started going for treatment there and I'll really miss seeing her. I personalized the inside with her name and the message "Congratulations on your retirement!" In the future, I may offer this card in The Nancydraws Shop.







Sunday, March 28, 2010

From My Brain to the Page!

I really love it when I have an image or an idea in my mind and I can get it exactly as I imagine it onto a piece of paper and into the world without a glitch!

Believe me, this is a rare occurrence. Usually it takes me a few drafts, centimeters from my eraser, turns with the pencil sharpener, and layers of tracing paper to get the art to look the way I want. More often than not, I either can't seem to make it as great as I imagined it in my mind's eye, so I have to compromise, or I didn't have a clear enough vision of what I wanted until I started sketching.

The drawing that inspired me to write this blog entry happened just an hour or so ago. I really am pleased and surprised with how easily it flowed from my mind to my pencil. The image has been floating around in my imagination for a few weeks and I just could not let it go until I made it real. I wish it was always that easy and quick.

Unfortunately I can't go into much detail about what the image is or what inspired it for reasons that I don't want to give away right now. I will be able to share all later in the week!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Road trip greeting card

One of my fellow volunteers at God's Love We Deliver, Jicky, has been planning to leave on a year-long, cross-country road trip this month and another fellow volunteer asked if I would create a custom card for her send-off party that the rest of the volunteers could sign. Luckily, Jicky had already e-mailed me a photo of her pickup truck with a camper attached which I was able to use as reference for my drawing.

Her ultimate goal is to make a visit to each of the continuous 48 states over the course of the year, so I drew arrows to indicate her routes in many directions. I was going for the feeling of asphalt by using the purplish-gray, crackled texture in the map portion of the image.






The inside of the card reads: Have a great drive, Jicky, we'll be cheering you on!



Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I've been forced into a transition of sorts, my day-job/perma-lance gig has cut back on the amount of hours they need me to be on schedule each month, which is really hurting my income. Of course, I am glad to still have some kind of income but it definitely makes me nervous, knowing I will need to find other sources very soon to be able to bring home enough money. My illustration work hasn't been a big money producer in the past but I am always working on that and hoping for a break.

The change in my situation means that I have some more time now, to work on my ideas and projects, but I also need that time to send out resumes, make phone calls and search online for new possible freelance gigs for the near future.

Its been quite a while since I've had to make those calls to search out gigs and connections. It is something that makes me feel uncomfortable, but I know that the more I reach out and communicate with new contacts, the more my confidence will build ... for a sustainable period of time, I hope.

I had a moment of inspiring thought as I considered all of these things. I was calling a few staffing agencies to whom I'd sent my resume last week, and as I heard myself explaining what I was looking for, I realized I sounded very professional and together, adding to my feelings of confidence! So, I am enjoying the fact that it currently feels more exciting to be in the position that I ma in, as far as where else I might find work and what my new connections will lead to. I always feel better about these things when I begin to take some sort of action.

All of this does not take away from the fact that I'd rather be drawing right now, I think I've made my point ... stay inspired until my next post!