Merry Christmas from BdoodleZ

Wherever life may find you this Christmas, I hope that Christmas can be a time of great happiness in your life!

A special thanks to all those who have contributed to the success of BdoodleZ this year!

Christmas Tag Special Going on Now!

Get a great deal on wonderful hand-made gift tags at my online shop: http://www.bdoodlez.com/

Here's the scoop:

Buy Multiple sets of Christmas Gift Tags and save:

2 Sets: save 10% ***
3 Sets: save 20% ***

4 or more Sets: save 30% ***

Please note discount on tag prices only (shipping at full price)

TO SAVE: Just purchase the multiple items and pay as normal. I will refund the savings via pay pal after payment is recieved.

Long Cold Days in the BdoodleZ World

These "Blue Puffs" remind of the hazy blue days of winter that seem to have descended down permanently on my little neck of the world. With frenzied home improvements, out-of town family visitors, extra activities, and nagging colds, the days seem longer somehow, or at least busier. I like the idea of simply slowing down. My "Blue Puffs" design in its elegant simplicity seems to just fit the mood!

Hope your winter blues are keeping you smiling!

Travel Friday: Rock of Cashel, Ireland

My trip to Ireland was full of so many wonderful moments. On our first full day there we went to the famous rock of Cashel. It was incredible to be transported back in time and amoung the ruins of this incredible landmark. Being a fan of great architecture, I love finding amazing details like this celtic shaped cut out.

Introducing Create Your Own Variety Packs!

My BdoodleZ shop is busting at the seams with Christmas Cards and Tags. With 12 different Christmas Card designs alone, it can be hard to choose just one... Now you don't have to. With my newly introduced "Create Your Own" Christmas Variety set, you can pick and choose to create the perfect combination of your favorites!

Or purchase my preset variety pack that includes all 12 designs and is offered at a great SPECIAL Christmas Price.

Looking for cards with messages inside? Chose from any of my single design message card sets, also listed at SPECIAL Christmas prices.

Check it all out at: www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Treasury Spotting

My Autumn Tree Parade Cards are featured in a wonderful treasure showcasing sale items! Check out all the great deals:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=32398

AUTUMN SALE!

Thanks to my "printing bonanza" for my Craft Show, I now have some left over stock of some of my fall card sets. My overplanning is your lucky find. Select Autumn designs are now on sale at BdoodleZ! Check out my sale section to see what great cards are available. But act quick, once I sell out my stock, the fall collection is gone for the season!

www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Great Weekend at the Craft Fair

Wanted to post a little thanks to all the great people who made my appearance at the craft fair success. I met so many wonderful people and was overwhelmed with the compliments about my cards! You made all my hard work and preparations worth it! So thankful for two great days!

BdoodleZ is Featured in a Treasury!

Thanks so much to lovealwaysxox for including me in her beautiful miracle themed treasury on etsy! Come check out the whole collection of great artists!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18945

Its Showcase day for BdoodleZ!

October is officially over and it is not too soon to start thinking about sending out Christmas cards and decorating packages! The Holiday Cards and Wrap showcase is a great way to get yourself into the spirit!

Come and See what cards and tags I have feautured!

http://www.etsy.com/showcase.php?showcase_id=holiday_special&utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=SCHolidayWrap

Travel Friday

Paris, France Oct. 2006
L'Arc di Triomphe

Paris in Autumn. What a beautiful city! I could hardly believe that I was actually there. The weather was amazing. The sun shone brillantly. And the sites from my architecture books came alive.

I love this photo taken of L'Arc di Triomphe. After stopping at the market earlier in the day to pick up some good french treats, we decided to have our picnic at the base of the Arch. It was Paris at its finest!

The Doodle Story

Today's featured doodled is my "vertical daisy" design. This doodle was not originally drawn to be a card. It was a doodle from way back when in one of my older doodle books. When I firsted started making cards out of my doodles, I went back through the old books to see what designs could maybe make good cards, and this was one.
My first BdoodleZ cards were solely black and white so this design was featured without any color. After I began doing colorized cards, I decided to make my flower note cards available in color too. Depending on the amount of hatching adding color can often take a long time. My newer designs are drawn with coloring in mind, so spaces between lines (for example) are often spread out well enough to allow for the color. But the hatching for the daisies was extremely close. So to achieve the color affect I had to digitally erase a lot of the hatching in the grass... a very time consuming process. But well worth it because I love the final result!

Check out this flower design and three other unique flower cards sold together in a four set of note cards: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10889555

BdoodleZ Place Cards Set a Perfect Table

Give your thanksgiving table a special finish with unique place cards. They are the perfect inexpensive way to add a festive touch!

Come check them out today! www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Travel Friday

The beauty of these branches dancing in the light could take my breath away. While this photo, taken in the park by Ports Head Lighthouse outside of Portland, Maine, cannot compare to the real thing, I hope it captures the spirit of the beautiful surrounds of our trip.

Upcoming Craft Show Appearance

What's new in BdoodleZ world... card production, and lots of it! I am getting ready for my only craft show of the season and it is a biggie! So my humble home has been transformed into a full blown card factory as I print, fold, package, and stack.

Live in the area and want to see my goods in person? Come to the show:

St. Gabriel School's "Christmas in the Country"
Nov. 7 6pm - 9:30 pm
Nov. 8 9am - 4 pm

9935 Johnnycake Ridge Rd.
Concord Township, OH 44060

Hope to see you there!

Crazy About Tags!

Tags are fun, inexpensive, and the perfect way to dress up a package in a flash. And they are not only good for gifts check out these other ideas for tag uses:

* Decorate packages by recycling brown paper grocery bags, but dress it up with a cute tag... less waste

* Tie a blank tag around the bottom of a wine goblet to create an instant place card for a dinner table

* Tie tags around the tops of cello bags to cinch them closed when create party favors or cookie bags

* Attach a tag to the stem of a single flower as a simple "I Love You"

* Hang tags from an artificial Christmas tree to create lightweight ornaments (please note tags could be damaged by water)

* String lights along a picture window and then hang tags from it for an instant creative decoration!

* Use tags as clue markers for a hidden treasure hunt or a Secret Santa game.

* Write notes on the tags and tuck them into stockings for little stuffers

* Give a package to a friend, they do make the perfect gift!

Start shopping today: www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Travel Friday

I didn't post a "Travel Friday" last week because I was in Maine. So what better photo to post this week, than one from Maine!!!!





The weather in Maine was wonderfully mild, the trees were at the perfect point of color change, and the days were sunny: overall it was a picture perfect trip. One of my favorite stops was Ports Head Lighthouse just outside of the city of Portland.

Not only was the lighthouse beautiful it was situated in the most amazing park. The grounds were arranging perfectly for walking. After spending some time around the lighthouse, we decided to take a nice amble around the park, walking along the large rock formations that hugged the coastline and ducking under vibrant red branches. I couldn't have painted a more ideal picture!

Come Checkout my BdoodleZ page on Facebook!

I've joined Facebook (and it is too fun for words). In addition to reconnecting with so many friends, I've created a page just for BdoodleZ. Why check it out? It will be the place to give reviews, discuss BdoodleZ topics, and of course link it to your own page.

Check it out today!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BdoodleZ-Cards-and-Design/49188391072

The Doodle Story

I am back! After a much needed little long weekend away, and am trying to get back in the bdoodlez groove again. It is Wednesday, and that means "Doodle Story" day.

As you may have read in my blog footer, or profile on Etsy, the doodles never began as cards, but were rather a more organized way of doing the random doodles so many of us do. I have several books filled with doodles (most of which will most like never make it to the cover of a card). My potted sunflowers design is one that came straight from those books.

This very random and intricate design had to go through a lot of transformation to become a card. It had to be cropped to fit the right proportions and color needed to be added. The particular challenge of this design was all the tiny lines, which each need to be filled in individually... a very time consuming process indeed!

The result? A happy and colorful design, perfect for sending some cheer... especially was the weather begins to cool!

Check it out today! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11308231

Treasury Spotting!

I have just found myself in another treasury! Thanks so much wagscreations!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=13887

Come and have a look!

I Just Joined Twitter!!!!

Unfortunately I have no idea what I am doing...
But I am sure I will get the hang of it eventually...

Come check me out:
http://twitter.com/BdoodleZ

Give Love to the Single Card!

Have you been admiring BdoodleZ from afar but have been hesitant to take the plunge and buy a whole set of cards? NO NEED! BdoodleZ offers several cards that you can purchase individually. But act soon, once their postings expire, they may not reappear!

Shop today: http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com/

Hello Monday!

Took a little break from blogging this weekend. I have been so entrenched in all my bdoodlez production needs at the moment, I needed to make sure I took some time for me too!

The "Great Christmas Launch" of 2008 is almost complete... (though I am sure a few stray new designs will pop up here and there).

Have you checked out the collection yet?

http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com/

Another Treasury Spotting!

I happy to share that my Christmas Pines Cards made it into a lovely Tree-themed treasury.

Come and check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=12869

Travel Friday

Paris, France... known for its great architecture, its wonderful museums, restaurants and cafes and so much more! I loved so many things about Paris. Of course the famous sites were incredible. I loved Notre-Dame, L'arc di Triomphe, and the Louvre... but I also loved so many of the "2nd tier" sites too...

This shot is from the incredible church: St. Chapelle, the church that houses Christ's Crown of Thorns. The church, though nondescript from the exterior is just amazing inside. I loved the glow that came from its amazing stained glass window!

Busy Week for Bdoodlez

Its been a busy week in BdoodleZ world. It was a marathon weekend til monday afternoon, when (with a little help with final touches) I finally finished the bulk of the wedding invites I've been working on. (Now on to thank you cards).

Once that was finished I could finally start focusing on my upcoming Christmas Craft Show and the launch of my Christmas line on Etsy. AND I have had some time to be creative too!

Come check out all my designs as I post them at www.bdoodlez.etsy.com.

The Doodle Story

One of my fall favorites is my "Apple Basket" design.

This doodle started out like many of my card designs as an idea in my head that I then tried to bring to life through pen and ink. The original finished doodle however, did not quite look like the ones you see above. In my original drawing the sky was much different. I went through the entire card design process, printed it out and showed it to my hubby, who declared that the sky didn't look quite right... although I agreed, the idea of changing the doodle now, after all the work I had already put in, wasn't the most appealing to me.

I took his advice to heart, grabbed my roll of trace, and redrew the entire sky. Changing a doodle once scanned and edited is NOT easy, it takes a lot of time consuming patch work to join two designs... but in the end I am so happy I took that time! Not only do I love the end result, but it has been one of my most popular fall cards!

The final chapter of the stories, comes from the evolution of the card product itself. Originally listed in my shop as just a greeting card, at the suggestion of a super cool customer, I created a tag version of the card as well! Come check out this little duo of apple delight!

LAST DAY!!! DON'T DELAY!!!

My free gift offer ends today! Take advantage of this great offer before it disappears!

http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

September and the Squirrels!

I love living in the country! We have a large wooded yard and yesterday the critters were out in full force! The birds were going nuts yesterday. I watched these little ones climb up and down this large round tree... and then outside my kitchen window a whole clan of birds (sparrows maybe? I am very bad with bird types) was nibbling away at the bugs in the front planting bed!


But the best was the squirrels. As we sat on the couch eating our lunch we could see this one little fellow going back and forth collecting his nuts for winter!! I had never really seen this process before. Sure I have seen squirrels with nuts in their mouths... but this guy was grabbing GREEN ones... (like a nut with its casing around it)... the he would nibble off all the green (the time I saw it he was perched on a little stump) and once completed then run off to his stash! It was so crazy cute to watch!


So, in honor of the little squirrel, I am posting one of my only animal designs. There is no squirrel among them... but they are cute!





Have a Happy Monday!

The great Christmas Launch has begun!

After the wise opinions of my greater etsy community, I have learned that it is NOT too early to start posting my Christmas tags and cards! Custom Christmas cards were the core start of my business and I am thrilled to begin posting my designs on etsy!





Buy now to take advantage of my free gift offer before it expires!
http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Free Gift Time At BdoodleZ...Only 5 Days Left!!!

Don't Delay! Stock up on cards, tags, and gifts today!
Spend just $5.00 and earn your free gift today!

Start shopping now: www.bdoodlez.etsy.com

Travel Friday

Today I take you to the streets of the small town of Evora, Portugal.

Evora was not a planned stop on our Spain and Portugal trip, but we are so glad we did! After deciding to rent a car and drive to our main Portuguese destination (Fatima) instead of taking a bus or train, we eagerly took out our guide to find a "fun" and "interesting" town in which to make a stopping point.

The photo of this church was captured in the early morning. It was January, so the air was crisp and cool. I love how the sunlight filtered through the trees and illuminated the facade. It was "picture perfect".

The Doodle Story

WATERLILIES: PART II

For this week's "Doodle Story" I am doing a follow up to last-week's "Waterlilies" cards (see my blog archive if you missed it).

The mini-recap: I created a waterlily card based on a forged iron waterlily from a talented artist: my dad! I was able to get a photo of my dad's awesome forged lily. How do you think my cards compare to the original?

For more info about the forged piece you can contact the artist:

Marc Yanko of the Creek Bottom Forge

cbforge@hotmail.com

To order the waterlily cards go to my online store:

http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com/

More than Just Cards!

Did you know that BdoodleZ sells more than just greeting cards?

I have gift tags, note cards, place cards and KEY CHAINS!!!!

My Keychains feauture my doodled designs encased in plastic manufactuered in the USA!

Check them out at http://www.bdoodlez.etsy.com/

Fall Day Fun

I love living in the country! (even though it gets bit more citified every day it seems). Hubby and I took a drive on the back roads before heading to my high school alma mater for their annual chicken dinner. (this devout organic eater put her "rules" asside to support the nuns and their fund raiser!) It was fun walking the halls of the place where dreams were just being formed. (And getting to see an old favorite teacher/drama director who pushed you to the limits to be the best you could be).

My high school was more than a school , it was a campus... with acres upon acres of trees, cows roaming the field below the building, and beautiful views to be seen all around. And maybe it was being there in that "back to school" atmosphere, or maybe just the trees themselves, but for some reason yesterday just really felt like fall.

My little card below: Autumn Tree Parade, celebrates fall and the dancing of the trees.

May your week be filled with happy fall moments!

Featured Artist: Meet Angela from "The Bauble Garden"

Like the sandy beaches of Cape Cod where she resides and the lush green of the landscapes she works on, the designs of "The Bauble Garden" are as beautiful as the the nature that inspires them.

Angela Tanner is the creator of the lovely treasures you will find in her shop. Trained in both architecture and landscape design, Angela is more than just a landscape architect, she is an artist, a writer, a dreamer... Her designs are whimsical and fun. From jewelry, to photo albums, to little onesies, each object she creates reflects her playful style.

Check out some of her beautiful designs:

These Raindrop Dangles and this adorable Happy Pup Onesie (along with more wonderful designs) are for sale now at Angela's online store:

http://www.baublegarden.etsy.com/

So what is new for Angela? She is busy working on new designs inspired by nature. Including this lovely pair of Orchid inspired earrings:

Want to meet Angela for yourself? She will at a few local craft fairs this fall:

Coonamessett Farm in Hatchville, November 15-16

Waldorf School in Bourne, November 22

(check her out here at an Etsy collaborative booth!)

Want to learn more? Visit her website: http://www.thebaublegarden.com/

I couldn't end my profile of Angela without having her answer a fun question:

What is your favorite dessert?

Her Reply: "My favorite dessert is chocolate truffles. I make them myself sometimes with ancho chili pepper, they are spicy and sweet and so good."

Now that is one talented gal!

I am featured in a treasury!

I was happily surprised to find my apple basket cards featured in a treasury. Thanks so much fourrosies!

Click here to check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=9828

Travel Friday

Today I chose a U.S. sight... Since my last photo seemed blurry, I wanted to test out a picture of a building... because I knew it was crisp by nature. (Not sure if the trees in my last post just made things seem blurry)

Here it is:





This photo is of a super cool theater in Celebration, FL. (a stop on an anniversary trip my hubby and I took last January). I wanted to stop in Celebration because it is a New Urbanist town. As an architecture major I was fascinated with new urbanism. I went from loving it (what better than idealized small towns), to hating it (a horrible example of gentrification) to somewhere in the middle... One of the things I do love about New Urbanism is the fact that "towns" are created, not just housing developments.

This day in January was the actual day of our anniversary... the weather was mild, and sunny... the perfect afternoon for exploring a fun town!

For more info about new urbanism check out the book:
The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community by Peter Katz

Interested in another New Urbanism fact... Unless I am mistaken the movie "Truman Show" was taped in a New Urbanism town... Seaside, FL.