My Weblog

Help! My mind is too crowded!

Yes I am asking for help! I am in a zone that is hard to get out of... the crowded mind zone! I have been burning the candle at two ends these days and well it just nipped me in the bud yesterday. I recently put out an ad in the Total Art Licensing magazine and like a person with a brain cramp forgot to put in my contact info!!!!

How could I forget my contact info?? and what would be the consequence of that?? Well lets see... could you still just Google my name and find me?? Well yes of course!! I know that it was completely stupid of me not to put my contact info in the ad but lets be frank, in this day and age you can Google anything and get the info you need!

I would hope the savvy Creative Director or VP of Product development would know how to Google my name if they wanted to find me...I mean come on in this day when everyone's lives seem so transparent because of Twitter and Facebook you gotta find me!

So after I banged my head on my desk a few times.. gave myself a time out.. I decided in the large scheme of things it was really irrelevant that I didn't place my contact info in the ad..If they want to find me they can find me... just Google me!

I mean I am on Twitter, Facebook, Etsy, and have a blog and a website (which by the way I am working on revamping it needs it bad!) so you can find me!

Ellen

Feeling Blue?

Are the Holidays getting you blue??

Do you feel like its been a rough year and this year you have to be frugal so its starting to cramp your style a bit?

Are you feeling tired, rundown, mentally exhausted from all the activities and shopping and work you have to do right now?

Do you feel like you can't wait for the Holidays to be over?

If you do you are not alone! You have a friend in me!! I have been so strung out lately working hard for my tradeshow coming up in Atlanta in January that I haven't had any real time to enjoy this Holiday season, infact I am actually looking forward for it to be over and that is not me. I love do all the Christmas decorating, and baking and hanging with friends, but not this year. I am too busy trying to create new collections and preparing my booth that I haven't even put out my Christmas lights and its getting closer and closer. I did manage to put up our tree but that was it! I am feeling bad for the kids but this year I just cannot do it all.

I am going to take a break tonight and make those cute tiny gingerbread houses with them out of Graham crackers, but then after that its work, work, work again! Frankly with things tight this year I am really in no mood to celebrate. For years we hosted a big Christmas party with Santa and all and these past two years we had to cut it out of our budget, and while I know the kids are sad about it, it just doesn't make sense to spend all that money when we could use it elsewhere.

So there you have it folks.. I am feeling the blues! However rest assured I am sure I will be back to my old self before you know it..I mean I am the forever optimist so there is no way this could last that long.

To all my friends out there who are having a hard year also.. know that you are not alone and that together we will overcome whatever comes our way!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Ellen

The Birds are back in town

©Ellen Crimi-Trent

Yes its true!! The birds are back and only for a short time! You can go find them here in my shop, and once they are gone they are not coming back!

However don't fret you can make your own if you like.. just download my pattern Download Tweetholidayornament and start to create your own flock.

I hope you all are getting into the Holiday spirit, although the studio is busy getting ready for the Gift Show in Atlanta I am very excited about all the Holiday parties and events that I will be going to. I am sure you all are busy as well.. enjoy!

Ellen

Holiday Time

Oh its that time of year again.. when people go nuts shopping and kids just count the days til' Santa arrives. This year the Holiday will be much harder for me to handle since right afterwards I am in Atlanta for the International Gift Show. Since this is a relatively new venue for artists who license their work I am sure there will be many major learning curves. I had for years did the Surtex show at the Javits in NY, but found that the same clients were coming year after year and well I didn't need to spend all that money on face time. I am very excited to be doing a tradeshow again, it has been almost 3 yrs now since I have done one and well why not do two shows while I am at it. The second show is Licensing in Vegas in June. I am very excited to be showing at Licensing again not only because of the new Venue but because I get to hang with some of my great peeps like Robin Zingone, a very talented lady and nice one to boot. Robin recently has been recovering from a stroke she had, and boy I am glad to hear things went well, I just couldn't imagine a world without those fabulous funky designs she does!

So I have to leave you and return to creating more collections for the upcoming show, but in the meantime check my shop at the end of the week for some fun Holiday updates!!

Have a great day everyone, and get all your shopping done!

Ellen

Playing around with florals

Happy Friday everyone, I hope everyone is going to have a fun- filled weekend!! I have been busy here in the studio getting ready for my upcoming tradeshow in Atlanta on January 6, 2010. This is the big gift and homefurnishing tradeshow that happens twice a year. Many manufacturers have their permanant showrooms at the Mart and its a great place to have quality face time with some of my clients and potential clients. I will be in the all new Art Licensing section with some of my favorite peeps like Miss Carol Eldridge,BJ Lantz and Two Town Studios.

This show comes right after New Years so I am going to be flat out during the Holidays this year.. I hope my kids can forgive me, especially since my second show in June in Vegas will mean I will miss my little guy's Kindergarten graduation. Also next year's Quilt Market falls on Halloween and I will be there for that, I guess I am not going to get the best Mommy award next year!! Oh well its the nature of the beast I guess and they are lucky enough to see me more than most parents since I work from home and can give them lots of hugs and kisses!

I am also working on some new and exciting Christmas ornaments to put up in my shop after the weekend so stayed tuned for that as well.. I had meant to do it last week but since my 6yr old was sick all weekend with high fevers and my husband was away, I was flat out and could not do anything. It turns out my little guy ended up with strep throat which in the days of Swine Flu was a blessing according to my fabulous pediatrician Dr. Mark Vonnegut, and yes he is the son of the famous Kurt Vonnegut! He is an amazing doctor, the old-fashioned kind that comes to the hospital when you have your babies everyday you are there, such a sweet nature about him its hard to describe, infact my kids love going to his office and seeing him!

So thats it folks for this week, like I said I will be posting my ornaments next week so until then, have a happy, safe and fun weekend!!

xoxox

Ellen

The Rejects-Bird Talk

Hello all, I know its been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy working, and traveling. I just came back from a weekend in NYC to see old college friends which was nice but very exhausting at the same time. I wanted to continue to show the rejects of the fabric lines I create for Clothworks. I am sure that many of you never realize how many prints are actually created for a fabric line. I always shoot to create about 6-8 different actual prints and then do the colorways for them. Here are a few that did not make it into my Spring 10' group Bird Talk.

I am very excited about this collection since it has some of my favorite bird characters. You can find many prints of these fun birds in my shop.

I cannot tell you why I became obsessed with birds this year, maybe its because we have so many here on my property or maybe its just because they are fun to create. I have some more fun birds coming up in my next Fall collection Woodland Friends II and who knows maybe even some more in Spring 11'. Sometimes I just get stuck on a particular character and go with it until I become bored with it, and so far the bird is not boring me.. so you will be seeing more of them! I can tell you I have moved on to creating some other fun animals but that will all be revealed later! Until then enjoy the birds!!

Ellen

Midwinter Garden

Look what I received the other day!! My Midwinter Garden fabric collection! What a great welcome home surprise. I had been on vacation in LA last week and came home to this. I have so many ideas for these fabrics one of which would be a great summer dress. I am not the best sewer so I will have to source that one out.. but I do have some other fun projects I will be making and will be sure to post them!

You can find the collection here at the Clothworks website. I am sure they can tell you what stores near you are carrying it.

Its almost Halloween and I am busy making goodies for the kids school parties and have to still carve out some pumpkins for the actual day.. I hope everyone has a great Halloween!!

xoxox

Ellen

Celebrations book!!

Look its finally here, the book that has some of my designs in it!! I received it on Saturday and what a nice surprise it was. I was contacted from the publisher Rotovision back in the summer, they had seen some of my designs on Print and Pattern blog, and wanted to put them in their graphic book that showcased designs for all celebrations.

They took some of my bird designs for Mother's Day celebrations because I had designed them specifically for that day.

and some fun Halloween cards I did as well.

The book itself is a nice size, about the size of a reading book and the cover while its soft has a nice embossed design on it. There are some many well known illustrators and designers in it like the fabulous paper cutting artist Rob Ryan.

I feel like a kid in the candy store today.. I have had my work on just about everything but for some reason not publishing?? Crazy I know and that is an area that will be worked on allot in the next year.

If you are interested in purchasing this book just go here.

Have a great day everyone!

Ellen

Woodland Friends is in the house!

Look what I got last Friday!!! Yes my Woodland Friends collection finally came in and I was soo excited to get it, it was almost like Christmas here. I opened the box in front of my boys and they already started shouting out things they wanted me to make with it. I was laughing because as much as I would love to sit and sew some fabulous critters for them I am in way over my head with work these days, I can barely clean my house!

I am so happy at the way the collection came out, the feel of the fabric is so soft and lush and the colors much more vibrant that I thought. The fabric is printed in Japan so the quality is top notch. I think Clothworks did a fantastic job, so much so that today on Twitter I hear that some people can't get it! Wow! I had no idea, but glad to hear it.

I am currently working on the Woodland Friends II collection and let me tell you this is even more adorable than the last!! I spent an entire week on one design and I am in love with it! A week for me on one design is allot, I am so used to pumping out work and for me to work day and night on one is not usual, but in this case necessary. I am not sure if the Woodland Friends is sold out so go here and see.

Okay time to get back to work and finish the Woodland Friends II collection! Have a great weekend everyone.

xoxox

Ellen

Happy Anniversary... Happy Anniversary.. Happy Anniversary.. Happy....

Can you just hear Barny Rubble signing that song to Fred and Wilma?? Everytime I have an anniversary I think of it..probably because when I was a kid my brother and I would sing that to our parents on their day. The Flintstones were big in my house then and when they did that episode, well lets just say I never forgot it.

Today marks our 14th wedding anniversary and its almost hard to believe time has flown. I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. How New York City was all in gridlock because Pope Jon Paul II gave mass in Central Park. How I had to take the subway with my sister uptown to the hotel on the Park because the cab could not go any further. I almost felt like Rhoda, but I didn't have my dress on then.

I remember that the day before and after was sunny and beautiful and our day naturally it rained!! Just like today.. how fitting! I remember feeling like a princess in my big white gown and that I only got nervous when I had to walk down the aisle. I still remember and remind the hubby how he didn't make rehearsal because he had to go back to our apt. to get my brother and cousin, and because of the gridlock he showed up at the church as we were leaving.. naturally there had to be many cocktails before I would even talk about that!! I remember how handsome he looked waiting for me at the end of the aisle and how nervous he was.

I can honestly say that it all hasn't been roses and wine during these 14yrs and with two young children in the mix it would be near impossible to have a smooth ride. I have yet to meet a couple who said everyday was a honeymoon, and if they did I would think they needed their head examined. I believe that its those hard times that make us stronger and learn to care more for each other. If marriage was a picnic then more people would do it. Its a commitment and it takes allot of hard work to keep it afloat.

That being said tonight I will be enjoying a night out with the hubby without the kids!! A simple French restaurant will do for us(afterall I did get engaged on the Eiffel Tower!), and some much needed alone time. These days we are so busy its hard to get any alone time, so I shall revel in the moment!!

In fitting with the wedding theme today here is a design I did for a wedding shower. You can see the whole collection of party goods here.!

Ellen