Monday, November 5th, 2018
New product photo shoots today.
Cute cat not included đ
November 5th
Tag: Products
November 4th
Sunday, November 4th, 2018
I’ve found the black background spot in my house.
It’s excellent; the best part is, it’s a super easy space to work in and around. Large and open.
Anyway, that’s not why you clicked on this post. I’m sure you clicked on this post to learn about next year’s calendar themes.
So, without further ado:
Oahu 2019
Fall Year Round 2019
Last year, I stuck with broad themes: Travel and Wildlife. I also had a Floral one, but only carried a limited supply. My Travel and Wildlife calendars both followed the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), which I liked, but this year I wanted to offer calendars that gave you a vacation from the real world and whatever season we may be in (I’m looking at you, winter).
So, option number 1: Take a year-long vacation to Oahu. Hike to waterfalls, sit on the beach, view the sea turtles. Take in the moody North Shore vibes, or head down to Waikiki and soak in that sunshine. If you’re a Hawaii dreamer, each page states where the image was taken, so save it away with that vacation savings fund and visit there one day!
Option number two: Live in the vibrancy of fall for not just one month, but revel in it all year long. This is the ultimate calendar for all of my fellow fall lovers out there! I’m pretty darn excited about both calendars, but I’m especially proud of this one.
I did have some great feedback from last year’s calendars, so I took those to heart moving forward this year. The monthly layout is more clear; the grid pattern is still clean, but provides more structure for those who were frustrated with that last year. The second big change is that there are holidays listed this year! I don’t know that I need to elaborate further on that. The third is that both the previous month and future month is located on the current month’s page. A great tool for reference.
So much fun stuff happening at ABL right now! Calendars, throw pillows, coffee mugs, I’m working out a coaster idea…I feel on fire!
Calendars will go live on my website soon (still working out some website kinks), but I also will be at two shows this month, perfect if you want to do some shopping in person. The first is Saturday, November 17th from 9am-4pm at the St. Michael Albertville High School for the STMA Women of Today Fall Show. I’m in spot N5 which is the fifth one in from the main door (I scored a great spot this year!). The second is the follow Saturday, the 25th from 1pm-5pm at a friend’s home in Buffalo (see event on Facebook for address and complete information). A fierce friend and Boss Babe herself is opening her home for a fall vendor’s fair for Small Business Saturday (all vendors are local ladies!), and she’s got some really fun things planned (door prizes, ultimate goody bag, etc.). I’m looking forward to the fellowship, and holiday cheer.
Let’s do this! xoxo
November 3rd
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018
THEY’RE HERE!
2019 wall calendars, locked and loaded, ready for gift season 2018.
Throughout the summer I had about 15 different themes all at different stages of completion, knowing that come fall I’d narrow it down to two. Themes that didn’t make the cut this year are still viable options for future calendar seasons; they may even become stronger candidates as my image library continues to grow and more new imagery can be added to existing designs.
The two themes this year?
Not telling yet – maybe tomorrow if you check back.
October 25th
Thursday, October 25th, 2018
A crazy busy day means another phone image today.
One I didn’t intend for anyone to see, it was more for my reference, but that’s the way of it when the day gets away from you.
So, here are some images that will be transferred to throw pillows. I’ve applied the gel medium and have placed the images on pillow cases, so now I just have to wait for them to dry.
October 23rd
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018
We’re working on something a little different, here at the Whiskey Hotel.
Remember a few months ago when I first mentioned making throw pillows? Well, I wasn’t totally satisfied with the results, so I’m working on a new method.
Gel medium transfers.
Essentially, you take a print, spread on the gel medium, lay the print face down, let dry, remove the paper backing, and you have the image left on the applied surface. I did them in college as one of my main projects for a semester, so it’s bringing back many fond memories of sore fingers from removing the paper backing, haha.
I did complete one yesterday, and it actually worked the way I was hoping it would, so now I’m attempting more on a larger scale. I’m not going to reveal the final product until I have my process down, but I’m hoping that won’t be long.
I’ve missed the physical, handcrafted side of art, so this is filling my creators cup.
August 13th
Monday, August 13th, 2018
I’m giving you, my lovely faithful blog followers, a first-look at a new product I’ll be offering starting this fall – throw pillows!
These have been a project that’s been rolling around in the back of my mind since last fall, and I’ve finally starting breaking ground on them. Pictured are three images of about 12 that I have ready to print. My hope is to have a good selection of scenes and seasons.
As of right now, I’m planning on selling them both as individual pillowcases and as stuffed pillows. Prices are to be determined at this point (I’m still nailing down my exact cost to make), but I’m hoping to be competitive with Target pricing on their higher-end throw pillows.
Big-box pricing on local goods, local images – you really can’t get much better than that!
I’m excited about these, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!
March 20th
Tuesday, March 20th, 2018
Products galore today!
Remember me talking about the cool new canvas hanging product I ordered? This is them! I’m completely in love! I ordered four different ones (this floral one, my Yellowstone Elk, Fourth of July Loon, and Denali Mountainscape), and they all look great. They’ll be up for sale soon, so keep an eye out!
Second, I picked up a bunch of new coffee mugs today as well! I was feeling a little rebellious a couple weeks ago and really pushed for some designs outside of my comfort zone, and I’m pretty excited about them. I took my original images and either added textures or manipulated them into looking more like watercolors; just something different to bring color of a different variety into my work.
Check them out and let me know what you think!
I havenât publicly announced these yet, but Iâll let you in on a little secret – theyâre on my website!
March 4th
Sunday, March 4th, 2018
You want to know one of the perks of following my blog?
You get to see new products before I advertise them! In todayâs instance, A Borrowed Likeness puzzles! I purposefully disguised the overall image by having this image be in black and white (because there has to be some surprise when I officially launch them!), but believe me, theyâre pretty awesome!
They arenât huge puzzles, 11×14â in size with 252 pieces, but the images are challenging ones. I sat down to complete them to assess the difficulty, and I was surprised – 45 minutes for me to complete the edge pieces.
I was originally thinking of advertising them as youth puzzles, but now Iâm thinking theyâll be great individual puzzles, great for adults, perfect for one person.
In addition to puzzles, look for throw pillows in the future as well!
I canât wait!
December 12th
Tuesday, December 12th, 2017
**NEW PRODUCT ALERT!**
You guys, I picked these up this morning and I couldn’t be more excited! I haven’t shared them with anyone, not even on social media, so you are getting the first look at them.
15 ounces of goodness, these babies are even dishwasher safe. I currently have these three designs, with my logo and signature on the back. From left to right: Peek-A-Boo Deer, Harmony, and Barred Owl.
$14.99 each while supplies last!
Perfect for last minute Christmas gift for that Minnesota coffee lover in your life! đ
Leave me a comment here, or email me (courtney.weinreis@gmail.com) to order yours!
December 1st
Friday, December 1st, 2017
Lots of greeting card smiles heading out the door today! đ
Know what makes me smile? The fact that the Metal Print/Canvas Wrap drawing is TONIGHT!!
Facebook Live, 5pm.
Not entered yet? You still have time! Get on it!
November 24th
Friday, November 24th, 2017
Happy Black Friday!
Are you one of those crazy shoppers that wait in line for a store to open? I am definitely not. Crowds and crazy people are not really my speed.
Cyber Monday? Sign me up!
Anyway, I’m hosting a sale through Facebook for Small Business Saturday so today I photographed the pieces that will be a part of my sale. I’m doing a “Make Me An Offer” sale, so it’s totally new for me. We’ll see how it goes!
November 12th
Sunday, November 12th, 2017
He’s baaaaack!
You all remember Roger right? Our best pal from our AirBNB in Utah? He charmed the socks off of everyone, and now he’s available as a greeting card! Time to bring some smiles and sunshine to someone’s mailbox!
This card, along with 30 new card designs, will be available at the STMA Fall Craft show this Saturday – make sure you come check it out!
Courtney Weinreis // A Borrowed Likeness 