2011 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

HOLIDAY SHIPPING DEADLINES

With Christmas just around the corner.
We would like to make sure that gifts ordered through our Etsy Shop arrive in time for gift giving so...

Please keep these dates in mind to insure that your order arrives in time.

Domestic Shipping for Custom Made to Order Paintings: December 3rd
Domestic Shipping for Wearable Art: December 8th
Domestic Shipping for 2012 Calendars: December 10th
(Please see note below for large packages shipping to Alaska or Hawaii)
Domestic Shipping for Original Paintings: December 16th
Domestic Shipping for Limited Edition Prints: December 16th
Domestic Shipping for Standard Size Prints: December 16th

Shipping upgrades and Express mail is available for most items in our Etsy Shop until December 20th. Please contact us before placing your order for quotes and availability.

Large Original Paintings ordered from Alaska or Hawaii are shipped via Parcel Post which does take much longer than Ground or Priority Mail. Any Single Canvas Painting that is 24"X36", 24"X48" or 32"X40" will be shipped via Parcel Post to Alaska and Hawaii and so must be ordered on or before December 9th.

We are sorry but the deadline for Custom "Made to order" Paintings, Wearable Art and 2012 Calendars has past for all international orders.
International Shipping is as Follows...

Africa:
Standard size prints: December 2nd
Limited Edition Prints and Original Paintings: December 4th

Central/South America:
Standard size prints: December 2nd
Limited Edition Prints and Original Paintings: December 2nd

Asia/Pacific Rim, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Mexico & Middle East:
Standard size prints: December 8th
Limited Edition Prints and Original Paintings: December 9th

Shipping upgrade to Express Mail is available if ordered on or before December 16th.
Please contact us before placing your order for quotes.

Thanks so much,
Mike and Jaime Best

Art Bookmarks in the Heartache and Poetry Series

I have been working on a line of bookmarks for some time now.

Perfecting the designs, finding the best lamination available and printing out samples in a variety
of sizes until I was happy with the product.

And I can now say that I am.

Bookmarks in the Heartache and Poetry Series are now available in our Etsy Shop!

The displays above were created using resources made available fellow artists...

Villa-Arts

and

JavierZhx

Etsy's Front Page

In a 24 hour period my Print 'Because I love you' and my mother's (Rusticgoth) bookmark
'All in the moment' were featured on Etsy's Front page.

Because it had been a while since either of us had made it there I was extra excited that our items were chosen so close together.

If you want to check them out...
Here is a link to the Front page my print was on,
and a link to the Front page my mother's bookmark was on.

New Years...

...a time for thinking up new dreams and goals and making resolutions to kick bad habits.
And I suppose that there is no better time to getting your goals and resolutions in order than on the night of a "Blue Moon".
As for me, I like to envision the coming year and decide what could happen to make it better than the one that came before it and in so doing decide how best to make that vision possible.

Here is what I have...
I do love my work, almost every part of it.
But mostly I love to paint and 2009 was not a year of painting but rather printing.
So I envision myself painting daily, the feeling of creative release, the smell of paint on canvas and the sound of brush strokes. But how do I manage, with family that wants for my attention and prints that need printing and orders that need filling and communications that need attending, with networking, listing, relisting, and renewing.
Well, I have decided to set aside an hour each day for this little indulgence and the rest must wait for the hour to end. This is of course tricky, for an hour can fly by when you are doing what you love and then two and three and before you know it a day is lost. Perhaps an alarm clock or buzzer... we'll have to see.

Secondly I will only be having a couple of print sale in 2010 and they will only last for 24 to 48 hours each time. I realize my folly in having them so often and for the duration to be so long, for they bury me each time in work up to my ears.

So, if you would like to get a print while it is on sale I would check out our Holiday Sale as it is over tomorrow and will not be back for a few months.

I will be offering a larger verity of products that require a smaller amount of work for me in 2010 as well. These will include...
Pocket mirrors (I will be offering a larger verity in greater numbers)
Jewelry and Wearable Art (Rings, Bracelets, Pendants and Earrings)
Bookmarks (I have finally found a professional laminater, that does a fantastic job)
Pin Back Buttons
Magnets
and I am toying with the notion of Zipper Pulls (feedback on Zipper Pulls would be great).

I have also been investigating sites like TweetDeck and HootSuite to help with social networking. And sites like EtsyHacks to help with the multitudes of work on I have on Etsy.

I have also decided to take weekends off altogether. This will be the time I have to give my full and undivided attention to the ones who love and support me.

So here's to hoping for more Original Painting by Jaime in 2010.

"My Star is Fading"

If you haven't gotten enough reading about "New Years Resolutions" or "Blue Moons" yet, check these out...

My art was featured in this bloggers New Years Resolution Blog Post.
and in this bloggers "Blue Moon" post.

My mothers ideas on keeping your "New Years Resolution" was featured in the Wall Street Journal today. Be sure to check that out...
Oh and Congrats on being featured in the Wall Street Journal mom:)

Happy New Year Everybody,
Jaime

♥♥♥SALE♥♥♥

We will be putting a new sale in our Etsy Shop later tonight♥

During this sale we will be offering "Buy one get one free" on all of our Fine Art Prints. In addition to the "Buy one get one free" sale we will also be offering 10-50% discounts on all of our Original Paintings.

This is only a week long sale and will end Thursday morning October 1st.

Beautiful Disaster

Heartache and Poetry XXXIII...

Beautiful Disaster

I both started and finished this piece last night. It is the 33rd painting in the Heartache and Poetry series and is being offered for sale in my Etsy Shop.

The inspiration behind the Heartache and Poetry series is simply Heartache, it is something that every human deals with during thier lifetime.

I try to depict this emotion in a soft aesthetic manner and enhance it with a poetic title.

This particular piece was futher inspired by the Kelly Clarkson song "Beautiful Disaster"