Celebrate Life

Wow! It's been three months since I launched my business Artsy Canvas Girl Designs.  My heart has never sang louder than it does today simply because I am doing something I love.  I thought I would share with you the story of my first official sale of a canvas...  I had just set up my Etsy site and I was feeling so great that it was up and running.  In my heart I just wanted to create something incredibly special.  I remember getting the 'convo' (all the Etsy lingo is so new to me) inquiring if I could work with a vintage photo.  My client's mother had just passed away and the family wanted something very special to display at the funeral services.  So I gave her the details to send me the photo.  I received a beautiful vintage portrait of a young woman dancing in the ocean.  It was a little tattered and there was some wear and tear from the handling of the photo over the years.  The picture looked as though it had gotten a little beat up.  I was able to clean it up yet maintain its beautiful vintage feel.  My client asked if I could somehow incorporate her mother's favorite motto about life into the canvas.  It was a famous Mark Twain quote, "Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening, love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on earth." When I read the quote I felt a kindred spirit with the person who had just passed away.  Now I received this request late Sunday night and the family needed this for the services on Friday.  So this was a very tight turnaround time to get the canvas just right and then printed and delivered to Minnesota.  I sent five initial samples to my client for her consideration within a day (stayed up all night working on it -- and I had to kind of giggle, I felt like I was in college again try to meet a project deadline).  Then we narrowed it down to a couple of favorites.  She gave me more insight to what she was looking for and by Tuesday night we had the final.  She received the canvas on Thursday afternoon just in time for the Friday morning services.  What felt the best of all -- not only making the tight timeline -- but the way in which the canvas was received.  She sent me an email saying that it was absolutely beautiful and the family had a "cry fest" when they opened the box.  My heart sang with joy!

What a great idea!  The canvas was a beautiful memorial tribute displayed at the funeral services.  But then the daughter gave it to her father as a gift.  Eventually, it will be passed down to the daughter and grandchildren and it will become a family heirloom.  And I was a part of that! :)

Love and Blessings!

ArtsyCanvasGirl

Certified Crazy?

Maybe so... I am the featured deal this weekend at CertifiKid - a Washington DC based company that offers great savings to families in the DC area.  For this weekend only, I am offering a 12x16 photo canvas personalized with your favorite quote for $85 (includes shipping too! 41% discount - $144 value).  

It's my way of introducing myself and my product to the Washington DC area.  I think that Jamie Ratner, the founder of Certifikid, is offering great values to the families in her local community.  Known in her community after years of writing a successful Washington-area blog geared towards parents, and particularly moms, who are looking for a good deal and new things to try locally, Jamie believed that there was a local void that Certifikid could fill for the benefit of her readers and other Washington DC parents and parents-to-be.  Her blog has hundreds of daily readers who trust Jamie's advice on local events, restaurants, products, and services.  The reason they trust Jamie is because she is just like them -- a working mother of two trying to balance it all, provide for her kids, get an occasional evening alone with her husband, and always looking for a good bargain!

Jamie hopes that Certifikid will not be just a gateway between local businesses and her subscribers to make a single business transaction.  Her vision is for Certifikid to become an online playground for families in the Greater Washington area to build relationships with each other and local business that will last beyond the initial transaction.  She also expressed to me her desire to expand to other cities to provide the same kind of service. Especially during this economic downturn, I believe Certifikid provides a valuable resource!

Daughter's Letter to Father

This recent piece of work strikes particularly close to my heart.  I was recently asked to do a canvas that would incorporate a father and daughter portrait with a beautifully written letter.  The very special letter was written by the daughter to her father for Father's Day...  And it was especially important to me because the father in the portrait is the special man in my life who I love and adore.  The canvas was to be a surprise gift and he had not received the letter as this point.  Needless to say, the beautifully written letter touched my heart...So with tears flowing, I began to work on the canvas.  With letter in hand, I received a photo that really captured the beauty of their relationship, but the snapshot was taken at a family event and the background and lighting was not the most ideal.  Here is the before and after results...

I love the final results!  By the way, Artsy Canvas Girl is partnering with Certifikid - a business formed by a Washington DC family to offer all that the DC area has to offer for families at majorly reduced prices.  I will be featured as the deal of the weekend starting this Friday and running through Sunday.  So, check out the unbelievable discount being offered.  Even if you are not in the DC area some of the deals offered at Certifikid are from businesses like mine that can provide their services to anywhere!  Isn't technology wonderful!  Love and Blessings!

For the Photographer in you!

So, I was on Facebook and discovered an ad for a Free Workshop Workbook for photographers... Although I create canvases usually from other people's photo.  I have a true love for photography, always wanting to capture a special moment in time or the true essence of a person's spirit or simply the beauty that surrounds us every day. 


After clicking on the ad, I found the most beautiful children's portraits.  The writer of the blog called Soulographer, which in of itself connects with me, has been a wife, mom and commercial photographer who spent the last three years teaching photography workshops around the country.  Now retired from live workshops, she has compiled all of her teachings into this Workshop Workbook.  In her book, she shares her personal process and how she made a successful career as a child photographer.  She shares her secrets and strategies, in both business and creative inspiration, to help guide us at becoming amazing photographers. Along with the workbook... you get a $250 Gift Certificate toward Florabella Photoshop Actions & Textures (http://florabellacollection.com/blog/).  You can enter to win on the Florabella blog too. I would love to have this workbook.  Thought I would share it with my friends.  Check out this giveaway! Free Workshop Workbook! http://www.soulographer.com/blog/