Looking for faith?

Sometimes it's hard to find motivational, cool designs to express how you feel about God and religion. Sometimes it's hard to remember to have faith in God. I came across a website recently, At Ease Tees. The merchandise they sell is pretty cool, from posters like this "God is my rock" rock climbing design, which is attractive and sends a message. They also have a lot of pro-life merchandise, which spreads the pro-life message and looks good, too.
At At Ease Tees, they provide many products to promote the gospel, share the truth about Jesus, and provide a Christian alternative to many designs that are inappropriate for Christians.

It's nice that they have greeting cards - great for cheering up someone's day, and posters are always good to have around the house as a reminder. One of my favorites is this fight the good fight of faith design on a framed tile. In these unsure times, it's good to remember our faith and know that God will take care of us. Check out the store and see what you think.

This blog post is a part of a crossover blog. Other participants in this crossover blog are:

http://ateasetees.wordpress.com/

http://www.blogbydonna.com/

http://getyergoat-goatgifts.blogspot.com

http://www.nanwrightart.com

http://randomshirts.blogspot.com/

http://skeetzteez.blogspot.com/

http://idesignbrian.wordpress.com/

http://www.shopkeeperdesigns.com

http://autismshowucare.blogspot.com

http://www.gocamelphotos.blogspot.com/

http://einselgaenger.blogspot.com/

Peace loving hippie design

Okay, I have to say, I just did a design I really like. This sounds silly, as I'm doing new t-shirt designs all the time, but sometimes I get so caught up in SEO (didn't even know what that was until I started my Cafepress store!), uploading designs, blogging, tracking visitors to the web site, and all the other stuff you just HAVE to do, it seems I never get enough time to do things I WANT to do. (I know, if I could save time in a bottle...) Anyway, here's a design I did last night that I really like. Check it out at my FreshGreenTees.com store.

My Heart will go on...

So,
although my heart is still broken over the Packers losing Brett Favre, I've decided to buck up and face reality. I will always love him, and I will always love the Green Bay Packers (although I'm a little pissed at the management). Anyway, as the song from the Titanic movie says...my heart will go on...
So I've been busy working on my Cafepress t-shirt and gift stores, and will now make a shameless plug for my newest design...Barack Obama and Joe Biden in 2008.
I will be working on more designs, and as the election comes closer, will be putting more on campaign buttons and yard signs, so please check it out.

Squidoo Lenses

I'm not sure if you're familiar with Squidoo, but it's pretty cool and fun. I'm including some links here to Squidoo "lenses" that I've created, check 'em out! Here's one on Barack Obama wear/buttons/ political swag that can all be found online.

This one is all about going green, yes it features my online store FreshGreenTees.com, but there are a lot of resources and articles too, on other great recycling products and hypermilling.

If you're going to New Orleans, I urge you to check out my fun things to do in New Orleans lens. My husband and I attended the annual Jazz and Heritage festival, and it was fabulous. The food there was wonderful, as well.

One Squidoo lens that is close to my heart, is the what to do in Madison, Wisconsin lens. As Madison is my hometown, and a great place to live or visit, I'm pretty fond of it.

If you're not familiar with the concept of hypermilling, I urge you to check out my Hypermiling and Smiling lens.

Creativity

Looking to be inspired? Inspiration is all around us, I think having kids helps inspire me because they see things in such an original way, they think of things I may have never thought of before, and they say what they think. All great qualities!
I have a Wacom tablet that I use for my Cafepress stores (Creativethoughttshirts.com and Freshgreentees.com), and I just love it. I bought the Intuos 3, 6x8, and it's wonderful!!! I need about a month alone with it so I can learn to use it well! Okay, 6 months, but the point is, there aren't enough hours in a day. I just love Corel Painter (came with the Wacom tablet). It's wonderful, and the official magazine is fabulous...has great tutorials (as does the website). Unfortunately, I don't think you can subscribe to the magazine in the U.S., but I pick one up from my local Borders bookstore. It has lots of helpful tips and tricks, and a lot of good stuff that you may have forgotten from art school. (Or never learned). The latest issue shows how to turn photos into sketches, very cool.
Some of my other favorite inspirational places include:

Chapter19.com/inspiration

The ocean (haven't been there too often, but found it very inspirational).
Used book stores...love to look at the art books, both graphic design and fine art books.
The Artist Network

Deviant art - very cool, check it out!

KT Tunstall site...very cool website, I wish I knew how to make a website like this!

Webby awards...cool websites!
Artocracy

This one I can't explain, it takes a while to load, but it's worth it. Try it!

Alright, I'm getting really tired...I can see I'm going to have to continue this list tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, because inspirational sites are abundant, like my bookmarks...
Goodnight!

Politics and creativity

So, I really thought my Barack Obama Obumpa fist pump t-shirt would be a big seller at my t-shirt store. I mean, I thought the design was clever, and the play on Obama's name seemed clever, but perhaps my son is right. Perhaps it is a lame pun. What do you think?
It's so hard for me to combine creativity with politics. I mean sure, there's the name of the candidate, and the symbols, (American flag, peace sign, etc.), but how far can you really stray from the status quo? Then I see some incredibly unique designs, and I wish I had created them! My 2 most unique designs for Obama are can be found here.. and here.
But even I admit I need to make something more unique and exciting. And when trying to come up with a creative thought, it just seems different with a political theme. I get caught up in the red, white and blue, and the ordinary, expected things. I wish I could erase every political design I've ever seen, I think they've influenced me over the years. It's kind of like really bad tv commercials, you seem to remember them, so I guess they've done their job.
And yet, my favorite way to get inspired to come up with new, creative ideas for my t-shirts, is to go to the used book store, and spend hours there looking through the art books. While I usually spend some money there, the point is to find things that inspire me, not to copy other artists' ideas. It's great because there is so much original art in the world, it makes me think that I can come up with something original too. If I put blinders on. But then, so much of the outside world is great for inspiration, I guess it would just be nice to have a filter. I do like my yoga t-shirts though, especially this one.
Please check out my t-shirt and gift store, any feedback is greatly appreciated.
And if you have any ideas on how you get inspired, or what helps you be creative, I'd love to hear them!

Barack Obama loves Hillary Clinton?

Well, Hillary is finished with her campaign. Or is she? Could it be possible that Hillary Clinton will be chosen to be Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate? I find it hard to believe that after all that has happened in her hard fought campaign, she would be content to be vice president. Actually, I think Hillary would like to be vice president, because she is a powerful woman who wants to be as powerful as she can be. What about Barack Obama supporters? Would they embrace Hillary after all that has happened on the campaign trail? I admit, she has been very good about playing fair, and I think she is incredibly intelligent, but would Barack Obama even want her around? Does Obama himself pick the running mate, or is it the Democratic party? I'm not sure how that works, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens. One thing is for sure, it's a history making political season!
And don't forget to get your Barack Obama campaign buttons, yard signs, posters, coffee mugs, and more at my online t-shirt and gift shop, www.cafepress.com/creativethought.

If my dog had a credit card...

I was at a Birthday party yesterday, and we were talking about how the credit card companies inundate you with offers when you are between the ages of 18 and 24. It's like they know you're going to go into debt over spending and charging things you don't really need and can't really afford. And then you'll be paying them interest for 100 years. My sister in law said that she thought it would be pretty easy to get a credit card for your dog. So last night as I was falling asleep, all I could think about was what would my pets charge if they could? I wonder if they would surprise me...
I think Skippy, my little rat terrier mix mutt rescue dog would go nuts charging dog treats, toys, big, comfortable furniture and warm, soft blankets. I think my old sheltie, Fletcher, would probably just charge food, he seems pretty easy to please, I can't think of anything else he would want. My pushy cat, Milo, would charge a lot of catnip, cat toys, cat treats, cat trees, little fake mice, (maybe some real mice), and some high quality cat food. My shy, quiet cat, Minnie would probably not charge anything. She never asks for much, just a warm bed and some food occasionally. Who knows, maybe they would surprise me. I know Milo loves to bird watch, would he order some fancy bird feeders and have someone install them outside the kitchen window? Would the pets leave and find new owners if they could? I like to think we treat them pretty well, and I think they're happy here. But who really knows what they're thinking? It's funny how they each have their own personalities, and we give them human descriptions, as if they were humans. The dog whisperer (that Cesar guy on tv) would probably not approve.
Anyway, check out my newest custom t-shirt and gift shop, (freshgreentees.com), it's all about going green and reducing your carbon footprint. I've been so busy working on my original t-shirt shop, creativethought.com, that I haven't had much time for blogging!

A cool idea!

Well,
this weekend I went to see Martina McBride in concert. It was incredible! She puts on an incredible show, and she has a wonderful voice. If you ever have the chance to see her in concert, I highly recommend it!
Well, I am starting a Weight Watchers online program today. My goal is to lose 20 pounds, we'll see how it goes. I'm not super motivated, but hopefully that will change. Not sure how, but I need to find some motivation! Wish me luck!

On another note, I came across this fabulous site with beautiful tile murals...you must check it out! I really can't explain it, but if you are planning on doing any remodeling or decorating, this could be just what you're looking for!
tilemurals">Check out these beautiful tile murals!

And, as always, I encourage you to check out my t-shirt design store. I have a lot of political yard signs, buttons, t-shirts, sweatshirts, onsies, bibs, hats, magnets, and lots more! Don't forget to get your St. Patrick's Day items! Creativethoughttshirts.com

My Squirrel design...

So,

Here's something funny...in my CafePress store, this is my best selling design.
and it's a t-shirt with a squirrel design!

Check it out and tell me what you think!

Come visit Creative Thought T-Shirts and Gifts!

http://www.cafepress.com/creativethought.161590851