“Precious Little One” is a design with an adorable sleeping little lamb cuddled up with the man in the moon amongst a sky of stars.  The new baby’s name, birthdate, weight, length, and time of birth are included.  These designs have been on the drafting board for about a year and I managed to finish them today.  What I love about these is that you can personalize them really easily and the gift will ship to you within 24 hours most of the time, if you order the print through Zazzle!  Simply click on the image and it will take you to more information.  All you need to know is the new baby’s vitals and you’re ready to order a keepsake gift that can be treasured for a lifetime.

Available in 4 different colors for boys and 4 different colors for girls, these are prints that are suitable for framing.  To create them, we cut a double bevel cut matte, scanned it in and layered it over the image, so the print is ready to frame as is.  OR you can buy an 11″ x 14″ frame with a matte in it and place the print behind the pre-cut matte – a very cost-effective way to frame things as both Costco and WalMart have some really great frames at great prices.  OR you can take the print to your local Michael’s Frame Shop or local Framer and have it framed to suit your decor.

If you would like to order these the old fashioned way, from our company directly.  Personalized, framed, double matted costs $49.95.  Print only, personalized is $24.95 through Zazzle.  We do still manufacture them with frames and mattes directly from our company , you can simply email steveataje (at sign) earthlink (dot) net and customer service will take care of it.

NEW!  Personalized art prints suitable for framing.  Available for wedding or anniversary gifts.  Personalize with your names and dates.  Sizes available both 11″ square (fits nicely on a 12″ scrap book paper in a 12″ scrapbook) and 12″ square (fits stock frames designed for scrapbook pages).

I began my business many years ago as a calligrapher.  At the time I didn’t know how to paint or draw.  In designing calligraphy pieces for people I discovered that I needed to find ways to add color and interest to them and thus began my journey into the world of art.

For many years we had a framed print line that we sold at craft fairs all throughout the state of California.  Our favorite being the Harvest Festivals.  Not a fall passes by that we don’t reminisce fondly about those days (amazing how memories of the pain and exhaustion passes after time, LOL!)

We also wholesaled our product to about 4,000 stores during the 90′s and up until 2006.  At that time it simply became too much to manage with the growth of my licensing business and the time commitments that were involved.  We have continued to sell to individuals over the years and have made dear, dear friends with many of our repeat customers – you know who you are

With my venturing into Zazzle this past year and especially with my growing wedding invitation business, it’s been much on my heart to bring back the calligraphy line but in a new way, with new art for a new generation.  Today is the very first piece that I am releasing.  These are being sold as prints that can be framed or displayed in a scrapbook.  You can order them and take them to your local Michael’s or frame shop.  They can be framed without mats or matted and framed as suits your decor.

Look for many more in the days and months to come.  What I love about this option is that I can do 30 or more versions of 1st Corinthians 13 and not have to have a catalog that shows them all!  The next designs to come will be my best sellers “Lord, Help me to Build a Healthy Child” and “To Build a Lasting Love.”

Also shown in this post are the Wedding Invitations that match.  This collection is called “Trellis Rose Vintage” and has a wide range of wedding related products created to match.  Perfect for spring and summer weddings, the collection will be fully finished by the New Year.  Click on any picture to go to that item in the store.

Would you like to customize your IPad or IPhone case and show your personality?  Would you like to buy a special gift for a very special person this Christmas?  These cases are so fun I wish they had them for my Droid phone and it makes me want to buy an IPad, LOL!

Zazzle is currently running specials every day before Christmas.  If you click on any of these designs they will take you to the products and to my Zazzle store where you will be informed of the most current special.  There are some INCREDIBLE deals there right now!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE peacocks!  When I was a little girl we went to the San Diego Zoo several times a year.  Anyone who’s ever been there has been regally greeted by the resident show offs that hang around the entrance.  I could have watched them for hours if my mother would have let me.

Peacocks are showing a resurgence in art and especially for weddings.  I have happily gone along with this trend and have some new things to show today.  A new line of wedding invitations at Zazzle.  And new craft oriented designs for sale at my Etsy store.

I am still in the process of adding designs in both stores.  The wedding ensemble will have cupcake wrapers and toppers, table seating charts, table numbers, escort cards, wedding menus & programs and much more.

The Etsy kits will include both square and round designs in 3″, 2.5″, 2.25″, 2″, 1.5″, 1″ and 7.8″ sizes as well as ATC cards, shaped tags and more.

If you’re looking to add some elegance to your Thanksgiving or Christmas table, try this quick idea:  Use peacock feathers, a custom name on a circle design like these collages and a beautiful wired ribbon – cut the feathers to about 5-6″, tie them on to your napkins, tuck them inside the ribbon and place across your table setting.  Easy Peasy Elegance!!!!

We spent the last week visiting both of our parents (and both of our sisters) in Arizona.  It was a delightful time spent with those we love so much!  As always, we wish we had a week of “vacation” to rest from our vacation   But then, I’m excited to get back to work.  I’m so blessed to have work I love to do so much I don’t hate coming home.

Can you believe that October is already starting to wind down?  It’s simply amazing to me.  I’m looking forward to the holidays and to winter, which is I think my favorite time of year here in the mountains.  I’d love to hear in the comments about what you’re looking forward to in this next 3 months.  What are your plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Have you changed plans based on the economy and do you feel good or bad about those changes?  I really enjoy hearing back from the other side of the computer monitor, LOL!

Do you have a tried and true favorite family recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas that would fit on a recipe card?  If you do, will you share it with me?  Send me a comment and I’ll email you.  I’d like to do some free recipe cards for Thanksgiving and Christmas since I pretty much don’t cook and ESPECIALLY don’t cook with recipes, I need some assistance.  My husband calls me an “artistic” cook — ie a little of this, a little of that and we’ll see how it turns out

I’m working on wrapping up a major project for a new product line then *fingers crossed* I’m going to work on new art this week.  Have a great week!  AJ

I have neglected my blog all month long.  I simply couldn’t take even an hour to come and fill you in on what’s happening.  So now it’s time to “Catch up.”  Don’t you wish you could really, “catch up?!”  Are you like me and the faster you get things done the more that goes on your plate?  This month has been like that.  It’s stressful at times, but as an artist in a tough economy I’m always very, very thankful that I have more work than I can easily get done!

My Etsy store and Zazzle stores are doing amazingly well.  THANK YOU to each bride I’ve been privileged to work with and help  with making your wedding day special.  I’ve had so much fun working with English, French, Norwegian and other brides-to-be from around the globe.  I am adding coordinating cupcake wrapper kits to each new collection and will go back and add them to the most popular wedding collections that I’ve already created.  These are printed two-sided on 80 lb. tex and are simple to cut and assemble.  I give instructions on how to use the coordinating stickers to create cupcake toppers as well.  Perfect for Bridal Showers, Wedding receptions and baby showers as well.

Thank you also to each family that has allowed my baby collections to be part of your special joy in welcoming a new addition.  I must have at least a million new ideas and no time to do them all.  That’s the blessing and the curse of the creative mind…

I’ve created some new holiday art, but haven’t even had the time to play with how to put it together into products because of assignments that come first.  My inner little girl artist is shouting and stomping her feet, “I want to play, I want to play, I WANT TO PLAY!!!!!”  Oh well… I’ll eventually get a chance.

It’s the holiday season again.  Time for celebrating love, family and the ties that bind our hearts together.  We’re starting our holiday season with a trip to see both my parents and my husband’s parents.  My sister will be visiting from Kauai at my parents so it’s an extra special time to gather together.  My mom and adoptive father will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this month.  It’s scary how fast that 40 years went!

When it all comes down to it, is it work that provides the warm and wonderful memories?  A clean house?  A task list that is marked complete (mmmmmm…. could be maybe a “Yes” answer on that last one, but I’ve never achieved it!)  But in truth the answer is surely “No.”  It’s the relationships we are privileged to share.  Take time to slow down and focus on those you love.  It’s the best stress reliever I know!

Peacock Feathers Reception Invitation Card

Original watercolor art by Audrey Jeanne Roberts

This is a coordinating Reception Invitation card for the contemporary, sophisticated “Peacock Feathers” wedding ensemble. Featuring stylized, hand watercolored Peacock feathers with your choice of background color, shown here in aqua blue.  I have created this collection in 6 colors at the moment, but it can be custom colored to your specific wedding colors should you like.  To see the reverse side of these invitation, just click on the picture and it will take you to them.

I love Peacocks and always have.  They remind me of my days spent at the San Diego Zoo as a young child.  The entrance of the zoo is populated by quite a few Peacocks and they loved to show off their plumage to the adoring crowds.  When I moved to the country the first time I seriously thought of raising some… until I heard how LOUD and irritating their screech is, LOL!  Then I decided to paint them instead.

Lots more coming in the days ahead, that is if I can keep on painting and not have to stop   In my business you never really know what you’re doing in the next hour let alone tomorrow!

I am really enjoying playing with classic vintage art mixed with my own art.  There are quite a few sizes offered in this collection all of which will be found at my Etsy store Here are a few of the images of what is available.  Because of the way that Etsy works with a single listing for a product, I’ll link to the entire store, not the item in question.  They often sell in a day and that makes the link inoperable.

Shown are three different kits.  Each is allowable for small commercial crafting use.  This means that one person, crafting all their own items with home tools (no mass production equipment) can create physical crafts (not digital) to sell at craft shows, craft booths in malls and in online stores like Ebay and Etsy.

The first kit is one 4 inch by 6 inch postcard or card front with 4, 3 inch squares for greeting card making, magnets, gift tags or other uses.

The second kit is a 1″ circle set for bottle caps, inchies, soldered glass pendants, pebble magnets and other uses.  The circles are available from 2 1/2″ on down to 7/8″ size.

The third kit is a 2 1/2″ square set that is also available all the way down to 7/8″ size for a wide variety of uses.

There is also a design collection at Zazzle for Wedding, Bridal Shower and other invitations.  This design received a “Today’s Best Award” from the Zazzle Design Staff.  There is a complete Wedding Ensemble coming including Table Seating Charts, Table Cards and Place Cards.

TODAY’S WINNER FOR THE BLOG CONTEST DRAWING IS:

Cheryl!  She won her choice of any of the $4.95 kits at Etsy.

Thanks to each that wrote a comment, please keep it up.  I read and enjoy every one of them.  It makes me want to come blog more when I hear back

This Reception Invitation Card is designed to coordinate with all of the Vintage Rose ‘n Birds Wedding Ensemble. It is a hybrid of original watercolor artwork by Audrey Jeanne Roberts and vintage elements. A cluster of antique roses in pink, yellow and red is mixed with other classic blooms and two love birds. The elegant scroll work is contemporary artwork inspired by antiques. A soft damask pattern in a light mossy green finishes off the art.  There are several choices of invitations to select from.  You can find them by clicking on any of the pictures and going to my store.  Once there go to Everything Wedding/Green or VIA THIS LINK

This Reception Table Seating Chart for assigned seating is designed to coordinate with all of the Vintage Rose ‘n Birds Wedding Ensemble. Easy to customize, you simply type your guest’s names in the field provided. You can delete tables, add names and move things around easily. I will design a table seating chart to match any wedding invitation ensemble in my store, all you have to do is ask!

Perfect to use as seals for your envelopes, these stickers are easy to customize with your names and dates.  Not getting married?  These can become Address stickers by simply changing the text.  It’s very easy to do on Zazzle.

There is a huge selection of additional products that coordinate to fill all of your wedding day needs.  Every invitation can be changed to any occasion.  25th or 50th Wedding Anniversary?  Change the text to reflect your celebration.

The Blog Contest for August is closing tomorrow.  All you have to do to earn entries in the drawing is post a comment on any and or all posts in the month of August.  Each comment is an entry.  The prize is your choice of any of my $4.95 kits at my Etsy store!

There are twelve individual pieces of art that come together in this calendar, all with beautiful art and many with some humorous sayings having to do with the consumption of coffee!

Here’s a coffee mug with one of the calendar images on it.

I created this artwork with a calendar in mind, but then took two years to put it on one, LOL!  It’s been used in a fabric collection and a kitchen soft goods collection as well as quite a few other product lines.  In addition to the calendar each print will be available as a poster to frame or to put on canvas — your choice.

Every calendar page will eventually be available as a print.

For those that aren’t familiar with the Zazzle marketplace, there are literally billions of products available from millions of artists, photographers and designers.  Each day, Zazzle selects 30-40 of those products to reflect what they felt were the best and/or most interesting new items created that day.

I have been blessed to be selected many times in the four months I’ve been active at Zazzle, but this last week I was really pleased to have my products selected 3 days in a row.  It’s quite an honor and a reward for your hard work.  Thank you, Zazzle!

The contemporary flower design was a lot of fun to create.  So many of these contemporary designs are just drawn and colored in on Photoshop.  I love to bring  watercolor art into contemporary design and give it a flair that flat graphics will never achieve.

This collection was created out of the art work I designed for my “Paradise” fabric collection with Studio E Fabrics.  There are three different collections within this collection which makes it perfect for the bride that hates “matchy-matchy!”

And finally, a contemporary baby girl baby shower or birth announcement.  One of the things I love to do with my Zazzle store, is play with creating more contemporary work than might be my usual.  This “Circles ‘n Booties” ensemble is a great example of mixing classic Audrey Jeanne art with a contemporary twist.

I am just 1400 visits away from 700,000 hits!  Thanks one and all for taking time out of your day to let me share my art and my heart

I’ve been blogging a while now.  Sometimes I’m more faithful than others, depending on my work load – which shifts rapidly day by day.  My previous blog had over 300,000 hits before I was forced to change to a new one.  This new blog will go over 400,000 hits some time in the next 1-2 weeks.  It simply amazes me.  THANK YOU to those of you faithful readers that have been with me since the beginning or come alongside of me during the journey.  It’s a joy and a blessing to share with you.  One I never take for granted.

So, what am I up to?  I’m finishing up a kitchen goods collection today, that will be out in January with a fabulous manufacturer.  I will show you the designs when I am allowed to.  I love their quality and look forward to seeing the final products when they are done.  I hope that this will be the first of many collections with their company.

I am also working on a room sized rug, and paper party goods how’s that for variety?!  That’s one thing I love about what I do.  It’s hard to get bored when things can change so quickly.

I WAS hoping to start painting a new collection today that I had sketched out during my recent trip to Las Vegas for the Licensing Show.  While the show was rather disappointing as a show for an artist to peruse, the extra day and a half that I had to fill with doing something was actually fabulous.  It forced me to sit down and plan, something that we artists aren’t always that great at.  I’ve already finished and licensed one of the collections I designed while there and am ready for the second.  I guess being bored is a good thing sometimes?!

These sunflowers are from my newest collection at Zazzle “Sunflowers ‘n Swirls” and are perfect for  late summer and into fall uses.  It’s August already!  Fall will be here before we know it.  So make the rest of your summer really special.

I’m adding a second contest to my normal blog contest.  For anyone that doesn’t know, if you leave a comment on any or all of my posts during the month that serves as an entry into the contest which is drawn randomly at the end of the month.   If you enjoy my blog and refer it to 5 people, you will be entered into a drawing for a second prize.  That prize is a $4.95 item of your choice from my Etsy store, or a discount equal to that if there’s something more expensive that you covet.  Just send me a message saying that you have referred me to 5 people and each time you do 5 people it will count as an entry.  Thanks so much for being a part of helping me to grow!

Kathy (KSinMT) was the random winner of my blog contest this morning.  She will get her choice of any of my $4.95 kits at Etsy.  LINK TO MY ETSY STORE

Thanks to all who entered the contest.  This month we’ll be having it again.  I’m going to add a little twist.  If you invite 5 friends to come read my blog and email me about it.  You’ll be in a separate drawing for a second prize.  By the way, there is no limit on winning.  Kathy could win again this month.  I do it that way to encourage the comments.  I really enjoy hearing from people and getting your feedback!

Two ways to win, and two prizes this month.  I have to say that my first complete month with an Etsy store was simply amazing.  I had so many more sales than I ever envisioned.  My thanks to my new customers, your notes and feedback were very much appreciated.  I look forward to another very busy month in my art business and I’ll try to keep you aware of all that I can!  I’m working on formatting a line of products today that I believe will be out in January.  I’ll let you know what they are and with whom, as soon as I am allowed.  Have a great August and stay cool

I found this vintage image of a Peacock and immediately thought how elegant and stately it would be on a wedding invitation.  I designed the first with a Peacock blue accent color, but it has been set up on Zazzle to be easily customized by the bride to use any color that fits with her wedding.  All that’s needed is the Hex# of the color (selected from your color picker in your graphics program or just ask me), plug that color into the background and in the appropriate text and presto, custom wedding invitation!

I created a matching envelope as well and then ran out of time yesterday.  The entire suite of products should be available by the end of the week.  The customizable color envelope hasn’t been created yet, but I would be happy to create it for anyone needing a specific color combination.

One of the things I adore about Zazzle is that you don’t have to have any minimum quantity to do a custom invitation, try that in a brick and mortar store!  The more quantity you order the less expensive the cost per invitation and they ship for a flat fee.  Remember that any invitation can be customized for any event.  If you have a birthday party, you don’t just have to look at the Birthday invitations for your party theme.  Also great for 50th anniversary parties or Family reunions.

Remember that there are just a few days left in the month to get your comments in for the drawing.  You can comment on any and every post and each comment counts as an entry into the Blog Contest drawing.  The winner gets their pick of a $4.95 kit at my ETSY store.  Good luck!

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s pretty trite saying isn’t it “Stop and smell the roses?!”  But today, that’s what I’m doing.  I’m stopping to think about all that’s right about my world.  Are there troubles?  Of course.  Are there frustrations?  Duuuuhhhh!  But all in all, life is GOOD.

It’s too busy, but a lot of that is my fault and how I choose to prioritize my work.  I’m working on that one.  Working really hard on that one and making some significant progress. Some times you have to work harder and longer in order to work less — but if you have a plan you can get there.

Why is life good?  My family loves me and I adore them.  We have FUN together, not just tolerate each other   We actually get along with each other.  We love to play together, whether it’s playing a new board game, watching a movie (if we can stay awake long enough to catch the ending).  We like to 4 wheel together, at least those of us with backs strong enough to take the pounding.  We’re going camping together next week in one of the most beautiful places on God’s green earth and it’s in our own backyard so to speak.  I’ll take some pic with my new DROID phone and see if I can figure out how to post them.  Isn’t that the key?  LIFE is really about the PEOPLE we share it with.

I’m just writing to remind each of you.  Stop and think.  What’s GOOD about your life?  Who is good in your life?  Have you told them that?  What’s AMAZING about your life?  What are the things that God is teaching you out of the tough times in your life?  It’s all a matter of perspective, even tough times can be incredible blessings.

Would you please share with us what’s good in your life and share your blessings in the comments section so that we can remind each other about how wonderful life really is?  Remember, there’s one week left in this month’s blog contest.  Each comment is an entry into the contest.  Feel free to post those comments away.  Any day of this month is eligible.  You will win your choice of any of my Etsy store $4.95 digital kits. Notice on the right hand side of the blog is a new “Pocket Shop” provided from the wonderful website “Craftcult.” Thanks to them for making ways for those of us who hand craft to get the word out about what we do.

LIFE IS GOOD!  Take time to remind yourself.  Like the picture below says “RELAX!”  Have a cup of tea with someone you love.  Enjoy the sunset.  Pamper yourself or someone you love.  Enjoy life…