Sold Out.

Hello lovelies! I want to quickly thank everyone who purchased a Shy Monsters Coloring Set from Mahar Drygoods. They are all sold out again, which is fabulous! Thank you Amy and Robert!! There should be more on their way soon, but the amount will be limited. Hugs. xox=vv.

I Hear That They Are Almost Gone.

Hello there Lovelies! I almost forgot to tell you that the Shy Monsters Coloring, Journaling, Story Book is available again at Robert's delightful Mahar Dry Goods.

These photos are from his site. Aren't they wonderful? Speaking of wonderful, a big thank you to the delightful Amy Karol who mentioned the available sets on her beautiful blog today! You are a real doll! Have a wonderful day lovelies. xox=vv.

Let It Snow.

Oooh hi there lovely and wonderful people! Did you know that we had six plus inches of snow this weekend and that it has stuck around for a few days now. We are expecting a bit more. It's crazy and early and delightful.

Of course, when you run out of milk before the snow comes, it is hard to wait for it to all melt before the siren song of Raisin Bran is to much to bear. So today we finally left the house for milk and I took this polaroid to share with you. I hope you like it.

Also, "Shy Monsters Coloring Sets" are re-stocked at Mahar Drygoods just in time for Christmas! We also resolved our scanner issues and the paintings in the previous post are now up-to-date.

I am still working to catch up with you and I am thinking of you all! Hugs! xox=vv.

Our Car Done Broke.

Oh hello Lovelies! Have I mentioned lately that you are ALL on my mind? Well, you are! It is nice to have you on my mind because otherwise I would have to think about our transmission pump problem that is affecting the carburetor, the rear bumper and umm ... the glove compartment!! (?) Those are all car words right? Yes, well I am sure that they are all some how affected by whatever done broke on our car! Now Charlie is constantly barking his big scary dog bark that gets on my nerves, because He is off getting a rental car and left the dogger at home with me! Fun!!

This absolutely beautiful card is from the beautiful Miss Dawbis. It arrived today and absolutely made my heart sing! Isn't it incredibly perfect in every way? I agree, it is!! Thank you miss. You made a downhill day pick up and fly off into the clouds, where I now sit upon #9. There is a small similarity to a card that I am working on for her which I will show you later, however this card is a million times better! A million times better!!

In other news Etsy is still down, so I will share a tiny amount of goodies with you tomorrow and put them up for sale. It has been a loooong time since I have had anything available at Etsy. Also, a few more Shy Monster Sets will be on their way to Mahar DryGoods very soon! Yay!

Did I mention that I am thinking of you? Oh I did? Good! Hugs! xox=vv.

Newnessiosity.

Oooh hello again lovelies!! Are you having a nice evening? I know that I posted mere moments ago, but then I switched over to the newer version of Blogger and I felt that I should test it out.

Etsy will also be upgrading this weekend and should have a new format on Monday. I think it will even address the issue of "combined shipping." Yay! I am hoping to have a few little goodies ready around the time of the new Etsy.

I am thinking of you all! Please keep your fingers crossed that all of these changes go smoothly! Thanks and Hugs! xox=vv.

Yay! Yippee! Woo Hoo! And Yay!

Did I mention Yay? Oh I did? Good! Well, I have had a little secret for a few weeks now and I could hardly wait to tell you all about it. Now I can tell you! I don't have to wait any more. I can tell you right this very minute. Are you ready?

The Shy Monsters are now available at Mahar Drygoods !! There are a very limited number of books available at his fabulous site! I am so completely excited and it is a wonderful compliment that he has allowed my little monsters to mix and mingle with all of the very wonderful and beautiful items he has for sale! I hope they don't break anything!

So anyhow, Robert is a wonderful color-er and if you are looking for a little Halloween surprise for someone special it is very possible that this set might just fit the bill. Hugs and more Hugs and Yay! xox-vv.

Most Adorable Thing Ever!

I am still working on it. The positioning was lovely and happy and then I noticed that the height of the browser was making some of the pages jump position. Lovely Lisa tried to help me but I think I am not properly grasping the very logical things that she is trying to tell me. I rebuilt all the pages using the same template (did that last time too, but now I used the blog template) and they all look the same 90% of the time. Oh well, I know this is boring.

To take your minds off this overwhelmingly uninteresting post, I want to show you the most adorable thing ever. This is a post about the very first words of beautiful, beautiful Isabelle over at sweet and lovely Miss Kuky's. Matilda was there and you must see the outfits! The whole house is filled with the cutest inhabitants and this is just a little bit of extra proof. Well, good night and hugs. More work tomorrow, xox=vv.

Attempting To Build A Blog 5.

Hello delightful people. I would like to tell you that the New & Improved Shy Monsters coloring, journaling, story books are finally here! Yay!

I am afraid that a machine malfunction and its required replacement at the printers took a little longer than expected. The coloring book was the first order to be filled with the new machinery. The printers are wonderful and fabulously helpful and I am very thankful for all their hard work. The coloring books and stickers are now available at my etsy shop. There is a reserved set of books and stickers for the people who asked to be on the mailing list. There will also be books and stickers available that are not reserved but the total amount of those books available will be based on the reserved sales. Huh? Yeah, that confused me. *smile* Hopefully, I will be all caught up here soon, which means that I can catch up with all of you dear wonderful people! xox=vv.

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Alpha-Betters.

Last Matilda-esque picture for a little while I promise! I really have more important things to show you. Anyway though, this is the prototype of a little sticker set that I have been drawing obsessively. They are so much fun!! I call them alpha-betters and they are little personalized monogramed hand drawn stickers. This one is on Matilda’s skirt and you may have already guessed that M is for Matilda *smile* See, I told you yesterday that you were a smart little carrot and I was right!!

Speaking of carrots, most kittens don’t like water but mine are doing the backstroke in their dish. Why it that? Must they splash around? Doesn’t that seem unnatural? What does this have to do with carrots? hmmm ... pondering.

p.s. The order will be placed shortly! So, please email me at vegasandvenice@comcast.net if you are interested in purchasing a Shy Monsters coloring book or stickers in the next run. I will keep the run very limited again and only order the amount requested. Thank you very much! Have a wonderful day!!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Matilda Monday.

So, I have decided to impart the same advice to you as I did to Miss Solomon and I quote “I know that pirates are ALL the rage right now, but I am not 100% positive that eye patches are really all that comfortable! You have to pace yourself. Point and then laugh. Wait till you are done laughing before attempting to point again and then repeat the cycle!” Lastly, please don’t make me draw a diagram!

Here she is, Matilda. Now you may be asking yourself “Self? Is that ONE stripey sock that I see Matilda wearing?” Because, I can not read your mind (at least that’s what I tell people) you will have to answer yourself. So tell yourself “Self, that IS one stripey sock that Matilda is wearing. It looks as though it was lovingly and painstakingly embroidered right on her leg.” And ya know what, if I could read your mind, I would tell you that you are a very very smart little cookie to have figured that out so fast!

This Matilda was created specifically for Miss Korallin who really helped me out when decision time came around for the Shy Monster coloring books. Which may have another run very soon. So this jazzy little cupcake of a doll is going to be traveling to this jazzy little cupcake of a doll very soon! Thank you again Miss!

P.S. Please email me at vegasandvenice@comcast.net if you are interested in purchasing a Shy Monsters coloring book or stickers in the next run. I will keep the run very limited again and only order the amount requested. Thank you very much!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Work + Work + More Work = In Progress.

I finished Matilda! After four attempts and quite a few days, she is finally finished and now my sewing machine makes this sheepish noise “Baklunk, klunk, baklunk ... ahem, baklunk.” So the sewing has halted. I bought new needles and sewing machine oil and sewing machine lubricant in hopes that one of those things will help it to feel better. I am only showing a piece of her to you right now because I wanted to give you time to prepare. Especially, those of you who hurt themselves laughing and pointing after seeing my last post *ahem ... cough... ahem... Miss Solomon*! Tomorrow, I will post more.

In the meantime, I have hand drawn 1200 stickers in the last two weeks. Not to mention all the mailing envelopes, little cards and sticker package labels. My hands hurt. Now I am drawing stickers for fun! You know what they say “No pain ... uh... no 1 inch round dots to adhere to stuff randomly.” I am spending a lot of time drawing and I am working on a birthday present for this girl I know.

I need to put together a post called 150 things to show you, because literally I have like 150 things to show you. The days have been a bit to dark for photography or I have not been feeling good or I have been busy or well any number of things. The biggest thing of all though is that it is taking me like 5 hours to post! I do not know if it is my Yahoo upload or Iweb or what, but seriously it is ridiculous! I want to re-design a bit, but it just takes so long that I am not sure if I should try building with another type of software. Anywhoo...

Thank you a million times for bearing with me. It really means the world. You are all so supportive and encouraging. It has always been my dream to be an artist, but I don’t even think that I can draw. It is a strange predicament to be in. For the first time in my life, with a lot more practice and all of the kind words that you have shared with me, I feel like it may be a dream come true!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Don’t Hurt Yourself.

On this site, laughing is always encouraged. Always! If you were to hurt yourself, however, while you were laughing and pointing at my Matilda doll, well then I would be simply unable to forgive myself. I would find it hard to continue on! So please I beg of you, be careful when you are laughing and pointing. You could accidentally poke an eye out! Scary!

Now then, this first Matilda did not work out as well as I hoped. I sewed her on the machine stitch by stitch (i.e. needle up, needle down ... repeat, repeat, repeat ...). Her little limbs were to thin to hold the extra fabric required to turn them and we had a little bit of seam burst-age. It is a shame! She looked cuddly! So back to the drawing board, or photo-copier, as I attempt to enlarge her! *pout* Please send happy thoughts *smile*!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Pink Bubbly Champagne.

My Etsy shop is open!! Yippee ka doo! There is the very limited run of 25 coloring books for sale along with a few packs of stickers. My goal is to add new types of items weekly (jewelry, books, plushies etc.) so I hope that you keep checking back. I also have a lot of favorites. If something of mine does not interest you, please check out those other incredible artists!

And yes, if you enter the word “Yippee” into the “Message to Seller” box during checkout you will get one Free Shy Monsters Coloring Sticker with each item purchased!

I hope the champagne does not make you tipsy for shopping *wink wink* Thank you for your support, for your encouragement, and for joining me in this celebration!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

They Are Here.

Yippee Ka Doo! The coloring books came back from the printers today. I am very excited! I am still pretty nervous about the whole thing, as I have the frightening feeling that they will be here gathering dust for years to come.

I realized today, that if I was really trying to market the book, then I would have made the cover bright and fun and attractive. However, I was really hoping that people would color the cover in the colors that they love. Even if it is not all that exciting from a sales point of view. Ah well. I simply can not wait to get them up in the shop. I would like to maybe have a couple other things there too over the next few days!

I have a ton and a half of packages to get out. It’s on it’s way tomorrow, I promise! So I will address that first and then get together a miniature group of things for the official shop opening *eek*! I think that I will have a miniature “Grand Opening” party and send out tiny little flyers and virtual glasses of champagne! What do you think?

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

In The Mood.

I am in the mood for a complete overhaul. The website, I mean. On the other hand, what couldn’t use an overhaul around here? This is my new business card, although, not the best version of it (hmmm... looks blurry). It goes along with the new shop.

I wanted to post yesterday to tell you that I had the coloring book in hand. Alas, it was not meant to be. We went to the printers to see the proof and there was a few necessary changes to be made. They called this afternoon though (hopefully everything is fixed) and they are finally all ready! We get to pick them up tomorrow! Yipeee!

In the mean time, I really want to mix the site up a bit to reflect the feeling that I have going on in the business card here. Oh well, one thing at a time ... one thing at a time!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Help Please.

Sorry about the delay on my pretty oddities and Panty O’ scopes (I will have to put them on hold till Monday). It is 4 o’clock in the afternoon here and I am still trying to catch up with all of you busy bloggers! I don’t know how you all do it! I am mostly caught up with e-mail (except for a few that I want to contemplate a tiny bit more) and I have earmarked 80 of your posts to comment on. I had better get going!

Anyway I have a quick question for you about the coloring book. Currently it is formatted at 8.5 x 5.5 inches. Do you think 8.5 x 11 would be preferable? Also, I am new to binding so do you have any ideas that would work well with 12 sheets of card stock, that could lie flat for coloring? I was thinking about even tying it with a ribbon (through punched holes) so that you could take it apart and work on a single page and then easily tie it back together.

Yesterday was a designated Monster day. I wrote all of the text and sent it off to Moms for editing. I work on some other little designs. I designed the activity book, the membership card, the secret monster code, a couple little stickers and some more mailing labels, some iron-on transfers and a paper doll. I guess I just went drawing crazy with the monsters to see what kind of fun things I could come up with. I called the printers and am pretty ready to go on that. So I just need to make a few last decisions and then I hope to get going. If you are interested in the idea of being notified when the coloring book is available please let me know!

Thank you all so incredibly much for your encouragement!! You may have created a “Monster” (still awfully shy though ... I am still worried about posting any drawings).

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

B.F.F.

After Lisa’s comment yesterday that I better “REVEAL MORE!!!!!!!! [or else]” I thought I would share this with you.

Why? Well, first of all I don’t want to be on Lisa’s danger side (did you see the [or else]???) and secondly, I want to virtually send you all one of these. Although, we quickly decided that Lisa’s danger side was probably as fun and lovable as she is ALL the time and I know virtual necklaces aren’t easily wearable (just open this page, attach a chain or rope to your computer monitor or laptop and then simply wear around your neck ... not that difficult after all, I guess.)

Last July, I had the fabulous idea of making shrinky dink resin necklaces. Well, a year later and we are still hoping the resin will set ... brilliant huh? Not sure where to go with these today (an idea and design I still want to explore). So in the meantime, I send them to you virtually for all of your sweet, sweet comments about the coloring book! I am still shy and I am starting slow with this old drawing, but boy are you ever encouraging!! Thank you!

This is the drawing of my b.f.f. necklaces. Made in all sorts of colors each person would get a half heart in the colors of their choice. Since the shrinky dinks are already made you might see a bit more of these later!

However, you are all my b.f.f. now (whether you like it or not). I l.y.l.a.s. and I hope you k.i.t.!!

P.S. Translations ... b.f.f.= best friends forever and l.y.l.a.s. = love ya like a sister and k.i.t.= keep in touch. *smile* Oh, weekly Panty O’Scopes later today along with some beautiful oddities that I got yesterday! I continue work on “Shy Monsters” this week and hope to make them available very soon! ~TTFN! (ta ta for now!)

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Super Duper Scary.

This is the most frightening thing that I have ever done. That is saying a lot because not only have I para-sailed, but on that same trip I spent four days in a very very small cabin (which included only one window that would not open) with both my mother and my husband on a cruise ship and I am claustrophobic.

I am very reserved about putting anything I create on this website. I am very afraid that you will all laugh and laugh and laugh at me (not to mention all the pointing and staring). I am trying to be a bit braver, but there are so many incredibly talented people out there and that is overwhelming. A few days ago I decided that I was going to finally create the coloring story book that I had thought about so many times. It is 12 pages of hand drawn illustrations. I still need to add the text, but I am stepping back for a couple days. This book will be a child/parent participation book. There will be spaces to share your own thoughts with the monsters and a couple big words.

These may be up in the shop (not yet online) individually or in a pack that may include some or all of the following: a cloth monster bag, the coloring book, an activity book, crayons, a small pencil, stickers, labels and a monster membership card.

I am very frightened about revealing this to you, mostly because of the laughing and pointing, and really I would love to know what you think. Am I making a fool of myself?

Thanks for letting me share! Hope to catch up with blogs and comments and emails soon!

Update: This book is definitely for adults. I was simply afraid that you would wonder about a couple of the big words being appropriate for children too (like salutations). I am continuing work on these this week and I hope they will be out very soon! Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*