THE ENTIRE TEAM (almost)!!

the inspiration and creativity behind harts n crafts. from left to right: emily, shannan, lindsey, holly, alicia, lindley and sarah (not shown).

ANXIOUSLY AWAITING HOLLY'S ARRIVAL

we goofed around while waiting for holly to arrive to her surprise wedding shower. unfortunately she was running behind bc she attended ANOTHER shower in the afternoon. luckily it gave us time to take sentimental pictures like this. i heart my lovely ladies! you're the best!!

HNC CHRISTMAS PARTY 2007

our newest employee, lindley, and her three roommates at the 1st annual HNC christmas party. it was a great time!!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

so. i don't have a picture to post. but i wanted to say hi to all of my lovely, loyal readers and let you know i'm thinking about you this holidays season. i've had an OVERLY relaxing christmas vacation, one very well deserved i think after getting ALL of my orders finished and shipped out in time to give away as gifts.

we spent christmas with aaron's family in richardson and flew out on the 26th to last vegas!! it is exciting taking in all the sights and hopefully i'll find inspiration here to create a new product or two....

exciting things are happening at HNC. i converted the back storage room into a workshop and plan to hire staff to work on new products 24/7. hehe. maybe not ALL DAY, EVERYDAY but with exra workspace it will allow us to get more orders completed sooner, which makes me (the hopefully the recipients) happy!! it is in the very early stages and i'm excited to see our workshop evolve into an efficient workspace.

let me know how you're doing. i can't wait to see everyone!!
and have a happy new year!!! aaron and i are SO excited about 2008!!
xoxo.

HNC MOTTOS!!

how lucky was i do these 3ft. signs as a custom order! they embody everything i believe and strive for through my work at harts n crafts. now i need to make two for the store's permanent collection!

HARD AT WORK

aaron took this picture of lindley and me working away. with christmas around the corner we're under major deadlines at harts n crafts!!

BUSY DAYS!

i don't have a picture to post, but aaron and i had a very productive two days in waco....

today we got a shipment of fun NATURAL LIFE products! by popular demand i ordered "i kiss better than i cook" magnets, inital keychains, hairbrushes, luggage tags, and crosses. check them out at www.naturallife.net then come see them in person at harts n crafts!!

i'm also expecting a shipment of more QUOTE BOOKS from compedium. if you haven't found a gift for mom and dad yet, these would be a great idea! i'll let you know when they arrive.

thanks to anna g. we received some GREAT!! handpainted christmas ornaments. they will be in the store through december and are priced perfectly at $5.95(sm) and $6.95(lrg) if you're participating in an ornament exchange in the coming weeks, seeing these ornaments is a MUST!! they come packaged in a precious chinese takeout box in the color of your choice.

we continue to clean and organize harts n crafts, and i had fun changing up the displays while aaron made extraordinary progress on the storage room!

we'll be back for the day this saturday and hope to see all of our lovely friends. if you're in the neighborhood stop by!!!

love, alicia

VERTICAL WORDS x 18

thanks to help from laura, aaron, and all of my lovely HNC ladies, i was able to paint EIGHTEEN!!! vertical words today. the hard part is yet to come... stringing the letters together with ribbon, but maybe that will wait until tomorrow.

THE ADAMS FAMILY

i thought laura and josh might like a texas flag plaque for their new house. it also doubles as an example of a customized flag for christmas in november. it will be interesting to see if customers like the plaques better with or without writing.

THE A TEAM

ashlee is so precious. we've become great friends and she's one of my most frequent and favorite customers! she was so sweet to come to scruffy's to see the alice rose, even if she was a little too late.

OLDIE BUT GOODIE

this is one of my all time bestselling quotes. it's perfect for graduation as friends go their separate ways. holly painted these PERFECT POLKA DOTS!!! so i could only try to make the text perfect as well. this canvas will be in harts n crafts permanent collection. i can't let something this great leave the store. but you can order your own in any colors!

IZZY TAKES A PEAK

izzy was curious to see what was inside the kleenex box i painted. these were an order for stefanee, a receptionist at a local doctor's offfice. i hope they cheer up her desk!

TX PRIDE

so all day i've been painting texas flags for christmas in november this coming weekend in abilene. i did one as an order for a customer and i loved it so much i wanted to make more. FORTEEN MORE!!! i hope they sell like hotcakes!

I HEART MY SISTER!

a little doodle i did.....at the beginning of the year i tried to draw EVERY day...this is the first time i've done it again since january. but i'll try to post more doodles soon!

CRAFTY CHICK

are you a crafty chick? get your tshirt at harts n crafts!!! only $10.

GONZO

My sweet nephew Gunner. I took this picture at Laura and Josh's house in Waco. Gunner loves his picture taken and posed so nicely for this one. Likely it was taken two seconds before he attacked me.

RUFF!

This idea was brought to me by Amy, a manager at Common Grounds. She wanted to give her friend a plaque but in more neutral, fall colors. Amanda and Chad are the proud parents of three dogs, indicated by the doggie bones. I plan to recreate this idea in brighter colors and sell the plaques at Christmas In November in Abilene.

OLIVER

our little man wanted in on the action during my photo shoot. i lined up the signs to take a picture and when i returned with the camera oliver was posing with them. i was lucky enough to snap one shot before he bolted BETWEEN the signs, knocking them over. crazy kitty. i can't believe how big he's getting!

3 FT. SIGNS

this is the first time i've done the "shoot for the moon" sign. i was somewhat worried about it all fitting on the 3 foot board, but it worked out just fine!

MORE 2 FT. SIGNS

i apologize for not posting sooner! the last couple of weeks have gotten my schedule out of whack and i am only now recovering. some of these were custom orders and some i put out and have already sold. let us know what you'd like to see on a sign!

"live for the moment" is a new one that you'll probably see repeated in the future! the flower background on "casablanca" is one i've recently gotten alot of requests for. i think it's cheery and whimsical.

KITTIES!!

i've been feeding the homeless kitties behind harts n crafts for a while now. and last march i found four kittens on my back steps. of course i HAD to rescue these sweet things. little did i know, the work it'd take to raise feral kittens. i brought them back to austin in a box and aaron and i became parents of quadruplets! we bought formula, bottles, toys, shampoo, etc, etc, etc. and over the course days, weeks, and now months they've grown into CATS right before our eyes.

we gave two away to friends and kept two, oliver and grey. it was a tough decision and we really weren't sure we wanted to be parents to FOUR cats (since we already had two!) of course some days are more challenging than others but they've grown to love each other...as seen in the picture...jack, our big man, is in the middle of a love fest. izzy's really not too sure about having three brothers but she's warming up slowly. i'm pretty sure it's official...i'm a crazy CAT WOMAN. but i wouldn't have it any other way...

INSPIRATION

these 2ft and 3ft boards are custom orders for a couple of very lucky ladies! i secretly want to keep them for myself!! i love inspirational quotes and these turned out perfectly. i might make several more in different colors to sell in harts n crafts. be on the lookout!!

DIRTY LAUNDRY

for a couple of years now i've been selling my handpainted sorority gifts to a boutique in fort worth called Dirty Laundry. it's at 3007 s. university near TCU's campus. if you're in town check it out. SO CUTE!! since the girls go through rush in the fall, i've just completed a big order of frames, plaques, letters and ribbon boards. pictured here are tons 'o frames waiting to be completed.

NAME PLAQUES!!!

these are only a few of the freshman name plaques i completed over the weekend. i LOVE all the color schemes girls have been picking. they are very fresh and summery. which one is your favorite and you'd like to see more often? let us know!

WOODEN CROSSES

i painted a few crosses today, all of which will be for sale at harts n crafts later this week for $14.50. i've been enjoying this dot design for a while now and have done a few coordinating wooden letters to match. check back tomorrow for pictures!!

2 FT. BOARDS

hurray for these custom orders! i've put off doing several "bigger" projects for a while. so by thursday, when i return to waco, i plan to have six 2-3 FT boards completed!! these are the first three which turned out so cute. the photo doesn't really do them justice because it was getting darker outside and i had to use the flash. recently i've done several greek boards for girls who live with their sorority sisters. they've all been so cute and funny. ie. kappa krunk house, kite and key klubhouse and now this one for the zeta ladies.

LIVE LOVE DREAM

i usually paint words in black because it stands out better against a colored background, but sometimes artwork calls for a less harsh look. using magenta, turquoise, brown and navy for text adds an overall calming effect and in this piece, really emphasizes the monochromatic color scheme. i like too that the quote is unique and something you can't find premade. at harts n crafts you're really only limited by your own imagination. we can make any quote into your very own piece of art!

FLOWER CHALLENGE

it's always rewarding when a customer challenges me to do something i've never done before nor ever thought i'd be able to do. alyssa and her mom brought in a pillow sham to give me an idea of the colors and patterns she wanted on her name canvas. needless to say, i DID get some help on these flowers... aaron drew them onto the canvas with pencil first and then i painted them. in the process though, i learned that the shapes really aren't THAT hard to draw, and i might actually be able to duplicate the flowers again in the future. you'll be the first to know if i do....

SCRIPT CHALLENGE

one of our customers picked out this premade frame and wanted it customized for her friend's birthday. they were roommates over the summer and she specifically wanted "summer" to look more whimsical and kind of just added on as an afterthought. i haven't had much practice with painting in script, but this turned out surprisingly well. it is ironic that the photo of the sailor girl was already in the frame as it seems to fit perfectly with the text.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE EASTER EGG

yesterday we got a shipment of threadless tshirts!!! i am so excited because now the sign outside that says, "new tshirts are here" really is true. :) come in and check out these cool tees. they're $17.50 or 2 for $30 and going quickly! threadless is unique in that ANYONE from ANYWHERE can submit a tshirt design, it's voted on, and if your shirt is picked you receive $$$. they're printed in a limited number so after they're gone i can rarely reorder the same style. each shirt is titled a clever little name and the designers info is printed on the inside of the shirt. here's a cute one....

THINK PINK

the A in this picture is a custom order. the rest are things that will be for sale in the store later this week!! i usually try to do a "batch" of products in the same colors. mostly because it's easier and speeds up the process, but also to give customers a variety of matching products for the ones they order. the hearts will be turned into cute refrigerator magnets and the cross and letters will be hung by ribbon. stop by and see them in person on wednesday!!

MORE RETRO FABULOUSNESS

i'm not really sure what i think of these canvases mostly because they aren't as bright as i usually paint. over the summer i made a resolution to use less pink and so far i've done pretty well. i've been incorporating more blues, greens, and yellows into products. let us know what your favorite color combinations are right now!! also, do they change with seasons? these all seem more subdued for the fall.

VERTICAL WORDS

these cute little vertical words are something i came up with last semester. they aren't assembled yet and will eventually be tied together with pretty ribbon... you get the idea right? SMILE and LAUGH are two of the most popular words but buying combinations like LIVE LAUGH LOVE and FAITH HOPE LOVE have also been a hit!! my only gripe about this product is the name "vertical word". it sounds so silly. if anyone can think of a better name for this product and we use it, i'll make you a customized "vertical word" for FREE. let us know what you think!

1967!

we went to Ruta Maya, a coffee shop/bar, in austin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1967. THE ALICE ROSE, along with lots of other bands, played tunes from 1967 and people were dressed as hippies. it was great fun... as you can tell.

BIG IS IN

over the summer i introduced a new product at harts n crafts. the JUMBO sized wall signs!!! name plaques (see photo) have always been popular so of course the bigger version has been a HIT! they can be cut to any size to fit any space, but the most popular have been 2ft ($29.50) and 3ft ($39.50). these are great for the space above a doorway. they can be customized with any colors, patterns, and quotes. bible verses are also a great choice for daily inspiration.

ITS HIP TO BE SQUARE

i've been trying to restock the store after it was stormed by excited freshmen anxious to make their impersonal dorm rooms more fun and cheerful. bright colors always seem to do the trick. the best sellers have been our new vertical words. and of course NAME PLAQUES!! each freshman gets one FREE when they spend $30!! they're perfect for your dorm door....

on another note, i've thought of a new design!!! after endless polka dots and stripes, last night aaron challenged me to do SQUARES. after sleeping on ideas all night i woke up this morning refreshed and obviously in a very retro mood. although pink and green will be my all time favorite color palette i think, the aquas, greens and browns i used today make my heart smile! what do you think? and what are your favorite colors?! let us know!

i'll be in waco this week wednesday through friday so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by to say hi!

HNC ENTERS THE WORLD OF BLOGGING.

i've never blogged before and i'm excited about where this all will lead! my husband, aaron, built my website (www.hartsncrafts.com) FOUR years ago and sadly the products haven't been updated since. i don't have the patience or time to learn web design to change it myself, and aaron is now so busy with his own projects that he doesn't have time to change it either. blogspot is a good option since a) my products lines are expanding b) i forget about all the cool things i've made if i don't take pictures of them and c) i like to share my ideas with others. so wish me luck!! and check back often!!