Inspired by my boyfriend

My boyfriend was over here in Scotland for 6 months from the USA and he LOVES cooking out on the grill/barbecue. Even when it was cold or raining, we'd eat from the grill 2-3 times a week. So when he'd gone back home and I got back to designing for my zazzle store, I suddenly became inspired to create a couple of barbecue designs.

The first was a little cartoon back yard BBQ scene that I then used as a 4th July invitation and in another of my stores as a cute children's party invite:

The second design was more of a cheeky little dig at my bf since whenever he cooked for anyone over here they went crazy about how good his food was - even the fussiest of eaters enjoyed and devoured his food! Of course on the product the text can be changed so no-one has to work around with my bf's name on their shirt, lol. I'm not sure if he's managed to see the design yet but he was flattered when I told him about it on messenger.

Not really, but .....

It is not very widely know that Scottish Bagpipes are actually animals. In fact, they are a form of cat that make a vey high-pitched wailing noise when angry. The animal has a very unusual pelt, ofetn brightly colored and featuring a number of stripes in a grid-like pattern. As it's such a ferocious beastie, many Scotsmen like to catch Bagpipes and exhibit them in a manner akin to lion tamers in order to show off their own machismo however the bagpipes take serious offense to this and let their feelings be known very vocally indeed! On rare occasions some Scotswomen also tame Bagpipes. In order to prevent the captured bagpipes from making an escape, three of their legs are often tethered with a tassled rope.

Bagpipe Tamer Funny Cartoon Vector T-Shirt
by ArtformTheHeart

Rising Petrol Prices

I got this email about petrol prices in my inbox today. I'm not convinced that the idea will work, people tend to put convenience over saving a few pennies, but nonetheless I think it's a good idea and worth sharing. For my part I don't purchase petrol from any of the big sellers anyway.


Here is an interesting idea to think about (and act upon?)...unless you've already received the same message independently!

We are hitting 129.9 pence a litre in some areas now and soon we will be faced with paying £1.50 per litre. So Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea:


This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign' that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.


Please read it and join in!

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS - not sellers control the market place. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:


For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two biggest oil companies (which now are one) i.e. ESSO and BP.


If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!

My first catch!

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything. It kinda makes me feel guilty!! I have been busy though, so I have lots to write about even if it is a bit out-of-date now, lol.

A few weeks ago I went fishing for the very first time. I've gone quite a few times before but just watched my boyfriend and his dad fish. This time I actually took part. We went to a local lake/pond that had just been stocked with trout so it's kinda cheating; with the odds of catching something totally stacked in my favour, lol. Having said that, I did do exceptionally well!! My boyfriend cast the first line for me and even hooked the fish but he let me reel it in - I told him that it didn't count as me catching it so from then on I did everything myself. I went on to catch another 4 myself in the next hour or so!! My boyfriend wasn't fishing himself and his dad only caught one fish the whole time so I think I did pretty darn well for my first time out!! I wasn't all that keen on getting my photo taken though, since I looked rather rough that day, lol. Here's my catch though:

Fishing is Serious Business Fishing Shirt
by UTeezFishing

A week or so after the fishing expedition (lmao) we went over to War Eagle, Arkansas and visited the mill and the caverns.

The mill and surrounding scenery are really beautiful, and it was such a gorgeous day!! (I really wished that I had a better camera to do the place justice but my photography skills are, well, non-existent, so I really can't justify the expense of a quality camera.) We wandered around the mill inside and out. It seems to be a pretty darn unlucky place!!  It's been built and rebuilt four times in 1832, 1838, 1873 and 1973 due to flooding and fires!!!

After the mill, we went on to the War Eagle Caverns. We didn't go into the caverns themselves as we'd gone to do the gemstone panning at the visitor centre. I've loved gemstones since I was a kid and used to have loads of fun at the Creetown Gemstone Museum near Stranraer, Scotland (guess I was always a bit of a geek, lol). The bag of dirt for panning was around $10 and you know it's pre-loaded with a few inexpensive gems but it was still a fun experience and I did actually get excited to see the loot, lol.

Colorful Gemstones Poster
by RebeccaBrittain
Poster printing from zazzle

Anyway, now you know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth; I'm just in Arkansas, lol.

My First Ever Jack O'Lantern (at age 38)

Okay, so at 38 years old I had never, EVER carved a pumpkin for Halloween. My excuse? Well when I was a kid in the UK, pumpkins weren't available in the stores. I do remember that my parents carved out turnips (or swedes) for Jack O' Lanterns when I was young but since I struggle trying to cut a turnip for cooking I never bothered to attempt carving one for halloween.

Well, this year I'm going to be in the USA for Halloween and my fiance decided to get a pumpin for me to carve. It's a little bit early yet but we figured I may need a practice run, lol. So, on Saturday afternoon I made my first attempt......

We bought a pumpkin carving kit with design templates - cheating a little but I figured that that was allowedfor a first attempt. It took a couple of hours to do even though it was a simple design, and boy did my hands ache when it was done!! I'm quite proud of it though - for a practice run.

Tote Bags

Canvas tote bags are a great alternative to grocery bags for your weekly shopping; sturdy and reusable as well as being environmentally friendly. Until recently I have been using canvas bags purchased at the grocery store, with a huge logo on both sides ....... so I've been paying to advertise for them and that kinda irks me. I have literally hundreds of tote bag designs across my zazzle stores so decided it was about time that I advertised for myself when I do my weekly shop at the store. Here are a few of my own designs and some from other zazzlers:

Animatastic Mandala by Animatastic
Learn how to sell artwork on Zazzle

Animatastic Noah's Ark Bible Story Illustration by Animatastic
More Ark Bags

Funky Circles Rainbow Colors Fractal Design by ArtformTheHeart
Browse more Retro Bags

Posie Panda Bear Cute Cartoon Animal by Animatastic
See more Panda Bags

Art Nouveau Roses Tote Bag by ArtformTheHeart
Browse other Style Bags

Merry Christmas panda Bear Cartoon Tote Bag by Animatastic
Create photo bags from zazzle

Trick or Treat Spooky Halloween Candy Swag Bag by ArtformTheHeart
Make a custom bags at zazzle

Tobacco Flower Print Tote Bag by ArtformTheHeart
Learn how to sell artwork online at Zazzle.com

Stylish Accent Bag - by MySpaceStudio
Make a photo bag on Zazzle

I can't believe that this one is proced at $58.40, but there you go!!

Yinyang Canvas Tote Bag by Flynn_the_Cat
Learn how to sell art online at Zazzle.com

Chinese LOVE Calligraphy Flower Custom Tote Bag by fat_fa_tin
Design a tote bag on Zazzle

Earth Day Sunflower Bag by politicalgirl
Create a bag at zazzle.com

Art Nouveau Rose by ArtformTheHeart
Create your own personalized bags using zazzle 

Tote bags are also great for carrying books, gymn clothes, or anything else you can think of. I'm always rushing out the door at the last minute and used to always throw whatever I needed to take with me into unsightly plastic grocery bags, not anymore, lol.

Running round in circles, just a-chasing my tail.

You know that feeling when you have so many things to do and not enough time to do them so you just end up flailing around? Well that's how I'm feeling right now and my poor little brain is frazzled from it all.

The reason I'm having such a hectic time? Well I'm trying to promote my zazzle stores (have forgotten all about creating art/designs/products for this week) and I head out for an extended stay in the USA first thing Monday morning. The flights were only booked 2 days ago, so I'm in a mad rush trying to ogranise everything. Normally I excell under pressure so it feels really weird to be chasing my tail like this. I have promotion for zazzle lined up for several weeks/months in advance for some of my stores and also for promoting other artists, but I seem to have run out of time a tad to line up the rest of my stores. I have a hundred and one things to do in my house and relating to my car, finances ets before I leave - please give me an extra 10 hours in the day, maybe that way I can get 8 hours sleep and a few more things done!

Of course, I could possibly be refused entry at US immigration (really worried about that) because my trips and itineraries make them suspicious that I intend to stay illegally, beyond the visa waiver limit of 90 days, so there is always the possibility that I'll be right back here in grey and dreary Scotland first thing Tuesday morning. When I went over to the USA for Christmas last year I was taken aside at immigration control - a total shock because I'm probably one of the most law abiding, honest people you will ever meet - and questioned. They gave me clearance exentually and I only just managed to make my connecting flight - but I'm worried that they may now have a mark against my  name, lol.

Wish me luck!