Hi all! Well its been a DAY here and I dont mean that in a good way either. I woke up this morning to find that one of my parakeets was at the bottom of his cage. I do not hand tame my birds for certain reasons. Well I was able to pick him up and hold him in my open palm without him trying to move. I was very worried. I held him in front of a small space heater and he seemed to perk up a tiny bit. I put him back in the cage thinking he would be fine and I checked on him like 10-15 minutes later and he was doing worse. I took him back out of the cage and back to in front of the heater and within a couple of minutes he passed away. I am VERY upset and I feel horrible. It has completely thrown me off the entire day.
I ended up walking down to the Walmart by my house and buying some beads and am going to spend my evening working on a few of the christmas ornaments that I need to get done. I am hoping that after a nights sleep I will feel a bit better tomorrow and can get back at it and get a lot more done.
Sorry this is such a short blog guys but I dont really feel like writing much today.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
A Phoenix Rising!
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| King of Hearts Copyright Ash Evans |
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| Solitude copyright Ash Evans |
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| Sundance Copyright Ash Evans |
Ash also does some really, really good Equine pieces. I think besides Fortuna, Unicorns are her favorite just by looking at her website. She has such a wide variety of lighter pieces and darker pieces and I LOVE seeing the pieces come together on her updates on Facebook. Its always so interesting to see a piece come together from beginning to end and to see the little tweeks she makes in every image until it is JUST how she likes it. One of the piece I was lucky enough to see Works in Progress of is called Solitude from the Oracle Deck she is working on. But I HAVE to be honest and say one of my Favorite of her unicorn series is Sundance. I am a sucker for sunsets and sunrises and I love unicorns so this is both in one!
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| Carrion Tree Copyright Ash Evans |
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| Baby Phoenix by Ash Evans |
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| Ash with Rio (recently departed) and is that Fortuna I see? |
Also no stealing of her pics! They are copyrighted! I asked permission first and so should you!
Love Light and Stitchs!
Some of my favorite artists!
Hi everyone! I am going to be writing blogs on some of my FAVORITE artists and I hope to be able to post pics of their work . I am currently contacting them and asking for permission as I feel that is only the right thing to do. PLEASE do not copy these pictures without their permission. I am including links to their websites so you can contact them and its so easy to ask permission first. Besides which theft is theft and using their pics without permission is just wrong.Some I have talked to before some I havent. I Just want to tell you guys about these people as they are SO talented and sweet and of course they can use all the support and such they can get!
I have found a LOT of them through HAED designs and while HAED doesnt chart ALL their work ALL of their work is amazing. I have looked at different artits work and even recommended a few to HAED and I am happy to say they have joined and are part of the HAED family which makes me so happy.
There are SOME misconceptions about Artists out there and one is that they live an easy life. No they dont. They have the same every day issues we all do as well as a lot of time constraints. They take on commissions and have to get those done first before they can work on the free lance stuff. Also sometimes they have to travel a LOT which takes them away from family and friends for major events.
Next is that they make a TON of money. Truth is very few artists make hundreds of thousands of dollars per painting or sculpture. They dont have a ton of money especially after buying supplies and shipping costs and such. Entering shows alone can be very costly!
Next is they have all day every day to paint/sculpt. Not hardly! Many Artists have families and even if they dont they also have to deal with contracts, emails, orders, copyright infringement, shows, buying supplies, traveling to and from shows, etc.even with help of an assistant Artists rarely have all day every day to sit and paint.
Some of the people I will tell you about wont be your taste or even what you may feel is apporpriate but please remember it IS art! It is meant to be beautiful and enjoyed. Just because it isnt your thing doesnt mean it isnt someone elses. These Artists are all over the world and I have yet to meet an Artist I didnt like or that I didnt have a profound respect for. Art comes in all forms and I will tell you now One of my friends who is VERY talented is actually a tattoo artist. He does do what is considered "traditional" art on paper/canvas but a LOT of his work is walking around on people. So I hope I can open your eyes to different kinds of Art and maybe help you find a favorite new artist as well but PLEASE remember do NOT use their pics without permission. Feel free to contact them and tell them what you think of their art. I am POSITIVE they will love hearing from you!
Love Light and Stitchs!
I have found a LOT of them through HAED designs and while HAED doesnt chart ALL their work ALL of their work is amazing. I have looked at different artits work and even recommended a few to HAED and I am happy to say they have joined and are part of the HAED family which makes me so happy.
There are SOME misconceptions about Artists out there and one is that they live an easy life. No they dont. They have the same every day issues we all do as well as a lot of time constraints. They take on commissions and have to get those done first before they can work on the free lance stuff. Also sometimes they have to travel a LOT which takes them away from family and friends for major events.
Next is that they make a TON of money. Truth is very few artists make hundreds of thousands of dollars per painting or sculpture. They dont have a ton of money especially after buying supplies and shipping costs and such. Entering shows alone can be very costly!
Next is they have all day every day to paint/sculpt. Not hardly! Many Artists have families and even if they dont they also have to deal with contracts, emails, orders, copyright infringement, shows, buying supplies, traveling to and from shows, etc.even with help of an assistant Artists rarely have all day every day to sit and paint.
Some of the people I will tell you about wont be your taste or even what you may feel is apporpriate but please remember it IS art! It is meant to be beautiful and enjoyed. Just because it isnt your thing doesnt mean it isnt someone elses. These Artists are all over the world and I have yet to meet an Artist I didnt like or that I didnt have a profound respect for. Art comes in all forms and I will tell you now One of my friends who is VERY talented is actually a tattoo artist. He does do what is considered "traditional" art on paper/canvas but a LOT of his work is walking around on people. So I hope I can open your eyes to different kinds of Art and maybe help you find a favorite new artist as well but PLEASE remember do NOT use their pics without permission. Feel free to contact them and tell them what you think of their art. I am POSITIVE they will love hearing from you!
Love Light and Stitchs!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
update on the store
Hi everyone!!! well with christmas VERY quickly coming I am still not open like I hoped. I have not been able to make up my stock like I had hoped due to financial issues and moving issues. For those of you who dont know, I live with my father and make sure he has help when he needs it. My father suffers from diabetes, sciatic nerve and muscle pain, and arthritis and is going to be 70 come March 2013. With our climate in the colder months he does have trouble moving some days and he does have other health issues. I mainly make sure he eats and takes his meds and just help him when he needs it.
Well we lost our old home, which was my childhood home, through a big mix up at the bank and it was never straightened out by the bank in time and they filed foreclosure on us. We got the place we are in now and when we got it we went to move in and found mold was in the walls and had to delay our moving to gut basically every room to the bare studs. there was no insulation in the house and so now we are working on insulation and just found out tonight that we need to have the furnace fixed as the burner is not coming on.
So money has been going towards Christmas and buying my son winter clothing and the new house. I am however going to be working as much as I can to get my stock done and everything redone and updated and photographed and such so I can reopen hopefully before a year passes. Right now a LOT of my supplies are in a storage unit and until the house is redone we cannot really bring any of it here unless I am specifically working on it as we just dont have the room at this time.
I have a few new colors of hats I am going to introduce during the reopening. One is a black, red and silver hat and the other is a pink, silver and black hat and I am trying to figure out if I want to do another line of winter hats as well in solid colors. So far the test one isnt bad but I am still a bit iffy on it.
I am also wanting to add in a line of squeeker dog toys and a line of cat toys with catnip in them. I already have doggy tug toys so I feel the cat toys will be a good addition. I am also wanting to do what I call Dogganna's which are basically doggy bandannas. The design I have come up with so far is much safer then just tying a regular bandana around your dogs neck, which can pose a choking hazard should it get caught on something or be tied to tight. The smallest dogganna could be used for a cat too as long as the cat has a collar. The test run for that my dad said it looked like a bib. LOL here is a pic of my toy Manchester terrier mix wearing one for you to get an idea. This was at our old house and MAN do I miss that room!
I also have been working on a line of wineglass charms, they are turning out nice but were packed away in the move and I have to find them again. I AM considering discontinuing a couple of things, mainly my cards and my needle keepers/minders. Mainly due to lack of interest, and the extremely time consuming nature of making the needle keepers.
I am also looking at spreading out a bit and expanding where my products are available. to that end I am looking at a number of different places to extend myself and hope to be able to do that as well. I think that is about it. If I think of anything else I will let you guys know!
Love Light and Stitchs!!!!
Well we lost our old home, which was my childhood home, through a big mix up at the bank and it was never straightened out by the bank in time and they filed foreclosure on us. We got the place we are in now and when we got it we went to move in and found mold was in the walls and had to delay our moving to gut basically every room to the bare studs. there was no insulation in the house and so now we are working on insulation and just found out tonight that we need to have the furnace fixed as the burner is not coming on.
So money has been going towards Christmas and buying my son winter clothing and the new house. I am however going to be working as much as I can to get my stock done and everything redone and updated and photographed and such so I can reopen hopefully before a year passes. Right now a LOT of my supplies are in a storage unit and until the house is redone we cannot really bring any of it here unless I am specifically working on it as we just dont have the room at this time.
I have a few new colors of hats I am going to introduce during the reopening. One is a black, red and silver hat and the other is a pink, silver and black hat and I am trying to figure out if I want to do another line of winter hats as well in solid colors. So far the test one isnt bad but I am still a bit iffy on it.
I am also wanting to add in a line of squeeker dog toys and a line of cat toys with catnip in them. I already have doggy tug toys so I feel the cat toys will be a good addition. I am also wanting to do what I call Dogganna's which are basically doggy bandannas. The design I have come up with so far is much safer then just tying a regular bandana around your dogs neck, which can pose a choking hazard should it get caught on something or be tied to tight. The smallest dogganna could be used for a cat too as long as the cat has a collar. The test run for that my dad said it looked like a bib. LOL here is a pic of my toy Manchester terrier mix wearing one for you to get an idea. This was at our old house and MAN do I miss that room!I also have been working on a line of wineglass charms, they are turning out nice but were packed away in the move and I have to find them again. I AM considering discontinuing a couple of things, mainly my cards and my needle keepers/minders. Mainly due to lack of interest, and the extremely time consuming nature of making the needle keepers.
I am also looking at spreading out a bit and expanding where my products are available. to that end I am looking at a number of different places to extend myself and hope to be able to do that as well. I think that is about it. If I think of anything else I will let you guys know!
Love Light and Stitchs!!!!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Christmas Already? Oh dear....
Well Its that time of year. What time? CRUNCH time for making my handmade christmas gifts. Every year I give handmade gifts for christmas. Last year I did peppermint bark, sweet red pepper Jelly, and I cant remember the third thing. All in a pretty box I hand decorated. This year I am doing ornaments that I am doing a mix of cross stitch and tent stitch with I will be adding rhinestones and beads for sparkle too.
Why am I starting so early? Well simply because they take time to make. I have to stitch two halves for each ornament by hand, wash and press them, then sew them together with a loop of ribbon for a hanger when dry, after that I have to add rhinestones and beads and stuffing. Some of them are going across the country and even 1 or 2 are going over seas. I have to make around 12-16 in all. Their all different colors and I am trying to do things in colors I know other people would love. I am also considering sending some homemade bird feeders along with them to my local friends and those here in the states.
At this point I am behind in making my ornaments and so am going to be furiously working on them to get them done in time. I am going to be working on the ones that have to be shipped first so at least those can be done and packaged and ready to go Since I need to ship them about the beginning of November for the overseas and the middle to end of November for the across country ones. That way I KNOW they will arrive in time.
Why am I starting so early? Well simply because they take time to make. I have to stitch two halves for each ornament by hand, wash and press them, then sew them together with a loop of ribbon for a hanger when dry, after that I have to add rhinestones and beads and stuffing. Some of them are going across the country and even 1 or 2 are going over seas. I have to make around 12-16 in all. Their all different colors and I am trying to do things in colors I know other people would love. I am also considering sending some homemade bird feeders along with them to my local friends and those here in the states.
At this point I am behind in making my ornaments and so am going to be furiously working on them to get them done in time. I am going to be working on the ones that have to be shipped first so at least those can be done and packaged and ready to go Since I need to ship them about the beginning of November for the overseas and the middle to end of November for the across country ones. That way I KNOW they will arrive in time.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Remembering Baby Black.
As many of you dont know I LOVE animals and I have always been over the moon with horses. I think they are one of the most beautiful animals out there. When I was younger I used to take lessons 2-3 times a week and was pretty decent of a rider. I was told I was naturally talented with the horses and I always felt at peace with them and being around them. I was able to keep my seat and even keep a measure of control on a spooked horse during my first lesson which impressed the instructor since it isnt something even some experienced riders can do.
Well My friend Michele has the most gorgeous horses and she shares pics of them all the time. Really they are stunning you should see them. And I met this guy who is really very very sweet named John, he owns a horse ranch south of me and he was showing pictures of some of his horses and one of his foals. Absolutely breathtaking! anyway it got me to thinking about the last time I was able to be around a horse and to ride a horse and to be ok.
I was in my early teens and was taking lessons for about 3 weeks when I asked about this HUGE and boy do I mean HUGE black stallion in a stall at the end of the stable I was taking lessons at. I was told the horses name was Baby Black, he had been had hand reared by his original owner after something had happened to the mother right about the time he was born. The man had died suddenly from heart disease and Baby was maybe 3-4 yrs old by then and the son had inherited the horse but had never showed up to handle it. I was told the horse did NOT like anyone. it had let its old owner near it but noone else, it would bit or kick anyone that went and tried to even groom the horse. as such it was usually darted anytime it needed anything done to it. I remember watching how they cleaned its stall. OMG I never laughed so hard at the sight of so many grown adults acting so scared! They got these boards and one guy would open the stall door and they would use these boards to make a corridor leading to the outside pen area and would shoo the horse out therewith another guy with a board. it really was comical. they would clean the stall then they would move all these bales of hay/straw (never was sure which) to make an aisle back and they would all get their boards again and make a circle and slowly creep in on the horse and shoo him back into his stall. and one guy got the job of slamming the stall door and latching it before he horse kicked it.
Well I dont know if I was stubborn, determined or what but I felt bad for Baby. I knew he had to be lonely and couldnt understand why his old owner wasnt around. so I brought sugar cubes for him. at first I would walk up to the stall and just look at him, he would look at me and I would leave the cubes on the stall door. After a couple of weeks I walked up to the stall and baby came to the head of the stall and I held the cubes out in my hand, he hesitated so I set them on the stall door and said good boy and left. the end of the next week he actually took them from my hand, I smiled and said "Good Baby" and turned and left. that lasted a week or two and then one day I Gave him the cubes and then he reached out and nuzzled me. I reached up and rubbed his neck and he put his head on my shoulder. I pushed a bit harder and picked up a brush and went into his stall carefully, he was eyeing me a bit wary and I showed him the brush. He kinda pushed me with his head and I started brushing him and he gave what I guess you could call a horse purr.. My instructor came looking for me and freaked out finding me in his stall, he ran and got the stable owner who came running in and they were stunned. Of course they stood a few stalls back. LOL. They wondered if I could walk him out of his stall and I picked up the lead rope, clipped it on and told him we were gonna go to the outdoor arena for a bit and to come on, and he went with no problem though he did flick the stable owner and instructor with his tail.... We got outside and the owner asked me to see if he would let me saddle him. He did. I remember him looking at me like "well ya gonna get on or not? Imma waiting and dont have all day.." I put my foot in the stirrup and swung up into the saddle and it started to prance around the arena as if he was the most perfectly trained horse.
The instructor came over and tried to grab the halter and Baby bit him. LOL the owner (old hand with horses) just looked at me and the horse. I was afraid I had done something seriously wrong. I mean Baby DIDNT belong to the stable he was private and just boarded there. He turned and walked back into the stable and came back out with a bunch of papers. he was looking through them and he informed me and the instructor that according to the standard contract for the stable, the stable had the right to do what was in the best interest of the animal, whether that pertain to exercise or veterinary care, Major matters such as euthanasia, breeding and reproduction where the owner of the animals things to deal with and were the only real areas the stable could not interfere. He said since I could handle the horse I better work it when I was there and it was my horse to ride as long as I wanted as far as he was concerned.
This lasted for a month and a half to 2 months, I was SO happy. I could not have loved Baby Black any more then if he was my own. I helped to muck the stall and put down fresh hay/straw, I gave him fresh water and groomed him. I rode him and it felt like flying. I never felt more right or centered or happy then when I was on Baby Black. He was So sweet and SO gentle and SO protective! One day I was brushing him and one of the hands came over to tell me something and Baby forced his way between me and the guy until his body was between us. That all changed when I went to my lessons one fall day.
I was just finishing up a lesson on Baby when the horses owner showed up. Nobody knew he was coming and he had never been around the whole months I had been taking lessons. He went BALLISTIC when he saw me on Baby. he started shouting and screaming about theft of property and how it was his horse and how they had no right. They owner of the stable spoke to him and even showed him in the contract where the stable had the right to exercise the horse which technically was what I was doing. Baby's owner was SO mad, he left cussing and yelling about how it was his horse and that if he couldnt ride the glue factory then nobody should be riding it. I got down and unsaddled Baby and brushed him down and everything. I remember spending a few extra minutes with him that day telling him how much I loved him and how happy I was and what a wonderful horse he was. He laid his head on my shoulder and just nuzzled me and blew his breathe on me. It was a perfect moment in time.
When I went back for another lesson 2 days later Baby was gone. I went around asking what had happened wanting to know where he was, I was almost frantic. Nobody would tell me anything. The owner of the stable came out and sat me down. He told me he had some bad news. I thought Baby had just been moved to another stable and I wouldnt see him again, I in no way was prepared for what he told me. The owner of the stable told me that Baby's owner had come back the day after my last lesson and had shot Baby and killed him because I had been able to ride Baby and he couldnt. That nobody had even known what was happening until it was to late. I lost it. I balled so hard. They tried to comfort me and to help me be okay with it. by the time I had finished crying they tried to get me to go in the stable and to see some of the other horses but the first stall I couldnt even touch the horse. I remember all the horses were at the front of their stalls looking at me and it was so quiet. they werent even shifting their weight on the floor.
I will never forget Baby Black, I will never forget that he died because I befriended him. I have never been able to ride since. I dont know if I ever will. I just know every time I see a black horse I am reminded of the most beautiful friend I had. and I will hopefully one day be able to look back and not cry over it.
Well My friend Michele has the most gorgeous horses and she shares pics of them all the time. Really they are stunning you should see them. And I met this guy who is really very very sweet named John, he owns a horse ranch south of me and he was showing pictures of some of his horses and one of his foals. Absolutely breathtaking! anyway it got me to thinking about the last time I was able to be around a horse and to ride a horse and to be ok.
I was in my early teens and was taking lessons for about 3 weeks when I asked about this HUGE and boy do I mean HUGE black stallion in a stall at the end of the stable I was taking lessons at. I was told the horses name was Baby Black, he had been had hand reared by his original owner after something had happened to the mother right about the time he was born. The man had died suddenly from heart disease and Baby was maybe 3-4 yrs old by then and the son had inherited the horse but had never showed up to handle it. I was told the horse did NOT like anyone. it had let its old owner near it but noone else, it would bit or kick anyone that went and tried to even groom the horse. as such it was usually darted anytime it needed anything done to it. I remember watching how they cleaned its stall. OMG I never laughed so hard at the sight of so many grown adults acting so scared! They got these boards and one guy would open the stall door and they would use these boards to make a corridor leading to the outside pen area and would shoo the horse out therewith another guy with a board. it really was comical. they would clean the stall then they would move all these bales of hay/straw (never was sure which) to make an aisle back and they would all get their boards again and make a circle and slowly creep in on the horse and shoo him back into his stall. and one guy got the job of slamming the stall door and latching it before he horse kicked it.
Well I dont know if I was stubborn, determined or what but I felt bad for Baby. I knew he had to be lonely and couldnt understand why his old owner wasnt around. so I brought sugar cubes for him. at first I would walk up to the stall and just look at him, he would look at me and I would leave the cubes on the stall door. After a couple of weeks I walked up to the stall and baby came to the head of the stall and I held the cubes out in my hand, he hesitated so I set them on the stall door and said good boy and left. the end of the next week he actually took them from my hand, I smiled and said "Good Baby" and turned and left. that lasted a week or two and then one day I Gave him the cubes and then he reached out and nuzzled me. I reached up and rubbed his neck and he put his head on my shoulder. I pushed a bit harder and picked up a brush and went into his stall carefully, he was eyeing me a bit wary and I showed him the brush. He kinda pushed me with his head and I started brushing him and he gave what I guess you could call a horse purr.. My instructor came looking for me and freaked out finding me in his stall, he ran and got the stable owner who came running in and they were stunned. Of course they stood a few stalls back. LOL. They wondered if I could walk him out of his stall and I picked up the lead rope, clipped it on and told him we were gonna go to the outdoor arena for a bit and to come on, and he went with no problem though he did flick the stable owner and instructor with his tail.... We got outside and the owner asked me to see if he would let me saddle him. He did. I remember him looking at me like "well ya gonna get on or not? Imma waiting and dont have all day.." I put my foot in the stirrup and swung up into the saddle and it started to prance around the arena as if he was the most perfectly trained horse.
The instructor came over and tried to grab the halter and Baby bit him. LOL the owner (old hand with horses) just looked at me and the horse. I was afraid I had done something seriously wrong. I mean Baby DIDNT belong to the stable he was private and just boarded there. He turned and walked back into the stable and came back out with a bunch of papers. he was looking through them and he informed me and the instructor that according to the standard contract for the stable, the stable had the right to do what was in the best interest of the animal, whether that pertain to exercise or veterinary care, Major matters such as euthanasia, breeding and reproduction where the owner of the animals things to deal with and were the only real areas the stable could not interfere. He said since I could handle the horse I better work it when I was there and it was my horse to ride as long as I wanted as far as he was concerned.
This lasted for a month and a half to 2 months, I was SO happy. I could not have loved Baby Black any more then if he was my own. I helped to muck the stall and put down fresh hay/straw, I gave him fresh water and groomed him. I rode him and it felt like flying. I never felt more right or centered or happy then when I was on Baby Black. He was So sweet and SO gentle and SO protective! One day I was brushing him and one of the hands came over to tell me something and Baby forced his way between me and the guy until his body was between us. That all changed when I went to my lessons one fall day.
I was just finishing up a lesson on Baby when the horses owner showed up. Nobody knew he was coming and he had never been around the whole months I had been taking lessons. He went BALLISTIC when he saw me on Baby. he started shouting and screaming about theft of property and how it was his horse and how they had no right. They owner of the stable spoke to him and even showed him in the contract where the stable had the right to exercise the horse which technically was what I was doing. Baby's owner was SO mad, he left cussing and yelling about how it was his horse and that if he couldnt ride the glue factory then nobody should be riding it. I got down and unsaddled Baby and brushed him down and everything. I remember spending a few extra minutes with him that day telling him how much I loved him and how happy I was and what a wonderful horse he was. He laid his head on my shoulder and just nuzzled me and blew his breathe on me. It was a perfect moment in time.
When I went back for another lesson 2 days later Baby was gone. I went around asking what had happened wanting to know where he was, I was almost frantic. Nobody would tell me anything. The owner of the stable came out and sat me down. He told me he had some bad news. I thought Baby had just been moved to another stable and I wouldnt see him again, I in no way was prepared for what he told me. The owner of the stable told me that Baby's owner had come back the day after my last lesson and had shot Baby and killed him because I had been able to ride Baby and he couldnt. That nobody had even known what was happening until it was to late. I lost it. I balled so hard. They tried to comfort me and to help me be okay with it. by the time I had finished crying they tried to get me to go in the stable and to see some of the other horses but the first stall I couldnt even touch the horse. I remember all the horses were at the front of their stalls looking at me and it was so quiet. they werent even shifting their weight on the floor.
I will never forget Baby Black, I will never forget that he died because I befriended him. I have never been able to ride since. I dont know if I ever will. I just know every time I see a black horse I am reminded of the most beautiful friend I had. and I will hopefully one day be able to look back and not cry over it.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Cross stitch that is Heaven on Earth....
Hi everyone!!! As some of you know I am a HUGE cross stitch fanatic! It is my primary way to relax after a LONG day and I always have a LOT of stitching projects on the go. I started when I was maybe 5-7 years old and have been with it ever since! I have done SO MANY kits over the years and truthfully i had become REALLY REALLY picky bout my charts. Well I was searching online for a pattern that was lord of the rings related for a friend as a gift and came across the fab place called Heaven and Earth Designs...
Let me tell you I fell in LOVE with this place. The charts are amazing!!!! There is no back stitching or specialty stitch's everything is full crosses or x's. Also if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, They JUST resigned with Matt Stewart who has done some of the most BEAUTIFUL artwork inspired by LOTR. I have been buying from them for a few years now and let me tell you I have come to know Michele the owner like I would a good friend. She is so warm and so welcoming and so wonderful. She gives the absolute BEST customer service I have ever received. IF there was ever a problem with a chart or accessing the site she would always help me out. If I had a question she would take the time to answer it. This is ALL while running the business, doing bookkeeping, being a mom, being a wife, caring for her animals, negotiating contracts, AND doing all the charts by HAND. That is right Michele does NOT use a charting software program, she does every chart by herself with her own two hands in a special thing she wrote to do this with. Michele is a computer tech genius ! Michele is always on Facebook keeping in personal touch with her customers who she views as friends and family rather then just people who shop from her.
Speaking of Michele and her HAED family which includes the people that buy from her and work with her (her family)and the artists that she charts there are unfortunately those heartbreaking moments as well. There is a thing called copyright which protects all artistic and intellectual property of the person who created it. Every artist's work is what is called Copyright protected to that artist. It basically means that work is the property of that artist and by law you cannot copy or duplicate that work without permission. Michele signs contracts with these artists for their permission to legally use their property to create these charts in return for paying them a fee for the privilege. Michele sells her chart in 2 formats that you can download right away one is known as a large format or large print and the other is in regular format or regular print. She also has hard copy you can order in both formats as well but for ease we will stick with the PDF files for this.
Where Am I going with this? Well unfortunately Michele and the artists have been victims of copyright infringement in several ways. I know she would want me to educate you on this so I will. Copyright infringement is when you use someones work without permission. The first way they have been victims of it is by people sharing files, or basically just sending someone a copy of the PDF file that they bought. This costs Michele her money from a sale and it also costs the artists in royalty fees. A second way is by people uploading the purchased PDF files to a free file sharing site. Unfortunately there have been several very lovely people who were very close to Michele that did this and have cost her and the artists thousands and thousands of dollars in sales and revenue. The third way is that people will just take an image from the artists website or they will see it somewhere online and just use it and whatever charting software they may have on hand and make a chart of it. The loss of detail is beyond believable and the size is all wrong and it just looks bad, but then those people in turn sell that pattern and do not pay Michele or the artists ANYTHING to compensate them. All of this costs a LOT of money to fight so that is even more revenue lost.
No matter how you look at it they are stealing money not just from an artist who may be having a hard time making a go of it (the notion that artists make TONS of money is very wrong) and they are stealing from a very small family business that is now struggling to stay open. So I say go to the source. If you want amazing charts that will give you hours of pleasure go to Heavenandearthdesigns.com and check out their charts. there is something there for EVERY single taste and if you need help Send Michele an email and she can kind of point you in the right direction as with like 7,000 charts it can be hard to sort through them. Support a true made in America business and help stop copyright infringement and support the artists as well. Get to know Michele and Bob, her husband and their WONDERFUL family of kids and animals and just say Hi.
I PROMISE you will NEVER be disappointed with Michele or Heaven and Earth charts or the customer service. I have never encountered ANYONE like Michele when it comes to customer service. I personally know she has spent 12+ hours a day working on charts and dealing with issues when there was a site crash and making 110% sure she had gotten to every single person and sent each and every person who had a problem an email. She has even been known to extend sales due to site problems just to be fair to everyone. Michele is such a sweet, sweet person and she is so open and loving and kind and I know she will welcome you with open arms.
Let me tell you I fell in LOVE with this place. The charts are amazing!!!! There is no back stitching or specialty stitch's everything is full crosses or x's. Also if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, They JUST resigned with Matt Stewart who has done some of the most BEAUTIFUL artwork inspired by LOTR. I have been buying from them for a few years now and let me tell you I have come to know Michele the owner like I would a good friend. She is so warm and so welcoming and so wonderful. She gives the absolute BEST customer service I have ever received. IF there was ever a problem with a chart or accessing the site she would always help me out. If I had a question she would take the time to answer it. This is ALL while running the business, doing bookkeeping, being a mom, being a wife, caring for her animals, negotiating contracts, AND doing all the charts by HAND. That is right Michele does NOT use a charting software program, she does every chart by herself with her own two hands in a special thing she wrote to do this with. Michele is a computer tech genius ! Michele is always on Facebook keeping in personal touch with her customers who she views as friends and family rather then just people who shop from her.
Speaking of Michele and her HAED family which includes the people that buy from her and work with her (her family)and the artists that she charts there are unfortunately those heartbreaking moments as well. There is a thing called copyright which protects all artistic and intellectual property of the person who created it. Every artist's work is what is called Copyright protected to that artist. It basically means that work is the property of that artist and by law you cannot copy or duplicate that work without permission. Michele signs contracts with these artists for their permission to legally use their property to create these charts in return for paying them a fee for the privilege. Michele sells her chart in 2 formats that you can download right away one is known as a large format or large print and the other is in regular format or regular print. She also has hard copy you can order in both formats as well but for ease we will stick with the PDF files for this.
Where Am I going with this? Well unfortunately Michele and the artists have been victims of copyright infringement in several ways. I know she would want me to educate you on this so I will. Copyright infringement is when you use someones work without permission. The first way they have been victims of it is by people sharing files, or basically just sending someone a copy of the PDF file that they bought. This costs Michele her money from a sale and it also costs the artists in royalty fees. A second way is by people uploading the purchased PDF files to a free file sharing site. Unfortunately there have been several very lovely people who were very close to Michele that did this and have cost her and the artists thousands and thousands of dollars in sales and revenue. The third way is that people will just take an image from the artists website or they will see it somewhere online and just use it and whatever charting software they may have on hand and make a chart of it. The loss of detail is beyond believable and the size is all wrong and it just looks bad, but then those people in turn sell that pattern and do not pay Michele or the artists ANYTHING to compensate them. All of this costs a LOT of money to fight so that is even more revenue lost.
No matter how you look at it they are stealing money not just from an artist who may be having a hard time making a go of it (the notion that artists make TONS of money is very wrong) and they are stealing from a very small family business that is now struggling to stay open. So I say go to the source. If you want amazing charts that will give you hours of pleasure go to Heavenandearthdesigns.com and check out their charts. there is something there for EVERY single taste and if you need help Send Michele an email and she can kind of point you in the right direction as with like 7,000 charts it can be hard to sort through them. Support a true made in America business and help stop copyright infringement and support the artists as well. Get to know Michele and Bob, her husband and their WONDERFUL family of kids and animals and just say Hi.
I PROMISE you will NEVER be disappointed with Michele or Heaven and Earth charts or the customer service. I have never encountered ANYONE like Michele when it comes to customer service. I personally know she has spent 12+ hours a day working on charts and dealing with issues when there was a site crash and making 110% sure she had gotten to every single person and sent each and every person who had a problem an email. She has even been known to extend sales due to site problems just to be fair to everyone. Michele is such a sweet, sweet person and she is so open and loving and kind and I know she will welcome you with open arms.
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