many people, friends and associates know that i entered the MMM 2008 contest this year…
well, according to the website, the decisions were supposed to have been made today for the 10 winners and honorable mentions. so now gen, becky and i [yep, we all entered] all sit on pins and needles waiting to hear if we were selected.  they will announce all the winners and honorable mentions online by august 22, so at this point, if no one calls me by sunday night, all my hopes for winning will be dashed. <sigh>

BUT that isn’t going to happen! i’m envisioning a win…

me with a monumental box[es] of prizes, waiting for me.
me signing a contract with Memory Makers dated August 15, 2007 to August 1, 2008
me dancing around my art room, gleefully loving the fact that i WON!
me, being proud of the really strong layouts i submitted
terry hugging me and tell me that he’s proud of ME

one very cool thing though is this… we are a product sponsor of the contest [and no, that doesn’t prevent sponsor from entering the contest - it’s a blind judging] and donated a pile of paperWERX and digiWERX products as prizes for the top 10 masters. i just was looking at the contest site and noticed that on the listing of prizes, WE are at the top. is this an omen of good things?
the prizes aren’t shown alphabetically and they aren’t displayed by type. hmmm… i’m going with good omen to further reinforce my visioning exercise =) 

wish me luck people. keep those fingers and toes crossed!

well… i did it. it’s up and looks damn fine [if i say so myself]! 
there was a LOT of swearing, fists hitting the desk, hair pulling and a few other choice acts of frustration, but last night - or should i say very early [like 4am!] this morning - the new site was launched.

here are some of the new site highlights:

• the new site offers a friendlier navigation set-up for visitors that make getting around in the site waaaaay easier [there is a lot to see here!]
• i love the look of the black/pink against the bright paper designs and other artwork throughout the site. very modern and HOT.
• huge street team section featuring my girls’ bios and pics with links to their individual blogs
• guest designers… if you’re interested, see the site and send in your information, we’re looking for someone in october.
• project sheets and how to’s are now front and centre, no more searching for the goods. there will be more added in the next few weeks.
• the new virtual classroom will give you a chance to take a class while hanging out at home in the comfort of your bunny slippers and jammies - love that! look for this section to launch in about 2 weeks with our class(es) being taught by me and a few other friends/artists!! [hmmm… maybe an extra special guest too?!?]

we’ve also taken this opportunity to refresh and audit our rubberstamp products and you’ll notice a number of older ‘first generation’ stamps are no longer available on the website. we’ve discontinued about 25 stamps that were among our very first designs, but we’ve alss kept a few due to popular demand. if you can’t find the stamp on our site, that means it’s no longer in production. yeah… it’s sad, but it’s also something that needed to be done and the website revamp was the kick in the arse i needed to cull the collection down a bit.

the good news in that is that NEW stamps are currently being designed and will be going into production soon… there are already 3 new design sheets online, a new stamp section called SCRAP with new stamps and more are on the books for development.

i’ve also added a pile of my favorite links to the site. if you’re interested in being included in our links section, shoot me an email with your details, and i’d be happy to add you to our site. reciprocation would be appreciated.

hmm…. anything else? OH YEAH… I’ve added some products to our online store in the ‘other manufacturers‘ section which now includes:

• paper artsy UM stamps
• hambly screen prints
• basic grey bits and pieces
• heidi swapp
• maya road is coming soon to the online store…

thanks for hanging in with the update process… feedback on the new site design would be really appreciated and a randomly selected feedback comment posted below [and please post more than just ‘gee that is a nice redesign’ LOL] will get a little something in the mail.

so with that… i think i’m going to say goodnight. it’s been a long
weekend and i’m pooped!
catch you later in the week with some new
artwork, i hope.

just a quick note to let you all know that the NEW Lazar StudioWERX website will be launching on monday august 13 at 9am [hopefully!]. here’s a sneak peek at the new look… whatcha think??

site enhancements include an all new look, improved navigation, easier wholesale access, user friendly menus, a large Street Team section, tutorials, workshops, member exclusives [more on that later!] and other goodies.

the site will continue to evolve over time, with updates specifically to our rubberstamp section [new ones being added and old designs being discontinued] and the introduction of online classes.

site goes ‘live’ on monday, so be sure to pop by and check ‘er out.

first newly registered site user will win a package of our fantastic paperWERX cellular and organic collections!

i mean really! how lucky am i to be married to this amazing guy?

while pursuing my pics from last weekend, i found this one of t and it struck me, yet again, how great this dude really is…

• he’s a stars wars collector [our spare room looks like a toy store as Jax can attest too]
• he loves the girlies ali and lauryn so much that he lets them put make-up and nail polish on him!
• he’s creative
• he’s funny
• he’s handsome
• he can reach the top shelf of the kitchen cupboards [he’s 6′2, i’m 5′0 lol!]
• he likes my cooking and best of all…
• he loves ME!

and i love him too… so very much! and honey, even though i know you don’t read this blog very often, i just wanted you to know that you are the best.

i’ve doing a lot of art-on-demand right now. stuff for books from fellow, well-known artists [i’m truly honored to be included in their books] and for contests like Memory Maker Masters 2008 [we’ll know if i made it in about 10 days!] so eventhough i haven’t posted anything ‘new’ in my ETSY store, there has been stuff bubbling out of my proverbial ‘creative’ well. unfortunately, i really can’t show you much of [it] either… pooh! some of the new creative work i’ve done is stuff that i’m really proud of too

there are a number of projects on my studio table that are begging my attention. these are ETSY bound pieces that i’m trying to get back too! hopefully i’ll have something new on the site soon. in the meantime… today i have a tiny peek at some of what’s been going on. this will have to tie you art-loving-need-to-see-more folks over for a bit.

enjoy and happy friday!

As I work away on our friend’s business website, the need for chocolate and something sweet is VERY VERY strong. It’s 12:45am… and I think I need some virtual cupcakes shot in the arm.

So… in honor of Fresh Friday mosaics, here are some yummy cupcakes to make your mouth water.
[slurp - wipe drool off chin] Pass me the milk!

Cupcakie Goodness, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

This is how I spent the better part of Monday afternoon. Sweet!

Today is BC Day, a provincial holiday and since it turned into such afternoon [everyone was off work and school today], we decided to hit the new Steveston Waterpark for some summer fun. We arrived at the park in the mid-afternoon with our close friends Joyce, Percy and their two girls Alison and Lauryn [two of my FAVORITE photo subjects].

The girlies had a great time and I got to take lots of pics… Love that Ali is actually LETTING me photograph her now. She used to hide behind her hands, but now that she’s FIVE, she’s all about posing and having fun. Love these kids… so much!

BC Day at Steveston Waterpark, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

i truly love font, typography and letterpress oriented posters and graphics.

as a graphic designer, i’m  thinking ‘graphically’ nearly 24/7 and these images are happy and productive [even seductive!] representations of one of my greatest obsessions. i hope you catch a bit of excitement from them as i do… i love me some old wooden typesetting blocks!

for me, letterpress is like a good dog; it is designer’s best friend and always there when needed.
sit. stay. good font!

Letterpress Yumminess!, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

as per usual. nothing different there LOL!
i’m working on artwork, websites and other assorted biz related stuff like shipping and new product ideas.
so I’ll entertain you with a cool mosaic for my new Friday Fragments segment. Enjoy!