Great New Designs, and more!

Hi everyone, and happy new year!

Instead of taking the time to relax, drink too much, eat too much and party this holiday season, I was hard at work with some new designs. Well, not really that hard at work. Okay, and I did actually eat and drink and party. But it sounded good for a second, didn't it? :)

I've developed 5 new red heart designs, like this one:



Cute, eh? Each heart is similar but different -- of course, that describes every furbaby on the face of the planet! Similar, but different. Anyway, I like the funky new design, and will be keeping it on full time.

I've also spent some time redesigning the main store page. It's now a combo of chocolate (I guess I did have too much food over the holidays!) and blue (what I feel when I step on that scale after all that food!!). Okay, that's silly too, but I do like the chocolate and blue storefront, and I'm showcasing each and every design -- 47 to date. I don't mean each product (t-shirt, thong...) I mean, 47 actual designs (blue sunburst border collie, red heart bulldog...)

And I have finally sent out my first newsletter! There is only 1 subscriber right now, but it was fun to create. Whew!

SLIGHTLY SAD NEWS
It is with some sadness, and a little relief, that I announce that I am shutting down the radio station in June 2007. I've had that station for years, but my heart is not in it anymore. It takes me about 10-14 hours of real time to create 1 hour of meditation, for example. And I think I can better spend my time doing other things... like new t-shirt designs, writing on the blog, eating chocolate ;P

The radio station was simply taking up too much time for too little feedback, no profit (it costs me to run it, but it was never designed to make money) and the fun of it is gone. I've toyed with ideas on how to revive my interest in it -- change formats, etc etc, but the spark is gone, time to move on. C'est la vie! I do hope, though, that my next project, whatever it may be, gives me the same fun times I've had over the years with my radio station.

I bid you all adieu (it is sounding so French in here today, isn't it?) and wish you all the best in 2007.

--Sue

Banjo and His Mum photo

I wantedc to post a big of info from Jeff Ellis, the photographer who took "Banjo and His Mum". It was the first photo in a rotating series that I am using on the storefront to represent our relationship with animals. The photo was found on MorgueFiles, where people post images and let you use them however you want (personal, commercial, etc.). In return all they ask for is the a comment or email, telling them.

It's the least one can do, right? Jeff sent me an email back, saying "Despite asking that people do drop the photographer a little note, it is a rare occurance and therefore very gratifying when someone like yourself takes the time to do it. I like your site and wish you every success with
your business venture."

Thanks Jeff!

And as often happens, when one artist gets involved with another, there can be a creative spark. "Your use of the the image has given me the idea to do a photo project of images that reflect your site's philosophy says; images that reflect the bond between a human and their animal companion(s)," Jeff said.

Both he and his wife were down with the flu, and "Banjo himself is having to make do with the garden and is missing his long country walks, poor fella." But I am sure that once everyone is back on their feet, we will see some great things from Jeff. Please visit www.littlejackphotgraphy.com for more info.

-- Sue

New Dachschund

Well, I've noticed a lot of visitors to the store come there looking for Dachshunds, but generally aren't enthralled with my little Doxie's face. So, I've created a new one that I hope captures people's imaginations. It's based on Guinness, the friendly little dog of a co-worker. She used to bring him into the office!

Well! After a day of coding, I finally have a main page on the My Visible Soul store that looks good. It includes the first of a great series of photos celebrating pets and their parents. I was going to create a downloadable catalogue, and use this photo (and the others to follow) within the catalogue. That's just too ambitious right now. But I did want to use the photos somehow, and decided to redesign the entire storefront, just to fit the photo in. A few prototypes later, and voila! If you haven't been there recently, go and take a look. Got something to say about it? Let me know :)

Boxer design added to store

I am pleased to finally add a decent looking Boxer to My Visible Soul designs! Isn't he handsome? Soulful eyes really set this dog apart from other designs. Be sure to check out My Visible Soul for both blue and yellow sunburst dogs.

New Jack Russell Design

Yep, finally got off my butt and designed a new, adult Jack Russell graphic. Here's a preview! You can find the yellow and blue sunburst Jack Russell designs at My Visible Soul.

Caught in the act

Finally, proof positive! They are a little blurry, but this is Reese when she is ignored for too long. She starts off with a little nibble and works her way up, taking bigger and bigger bites until she can no longer be ignored! What a crazt cat!

And in the meantime... back at My Visible Soul, I am pleased to say that I've designed some stocking stuffers. There are bumper stickers (also good on binders and in lockers!) and buttons. With the buttons, you can buy in bulk and give like Santa for less than $1 each.

Other stocking stuffer ideas for pet lovers are the coffee mugs and teddy bears.

I've also just begun using Google AdWords. It's an advertising program I used years ago, and am back using it again for My Visible Soul. I think you'll be seeing more and more of MVS over the next few months :)

Technorati tags: cat pet pet news funny kitten photo

Blue Dog

I am pleased to announce that My Visible Soul has branched out with a special series called The Blue Border Collie. Frankly, I have a messenger bag on its way to me right now! A gorgeous little pup, to be sure. Uh oh, I'm running late and the cat is giving my chair "the look"...