Shampoo that Rocks and Conditioner that Rolls!

I buy a decent amount of stuff via my favorite site, Etsy, and I decided to start reviewing some of my more recent (and favorite stuff).

Shampoo that Rocks and Conditioner that Rolls is a sample/travel pack of bar hair products that I bought a few weeks ago. My sister is a hair stylist and always yelling at me for using cheap shampoo/conditioner, so I folded and bought one of her expensive salon products. Well it just wasn’t right to for me; didn’t lather, I went through it more quickly and it left my hair feeling strange… That’s when I decided to try something that was hand made and good for the environment, so after doing some asking around to other etsy buyers, I found GetLathered. She offers a wide variety of products, but since I am headed on vacation I figured I might as well start small and get the travel pack. I am not flying to NY, but if I were this would be great since you cant bring liquids on a plane. I wish I had bought ti last year for my honeymoon to Puerto Rico. The shampoo on the island of Culebra was so expensive that I just washed my hair with body soap and water all week, lol.

I have used it three times so far, but I could tell the difference after the first wash! I wish you could actually feel my hair via blogger because it is incredibly soft! I have pretty greasy hair and I dye it often, but right now you couldn’t tell. It also smells great, the scent doesn’t just wash off when I rinse. I got Thai Coconut and Rosemary Mint Essential Oil Blend, they are both powerfully and kind of minty, but great. It was a weird sensation washing my hair with a bar at first, but it lathers nicely and is pretty easy. I will defiantly be a buyer for life =)

Forever & Always

My design for Foldee's Wedding Invitation contest came in second! I am so excited as I have been in a few contests and this is my first time in the winner's circle.

The theme for this contest was "Modern Fairytale" and I actually had two submissions, both of which are actually on sale. Based on this theme I though tattoo's would be perfect, and the swallow is such a classic tattoo element, plus they symbolize love and fidelity - choosing a mate for life and only nesting with that bird and no other.

You can check out their blog to see the other top wedding cards, or just go straight to their main site to see all of the great cards they have available!

Foldees is a small greeting card company located in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia that hosts design competitions in various themes for cards to sell on their site and various retailers. For only $2 each their cards a steal, and totally original and creative! Keep in mind though (for US customers) that shipping can take almost a month, but it is worth it. They are great quality and offer tons of customizable options.

Capturing an Ultrasound

Like the majority of my custom artwork, I found this client in the Alchemy section of Etsy. For those who have never heard of, or used Etsy, it is a wonderful site full of unique artisans who hand make a variety of products and artwork. It is free to use and I highly recommend it. Just be sure to read all of the rules before committing to a purchase or starting up your own shop.

Now, the Alchemy section is one of my favorite sections, it is full of different user’s posting requests for hand made items. So, I don’t have to wait for a client to find me, I can go strait to them! Alchemy is done with “bids”, although the lowest doesn’t always win, quality is very important after all.

Anyways, I created this artwork based on an ultrasound of a 30 week old baby girl. It is the first time I have ever done artwork with nothing but a fuzzy ultrasound for reference; it was truly a unique experience. A lot of it was interpretive, but I think they came out beautifully!

 "Wow! You did an amazing job. It's so crazy how well you did because I can see her resemblance to my sister. She has the family nose. LOL! Thank you so much. I am so glad I chose you to do this for me, I am very happy and I know my sister will be too.”

If I had $100 dollars...

As a graphic artist for The Highland Mint, I also do artwork for our sister company, Westminster Mint. If you recall, last year we created a fake minted trillion dollar bill that I illustrated the reverse and capital building for, Click here to visit that post.

Well this year we have started the replica mint for the $100 Bill! And guess what? I got to do Independence hall! I love doing buildings because of the challenge they provide and its so rewarding when you get a great finished product... Now, the actual bill doesn't release until February 2011, so image the replica wont be on sale till then either.

Company Picnic

I normally make the t-shirt for our annual company picnic, I just never got around to uploading it on here for the world to see. I have been pretty busy at work, due to NHL and NBA ending at the same time, plus all of the side jobs I do. But things are finally starting to wind down just in time for us to move and go on vacation to New York! July/August are sure to be super busy so I thought I would work in a few updates along the way!

Oh! And if you have never heard of The Highland Mint, but are a sports collector be sure to check out our great memorabilia, The Highland Mint