Storybook Memory for Lauren

I looooooove how this one turned out:)

Post by Noelle Wezner Art.

Advent Wreath Printable

I was having a hard time finding a nice advent wreath for my dining table, so I made my own using candles from Dollar Tree:) Just right click the link  and save as to download my printables for the candles->   advent_printable

Embroidered Skull

I've been wanting to try my hand at some embroidery, so I made this for Mr. Ben Wu as part of an art trade. I think it turned out pretty good for one of my first attempts:)

Council Grove, KS

I decided that while I am living in Kansas I might as well try to make the best out of the area and see if there are any cool things nearby. Joe had a couple days off work this week, so we decided to take a ride out to Council Grove, Kansas.  It was just over an hour from Junction City down some pretty desolate roads (lots of farms!) but the town itself was a pleasant surprise. The houses are well maintained with really pretty yards and it seems like the people of Council Grove really take pride in their town. There is a self guided tour of 24 historic sites around Council Grove. The first one we went to was the Hermit's Cave. Italian priest Giovanni Maria Augustini lived in this cave for five months in 1863 before heading out to Santa Fe. There are some pretty stone steps leading down to it and a path leads down a hill into a wooded area from the cave. I can't imagine living inside of there for any amount of time though. It wasn't big enough to stand up in, but I guess it would keep you relatively dry...



We looked for a geocache in the area, but unfortunately all we went away with were some bug bites. No ticks, thankfully! Caches in wooded areas don't really lend themselves to being found in the summer... Down the street from the cave is this old bell that they used to ring when the town was under attack from indians.


This is a house across the street- I looooooove the porch off to the left- a nice shady porch with a good book and a cup of tea sounds like a fabulous way to spend an afternoon.

This is the Hays House Restaurant- it is supposedly the oldest functioning restaurant in Kansas. We went inside to eat, but the prices seemed pretty steep for what was offered, so I got a slice of Godiva chocolate pie and Joe got some hand churned rocky road ice cream (which, with our drinks ended up costing around $15!)

This is the Last Chance Store. I peeked in a window, but there wasn't anything set up inside- it looked like someone was staaaaarting to set up a little shop in there. This was the last actual store when people were traveling to Santa Fe. Apparently they sold canned beans and whiskey haha.

Cottage House Hotel- awesomely pretty building with some very eclectic rooms (I checked them out online- every room is unique, which I thought was pretty cool) with all kinds of antiques in them.

We found this geocache by the river walk, but it seemed like something was missing- the hint was "take some time to REFLECT on your geocaching experiences" and we found the film canister on the ground in some weeds.

Another cache we found at the town park on this tank- the hint was pretty specific, but it still took us a bit to locate it on the tank...



I thought this was going to be a four mile long cemetery, but it turns out it was just a regular smallish sized cemetery located on 4-mile road. We found the cache here pretty easily, since the hint told us to look up.



 

We were pretty disappointed that most of the shops in town were closed since we went out on a Sunday- I especially wanted to have a soda at the Apothecary (which has a vintage marble countertop with swivel stools and an old fashioned soda fountain inside), and check out the Kaw Mission. We did get to poke around in an antique store for a while though and had a nice time walking around and looking at the historical sites:)

RCHS

When Joe and I moved to Kansas, we adopted a couple of super adorable kitties. I've never had a pet that wasn't a fish, so I was really excited to get them. Through working with the Riley County Humane Society on adoption them, I learned that they could use some graphic help from time to time. This is a flyer I designed for a recent event they held, and I'm currently working on a logo redesign for them too:)

Storybook Memory

I think this is my new favorite:) It turned out really well! By far my most popular etsy item->https://www.etsy.com/listing/90091385/storybook-memory-custom-illustration-5x7?ref=shop_home_active

Storybook Memory

A new storybook memory:) I love doing these!

Save the Dates

Joe and I legally got married last March before he deployed, but since it was at a courthouse in Kansas, we wanted to do the church thing and have a big party too:) So we're having a convalidation next September and a nice reception. A lot of our family and friends are pretty far from my church, so we thought it would be a good idea to send out save the dates in advance.

Our wedding colors are black and white and my dress is 1950s vintage-inspired tea length, so I wanted to carry that into our postcards. I went to the Algonac-Clay Historic Society looking for old photos of St. Catherine Church (they are so helpful there!). They actually had the original architectural rendering of the church from when it was rebuilt in 1959, so I scanned that and used it as the front of the card.


And then I wrote out all of the addresses by hand with a dip pen, which was a bad idea... but they look nice! I think I'm going to be printing address labels for our formal invitations. No more hand calligraphy... But I was overall very happy with how they turned out.

Pet Portraits

I don't do pet portraits too often, but they are pretty fun to do:) This was a commission for one of my aunt's friends who recently lost one of her furry friends. Here is the reference photo I was working from and the final result. I am pretty happy with how this turned out:)

Holiday Art Special

Are you looking for a personal, unique holiday present? I will be offering 5x7 or 8x10 custom illustrations from now through Christmas. Portraits, houses, cottages, cartoons, pink unicorns... you name it, I draw it! Submit a photo and you will have an illustration on your doorstep by Christmas!

 

How much does it cost?
5x7: $20 + shipping

8x10: $30 + shipping

What do I get?
You will receive either a 5x7 or an 8x10 custom illustration on Bristol board. Probably it will include some form of ink, watercolor, graphite or colored pencil, depending on the subject.


What will you draw?
Anything you can send me a reference photo of!

When will I get my picture?
I will be sending them out as I finish in the order that they are received. The last shipment will be made no later than December 14. If you need your print sooner than this please include a note in your email. I will do whatever possible to accommodate requests for prints to be mailed by a certain date but make no guarantees that they will be mailed earlier than December 14.

Do you ship internationally?
I certainly can!

Can I see my illustration before you ship it?
Unfortunately not. The elimination of the usual back and forth makes it possible for me to offer these at a flat rate.

Can I request certain colors?
Unfortunately not. Again, for the same reason as above, the elimination of the usual back and forth allows me to offer these illustrations at a flat rate. (You can request black and white instead of full color though)

Can you ship it to someone else for me?
Yes I can! I'll even include a note if you'd like.

Do you offer refunds?
Once you have sent me your photo your sale will be considered final.

This offer is not for my traditional custom house portraits. If you're interested in that style, you can commission me from my etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/87933471/8x10-custom-pen-and-ink-house-portrait
This is for more a fun, quirky illustration, rather than a super detailed, precise illustration:) Here are some examples of what you could expect:

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Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions!

Mr. Wu

A portrait of one of my awesome artist friends for his birthday:)

(you can find some of his awesome work here-> http://www.etsy.com/shop/WuCaperStudio)

 

I was experimenting with my dip pens. They're a nice change from the uniformity of rapidographs from time to time. And then I went back with the watercolors:)

Another Storybook Memory

Apparently Josh likes the footlongs a lot...

See the etsy listing here ->  https://www.etsy.com/listing/90091385/storybook-memory-custom-illustration-5x7

Storybook Memory Portrait

I got the opportunity to do a custom cartoon portrait off of etsy:) I think it turned out pretty cute!

Here's the original listing: https://www.etsy.com/listing/90091385/storybook-memory-custom-illustration-5x7

Geoswag

If you are here by chance because you have found one of my geoswag items please leave a comment! It's pretty cool to see where things end up.

My awesome new geo-treasures to trade and leave in caches:D (for anyone who is not familiar with geocaching, go to geocaching.com. Do it now. It is an amazingly fun hobby!) Joe and I are planning on taking a trip to Louisville in October while he's on leave from his deployment to go see Powerman 5000 and I wanted to get these rolling before then so I have something to leave in the Kentucky caches we might find (and any along the way)







The branches were cut by my loving father from our back yard and the background pictures are mostly photos I took with my cell phone while I was (supposed to be) working at the Algonac State Park:













Who can mow a lawn when there is a beautiful rainbow in the sky just beckoning you to stop and whip out your cell phone to capture it...



And likewise who can possibly empty trashcans when there is a gorgeous sunset! I miss some parts more than others at that job...haha

 

And for good measure here is my geocaching profile -> CLICK HERE My username is Doublejinxed (it's a screen name I have been using since my days of magical chatroom RPG battles (I was a little bit of a nerd in highschool...)) And thus my logo is 13X2. "13" symbolizing the "jinx" and X2 symbolizing the "double" part:)
 

Here are a couple of caches I've found before and a treasure I found in one (lol)









Beautiful, no?

Saint Art Prayer Cards

I decided my prayer card photos on Etsy were a little subpar and since it is very sunny out (and also above 90 degrees:( I took advantage of the nice lighting to get some nicer photos:

So far I've made St. Jude, Michael, Archangel, and St. Francis cards, but I'd like to make more.

These cards are all completely made by hand; they feature my original saint portrait illustrations layered on top of gold glittery paper with hand drawn gold details. The prayers are either traditional or edited slightly by me (just personal taste, I suppose:)

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and here is my Etsy listing for the St. Jude card- he seems to be the most popular:)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/97889586/st-jude-prayer-card