Autumn Please Come Soon!

The past couple of weeks have been oppressively hot around here (hovering around 100 degrees F) which makes gardening a dangerous activity for me. Trust me... heat stroke is not pretty. So I've had to bide my time waiting for autumn's cool temps in my studio.

I am missing the garden so much that I did up a 2009 calendar called "Roses, Roses, Roses". Just looking at the photographs makes me yearn to go out and "play in the dirt" as I affectionately call my manual labor in the garden.

It doesn't help that I also watched the Hallmark Hall of Fame version of The Secret Garden with Hubby today. That just made it worse.

There's hope though. My weather-bug Hubby says a cooling trend is on the way this week so it won't be long before my summer hiatus from sledgehammering and digging will finally end. I have to do this every year, so you'd think I'd be used to it by now. But it never seems to get any easier to take 3 months off from something I love so much the other 9 months of the year.

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It's That Time of Year Again...

It's that time of year again when I need to be thinking about laying out calendars so everyone that wants one can get one before the first of next year. September seems to be a good month to do that.

Today, I laid out the first of the 2009 calendars. It's called "Cute as a Bug" and has a collection of my photographs in it that feature beautiful insects (nothing scary or gross for the squeamish).

Cute as a Bug 2009 Calendar

I'd really like your feedback on this calendar and also some suggestions on calendars you'd like to see me lay out based on what photographs or art you've like from the blog and whatnot. I'd love to hear from all of you and can't wait to read your suggestions!

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Fun Stuff for Friday

There are new fun items in the inventory of the Rosehaven Cottage online store that I want to share with everyone!

Here's a helpful tip: With the holidays only a few months away, it's a good idea to be thinking now about ordering gifts for everyone your love. That way there's no stress later when you just want to be enjoying the festivities.

Just a note: If you have a special request based on the photographs or art you've seen here on our blog or on our website, please leave a comment below, and we will most likely be able to accommodate that request. Special requests don't cost any extra and will be available for online purchase within 1-2 business days.

Above: "Pink Roses and Chocolate" Mug and Mousepad featuring the original graphic design of Rosehaven Cottages' artist-in-residence, Cindy Iverson (mug available in two sizes)

Above left: "Dragonfly Silhouette" Large Framed Print of original photograph by Cindy Iverson
Above right: "Blue Parasail" Large Framed Print of original photograph by Cindy Iverson

Above left: "Yellow Orchids" Large Framed Print of original photograph by Cindy Iverson
Above right: "Classic Chevy 5" Large Framed Print of original photograph by Cindy Iverson

Above left: "Beautiful Produce" 2008 Wall Calendar featuring the photography of Rosehaven Cottage's photographer-in-residence, Cindy Iverson
Above right: "Cute as a Bug" 2008 Wall Calendar featuring the photography of Rosehaven Cottage's photographer-in-residence, Cindy Iverson

Click here to see all Wall Art in our inventory

Click here to see all 2008 Wall Calendars in our inventory

More inventory is being added daily, so check back often!

Adventures in Self-Publishing

I've just released two wall calendars of my photographic work, and I'm still in somewhat of a state shock for many reasons but mostly because I did it all myself for free!

Here's the background...

I've been an artist my whole life. I started drawing before I could really walk well (seriously, my mom has the Super 8mm movies to prove it).

I've also always had the desire to share my art with others--not necessarily make money from it, but share it with others. I've had a number of ill-fated attempts at trying to do that on a larger scale, but each attempt was not successful. With each failed attempt my sense of worth as an artist decreased exponentially until it reached it's all-time low about 7 years ago when I had no desire to create visually at all. It's a very sad place to be for a creative soul, trust me.

I threw myself into home restoration and remodeling thinking that would be enough of a creative outlet. It was for a couple of years, but the wheels of a visual artist's mind never stop turning. I had no desire to be in that creative space, but my mind kept seeing the possibilities in blinks and flashs--inspirations that went nowhere except into hanging sheet rock, tiling kitchen countertops and shower walls, and re-creating retro plaster with joint compound.

Then my list of home projects got smaller, and my inner self felt less freaked out about embracing my artistic core (thanks to a trip to Hawaii and a fortuitous walk along a beach on the North Shore of Oahu). That little spark that I had almost completely snuffed out blazed alive again.

I got home and started researching like crazy out on the internet. And I found out something wonderful. All those feelings of rejection were no longer even part of the new millenium model of the internet age. Why? Thanks to companies like CafePress and Lulu self-publishing is now a reality. Self-publishing through companies like CafePress and Lulu takes sending large envelopes of slides to greeting card companies and receiving rejection letters in return out of the equation completely! It is the coolest thing!

Since making this discovery, I've taken out all the paintings that were completed 15+ years ago specifically to be published as cards or prints. Those paintings have now been reborn as part of my maiden voyage into this exciting world of self-publication.

Then to add to that, I've been able to compile photographs that I've been shooting recently and turn them into calendars! I never thought I would have that opportunity in my lifetime! I have been able to take my graphic arts training and combine it with my fine arts training to produce actual publications that don't cost me a dime to layout and market to anyone in the world that might want to buy them.


Here's the real perks:

• I don't have to carry bulky inventory.


• I don't have to spend precious creative time pounding the pavement hocking my wares to merchants that don't want to see my face anyway.


• I don't have to pick and choose which works I will publish and which I won't because of the cost of a run.


• I don't have to over-order a run in order to take advantage of a quantity discount.

I don't have to do any of it! [Insert trumpet fanfare here, please!]

All I have to do is what I love, which is photograph or paint whatever I like, then figure out what product it would look best on. Next, I do up a layout in Photoshop Elements according to the specs I'm given by CafePress, save it as a PNG file and upload it into my online store. Once it's part of my inventory, if someone chooses to buy it, they can and then CafePress produces it on-demand according to the customer's specifications (i.e., glossy or matte, etc) and ships it directly to them. If no one chooses to buy it, it doesn't concern my finances because I don't have to make back any money to cover any initial outlay. If only one person chooses to buy it, that's okay too because I've shared my work with at least one person. It is the best of all worlds.
Man, I love the internet!