Introducing "Queen Anne and Queen Anne's Lace" Series

Stories Behind "Queen Anne and Queen Anne's Lace" Series
I have started this "Queen Anne and Queen Anne's Lace" illustration series recently. In this series, usually Queen Anne(bird) and her favorite flower Queen Anne's Lace are in each picture. (except a few of them).

And today I would like to share a little bit of the stories behind this series. You might think, I just picked my favorite flower and my favorite animal for the illustrations. Well, most of the parts, yes. You're right. It was just as simple as that. But, on this blog, I would like to dig a little bit deeper, because what I have found out in a process of making this series is quite intriguing to me. So, I would like to share it with others as well.

Well, before going there, if you knew me for sometime, you might already know that I am a kind of a person who is often amused to find out that I get first attracted to something (or someone), and find the reasons later. I must say, this series was born like that as well.

I am going to start with the key flower, "Queen Anne's Lace". This particular flower has been one of my favorites since I moved to New Jersey from NYC years ago. Especially my last place which was located in a little bit more wood side of North Jersey, was surrounded by this flower during summer. I would often enjoy picking them and decorating my space. Although this flower must be like a common knowledge to many American people, to me, actually it is only recent that I learned the name of this flower. Till then, I kind of misbelieved that it was a family of Akillea, Yallow flower (that is a kind of common flower in Japan, and I just learned that only a few grow in North America. And it is also my birth flower by the way). ...Anyway, Queen Anne's Lace has been my favorite, because it is a wild flower that has strong roots, and grow every year in a wasteland, and yet, its white flower has such elegance and a sense of innocence, and it makes a great decoration in a room. So, needless to say, when I learned its beautiful name "Queen Anne's Lace", I was ecstatic. :-)

And recently, I felt like drawing a picture of this flowers with a bird in it. And after making a couple of them, I was thinking about this particular bird, and then again felt like looking up "Queen Anne's Lace" on the internet. What I found out was very interesting.

According to the information on Wikipedia, the name "Queen Anne's Lace" was named after a legend. The Queen turned out a real person, Queen Anne who married British King James in 16th-17th Century. According to the legend, one day, the Queen Anne was challenged by her friends to create a lace as beautiful as the flower for the King James. So, the flower was named because of the resemblance with lace, and this legend. It is said that the red flower in the center of some of the Queen Anne's Lace flowers represents a blood droplet where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace. How interesting!

Needless to say, after reading this story, the bird in a picture became "Queen Anne", of course. :-)

This series is still work in progress. But, I think I will introduce the illustrations that I have finished so far one by one for next few weeks (while I am still doing a lot of decluttering :-D).Next time, I will talk about the Queen Anne more.

Love, Yoshika

3D Relief Wall Art "Balance" Color Variation

These photos are an example of color variation of my 3D Relief Wall Art Design "Balance". Some are available at my Euphorian Chic Studio Etsy Shop: http://www.euphorianchicstudio.etsy.com/ Custom Orders are available with your favorite color scheme! Please convo me through my Etsy shop or Email Me.


Balance Yellow/Gray


Balance Brown/Teal


Balance Red/Brown


Balance White/Red --Sold--


Balance Brown/Yellow --Sold-- Love, Yoshika

Happy Easter from Me & Peter Rabbit!

There must be so many people who grew up with Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit books. Well, I wasn't really one of them, but I've always loved her works... who wouldn't, really. They are full of innocence and very vibrant as if the characters would jump out from the pictures just like the scenes from the movie, Miss Potter. And speaking of the movie, especially after seeing the movie, I have become a huge fan of Beatrix Potter, her life, and of course Peter Rabbit too.

According to the legend, on the night of Easter, rabbits carry the basket full of colored eggs, and visit Children's houses. I am not a Christian. But, who wouldn't want to celebrate the day of Jesus's Resurrection & cute bunnies with lovely colored eggs! So here it is,
Happy Easter to you all :-)))


Happy Easter from Peter Rabbit!








I didn't create new Easter designs this year. But since this is one of my favorite Easter illustrations, here it is again.
Happy Easter from me to everyone too!


Baby Aprons, Stickers, and other gifts of this design are available at
http://www.euphorianchicgift.com/ Holiday Design Category.

Love, Yoshika

Spring is finally here! (And some spring Love birds!)

Spring is finally here.... Today was such a beautiful day here in NJ from start to finish! In the morning, Robins were playing on the lawn in front of our building, the temperature went up to around 65 degrees afternoon, sunny and breezy, and in the evening, there were a beautiful full moon and lots of stars in the sky. And the buds of Sakura trees (cherry trees) have finally started to open up around here and the smell of flowers is in the air, you can pick it up when walking on the street..... Really it was such a beautiful day.
.....And I felt like doing nothing (i mean nothing really creative...) So, instead I cleaned my place (a little), and decided to add a new entry on my blog.

And here is the photo of the love birds that I saw about a couple days ago on the street of my town.


Sorry for the bad photo, it was a little cloudy and already getting dark. But, the two birds were all over with each other and it was so cute that I couldn't help taking photos. As you can see, the flower buds were still closed at that time. But, today I saw them opening:-)

So, speaking of love birds, this lovely season made me create some more love birds designs. These are some of my "Save The Day" Products.

Save The Date Kissing Birds Wedding Postcard

Save The Date Kissing Wedding Birds Stamp



Kissing Birds Wedding Aniversary Magnet

These are totally customizable, you can personalize them on the site by adding your own information.For more "Save The Day" Products, please visit:my shop: http://www.euphorianchicgift.com/ , "Save The Day Products" CategoryIn the meantime,hope you all enjoy this lovely season!Love, Yoshika

Decluttering continues.... (and some new designs)

I have been really lazy about updating my blog for a while. What have I been doing??? Well, especially for last couple of weeks, I have been trying to declutter/reorganize my space, my computer, I mean, art files...etc. And somehow a lot of decluttering/reorganization are happening (or being planned) in my head, but somehow not in my reality yet. I have been digging up my old files and seeing what was in there..... apparently a lot need to be done. And just thinking about it exhausts me and delays my plan.....what a bad routine... So, probably decluttering will continue for several more weeks at least....

By the way, I would like to mention what happened in "far east" last night. Well, apparently, North Korea finally launched their rocket (satellite) and it safely went over Japan without falling any debris. Since my family is living in Japan, I was worried, even though the rocket was supposed to go through the northern regions which is kind of far from where they live. This incident surely made me sad. On the Japanese news that is run here in America, they were warning the possibility of it being a missile (because of the very similar shape), and its influence in case any debris falls from the rocket. And in fact, the area where the first part of the rocket falls was somewhere in the sea of Japan where many Japanese people go out with the big ships for fishing. Many people in the northern Japan make living with fishery and in this season, they catch fish worth more than $50.000 a day. So, just the event of launching the rocket itself was already affecting their living. At this point, I still do not know what happened there, but I did feel for them of course.

But, what makes me sad more is the fact that we still have to worry about our "safety" on these matters. The Japanese news was focusing on the worst possibilities....well, even though it was necessary for the safety of Japanese people..but it scared me a lot... And, some are saying North Korea's rocket test was a total provocation of long range missiles.....well, even though it might be totally true..... But, anyway, thinking of the world political situations, there is not so much I could do.... But, really, let's look at the bright sides, there are people who are working on those problems politically. Also, I recently read the article of the woman whose father was forced to work for Husein as a private pilot. According to her, even the people who worked for him closeby were constantly threatened by his sadistic nature. Well, what I think is, if the leader of North Korea also has that kind of quality as well, there must be people around him who are feeling like this woman and her family. Hmm... it's deep. But, anyway let's just hope things will change for the better in the most peaceful ways.

So, in the meantime, as I am saying usually, I just want to use those frustrations and change it into something positive. Creativity! I am sharing some of my new "Go Green" Designs today.


Earth Day Tree Birds Botton
Celebrating Earth Day! Magnet is also available.

Go Green Event Announcement Postcard

This is a total customizale postcard which you can change the information all by yourself on the internet. It is great for promoting your "Go Green" or "Nature" related events. 3.5x2.5 Go Green Event Promotion Card is also available with this design.

By the way, actually, this Go Green Expo on this postcard is a real event happening this year. This is the one that is held in NYC on April 17th ~ 19th. If you are "go green" person, and are living in the tri-state areas, you might be interested. It is open for everybody. I am actually interested in the technologies that creates "Go Green" products too. I may not be able to make it to this event, but I think it must be interesting and is definitely worth a visit!

For the dates for this event in other US cities, please go to http://www.gogreenexpo.com/.

And in the meantime, my decluttering continues...

Visit my shop: http://www.euphorianchicgift.com/ for more gifts

Love, Yoshika

Recent Etsy Treasuries!!

I hadn't added any Etsy treasury entry for quite a while. Today I just share a couple of my favorite ones and want to say quick thank you to those who picked my works in their treasuries for last few weeks.

I'll start with my favorite ones. If you find something you like, please click the image to see the larger size, and find the seller's name under the each item. You can find their shop at search at Etsy.com.

1. "Heads In The Cloud" Handpicked by Ratgirl



I really love the theme. I feel very flattered that one of my tote bag "Tears of Joy" was included in her super cute treasury. Thank you so much! Please visit her lovely handmade jewelry shop: http://ratgirl.etsy.com/.

2. "Free And Fly" Handpicked by Kumasakuzo



This is something that I found very very lovely, the colors, title and theme :-)))
Kumasakuzo-san is actually a registered user, not seller. From the username, I wonder if she or he is Japanese or not.... The name is indeed very hilarious in Japanese..... :-DDD So, I love everything about this treasury including his or her username.

And here is the list of some of the treasuries that my work was included. Thank you so much! Please don't forget to check out their shops!

• "Purplicious" by vickiorion GORGEOUS artisan jewelry!
• "Looking For Yourself Out There" by tinahdee I LOVE her metal work!!
• "My Garden" by birribe Very lovely knitted accessories!
• "Golden Sunshine" by blueheronquilt Lovely quilt work! I love heron:-)
• "One Small Step VII" by Joonwalk
• "Rustic Yellows" by sszumski (she isn't a seller, thank you so much!)
• "Gold and Black" by Copperinc Congratulations on FP! Her artworks are beautiful!
• "Eating The Peach" by Uncorked Congtallations on FP! I LOVE her work using corks!

Sorry, I have probably left out some of them..... but I'm sending lots of love & gratitude:-) to all. Thank you so much!

Love, Yoshika

My New Etsy Shop & Cuteable.com!

Hello!
I am introducing my new Etsy "Euphorian Chic Art & Design" Shop today.
I created this shop, because I wanted to keep my first shop EuphorianChicStudio shop mainly for fine arts. And this one for prints & reproductions of my illustrations, and maybe later for my designs. The shop itself isn't really what I want it to be yet... but, anyway.....

Please take a look at my new shop at http://euphorianchic.etsy.com/

And today, one of my this year's spring bird illustration prints "One Step At A Time" was featured at a popular blog in UK, Cuteable.com :-))))) Thank you soooo much!




http://cuteable.com/mosaic-monday-steps/4950
Mine was included in their Mosaic Monday, "step" theme. Their picks are literally so "CUTE"!!
If you love cute things, and are not a reader of their blog yet, please visit:

Cuteable.com!
Love, Yoshika

Introducing Etsy Japan Team!

Finally, I am adding a new entry. And today, I would like to introduce some of artists from Etsy Japan Team.

Well, Etsy Japan team is for artists who run etsy shop based in Japan. So, I am not a member. But, since I am Japanese myself, I visited some of member's shops and was totally impressed with the quality of their works.

I especially appreciated the fact that there are artists who are from other countries, and create "very-Japanese" art. So, I would like to introduce some of their works here today and show some support!

1. AKJapan : http://akjapan.etsy.com

Andrea is from Australia and She is an admin of Etsy Japan team. She really captures the colors and feelings of Japanese traditional art. I love them.




2. Togei: http://togei.etsy.com

The word "Togei" means Japanese ceramic/pottery art. His "togei" works are beautiful! And he also sells Japanese Kimono at his etsy shop.


3. GalleryJuana: http://galleryjuana.etsy.com

I love her portrait works as well as the one that she uses Japanese papers for her watercolors. Beautiful:-)


They have their blog JapanFocusEtsy.blogspot.com. You can visit member's Etsy shops from the links. I know there are MANY talented artists in Japan who are not part of Etsy because they don't speak English...what a shame. But, the ones that are in Etsy Japan team are really great. Please visit their shops:-)
Andrea (AKJapan) kindly introduced my shop there a while ago and also included my work in her treasury from Etsy Japan team & friends. Thank you so much!

Love, Yoshika

Picture Hanging Tips (Tools)

I recently received a question from my buyer about picture hanging tools. And I recommended her the easiest ones that I know. Since these are good for most of original canvas paintings, I thought I would share it on my blog too.

There are a lot of picture hanging tools out there. I basically think you could pick whatever you think would work for your artworks, considering its size and weight. Wiring in professional way is of course good for some framed works or heavy weight stretcher canvas. And once you have all the tools, it's not difficult to do it either. But, what I recommended her is just easier and very inexpensive as well.

1. EZ Hang Ups

This is the easiest one that I have found so far. You can just put it under the stretcher bar and hang the painting on the wall. It doesn't damage the stretcher, and is good for highly textured pieces like mine of which weight may not be symmetrical. You can just slide IT to find horizontal line or you could use two for larger piece. There is another similar one that is only good for standard stretcher (3/4" depth). But this one would work with deeper canvas size. You could probably get EZ Hang Ups at your local art supply shops or framing shops. But, not all of them carry it. So, just in case you want it, here is the link to the online art supply shops that has it.

http://www.aswexpress.com/discount-art-supplies/online/4561/art-supplies/4

2. Sawtooth Hangers

There are probably familiar to many people already. I just show it here, because this would work well with most of paintings too, including framed ones. The saw-tooth make it possible to adjust the horizontal line, and even if it is small, it could hold a lot of weight as well. But, please make sure to choose heavy duty one (such as the photo on right) when you hang heavy weight stretcher canvas, or larger art piece.
These are probably more accessible to everyone, you could find them at art supply shops, craft shops, framing shops, as well as hardware shops such as Home Depot etc... But, just in case you are not at anywhere near those shops, here is the link to the online shops that carry them. I have never used the latter, but it looks decent.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/sawtooth-hangers-zinc-plated/
http://govart.com/hardware_sawtooth.html

If anybody knows the easier way of hanging pictures, please share it with me or simple comment on this blog to let me know.

Happy Picture hanging !(?) :)))

Yoshika

Today's Best at Zazzle!

One of new additions, "True Love Japan" US postage was picked as Today's Best at zazzle.com. Thank you again:-) The Japanese calligraphy on the image means "True Love". Actually, I created this digital illustration looong time ago... but, I thought it would be nice to add this image to my zazzle gallery for this "Loving season" :-)Please use this postage to send loving message to your special someone!

True Love Japan Postage by Yoshika
See more postages at HERE.

Love, Yoshika