T-Shirts for Every Body

Aha! They're here! T-shirts for everybody. Well, almost every body. We won't get too grandiose with our promises, but we will keep trying.

P.L. wears adult sizes now, but she is still delighted by the colors we've added to our kids' cotton apparel. Sizes range from 6 months to 4T in the infant/toddler shirts, and S-M-L in youth/kid tees (up to the adult sizes).

There are also new Plus sizes for women in black or white, with the choice of a scoop neck or v-neck. They are available in sizes from 16/18 to 32/34, in comfortable 100% ring-spun cotton. (Oooh, cozy.)

There are murmurings of more styles to arrive soon. Listen... can you hear them?...
Keep watching here, then. We'll let you know when new styles, sizes, and colors arrive.

Want to earn 20% of Artist at Work sales through your own website? Click here to sign up, and affiliate our great gifts and apparel.

A wonderful world of COLOR

They're here! First, into the masses of white tees at Artist at Work came black tees, followed by more dark colors -- and now an even greater variety of colors!



Women's t-shirts come in a fitted (but not snug) style, with round necklines, in the following colors:
white
light pink
light blue
light yellow
black
red
carribean blue
violet

Additionally, there are three women's v-neck tees in white, heather grey, and black.




As always, we carry a unisex shirt with a crew neck, appropriate for the masculine figure as well. Colors include the following:
white
natural
ash grey
light blue
black
cardinal red
navy blue
military green
charcoal grey
red
brown
royal blue

Additionally, there's a new ringer tee in white with red trim.

Now you can find your favorite designs, printed on tees in a rainbow of colors. But it doesn't end there.
Stay tuned for more sizes, more colors, more styles.

Want to earn 20% of Artist at Work sales through your own website? Click here to sign up, and affiliate our great gifts and apparel.

My monster is bigger than your monster

Phillip is still in the dog house for this one.

A few years ago, when he was still in college, Phillip gave his niece P.L. a cute, fluffy, fuzzy toy as a gift. She carried it everywhere. He was like a protector from unidentified sounds in the middle of the night.

She called him her Baby Monster.
Yeah, that's his picture. Go ahead, laugh. Yeah, Baby Monster does look a lot like the dreaded Cthulhu.

But P.L. maintains the innocence of this critter's character. He helped give her comfort when she had trouble going to sleep. No monsters dared to skulk behind furniture, in the shadows of night, when Baby Monster was on the watch.


















Okay, he is kind of -- fluffy. And pink. (P.L. disdainfully ignores this pink quality, no matter how much others may point it out to her.)

Now, thanks to P.L.'s generosity, Baby Monster can protect you from unknown scary stuff.
Got gremlins under your bed? Is that dripping faucet starting to sound like the tapping of menacing little feet? Or even worse -- is that much-dreaded test coming up tomorrow?

Never fear, the baby monster is on your side. So rest assured, whatever monsters are lurking, watching you, they're even more afraid of this guy than you are of them.


Here's the baby monster, dressed in blue,
with a little monster we call Fuzzball.
They're both available, too, with the phrase
"My monster is bigger than your monster."



If you'd like to affiliate Baby Monster at
Artist at Work, click here for details. You can
earn 20% of sales coming through your own website.
(Don't be afraid! It's only money.)

Don't tie me kangaroo down, sport

P.L. doesn't really like everyone to know she has a soft side. She doesn't understand why I feel the need to inform the world, either, but I think someday she'll understand.

One of P.L.'s admitted soft spots is for animals. Not just fluffy kittens and wiggle-nosed bunnies, but animals she's never actually gotten to touch. Koalas, dolphins, penguins, tigers, kangaroos.... ooh, kangaroos. That particular love goes back a long way, even before visits to the zoo, back to the flannel pajamas she used to love to wear as a tot. They came with a kangaroo cap and a pouch/pocket to carry an adorable toy joey.

We recently saw a picture of a road sign that tickled her fancy. It reminded me of our Tank Xing design at AmeriColors. But instead of warning of deer crossing, falling rocks, children crossing, or even tanks crossing, this photo showed a kangaroo crossing sign.
P.L. loved it. She even wants one in her bedroom. I reminded her that it's illegal to swipe road signs, and it's inconvenient to go to Australia to do so. And it won't help the kangaroos, either. She had to concede on that point.

So we decided it was time for a sign. We created our own, along with the words, "I brake for kangaroos."







P.L. now has in requests for even more kangaroo designs. I'm trying it with different colors, but I know that there will be more detailed illustrations of these fascinating marsupials in my near future.

And when it gets to be a little warmer, maybe we'll even go visit some kangaroos and their friends and relations, at Kentucky Down Under.
I haven't been there yet, but I think it'll be a terrific place to draw.

For now, though, maybe P.L. will be happy with this t-shirt.



If you would like to affiliate this design through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel from your website.

Lorilei's Palette: the News from Painters Bluff ~ the newsletter

In This Issue:

1. Valentine's Day Shipping Special
2. New Designs at Artist at Work
3. New Styles and Colors
4. Painters Bluff Blog
5. Coming Soon...

Only a few days remain before Valentine's Day arrives. Whether you love the Big V Day or hate it, you'll find something fun to give or get at Lorilei's Artist at Work. And from now through February 14, there's free basic shipping for most orders $50 or more. Use the coupon code VDAYSHIP when you check out.

Link: http://www.cafepress.com/lorilei/6860

---

New Designs at Artist at Work

* Pro-Valentines -
"I Love You With All My Heart"
"How Do I Love You?" (for more mature Valentines)

* Anti-Valentines -
"Out of Order"
"Valentine Blues"

* Animals -
"Would You Please Be Sirius"
"Penguins On Ice!"
"Who's Your Crawdaddy?"

* For Fun -
"The Pickle Conspiracy"
"You're Not the Boss of Me"
"In a Handbasket"
"The Artist at Work Shop"

Link: http://www.cafepress.com/lorilei/2406220

---

New Styles and Colors

Recently added products include more dark t-shirts! In addition to the classic black unisex tee, we now offer a ladies-cut black t-shirt, long-sleeved uni-sex tees in navy and black, long-sleeved ladies-cut tees in cocoa brown and black, and short-sleeved uni-sex tees in cardinal red, military green, and navy blue.

A stylish long-sleeved white tee for ladies has also arrived. These classy tees look very nice worn to work or school.
Our fleecy pullover sweatshirts (hooded and crew-neck) are now offered in both ash grey and white, ready to keep you cozy until the days become long and warm.

Link: http://www.cafepress.com/lorilei/2368201

---

Painters Bluff Blog

Our intrepid assistant and fashion model P.L. lives in the quaint little village of Painters Bluff. (A view of the town square can be seen in the header at the top of the shop.) You can now read about small town life at Lorilei's new blog, PaintersBluff.com. P.L. has agreed to add her perspective from time to time. This journal joins our other shop-related work, Lorilei's Tees & other artistic endeavors, which chronicles Lorilei's designs of interest, sales specials, and related arty ideas. Remember to bookmark these blogs, or add them to your Google or Yahoo pages with Feedburner.

Link: http://paintersbluff.com

---

Coming Soon...

Dark T-Shirts: Red, Royal, Brown, Charcoal
Light T-Shirts: Natural, Light-Blue
Women's Dark T-Shirts: True Red, Teal, Violet
Women's Light T-Shirts: Light Yellow, Light Blue, Light Pink
Women's V-Neck Tshirt: White
Women's Dark V-Neck Tshirts: Black, Heather Grey

---

Thanks for reading the newsletter for Artist at Work, the shop for gifts for your Inner Child.

Let's all get Sirius for a moment....

One thing P.L. and I share is a love for J.K. Rowling's novels.

What starts out as a fun kid's story, a kind of magical "Leave It to Beaver Goes to Boarding School," turns into something more. More intricate. More compelling. More heartrending. With each successive year at the fantastical castle, it becomes more apparent that it may not end, "and they lived happily ever after."

The characters become our family. We adore both Ron and Hermione. And Harry is part of us, our soul and our spirit. We see the world through his eyes.

Likewise, we suffer their emotional ups and downs. The last three books have sent P.L. into rounds of ecstactic joy and grief. I will try not to spoil the story plots for anyone who has not read them.



"Rosebud."


Sorry -- I couldn't resist. (See the movie "Citizen Kane" for clarification.)

One of P.L.'s favorite characters is the lovable Sirius Black. The black sheep in a family steeped in Pureblood tradition, Sirius was Harry's father's best friend from childhood. At school, he became a Gryffindor instead of a Slytherin, a fact which disturbed his parents, but delights the reader.

As an adult, Sirius was falsely blamed for horrible crimes he did not commit. Without granting him his right to a trial, a Ministry of Magic official banished him to Azkaban, the wizarding prison. For twelve years, he lived stranded somewhere on a rock in the North Sea, imprisoned in a cell with bars, by the creatures who kept watch, the spectral Dementors.

After an amazing escape, he was finally reunited with his godson, Harry, but was forced to remain in hiding. The only way he could hide was by using his Animagus talents to transform into a huge black dog.

Though Harry's Patronus is a silver stag (his Animagus father's animal alter-ego), our guardian protector is a great black dog with intelligent eyes. Loyal, brave, loving, he will be there for us at all costs.


(Does this big fella deserve a hug, or what?)

If you would like to affiliate Would You Please be Sirius? (or any of our other Valentine and Anti-Valentine designs) through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

Valentine's Day Promotion ~ Super Shipping Savings

Buying a Valentine's Day t-shirt for someone you love? Or maybe a snuggly sweatshirt, or a ceramic tiled-adorned wooden keepsake box. With so many nice gifts from which to choose, it's nice to know that there's a shipping special to make it even easier to give gifts from Artist at Work.

From January 14 through February 14, 2007: Free Super Saver Shipping on orders over $50 (before tax and shipping)
Coupon code: VDAYSHIP

Just copy and paste the coupon code when you check out. Don't forget to check our other shops, since this code is valid for purchases in any of them. Hurry! There's only one month until Valentine's Day is here. Have you chosen gifts for your loved one yet?

Valentine Blues

Ah, young love.

You've heard the saying, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
Regardless of the eternal truth of that sentiment, we know young P.L. thinks it's a lot of hooey.

When you're young, a lot of the wisdom of the world sounds like something that only applies to someone else. That is so wrong!
Sure, the cutest boy in your class has been sitting next to you on the bus, and behind you in history class, all year. He even laughed at your jokes.

But then he asked that spoiled brat Deidre to the school Valentine's dance. And he thinks you should be pleased about it! What does he think you are, one of the guys? -- Oh, that's right. He has pretty much thought that, ever since you rubbed his nose in the dirt after school in the second grade, when he called you a sissy.

But that was so long ago....
Time will pass, and this will, too. But for now, it just really, really... stinks.

Love stinks. It's definitely for the birds.



















If you would like to affiliate Love is for the Birds (or any of our other Valentine and Anti-Valentine designs) through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

Penguins (purple and otherwise)

Penguins -- they are the new Cabbage Patch Kids. I know Tickle-Me Elmo is waxing nostalgic, and Wii is making a grand appearance for Christmas. But these cute little fellas from down south (way down south) grab your heart strings in a special way.

Remember the waiter penguins who danced with Dick Van Dyke's Bert in the movie Mary Poppins? Remember Chilly Willy in Walter Lance's Woody Woodpecker cartoons?

Even if you see these little black and white birds in person, penguins seem cute, perky, and full of fun. At wildlife parks and zoos, you can watch them slide on ice and dive into their cold pools of water. With movies like March of the Penguins and Happy Feet, it seems more people are really getting to know these natives of Antartica.

I'd been meaning to draw some penguins for a long time. You know how I am -- unicorns, owls, pandas, and other adorable animals.
(P.L. rolls her eyes here!)

I put some ice skating penguins online early Thursday morning. They went "live" later. I struggled with tweaking the section a bit that night, and finally rebooted the computer. When I came back into my store area, I found someone had already ordered a white hoodie bearing this speedy skating penguin.

Wow! Someone was just waiting for this little guy to appear. What luck for both of us!

I believe these talented penguins have been especially commissioned by Saint Nick himself to deliver messages and what-not around the Big Toy Shop. Who wouldn't enjoy a work break with a steaming cup of cocoa from one of these cute little guys? After all, I'm afraid the climate wouldn't suit actual gophers there.

I'm dreaming up stories about Santa's penguin assistants at the North Pole. Poor P.L. is groaning and hiding her head under an Artist at Work throw pillow. (Ooh, my penguin pal will look so cute on one of those!)

I'm already ordering one for a friend. I think I need penguin buttons or magnets to give out in lieu of cards at work. It would be fun to have one on a long-sleeved shirt or hoodie. I wish I knew how to make plushy animals....

P.L. says I'm getting a bit carried away, and she will be forced to pretend she doesn't know me. Ha! Wait till she sees the picture of her wearing her latest tee, with a lavender penguin on it. I can't wait.

If you would like to affiliate Penguins On Ice through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

The Eerie Darkness....

All was quiet in the tiny slumbering town of Painters Bluff, in the heart of America. When no one was expecting it, a strange darkness had fallen where it had never been before. Some folks were frightened. Others took up the new challenge with determination.

What did it all mean? From whence came this -- darkness?

The darkness had arrived in silky-softness, in colors of rich black, midnight blue, dark olive green, cardinal red, and cocoa brown. Such rejoicing there had been among the elves! For they had seen and felt the new darks in October, in San Francisco, where the elves had gathered in preparation for Christmas, Hannukah, and other events.

Yes, my children, new dark t-shirts from the elves at Artist at Work. Short-sleeved unisex tees in black, red, green, and blue. Long-sleeved unisex tees in black and navy. Plus more feminine tees in black (short- and long-sleeved styles) and brown (long-sleeved). More styles and colors will be made available in the coming months.

Lorilei and P.L. have been redecorating the halls with new t-shirt designs. Check out the Christmas Shop for ideas that are sure to bring a twinkle to someone's eyes!

Hurry, hurry! Make your selections soon, while the shipping special is in effect (through December 20). And make sure you allow enough shipping time, in order to avoid disappointment.

Not sure what to get loved ones this year? Feeling frazzled by family visits during Thanksgiving weekend, and the push to go to the mall to avoid the shopping rush?
Take it easy. Go read this page -- Operators Are Standing By -- for some calming words and a few ideas.
It's less than a month to Christmas, but if you use your time wisely, you can still make time for the important things. -- A little elf named P.L. told me so!

Pickle Mania

It's official -- people are crazy. But I love it!

Remember in July, when someone ordered Pickle Conspiracy black t-shirts (very stylish) and 40 buttons? That was only the beginning.

In August, another person ordered 10 khaki caps emblazoned with the nefarious Pickles.
"Someone in Nigeria likes pickles!" I said. But, no, the order shipped out without a hitch. I was astonished.

Then, on Thursday, yet someone else ordered 21 Pickle Conspiracy buttons. Not 10, not 20, but 21.
It was a sign. The die were cast. The writing was on the wall. The clichés were flying, fast and furious.

Pickles must be -- the new black. Or something. Why else would so many people be wearing them this season? A fabulous trend, I must say. Only time will tell if onions or ketchup will join them on the fashion runway.

The only other answer is the Conspiracy Theory: We are compelled to pursue the elusive Pickle because it wants us to. It's part of a plot, like the great wooden horse in ancient Troy. Only smaller, and kind of crunchy.

Have no fear. I will keep my vigil and report my findings. In the meantime, I may have to get myself a Pickle Conspiracy cap. I wouldn't want to be seen wearing last year's hat as I search for the truth.

Time in a Keepsake Box

I'm warning you now, there's a story behind this one. Well, there is always a story. Sometimes it's just more fun to tell than others.

I used to do a lot of driving around my home town. I had a part time job delivering pizza. Yes, pizza. I don't really eat it, except for -- well, that's another story, for another time.

Delivering pizzas can be a very cool occupation. In your car, listening to your music. Finding houses and businesses on streets and roads, like a knight on a quest in a role-playing game.

But sometimes you find more than hungry people who have ordered food. Sometimes you find sunsets, starlit nights, banks of daffodils, knarled trees with craggy bark, deer leaping away across fences into the darkness. Sometimes you discover the perfect stone cottage surrounded by a green woods. And one day, I found a meadow clearing with beautiful horses inside. My favorite one was a lovely Appaloosa mare, mostly white with dapples of grey. I asked the retired veterinarian who owned the horses if I could come back some time to photograph them.

So I returned to the woodsy road and found the horses grazing in the sunny field. Later, I used a few of the resulting photos to create a composite drawing with soft pastels. Its working title was "Critters on the Landscape," but it later came to be named "In the Meadow."

I used a part of that drawing, featuring the mare, for the scene on this box. The box is a 5 1/4" by 5 1/4 by 2 1/8" box of laquered Alderwood. There is an inlay of ceramic tile in the hinged lid.



I had heard other shopkeepers who own or handle these boxes describe them with some awe. They say people handle them like precious objects of art.

The boxes look nice with a variety of different designs, but they especially lend themselves to fine art. They can hold change, jewelry, love notes, paperclips, or any number of small objects. I think they can also hold dreams and imagination.

Yes, I am in love with a box.
But I have a feeling there are destined to be other boxes in my life.

This keepsake box is on display at Kentucky Downs Race Course, where people are reminded that Thoroughbred racing on our European-style turf track will be taking place in mid- to late September. Three limited edition Kentucky Downs t-shirts from Horses-Around.com, an "I Love Exotics" cap, a ceramic stein, and a "Feeling My Oats" mug are also on display there. Although I will be working as a pari-mutuels teller during Live Races, there will be a Horses-Around booth selling various products to the visitors. I'll write more about the booth as time for the event draws nearer.

I'm told that there are several people already asking about prices on the merchandise. I'm creating a printed order form for people who want to get something ahead of time but don't go online. (Yes, there are still such people in the world, Virginia!)

One of my managers has expressed a keen interest in ordering an "In the Meadow" keepsake box for her own. I have a feeling I'll be getting one for myself, too.

What will I keep in it? The smell of the fresh woods after a spring rain. The burning blue of a sunny September sky. The graceful beauty of a long-limbed white and grey horse with liquid brown eyes.
That's all I really need it for.

If you would like to affiliate "In the Meadow" and other Horses Around wares through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up. You can link to art, apparel, drinkware, and other gifts from your site.

Back to School, Dudes!

I can just picture Bill and Ted saying something like that. I wonder what they would be doing right now? Oh, yes, making music. And probably buying some really historical t-shirts!

I had nearly forgotten to post the reminder about our latest sale. From now until August 14 (yes, this year), get free shipping on orders totaling $50 or more. That isn't just for kids, by the way. Teachers deserve t-shirts, hoodies, caps, and coffee mugs made especially for them, too.

In fact, there are not many people I know who aren't worthy of these. They're good as gifts for lots of folks. And that's great, because this sale is not only good at TeachersPets.org -- you can use it in my other shops, too.
(See the Links sidebar to your right.)

So browse Black T-Shirts, AmeriColors, Horses Around, and find something you like, for yourself or someone else. Then when you reach the checkout page, use the COUPON CODE BTS2006 -- your discount will show up on the screen. So just copy and paste the code from this blog. It's so easy, even Bill and Ted could do it.

Recap:
BACK to SCHOOL SALE
Free Shipping on orders over $50
Use Coupon Code: BTS2006
Sale discount expires August 14, 2006
Maximum discount $5 (flat shipping fee)

My Heart Belongs to My Teacher

It's nearly time for school to start again, in my part of the world. Parents are stocking up on school supplies, kids' clothes, and a number of other items. There is a feeling of newness in the air. Soon-to-be students are anxious to see who is in whose class.

I have noticed an increase in traffic to my education-related site, TeachersPets. Once a part of my main store, this shop has branched off on its own and is acquiring its own following.

What can I say about this, my newest design? Well, I could start by using the description I have included in my new promotional area at TeachersPets, the "BONUS POINTS: Featured Design" section.

The latest design from TeachersPets contains a simple, childlike phrase with heart.
My Heart Belongs to My Teacher

Is there anything happier than a child (or an adult) who loves to learn? Loving one's teacher is very closely connected.
Maybe you love your teacher because he makes history vital and interesting, or because she opens the door to a place in your mind you never knew existed.
Maybe you love your teacher because he's your grandfather, who showed you how to create models, or your aunt, who taught you to play Mozart with pleasure and confidence.
Or maybe you love your teacher just because.

The teacher to whom you give your heart is the one who gives it back to you.
Get a gift that keeps saying "I Love You," whatever the season, whoever your favorite teacher.

By the way, "whoever" is the correct case in that sentence. I looked it up, as an afterthought, just to be sure.

If you would like to affiliate this design through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

A Tale of Two Pickles, a.k.a. the Pickle Conspiracy

While I am on the subject of the bizarre ...

One of my favorite author/artists was Scarry -- Richard Scarry. I loved his illustrations in Little Golden Books. Even as an adult, I loved his big picture books. Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, and all the other residents of Busy Town.

The Head Start group I used to teach loved finding characters, making their own observations, hunting for patterns in these storybooks. One book contained a fleet of typically fun Scarry vehicles, including a truckload of pickles. The cargo was so large, pickles were falling out into the street here and there. All the way through the pages, we followed a trail of pickles.

Another character we loved was silly Mr. Frumble, a fuddy-duddy of an old pig with terrible luck. He was chasing his runaway hat all over town. Probably the only breeze in the entire town was catching up his hat and dancing around with it, teasingly keeping it just out of reach.

Years later, a conversation about conspiracies and paranoia inspired this design. The idea that something as common and silly as a pickled cucumber might be responsible for a plot of any kind was fraught with implausibility and humor. In tribute to Mr. Scarry, I created an author by the name of William Frumble for this stylish mystery. The reviews and the introduction are fun, but it's really all about the pickles. -- Yeah, they just fell off a truck? A likely story!

In the time the Pickle Conspiracy has been sitting in my "just for fun" section, I'd only sold one item before. Some strange and funny person bought a throw pillow bearing one of my pickle designs. (Obviously someone with great taste and a rapier sharp sense of the absurd.)

That was up until Wednesday, July the nineteenth, 2006. When I made my way to my computer, I found myself lured by the tantalizing promise of an email - a notification of a transaction.

My pulse quickened as I opened it to read. Who was it? What did they want? I was determined to find out.

I skimmed the email, paused, thought, "No way!" and read it again. An order for two Pickle Conspiracy Black T-Shirts? And four 10-packs of 2.25" buttons with the infamous veggies. It must be a scam order made with a fake credit card number. One of those weird people from the Capital One commercials, no doubt.

But, no, it's true. The merchandise is in production, and it should be finished this week. It might be on its way to its new owner mere days from now. But who? Who would place such an order? I think there is far more to this than meets the eye.

This is obviously all part of a plot.

Keep the mustard and relish handy. No telling when they could be needed.

If you would like to affiliate this design through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

Totally Off-Topic

For the person who was searching here in my blog for information on "march to the beat of a different drum" -- the song you were looking for was "Different Drum," by the Stone Poneys. Linda Ronstadt was the lead singer. The song says "You and I travel to the beat of a different drum...." I believe it was written by Mike Nesmith, of the Monkees fame.

Oddly enough, people also come here seeking:

1. the Beatles
2. that line from the Everly Brothers song "Bowling Green" (and I thought I was the only one who remembered that song!)
3. the Cowsills
4. beautiful girls
5. horses
6. daffodils
7. t-shirts

I include bits and pieces about music I love, but t-shirts with girls, horses, and daffodils are the only things on that list which you might purchase here.

Then again, I am inspired by the music of those artists to create my own art, so that should count for something. Also, it's emotionally satisfying to read someone else's memories of favorite songs, old TV shows and movies, places, and people.

Folks have Googled for some fragment of a memory from their youth and found - my memories.
P.L. painting the day to Barry Cowsill's song. A barefoot summer girl basking in the Kentucky sunshine from Phil and Don Everly's song. I even have a painting in my gallery section which I haven't featured (yet) of a sleepy cottage, named "Golden Slumbers," after the lullaby-like song by Paul McCartney, from the Beatles' Abbey Road album.

Keep "listening." There'll be more.

A Family Tradition - the American Vacation

Whatever happened to "the American Way"?
It must've gotten lost in the shuffle, somewhere between here and the cold war.

But be of good faith! We've found it. While some Americans are defending their way of life by threats of force and violence, others are still opening their arms to the homeless, the lonely, the poor, tired and huddled masses -- and to the occasional lost animal who is just too cute to ignore.

This is the real world, and we know that wild animals are meant to remain wild. But moments like this make you long for the purity of a child's heart.

Whether you enjoy the parody of "Lock & Load - Board the Seal" or the charm of children adopting a sea lion on their own beach, take an American Vacation today.


If you would like to affiliate "American Vacation" through CafePress.com, and earn 20% of sales, click here to sign up, and link to great gifts and apparel.

Summer Sale!

The Summer Sale has begun! Stock up on summer gear at all of Lorilei's shops:

* small mug : $2 off

* kids baseball jersey : $2 off

* men's sleeveless : $3 off

* women's tank top : $3 off

* green t-shirt : $2 off

* trucker cap : $2 off

This sale ends June 30. You'll see the discount applied automatically to the products in the shopping cart. No coupon is required.

A pretty girl is like a melody...

Maybe that's just the way I am - a song invokes pictures in my head. And sometimes visual art reminds me of a song.

This design was inspired by old-fashioned tattoo art. The beautiful girl with the long tresses and long legs, gazing dreamily at the sky. She's a country girl, down home and down to earth. She likes dressing casual, running barefoot, daydreaming. She's a Kentucky girl, and she's proud of it.

That's where the songs come in. One that comes to mind is Neil Diamond's tribute to a "Kentucky Woman." The other is from the same time period, an obscure but happy song by the Everly Brothers.

My junior high school years were spent in Kentucky. I attended a lab school at Western Kentucky University. Most of the students were "faculty brats" like me. Our parents were teachers or staff at the university. There were only around 40 kids in each grade, so you knew almost everyone in your class, at least by sight. And the same building on the hill housed all the classes, from kindergarten through the twelfth grade.

Western (WKU) is located in a small city named Bowling Green, between Louisville and Nashville. Coincidentally, the name of the Everly Brothers song is also "Bowling Green."

"Way down in Bowling Green, prettiest girls I've ever seen. A man in Kentucky sure is lucky to live down in Bowling Green."

I can still remember the slumber party at Michelle's house. Becky, another of our friends, played that song on her acoustic guitar while we sang along. Only we all knew that girls in Kentucky were lucky, too.

"Kentucky sunshine makes the heart unfold. It warms the body, and I know it touches the soul. Bluegrass is fine. Kentucky owns my mind...."

This design naturally says "A girl in Kentucky sure is lucky!" Wherever I go in my life, I'll carry that sunshine and the sweet smell of summer. Kentucky isn't just around me, it's in me. And now it'll be on me, as well.



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