Why I Should Be a Superhero and/or Spy

Hello again everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed Ashley's post yesterday, which, judging by the stats, you did.  I also hope that you enjoyed Fuzzy Slippers Day as much as I did.  Were your feet as cozy as this?

I thought not!

Gilbert is being deceptively sweet and docile.

In addition to wearing my fuzzy slippers yesterday, I also worked on embellishing and re-listing one of my favorite JA Greetings cards.  This card was inspired by my abundance of impractical shoes.  One day I was wearing a particularly gorgeous pair of lacy 4"pumps to the office.  I came home at the end of day with sore but beautiful feet to take care of my uber-crazy dog, Gilbert.  Gilbert was so excited to see me that I decided to take him out for his walk right away instead of changing into more sensible/ugly shoes.  As is typically my luck, the ground was soggy and my elegant heels sunk deeper into the mud with every step.  I suppose I should be grateful because that extra bit of grounding is the only thing that kept Gilbert from yanking me off my feet altogether.  He's really much stronger than he looks.  

Anyway, this experience inspired me to create a card that shows the need to wear fabulous shoes even when it doesn't seem practical.  That line of thought (along with hours of spy/sci-fi viewing) led me to wonder what kind of lifestyle requires the constant wearing of amazing footwear?  The answer was obvious.  Spies and superheros always wear amazing shoes!  Stiletto heels both support the cover as a wealthy and sophisticated jet-setter, but also double as a weapon should someone discover by my secret spy mission.  And a superhero's sleek and sexy boots make it possible to fight for truth, justice, and the American way in stylish comfort!

It's more that just the shoes that makes me long to be a spy and/or superhero.  Have you seen the accessories?  Incredible!

In honor of all of the fabulous spies and heroes out there, I think tomorrow's made-up holiday is going to be Beautiful Boot Day!  Everyone enjoy, and be sure to let me know about the beautiful boots you decide to wear!

I Am Not Jamie

Hello, everyone! I am not Jamie. I am, in fact, Ashley, the other half of JA Greetings. I draw things. Some might call me an illustrator (those included being the government and my college diploma) but they are naive. I am nowhere close. I am somewhere between Mike Meyer's "Simon" character from Saturday Night Live and that crazy lady that lives down the street and only emerges when she needs another box of wine and cat food.* Franzia...it's a party in a box!

Jamie is taking her life (or blog, I guess) into her hands by me to write something. So here it is...

The other night we (my husband, son and I) were sitting around the living room, watching Shreck 4 while the wind howled and shrieked around us. Suddenly, darkness. No more lights, no more space heaters, no more Shreck! Jack was terrified, and immediately burst into tantrums, made worse when my husband stepped on him while going for the flashlight and shouting that it had been moved. Eventually it was found (it has been in the same spot for months). Jack and Daddy proceeded to do manly-man things, like check the breaker box and see whether other houses had power (they did not). We lit all of my candles (I have a bajillion, and they are all scented) and soon the house was filled with the warm golden glow of a pre-1900 evening scene and the stench of a thousand Bath and Body Works.

Jack was still upset by the lack of electricity, and, in spite of our assurances that yes, people did once live by candlelight, he did not believe it was possible and was positive that they hearkened the end of the world. In the face of such fear, he was allowed to sleep in our bed for one night. It started out cozily enough, my baby boy snuggled between us like a sleepy little angel. An angel with cold feet. Who kicked. And stole pillows. After a while it went a little like this: "Jack, I Suwanee, if you kick me in the chin one more time you are going back in your bed for the rest of your life!" (I'm less rational with my threats than normal when sleep deprived). Finally, everyone seemed to settle down, and I drifted off to sleep. I was awakened, however, by a small hand rubbing my head. Not in a loving way, but as if my head was the belly of a Buddha statue, and the hand was trying to gain every ounce of luck possible. I opened my eyes to find my son nose to nose with me, his eyes wide and staring, expression blank, like a child from a horror film. I have never been so creeped out by my own offspring before. I got even less sleep after that bit of emotional disturbance that when I was being kicked in the face.


*I do not own cats, nor do I drink boxed wine. I drink vodka from a jug.** Classy!

**J/K

Every day should be a holiday

I'm a fan (depending on my mood) of cheesy love songs about how every day is a holiday with the person you love.  However, I think that's kind of a load of crap.  Speaking as a member of the greeting card design community, every day is most certainly not a holiday!  If it were, I'd be a lot better off, financially speaking.    If every day is a holiday, then you people who are "in love" are really bad at celebrating.

However, I'm a dreamer.  I think that every day should be a holiday for everyone (that's right, it's time you love birds stop hogging the festivities!).  With that in mind, I'd like to declare tomorrow Fuzzy Slippers Day!  So tomorrow, wear your favorite fuzzy slippers, tie them together and sling them over power lines, or just talk about them with great affection.  Personally, I think I'll name my slippers.

I'm going to try to come up with a new holiday every day.  Feel free to provide feedback and submit your own ideas.  If I get a good response, I'm thinking of creating a fake holiday card line.

I hope everyone has a great week!  Remember to become a fan of JA Greetings on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/JA-Greetings-Purveyors-of-Fine-Wit) and follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/JAGreetings). 

Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week

I'm a big sci-fi fan.  Yes, I'm a dork.  But for serious, I write a blog about greeting cards; what did you think I was?  And remember:  people who read blogs about greeting cards shouldn't throw stones!  Anyway, I'm a sci-fi fan because I love stories about complex heroes I can root for taking down some dark force and making the world safe for democracy or freedom or breathing non-glue filled air or whatever.  So I thought it would be fun to recap each week with the top Hero and Villain from the past seven days.

Hero of the Week

The person who invented the fine-tipped glitter glue pen

This person has saved me hours and lots of frustration by making it easy to add sparkly detail without a huge mess.  I tried using loose glitter to embellish some of my cards and it was a disaster.  I spent a ridiculous amount of time applying tacky glue with a fine-tipped paint brush and then sprinkling the glitter over top of the whole mess.  Worst. Idea. Ever.  So thank you, inventor of the fine-tipped glitter glue pen, for making my life easier and saving me from pneumosparkliosis.  

Villain of the Week

Stars

There was way too much chaos over zodiac signs this week.  Have they changed?  Have they not changed?  Does it matter?  Really, it's a ridiculous amount of commotion over information usually found by the crossword puzzle in the paper.  And yet, I don't know who to blame.  Should I blame the astronomy professor who gave the initial interview?  The astrologers who make a living by perpetuating a myth?  The media who incited this War-of-the-Worlds-like panic?  There are too many players in this game to make any one of them a really good villain.   Consequently, I decided to blame the original source of all the hoopla--the stars.  Take that, Cosmos!

I hope you've enjoyed the first installment of Jamie's Hero and Villain of the week!  Check back next Friday to see who else will make the list!  As always, remember to check out http://JAGreetingss.etsy.com.  I've just listed a newly embellished version of one of our original cards.