Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Behind the Design: Modern Owls by Hapa Girl Designs

One night we were coming back from a neighbors house and my 3 year old boy (3 at the time) was walking a few steps ahead of me with his little toddler friend and all of a sudden he yelled out "Look Mommy there's an owl!". He was pointing up into the old oak tree and there was this cute little brown owl staring down at us. It was right at dusk and we could barely see him, but as our eyes adjusted he came into focus and all of us were intrigued. My son kept talking about the owl all the rest of the night and being a nature/animal buff I immediately got on the internet and started reading up on owls to educate myself more about them. Prior to doing the research on owls the owl that I was most familiar with is Hedwig from the Harry Potter movies. I personally love the snowy owl like Hedwig, but still fascinated with the variety of owls out there and it was almost immediately decided that my next animal design would be an owl.

After many versions and revisions, my Modern Owl design was born and my design represents a few different owls that I came across in my research. As my design style is modern and abstract, I wanted something recognizable, but of course not too realistic to stay within the look and feel of my other designs. The owl comes in different color themes, but I always use the same owl and it sits on a tree branch most of the time. Later, as winter approached I modified the owl to become a snowy owl. Now my fans can purchase owl gifts, invitations, announcements and more on my Zazzle stores.

I just love designing new images especially when there is a story behind how I came about doing it. Once again my son was the inspiration as he spotted that little brown owl one evening up in our oak tree.


Create a personalized gift at Zazzle.


Create personalized gifts at Zazzle.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Unique, Modern, Affordable & Customizable Baby Shower Invitations by Hapa Girl Designs

It's that time again to promote my very large collection of baby shower invitations! My collection only starts to grow on Hapa Girl Designs Store on Zazzle.com! Their affordable, modern, unique and customers can personalize and customize the invitations.


Design personalized gifts at Zazzle.


Not only can customers customize their invitation, they can purchase matching US Postage Stamps, Thank You cards, Stickers and more! I am really excited about coming up with new FRESH designs in the new year! I have tons of designs in my head and can't wait to bring them into fruition!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Tropic Topics

Tropic Topics
Welcome to the Tropic Topics lens by Drive Industries Design Group. Hawaiiana is a category of design and art which has been made popular by collectors, eBayers, swap meets and thrift shoppers in the past ten years. We started collecting Aloha shirts and tropical memorabilia back in the early seventies. Our background in the apparel industry was greatly influenced by these collections, which eventually lead us into surfwear and the action sports industry. We hope to showcase some of the items we've collected, as well as present new products that were influenced by them from our Zazzle store and that of others.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Business Changes are "OFFICIAL"

I'm not sure if "officially" is the word, but for some reason I feel like using it because a big weight has been lifted off of me. I have OFFICIALLY closed my handmade business FOR A WHILE. For a little over a year I have made quite a few blankets, nursery sets, onesies, and other miscellaneous items and although I have gained a lot of experience designing and working with various customers, it has been a very time consuming "project". Here's the thing... I LOVE designing, but I HATE sewing. I can't afford to hire people to produce my designs so I am the one making the items which takes me away from what I am really good at - designing. It was just too much to juggle.

For the past few months I have been designing for my "print-on-demand" invitation, announcement, greeting card and gift business on Zazzle.com. This allows me to focus on designing exclusively without being hassled with producing my items. Zazzle produces all the items that I sell, handles the business end of things such as payments from customers, having a functional store and much more! I love Zazzle. For me they are a godsend. It is exactly what I needed to run a successful business right out of my home so I can stay home with my boys while making money.

I have BIG plans in the next year while utilizing Zazzle. I have two successful stores up right now and I am working three more as we speak. Stay tuned for more on that.

Back to handmade items. I know there will be a small following of people that will miss my creations however I am not eliminating that business 100%. I am going to still make handmade items, but my items will be ONE-OF-A-KIND designs. I will create items pretty much when I feel inspired and have the time. Unfortunately, I will not be accepting anymore custom orders or duplicate requests. Some folks may get lucky as I may create an item again but may have a slight modification. I am hoping this will ease my stress of deadlines and mistakes (which often happen when I'm rushing). I do my best work when I am relaxed and actually enjoying creating something rather than HAVING TO DO IT.

I am quite excited as the new year approaches and once the holidays are over - it's full speed ahead with designing. Hmmm... Valentines is next. Look for some new designs on www.zazzle.com/keanusmom AND www.zazzle.com/hapagirldesigns.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Single Honu Hawaiian Hibiscus Skateboard from Zazzle.com

I am so pleased that one of my first Skateboard designs on Zazzle.com got a Today's Best Award! I am not sure why I didn't put my designs on skateboards sooner! So fun!

Single Honu Hawaiian Hibiscus Skateboard from Zazzle.com

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Modern Owl Designs on Zazzle by Jennifer G Designs

My modern owl designs have become quite popular and I really enjoy creating different products with the designs. My newest design is "Snowy Owl". There is just something about owls that really intrigue me and I just love designing them!


buy unique gifts at Zazzle