Long ago, when the earth was young…
There grew a wild turnip patch. One imbued with magical properties. Because of a potion that was spilled. And whose liquid remnants washed away with the rain. Running deep into the nearby soil.
I’m SO unthankful for this…
I just woke up from hibernation, so…
… if I’m a little late with my Thanksgiving wishes, do forgive me. Ha ha.
(I have a good excuse for that though.)
But I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving! And perhaps even a very Happy Black Friday… if you went on an online spending spree like me…
Anyways:
I was so pooped after spending night after sleepless night launching my first ever picture book (that took me almost a year to draw)… that… after it’s all over, I’ve been spending most of my time hibernating in bed. And luckily we don’t have Thanksgiving over here. So I can do that…
But the results of my little book launch?
You probably already saw it in the picture above. My book’s hit #1 on Amazon’s New Release!
Yay! 😀
Thank you SO much for all your support, downloads, and taking the time to leave heartfelt reviews too!
We hit close to 100 downloads in just the first few days alone.
Phew…
I was a little scared that I wouldn’t get any response at all… after spending so much time on this book…
But looking at how passionate people are about the book:
Some people love it (5 stars).
Some people hate it (1 star).
It’s like the perfect storm. And I’m really happy. Heh heh… 🙂
You know, most people spend Thanksgiving thinking about stuff they’re grateful for.
But not me.
I’ve been thinking about stuff I’m UNgrateful for. And then trying to think of reasons to be grateful for it.
Stuff like getting my decade-old Etsy store shut down.
For the silliest reason.
I was really ungrateful about it. But now, looking back…
Turns out it was a blessing in disguise!
Because:
I’ve been procrastinating on creating books for several years now. And this finally gave me the final push to get started.
The result?
I’ve been having the time of my life!
Writing, launching, and promoting my new book.
I never knew creating and marketing your own books could be so much fun. 🙂
I gotta go now.
Back to having more fun.
If you haven’t checked my silly new book out yet, you can do so here:
Sincerely,
Aurelia "she’s awake" Nobleia
P.S. I’m using my Amazon Associate’s link above. So, anything you buy from Amazon through my link earns me a little carrot juice coin and helps support my work. 😉
Etsy shut down my store… permanently!
I woke up to the following message from Etsy:
“Your store has been put on pause via Vacation Mode. You can’t unpause your shop or receive new orders right now.”
What happened?
Something unbelievable…
I moved to another country recently. And apparently, that country isn’t on Etsy’s “Approved Country’s List”. So I’m not allowed to sell on Etsy anymore.
And my store that’s been running since 2014 is now locked down, and the key’s thrown into the sea.
This isn’t a new problem, by the way.
Based on my research, Etsy sellers have been complaining about this in the forums for over 10 years now. And every year, Etsy promises they’ll fix the problem. But…
10 years later?
Crickets.
Am I sad my 10 year old store has been taken away?
Obviously, but…
I’m also a little relieved.
Why?
Because… I’ve been getting a little tired of all the messages I’ve been receiving almost every week. From my lovely customers. Who were thoughtful enough to take the time to tell me that yet another art thief on Etsy traced my work, and put it up for resale on their store for a buck or two. And yet tireder still because Etsy refuses to take them down, regardless of my request. Unless I spend the money to hire a lawyer to deal with it.
Ah, well…
Life goes on. And…
I guess I can take a little break now…
And pursue my other passion:
Writing and illustrating Children’s Books! 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you for all the support for my clipart store over the last decade. It means a lot to me. And I appreciate every email and letter I’ve received from all my fans like you.
Thank you!
This isn’t the end. If you still want to follow along as I proceed to the next phase of my life:
“Evolving into a world-renowned author and illustrator…”
… then feel free to download and check out my first published picture book.
It’s up on Amazon now.
Personally hand-drawn and illustrated by me, of course. No A.I. work here, or anywhere. 🙂
The best part?
It’s free (on Kindle) for the next 5 days only.
If you have kids, or homesteader, farmer, or chicken-loving friends, then this quick-read, funny picture book may amuse them endlessly:
Sincerely,
Aurelia “Sadly Hopping On” Nobleia
P.S. If my new book made you laugh, do consider leaving me a review on Amazon. It’ll help me get more eyeballs on it. So I can make even more people laugh… 🙂
Or at least… smile!
Thanks!
And get it before the free launch promo expires…
The paperback drops in a day or two… 😉
What Happened To The Super Mario Sisters
No spoilers here.
So don’t worry if you haven’t seen the movie…
But I was just watching an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Super Mario Brothers) at the Variety Magazine’s office shortly after the launch of the Super Mario movie.
And he was talking about:
His first Mario memory!
The reason Mario was designed the way he is now – back in the day, video game consoles could only support very limited pixels.
Basically…
Mario had to fit in a 16 x 16 pixel square.
Which was tough work. So he came up with some artistic shortcuts.
Like…
… giving Mario a beard and big nose so he didn’t have to draw the mouth…
… giving Mario a hat, so he didn’t have to draw the hair…
… making the character as distinctive and memorable as possible…
… while still fitting in the pixel box.
So if you were wondering why it was Super Mario Brothers.
And not a Super Mario Sister.
Or Super Monkey Brother.
They were limited by technology back then. And it sort of reminds me of the constraints of SVG technology too. Because people often ask me:
“Aurelia, can I turn your hand-drawn PNGs into SVG format?”
And my answer is always…
“NO! Because SVG format can’t support high-levels of hand-drawn detail. That’s why they’re only in PNG format.”
I’m working within constraints too.
Getting maximum beauty, with minimum detail.
But recently:
I developed a method I call “Turnip Magic”.
It allows me to add much more fine aesthetic details within the SVG constraints, making my wreaths even lovelier, but still scalable.
And I’ve added this magic to my latest wreath line.
If you wanna see the best of hand-drawn detail combined with the best of SVG scaling technology, go down this pipe to check out one of my latest:
https://turnip.co/rustic-wreath-svg
Sincerely,
Aurelia “Hops Like Mario” Nobleia
I Woke Up And Found Myself Deaf
Yesterday, shortly after I woke up:
I was sitting on my bed. Relaxing. Chilling out.
And enjoying the lush green forests and birdies flying around outside the window. Including that blue backed, white breasted kingfisher that’s been flying around recently.
When suddenly…
I heard a click and a buzz…
And all of a sudden, the whole world became quiet.
“Huh? What happened? Why is it so quiet? OMG! Did I become deaf? OMG! Will I ever be able to play on my harp again? OMG!”
My hubby, who was sitting besides me, turns his face to me and says:
“Looks like there’s a power outage…”
Oh.
No wonder it got so quiet all of a sudden.
You never realize how noisy the world actually is until all the electricity’s gone. Very interesting. Daily life a few thousand years ago must have been a lot more quiet and peaceful than the stressful and hectic routines of the modern day…
If you ignore all the wars and fighting I mean.
No wonder there’s so much stress nowadays. And people have a hard time thinking straight.
I didn’t get much done yesterday.
But I’m back to work on my new book again today.
Something else that’s new:
I have some stunning new wreaths I created recently.
I haven’t been able to think straight enough to remember to tell you about them. Because of all the noise. LOL.
But I’m rememberin’ now.
My newer pieces have been getting a lot of love.
Not surprising…
Since they’re all imbued with my new “Turnip Magic”!
As you’ll clearly see when you click here to check out one of the masterpieces in my latest collection:
https://turnip.co/circle-cotton-wreath
Sincerely,
Aurelia “Must Wear Earplugs” Nobleia
Poisonous Caterpillars That Kill Your Creative Projects Before They Bloom
I was just outside.
Walking with hubby.
And getting our daily dose of Vitamin D.
When suddenly:
My hubby says in a loud whisper, “Careful! Poisonous caterpillar!” He points to the wall. And I hop backwards instinctively.
And sure enough, it was one of them poisonous catepillars.
With lots of furs.
And vibrant stripes all around the body segments.
Curling and crawling as it went along.
I’m not sure how poisonous this one was. But some of them could put you in the hospital. So we made sure to stay far away.
In nature, insects have color indicators.
Some of them tell you “I got poyson!” by having really bright and vibrant stripes and colors. Like the yellow-striped snake my hubby ran over the other day with his car.
Some colors can be poisonous to your projects too.
If you aren’t deep into color theory.
Like how top bakeries ban their chefs from using the color “blue” in their food because it takes away your appetite.
That’s why:
I always prefer going black and white.
It’s always in trend. Works in happy or sad times. And I’m super talented at it (which, my hubby says, is a blessing because black and white art is WAY harder to pull off “properly” than color art).
The black and white piece I’m picking for today:
My classic poppy frame!
Because just like good “black and white” art, it’s always in trend, and works in both glad and sad times.
You can enjoy this beauty of nature here:
https://turnip.co/poppy-flower-frame
Sincerely,
Aurelia “Monochrome” Nobleia
Fast And Unsteady Disqualifies You From The Race
A couple days ago:
I was on YouTube watching the inspiring story of Eric the Eel. A guy from a country called Equatorial Guinea. Which I’d never heard of before.
And in his country, everyone loves football.
But hardly anyone cares about swimming.
In fact…
The only place he could find a swimming pool was at a nearby hotel.
Somehow though:
He was obsessed with swimming.
So everyday he’d go to this hotel swimming pool to train. And train. And train.
He didn’t have a coach.
And I don’t think he even had access to the internet.
So basically he was self-taught.
But eventually he managed to join the Olympics in 2000. Because of a lucky draw among countries. And he participated in the 100m.
When he reached the stadium:
His eyes popped out of his face.
Because it was the first time he’d ever seen such a gigantic swimming pool. It was literally multiple times the hotel swimming pool he’d been practicing in.
But some coaches took notice of him during warm up.
They saw he didn’t have solid basics.
And gave him some pointers.
When it came time to compete though, something shocking happened. All his opponents dove into the pool before the starting gun.
And were disqualified.
So he ended up winning the heat.
Even before he started swimming.
He still had to swim though. And complete his laps. Because that’s how it works. But he ended up completing the heat with the slowest time in Olympic history.
The most heart-warming part:
People in the audience kept cheering him on! Screaming encouragement. And during interviews after his win, reporters doggedly asked him about his background.
His story stunned everyone speechless.
He became a celebrity overnight.
And several companies came forward to sponsor him.
(Which he turned down of course. Because he wanted to focus on swimming.)
But:
It just goes to show that most people focus on the wrong things. They think that… I have to swim the fastest lap… or I have to create the most perfect art… or I can’t let people see my work if it isn’t the absolute best…
… else people will laugh at me, mock me, scorn me, etc.
Truth is…
People often respect hard work, passion, and perseverance, a lot more than they do perfection.
And as my mentors often tell me:
“The story behind your art is more important than the art itself.”
Got laughed at because of your art?
Didn’t get as hot a response as you thought you would?
Got your ear cut off in a fit of rage while you were creating?
Don’t worry.
Keep creating, keep enjoying.
Because one day, you’ll be able to tell the story of how you kept at it, persevered in spite of all odds just because you were creating art you loved, and you’ll see how much people respect that…
You can do it!
And if you need some pointers getting started, let me help by pointing you in this direction here:
https://turnip.co/snowdrop-wreath-svg
Sincerely,
Aurelia “Land Lubber” Nobleia
Cricut Attempts To Poach Me From Etsy And Meets With Utter Failure
Got a message in my Etsy inbox a couple days back.
Reading the first few lines:
“Oh? It’s from someone working for Cricut. I wonder what they want? Could it be they’ve recognized my artistic genius and want to induct me into some Hall of Fame?”
I have lots of clients using my artwork on Cricut, afterall…
But reading a little further:
“Hmm… looks like they… want to poach me from Etsy to create art for their new platform? And they’re offering me big monies… and global rekognitionz?”
Wow.
It’s like Instagram advertising on TikTok trying to poach their users.
Too bad.
I’m already global rekognized…
And my artwork’s used by everyone from…
… luxury brands to…
… the police and navy…
… to even some of the largest universities.
But the thing that turns me off the most?
They want to take my wonderful masterpieces, and turn them into cheap mass market f-arts!
While taking a 50% cut…
No way! :O
I’ve always prided myself in my art being exclusive.
Somewhat private.
And not for everyone.
And I raise my prices every year. So less and less people are using it. While those who own a piece see the value of it rise year after year.
I don’t even really like Etsy.
And I’m appalled at how they prioritize profits over artists, letting illegal copyright breakers run lose to their hearts content, banking on transaction fees from them all the while.
I’m just too lazy to move.
I might start moving my store to my website eventually.
But for now:
This is the one and only private garden where my art grows and blesses you with its elegant fruit:
Exclusively,
Aurelia “Not Cheap” Nobleia
