Maree Truelove Illustration and Design

Birthday Celebration!

2011-11-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

It's our 2nd Birthday over at our Etsy Shop! Wow! I want to thank each and every one of you for making it a FABULOUS 2 years! It's been amazing and I feel beyond blessed to have such great customers!

To celebrate I have some special surprises to share!

First off...today and Thursday enjoy 20% OFF each item in the shop by using the coupon code: "EBD20"! Please remember to enter the code during checkout because it can not be applied after the transaction has been completed.

Second of all...today and Thursday we'll be including a surprise FULL Christmas clip art set AND FULL coordinating paper pack ($10 Value) with any purchase of $20 or more!

And last but not least we have a few freebies for everyone! :) Just click the links below to download each freebie. The images may be used for both for Personal and Commercial Use.

Click here to download

Enjoy and again, thank you SO SO SO much!!! Have a fantastic day!!! :)

Christmas Character Sale

2011-11-15T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow only I'll be offering my Custom Christmas Characters for the special price of $12 (normal price $20)!

You can either choose one of the characters above to customize or mix and match outfits/items shown (more below) to create something completely your own! I also have a few different hair style, eyes and mouths to choose from (see images below). As always...you are able to change the color of ANY part/item on the character. I can also do your character in any skin tone you'd like.

To purchase please email mareetruelove@gmail.com with the subject line "Christmas Character" and let me know what you would like your character(s) to look like as well as your email address associated with PayPal. I will then send you a PayPal invoice and once that's paid I'll get started!

Christmas Characters

2011-10-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

Christmas characters are finally here!!! :) I'm really excited about these! I will eventually have the characters up in the shop but for right now I'll only be selling them here on the blog. The special price for each Christmas character is $20 (an $8 discount on each character after the first is given if more than one is purchased).

A few sample characters are shown above. You can either choose one of the characters above to customize or mix and match outfits/items shown (more below) to create something completely your own! I also have a few different hair style, eyes and mouths to choose from. As always...you are able to change the color of ANY part/item on the character. I can also do your character in any skin tone you'd like. If you have a request for your character that isn't shown here...shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do!

To purchase please email mareetruelove@gmail.com with the subject line "Christmas Character" and let me know what you would like your character(s) to look like. I will then send you a PayPal invoice and once that's paid I'll get started!

Big Changes!

2011-09-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

After much thought I've decided that Sunday, September 30th will be the last day of the Buy 2 Get 1 Free special. Even though this has been a great special...I've found that many customers also find it to be difficult and somewhat confusing to calculate when purchasing several sets. I've also found that it's especially confusing when I'm running a sale. My #1 goal is to make your shopping experience as pleasant and as simple as possible. I feel that ending the special is one way I can accomplish that.

Another change I'll be making is setting a flat combined price for both Personal and Commercial Use sets. This means that instead of having a Personal and Commercial Use option on each set...I'll be offering each set with the both the Personal and Commercial license included. This also means a substantial drop in price for the commercial use sets.

This pricing change will be experimental and will last throughout the month of October. At that time I will analyze and evaluate how well it's working and go from there.

Now, the REALLY big change and the reason for all of the other changes is...I'm in the very beginning stages of launching my website which will offer instant downloads and exclusive sets. I'm very excited about this and hope all of you are as well! No more waiting for emails! YAY!

If you have any concerns or questions feel free to drop me a line at mareetruelove@gmail.com ! Have a great evening!

Sale-a-Bration! Day 5

2011-09-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for helping make this such a great week! :) I appreciate each and every one of you!

For our last night we have a three part freebie. Just click the link below each image to download. These can be used for either Personal or Commercial Use. Enjoy!

Click to Download

Have a great evening and again, thank you!!!

Character Giveaway Winner

2011-09-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

The winner of our character giveaway is Kristi (yourblissfulday@gmail.com). Congrats Kristi! I'll be emailing you within the next 24 hours to collect the info I need to get started on your new character! Thanks to everyone who entered!!!

Sale-a-Bration! Day 4 and 5!

2011-09-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry! Due to an unexpected family issue we totally missed the freebie last night! To make up for it, we'll be offering TWO freebies this evening and another 50% OFF coupon (expires Thursday at midnight EST). Code: SAB50. Just click the link below each image to download. These can be used for either Personal or Commercial Use. Enjoy!

Click to Download

Make sure to check back this evening for our last freebie and to see who won our custom character giveaway! Have a wonderful evening!

File Corrections

2011-09-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

It has been brought to my attention that there were a few errors within 2 products in the shop. The corrected files may be downloaded below.

The following files may be downloaded and used by anyone but please keep in mind that they are for PERSONAL USE only unless you had originally purchased the commercial use sets and are downloading the corrections.

Halloween Clipart Set

Error: Cat's tail partially cut off

Download Replacement Cats

Trick or Treat Candy Digital Paper Pack

Error: White Polka Dot and Lollipop Papers weren't included in Zip File.
Download Missing Papers

I sincerely apologize for these errors! Thanks you to the customers who brought it to my attention!

Sale-a-Bration! Day 3

2011-09-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of our Sale-A-Bration brings you a fun Winter Freebie and a Custom Character Giveaway! Just click the link below each image to download. These can be used for either Personal or Commercial Use. Enjoy!

Click to Download

I'm also giving away a free custom (waist up) character with one accessory included! To enter just leave a comment below with your email address! A winner will randomly be selected and announced on Thursday, September 15th here on the blog! :)

Make sure to check back tomorrow for more goodies! Have a wonderful evening!

Sale-a-Bration! Day 2

2011-09-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Day 1 of our Sale-A-Bration was amazing, thanks to all of you! We had our biggest sales day since opening nearly 2 years ago...a total of 256 sales! Is that amazing or what?! You all fantastic! Thank you so much!!!

If you missed the 60% OFF coupon yesterday... don't be sad! I'll be offering another coupon code tomorrow (Monday) for 50% OFF and then another on Wednesday for 40% OFF! I may even have a few other little surprises up my sleeve! hehehe

Day 2 brings you another set of fun holiday freebies! Just click the links below each image to download. These can be used for Personal and Commercial Use. Enjoy!

Click to Download

Make sure to check back tomorrow for more goodies! Have a wonderful evening!

Sale-a-Bration! Day 1

2011-09-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

COUPON CODE HAS EXPIREDI want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of my wonderful customers! My Etsy shop has a hit a milestone of 5,000 sales and to be honest, I'm down right giddy about it! I want to thank each and every one of you for being so fantastic and loyal!!!

I'm kicking off day one of our Sale-A-Bration with a whopping 60% discount on all items in the shop using the coupon code "SAB60"! This is the perfect time to stock up on clipart and paper packs for the upcoming holidays!

I also have few fun freebies! These are free for Personal or Commercial Use! Just click the link below each image below to download. Enjoy!

Click Here to Download

Make sure to check back tomorrow for more goodies! Have a wonderful evening!

Gift Cerftificate Winners

2011-08-16T05:08:00.001-07:00

Using http://www.random.org/ we've selected two winners for our $25 Gift Certficiate Giveaway! Congratulations to Chloe' Cobain and Desha! I'll be emailing you shortly! Thank you to everyone who entered!

$25 Gift Certificate Giveaway

2011-08-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

To celebrate reaching 500 fans on Facebook as well as hitting 4,500 sales we're giving away TWO $25 gift certificates! To enter just leave a comment on this post with your email address and let us know which clipart set in our shop is our favorite! We will then randomly select and announce two winners on Tuesday, August 16th!

June FREEBIES

2011-06-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

To go along with our huge June release we've created a few fun freebies for you!
These images are totally free and may be used for personal OR commercial use. Just click the images below to download. Have a great weekend!

Created to coordinate with our Zebra Striped Cupcakes 1 & Zebra Striped Cupcakes 2 clip art sets.

Created to coordinate with our Summer Surfing clip art set and Summer Surfing Paper Pack.

Created to coordinate with out Matryoshkas - Dark clip art set.

Created to coordinate with out Matryoshkas - Bright clip art se t.

Awareness Ribbons - FREEBIE!

2011-03-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

While I was going through my files I ran across some images I've been meaning to share with you guys for awhile. :) Enjoy! These images are free for you and may be used for personal OR commercial use. Just click the image below to download. Have a great weekend!

And the Winner is...

2011-02-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

The winner of our Custom character giveaway was comment #19 - Amy!

Thanks to everyone who entered and if you didn't happen to win this time keep a look out! We'll be having more character giveaways soon!!! :)

2,500 Sale Giveaway!

2011-02-16T06:27:00.001-08:00

We've hit 2,500 sales and that means we're having a giveaway to celebrate! :) I've decided, though, that instead of doing another design pack/clip art giveaway that I'd make this giveaway an extra special one! :)

One of my most popular items in the past has certainly been my custom character designs. I recently stopped offering this option though because of my "busy mommy schedule". I love doing the characters and I know a lot of you were disappointed in this decision but it's something I knew I had to do in. So while you can no longer PURCHASE a character you CAN enter this giveaway to WIN one! :)

The winner of the Custom Character Giveaway will receive 1 custom character (side view/waist up/hand on hip or up in air) and one accessory (earrings do not count as an accessory). To enter the giveaway just leave a comment (please include your email address) on this entry stating what you'd love to have a custom character for. Would you use it for your blog? Your website? Scrap booking? Product packaging? Let us know!

The winner will be selected (using http://www.random.org/) on February 23. Once a winner is chosen I will contact them via email to gather information about what their character will look like and we'll get started!

Thank you to all of my wonderful customers! You're so very appreciated!!!

2,000th Sale FREEBIE!

2011-01-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of my fabulous customers I've recently hit 2,000 sales in my Etsy shop! To celebrate...I've created a mini design pack to help YOU celebrate Valentine's Day! This mini design pack includes 3 - 12x12 digital patterned papers, 4 scalloped frames and 4 coordinating graphics! These images are free for you and may be used for personal OR commercial use. Credit is not required but is always appreciated! Click the image below to download the LOVE LETTERS mini design pack!

I also have some really exciting news about where I'm headed with my shop in this new year! I've given it a lot of thought and I've decided to open a second shop in the next few months with some of the more "grown up" designs that you've been asking for! This shop will be geared toward more elegant designs, softer colors and cleaner overall design. I will also be offering affordable exclusive premade logos and possibly characters (I'm not 100% sure on this one yet!) that can be customized with your company name and colors!

Thank you so much! You guys helped make last year beyond wonderful and I'm betting this year will be even better!!! If you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment below!

Have a great day!

We Need your Help!

2010-12-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

On January 1st we will be making some changes to our Etsy shop to make our customer's experience with shopping with us as pleasant as possible! This means we need your help! Your opinion matters and we want your input! If you're a customer and you would take a few moments of your time to complete the short survey below it would be very appreciated! All answers are confidential so feel free to be completely honest with us!

Click here to take survey

Now, here's the really fun part! If you choose to take the survey you may either leave a comment with your email address on this post or send us an email (mareetruelove@gmail.com) and let us know to get a coupon code good for 15% OFF of your next order! The coupon will be good from today until December 16th, 2010.

Thanks so much and we appreciate your business!

1,500 Sale FREEBIE!

2010-11-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

I've recently hit 1,500 sales in my Etsy shop and to thank all of my wonderful customers for helping me hit this exciting milestone I wanted to offer a cute little freebie! Click the image below to download the Merry & Bright mini design pack. It includes : 3 - 8x8 Inch Digital papers, 4 scalloped frames and 4 snowflake graphics. All files are high resolution/300 dpi.

These are free to you and can be used for personal OR commercial use (Terms of Use). Enjoy and thanks so much!!!

Clipart Special

2010-10-12T13:23:00.001-07:00

Right now all Fall and Halloween clip art sets and digital paper packs are marked down by 15%! Don't miss out on these great deals!!! Click here to shop our special...and as always...buy any two items and get one of equal or lesser value FREE!!!

Fall Release Freebie Frames

2010-09-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

If you've recently purchased our new Autumn Leaves and Acorns or Cute Cars paper packs we have a few freebies for you! Below you can find a set of 5 frames that match a few of our new Fall Release sets as well as a cute street frame to match our car set! There are free to you and can be used for personal OR commercial use (Terms of Use).

To download the frames just click the links below then right click on the image and save. The images are png format with transparent backgrounds and are high resolution/300 dpi.

Click Here for the FREE street Frame

Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a great week!

HUGE Fall Release!

2010-09-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Coming Tomorrow!

Celebration Giveaway Winners!

2010-09-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Angilyn and The Burley's! I'll be contacting you within the next 24 hours with your free "Witches" clipart set! Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks to all of my wonderful customers for helping me make it to 1000 sales!

1000 Sale Celebration Giveaway!

2010-09-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

I've recently hit 1000 sales and to celebrate I'm giving away my new Witches Clip art Set for Commercial Use! This cute set would be just perfect for all of your Halloween paper crafting or invitations! It's a $15 value! To enter just leave a comment on this post with your email address. For an additional entry...let your friends know about the giveaway via Facebook or your blog then leave another comment with a link! Two winners will be drawn randomly and announced on Wednesday, September 8th at midnight!

Our Craft Longe Blog Hop Winner

2010-08-23T13:40:00.001-07:00

Congrats to AShu93! I'll be contacting you shortly! Thanks to everyone who commented!!!!! :)

Our Craft Lounge - Blog Hop With Blog Candy!

2010-08-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I was approached by the fabulous ladies at Our Craft Lounge and was asked if I would be interested in designing some stamp sets for them. Um, hello?!?!? Of course I was!!! I'll admit to being a bit out of the loop these days where paper crafting is concerned but I was still very familiar with the OCL site and all of the wonderful products they offer so... I was more than thrilled to be working with them!

Soooo...during this summer's CHA my winter penguin illustrations were released as the Penguin Fun stamp set! How neat is that?! Here it is!

I'm also very excited to be a part of today's blog hop and you should be excited too because you have a change to win this cute little set! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Please make sure include your email address! One winner will be chosen Sunday August 22nd.

Now, don't laugh too much...here's a sample I've made using the Penguin Fun set. I really enjoy dabbling in card making from time to tim but I will NOT be quitting my day job to pursue it (or um, photography) any time soon. (hahaha!)...

For more samples created with the newly released stamps make sure to check out all of the blogs of these truly talented ladies! You're in for a real treat!

Amber Hillman
Beate Johns
Beth Silaika
Bev Gerard
Broni Holcombe
Cambria Turnbow
Charmaine Ikach
Cindy Lawrence
Deb Felts
Debbie Corbari
Deborah Anton
Denise Marzec
Heather McNally
Holly McMillen
Jeanne Streiff
Joy Kennedy
Julie Okada
Kendra Wietstock
Kisa Peters
Lori McAree
Maree Truelove (You're here!)
Michelle Fowler
Pam Hooten
Tammy Hershberger
Terri Thill
Vicki Garrett

You can also find a list of retailers carrying the new OCL releases HERE.

Have a great day and enjoy the hop!

And the winner is...

2010-08-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

The winner of our Tea-rific giveaway sponsored by Die Cuts R Us was Katy~The Country Blossom ! Congrats Katy!!! I'll be emailing you shortly to gather the info we need to get your stamp set sent out!

Thanks to everyone who entered!!! :D We'll be doing another great giveaway in September and I have an exciting announcement coming up as well!

Have a great weekend!

It's a Tea-rific Giveaway!

2010-08-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Giveaway has ended.

Back in May Claudia & Company released several new stamp sets and I was lucky enough to have been able to be the designer of one! You can find the post all about it here. Claudia (who is also the owner of Die Cuts R Us) has turned my Tea Party illustrations into a fabulous set of rubber stamps and now she and Die Cuts R Us has been kind enough to sponsor a giveaway for my blog readers! How great is that?! You can have up to four chances to win the Tea Party stamp set (full set pictured below) which measures 4x6 inches and is made from deep etched red rubber. They are pre- mounted on cling cushion and ready to be placed onto acrylic blocks!

To enter our giveaway just leave a comment on this post (please include your email address or another way to contact you should you win). I'm also offering each reader the chance to have THREE additional entries! For additional entries you can become a blog follower (if you aren't already), become a fan of our Facebook page and/or become a fan of Die Cuts R Us on Facebook! (Make sure to leave another comment letting us know if you do these things!) It's as easy as that!

The giveaway will end on Friday 13th and the winner will be announced here on the blog on Saturday the 14th!

Have a great weekend!

Digital Freebie - Paper Lanterns

2010-07-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my 800th sale on Etsy (YAY!) I want to offer my blog followers a cute (and much requested) freebie! The great thing is...this freebie can be used for personal OR commercial use (Terms of Use)! I just ask that you please leave a comment below if you choose to download the set and I ask that credit be given if used commercially. For example... you may put "Graphics by Maree Truelove" in your Etsy or website listing. No link is necessary but is always appreciated if possible.

To download just click the links below then right click on the image and save. The images are png format with transparent backgrounds, high resolution/300 dpi and are approximately 3.5 inches.

I want to send a huge "thank you" out to all of my amazing customers! You allow me to do the work that I love and still stay home with my children. It's a dream come true. I am so thankful for that! THANK YOU!

Don't forget to follow our blog for future freebies, giveaways, sales and more!

I also have a very exciting announcement coming up soon!

Enjoy and have a great day!

Stephen Edward Graphics Giveaway!

2010-07-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Want to win this gorgeous vinyl wall decal? Then just head over to Stephen Edward Graphics and enter his facebook giveaway! I did! :)

Free Printable/Sweet Candies!

2010-07-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

With the help of Nicole from LilBoo&Co. we have our very first FREE printable to share! She was also kind enough to print everything out...assemble it and take some very cute photos!!!

The free printables include cupcake toppers & tags as well a coordinating cupcake wrappers. These were created with exclusive images not sold in my shop and they are for personal use only.

You can download the toppers and tags HERE and the coordinating wrappers HERE. The PDF files may have a bit of a gray tint (due to some transparency on the candy wrappers) but rest assured that it's not visible on the downloaded files. They print perfectly! All you have to do is download, print and create!

Enjoy!

Our Christmas in July Special

2010-07-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Now through July 25th we'll match your purchase of 3, 4 or 5 sets with the same amount of sets (your choice) absolutely FREE! Free sets must be equal to or lesser than the lowest price set purchased. Limit 8 free sets. I won't be running a special like this again for a long time so make sure to take advantage of it while you can! It's the perfect time to stock up on all of the cute sets you want and not worry about breaking the bank!!!

We'll also be announcing our newest giveaway on August 1st so stay tuned!

Toy Train Sets and SPECIAL Announcement!

2010-07-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

These adorable little Toy Train Design Packs will be going up in the shop sometime today. I had a LOT of fun making these! The red/green star patterned carts would be PERFECT to display the name of a little boy or an age for birth announcements and invites!

I HOPE to have the new Big Top Circus set done in time for my Christmas in July SPECIAL but it's taking a bit longer than I expected.

New Sets, Sneak Peeks and a Very SPECIAL Surprise!

2010-07-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek of some upcoming sets...

I also want to give you guys a heads up about an upcoming personal use freebie and a very SPECIAL Christmas in July surprise I have coming . Trust me...it's HUGE and you won't won't to miss it!!!

Have a great Sunday!!!

New Design Packs

2010-07-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few previews of my upcoming clip art sets and design packs. I currently have about 10-12 new sets in progress and hope to have them all listed by early to mid August. I'm REALLY looking forward to sharing a sneak peek of my new Big Top Circus set with you soon! I hope you love it as much as I do! There will also be a new candy set (made to match the current candy sets in my shop), a child's art set and a few new design packs.

These sets, however, will be listed in the shop later this evening...

If you're a blog follower and would like to have both Preppy Baby sets for the price of one just head over to Etsy later today and add one to your cart. Then use the code: PrepBOGO in the notes to seller field during checkout and you'll get one free!

Have a great day!

Hi There!

2010-07-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

It's taken me awhile to get back into the groove of things but I think I'm finally there! I've finished up the blog layout and I'm ready to go! Hopefully I'll be cranking out some blog entries, sneak peeks and features soon as well as some exclusive freebies JUST for our blog followers!

Claudia and Company May Stamp Release

2010-05-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share one of the newest releases from Claudia and Company with you! Claudia (whom I consider not only a wonderful customer but an amazing and supportive FRIEND) approached me some time ago about turning some of my illustrations into rubber stamps. She's the owner of the fabulous crafty website www.diecutsrus.com and had planned on releasing her very own line of stamps. I was honored and thrilled to be working with her again but I really had no idea just how exciting it would be to actually see my work turned into stamps until I woke up this morning to the release! Can I just say WOW?! Take a look at some of the gorgeous cards creating by her design team using the Tea Party stamp set:

Aren't they just lovely?! I am just so excited to be a part of this!!! The set includes 8 images and two sentiments.

You can check out the Tea Party set and many other fun stamp sets here!

Well Hello There!

2010-02-01T00:14:00.000-08:00

After a long "vacation" I've decided to start blogging again. I have to start off by admitting that blogging has always been a huge challenge for me because...well...honestly...I guess I'm pretty boring when it comes right down to it. I miss connecting with my old blog buddies though. I also miss being able to host my own giveaways so here I am, giving it another go. Oh, please bear with me! This may not be pretty! lol (Erm, is it okay to use "lol" while blogging??? :\)

See? It's awkward already!

Some of the pressure has been taken off though because this isn't a "personal" blog per se. It's all about my digital artwork and my "journey" as a seller on Etsy. If you're here...chances are we've worked together in the past or you've stumbled on my blog from my Etsy shop. In either case, Hello and Welcome! :)

I guess I could start off by telling you a little about myself. I'm 28 and live in Eastern Kentucky. I have three wonderful little boys (who drive me to the brink of insanity often but I wouldn't have it any other way!). I'm also happily married to a fantastic man (he cleans *and* cooks ladies!). I've been working in graphic design on and off for 10 years and it's my passion! I also enjoy scrap booking, card making and long walks on the beach. *wink*

I find it incredibly hard to go on and on about myself so I'm gonna take the easy way out and list 10 random things about myself:

1. I am the eldest of four children
2. I am *obsessed* with 80's music
3. I have an irrational fear of cotton (no joke)
4. I type "lol" waaaaay too much
5. I don't care much for ice cream (gasp!)
6. I was a collection agent in a former life (don't hate me!)
7. My favorite smell is tomato vine
8. My favorite color is pink (can't you tell?)
9. I do my best work at 3-4 am
10. I have a terrible addiction to handmade soap

Whew, that wasn't too bad but I'm glad it's over! lol

Ok, so basically...if you like my work and want the chance to win free stuff on occasion click that little button to the side of my blog and follow the blog or you can also follow me on Twitter or fan me on Facebook (oh my gosh...that's a mouthful eh?).

Thanks for stopping by!