JAY MCCARROLL

palink to palive.

jay mccarroll — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:54:20 +0000

hello there folks. as promised in yesterdays blog, i said i would provide you with the link to the PA LIVE segment i did. well, it is….

HERE

see, it’s not that hard to look like champagne on a beer budget, or like godiva chocolate on an m & m budget, or like caviar on a fish stick budget. this is getting weird but the more i think about it…i could really go for a fish stick…

…with yummy tartar sauce!

happy holidays!

xox. j

winters what?

jay mccarroll — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:59:53 +0000

hello there folks. a few things…

1. i have a new awesome tote in my online store. it’s called the winterswijk tote. what’s with the name you ask? well, it’s named after the town in the netherlands that artist piet mondrian spent his youth. i thought the geometric pattern reminded me of a modern take on his work. i know you are wondering why i’m working in so many squares and rectangles these days. the answer is simple. i’m over circles! just kidding. i still love me some circles and i have another bag coming out after the new year that has a circular pattern, so don’t fret!

check the winterswijk tote out HERE.

2. attention philly friends…tonight i will be making an appearance at “the island of misfit toys holiday hurrah”. whew…that’s a long title! come see me and stock up on those last minute holiday treats!

3. for all of my northeastern pennsylvania friends…i will be appearing in a fun segment on WBRE’s PA LIVE lifestyle program tomorrow at 4pm. set your tivo’s or dvr’s! if you aren’t in the NEPA area, not to worry, i will post a link to the segment tomorrow after it airs. be sure to check back on this here blog for the link.

i do believe that’s all for now.

i hope y’all are not stressing out too hard about all of your last minute holiday duties. if so, grab a glass full of spiked egg nog or your favorite adult beverage and relax and worry about it all tomorrow!

happy holidays!

xox. j

am i a misfit?

jay mccarroll — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:30:59 +0000

well…i will be this week when i make an appearance at the island of misfit toys holiday hurrah! i will be selling my goods this coming wednesday december 21st from 5pm to 9:30 pm at the olivet church studios located at 22nd and mt. vernon streets in philadelphia. you can check out more info on the event HERE. come on out and get that last minute holiday shopping done!

hope to see y’all there!

happy holidays!

xox. j

pony express yourself.

jay mccarroll — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:09:26 +0000

hello folks. i recently found a time capsule dating back to the 1950′s underneath my back porch and amongst other things, there was the most peculiar item included. it was a rectangular folded piece of paper with a triangular back with what appeared to be a sticky glue-like substance on the very edge of it. on the front were a few lines of text that seemed to be written with the human hand with some kind of dye or ink. inside this paper rectangle was another rectangle on a heavier paper with an image of a christmas scene and the words “happy holidays” printed on it. inside the folded paper rectangle was what again seemed to be words written in that same dye or ink. i would again assume this was all done with the human hand.

i did some research on the interwebs and it turns out that people used to send each other these “greeting cards” or “stationary” for special occasions. can you even imagine how thoughtful of a gesture this must have been? oh…those silly humans!

long before the e-card and the group text message conveying well wishes of the holiday season, we had christmas cards. good old fashioned, hand addressed christmas cards. in the spirit of the holidays, i have whipped up some super cute christmas cards for your purchasing pleasure. they are all hand drawn by yours truly and printed on card stock. there are 2 sets of eight cards. one set is called “holiday cheer” and the other is called “holiday punch”.

HOLIDAY CHEER

HOLIDAY PUNCH

snatch them up while you can because, before you know it, mr. claus will be trying to squeeze his big ol’ tush down your chimney. i’ve always wondered…what about the houses that don’t have chimneys? either way…happy holidays!

xox. j

busted and ugly.

jay mccarroll — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:55:49 +0000

don’t get the wrong idea here. i’m not depressed or down on myself, although the holidays can unearth some pretty bizarre behavior in folks. i do, however, have 2 super fun things that i’m participating in that i want y’all to know about.

number 1.

this coming SATURDAY DECEMBER 10TH from 11am to 8pm i will be making an appearance and selling my goods at the BUST MAGAZINE HOLIDAY CRAFTACULAR in NYC. if you are in new york city this weekend and are looking for some unique gifts for your loved ones, or lets get real here…yourself, you should stop by and check it out! of course you should also find me and say hi to me and maybe buy a scarf or a bag or some new stationary from me so i can creep 25 cents closer to my dream beach house.

number 2:

next SATURDAY DECEMBER 17TH from 7pm to 10pm i will be the guest judge at the 1st annual “CANCER IS UGLY! UGLY SWEATER PARTY 2011″. come on out and have some drinks and do your part to help benefit the leukemia and lymphoma society! for more information look at this pretty graphic below.

i hope to see you at either one or both of these fun holiday events! in the meantime, i will be making more stuff for the online shop, handmade holiday cards and yummy soups. more to follow!

xox. j

what’s the best cure for a gut stuffed with a thanksgiving feast?

jay mccarroll — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:19:07 +0000

it’s called saving cashola at jaymccarroll.com! starting thanksgiving morning you will receive 20% off of everything. yes, you heard me correctly…EVERYTHING in the online shop. also, if you spend more than $50, you receive free shipping. this deal lasts from tomorrow morning, thanksgiving day, through black friday and ends at the end of cyber monday on monday evening. lets recap…

starting thanksgiving morning…

20% OFF EVERYTHING!

FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $50

…sale ends monday evening.

CLICK HERE to indulge.

happy shopping!

xox, j

bags and scarves and stationary oh my.

jay mccarroll — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:39:36 +0000

hello folks. this past weekend was the artstar holiday craft bazaar and, although i think i am just today regrouping from exhaustion, i must say i had a great time and was able to chat with a whole lot of nice folks, both fellow artists and shoppers.

i also debuted some super fun new products which you can now purchase via my online shop HERE!

a few posts ago, i shared with you some behind the seams/scenes photos of a new bag i was working on. it’s now all assembled and up for adoption and even has a name. i call it the LIMA tote bag and it’s inspired by the colorful houses of lima, peru, although i should have named it after this amazing wall which is located deep in the heart of south philadelphia at the seafarers international union building. somehow i don’t think that “the seafarers international union building tote bag” has the same kind of ring to it. anywho, one day, when i build my dream home, i must have some kind of wall, somewhere, that looks like this. maybe in the bathroom or in the garden?

i have also added two other tote bags to the online shop called the BOGALA inspired by the graphite mines in the the town of bogala in sri lanka…

…and the OSAKA named after the city in japan.

be sure to check out the pocket on the osaka tote. its chickens…in french. maybe i should have named that one something french. i’m apparently failing at this bag naming thing. i won’t quit my day job. wait a minute…this IS my day job!

i have also added a boatload of new ZURICH scarves and now MINI ZURICH scarves in 7 fresh new colors for your neck warming pleasure. so cool…or rather, so warm!

many thanks to my buddy amber (daughnya) for her modeling skills! she did the photo shoot in return for payment of two taco bell chalupas. now, that’s what i’m talking about…cheap models who can chow down!

last but not least, i have added stationary and magnets to the mix. all of the images are from the jay mccarroll graphics library and feature artwork from my habitat line of fabrics or other super cute drawings i have done. including this little guy…

…isn’t he peary cute? check the rest of the gang out HERE!

whew…that’s a lot of new products…and just in time for the upcoming holiday season! ahem…black friday…wink wink…nudge nudge.

happy shopping!

xox, j

i need your vote.

jay mccarroll — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:09:12 +0000

hello folks. i really need your help and i need it in the next 46 minutes. i would like you to vote for an organization that really played a big part in shaping the creative individual i am today. please follow the link and VOTE. you will be helping to continue creativity, hard work and discipline in the youth of america. thanks so much!

xox, j

near, far and artstar.

jay mccarroll — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:48:00 +0000

hello there. contrary to what some other folks thought, i thought this autumn’s leaf display was pretty attractive. is it just me, or in past years or even decades, weren’t the leaves in their full beautacious peak around the middle of october? it seems they just hit their peak this past week and now the rain has come and knocked them all to the ground. this is probably why i have just now realized that thanksgiving is already next week! can you believe it? wasn’t i at the beach in new jersey basking in the sun with matt, kate and dalice like just yesterday?

i’m so excited for thanksgiving. although i don’t eat turkey, i do know how to tear up some stuffing and sweet potato casserole and my favorite of all pies…pecan pie. oh pecan pie…how i love thee!

so i have been a busy little beaver this past month. i spoke at the SUMMIT OF AWESOME in baltimore, which was a blast! i met a bunch of super dooper people doing really amazing things in the indie craft world. then i spent halloween in ft. lauderdale just barely avoiding that northeastern snowstorm. it rained for most of the weekend but at least it was 80 degrees and the sun did peak it’s little head out just before i left.

last week had me on a whirlwind trip back home to northeastern pennsylvania where i worked with the amazing team at EARL & SEDOR on my new headshots. we really had a blast and i look forward to going through the hundreds of photos that they took to find the perfect ones that really capture my inner sex kitten.

i also did a fun interview with my local TV station WBRE. you can check out the interview HERE.

this past weekend i was in new york city for a sewing weekend workshop with my buddy HEATHER ROSS. we had a heck of a lot of fun and the lovely ladies taking the workshop were really diligent and made some truly gorgeous things. you can read more about heather’s workshops HERE. yes, there is a workshop in palm springs. maybe one day i will make a guest appearance at that one. any excuse to go to palm springs is a good one. my favorite place to stay in palm springs is the ACE HOTEL which ironically is where i stayed this weekend in new york. the hotel was really hip (maybe a little too hip for my aging self) and the shower and bath products were freaking amazing! i could have spent all day in that shower. trust me when i tell you this.

i have also been cutting and sewing my little fingers to the bone for the past month in anticipation for this weekend. i am participating in the HOLIDAY ARTSTAR CRAFT BAZAAR. the festivities will begin this friday night November 18th with a VIP preview party from 6pm to 9pm and costs $25. i will also be there all day Saturday November 19th and Sunday November 20th from 11am to 6pm and that is FREE and open to the public. it will take place at the 23rd street armory located at 22 south 23rd street (on 23rd between market and chestnut) in beautiful philadelphia pennsylvania.

if you are looking for something super fun to do this weekend, please stop by and say hi (i will be located at booth #2) and get jump started on that christmas shopping you have been putting off. i will be debuting some new tote bags and scarves which i’m pretty excited about. i now present to you, for your viewing pleasure, some photos of what i’ve been working on. yes, ladies and gentleman, i am now working in the world of squares.

fear not my friends, if you aren’t able to attend the ARTSTAR festivities this weekend but still want to get your hands on some of these new items in time for black friday or cyber monday or the 12 days of christmas or christmas or whatever other holiday celebrates with gift giving, you can always go shopping on my online shop HERE. (the bags pictured above, along with several others, will be making their debut in person this weekend at ARTSTAR but will be available on the online shopping cart in the next week or so, so stay tuned)!

happy day!

xox. j

heads up.

jay mccarroll — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:46:23 +0000

hello folks. i’ve got some super cute headbands new in the shop this week. they are all printed cotton headbands and several feature fabric from my “germania” and “habitat” fabric collections. they are called the “hachimaki” headband. the name hachimaki comes from a traditional japanese headband worn as a symbol of perseverance or effort by the wearer. i thought that would be an appropriate name for my loyal customers who have stuck by me all of these years! i think they would make the perfect holiday stocking stuffer! check ‘em out HERE!

also, i wanted to let you in on some awesome news! no, it’s not a 24 hour tv show where i entertain you and your friends and family all day, every day. although, i wouldn’t be opposed to that.

it’s that my online shop is now new and improved! let me point out to you some of the exciting features….

WISH LIST: you can now create your very own wish list and share it with your friends and family so they will know exactly what sets your heart aflutter. simply create an account at www.jaymccarrollonline.com/shopjay

PRODUCT REVIEWS: you can now share with other customers how fantastically amazing you think my items are!

GIFT CERTIFICATES: can’t decide what your aunt barb may like at jaymccarroll.com? let her decide! send your friends and family gift certificates so they can go shopping at www.jaymccarrollonline.com/shopjay

FACEBOOK & TWITTER: let your facebook and twitter pals know about the products you like or want or need to have. ahem…christmas is right around the corner…ahem.

PROMO CODES: the most exciting new feature of all! now i can offer all of my awesome fans a discount on the items you just have to have! simply use promo code JAY2011 to get 20% off of your order! this code is only good until November 13th so hurry up to take advantage of this amazing offer!

happy shopping!

ps: you can find the new and improved shopping cart HERE!

happy shopping…again!