Hearts!

By now everybody is probably used to me printing my little hand-drawn, every day objects on towels. Well, I got all modern on you with this one. I tried looking at old Valentine's Day cards to get some inspiration for a design but quickly realized that most vintage cards rely heavily on terrible puns and blatant racism/sexism. I was not inspired at all. In then end, I decided that I didn't want to smack you in the face with Valentine's Day but rather coax you in for a closer look. It's subtle enough to keep using all year long. At any rate, they are available on white or natural towels.

The Apartment Tree

Maybe I've already talked about the notebook I keep, or rather, notebooks as I'm now on my third one. I started keeping a notebook with me to write down all the things I need to get done, along with ideas on things I'd like to do someday. Mostly, these notebooks are big to-do lists but I also like to doodle and write down my dreams sometimes. I've found it tremendously useful to have a place where I can put things so I won't forget them. But you do have to remember to go back through them from time to time. Recently I went back through one from last year and was struck by the fact that not only did I remember to do this but that I hit the nail on the head with my little sketch. This is a new design I'm unveiling for the holidays and I call it "Apartment Tree".

note: As I was writing this blog post, I realized that my intention last year was not to design a dish towel but rather to actually make miniature trees! Maybe next year.

Last year's notebook reads, "Maybe next holiday season, you could make little 'Apartment Trees'?"

On the left is a folded dish towel that I created this holiday season.

Winners!

Congratulations to EcoChicHandKnit, My Dear Darling and soulflower. You are the winners of a clementine tea towel given to the person you are thankful for. Everyone's comments were equal in my eyes so in the end, I pulled your names from a hat. I mean, how can one judge who does and doesn't deserve a towel? I will be in touch as to where they should be sent.

Giving Thanks

It's about time for another giveaway. Since Thanksgiving is coming up though, it's going to be run a little differently than usual. Up for grabs are 3 Clementine Dishtowels printed on unbleached cotton towels. To "win" please post a brief comment telling us about someone you feel grateful to have in your life. Rather than sending you the free towel, we'll ship it off to the person who has made your life a little better. Please make sure to give us a way to contact you! We'll post our favorite 3 comments on Thanksgiving day.
By the way, if you think this doesn't sound like Cristina, you're right (it's Jenny).

What?

When you're included in a shopping guide for an organization that bills itself as "a hand-picked selection of the best", it makes you feel good... and a little sexy. I'm not gonna lie. Check it.

We have a winner

The results from the contest are in! Some of you tried to tempt me by mentioning your adorable children or by stroking my ego by telling me how lovely the towels are. Believe me, that sort of stuff usually works like a charm. But this was based purely on the luck of the draw, not on how awesome you make me feel.

Here we go:

• Third place winner of a lovely (but not quite the finished design) tea towel is Radford. You may not know what a tea towel is but once you get your hands on one... you'll probably leave it folded in a drawer forever. Best of luck with that.
• In second place we have Lindsay. Bonus points for using the work "bitchen" in your comment. Way to keep it classy.
• And the first place winner of a Clementine Tea Towel is Angie... but there were two Angies so I'll have to differentiate here and say Angie #1. The one who left this comment, "I came across your etsy shop. Your Heated Cup tea towel drew my interest. Angie". My apologies to Angie #2 for I certainly got your hopes up only to dash them... it was kind of fun for me but maybe sucked a little for you.

So, how do you collect? Send an email to info@theheated.com with your mailing address and the towels shall be sent forth. I will write back to confirm all is happening as it should. Thank you all for participating. It was quite a ride, wasn't it?

Tea cup tea towel

The world domination of my tea towels continues. Thank you, poppytalk. If I had known that fancy design blogs would be so into these towels... well, how could anyone have forseen that? Just so you know, I spent a few hours screening towels last night and I'm almost ready to unveil the tangerine. You'll get your chance to win one soon. It's almost like I'm getting this whole screen printing thing down. Almost. I still mess up about four screens before I get one I can use.  

Creative Block

I need to come up with a new tea towel design as suddenly, the merchandise division of The Heated has become profitable! It's no doubt due to the efforts of my merchandise manager (a.k.a. wifey) who takes care of my Etsy shop. Plus, I hear there's this holiday coming up that involves buying gifts for people... oh, and Jesus. Anyway, the towels are selling and I feel I must introduce a fresh design. If you'd care to weigh in on the matter, vote. The quiz is to your right (on my blogger page for those who are reading this elsewhere) and will be up for a week. Granted, by the time you vote, I draw, then burn the screen, then print the towels, Christmas might be over. But the satisfaction of making new things never expires so I say, let the design contest continue. I call it a contest because I'll give you a chance to win a new design once it's done. Stay tuned, suckas.

Brilliant Merchandise Ideas

Can I claim credit for the idea of making dishtowels for The Heated? Of course not. But let's face it, my fans aren't allowed to wear t-shirts to work. That's right, my fans have jobs... jobs that enable them to have the money to purchase dishtowels.

What is it with me and lining things up in rows?