As you may know just from reading the “meet Kate” part of my website, artistic abilities are definitely in my genes. My mother is a talented artist and designer. She paints, decorates, crafts fine dolls, designs beautiful jewelry and more. My grandmother had natural artistic talents and my aunts (my Mom’s sisters) are also talented artists. My one sister Kristin, is a talented poet, and my sister, Meghan, is a graphic designer…so creativity is definitely in the genes.
I get asked all of the time about my own girls and whether or not any of them are artists. They definitely have a lot of art around them. Besides my side of the family, my sister-in-law, Cyndi, is an amazing cake designer…so they have artistic influence from the McRostie side too!
Over the weekend, while doing a little clean up around the house, I took some snapshots of some of the art that decorates their bedrooms.
My oldest daughter, Kassie, 15, has a modern approach to her art:
 Modern art by my oldest, Kassie My middle daughter, Kenzie, 11, whipped up this lovely floral using a wind painting technique and then painted her own watercolor flowers:
 Art with an Asian flair by Kenzie My youngest, Kaylie, 9, prefers a mulitmedia approach to her artwork:
 Multimedia art by Kaylie As their mom, I know I am biased, but they are pretty good! Who knows, maybe when I am ready to retire (after college tuitions and weddings are paid for), one of my girls will end up licensing their own artwork. Only time will tell…
We have a new contest starting today! Click on the blue sweepstakes bar above to enter.
One lucky winner will start the summer out with a colorful hand painted seahorse pitcher, hand painted junonia shell platter, and coordinating napkins, spreaders, and oil bottle all from Evergreen Enterprises. Enter yourself and tell your friends!
Good Luck!
Donna Reis! We will be contacting you for your mailing address. We had a whopping 621 entries in the contest!!! Thank you to all who entered. Keep checking back – we will be starting a new contest soon!
Do you see a blue bar across the top of the page?? Well, we have just posted our first giveaway contest using the Wildfire Application.
 Click on the blue bar at the top of the page to enter to win! The winner will receive a hand painted Madison’s Garden chip and dip tray, napkins, a spoon rest, salt & pepper shakers, a wine stopper, and two spreaders. Just what you need for a beautiful Spring brunch! All items are from Kate’s Madison’s Garden Collection from Evergreen Enterprises. The contest ends on May 20th at 8 pm EDT. Good luck!
It’s been quite the busy Winter and Spring here at Kate McRostie DesignWorks! Although the workloads of the entire team have been huge, it’s all good and very exciting. We only have a couple of weeks left until we head to New York for Surtex in booth 532, a tradeshow where artists license their artwork. A few weeks after that, we head to Las Vegas for the Licensing International Expo in booth 5723! Be sure to check out our press release for the scoop on plans for the shows!
Be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page in upcoming weeks as we plan a new contest and are sure to update with fun things from New York and Las Vegas.
Have a wonderful Easter weekend!
 Congratulations to Melanie Walter-Jones who won the Birdwatcher Notebook Giveaway as an entrant on Facebook!
Happy Monday!
It’s SPRING Giveaway contest time! Enter here on www.katemcrostie.com or on Facebook. This week, enter a comment below telling us what bird is your favorite that you see each Spring (or any other season) and you will be registered to win Kate’s “Birdwatcher Notebook” coasters and journal from Creative Co-Op.  
Contest ends Sunday, March 20th at 11 pm EST. US Residents only. Good luck!!
The grass may not be green yet, but there are signs of beautiful, colorful Spring finally bursting forth here in Wilmington!
 Snowy pear tree  The always familiar daffodil  Bright pink Camellias With the coming of Spring, there are alot of exciting things going on at KMD. Of course, the bright colors of my flowers have inspired me and my paintbrush has been flowing with new artwork! I’m busy painting commissioned projects for manufacturers now including some Christmas, florals, and specialty icons. I am finishing up one more special project this week and then I can concentrate entirely on the artwork that will debut at Surtex and at The International Licensing Expo. Both will be here before I know it!!
We have also hired a new graphic designer to help out here in Wilmington, Susanna Addison and a new office assistant, Kat Doyle. Kristin, Meghan, and I are so happy to have them on board. We are so relieved to have the extra help!
If you haven’t joined our FACEBOOK fan page, please head on over there so that you are sure to get even more inside info! We will have more contests coming up, so keep checking back!
I hope you are having a great week so far,
I was thrilled to get an email from an avid quilter saying she loved my new crafting fabric at JoAnn’s – so of course, I had to rush out and take a look! When licensing art, I do not necessarily know when products will land in stores…so when I find out, I love to stop by the retailer in my area and take a look.
This latest fabric collection is available exclusively at JoAnn Fabric & Crafts in stores and some of the designs are available online. The collection is based on my works “Splendid Botanicals” but has been named “Blessings of Spring” for the JoAnn’s group. It’s so bright and cheerful! There are colorful flowers, butterflies, birds and of course, scrolls! 
    
If you make a spring project with any of these fabrics, please send in some pics and we’ll show off your handiwork.
I hope it’s finally warming up in your area!
Hi, Kristin here…
All is super busy here at Kate McRostie DesignWorks as we follow up from our successful trip to Atlanta. For those of you who are not on Facebook, you will be happy to hear that Kate’s husband, Kenny, has returned home from his 7 month deployment. Kate and the girls are so happy to have him back home! It was a long 7 months and they are thrilled to be back together.
In the midst of a winter snow hitting much of the country, I thought I would send a little Spring your way…
These sweet little birds, from Kate’s “Nature’s Nest” collection, are now available in Cracker Barrel stores! Each one holds a Faith, Hope, Love or Joy sign while sitting on a inscribed egg with verse written by me especially for these designs. The birds are sold individually for $4.99 each. Also available is an adorable birdcage nest with inscribed eggs for 14.99.
    
The verses are:
Faith: Let the light of faith inspire and bless the lives of all.
Hope: To share your spirit is to spread true hope.
Love: If you can only give one thing away, be sure it is Love.
Joy: Plant joy in your heart for a lifetime of blooms.
Along with a bundle of your favorite flowers, what a great way bring some sunshine into your decor or to give as a gift!
To find a Cracker Barrel near you:
http://www.crackerbarrel.com/trip-directory.cfm?doc_id=173
At least the snow will mean a really green, beautiful Spring!
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