Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Reviews are good!!


Customer Reviews

I am proud of the artwork I do and I work very hard to make sure that all of my customers are happy with their purchases. Below are just some of the comments my customers have said about their experience with Luckii Arts.







Krimu: May 13, 2011  Working with Casey was a complete pleasure. She was very open to my crazy requests. She is a very talented painter and I would love to work with her again.
 
Davy K: July 25, 2011  Each piece was even more beautiful in person! All pieces brightened up my home by the quality, detail, and vibrant color. Highly recommended! I will be ordering more!
 
Matt G: Sept 7, 2011  Beautiful work, quick delivery and a nice personalized touch on the envelope. Great seller :)
 
Angela S: Sept 19, 2011  Thank you for allowing me to completely personalize my order! It was wonderful to watch the creation of the designs- they were all so beautiful! The tiles turned our gorgeous and unlike anything I could have found anywhere else!          Perfect housewarming/birthday gift! Thanks again!
 
Ellen T: April 23, 2012  I love the tiles!! Superb customer service!! Custom made my tiles to perfection!! Super fast delivery and a pleasure to work with!! Thanks so much!! 
 
Laura N: June 14, 2012  The tiles are absolutely beautiful! Casey was very helpful and stayed in close contact while painting them. If you are looking for beautiful and unique address numbers I definitely recommend LuckiiArts! :-)
 
Erin R: July 14, 2012  I cannot say enough positive things about Casey's work. Casey brings a ton of creativity and care to the project turning space information into a charming piece of art full of memories. This was a one year anniversary gift for my sister and they absolutely loved it. You can't give a more thoughtful gift. Casey is lovely to work with and goes above and beyond.
 
Denise: August 2, 2012   Wow, I don't even know where to start on leaving feedback for Casey!! First she is super duper nice and friendly! Very responsive and easy to work with. The illustration she made for me is beyond amazing!!!! She captured every detail I wanted in such a creative manner...it couldn't be more perfect!!! This illustration is something that my family and I will treasure FOREVER!!! I received it very fast too. Thanks a million, Casey!! You are truly talented :)
 
Kristen A: August 19, 2012  Thank you so much for creating this wonderful gift. The couple loved it (the bride even cried when she got it). Such a pleasant transaction and Casey is wonderful, working so hard to get all the details right. A perfect present for anyone's big day!
 
A Randolph: Sept 17, 2012  Fast and friendly service. The product is lovely, as advertised. Would definitely purchase from Casey again.
 
Andrea E: October 10, 2012  Love my new tiles! Artist worked with me to find the size and color I wanted for my custom order! Would highly recommend! Order completed and shipped quickly.
 
Brittany RB: December 28, 2012  I know its been awhile but thank you for my tiles. My new house received a lot of damage from the hurricane but my tiles stayed and are still just as perfect as ever! 
 
Sarah H: January 26, 2013  WOW!!!!! This is absolutely perfect! I am so glad I found you and your talent! Thank you so much. I love looking at it and love it when someone asks me the relevance of a particular doodle/word. As Casey well knows 2012 was quite difficult for my family but this really brings out the best and reminds me of all the good things. I would recommend Casey and her artistic skills to anyone (and already have been doing so!). Once again perfect, amazing and very very special, thank you!
 
 Sabra: April 17, 2013   Loved the painting. It looks exactly like the posted photo. Thank you so much for the beautiful work!

Dave: August 13, 2013  The custom tiles are AWESOME! LuckiiArts took my order, helped me to pick just the right items, and even added a little custom design that I requested. The tiles were carefully wrapped, they looked even better than expected, and my wife is going to love them! Thanks Casey! 

Laura: August 16, 2013  Casey, it was such a pleasure working with you. I absolutely love my new house tiles. You exceeded my expectations!!!! 

Natalie M: October 24, 3013   What an amazing find! I ordered number tiles and word tiles for my upcoming wedding. Casey is so easy to work with! I wasn't sure what designs I wanted so she worked on some revision and color ideas with me. She was very patient and very helpful and got my order out quickly. I am so happy with the tiles and with her excellent customer service. This is an A+ shop!! 

Jamie H: November 23, 2013  Gorgeous work. These were exactly what we wanted as house numbers for our Spanish home. Lovely. SO PERFECT!

Ohoyo T: February 2, 2014   Perfect addition to his holiday gift. Just lovely.

P. R: March 11, 2014     The tiles are beautiful ....just what i wanted.It will be fabUlous....thanks much.

Mary R: March 12, 2014   FANTASTIC! Our heart really captures us as a couple! High quality, professional work. Such talent!
 
JK Stoors: May 13, 2014   Casey was wonderful to work with. I love, love, love my tiles!
 
Lauren H: August 19, 2014   Another perfect piece! Cannot praise this artist enough! TEN STARS!!
 
llgootee: September 30, 2014   I absolutely love my new house number tile! I ordered it with a pre-drilled hole to attach to our brick mailbox. It looks awesome! Also, it shipped earlier than expected. I'm thrilled with my purchase!
 
Natalie M: November 6, 2014   LuckiArts always does a great job! She was able to get the custom order perfect!! Looking forward to more creative projects. Delivered quickly and was very easy to work with.
 
Emily J: November 26, 2014   Casey's work is truly amazing and one of a kind! Everyone in my neighbor has tiles for their house numbers and no one can compare to the Key West tiles she made me. Her work is spectacular. Casey was also very prompt and professional in her response time. She regularly communicated the status of my order. I highly recommend using her if you want to have incredible, unique pieces for your home! 
 
McClaflin: January 5, 2015   My daughter loved these - perfect design, quick shipment!
 
 
Taleof2Pretty: January 26, 2015  The postcard is very high quality and arrived super quickly!
 
Beth I: February 10, 2015  These are so beautiful! I cannot wait to hang them on my house. I fully recommend this artist!
 
April F: April 21, 2015  Fast shipping... Love the tile...

NDocsWife: May 14, 2015  Love my personalized memory art. The artist takes her time in researching material and puts forth 110 % in capturing your memories. This is my second print and would recommend her to anyone.

Jeanna: June 1, 2015  These tiles were made for table numbers for my wedding. Casey communicated with me throughout the process and did a wonderful job on the tiles! I can't wait to use them at the wedding.

Weller: June 5, 2015   Perfect purchase! Quick ship and great customer service! Thank you !
  Amanda: Mar 8, 2016   Super cute piece...love the colors. Artist included some nice items in the box that featured her art...nice touch. Also, the box arrived and she'd painted a thank you on the outside of the box...fantastic!

Wendy:  March 16, 2016   I absolutely love the customized art!!! I loved it online and even more in person

Laurie:  July 5, 2016   I love my new house numbers!! They're unique, colorful, and will go perfectly on my new cottage! Thank you for taking the time to customize the sign exactly to my needs. Your work is so creative and beautiful!!
Lauren:  August 12, 2016   I love the artwork I bought! It's a gift for a friend but I'm tempted to keep it for myself! I love the free gift and the original art on the package itself! It's going up somewhere in my house! Thank you!

Monday, October 9, 2017

Finding time to blog


It was recently brought to my attention that my blog was lacking in new posts. I know...I know...I am really slacking on the posting front this year...and it's October!!! 

To be honest, blogging isn't hard- it's just time consuming. How do regular bloggers do it? How do they post something new and relevant every month, or week...or even every day??? Every day!!!

I run a small art business- that keeps me busy. 
I have 2 kids, boys, under 13- keeps me busy.
I volunteer at my kids school PTA, all the time- keeps me so busy.

These are just 3 things- but you know, as everyone has 1000 things they do in a day- I do too. Things I can't list, because it's just stuff that has to get done. It's called life. So, in between all those little life tasks that have to get done I schedule time in to write- or post- or update my website- or take photos of my art, you get it..the list goes on and on. My blog is where it falls short. I always seem to push this to the back hoping that I'll get to it in a day or two. Then I talk to a friend one day and realize it's been 7 months since I posted anything. That's too long. 

SO...
I poked around on Google to see what kind of inspiration I could find for lackluster bloggers like myself, and here are a few articles I thought were written with me in mind! 

18 Blogging Tips to Create and Maintain a Successful Blog

by

How to Maintain a Blog AND a Full-Time Job



This was kind of nice- seeing that other people have to schedule in time, and then stick to it. I think I can sketch out a few ideas while drinking coffee in the am. 
 

How To Master Your Blog Publishing Frequency


This article brought home the real importance of frequent posts. I don't have oodles of followers, and that's fine. I started this originally to show off my artwork and have a voice about life. I guess the lesson is, if you don't write- how can anyone hear that voice? 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Points all taken. I am going to sit down right now and brainstorm for a new topic to write about. Wish me luck :) and thanks to the article writers above. You've inspired me to work a bit harder! And to my friend who motivated me to look at my blog and gasp at the time jump in posts...thanks :)

Cheers
~Casey

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Post Spring Break Crazy!


Spring Break was just a blip to us this year! As the kids get older it seems time really does fly by!

School is back in and FSA testing has begun! Yippee...can you hear the enthusiasm??? Me neither...

Our PTA has got their eyes on the ball though. With all of the end of the year things coming up fast, I decided to post a free template for other PTA moms and dads looking for ideas for their school too!

First up is a cute idea we are doing for Teacher Appreciation Week. We got these booklets of card stock online at CutCardStock in the sale section! Score!! Some of the booklets were less than $3.00 for 36 sheets. Great deal!


card stock for postcards
 
There are pages of travel themes, spring fruits and flowers, cool geometric shapes and patterns...lots of cute, happy designs to use as postcards. The PTA will cut each card stock in half- so they will be 3 x 6 postcards- not the typical, but still sweet and usable! We drew up this little instruction sheet for the Guidance Teachers to show the kids! When each class goes to their guidance special next month, they will get to make postcards for their teachers or staff members that mean something special to them!


postcard instruction sheet


 We will supply them with colored pencils and markers and let them be creative! Then, during teacher appreciation week, we will have a group of special delivery students hand out the mail :) I love it!!!

The free template I am posting though is for our actual PTA use. We have been toying with the idea of a newsletter just for PTA. Our school has a solid ...ahhh...maybe 5 volunteers. That's it! We have over 500 students but very little parent support. We are trying desperately to get everyone involved- and thought maybe a special note home to parents letting them know what is coming up, what we need volunteers for and how they can help- well, MAYBE that would spark some interest?

So, we googled newsletters and PTA letters and a slew of other things before we came up with...let's just make our own. So we did! Here is the link for the free template you see below. I left a little space open in two places for school logos. You'll see what I mean when you see the picture of our Belvedere Bees Updates. 
free template

I used GIMP and just made little text boxes and filled in what we wanted it to say. I added our little school Bee and tada....... Belvedere PTA Updates:  You could easily do this in Word also. Just insert your school logo and use text boxes like I did.

our Newsletter using the template above

So if you'd like a free template of the little boxes above click here and get creative!

What are you doing fun for teacher appreciation week???

~Cheers,
   Casey

Thursday, January 26, 2017

I'm feeling pretty proud!



So, one day later and I'm stoked to write that I did two pretty 'way to go you' things already! 

The first is just mechanical really. Our pool pump and vacuum has been acting weird. I have played with it for 2 weeks trying different things to see if I could get things working right again. Today I replaced some parts, cleaned everything possible and found a clog in the skim line. I cleared the clog and re-cleaned everything. Turned it on and Ta-Daaaaa pump is working great- vacuum is back flying across the pool floor. It took me a few hours but I am feeling pretty happy! I almost called one of my guy friends to help open one of the baskets. It was on sooooooo tight I nearly broke every stick and pipe I used to open it with. But, my trusty hammer and I made a good team! Girl power!!!



Second on my 'you go' accomplishment list is that LuckiiArts by Casey Virata is now in a local shop in Lake Park. It's a cute little shop called Coastal Market Place full of beachy ocean art and furniture. My work fits right in! Yay!!! I was brave and drove over with a box full of art and magnets and address tiles and signs- oh and postcards too. The shop wanted it all. Here's to hoping that lots of people come in and see my stuff and I'll get oodles of local business! It would be so neat to drive around town and see my address tiles on business and homes!! Yep...that's one of mine 😆





What have you done today? Which step have you reached today? I am discovering that if you are brave and bold and just close your eyes and do it...most likely you can!







My new mantra...Yes, you can do it!!! 


 Go do something today. Go do something BRAVE, GENEROUS, HELPFUL or just something that makes you HAPPY. Life is too short to not do things that make you happy! YES, You can do it! 

See you soon
~Casey


Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Happy (almost February) 2017!


Happy 2017!!! Thank goodness 2016 is over- WORST YEAR EVER!!!  


New year- new goals- new relationship status...new president (hrmmm) lots happening this year! 

So yes, 2016 sucked for me. My husband left our family- spontaneously and very mid-life crisis-y. Swell, but we are moving on :) New Year- New Possibilities. 





Just like this cute little cartoon says, 365 opportunities. I have tried to take that approach so far this year. Looking at each day as a "what can I accomplish today" attitude. I've done a lot actually, which surprises me. Have I succeeded every day? No, not every day. You can't be cheerful and happy and positive every day of your life can you? I can't, that's for sure. But for the most part I have truly put effort into saying yes to new opportunities. 



I am trying to take my LuckiiArts business to the next level. I am going door to door in little brick and mortar shops peddling my goods. It's scary! Walking blind into a shop and selling yourself and your art. But I'm getting bolder and what do they say, practice makes perfect! New goals!

I am also looking at selling wholesale. Also scary- but let's face it, I'm scared of everything these days. Not gonna lie. My life fell apart a year ago and I'm still picking up pieces of myself. The silver lining is that with the picking up comes an opportunity to create a new me. I actually started a pinterest board just for that reason. To remind myself that I have a clean, blank slate- shiny and ready to be drawn on with anything I want! If you are in need of a little pick me up to remind yourself you've got this...go look it up. It's called "The New Me"

I've been working a lot too. Making new wood burned pieces that I love!










Cute little mini pallets huh! So here it is: 

 New Goals for 2017

*make an edition of Art-o-mat blocks every month
*post a new blog piece every month 
*get my art in some stores locally   
*start to sell wholesale      
*spend the time I have with my kids really WITH them, doing
 fun stuff
*say yes when given an opportunity    
*travel more- even small in-state trips

That is a decent start right? I think it's doable for me! 

Here's to a prosperous new year filled with love and joy and good fortune! 

See you next month ;) 
~Casey

 


Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The making of an art-o-mat block edition



Every once in a while I get a lovely little green card in the mail from Art-o-mat saying "OUT - please send more." 





It's a great thing to open the mail and see that people love what I am making and would like more of it! So- this is my process of making an edition of 50 little wooden art blocks for Art-o-mat!

First, see those little brown blocks pictured above? That is a bunch of freshly cut wood blocks that I use for my little critters and trees. My super woodworking California Dad cuts them for me :) Thanks Dad! They are completely raw and need a coat of paint on all sides. This is generally accomplished as a group effort- meaning all hands on deck for a block painting party! Usually though, it's just my Mom and I drinking coffee and monotonously painting 20 of each color 200 at a time! It's a big job and I love her for helping me!!! Thanks Mom! Great family effort :)

Once they are all painted I have to put my art on them :) I do trees and animals with glasses, some cute birds and jellyfish and other critters. I hand sketch all of the images, then paint them in. Not one is ever identical- that would be boring!



 See- here are some cute Jelly's. I usually do 10 of an animal/tree at a time. I try to use really bright, happy colors- something that will pop and make you smile if you catch a peek of a little block sitting on a shelf or desk somewhere. 




 Happy and bright! See those two little blocks right there /\ the fox and owl? Those were done by my kids. Those little blocks sit on our book shelf in a spot of pride! I love that they like to create when I'm painting. 

The artwork has been painted on, detailed and signed on the back and finally spray sealer is added, to make sure they last and last. But I can't just ship them off like that...nooooo they need to be wrapped with a business card and my info attached. 



For this next step you need a giant roll of acetate. I cut little strips of it to wrap around the blocks...then they get wrapped up with a business card and a really sticky piece of tape.  





There are 50 of these little things, so it's a good bit of time before it's complete. I usually play music, Pandora- Octopus Project is one of my creating stations- and wrap away! 


Here they are- my little blocks of love. All wrapped and ready to ship out to  Art-o-mat central. From there they will be shipped all over the states, sometimes even over seas! Pretty cool huh!!!



That is the life of my little art-o-mat blocks from start to when they find a new home!

~Cheers, 
Casey

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

I have a middle schooler! Yikes!

 
Look at this sweet little face. This was taken the day my oldest 'little' was born. He was so tiny and pink. I was afraid to touch him, yet I couldn't keep my hands off of him. Those were the days. Late night snuggles, cute cooing noises, first smiles and laughs. Sure, there were a few months of colic, but how easily we all forget the rough stuff as your children grow.

Jump ahead 11 years and my 'little' isn't so little anymore. He's a graduating 5th grader- on to middle school...and I am terrified! What is middle school going to bring? I remember middle school- and honestly I don't wish 6, 7 or 8th grade on anyone, but it is a right of passage I suppose. We all have to go through those awkward years and start to grow up.


To commemorate this milestone I have created this mix of all ages of the boy. Not that anyone on the web cares about this particular kid but me...and perhaps my family :) but whatever! 

He's a bright kid and fearless, unless it's a roller coaster or putting medicine on a booboo. He has tackled snakes and all forms of lizards, a baby brother, K-5 school and now even a divorce.  He's growing up too fast, but is doing a great job at it! Love you the mostest D! xo