Meet Monica Collins of TG Bears - Featured Artist

Who remembers their first Teddy Bear?  I got mine on my 18th birthday, paid for it myself with my first paycheque (which the payday happened to be right on my birthday).  My job was to call businesses up from the yellow pages and ask for their fax number so it can be added to a fax number directory...it was a boring job, didn't stay more than a month there, but it did give me my own spending money and I got my bear... named him Snuggle Bear because he looked like the bear in the laundry detergent commercials and after 23 years, still sits at my night stand.

The bears that Monica Collins of TG Bears makes are loveable and huggable.  Handmade from start to finish, each bear is slightly different, never identical.

Monica Collins

Monica is a fellow member of The Artisan Group and I had the pleasure to find out more about her and her bears.

How and when did you discover your love for your craft/art?
I have always loved teddy bears. There is something ageless about them. I enjoy sewing and doing things creative – so how much better than putting two loves together?

Do you remember the first piece you ever made?
Absolutely, it was a teddy bear that I thought looked a bit out of shape. But someone loved him and bought him and that is when I realized there is someone for everyone out there ?

"Angela"

Every Artist has a creative process, can you explain yours?
I don’t really have a process. I would say my creativeness comes as an a-ha moment – I like to call it inspiration. I then go about putting that moment into practice.

When people start doing their craft/art, they tend to try a lot of different things before settling down to something that resonates with them. How has your work changed since you began?
The process for me has not moved outside of teddy bears. But it has moved outside of the making being a hobby to it being a business and so I have changed how I think about going about the selling of my bears.

"Hernando"

What inspires you creatively?
I have many inspirations, but colors is a very definite one. I love going into fabric stores or other places where there are a kaleidoscope of colors in one place. It makes me feel like I am not able to keep up with the processes in my head

Can you tell us about some important goals you have achieved with your work?
I have, thanks to my exclusive membership in The Artisan Group, been able to gift some bears to celebrities. I was also chosen as Fox Small Business of the Day in November. But what I find a great goal that I have achieved is to be able to work with some charities to help support them. I am currently making bears for Angels4Epilepsy to deliver to children in hospital.

"Angels4Epilepsy"

Who are some of your favorite artists/crafters and why?
That would be hard to list here. I am a fan of many forms of arts and crafts and admire people who do their craft well. I have no ability to draw and so artists fall into a special category in my opinion.

Any goals for the future you would like to share?
TG Bears is destined for growth in the 2012. I have some goals in place. Keep watch at http://www.tgbears.com for news! But one thing that I have already implemented is flat rate shipping.

"Duty Bear"

What do you do in your spare time?
Being a wife and new business owner – what is spare time? But I do enjoy going out with my husband and taking time to explore places and sights around. I love travelling.

If you are displaying or selling your craft/art? Where?
I don’t display my bears anywhere at this stage.

"Nina"

If you sell online or at physical store. How many hours per week to you spend in the creative side versus the business side?
I sell online at http://www.tgbears.com. I don’t have fixed hours that I spend on any one thing. It goes with the flow. Some weeks I get to spend more time in my sewing room and sometimes business obligations seem to rule my life.

What advice would you give to someone who want to start out or start a business in their craft/art?
Go for it! I heard a good quote the other day: Businesses don’t fail, their owners just quit.

"Daisy"

If there is anything else you want to add, please feel free to do so.
I do a bi-monthly newsletter. Signing up for it on my website or on Facebook will give you a 25% off coupon to use on your first TG Bear order.

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Thank you Monica!!  Be sure to check out TG Bears at the following sites:

• http://www.tgbears.com
• http://www.facebook.com/tgbears
• http://www.twitter.com/tgbears
• http://pinterest.com/tgbears

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Before I go... Monica is having a wonderful Giveaway to celebrate a few milestones TG Bears have reached. The Giveaway starts February 16th and the prize... Well let's just say Monica, fellow Members of The Artisan Group and Myself (Jewelry by Saniki Creations) are donating to the prize which is a swag bag full of handmade goodness worth $1,015.00 USD.  Click HERE for more details about the prize and how to enter.

Meet Susan & Ashley White of Wicked Wench Soapworks - Featured Artists

Chemicals.... who really likes to put that stuff on your body... let alone bathe in it?  I know I certainly don't.  Most, if not all, commercially sold bath products contains ingredients that I, for one, can't even pronounce let alone know what it is really is.

Today we get to know Susan White and Ashley White, sisters, owners and creators of all natural bath products at Wicked Wench Soapworks. Fellow members of The Artisan Group, the White Sisters offer an alternative to commercially mass produced chemical-based products that for people with skin sensitivities, is a breath of fresh air.

How and when did you discover your love for your craft/art?
We’ve both always had a love of crafts and DIY in general. Ashley was encouraged to create art when she was small to refine her fine motor skills and I loved the process of putting things together to make something new. The love of creating bath & body products is fairly new (within the past two years), when we decided it was time to make our own soaps because of reactions we were both having to commercial soaps. I have seborrheic dermatitis on my face and it was made worse by both the harsh medications and commercial soaps. Ashley received horrible burns to her hands as a teenager and the commercial soaps aggravate the scar tissue and make the skin peel.

Do you remember the first piece you ever made?
The first bath & body product we made was our Hemp Seed Oil soap. I ordered all the ingredients online and we whipped up the batch in our kitchen. It wasn’t very pretty but it did its job. Immediately, I saw that my face was less red and burned looking.

Every Artist has a creative process, can you explain yours?
With our bar soaps, we make three different bases (Hemp, Honey and Goat’s Milk) so before scenting a new bar, we consider the underlying scent of the base along with the scent that we want to add. We have found that certain scents just do not work with the underlying chlorophyll scent of the Hemp bars.

Relaxing Rose Bath Tea

When people start doing their craft/art, they tend to try a lot of different things before settling down to something that resonates with them. How has your work changed since you began?
We used to make a few items that you won’t see on our website anymore. There were certain products that the entire process of making just didn’t work for us. They totally disturbed the flow of our processes and it was hard to get that easy flow restarted.

Can you tell us about some important goals you have achieved with your work?
Since we are a relatively new business, our first online sale was a huge success. In late 2011, we joined a local farmers market (North Scottsdale Farmers Market) and have been received very well. Some of the feedback we have received is leading us to our goal for 2012.

Gingerbread Cookie Bar Soap

Who are some of your favorite artists/crafters and why?
Our Mom. The whole time we were growing up, she would create things that were amazing. When Care Bears first came out, my parents couldn’t afford to buy one for me (because $30 in the very early 1980’s was a lot of money) so she made me one. The only difference was the heart shaped tag on its bottom. My tag was made of felt and a real one was embroidered. It’s 30 years later and I still have my hand-made Sleepy Time Bear. For Ashley, Mom has made multiple Halloween costumes with painstaking detail. She has been Belle that looked so real, little kids were running up to her shouting “Mom! Its Belle! They got Belle for Halloween!”, she has been Ariel (in a costume where the fins flapped as she walked) and she has been a belly-dancer where women that actually belly-dance asked where she got her outfit because it was so well made. And the birthday cakes! I could go on for days about the birthday cakes.

Any goals for the future you would like to share?
Many of our farmers market customers (around 70%) have asked us if we are vendors at the Arizona Renaissance Festival and/or they recommend that we look into becoming vendors. Our goal for 2012 is to be accepted into the Arizona Renaissance Festival for the 2013 season. We are also looking to join another online retailer later this year.

Tropical Vacation Bath Salts

What do you do in your spare time?
Ashley loves to crochet. Last year she made me a beautiful round blanket with cork-screw trim (I have named it Rotini). I love to cook, but I am a trained chef, so the cooking works out as a hobby and in the recipe creating process for our products.

If you are displaying or selling your craft/art? Where?
Right now we have two online stores, www.WickedWenchSoapworks.com and www.wickedwenchsoapworks.storenvy.com, we’re in the process of deciding which store we like better and which store our customers prefer. We can also be found at the North Scottsdale Farmers Market on most Saturdays.

Naked Castile Liquid Soap

If you sell online or at physical store. How many hours per week to you spend in the creative side versus the business side?
Since there are two of us, I think that makes it easier for us to divide the creative and business responsibilities. If I have a week where the business side needs more attention than usual, Ashley steps in so that we can still achieve our goals for that week.

What advice would you give to someone who want to start out or start a business in their craft/art?
Do it! For every person in your life that tells you that you are crazy to start your own business, you will find three people that will applaud you for doing it.

Orange Chocolate Truffle Lip Balm

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Thank you Susan and Ashley for letting us get to know you!  For more information be sure to visit Wicked Wench Soapworks at:

• Website
• Storenvy
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog

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Famous comic strip artists

Famous comic strip artists

Famous comic strip artists, The recent death of "Family Circus" creator Bil Keane reminds us how the pen-and-ink antics of our favorite comic characters have brought mirth to our mornings, and inspired postage stamps and even public art. Find out more about the artists behind the newspaper comic strips, past and present.

"B.C."

Johnny Hart introduced his award-winning cast of smart-aleck cavemen in 1958 and cranked out the strip until his final day in 2007.

"Blondie"

Chic Young drew beautiful Blondie and her bumbling Dagwood from 1930 until his death in 1973.

"Bloom County"

Berkeley Breathed's spastic Bill the Cat and pensive Opus the Penguin ran in papers from 1980 to 1989.

"Boondocks"

Aaron McGruder's incendiary comic about square-peg suburbanites Huey and Riley had collegiate roots and ran in major papers from 1999 to 2006.

"Calvin & Hobbes"

Bill Watterson led these partners in crime through one backyard escapade after another from 1985 to his last original strip in December 1995.

"Cathy"

Working women across the country related to Cathy Guisewite's strip throughout its 34-year run, which ended in October 2010.

"Dick Tracy"

Chester Gould had his fedora-clad gumshoe solve cartoonish crimes until his retirement in 1977.

"The Far Side"

Gary Larson explored nature's funny side until his retirement ended the single-panel strips in 1995.

"For Better or For Worse"

The chronicles of a growing Canadian family were Lynn Johnston's bread and butter from 1979 until her retirement in July 2010.

"Mark Trail"

Ed Dodd created these wilderness adventures in 1946 and wrote them until retiring in 1980.

"Peanuts"

Charles "Sparky" Schulz gained international fame with his troop of precocious kids and iconic beagle, who debuted in 1950 and ran for 50 years.

Strange Local Laws

Strange Local Laws

Weird local laws & bans.Strange laws and odd bans can be found in every American state and around the world. Want to grab your own alligator hatchlings? Don't go to Florida. Does your pickup truck sport giant plastic male genitalia? Don't visit South Carolina anytime soon. While some of these wacky laws went on the books decades ago, city councils across the country continue to enact laws that have us shaking our heads.

A fashion ban


Where: Albany, Ga.

About the ban: The town has banned wearing saggy pants in public.

The fine: Albany has garnered thousands of dollars in fines. Find out how much first-time offenders have to pay.

An ingredient ban

Where: New York, N.Y.

About the ban: Restaurants across the city were forced to stop using a controversial ingredient in 2008.

The fine: Eateries caught using the banned substance can face hefty fines. How much will they have to shell out?

A dog-walking mandate

Where: Turin, Italy

About the ban: Police in this northern Italian city rely on tipsters to turn in violators. What are they looking for?

The fine: Scofflaws can be fined up to 500 euros.

A pet-rodent ban

Where: Billings, Mont.

About the ban: It's against a city ordinance to own, sell or raise a popular pet.

The fine: Residents caught with the banned pets can be fined.How much?

No predictions allowed

Where: Hattiesburg, Miss.


About the ban: Some local business owners closed their doors after they received a violation notice last year. What law were they breaking?

The fine: We're not sure exactly what these particular residents would pay, but some Hattiesburg fines are pretty high.

Unhappy meals?

Where: Santa Clara, Calif.

About the ban: Kids in this Silicone Valley city may be disappointed to find something missing in their Happy Meals. What does the law say?


The fine: Restaurants face large fines if they're found in violation.

A wintertime-fun ban

Where: Belton, Mo.

About the ban: A cold-weather pastime is forbidden under a city ordinance. What can get you in trouble?

The penalty:What happens if you're caught?

A footwear ban

Where: Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif.


About the ban: A well-known actor used to be mayor of this coastal city, where an unusual law was enacted in 1963. What type of shoe is banned on city streets?


The fine: The law isn't enforced, but tourists can buy a "souvenir license" to take home with them.

A bodily function ban

Where: St. Peters, Mo.

About the ban: The law passed last year after the mayor saw a man perform a distasteful act in front of city hall. What did they ban?


The fine: We couldn't find any instances since the Missouri law was enacted, but an Ohio teen was fined in 2009 for the violation.

Best trick-or-treat cites in America

Best trick-or-treat cites in America

Best trick-or-treat cites in America, Zillow.com has ranked the best cities for trick-or-treating based on home prices, crime rates, population density and walkability. See if your city made it into the top 20:Real estate website Zillow.com took all those factors into consideration when crafting its third annual 2011 Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index, released today, ranking the 20 best cities in the country for Halloween.

Zillow used its own Home Value Index and Walk Score, along with population density and local crime data, to determine the rankings

Celebrities with children by different women

Celebrities with children by different women

Celebrities with children by different women.Famous men with several baby mamas, With the number of out-of-wedlock births on the rise, unwed parents aren’t unheard of these days. But some famous guys have taken the situation to a whole new level. Read through to see who has multiple baby mamas.

Marc Anthony

This award-winning singer/songwriter is father to fraternal twins with this mega-star. Their divorce is not his first.

Tom Brady

This Super Bowl-winning quarterback has a son with his top-paid supermodel wife.See pic of the athlete and his model wife with their son.

Antonio Cromartie

The NFL cornerback struggled to remember his kids’ names when he appeared on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” See him with his youngest child.

Oscar de la Hoya

The retired world champion boxer and recent rehab patient – whose daughter appeared on a reality show with her mother– has two kids with his current wife.

Clint Eastwood

The octogenarian Academy Award winner known for his womanizing ways – has put at least two of his children in his movies. See him with his daughters at the Golden Globes

Marshall Faulk

It was revealed in a 2003 trial that the NFL Hall of Fame inductee was paying thousands in child support for three of his kids. See him with one of his daughters.

Travis Henry

The imprisoned former NFL running back was once arrested for falling behind on child support.

Evander Holyfield

The four-time heavyweight champ and “Dancing With the Stars” contestant has been sued for unpaid child support and his $10 million house was auctioned off in 2008.

Mick Jagger

The grandfather and Rolling Stones front man has been linked to several women over the decades, but only married two of them.

Shawn Kemp

The longtime NBA power forward has a son who is following in his athletic footsteps. Does he look like his dad?

Ray Lewis

The Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowler has avoided prison but not thousands of dollars in child support payments.

Lil Wayne

The “How to Love” rapper made headlines when he fathered two babies in the same year. See him goofing around with his kids.

Calvin Murphy

The former Houston Rockets guard was accused of molesting five of his daughters in 2004. What was the verdict?

Rod Stewart

The “Maggie May” rocker became a dad for the eighth time and a grandfather for the first time this year.

Steven Tyler

The Aerosmith front man says he regrets choosing drugs over fatherhood, but has fathered four children, one of whom is this actress look-alike.