PA State Store (preview) by Insan Art

Another busy week here in the world of Insan Art, another bulk post.

I opened a new Spreadshirt store recently called the PA State Store. I did this for 2 reasons: first, I had a number of Pennsylvania related design ideas that I felt warranted the opening of their own storefront and second, I've been toying with the idea of creating my own matching front end sites for my existing shops, but I wanted to try it first with a test shop.

At the moment, I'm still building the pages on my end, but things are getting close to completion. I hope by tonight I'll have the bulk of it working and online.

If you live, work or play in Pennsylvania, I have a shirt just for you! There are 9 designs available now (with many more on the way) including:

- The Liberty Bell, available plain or with the slogan "We love to show our crack"

- I Love PA, a take on the classic "I Love NY" design

- the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, available with the slogan "Our Canyon Is Just As Grand", or plain - the white tank shown uses the plain PA Grand Canyon design, plus custom text that says "Pine Creek Gorge". Custom text is completely optional and can be added or removed using our shirt designer!

- PA State Forest Boundary Marker, this one is pretty self explanatory. I wanted one on a shirt, so I thought, hey, maybe someone else will, too. As an added bonus, you can choose to have the "gray" portion printed in silver so it will look just like the real thing!

- Hike PA, available in male ("guy" - shown) and female ("girl") for those of us who would rather properly represent the woodsy ladies! Plain versions of the hiker figures are also available if you'd like to use your own custom text and perhaps advertise your favorite PA trail.

So, mosey on over to the PA State Store (if you're there before 11:59pm tonight, I do not guarantee all links/pages will function, but browsing by apparel type/design and ordering will be up and running).

A Gilt Lotus Graphics Double Feature!

To round out the week, what better than a double feature from the amazing collection of Gilt Lotus Graphics? With so many gorgeous designs, I have been tempted for a while to feature more than one...

First, on the tank top is "Phoenix & Flower" (two color version). This design flows beautifully and I love how it isn't really constrained to any certain square or rectangle shape. It is a great design, as you can see, to be printed on the lower section of shirts (especially for the ladies).

Next is "Dragonfly Kamon", one of a series of Japanese Kamon (family crest) inspired designs by Gilt Lotus. I did a little research to find out exactly what a Kamon is, and Gilt's designs are a really nice take on the traditional Japanese styling, with a variety of Japanese icons, like Mount Fuji and Cherry Blossoms.

Grab the shirts in the Insan Art Store or you can always make your own.

If you are really interested in these types of designs, I highly recommend checking out Gilt Lotus Graphics!

More Chopsticks from Insan Art

Since I'm a busy bee this week (OK, always) I'm going to do two bulk posts to get five shirts up!

So - introducing the rest of my Chopsticks series! Now, along with the plain chopsticks (from last week) also available are chopsticks with either the Japanese or Chinese characters for the word "chopsticks" and chopsticks with a cute little shrimp! I had also planned to do one with a sushi roll, but my first attempt didn't look quite right, so maybe I'll give it a go some other time.

For any of you out there who are familiar with Kanji and other Asian writing, please let me know if you think that my characters are really, really wrong!

Also, guys, I didn't forget you! There are lots of men's shirts available in the store - I just really liked these 3 ladies shirts and I decided to go for a triple female feature! So, go get yourself some chopsticks (on a shirt, of course) at the Insan Art Store, or as always, you can make your own using our t-shirt designer!

Tribal Flower by Tat2ts

Rounding out the week is yet another beauty from Vic at Tat2ts, the Tribal Flower.

I really love Vic's digital designs and I was tempted to feature another, but I wanted to dig up something tattoo related from his collection. I'm not really into tattoos (I would never get one myself) but I do enjoy the art and design aspect of tattoos - so, I set out to find a design of Vic's that is tattoo is nature, but with a touch of elegance.

Tribal flower stood out to me as one of those designs. It would make a nice, fresh addition to a summer wardrobe (or any time of the year). I love the way this design pushes the boundaries of your normal shirt graphic and is just begging to be wrapped around the side of the shirt. It works nicely on a tank.

Get the shirt at the Insan Art Store or make your own!

Chopsticks by Insan Art

Just a quick write-up for this one since I've got 3 more versions of it coming ASAP - I'll spend more time on them when they're ready.

Until then, this is my "Chopsticks (plain)" design - the text is completely optional.

Check out the selection of Chopsticks shirts available now in the Insan Art Store, make your own OR wait just a few days a see what other chopstick surprises I have up my sleeve!

How to Use the Confomat & Wedding Cake by hvente

I've been toying with the idea of making a how-to page for the Spreadshirt T-shirt designer (aka the Confomat) for a while. It is an awesome little tool and is what originally drew me to Spreadshirt in the first place. However, no matter how much I like it or how cool or revolutionary people think it is, I think the Confomat could be a little intimidating to users who aren't familiar with the functions. Of course, as a result of this, shopkeepers lose sales because buyers are either:

1. Too intimidated to even try to use the confomat in the first place
2. Too overwhelmed by the whole thing and leave in the middle of a design.

So, on my ventures in visiting fellow Spreadsters' stores, I came across this wonderful Confomat How-To by Herma (or known in internet-ese as hvente) from Bridal Goodies. When you get to the page, scroll down past the two shirts at the top to get to the help section. This is a really great resource and I decided that instead of making my own, I should just link to this one and share the link love with Bridal Goodies.

If you need help with the Spreadshirt t-shirt designer (Confomat) please, check out the how-to page at Bridal Goodies!

And speaking of Bridal Goodies, Herma has created a really cute shop based around make-your-own wedding themed apparel (think matching "Mr." and "Mrs" and "just married" t-shirts...). She also has a nice collection of wedding themed designs to accent your custom text needs such as the "Wedding Cake" design (shown above) or the "Ring" design (on the shirt in the how-to shot at the right).

If you're a bride-to-be or even a not-so-newlywed (I've been married nearly a year, but I still think the shirts are a cute idea!) you should check out Bridal Goodies!

If you're just looking to grab the wedding cake shirt seen here, check out the Insan Art Store or you can make your own wedding cake shirt in the t-shirt designer.

Right Hand by Van Tribe

Last week Jay (1/one) of Van Tribe Shirts announced to the t-shirt community that his design, Right Hand, was currently being sold in 725 Spreadshirt shops in the US and Canada! Better make that at least 726 since I just picked it up for this feature.

That is a pretty huge amount! Personally, I have designs being sold in 11 other shops at the moment - I'm getting there...

The Right Hand design is another wonderful example of a simple yet stunning design, without a single bit of flashiness. It fits many contexts or can stand on it's own and it is rather friendly and non-abrasive - I'm sure that's why it's been picked up by so many shops!

Grab the shirt in the Insan Art Store or hit up the t-shirt designer and make your own!

My Name Is (Earl)... by Insan Art

So, again, in the most mundane situations I come up with shirt ideas. I was washing dishes the other night and I thought to myself, "I wonder if my husband set up My Name is Earl to record?" (we have the Direct TV version of Tivo, I highly recommend it).

Anyways, since I had t-shirts fresh on the brain and I've been trying to think of creative uses for the Spreadshirt t-shirt designer (aka the Confomat), I thought of this one. It's the basic My Name is Earl logo, minus the "Earl" part.





You can fill in the blank using the t-shirt designer using any name you like. If you're really itching for My Name is Earl, go for it! (or maybe Joy, Crabman/Darnell or Randy). Or you can always put in your own name. (mine looks pretty sniffy! ---> )

The Spreadshirt font "Kabel" (in the designer) is nearly identical to the font used for the original design, so use that one if you're making your own and going for an authentic look!

Get yourself one right now in the Insan Art Store! (and as always, if you don't like what you see in the store, you can make your own!)

(live) evil by Insan Art

These days it seems like everywhere I look I see something that would make a nice t-shirt design. This design, (live) evil, was inspired by a wooden cut-out I saw at a friends house of the word "Live". Someone had flipped it over so that it really looked like it said "evil".

Translating this to a shirt design was too easy to pass up! It's simple enough, but it makes you want to look twice...

...so those of you out there who are dark and naughty, this is the perfect little design for ya'll.

Indulge your dark side and get yourself a "(live) evil" shirt at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own!

(burning) Bush by Insan Art

So, as I was thinking about the first "Burning Bush" design (see previous post), I thought it should definitely have a politically related counterpart, thus the second design, "(burning) Bush" was born.

I hate George Bush just as much as the next person and love the idea of "Bush going down (or up) in flames"... As long as he doesn't take the rest of us down with him!

I'll also have to admit that I couldn't resist (and was partially inspired by) putting this design on underwear.
It could mean all sorts of things from simply "I'm hot" to "I have an STD" (and it really does burn down there!)...probably not the kind of thing you'd want to advertise on your thong, but funny nonetheless.

Note to anyone designing their own product with this design - there are two versions of the design, both are the same design, but one is smaller just for undies and hats. If you place the small version on a shirt, it will look grainy in the preview, but in reality the print will be fine...if in doubt, please use the large version on shirts.

Get the undies or shirt at the Insan Art Store or stop in and make your own!

Burning Bush by Insan Art

I mean to write this design, Burning Bush (by me) up right after Easter, but I was waiting for the other design that kind of goes with it (next post).

I was inspired by the movie, The Ten Commandments - I recently finished reading the Old Testament and I was lucky enough to catch only the parts of the movie that I really wanted to see, like Moses talking to God through the burning bush. I thought it would make a neat design. It was my first attempt at such a "complicated" vector design (or at least submitting a design that's so complicated).

Just a note if you want to make your own in the shirt designer - the default color shown for the bush/tree is black, but it is supposed to be brown. Either can work depending on the shirt color you're using.

Get the shirt at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own!

Steedman's Powders by mjrproductions

Well, until I get some new designer submissions, we get to start all over again from the beginning, which is great since there are lots of other designs from these folks that deserve a feature!

One of those designs would be a newer one from "mjrproductions" called Steedman's Powders - it's one of a series of antique ad designs mjr added recently.

I believe (and please correct me if I'm wrong mjr) that this is a spoof of an antique medicine ad from Woolworth's in the 1890's. Either way, very nice design idea - I love the fact that not only does it look vintage, but it is actually based on a real vintage design. Nouveau vintage. Hehe!

Get the shirt at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own!

Popcorn Tub Death by Shivtees

Shivtees has quite the interesting collection of designs - many along the lines of whales brandishing homemade knives (very hilarious and strange) - but, I was absolutely compelled to post this design, "Popcorn Tub Death" because it is just the kind of sick-and-twisted little design that would catch my eye.

I could go on about this design but I think the artist sums it up pretty well in the description (and gave me quite a chuckle): "He watched in horror as his brother's buttery insides spilled all over the floor."

Wonderfully demented humor, Shiv.

Get the shirt at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own!