Greetings! ...from Kimberly Shaw

Celebrate 4th of July With a Tea Party

Red, White, and Blue-ish cards
on SALE at 50% OFF in my STORE.

Freedom Teacup Greeting Card

I bought this set because I thought it was funny a teacup with Paul Revere warning the British are coming reads on the bottom, "Made in England."  This card comes with Forrest Berries tea and is blank inside for a personal message.  I counted only 17 cards left in my Store.

Cherries Teacup Greeting Card

Today I'm stocking a bunch of Red, White, and Blue-ish Teacup cards for a July SALE coming up in my Store. While making this card I was thinking about George Washington cutting down the cherry tree and couldn't recall the details of the story, so I looked it up.

Washington's biographer, Mason Locke Weems, said this story as a way to show Washington's honesty.

When George was about six years old he owned a hatchet like most little boys of the day, of which he was extremely fond.

My husband bought our son a hatchet as a birthday gift once, which was used for destroying a wood fence.  So I understand George's eagerness, back to the story:

George went about chopping everything that came his way. One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea sticks, he found his father's beautiful, young English Cherry tree.  He began using the edge of his hatchet to strip the bark off. When his father discovered what had happened to his favorite tree, he came into the house in great anger, and demanded to know who the mischievous person was who had cut away the bark.

I'm picturing Mrs. Washington in the background saying, "Ask about my pea sticks, dear."  But Mr. W. is fixed on discovering who his tree assassin is.  

"George,'' said his father, "do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!''  This was a hard question to answer, and for a moment George was staggered by it, but quickly recovering himself he cried, "I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.''  The anger died out of his father's face, and taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said, "My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!''

I created this Teacup card from one of my vintage hand painted plates.  It comes with a Harrisons & Crosfield English Breakfast teabag inserted in the rim of the cup, and is blank inside for writing a personal note.  It is one of my personal favorites.

Protecting My Intellectual Property

Fabri-Quilt's lawyer wrote me stating that his client understands I must protect my Intellectual Property, yet informed us that Fabri-Quilt was not going to contact the "numerous small stores" that carry their fabric. So I began contacting the stores myself, informing them that the designs on Fabri-Quilt's Victoria's Tea Room fabric infringes on my original copyrighted designs.  While Fabri-Quilt may understand I must protect my Intellectual Property, I'm not sure their lawyer does, because today he seemed upset.

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,  according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:19 & 20.

UPDATE: Some online stores glady removed Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric from their stores, some ebay shops have not, and some stores informed me they were returning the fabric to Fabri-Quilt.  My lawyer conveyed a message from Mr. Braun where he said there is no way Fabri-Quilt can settle this issue as long as I have this info posted on my blog. Settle? What's changed? Mr. Braun already told me previously that Fabri-Quilt does not take responsibliity nor will pay me anything for their copy of my designs, since they don't have designers and didn't design "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric line.  Mr. Braun also urged me to remove all my blog text about Fabri-Quilt without mentioning that he asked me to do it.

New York, Here They Come

One of the ways we market to stores is to simply send them one of our cards (a Thank You, Birthday, or Thinking of You) with info on how to contact us if they are interested.  Once when a store owner called to request a catalog, after receiving a card, asked how we knew it was her birthday.

These Birthday cards with Tropical White Tea are headed to New York stores.  But first I made a cup of tea, grabbed a stack of cards, 100 teabags and my double stick tape.

All that's left is to put them in envelopes and add the mailing labels.  Maybe one of these cards will surprise a New Yorker on their birthday.

Art Give-Away

My new blogging buddy Lara Harris at Vintage Touch is having an amazing ART Give-Away on her blog. 

Once on her blog, scroll down past the gorgeous Blue & White China oil paintings (but trust me you'll want to stop and admire her canvases before going on), past the luscious Strawberries on Red Spode China (wish I didn't snooze on this one, Sold already), then just past the Russian Nesting doll oil painting (I thought it was a photo) you'll find her generous ART GIVE-AWAY!

She would also enjoy receiving an encouraging note.  She just discovered her art being ripped-off by a stupid, yes I said stupid, company selling as thinking_shop2008 on ebay.  To call themselves "Thinking..." is beyond comprehension. If you are an artist, be aware.

GO TO LARA'S BLOG FOR GORGEOUS ART AND AN AMAZING GIVE-AWAY!!!

Tea Give-Away

Look at all this yummy Celestial Seasonings Teas!!! And don't you just LOVE all the pretty artwork and cleaver quotes on their teabags?  If you are ever in Boulder, Colorado visit Celestial Seasonings on Sleepytime Drive (adorable street name, right?). 

I am so honored Celestial Seasonings uses my cards to put their beautiful and delicious teas in.  We receive a shipment of their teas with a list of the cards they want. We assemble them together for their Gift Shop.  Cool, huh? They just informed us they are designing new packaging for these teas and offered to let us keep what we had.  Well, since we have plenty,  it seemed a good idea to share our blessing with a NEW Give-Away.

Celestial Seasonings offers FREE tours every day (except major holidays), Monday–Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.; and Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. of their tea production plant,  the extensive display of original artwork in their gallery, and you'll enjoy free samples of all their tea flavors.  Sounds like a road trip!!!  After your tour, you are invite to visit their Gift Shop and Cafe', where you’ll find every flavor of Celestial Seasonings products as well some of my Teacup Greeting Cards with their delicious teas in them. 

All you have to do is:
1. Leave me a comment, maybe share your favorite Celestial Seasonings Tea, if you have one.
2. Jump up and down three times and hope you'll win.
3. Hug the first person you see and tell them about this Give-Away.
4. And have a Tea Party if you are the winner.

Actually, all you need to you is leave a nice comment BY MIDNIGHT JULY 6th, I'm just playing with you.

The teas being Given Away are, 6 teabags each of English Breakfast, Lemon Myrtle Green, Earl Grey, Raspberry Zinger, English Toffee, Red Zinger, Black Cherry Berry, and Sweet Clementine Chamomile. That's 48 teabags in all!  Sound like the beginnings of a Tea Party!

I'LL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER JULY 7TH

OH MY! I GOT A BIT BEHIND...THE WINNER WILL BE ANOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY THE 8TH

Looks Like a Good Cover-Up

Edmund studied Fabri-Quilt's Victoria's Tea Room fabric and asked me what I was going to do.

Being a curious monkey he dove in under the stack of fabric on my desk and crawled out the other side.

He said it looks like it would make a good cover-up

and wants to know who Victoria is.

Trusting in Lying Words

Reaching for my Bible to continue my study where I had left off, the pink Post-It Note I use as a bookmark was moved, not by me, to Jeremiah Chapter 7

Jeremiah 7:1-27
Trusting in Lying Words

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ² “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’” Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’

“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 

“Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD.  

“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.  And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.  And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.

“Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?”

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”  Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat.  For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.  But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’  Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.  Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.

Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.

Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabrics

"Victoria's Tea Room" by Fabri-Quilt, Inc. Pattern #9336
 
 
"Victoria's Tea Room" by Fabri-Quilt, Inc. Pattern #9338
 

 
My single blue-banded teacup was re-designed in my office by my Graphics Designer from the stacked cups in my original painting to be used on the back of this greeting card and for stickers.

When artwork is stolen it effects people, making them feel violated. I am personally grieved, but so are those who also contribute to the success of Kimberly Shaw Graphics.

Adlai Kunst, owner of Fabri-Quilt, who I originally contacted is out of the picture.  He placed me in contact with John Linam of Fabri-Quilt, who thought my claim needed to be submitted to experts in this field and passed me on to their lawyer Steven Braun of Krigel & Krigel, P.C.   Mr. Braun made it very clear that while his client appreciates that I must protect my Intellectual Property, Fabri-Quilt denies liability and must respectfully decline to pay me anything.  He adds he could not see any similarities between my cards and the fabric. 

                 My cards:                               Fabri-Quilt's fabric:

Any Similarities? I don't know, maybe Mr. Braun is the expert.

Fabri-Quilt Denies Unauthorized Use of Copyrighted Artwork on Fabric

Detail from my "Getting Together" Teacup Greeting card.

                                                                                       Artwork © Kimberly Shaw Graphics
Fabri-Quilt's Lawyer is correct in stating that there is no law against the use of teacups and teapots, or stacked teacups for that matter, on fabric.

Seen on Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric Pattern #9335 are stacked teacups with both cup's handles on the left side, with gold trim on the rims, handles, and edging around the blue bands, blue bands of color on the teacups interrupted with an opening of pinkish-red flowers and green leaves, white cut work lace sitting on a burgundy field under the teacups. Did I forget any similarities?

However, when my mathematical hubby calculated the similarities between my Teacup Greeting cards and it's representative copies found on Fabri-Quilt's fabric, the probability that the design was independently created by another artist (as FQ's Lawyer suggested) was conservatively in the Nonillions.  That's 1 in a 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance.  Who knew?

UPDATE: That caculation is for just one of my designs. Four of my designs are found on Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric.  Also, Fabri-Quilt's lawyer said this fabric is discontinued and Fabri-Quilt doesn't have it any more. Is that supposed to make me feel better?  If a theif robs your home, sells what he took, and doesn't have it anymore (even if he didn't get that much for the items he stole) what law states he is no longer guilty of his crime? 

Teapot with NO LID

THANK YOU my dear blogging buddies for for your awesome support!!! I can't begin to express how encouraging your comments have been to me.   I wish it were under different circumstances that I was able to post this "You Are Special" card for my appreciation of your uplifting words.

 However, every time I make this cards I think of Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric.

It was brought to my attention that the teapot on Fabri-Quilt's fabric does not have a lid. Who would design a teapot without a lid unless they intended to put something in it, like a teabag?  Oh, ya, that would be me.
The "Congratulations" tag on this fabric also came from one of my card designs which I created from my climbing rose at home and a potted plant I received as a gift.

My Bible verse for yesterday read,
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous." 1 Peter 3:8. 
You have all demonstrated this and so much more!!!
God's Blessings for all!!! -Kim

Fabri-Quilt has now turned this matter over to a lawyer, who has stated in his letter to me that Fabri-Quilt had nothing to do with the design of the fabric, and (I quote) "Fabri-Quilt has the means and the will to vigourously oppose any baseless suit you may bring, and to file a suit against you for any false, libelous and slanderous statements you may make. I urge you to consult with an attorney" (end quote). I HAVE! 

"For You Teacher" on Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric

My "For You Teacher" teacup greeting card made it's debut January 2004.

                                                                                          Artwork © Kimberly Shaw Graphics

The image below on Fabri-Quilt's "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric isn't exact, but the design and arrangement of the objects are so similar there is no way it could have been created except from my original artwork.

                                                                                                                      Photo by Kimberly Shaw
The similarities include:

A red floral teacup with gold trim, it's handle on the right, with a scalloped sauce. 

The same number of multi-colored books with gold accents, 2 smaller, 3 larger1 , angled resting against stacked books, behind the teacup on the left side. 

A red apple, with its green leaves still attached, in the lower left hand corner. 

White lace angled in the same direction with the same little + design on the edge. 

A tag tied on the teacup's handle, with a red bow, which also reads, "For You, Teacher". 

Victoria's Tea Room Fabric

                                                                                                                      Photo by Kimberly Shaw
I was first introduced to "Victoria's Tea Room" fabric by Fabri-Quilt, Inc early March of this year when I received this note from one of my clients, written on her invoice.

She writes, "To Kimberly Shaw, I just bought teacup/teapot fabric for one of my employees who makes tea cozies for us & it was the design of the "Teacher" card you had designed. Do you have other designs you are licensing out? She quick "whipped" them up this week for an open house we had (I only had 1 of those cards left!)".

This is what is called Copyright Infringement. Fabri-Quilt, Inc is located in North Kansas City, MO so I quick gave the owner, Adlai Kunst, a call because I have never licensed out my designs to be used on fabric.  

The saga continues...

Pink & Peach Sets!

Summer Fun!  We have added this adorable set of four Teacup cards to our collection and are sure you will love it!  The set includes four cards that contain shades of lovely pinks and peaches - perfect for this time of year.  Check out the assortment packages section or the SALE section to find these.  They are a great value - only $5.00 for 4 cards - you save 50%. And who doesn't love receiving a note that is accompanied by a Raspberry, Apricot or Passion Fruit teabag to enjoy on a hot summer day?  These teas a wonderful iced, too!!

Tropical White Tea

Today is a prefect pre-Summer Coastal California day. The windows are all open with a light breeze filling the house with the fragrance of the rose garden.  My choice for a mid afternoon cup of refreshment is Harrisons & Crosfield's Tropical White tea.  It's just as described, "Fresh and clean with an alluring fruity flavour." 

I selected Harrisons & Crosfield's Tropical White tea to go in my "Birthday Greetings" Teacup Greeting card.  Whoever receives this card for their birthday will definitely enjoy the added treat of this fine tea. 

"Take a Bloging Friend To Work" Day

OK, so I know there is no such day as "Take a Blogging Friend To Work" day, but since my children have participated in "Take Your Daughter/Son to Work" day, I thought I'd invite you, my blogging buddies, to join me at work.  Welcome, let me tell you what's going on...

Georgia has let me know we have an order for 45 "Oceanside" Teacup Greeting cards to make for a special event. "No Problem," I said, "45 cards won't take that long to make."  She clarified by explaining  we need 45 sets.            "45 SETS!"  A set is a pack of 6.   I'm not sure I even know what 45 sets looks like. We began multiplying... 45x6=270. 270! WOW! I better get busy. Here's what I need to do...

First I need to make tea. I'm having English Breakfast with honey and milk, what can I get for you?  Next I grab 2 big stacks of cards, a box and an extra bag of teabags, and envelopes. Then I lay out  teabags upside down. I'll start with 72 teabags and add a bit of double-stick tape to the back of each one to hold them in place in the card.

Once all the teabags are taped, I'll assemble them by hand into each card & stack the cards in piles of 6.

Then I'll cross stack them so they're level, add 6 envelopes,

and bag them in custom sized gusseted bags.
 
12 sets down & 33 more to go, so I'll continue to set out more teabags, tape each, assemble, stack and bag while I sip my tea.


On to round 3, & I noticed not only is my box of tea empty, but my cup of tea is also empty.
 
So, if you'll excuse me, I'll boil water for more tea.
Are you ready for another cup yet?

We don't get orders like this very often, and I'm happy you stopped by for a visit.  Let me know if you have any questions about what we do or how the Greeting Card business operates. 

Thanks for visiting!!!

Steepster.com for Tea Lovers

I just got word from Jennifer at Tea=Bliss of a new site called Steepster.com. Just like Twitter except for tea lovers! Wow, just up my alley!  It's filled with info about teas people have tried and what they like about them!!! I'm planning on discovering more great teas from this site! If you have yummy teas you'd love to tell us about, please join and let us know.  Your hospitalitea would be appreciated!!  Just go to http://www.steepster.com

One of my ultimate favorite teas is this rich Royal Imperial Gold from Harrisons & Crosfield.  For me it's perfectly scrumptious with milk and honey, and  a shortbread cookie or two.  After a third cookie and a second cup of this robust tea, well, I'm ready for just about anything. Now I know loose tea reigns supreme, (and H&C offers this tea loose) but because I use a lot of teabags in my Teacup Greeting cards, I sample each one first to make sure it's delicious, and this Imperial is king of on my list. Of course only it's ahead of a very very close race with all the other wonderful teas I offer in my cards, depending on what I'm craving. 

Anyway, check out Steepster.com to see what others are brewing in their cup!!!