Thankful for Jordan....

Back in early Fall, I was hanging out with one of my favorite artsy fartsy friends, Melanie Massey. We were at her home in her studio and I was telling her how overwhelmed I was with Mr P's Tees. To be quite honest, I was drowning!! Mr P's is not Brent and I's "real jobs". This is a side business we have that we don't even pay ourselves anything. It all just goes back into the business. I actually build homes for a living and he and his dad co own a window and door company (Ark La Tex Window and Door) in West Monroe and Shreveport.
  I was telling Melanie

(Melanie and her beautiful daughters in our tiger tees)

about how I truly love the drawing and designing aspect of Mr P's but didn't have time to do the little stuff like tag shirts, deliver shirts, fill orders, etc. She said " well , you need a high school of college student to come work a few hours each week to help you". And then she followed it up with "And I think I know the perfect person". A few texts back and forth and I had a girl named Jordan Raborn ( who is related to Melanie) coming over that next week to help. Wow! So easy. I remember Melanie looking at me and saying " Done! What else you need?!"  Hahah. Thank you Melanie!!
   I was a little nervous about how this girl and I would hit it off. Would she like me? Would I like her ? Would she be a good worker ??? I knew her brother, Madison, from MMPT and he is a great guy, so fingers crossed that she would be too.  Thankfully, she turned out to be a hard worker who I adore, who is very witty and who is fiercely LOYAL. I had my accident after about a month of her helping us, and I can't begin to tell you what a God send she has been.

(Jordan painting pigs!)

  So who is Jordan? She is a beautiful spunky sophomore at ULM. She is a Hawkline dancer,

a Phi Mu and was in pre pharmacy when we first met, but she is now in business (I think we might be rubbing off on her!!).

(This is she and her dad at Christmas)

  She does everything from tagging shirts, inventory on the computer,

(She painted this orange display)

, delivering orders, to picking up checks, making deposits, and she will even model for me when I ask her to.

(Told ya she is beautiful!)

She will also tell me if she likes a design or not and let's me know what the college girls are in to these days.  Did I mention she even worked for us all day in the freaking cold at the Downtown River Market for the Commander Christmas?? I love to laugh and tell her when we get a big order that it is "job security" for her!! haha

   I just love her and so does Mr P. He loves to watch her work and "help" her.

I try to tell her regularly how THANKFUL I am for her and how much I appreciate her. (I think she knows this!).

Thanks for Reading!
Lissy


P.S. Last batch of our Krewe of Black Bayou shirts are in. Grab yours today at Miss Persnickety Joon on Antique Alley or The Black Bayou gift shop in Monroe  or online at www.mrpstees.bigcartel.com. $31 adult,  $26 youth.  Our local Mardi Gras and Pet parade is Feb 15th!!!

Louisiana Black Bear

Our newest design pays tribute to The Louisiana Black Bear. What a neat animal!! Did you know that the Black Bear is our state mammal?? You probably see license plates around town depicting this prized animal.

(photo from internet)

  When I was researching this special animal, I learned some interesting facts.  Since 1988, hunting season for The Louisiana Black Bear has been closed. This guy is protected.  He is federally listed as a threatened species. This wasn't always the case. A record in the 1890's showed that at least 17 parishes contained bears-mostly in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya area. By the 1950's, the population was considered "sparse" with an estimated 80-120 bears. From 1964-1967, 161 Black Bears were trapped up in Cook County, Minn and released in the Louisiana and Mississippi areas in an effort to help re stock the population.  This map is where the Bears are at now.

These bears are considered smaller than bears like grizzlies.

(pic taken from internet)

The female usually weighs around 120-250 lbs and the males weigh around 150-350. These guys are pretty darn smart and can give farmers a lot of grief. Have you guys ever come across one?? Apparently there is quite a few bears at the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge located west of Tallulah. The Bears hide in the thick bottomland forest. In 1907, Teddy Roosevelt hunted the Black Bear just north of here and the nick name "teddy bear" came about from an incident that occurred during the hunt.
  I read that Disneynature is releasing a movie called "Bears" on April 18th~ 4 days before Earth Day.

It sounds really cool. The viewer gets to follow the life of a bear family and the raising of two young cubs over the course of one year. How cool? When we created this design, we had no idea about this movie coming out. Great minds think alike!??! haha
    What is Earth Day? A day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace. And, a day to teach about environmental issues. Love this- I can't wait to do something in honor of this day with my kids.. Brent would tell you that I am kind of a tree hugger. What have you guys done in the past with your family?? Planted a tree??
  So, back to the shirt...Its right now, only  available for the kids. Sizes 2t,4t,6t, 8, 10 and 12  $24 each. We printed it on a super cool bright orange shirt

that is very soft next to your child's skin. Our bear is plump and happy.

(this is the original pen and ink drawing)

He is printed in black (of course) and could be worn by both boys and girls.

(For a very cool boy to wear..)

(or for a girl!)
order online at www.mrpstees.bigcartel.com.

(Mr P--pre haircut!!hahah in his new Black Bear tee)

Thanks for reading!!!
Lissy

Solo Art Retreat...Heaven in Vicksburg

Very thankful for the much needed last few days. The Hubs and I made a deal that I could get away for a weekend to work on our spring and summer designs after hunting season was over for him. Let me tell ya, I was READY!!!! I love my two P's, but they wear me out. Two under two is tough,tough,tough. So, I booked myself a room at Aherns Belle of the Woods  (www.belleofthebends.com)  in Vicksburg.

Trip Advisor said it was the #1 B&B so that must be so ;). Neat place. Built in 1876. An Italianate mansion.The owner Mary was personable and helpful. My room was quite large

and my bathroom had a tub (prerequisite if you know me!!). There is even a 170 year old crape myrtle there.

   I immediately got to work drawing out designs--the clock of was ticking!! After getting one finished , I header over to Rusty's Riverfront Grill (www.rustysriverfront.com)

. Delicious! Thank you to all who suggested it to me on FB. You guys were right--The fried green tomatoes with crab were heavenly.

Worth driving over from West Monroe for. But, get there early bc this place fills up quick. I sat at the bar beside some strangers and by the end of our meals, we were all sharing desert! Don't you just love the South ;). Then,  I got back to my room and worked till midnight on our designs.

I got a Louisiana Black Bear drawn that I really really love.

Did you know that is our state mammal.? Anyway, after a long soak in the tub, I crashed.
  Next morning, breakfast was served~ eggs, biscuits , gravy, fried apples, sausage ,etc.

Met a nice couple from Hattisburg. Then, back to drawing ;). By noon, I was stiff from sitting in bed so I went for a jog over at the Vicksburg Military Park It was quite large and hilly!

 But very pretty. Yes- I can run again since my accident but I do ache a little when I do.

 At the suggestion of Mary, I went and had lunch at the coolest funkiest little place off Hwy 61 South (like you are headed to Natchez) called The Tomato Place (www.thetomatoplace.com)

It's basically two shacks. Looks like a produce stand from the road. Reminded me of Sara's Kitchen in Ruston but with more color. Felt like I was walking into this secret club as I peeled back the plastic visqueen entrance.

Food was good, atmosphere was great for the creative soul and the lemonade was tasty.

Then, after a quick trip to outlets, it was time for a big long nap!! Hahaha. Pure heaven ;). When I finally woke up, I worked some more before heading off to dinner at Walnut Hill (www.walnuthillsrest.com)

LOvED this place!! Two cool dudes sang the Blues (they do this every Fri and Sat night 6-9)

and I had their amazing Fried Chicken-YUm!!!- guys, Im serious about some fried chicken-this was GOOD!

This Southern plantation home was built in the 1880's. I didn't get to sit at their famous round table since it was just me

, but I will def come back with a group to do so.
  Once back in my room, I worked till midnight again. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm excited about our new girl shirt. I also came up with a new Warhawk (promise we will have plenty of youth tees in this!) and new a Bulldawg design. I think total, there are 12 new designs. I'm feeling quite accomplished, and rested all in the same time. Sunday morning after breakfast, I took one last jog around DowntownVicksburg before I left.

Love old brick streets.

Two thumbs up for Vicksburg. And now back to reality..
  Big thanks to Brent for watching the kiddos!! Cant wait to do this again in another town-Natchez maybe??

Thanks as always for reading~
Lissy

P.S. Our first batch of Krewe of Black Bayou shirts sold out super fast-if you didn't get one, no worries, we have another batch on order and should be ready around the end of Jan.
www.mrpstees.bigcartel.com

Krewe of Black Bayou

Wheeeeew- This one was tough, tough, tough. Wanted to give up many many times and just say we will pass on this, but something inside me just wouldn't let this design go. I think I worked the longest on this one than any other design so far.
  We thought it would be fun to do a Mardi Gras shirt and I knew we should have animals involved but that was the extent of it. We also knew we wanted to print another long sleeve shirt and this one be a tri blend long sleeve shirt-Super super soft against your skin during these colder days.
  And then, it hit me one day while talking to my mom..."Krewe of Black Bayou" I blurted out!!! We weren't even discussing this shirt or Mardi Gras,  But she looked at me and said "That is it!!"
  Research time!!! What animals are at Black Bayou??? Who would know this first hand, but Robert Eisenstadt aka BOB. He is the treasurer of The Friends of Black Bayou (www.friendsofblackbayou.org) and friends with Rebecca who owns Miss Persnickety Joon (they are one of our retailers). Through many texts back and forth between Rebecca, Bob and I, I learned that Black Bayou has Gators, Alligator Snapping Turtles, Anhingas, Coons, Coots, Herons, Hawks, Eagles, Snakes, Deer, Possum, Blue Wing Teal, Nutria, Bull Frogs, etc etc etc.. WOW!! (and what in the world is a "Coot"??? A "coot" is a very cool water fowl that is also known as a "water chicken". Interesting~ learn something every day. :)

(photo taken from internet)

That Coot has some big ole feet!!!

 
  Now off to sketching... I first just started out drawing a bunch of the animals out there.

 But Brent was adamant that it needed to have a gator standing up leading the parade. So, here he is..

Def needed more. I tried scanning it in our our computer and playing with the colors and added a few swampy trees....My sweet husband and Mr P's Co owner informed me that it looked like a Frat shirt-OUCH!!!

 Next, I tried drawing out a bunch of these animals and moving them around on the paper. Wasn't working. Then, it hit me, what business do I have doing a shirt with animals from Black Bayou when I haven't even visited it!!!  So, the next day, I picked sweet Phoebe up from MDO and headed out to 165N.

 This place was nice-much nicer than I had envisioned.. and bigger too.

I was impressed and highly recommend anyone to go visit it.

The weather was terribly cold that day and I didn't get to take a tour, but I will be back.... I would love to take the kids on a canoe ride.
  So, back to the drawing board.  I added my own personal font was added.

After talking to my graphic friend Jeff, I worked on adding more of the animals out at Black Bayou and livening the design up.

Isn't that what Mardi Gras is all about-One Big PARTY!!??? I worked on the swamp scene some more and added a sax to the gator, rather than the wand. The shirt now consists of the gator, a snapping turtle, a coot, an anhinga (also know as a snakebird), and a coon.  Congrats to Kelly Jaubert and Lyndsey Avery for guessing the correct animals on our Facebook contest. The decision was made to keep it all in purple and not try to cheese it up with a ton of color.
 Here is the final product...

Yay! Hope you love it as much as we do!! These shirts will be available in about 2 weeks. Adult sizes S-XXL $31 and Youth 2,4,6,8,10 and 12 $26. The shirts look like this.. Adult

 and then youth

Thanks for reading!

To get to Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, take US HIGHWAY 165 North and turn right onto Richland Place. This is about 1.5 miles north of CenturyLink.