I’ve been working on the new 2012 calendar lately– so many great quotes, so little time. One of my favorite parts of getting ready to do a new calendar is looking for the quotes. Of course, the internet makes this much easier, but I still like finding obscure quotation books and finding things that are so old yet still so perfect. And there are lots of new people saying and writing wonderful things, thank goodness. I’ve even illustrated quotes from people like comedian Steven Wright and, in this calendar, actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Here are a couple of the drawings I’ve been working on for this calendar, entitled “Wit and Whimsy” (Now THAT title is all-encompassing and makes it easy to find great quotes!).
If you’re interested, you can get my 2011 wall calendar at your local Barnes & Noble or by clicking here. Here’s the cover:
Do me a favor and post any great quotes that you’d like to share in the comments section. OR you could let us know what you think of the 2012 calendar. OR just say whatever you want, because hey– whatever! We love to hear from you.
~Mary
I think this quote is attributed to Marting Luther King Jr. “Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.” I also have this one up in my house…the theology is a little backward, but it makes me smile. “Sometimes there are too many Marys and not enough Marthas.”
A great end of the day is to unwind with a great Book.
The Duchess of Windsor:
“If you accept an invitation to dinner, you have a moral obligation to be amusing”
It’s lengthy but sums up my attitude…and is attached to my emails, from such a classy lady.
“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh.
It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”
~ Audrey Hepburn ~
In my life @ times I have been a runner; ya know avoid conflict.. When I feel like running from a situation I say ” Every where I go there I am! Doris Lynn Turner I guess that makes me the problem.
Make A Friend Be A Friend and Lead your Friend To Christ!!! Doris Lynn Turner.. I did a talk about Changing our world and this was part of what I wrote and rings in my head as “Make a friend be a Friend” That is what we gotta do
This is my favorite quote at the moment…
You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.
– Satchel Paige
“Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry”, -St. Pio
“The Harder you Work, the Luckier you Get” -unknown
I have been eagerly anticipating the 2011 calendars and already you are working on next year? Super! I don’t know if anyone said it but my husband says “Good decisions follow you and bad decisions follow you.” He also uses “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” I like “If you know better, do better!” P.S. Any dates for the MEHC workshop this year?
Here’s one of my favorite quotes from a favorite movie: “In this world . . . you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” ~Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart), Harvey
“So many books, so little time”
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”–Charles Eliot
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”–Jorge Luis Borges
I collect quotations about reading, books and libraries…
I have been a fan of your work for years…Thanks!
I LOVE the drawing with Ann Estelle in the big red chair, plus everything else.
BTW…did you see the ME 2010 calendar on eBay for $1000.00? I have emailed the seller twice asking what makes that calendar so special, but haven’t heard back.
I love everything you do.
Lynn
Ps…my daughter has a dry sense of humor and she has this sticker..which is so appropo for todays teens… it states “I love poetry, long walks on the beach…and poking dead things with a stick.” Kind of twilight meets beetle juice..don’t you think? Anyway, it is the dark yet dry humor of our teens today. But I love it nonetheless… reminds me of some of ME’s humor such as Life-get one!
Ok…would you believe that I finally have my own room to scrap? I have wanted a ME creating space for over ten years…..now I have to get my stuff on ebay cause there is not nearly enough fabrics out there to decorate my room. Your designs bring my joy! Could you design fabric for scrapbookers? You used to have a mousepad that said “she who dies with the most supplies wins!” I need to find it and purchase it…I am the queen of my own scrapbooking room now!!!!! Please keep creating…thank you!
I love these two….”Only a life lived for others is worthwhile.” by Albert Einstein, and “Life is not about waiting out the storms. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Sorry, I don’t know to whom that one belongs.
may you live as long as you want and never want as lond as you live.i heard it on simply painting with frank clark.auther unknown,love gina badeaux.my quote is lonliness breeds creativity.i am sure somneone else thought of it but i lived it.
I found this note in my dad’s wallet the day he died, it was to himself and written in his own hand…..Each night when I go to bed I ask myself this question – “Is this world and this home a better place because of something I have done today?” – I can’t always answer YES, but at least my yes’s are becoming more frequent. Don Flynn
You can not control the wind, but you can adjust your sails!
Here are my favs:
Happiness is an inside job.
It is what it is.
I love quotes from Oscar Wilde, especially this one:
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
Oscar Wilde
One of the loveliest things anyone ever said to me was when I worked at Hallmark. I was talking with a nice lady at ME Ink to resolve some logistical issue, and she said “I really like talking with you, I’ve talked to a lot of people about this and you seem to be the only one who really knows whats going on!” Well that compliment made me a lifelong ME Ink fan, and it crosses my mind a lot because of course lots of us really know whats going on – but how rarely does anyone take the time to acknowledge it! I still smile – and wish I worked at ME Ink. You all seem as if you really know what is going on.
Another one, from my hubby’s grandmother Margaret Dodd: Obessing over housework is pointless. You spend your whole life moving dirt around, and when you’re dead, they throw it in your face.
I use this one on my kids all the time, especially when they’re trying to find all of their stuff for school in the mornings:
“The last place you look, is the first place you’ll find it.”
I have no idea where it came from.
)
How about this……..
“YAGOTTAWANNA”
“We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” – Benjamin Franklin
This is my favorite and I have it at the top of my blog.
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say. “I used everything You gave me.” Erma Bombeck
I so want this to be true!
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent…Eleanor Roosevelt.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do….Eleanor Roosevelt.
I love most all Eleanor Roosevelt quotes! The first one I always told my kids…all the time! No one can make you feel inferior without your consent!
“You fail every time you don’t try.”
“Break’s over!”
“You are my little starfish in the great big sea of love.”
Love the red chair drawing!! So vintage & so current!
=^..^=
The Whippy Curly Tails
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln
And you, our dearest Mary, are a GREAT one, and we are all blessed
to have you breiting up our lives!!”
Heehee! The first quote that came to my mind was “The Difference between a cow and a bean, is a bean can begin an adventure!” from the Broadway show “Into The Woods.”
Silly, I know, but it makes me smile every time!
As a counselor this is one of my favorite quotes.
*****The real art of conversation is not only to say the right
thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong
thing at a tempting moment***** Unknown
I enjoy Bob Burg’s book “The go-giver”. He has a quote that I try to live by. “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment”. I’m not sure how you’d illustrate that and it’s kind of long but it’s a favorite of mine.
Of course, the all time favorite is “Life is just a Chair of Bowlies”. Can’t remembered who said that one…lol.
You’ve illustrated so many wonderful quotes, it’s hard to know which ones you’ve done already. How do you ever keep track?! Here are a few that I love, just in case you haven’t used them yet…
There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence
When you have a dream you’ve got to grab it and never let go. – Carol Burnett
Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music. ~William Stafford
Love the new calendar!
Here are my quotes ……
To Have Friends you must first BE a Friend.
Today’s Readers are Tomorrows Leaders
My high school graphic arts teacher always used to say “Adversity makes us stronger” personally I don’t know who to credit but I always like “Whatever…”
Great quotes can be found in Broadway songs – one of my favorites is “Careful the things you say…children will listen” from Into The Woods by Sondheim.
” We shall still be together when our life story ends… for wherever we chance to go, we shall always be friends” – Sutton Foster’s WISH – song by Noel Coward…
A great resource.
My favorite quote, which I attribute to you, is “It takes a mighty good husband to be better that none.”
I still love one I got from your calendar one year and I am sorry, I don’t remember who it is from. “Flexible people rarely get bent out of shape.” I love that one! I have used it on my kids, husband, co-workers, sister…just to name a few. And, I get your calendar’s EVERY SINGLE YEAR! It would not be January 1st without hanging that happiness in my kitchen where I can look at it every day and smile.
Matters that lie behind us and matters that lie ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I saw this while fabric shopping one day.
Success is failure that tried one more time.
I loved it and wrote it down to use one day, hope you like it
Paula
Love the new artwork…glad the new calendars are available…I buy the wall calendar, the page a day calendar, and the desk calendar every year (have been for a very long time)…I save them all. I absolutely love the quotes you find as well! Thanks so much for artwork that always brings a smile to my day!
i thought this one up the other day….
“life is deep…wear boots”…by Sandi Lou
i can’t wait to personally own your new calendar! i have all of them..and i keep all of them!!!
Thank goodness for your talented being. You are an isnpiration to me. I know this new school year will be awesome and filled with many decorations from your art. Thank you for being so awesome. God bless you and your crew.
KeEp Up tHe gOoD wOrK!
Elizabeth Aviles
<3 <3 <3
Love your pages and new work! Everything old or new from your work of art is trully just amazing!
Elizabeth Aviles
Puerto Rico fan!
The distance isn’t important; it is only the first step that is difficult. — Marquise du Deffand
Hope none of these are reruns. I tried to not put any in that I remembered being done already.
“One doesn’t recognize the really important moments in one’s life until its too late.” Agatha Christie
“Creativity is really the structuring of magic.” Anne Kent Rush
“One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Grandparents need grandchildren to keep the changing world alive for them. And grandchildren need grandparents to help them know who they are and give them a sense of human experience in a world they cannot know.” Margaret Mead
“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But, above all, the world needs dreamers who do.” Sarah Breathnach
“I cannot live without books.” Thomas Jefferson
“Life is a glorious banquet, a limitless and delicious buffet.” Maya Angelou
“May you always have the 2 best things in life: someone to love and someone who loves you.” Irish Blessing
“Vision is the art of seeing what’s invisible to others.” Jonathon Swift
“Mom, someone called from somewhere and said to call back.” unknown
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King
I use this one on my kids frequently:
“Do or do not- there is no try”
~Yoda
I’d love to see you illustrate one of my favorite quotes. I have it stamped on the perpetual calendar displayed in my kitchen;
“All the windows of my heart I open to the day.”
~~John Greenleaf Whittier
John Muir: How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
Helen Keller:Believe. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
Margaret Carty: Be like a postage stamp- stick to one thing until you get there.
St. Francis of Assisi: Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Samuel Johnson: Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
I collect quotes and would love to send more or receive any you especially like. The shorter ones that are public domain seem most useful. Love your new calendars- hope you enjoy working on the next one!
Hi Mary-
One of my favourite sayings is “Art is knowing when to stop.”. I don’t know who said it first, but in trying to find a source, I came up with several variations:
A fellow named Arthur William Radford is quoted: “Half of art is knowing when to stop.”
I found a quote from Toni Morrison: “All art is knowing when to stop.”
and from a website called montefin.com: “The Zen of Art is knowing when to stop, then letting go.”
Take your pick, I guess.
Another tongue-in-cheek favourite: “You never know what you can do until you try to undo what you did!
Anne
LOVE the cover page.
A quote I love is Happiness is found on the journey not at the end of the road.