Sharpie Squad member, Laura Kelly, may be one of the cheeriest bloggers we have  had the pleasure of working with! For the past 3 years she has brightened the Sharpie world by guest blogging and sharing her Sharpie love with the world (and across the country, in this case); so, what better way to celebrate the season than to share Laura’s cheer with you all!

What better way to spread BRIGHT and happy love this holiday season than to add a little Sharpie fun to my already planned adventure across the country from North Carolina to California.  With my backpack full of Sharpie markers to give away, sketchbooks and other random Sharpie gear, I grabbed my stuff and made my way to RDU to meet my long time BFF and get on our way.

Ready to jet set!

We started in Raleigh, North Carolina on a beautiful sunny morning.  Having arrived at the airport earlier than necessary we decided to grab breakfast at the super yummy 42^nd Street in terminal C.  When our server arrived, we informed her that she was the first lucky Sharpie winner.  From the large plastic tub of Sharpie markers, she chose green as her favorite and I used it to draw a quick “Me and My Peep” character of herself.   Our first stop was Boston and while there, I left the tub of Sharpie markers on my chair in Delta’s Sky Lounge while going to get some fresh veggies and a refreshing beverage.  Upon my return, I found the chair empty and heard the following over the loudspeaker, “Will the owner of the Sharpies please come to the front.  Your Sharpies have been turned it.”  I dashed to get them and was told that I was lucky to get them back, that sometimes valuable left like weren’t so fortunate as to be returned to their owners, like laptops and cell phones.  She was one smart concierge; she sure knew the value of the Sharpie pen collection!  I doodled a few things for some of the “business” travelers and witnessed a few overly dressed and somewhat pretentious professionals shift from uppity bumps on logs to open, connected and interesting regular folk.  Who knew that a little Sharpie doodling and laughter could create a table of new acquaintances swapping holiday stories and plans while swapping Sharpie markers from my tub to keep  or take back to loved ones at home.  My favorite guy took four, two for each daughter (pink/purple and chartreuse/lime green).

Throughout the day, from airport to airport and on the planes; I sketched “Me and My Peeps” for those around me and made LOTS of new friends.  The most popular colors taken from my collection were bright pink, lime green, red, black and purple.  I got to hear so many great stories about the ways people use their Sharpies, how amazing their artistic children are with Sharpies, what kind of Sharpies they wish they had more of and so much more.  I even got to doodle one of my all-time favorite men, Santa Claus.  He asked me if I wanted more Sharpie markers in my stocking to which I replied, “OF COURSE I DO!  

On Saturday morning we went shopping and I doodled along the way.  The workers in the t-shirt shop were psyched to get their own “Me and My Peep” drawn and put them on display behind the register.

 The dude working at the San Francisco Bath Salt store was another proud owner of his “Me and My Peep” and more than excited about the possibility of showing up in this blog.  He was definitely a SILVER Sharpie marker kind of guy…with a sparkly personality to match!

During the day on Saturday, I took my Sharpie collection along for our outing to Alcatraz, thinking I might be able to graffiti a little in the cells…JUST KIDDING!  While doodling in line I found a fellow Sharpie marker user…the girl assigned the job of marking our tickets!  She was happy as could be when I replaced hers with a new sharp tipped red and happily let me photograph her in action.  She said she wished she could use purple but that red was her only choice.  I gave her a purple to use on personal time.  She gave me a hug.  I call that a GOOD DEAL!  The boat trip over was a bit choppy so I kept my tub packed up and enjoyed the ride!

That evening we attended a wine tasting and once again, my tub was a hit!  The tasters used the markers for their customer tasting notes.  Personally, I recommend the 2010 Mendocino!  It gained a bright red Sharpie heart on my notes!

On Sunday morning, I left a black Sharpie marker with a doodled up message on the paper machine.  I watched from afar while people stopped to read it and chat up their Sharpie stories.  Finally it was taken by a teenage girl who stated as she ripped it from the machine, “I think someone left this here for me.”  She was right.  I guess I did.

That afternoon while shopping at Pier 33 and strolling Fisherman’s Wharf, I took a break to sit down and sketch only to find myself surrounded with people who waited in line for their turn to get sketched.  It was crazy fun.  I passed out Sharpies and smiles at the same time.  Some wanted to know where my tip jar was and I laughed.  Can you imagine, drawing “Me and My Peeps” for tips.  I do it for fun…for the mere pleasure of spreading cheer.  Once inside Boudans to buy some sourdough bread, we decided to head upstairs and grab a bite.  I put my tub of Sharpie markers on the bar while I dug in my backpack for my wallet and the man next to me said, “Wow, you are so lucky.  You have so many Sharpies.”  I chatted with him and ended up giving him a few doodle tips.  He practiced his skills on the postcards he was writing back home to his grandmother in Sweden.  When I gave him the handful he used for his masterpieces, he reacted as if he won the lottery.  He gave me the cheek and then the other cheek European kiss and then was whisked off with his mate to his table to eat.

I was then requested to draw the bartender and the girl on our other side so happily doodled some more, handed out some more love in the form of Sharpie marker, then celebrated my new friendships with a little time trading stories before heading back out to the piers.

I continued to doodle and hand out the markers until they were all gone.  I was invited to new places to meet strangers’ families, speak to their schools and illustrate their stories into books.  I was thanked for sharing myself, for offering inspiration and for reminding people that they too were born to create…that doodling counts too and that they are already qualified!

I learned a lot from my adventure.  The most important lesson that I was reminded of through this attempt to spread bright holiday love was that people from all over the world, of all ages and in all sizes love the joy that comes through creation and imagination.  I was reminded that although I am often teased for being a doodle artist, my gift is unique and it makes a difference in the world we share.

  Together with paper, Sharpie markers and strangers…we can connect, grow and care about others.

MERRY HOLIDAYS!  May your celebrations be filled with lots of BRIGHT, CHEERY and HAPPY CREATIVE LOVE!

To keep with Laura and see where else her Sharpie travels take her be sure to check out her website and find her on Facebook!

What better way to show your friends and family how much you care by sending them something more… Sharpie… than the generic “happy holiday” card? Inexpensive and creative, these funky fresh tidings are guaranteed to bring spectacular Sharpie season’s greetings to one and all!

Make your holidays BOOM!

Want a closer look?

have a rockin' christmas

B-b-b-b-b BOOOM

Happy Holidays!

And to all a goodnight!

To celebrate National Camera Day, Sharpify your photos and entertain yourself  by ”accessorizing” your friends. 

It’s easy as 1,2,3:

1. Grab your favorite photos, your favorite Sharpie and get busy!

2. Cut out your creations.

3. Stick ‘em on and give your photos that extra flair they are dying for- then change ‘em out, your options are endless!

Sharpie stunna shades... Done and done.

Viola!

Go on, get Cheesin’!

Wingdoodle, a blog featuring some incredible how-to’s,  recently colored foam eggs using Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers.  Take a peak at how Wingdoodle created beautiful art on these Easter eggs. 

DIYing Easter eggs with Sharpie is not just limited to foam eggs.  In fact, blogger AnaCraftyOne uses Sharpie markers to color real eggs.

To read Wingdoodle’s complete post click HERE. 

For AnaCraftyOne’s how-to instructions, click HERE.

Do you have your own version of this poem? Finish it in your own words!

Here are more VDay videos with Chicagoans expressing their thoughts on Valentine’s Day:

These videos got me thinking… Sometimes Oftentimes, when I want to express myself (vocally) the words just aren’t there.  I get nervous or my head is racing with 1,000 thoughts; I want to say them all and it just doesn’t come out how I had planned…I hate that!  You know earlier I had it down perfectly and then afterwards I’m left thinking, “Brain, how could you do this to me? Of course NOW you’re calm and collected.. Quit telling me all that I should have said ” …so frustrating.

While I may not always be the eloquent speaker I’d like to be, I take the good with the bad and to be honest, I can write one heck of a letter! The words just come to me!  Am I alone on this or can you relate?  Expressing my true thoughts and feelings is easier for me in this respect.  I’m not sure why but whatever the reason, the words just flow.  They flow from my brain through my hand, right onto the paper (obviously the process is more complicated but I’m not talking science here).

So if you’re like me, take advantage of Valentine’s Day with the power of a pen (Sharpie pen of course) and paper.  Take the opportunity to tell the people in your life that you love them and why you love them.  Express yourself and don’t let the day go to waste, despite your love or hate for VDay.  I guarantee that you will enjoy it so much more if you express the love for those you care about.

Now let me end by asking you:   How do you express yourself?

No one says it quite like the gangster of love...

♥Check us out on Facebook

Valentine’s Day Memories!  

Memories are like pictures for your soul.  When you think back to that moment, you can see every detail, hear every sound, smell every scent, taste every last morsel —  it all comes rushing back to you in an instant just with one thought. Valentine’s Day is tough though.  There is a lot of pressure to make this one day memorable, a  day that will be remembered and cherished forever.  Do we achieve that every year? Maybe. Maybe not.  Either way a memory is made and we add yet another snapshot to our internal photo album.

So what’s the best or worst  memory you have of Valentine’s Day?  Every one has some story to tell, what’s yours?  Maybe you had that perfect Valentine’s Day that you will never forget.  Maybe you had a magical night with your sweetheart and to this day it was the best night of your life!  Did you get a bad rash from the “roses” your lover bought you?  Did you bloat like a blowfish post-VDay chocolates?  Tell us about your VDay memory –  we want to know!

When we were downtown we got a few people chatting about their VDay memories -  here are new videos from the on-street interviews:

Join the conversation on Facebook where you can comment and upload your own videos and pics!   We will be posting more videos through the 14th so check back to see fi you or any of your friends are posted!

Don’t forget, all the videos are uploaded on Youtube. 

♥ ♥ ♥

Valentine’s Day… The infamous February 14th.  The holiday celebrated around the world to express love.  A  romantic, heart-felt, candy-filled day represented by hearts, exchanging Valentine’s and a cherub aiming his bow at love-seeking pedestrians.  You’d think that such a holiday would be cherished by everyone….right?!

Well, apparently not!  While it may seem like everyone is seeing red and pink lately there has been a lot of back and forth regarding whether to love or hate Valentine’s Day.  This controversial topic has inspired Sharpie to host its own debate and find out where YOU stand on the issue.  Maybe you’re that gal who LOVES LOVE and enjoys getting wrapped up in all the Valentine’s Day  hoopla?  Or maybe you’re the kind of guy who claims Valentine’s Day is a greeting card manufactured holiday?!  Whoever you are, whatever side you take,  we want to know!  Express yourself and let your voice be heard!   Be a part of Sharpie’s first ever

 Love-Hate Debate!

HOW IT WORKS!

Share YOUR OPINION February 1st through 14th!  Tell us if you Love or Hate Valentine’s Day by:

1. Make a video and uploading it to YouTube (post a video response in the comment section) on: http://www.youtube.com/SharpieUS
2. Join Sharpie’s Fan page and leave your comments and photos on our wall: http://www.facebook.com/Sharpie
3. Follow the discussion on Twitter and respond directly to @SharpieSusan with a #SharpieDebate hashtag

Need some inspiration?  To kick things off we took our question to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile to find out what people had to say about Valentine’s Day!  Check out the first series of videos to see what was said!  Come back throughout the next two weeks to see more of what Chicagoans had to say on this hot topic:

We will be posting more Michigan Ave. interviews and sharing your uploaded videos and pics February 1st through February 14th so check back every day to see what’s new!

Check out SharpieUncapped for more details tied to the debate!

Gather up boxes that you can neatly and carefully pack everything up into.  Here’s a tip: Re-organize storage bins to maximize space and re-use the gift boxes from the holidays instead of buying new ones to store your things in (Pictured below: a shirt box, a box that came with a mug and one large mailing box).

Label your boxes with the coordinating items inside and when putting away, arrange them so that labels are easily seen and organized for your convenience when you take them out next year! 

If you pack smart now you’ll be able to spend more time later doing the things you really love with family and friends!

Some holiday items to consider organizing to keep you ahead of the pack:

• Special plates & dishes
• Ribbons and Bows
• Wrapping Paper
• Greeting Cards & Gift Tags
• Indoor/Outdoor Lights
• Indoor/Outdoor Decorations
• Fragile Ornaments
• Kid-made Ornaments
• Garland
• Wreaths
• Tree
• Tree Skirt

Any questions? Ask away! 

How do you use Sharpie markers to stay organized?  Leave your comments here or on Sharpie’s Facebook page!