I like so many I cannot answer this question! Instead - I'll share a funny story about one of my art pieces:

I was painting a series of insects, and wanted to paint a praying mantis, so I asked the neighbor's children to find me one (alive). They did so, and brought me a jar with a happy praying mantis on a leaf.

I studied it that afternoon, and kept it overnight for the next day. Imagine my surprise when I awoke in the middle of the night to see, hanging from the ceiling, the praying mantis! It had escaped - and then dropped onto my face. Yikes! Luckily neither the mantis nor I was harmed, and I have this painting to show for it.

I have been painting for 25 years. See the about page for more information about my artistic inspiration.

Rolf is a professional photographer. Actually this is how we met - I needed photos of my art for a catalog, and contracted with Rolf to provide the photos.

Hi everyone, just to let you know I was the winner of the LOUIE award in my category. We went to NY to receive the honor and the LOUIE award. It was great. Thank you all again for your kindness and support. Now I really have to get to work to top this.

From the press release:

Shirley Bell of Shirley Bell Designs, Jamestown, RI won a LOUIE Award in the Rising Star category for her Dragonfly Holiday card.

Washington, DC- The Greeting Card Association has announced the winners for the best greeting card and stationary products of the past year. Out of the thousands of cards and invitations published each year, 176 made it to the final round in the 21st Annual International Greeting Card Awards competition, better known as the ÒLOUIEÓ The winners were announced May, 18th at the Capitale in New York City and at the NY Stationary Show the next day. See www.greetingcard.org to learn more about the LOUIE Award.

All images are available with envelopes as blank fold-over notecards (6.25 x 4.5 inches) or as blank, fold-over gift enclosures (2.5 x 3.5 inches).

Vertical images (height greater than width) are printed like the flower and insect above, horizontal images are printed like the sea scene above.

Our cards are printed on beautiful Classic Crest Cover Paper. This paper is white and uncoated with a velvety smooth finish. Our cards are printed using the finest archival inks available allowing for many years of vibrant color.

These are note cards with a personal message printed on the inside. You choose whether this message is top, middle, or bottom aligned. Because these take us extra time to prepare, they cost a bit more.

We are currently limited to 200 characters per message by our online ordering system. If you really need more, please enter "contact me" in the options field when you order and we will email you to get your full message.

Invitations are available as blank, printable invitations with envelopes. These are printed on sturdy, white 80 lb. Classic Crest white cover stock. Available in 5 x 7 and 4 x 9 inch sizes.

Invitations are also available as text invitations with (what, when, where, RSVP) already printed for you (as in the leftmost example above).

If you would like Shirley Bell Designs to do custom printing for you, please contact us for price and details.

Also, if you see an image in the notecard section you would like for an invitation we will be happy to accomodate you.

If you purchased blank printable invitations, you can print these on your home printer. There is no particular trick to this - the invitations are pre-cut 4x9 or 5x7 heavy 80lb paper, but regular printer settings work fine. We don't have a word template, generally a test print helps if your default page margins don't work. Email us if you need more help.

These cases are made to last a lifetime using quality brushed steel, non-fading inks, and a non-yellowing urethane surface.

Currently available cases are: business card holders (3.75 x 2.25 inches), quilters' pin boxes (2.75 x 1.75 inches), and pill boxes (2.75 x 1.75 inches).

Note that these cases are only available with select images, and only available for wholesale purchase. Please contact us for price and details.

Giclee reproductions of my original watercolors use ultrachrome inks on archival 100% cotton watercolor paper. These materials allow for a lifetime of enjoyment.

Giclee prints are available in 8 x 10 inch paper, image may vary in size.

All Giclees are limited edition prints of 250 signed and numbered by Shirley Bell.

Our Cafepress store allows us to sell merchandise you might want, but we couldn't produce ourselves, such as clothing, mugs, and more.

Cafepress pays us a portion of each order through their store, but we don't manage the production, billing, or delivery process for these orders. We charge a $3-$5 markup for each Cafepress product.

If you would like a specific image on a Cafepress product, let us know and we'll create it just for you! (I have so many images, I can't create every possible product at once.)

If it is a non-commercial or personal site, I probably will not mind. Please allow me to approve the site and then give me credit, and a link back to this site. Credit: Art from Shirley Bell Designs, Link: www.shirleybelldesigns.com.

Maybe. Please contact me for a permission and licensing discussion - I am reasonable, but this is my living. For online use prominent credit and link may suffice.

Email me at info@shirleybelldesigns.com and ask!

We do offer a 100% money back guarantee because we believe in the beauty and quality of our products. So far we have not had any dissatisfied customers. If you are unhappy with one of our products, we want to know what happened! Please contact us and tell us about your problem. We will authorize you to send the product back and we will refund your money via Paypal.

We accept payment through PayPal, and yes it is safe.

100's of millions of people use PayPal daily online. (Learn more about PayPal)

You don't need an account to purchase from us - PayPal accepts credit cards.

PayPal handles our shopping cart and purchasing process, we never see your sensitive information.

Never! As a small business, we depend on the trust and repeat business of our customers. We maintain your email only so that we may contact you in the future, we will never share your email with anyone else.

We never see your sensitive data - it is handled by PayPal, who is well trusted and proven in the market. PayPal's privacy and security information is available here. The only personal information we have from you is your name and email, and this is never shared with anyone else.

Standard shipping (and tax) is included in our prices - therefore no additional charges for standard shipping.

Orders are processed within a week and generally arrive 2-3 business days after shipping.

We will contact you via email with an estimated shipping date upon receipt of your order.

We carefully package your orders and ship via standard methods (USPS, UPS).

Orders generally arrive within 2-3 business days of being shipped.

If you have a store, a resale number and an interest to carry our line please contact us for a catalog or a representative in your area.

We are a small business, and do everything ourselves. We love adding your personal messages to our cards, but we have to charge for the time it takes.

We do - contact us with your request and we'll see if we can figure something out. We're always working on new art and designs, so we would be happy to hear your ideas of what you would like to see.