Hi everyone,

Once again, thank you all for believing in my project!

 I have officially shipped out all Rewards!

The scarfs are so beautiful in person and I can't wait till you receive them- I have updated with tracking numbers!

Once you receive your package, let me know if I have forgotten anything- I will promptly send out to you. 

A quick reminder as well that the pre-order store is still open for a limited time, if anyone needed to add an item or missed out when the project was live:  https://lifecycles-bandanas.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders 

The postcard art: inspiration process and video!

To make this update even more fun, I have included a inspiration process overview and speed-paint video below for the freebie postcard art that my lovely backers voted upon!

Florida panther won by 25% of the votes- but votes for leopard frog, wandering glider, swamp goddess and faerie all tied at 17% so this made me start dreaming on how to incorporate these other themes....

I landed on just using the 'goddess' idea, that this panther is the physical embodiment of a swamp goddess. My first sketches where based on the Madonna and child imagery with a protective growl, now she appears to be laughing. I got pretty far with this first concept but last minute decided I did not like it (at least for this purpose) Because I also wanted to be able to include the other 17% votes of frog, glider & faerie- but also I felt it was missing the "wisdom" theme of this project.

The end painting evolved into an Aesop's fable vibe where the insects are coming from all corners of the swamp to whisper wisdom for the new mother and her baby. Butterflies provide a lot of color to the art and have always symbolized fairies for me, I had a great time putting them everywhere- you will also see bees, dragonflies and a frog!

The original sketches & artwork:

The title is "Wisdom to share" also relates to this panther teaching her cub everything it needs to know to survive the untamed wildness of the Everglades, in turn keeping the balance of the land which is a sacred duty. These big cats are endangered and much needed for the ecosystem.

Speedpaint Video: 1 minute long timelapse of the artwork being painted

https://youtube.com/shorts/aVZPj4o05B4?si=KXG_EOVXmN__JC01

Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the postcard art as well as the bandanas!

💛 Amber Rae

(NOTE: If you look at the poll the numbers have changed since unfortunately a backers pledge got canceled- the 1 person who broke the tie for panther- so now panther, frog, glider, faerie and goddess are 18%. But I did this painting and got the postcards printed before then...)