Diesel + Juice Print

next
New Design


Recently I had the pleasure of working with Michele from Diesel + Juice! She’s a phenomenal graphic designer that created a beautiful print of mine and my husband’s first kitty Biscuit!

A little bit about Diesel + Juice:

I am an illustrator, graphic/web designer, photographer, and studio Artist.  Iā€™m a quiet humble human who hides away constantly creating and learning new things. I love art, ink, and lots of caffeine. 

Diesel + Juice is an illustration project that was inspired by my love for my English Bulldog Diesel and feisty feline, Juice, and has transformed into an obsession. I have an ever growing selection of modern prints for your everyday home and I absolutely love to draw custom portraits of your adorable pets. I get extremely excited every time I send over a proof of a new portrait to its owner. So far I’ve had lots of tears [happy tears] and I feel so blessed every time I get to draw an animal that is no longer with us. I love offering the opportunity for you to talk about your pet and I do my best to capture those tales in the illustration which often gives the print more energy than the original photograph. Getting a custom portrait made isn’t just a cute print you’re receiving from me, its an experience. I want you to end up with something you will love for years to come and will work with you until it captures your animal perfectly. 



I was so excited about the opportunity to have one of my cats illustrated! She originally asked if I wanted Grits or Gravy to be the featured cat, but I couldn’t live with myself if I only chose one of them. So, I chose Biscuit. She was our first cat and I loved her so much! And unfornatuely we lost her to FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) in December 2010. She was only 1 1/2 years old.

So I send Michele some photos of Biz (Biscuit’s nickname). . .





(this was my favorite)

And she created this:
I was so excited to see it because it looked so much like her! The print was on high quality paper and was very detailed.

I immediately put it in a frame, from Ikea, and I have it set aside to go up on the future gallery wall at the new place. Cannot wait.

She was absolutely a dream to work with. Great communication. Offered suggestions. Quick to respond. I would highly recommend working with her if you are looking do to a custom print OR just purchase a pre-made print from her shop.

And she generously offered to giveaway some of her work on my blog!

Here is what she’s giving away:
(there will be 3 separate winners!)

**if you can’t wait until Saturday to find out if you won, use the coupon code “SMALLTHINGS20” to receive 20% off your order!

Here’s how to enter:
(in order for your entry to be counted, you must use the giveaway tool below.)
Winners will be chosen on Saturday April 14th! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ashley won the 5×7 print of your choice
Jen won the 8×10 print of your choice
                      Angela won the custom pet portrait illustration



comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Amy says · 04.11.12

I may just have to get a print of our beloved Brittany spaniel Gunner, he passed in 2007. Miss him so much.

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

You should. I’m so glad to have this print of Biscuit! It’s nice to “see” her again!

Reply
Sabrina says · 04.11.12

Awesome giveaway! And gorgeous blog makeover!

Reply
brookem says · 04.11.12

I’m in!

Reply
Cynd says · 04.11.12

Love the new look! And I will be getting a print or our dog, Taz. I love this! Thanks!

Reply
Margaret says · 04.11.12

What lovely work! Thanks for the giveaway!

Reply
jacks says · 04.11.12

What a great giveaway! Thank you!

Reply
Diane Richards says · 04.11.12

I adore my pets – they are so special & spoiled! It would be wonderful to have a portrait done ,

Reply
Midwest Veggie Girl says · 04.11.12

Her pictures are fantastic! I’m so glad you posted this!

Reply
SC says · 04.11.12

Love her work!!!!

Reply
Ashley says · 04.11.12

What a wonderful giveaway! My dog is absolutely my best friend and I’d love to have a portrait of her! (AND Saturday is my birthday, so fingers crossed!)

Reply
Rachel Salinas says · 04.11.12

I would love this! She is so talented!

Reply
Erin C. says · 04.11.12

Thanks for the opportunity of winning a portrait of our beloved cat. He is spoiled enough to have his own portrait. Love the energy, good info and fun of your blog!

Reply
Suzanne says · 04.11.12

I’m such a sap. Sitting here at my desk crying. I’m so sorry for your loss. My kids (2 cats and a dog) are my life. I can’t imagine losing one of them. The print of Biscuit is gorgeous.

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

Suzanne! You are so sweet! Don’t’ worry, I still cry about loosing her too. Pets are the best.

Reply
Anonymous says · 04.11.12

I’m glad someone else commented in this too. I couldn’t concentrate on the content after reading about Biscuit. šŸ™ its so sad to lose a baby

Reply
Beth says · 04.11.12

So fun! I love giveaways like this & being introduced to new artists and their work. She is so talented! Thank you! šŸ™‚

Reply
Bridget DeJong says · 04.11.12

I really would love to win this. My fiance and I had to put our puppy down (he was a year a 4 months old) due to kidney failure. I cry still about it and this would look beautiful in the new home we plan on buying.

Even if I don’t win I might have them do something! Thanks Kate!!

Reply
Kristin says · 04.11.12

I would love a photo of our pets! I would just have to choose between the spoiled dog or cat!!

Reply
Tomiko Lewark says · 04.11.12

I like the new look of your site. Very neat and fresh. This is a great giveaway and thank you for thinking of pet lovers everywhere. Our beloved labs turned 11 yesterday! We had party hats and cupcakes for them. Our fur babies are our children and we love them dearly.
Thank you so much for all of your tutorials.

Reply
Constance says · 04.11.12

I have the sweetest and most loveable puppy (OK, so he is 3 put looks like a puppy to me) named Bam Bam. He is my first dog ever and my husband took him in as his own once we got married. Sad part is now I can’t pry Bam Bam away from his side, LOL!

Reply
Rose says · 04.11.12

Love your new blog look.

Reply
Alpha Blonde says · 04.11.12

I’ve been wanting to get my Ivan (my profile pic) illustrated forever! He looks a lot like your grey kitty šŸ™‚ p.s. sorry about biscuit…she was so beautiful!

Reply
Syndal says · 04.11.12

oh I am so excited for this!
I recently got a pet print for my friend and really want one for myself!

Reply
Stephanie S says · 04.11.12

The Biscuit portrait turned out so perfect!! I can’t wait to see some photos of it all hung up
I entered and I’m excited, the etsy store has so many great things to choose from!

Reply
Lauren Smith says · 04.11.12

I’m borderline obsessed with D+J and look at her stuff every other day dreaming!!!

Reply
Candy says · 04.11.12

Just wondering…..you said that Biscuit passed away in December 2012…..did you mean 2011? Love the new look, btw!!

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

Whoops! Can’t predict the future.

Updated it–thanks for letting me know!

Reply
Laura says · 04.11.12

this is so wonderful! thanks so much, kate!

Reply
Rachel says · 04.11.12

Sweet portrait of your kitty!!

p.s. I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to put in the text box for each of those “plus 1s” — I just put my username/email address if it was different.

Reply
Alexis says · 04.11.12

Love this!!!

Reply
Allisa says · 04.11.12

Gorgeous Pic!

Reply
Susan says · 04.11.12

Love this, and love my pets!

Reply
Allison says · 04.11.12

What’s the link to her shop?? I would love to just order one of these prints instead of hoping to be a winner šŸ™‚

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12 Reply
Michele Nicolette says · 04.11.12

Here’s 20% off for ya! SMALLTHINGS20

Reply
Courtney says · 04.11.12

I love the color of Biscuit’s fur! Our cat had a kitten that color and I couldn’t get enough of that sweet color šŸ™‚ Love the blog!

Reply
Amber says · 04.11.12

I just want to say thank you for featuring her shop! My mom’s beloved chihuahua passed away on Saturday, and she is just heartbroken. I cannot wait to order a custom portrait of Mimi for her!

Reply
Lindsay @ Trial By Sapphire says · 04.11.12

My husband and I lost our first-adopted 3.5 months ago, and I STILL cry when I look through the photo book my sister had made and mailed to us! I miss him! I might need to order a custom print for our home too!

Reply
Anonymous says · 04.11.12

I’ll definitely be bookmarking this shop to someday to a portrait of my hubby’s fave kitty!

Reply
Julie says · 04.11.12

I love the colors used for your new blog!! Biz was one super cute kitty.
jjanusz (at) allstate (dot) come

Reply
Amity says · 04.11.12

Already requested the double pet portrait for my birthday! I love this! So fun!

Reply
Nicole says · 04.11.12

We lost our cat Barbarella to FIP a few years ago and it was heart breaking. She was my husband’s baby. Such a horrible thing to go through with absolutely no cure. I may have to get a portrait done of her. I love this.

Reply
Melissa Duckett says · 04.11.12

I see she has PUGS on the site!! I’m not a cat person (sorry… I would be in theory, but they always break my stuff. I’ve wanted to get one for our daughter… we argue šŸ˜‰ ) But I do have a PUG! And it’s so bad, but I have a voice for him… so he’ll hold whole conversations with people. And with me. I teach and my students know about it, too, because I’ll lapse into the voice like a crazy insane person. But it’s so funny! I’d love to get more pug art. I already have some pieces… my daughter, at 17 months, can identify all the pugs in our house as Wally. And my twitter account is actually Wally’s. I’m crazy, aren’t I. Now I’ll never get to meet you. Rats.

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

Your crazy love for Wally is equal to my crazy love for my cats. We could be friends.

Reply
Michele Nicolette says · 04.12.12

I LOVE this! Do you have a video of yourself doing the voice?

The pugs in the 3 dog portrait are going to be offered in the shop on their own soon.. I just need to finish up a few details :]

Reply
Lindsey says · 04.11.12

Fingers crossed I win!!! Let’s say I don’t – does the discount expire? My birthday is next month and I would LOVE a portrait of my dog from my husband! šŸ™‚ And let’s be honest, knowing husbands and gift giving, he will order it the day before my birthday. šŸ™‚

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

It doesn’t expire! šŸ™‚

Reply
Michele Nicolette says · 04.12.12

ahaha I love this! As long as he orders with enough time to ship, I’ll be sure to get it done in time for you! I had a lot of men order prints for their females the day before Valentine’s Day.. There was no chance they’d get it in time but at least they had a digital file to show em ;]

Reply
Jodi P. says · 04.11.12

Hi Kate – Thank you for this .. I just found out I’m going to have to put my beloved dog Nigel down. He has been the center of my life for 13 years. I’ve been just heartbroken and full of grief the last few days. Pets bring such joy to our lives..

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

Jodi, I’m so sorry you are going through this. Brings tears to my eyes. Know that he’ll be at peace. And you’ll be able to look back fondly on your time with him! 13 years is a long time!

Reply
K says · 04.11.12

sorry for the random question but what kind of cat litter box and cat litter do you use? I have 2 cats and they do not like to share the cat litter box, I dont know what to do.
thanks

Reply
Kate says · 04.11.12

With 2 cats, its recommended that you have 2 litter boxes in your home. One per floor. We only have one right now, due to space issue, but I’d love to have 2 if we have space at our new place.
I use Fresh Step litter, it’s great, but I’ve also used Arm & Hammer. Both a great for cutting the odor. And I’m not sure of the brand of the litter box, but it’s a large box with a lid. It has an opening, but not a door.

Hope that helps!

Reply
Lisa says · 04.12.12

Her prints are simply gorgeous! We adopted our cat Inca from a local shelter and he’s the sweetest cat I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’ll do when the time comes for him to pass, I tear up even thinking about it. I may just have to get a print of him. Thank you for posting!

Reply
Jessica @ O. Alouette says · 04.12.12

I love your print!! Your kitty has the prettiest eyes. Great giveaway!

Reply
Sandra says · 04.12.12

Love, Love the pet illustrations!!

Reply
Anonymous says · 04.12.12

Love the new look! I told Lauren the same thing. I told her it’s the perfect time of year for new things & new beginnings…Spring :)~Karri

Reply
Unknown says · 04.12.12

Her work is amazing! I want one of my cat so badly. He’s a child to me! : )

Reply
Shelley says · 04.12.12

I entered..so hard to choose between the cardinal print, the flamingo or the old school camera..great giveaway..thank you

Reply
jazminemerald says · 04.13.12

This is such a wonderful giveaway, thanks for the chance to win! I’m moving away from my family pets in a few weeks and it would be wonderful to have a print of the dogs so they’re always with me šŸ™‚

Reply
Chelsea117 says · 04.13.12

These are wonderful and I love the print of Biz, so precious. I have two cats that I love and I will definitely have a print made. Thank you for sharing!

Reply
Jaime says · 04.16.12

Have you already drawn for the winners??? šŸ™‚ So excited!

Reply
Ashley says · 04.16.12

Somewhere on your site (perferrably with each giveaway post) you should include some information about how the winner will be contacted…or if we need to contact you to the claim the prize. (The winners all have common names and I’m sure it’s confusing about which Ashley, Jen, and Angela actually won.) This giveaway process clarification would really help…

Reply
Kate says · 04.17.12

Another random question. Since you have so much good advice, I noticed you have the same fabric couch as I do. So maybe you can advise on this too… I LOVE my couch, but the fabric tends to pill very badly (cats, dogs, babies, etc climbing all over) Have you noticed this with yours? Any tricks to keeping it look so nice?

Reply
Pear Tree Greetings says · 04.21.12

Such a sweet way to remember your cat, he’s adorable. Those prints by Diesel + Juice are really cute!

Reply