panda much?

what started out as a little joke has now defined our lives. when we were just dating, i was driving him home during rush hour one day, stop and go, stop and go... we passed a Panda Express, and in his i've-had-three-red-bulls-in-the-last-20-minutes crazy state, he broke into angry chinaman voice and started ranting about us 'round-eye' always trying to eat panda. .. at the moment, it was hilarious, and i laughed so hard i had tears rolling down my cheeks and was mostly unable to drive.

by far, his angry chinaman voice is my favorite, and has continued to make me laugh throughout these last couple of years. we've enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we've started collecting little panda bits here and there, and he even plans to make his next tattoo some sort of panda. i found panda glasses for the kitchen, panda picture frames, t-shirts, and plush toys. "who's my panda?" "you're my panda" "love panda" .. well, you get the idea!

a few weekends ago, we found the ultimate panda - a real one. well, we didnt 'find' it per se, it was at the zoo, but we got to watch it for a while, take some pictures..

and now i'm obsessed with panda art. i've decided that i want to begin a small collection to support a few of my favorite things: pandas, my love, and handmade art.

so i've found a dozen or so panda art pieces on Etsy that I'm in love with, and think would make a wonderful wall of our home. and being so close to christmas and my birthday, i've so innocently and in no way intending to hint-hint, posted a few of them here :)

Panda Ball by blandysnorhal

Panda Girl by atwhim

Becky by aurelia27

Cheeky Panda by moonkooki

This is, by far, a short list, but you can find all of the prints I've hearted in my favorites on Etsy. (wink wink nudge nudge)

A few of them are ACEO's and I think this is a great way to start an ACEO collection. I have one, non-panda related, and would love to purchase more. ACEO's are like artist trading cards. Artist make small little cards (multimedia, prints of their original work, something off-the-wall), something to define them. sort of like a baseball card for artists. They are small, approx 2.5x3.5 and are an inexpensive way to collect original art by artists around the world.

find more at Etsy.com, just search for 'ACEO'

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!