I'm back....

These are words to live by...

Neil Gaiman's spectacular New Year's wish illustrated by water-color master David Mack!

A 11" x 17" image printed right here in Hollywood, USA.

As all of the Neverwear limited edition runs, we will emboss with the official stamp and hand-number them.

A limited edition of 2000.

These were sold unsigned and for the first 3 days, we sold them them at $25.00. **WE ADDED TUESDAY because we are nice.

On Dec 2, 2014, midnight EST, they priced back up to $38.00, which is what we will continue to do with each print run in future. We like to reward the early-orderers with that 25%+ discount.

A portion of all monies collected will go to THE GAIMAN FOUNDATION, Neil & Holly's support of the art community--

The prints will be arriving to the Treehouse in LA on Tuesday or Wednesday, and will ship out immediately. Here is Drew getting the tubes labelled and prepped while I am out east.

They will ship by Dec 11-12, plenty of time for holiday arrival. if you are really concerned about time, please email me: neverwear@gaiman.net We will work out a plan.

I just finished my last show with the Black Keys, and while I will miss the touring terribly, it's time to tend the home gardens. Neil is beyond busy and I need to be off that tour bus to help him.

So! to thank you for all the support and to answer the people who were sad that they missed the pre-sale, here is a five-dollar-off code that you can enter upon check out: THANKY

It's a one-time use per person code, and can be used on anything on the site. Expires Jan. 1, 2015

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE NEVERWEAR SITE.

I'll leave you with Neil's wonderful New Year words:

May your coming year

be filled with magic

and dreams

and good madness.

I hope you read

some fine books

and kiss someone who

thinks you are wonderful.

and don't forget

to make some art-

write or draw

or build or sing

or live

as only you can.

And I hope,

somewhere,

in the next year,

you surprise yourself.

- Neil Gaiman

items #53-#83 it's CATCH UP time...

oh-so-behind in my thing-a-day resolution...

i have been out and about, two trips across country to help my Boss move house. (& what a fine home he has moved into, see his fireplace photo here ...)

Came home to this in the mailbox, a gift of gratitude that touched my heart: a signed 1975 Barry Smith print, The Enchantment. Thank you, dear author boss, so much~

Also was at SXSW with the almighty Soundgarden, doing a few shows. Incredible shows, I should say. They did the entire Superunknown album front to back on a rooftop overlooking Austin!

Back home now and looking at the various items ready to leave the treehouse. So many things!

TO GIVE AWAY:

7 x American Gods stickers, art by Jouni Koponen:

here is Neil holding one for size reference, it's 4" x 10":

6 x metal crowns that are drawer handles, I'm guessing Ikea-based.

5 x Neil $5 dollar bills, a five-buck-off coupon for anything at Neverwear.net (one per home)

4 x sushi coasters (1 set to good home)

3 x Cthulu mints (one tin per home)

2 x Hello Kitty/KISS mash-up kleenex packs!

1 x meow button, just exactly what you think it is:

1 Kitty-made glass candy bar "how long have I been in this darkness?" magnet. I believe it was from a Batman comic, but it could be anyone who is just about over the looooong winter...plus green glitter!

1 x directors slate:

to claim, follow these simple steps:

post in the comments, what you want, and what nice thing you will do for someone else in your turn.

don't overthink, just be the first to comment. Share and play nice.

The American Gods stickers, Neil-five-dollar bills and KiSS/helloKitty tissue can go to overseas buddies, but everything else IN CONTINENTAL USA...shipping is too much $$$ for moi. (ok, if you really want something, we can work something out)

Super SIMPLE!!

meanwhile, go to my furrytiger roadie blog if you want to hear about my Soundgarden SXSW trip and read an interview with young up & coming Minneapolis band, The Missing Letters. Just click on the link HERE

also go to my Neverwear blog HERE if you want to read about an auction going on for the wonderful Stan Sakai.

ps. note to add, i have tried several times to get the photos resized, analog girl still struggling in digital world... please to excuse.

item #52: BEADS & CHARMS galore...

item #52 in my swallowing diamonds project, at least one thing out of the treehouse a day!

I put myself through college by making jewelry, thank goodness as now, I have no student loans! (thank all available gods.)

The upshot is that I have LOADS of beads to get rid of, as I just don't have time to make the jewels so much these days.

From my travels, I have picked up charms and beads at flea markets, vintage shops, thrift shops, yard sales, bead shops, the world wide.

Some pieces I can't recall where I got, but I have made a little list to describe as best as I can.

as always, the auction starts at 99 cents. CLICK HERE FOR THE EBAY LINK.

here's what's in this auction:

4 faceted Czech glass beads in citrine color

4 x faceted beads which i THINK are the gemstone citrine, but can't be sure.

6 x gold tone swallows (the cutest bird!) charms

1 x Very Old bejeweled cross that I bought in Prague eons ago. do not know ANYTHING about it, it's an oldie.

assorted gold tone chef/silverware charms

4 x little gold fish charms- very detailed!

4 x little fleur de lis charms

2 x hand-carved pyrite cross beads- *the money attractor!

2 green glass ribbon stripe beads

1 vintage super-sparkly gold sequin flower patch-**handsewn! (where in the @%$#? DID i get this?)

2 x the world's teeniest cowbell

2 x gold tone angel charms

6 x Nefertiti gold tone charms

2 x cat charms

1 x bag full of gold tone head pins

1 x bag full of little golden apple charms

1 x bag full of little goldtone moon charms

1 x bag full of little gold tone sun charms

1 x bag of Japanese glass seed beads in butterfly wing colors

1 x bag of Japanese glass bugle beads in iridescent purple/blue

1 x bag full of gold tone spacer beads

1 x bag of glass seed beads in the best pea-soup green

1 x bag of gold tone ear wires

a bigger photo:

Sorry overseas friends, I am only shipping in the United States, because I can't replace these if something happens in the post.

any questions, lay em on me.

I will work anything out with anyone, I am one of the ebay good guys!

PROCEEDS FROM THIS AUCTION WILL BENEFIT VALLEY OF THE KINGS where the mighty tigers Obie and Socrates live! A big cat sanctuary in Wisconsin. (*many other exotic animals live there too)

The VOTK always needs funds to keep up with the food supply, especially in wintertime...

items #49 - #51: Addams Family trade paperback from 1965 + Batman/Nightmare

been such a busy kitty, here's a little diamond catch-up.

Some people have been saying they don't want to deal with ebay or that they want to buy things right away- so I am trying this little experiment.

I am working on the new website, but the Neverwear site is still up and running. Let's utilize the Kitty's Treasures section, under "secret magic"...!

item #49:

Oh, how we love Charles Addams.

LOVE him.

one year for Neil's birthday, we gave him one of the Charles Addams New Yorker cartoon prints, the one where they are about to pour boiling oil down on the carolers, you know the one!

This is a trade paperback, something I have had since a little kid.

It's a first printing from 1965, not in pristine condition, because I read and re-read as a kitten!

I love the descriptions on the back cover.

My life for you, Gomez...I always felt like I was a Morticia.

I will throw in some scary lil' Neil trick-or-treating bookmarks by Sean Von Gorman.

BUY IT HERE.

items #50 and #51: two beloved 100% cotton tshirts here for the discriminating human.

official Warner Brothers Batman tshirt from the 90's, in a girly (slim cut) size large.

from Henry Selick's masterpiece: NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, a Sally tee, where she is surrounded by little glittery purple roses, also in girls size large.

BUY THESE TWO SHIRTS HERE.

I have also put up another of the Neil mugs on ebay, it's only at 99 cents-- Go get it, tiger.

item #48: 5 print ads from days gone by (1929-1961)

Paper is one of my weaknesses.

I collect print materials so quickly- That's why I do the glass candy bars, to justify the collecting...

I love print ads! The fonts, the choices that admakers use, I am fascinated.

MADMEN is my total jam, I always felt like I was born in the wrong era.

This "swallowing diamonds" is a small lot of 5 print ads:

1929: Frigidaire " cold control" i think they are still in business!

1929: Hamilton watch ad-- a thing of beauty, my sweet Dad has a Hamilton.

1929: Hoover vacuum ad-- definitely still in business, we own one. I love LOVE the idea of germs being as big as dragons...

1960: Met Life ad. (It looks like me buying cat litter...) "the light that never fails..."

1961: San Francisco tourist ad. A terrific watercolor by Dong Kingman (RIP, you fine artist) this is one of my favorites...

please excuse the crappy photos, the sun was setting, and I used my iPhone. request more if you like!

as always, my auctions start at 99 cents. CLICK HERE FOR THE AUCTION LINK.

They come in comic bags with board, they have seen some life, not pristine, meant to be enjoyed for the beauty of a much simpler time....

shipping in the US only, sorry, overseas buddies.

ps. as for the motorcycle tees, they got snapped right up, just need Rou to send me a mailing address for the Ducati!

items #45, 46, and 47: 3 free motorcycle tees

It was a busy week of live music and love hearts, Valentines mine.

we saw Michael Schenker tear up the House of Blues in LA and we watched the Swedes of Amon Amarth through a Viking mist. My ears are still a'ringing...

So it shall be a three-pack of diamonds thrown out in to the universe.

These are all in size youth large, 100% cotton, I used to LOVE to wear these. Had a bad motorcycle accident, had to relearn how to walk, in my kitten hood, so i just ride on the back now...

FREE to good homes, three good homes. Tell me which one you want- Go!

items #43 and #44: "concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT!"...FREE TICKETS.

playing catch up on hearts day.

this "swallowing diamonds" project has been so much fun and it's putting me in touch with humans I may never have had contact with.

this package, bursting with sticker-love, came to me from a previous winner on the blog- the lovely three-names Anthony.

even his choice of postage stamps: spot on!

a geniune moment that made me stop and hold my little red velvet heart in my hand... or as my British production manager used to say:

I got a tear in my glass eye.

So, I was remiss in posting yesterday, I was still in German guitar god heaven.

I got to spend a day on the Michael Schenker tour, he and his band of merry pirates played at House of Blues on Sunset. Epic evening. UFO has the ability to put me right back into my eighth grade room. Lights out in London!

Today's diamonds will be a pair of FREE tickets to see Back in Black, an AC/DC cover act, on Friday, Feb 28th.

AC/DC, I am such a Bon Scott girl. I do find myself humming "dirty deeds done dirt cheap.." far too often. (neckties...contracts...high voltage)

While in Australia, last year about this time, we went to the big AC/DC owned Cherry Bar, meow!

please only take these if you can use them. to win, tell me your favorite AC/DC song!

Reminder: ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT IN MY GIANT TOUR SWAG AUCTION. guitar picks, backstage passes, tshirts...

meanwhile, tonight, Husband is taking me to the very romantic oceanfront spot MOONSHADOWS in Malibu. (yes, the place where Mel Gibson had his meltdown...) May your hearts all be chocolate!

item 42: handstamped keyring (FREE to good home)

item #42:

my big Viking roadie HUSBAND bought me a stamping kit to start making personalized things, this one was a practice run, made by Drew--(he even test-stamped an innocent penny)

want the brass key ring?

tell us a good joke!

item #41: BIG COLLECTION o' guitar picks, passes & tshirts

i have been a roadie for over a decade. this is item #41 in my "swallowing diamonds" clean-out-treehouse project.

a collection of tour swag from several of my tours.

8 never-stuck-on-human backstage/working passes from:

8 guitar picks from Zombie, Cheap Trick, Megadeth, Godsmack. I especially LOVE the Universal monster one.

xox John 5 and Piggy D!

plus a bonus mystery yellow pick-- WORLD TOUR on front, *secret on back.

3 tshirts:

one from Zombie/Megadeth (this is surely a bootleg--as a merchandiser i hate bootleggers, not condoning in any way) 100% cotton XXL size.

one from TOOL 2007 from the great UPSTAGING trucking company this sadly doesn't fit my sad self. 100 % cotton in size small.

one from EAGLES tour 2005 a "girly" style tee, in size XL.

one concert ticket from one of my favorite tours EVER: Zombie/Slayer.

i love souvenirs. please give these good homes...

CLICK HERE FOR EBAY LINK.

If any artist I work with protests me selling this, i will remove. lord knows, i love & respect these people.

these are just things I have collected over the years, that I would like to sell to give money to my favorite tiger refuge, Valley of the Kings.

It's winter and they really need funds to keep the big cats warm and fed.

auction only offered in US of A-- sorry, too much $$ to ship overseas.

item #40: FREE TO GOOD HOME: a handmade red glitter magnet.

item #40:

Story of my life:

"Be scared and do it anyway."

if you are new to "swallowing diamonds", I've been making magnets and mirrors out of flood-damaged comics & printed materials for years. (now people send them in!)

They are for sale here on the Kitty's Treasures section of the soon-to-be-bye-bye Neverwear website.

The magnets and jewelry will go over to my Etsy page until I get the big website harnessed again.

To bring this to your home, tell me a story of something you were afraid of at first, and then did anyway. comment here or the Neverwear blog.

last night, I sold this beloved magnet to the lovely @cyndaelle:

a batch of 20 magnets are heading to ESCAPE POD COMICS in New York.

among the ones heading there?

and as a gift to Menachem (@escapepodcomics on twitter) I made this one:

Thanks for supporting the arts, and they are all under twenty bucks. affordable!

i was going to do guitar picks today as the diamonds, but Husband intervened, wait, I want that one, and that one, and...

so, maybe tomorrow--

item #39: new print LOTTERY WINNER announced.

two diamonds in one day, I'm getting ahead of myself for once...

Julia Grace was the first to respond and she won item #38- the free TRUE BLOOD books.

here is item #39:

I announced recently that one of the pre-sale purchasers for our new print would win a signed-by-Neil print in a lottery drawing.

we are in the treehouse now, happily embossing and rolling the I WILL WRITE IN WORDS OF FIRE Valentine prints with the glorious David Mack artwork and I drew the name of the winner just now.

A signed print will go to Miss Monica Rocha- a longtime Neverwear supporter.

I was happy to see her name in my little paw, she's been with us since the beginning of Neverwear.

Monica will get her choice of ANY of the prints in stock that Neil has already signed, OR she can wait and get her FIRE print signed by @Neilhimself when next I see our traveling author, maybe another month or so.

Monica, please let me know your choice: neverwear@gaiman.net

Thanks for all the support on this print, happy to be able write a nice check for the Gaiman Foundation, which you can(& should) follow on twitter HERE.

I will see Mister David Mack soon, and have him sign some of these beautiful new prints, it is a really different look, so much bigger and clearer, easier to read Neil's love letter that was etched on the skin of @Burtzor-

In related news, here is another beautiful tattoo of Neil's words, on the fair skin of Kate H, work done by Taylor Anne of Mystic Owl Tattoo.

tomorrow's diamond will be a cool ass collection of guitar picks...

item #38: three FREE books--TRUE BLOOD/Sookie Stackhouse series

item #38:

When I saw the first episode of HBO's TRUE BLOOD, I wasn't sold.

Still, part of my job is to keep current on popular culture and especially the new direction of television. I kept watching and soon, I got it. (although the last season really worked my nerves--)

My favorite character, of course, is Erik the Northman. (*last seen sunbathing in Sverige)

second runner up: Jason Stackhouse, I have giant respect for the Australian actor, Ryan Kwantan, who makes dumb look so delicious.

Oh wait, i LOVE Sam too.

Anyway, I was lucky enough to meet Charlaine Harris at World Fantasy, she was sweet as pie. I had nothing for her to sign at the time, so she signed Neil's panel name plate for me.

Offering these three books, I will pay the shipping *within the continental US of A. because I am nice.

first responder on the comments who wants them- gets them. (if you are overseas, i will need some $ postage)

item #37: a RARE tshirt from NEIL GAIMAN's 2005 ANANSI BOYS tour + more.

item #37: this is a vintage tee from the promotional tour Neil Gaiman did for his fabulous tale ANANSI BOYS. I say vintage because already! 2005 is NINE years ago!

ANANSI BOYS debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, I remember we were all screaming on my tour when we heard (i was out w/Motley Crue at the time)

It also went on to win a Locus Award and the British Fantasy award. (& probably more, but onward)

Now it is being made into a miniseries by RED Productions for the BBC

!!!

Ah, Fat Charlie and Mr. Nancy...my favorite will always be poor Tiger. Cannot WAIT to see who plays Graham Coates, that classic new-style scoundrel.

This tshirt is from the Toronto stop. It is 100% cotton in size unisex L, a fairly roomy L at that. NEVER BEEN WORN.

Also included in this auction:

a MP3 CD ROM of Lenny Henry narrating the book-- very delightfully, I might add.

a signed-by-Neil-Gaiman (in silver sharpie) ANANSI BOYS bookmark. If you haven't read the book, the lime may puzzle you.

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUCTION LINK.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS AUCTION WILL BENEFIT THE GAIMAN FOUNDATION.

Neil and his daughter Holly have established...wait, I'll let Neil's words from his recent journal entry do the talking:

The Gaiman Foundation is a small family foundation which supports freedom of speech, literacy and education causes, and generally does good. I'm planning to sign and auction off a LOT of rare and unlikely stuff from my attic and basement for the Gaiman Foundation over the next couple of years.

me again, as always, my auctions start at 99 cents.

The auctions mentioned above may have some reserves and higher starting points, because there will be some RARE gems coming up from Neil's secret laboratory.

Stay tuned and we will find out together.

ps. Neil's reading of GREEN EGGS AND HAM is fast approaching the 400,000 view mark-- what a doll he was to do this. WATCH IT HERE!

as ever, thanks for following my swallowing diamonds project...