Business Card. Done!

I finished this yesterday and I think I like that it's very simple. I am hoping he's going to like it as well. It has a stencil/airbrush feel to it and I actually incorporated one of my drawings into the design, which gives it more of an artsy feel to it and that's what he expressed that he wanted his new cards to look like. So there it is, minus the fake phone number, of course. ;-)

New business cards to make...so much fun!!

I am making a new business card for my hairstylist friend...and I really like the idea I have going so far. These are just the two subjects I have for the card and I am going to keep this one pretty simple, but I wanted to share it before it's all done!

News and more December Beauties!

I finally made my 20th sale! This was a sale that broke quite a long period of no sales for me so I was super excited when I looked on craftcult.com and noticed that it said there were 20 sales instead of 19. I had been battling in my mind over and over if my Etsy shop was stuck, or something. ;-) So I decided to give the buyer something extra special and put in a free pair of earrings, or a bracelet...and the buyer chose a pair of earrings, so I finished those a couple of minutes ago. Funny story about that was that the buyer wanted to make sure I was giving the earrings away for free and not trying to swindle him into an additional cost to what he had already purchased. He is a very nice customer...I love it when customers are awesome.

New things will be coming into my shop in the next few weeks...my art will be available along with all of my jewelry, so I am excited about that! So remember to keep an eye out for different items with my art on it within the next couple of months.


******

Time for more Christmas/December Goodness!

When I was in junior high, I was in a small choir and got to sing in The Nutcracker Ballet and it was one of the best and worst Christmas seasons of my life because I was in about 6 choirs all at once, but I also remember having so much fun when I wasn't stressed out. There was something really magical about getting to sing in that ballet and seeing all the dancers backstage....along with Tchaikovsky's awesome music.

So all these things from Etsy are inspired by that time in my life...I still love listening to the music every year.

I have loved Kirby's Etsy for a very long time, although I have yet to purchase from her shop (I will someday very soon!). Her work is simple and breathtaking to me.

"Sugar Plum Fairy" - Original Canvas Painting by Kirby




"Clara" - Original Canvas Painting by Kirby



The next seller I had found once when I was making a treasury and I fell in love with the soft and playful pieces in her shop.

"Amelia Takes a Stand" by The Voyagers


And my last find for today's entry brings to mind The Waltz of the Snowflakes...there's no other composer who can set the look and feel of winter and Christmas time like Tchaikovsky and these next photographers' photos capture me in the same way that his music does.


"Winter Crystals" by spirithelpers



"Pretty Little Things" by weberphoto



Now I am all anxious to go have a snow day in the mountains! Maybe I will take my nutcracker with me. ;-)

All Things Wintry...

I haven't blogged in a while and that's just not cool. It's cold in the room where I am sitting right now and I was looking through some old pics in my Photobucket and came across this:



It's a leaf that had landed on my sister's Volkswagon Beetle that had then froze in the middle of the night. I felt it just wasn't wintry enough so I changed it up a little bit with some editing...


So that brought me to my blog that I was already thinking about how there's just something about the winter time, granted that it can get miserably cold, I still love this time of the year. Even the sunsets have a sparkle to them that doesn't happen any other time of year. I was just listening to a band named Future of Forestry the other day while I was lying down on my bed and the sun was going down, and the music had bells and chimes in it. The wind was blowing outside and the sun was shining through my bamboo window coverings and there was this golden flickering light shining into my room. Moments like that never get old for me.

So I am going to be adding some wintry things in this blog all December long. Some things will be my own, but mostly it will be things that inspire me and just bring me to that place that awesome music does at times.

I really love this photo from this awesome photographer that I just found on Etsy. The colors in this photo are one of the reasons why I love winter time.

"Frost" by Nicolas Hermann:


So my blog isn't going to be so empty and sad anymore...I decided it was time to be disciplined and to also just have an online source to jot down things that will help me stay creative. Also, be paying attention to my shop this week. Not only will I be adding some new pieces, but I will be starting a special, so don't forget to visit me!

Poppies painting - Final product!

I have had this painting done for a while now, but have been super busy with my Etsy shop and family things at home, but I finally got to where I can sit down and blog about it. I am pretty happy about how everything turned out even though I went back and forth on it a few times as it is not quite how I usually paint, but it was fun and I hope that the person I am giving it to is going to like it. He does my hair so hopefully I can pay him back with something he is going to love!

A Returning to...

It's been way too long since I have picked up a brush (not counting the one that I use for my hair) and it felt so awesome to start painting again. I feel a tad rusty since I know it's been over a year since I have painted. I have been drawing more than painting and even stopped doing that for a while since I have had my Etsy shop going.

This painting is for a friend who does my hair and he loves poppies and nature, but right now, it's so far from where I want it to be. it looks very foreign and not my own thus far, but I know it will make its way to my own style...that happens a lot with my art. Each work transforms drastically from the beginning to the end, so I am on the right track, I guess. Ha.

I also tipped over my linseed oil, so that was a fun mess to clean up, but I managed to save a good amount. The photos will be much better when I blog about this painting again, which will be so very soon!

Discovered, Undiscovered...

I have ventured onto the Pounce section of Etsy so many times and I wanted to start recognizing Etsians who I happen to pounce on and love to death. So many new favorites have entered onto my list because of normal browsing, but recently, I have been loving just stumbling onto an Etsy shop and falling in love with the items, so I decided to start blogging once a week and feature one "Undiscovered" Etsy shop and one shop that "Just Sold" and I am pretty excited about those that I happened upon for my first entry!

Undiscovered:

The first shop I totally fell in love with was from New Zealand artist, Rosemary Mortimer. Her shop kiwibird1 ,is full of beautiful contrasts and rich colors in nature. I checked out the rest of what she had for sale and loved the wide range of work that she has. The item that was displayed as the main photo in Pounce that caught my eye was a card titled "Letters from the Past." It immediately caught my eye and I really loved how the vivid colors popped in front of the dark background.



Another piece I really love is titled "Coromandel Carving" and It reminded me a lot of the foothills in California. The realism is just awesome and I love how she added the sketches and Rosemary Mortimer goes into detail about that in her description.


So, if you have not checked out this awesome shop, please do!

http://www.kiwibird1.etsy.com

Just Sold

The next Etsian I stumbled upon was artist from NYC, stepanka, and her pottery is so very soft and delicate, and very unique with all the drawings and variety of objects she chooses for her ceramic pieces. I loved how the light passed through the numbers in her item titled "123 - Translucent porcelain cup." It's just fun and I thought of how awesome it would be as a gift for someone who loves numbers.


Then as I looked on inside of her shop, I found myself wanting to purchase many, if not all of the items she had in stock. From the items she calls "wall pillows" to her beautifully crafted mugs that could stand on their own as art pieces, I just really loved her juxtapositions in general. One of the wall pillows that I was most drawn to is titled "stepi - small porcelain wall pillow"

So if you love fun ceramic pieces, or just love art, definitely check out stepanka's shop!

http://www.stapanka.etsy.com

I am so very glad I pounced on these sellers and stay tuned for my next two shops that I will feature next week, it just might be you! :-D

Autumn's Treasures...

I fell in love with all these items so I figured I would share it in a blog entry. The cookies look almost too pretty to eat and I get lost in the photographs because they are so captivating and beautiful. It's so strange how there are so many things in the world, yet I can always be amazed at the beauty that is all around, and the fact that there is so much talent out there to portray that beauty. I am never bored and that's just awesome.

Click here to comment and click on the items, thanks!

Business cards all done! Yay!

I finally finished my new business cards so I am going to be purchasing them online very soon and handing them out to customers and around town. I am so excited and let me know what you think!

It feels so nice to retake photos of some of the items I added to my shop about two months ago. It really makes a difference and now I can actually show the true length of the necklace with the mannequin torso that I have had for a little while. :-)

I need to go to bed so very badly and sometimes I wonder if I am a little bit mentally unstable when it comes to disciplining myself to get to bed at a reasonable time. I will conquer it! I must!

I had my 4th sale yesterday (finally), woohoo!

So I had to go out and buy boxes tonight at Michaels since I haven't got my shipment of boxes yet, so I took advantage of that and did something a little different than the Natural Kraft jewelry boxes I will be using more, so it was fun!

So here it is....The Lucky Elephant is all ready to be shipped off to another land!

Why I Love Etsy!

I just received these beads in the mail from fivesisters and there are some sellers who I just think they must know what I like because the free gifts they give are super awesome and are usually something that I was going to already purchase myself. So this is an appreciation photo and for those who love beads, you may want to check her shop out!






I already started making some things with the beads I got from her shop so stay tuned on my Etsy shop for they will be showing up soon!

To list or not to list...

No more Shakespeare here, ha. I have been having some creating issues lately and I am sure it's mostly a product of many things going on all at once, but I am asking myself..to list these in my Etsy shop now, fix them and add them in a few days...or just take them apart and start all over?

This necklace either needs to have less leaves, or I think I may just need to disperse them on different layers..or something. I also couldn't decide if the leaf on the bottom looks better centered or off to the side...

Then I made these earrings and I kind of like them, but kinda not. It's just been one of those days, perhaps...Ha.


I definitely won't be using these photos for the earrings, that's for sure.

Catching Up...

So...I went to the coast last week and totally forgot to post some photos from the trip...

I went with my two awesome sisters and we just spent one day in Cambria...so pretty. We ate lunch at a picnic table and were surrounded by birds, squirrels, and more birds...

I call this guy Mr. Bitter-bird because he was angry that we were abiding by the laws of the coast management where the signs said "Do not feed the wildlife."


The squirrels were trying their best to get me and my sisters to bend the rules..."Please, feed me? You don't need to heed those signs...I am not capable of getting my own food...."*squirrel hides his grains that he gathered in his pocket*



The ever-original feet on sand photo:



The Cambria ocean water....it was so beautiful that day...and so windy...



This is what happens to my hair when I go to the coast, haha! Me and my sister, Kimberly getting wind burn...



Black and white photo of my sisters Stephanie and Kimberly at a restaurant in Cambria. I love this photo...they sure do love their Heinz 57 ketchup ;-).



I was getting so frustrated with my wind-destroyed hair that I just tucked it behind my ears and attempted to look pensive and in deep artsy thought. I am basically a total nerd.


So we came across a bunch of creepy men who were by themselves, got to walk around some really gorgeous parts of Cambria and saw Zebra next to grazing cattle as we drove past Hearst Castle and after all that I was ready to saw some logs. I can't wait for the next trip! Haha.




Oh yes, and I made a new bracelet, ha!


I think we are all caught up now, haha!

Inspiration...

I was going through some photos I took a few days ago and decided to create a treasury based off of the colors that are found in a Fortnight Lily flower. I really like the name of this flower and it's always been one of my favorite flowers to photograph.

Here's the link to the treasury:

Fortnight Lily Treasury

Today my first treasury dies, but I think a treasury monster has been created. If you missed it, here is a screen shot of it.


I also would have added this listing if I would have seen it. So awesome! Link to ModernHouseArt's listing

It was time...

...to start a blog for my art. So here it is! So much more to come!

Oh, and while you are waiting, have a look at my art website! http://www.flowerleaf.net