Bird Series Part 1 - Work in Progress.

I've been wanting to start a series on birds for quite some time now. I used to get easily annoyed with birds when I was younger....I am not sure why, but I think I felt like they didn't have much personality. I don't think I was really watching them and in the past several years, I have just been so amazed by how many different types of birds there are, and how many colors can be found in a single feather.

My first bird is one of my favorites and so I started on this peacock today and can't wait to really dig into all the layering! I realized the face of a peacock is pretty stern and contrasts with the rest of the free-flowing and beautiful colors of its plumage, but I think their fierce eyes make them that much more appealing.

I seem to always start off with a very bright background, but who knows where this thing's gonna go...

....so stay tuned. :-D

artbellasurplus - Right out of the bag...into my home!

I LOVE pretty much all the sellers I buy from on Etsy, but sometimes, there are just shops that carry some of the most beautiful beads and have the most beautiful photos of their items that I am forced to feature them on here. That's right...forced. My eyes and my fingers took me over to my camera to take shots of the beads right out of the package and onto my window sill. So after I post my photos of these gorgeous beads, I will post the even more gorgeous photos that this seller takes of her "pretties."




The seller's shop is called artbellasurplus and not only is she super sweet, writing super nice notes on her invoice with a purple ink pen, but she delivered her package so very quickly. The colors and cuts she chooses to stock in her store capture my heart and I want to buy from her as long as her shop is open!

So here are a few of my favorite shots she has taken of her items:


So, I definitely can't wait to make pieces with these beads and I actually want to run over there and buy some more from her already...for I noticed she added new items, ha! So if you love beads, go check her out! You won't be sorry.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artebellasurplus

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.


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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!