Western Wallop? Where do they come up with these names?

So today was pretty awesome and the Weather Channel has predicted that the western part of the U.S. is going to be hit with 4 more rainy and snowy weather systems this week..all the way up until Friday....hence the name "Western Wallop." I welcome it...love the rain and all the awesome clouds they bring.

The day started off with off and on clouds and the sun finally peeked through the clouds for a bit, which brought on the dark and stormy awesomeness. I snapped a picture of some really awesome birds in one of the naked trees in my backyard. They are such cute birds...I love them.

There may be a snake in my pool...but it also might just be the Creepy Crawly...haha.
So many awesome clouds today. It was gorgeous!

We actually had a tornado warning today, which is very very rare for this part of California. It was kinda creepy, but they canceled the warning after a half hour.
Four more days of the totally awesome wet and stormy weather, I hope!

One I want to mount on a wall...

Sometimes I really love the treasuries I put together, but there are other times I love them so much that I want to make the treasury poster size and put it up on my wall because it makes me smile. This treasury just really has me smiling. Maybe it's because the fishies are all so cute...or maybe it's because kukubee's "Sushi Lovers Zipper Pouch" has smiling sushi all over it. Perhaps it is "Jr. Happy Fish's" gargantuan smile that reveals his gold tooth...or maybe the "Star Kitty" cat that managed to sneak in to maybe get a bite of his own? There's just so much in this one that I love it enough to write a paragraph about it. All the items tell a story and I think that's why I am so very fond of the curation of these items. Yup. :-)

Link to the treasury:

Somethin' Smells a little fishy...

Check out the artists' shops featured in this treasury (because they are all awesome!) :

bubbletime
EmyLewis
marmar
VLeeArt
kukubee
NYILLUSTRATION
RuthBleakley
bypuck
partybots
artisansworkbench
krize
CreaShines

Workspace at Night...

I was getting two packages done last night and got bored when I was all done, so I decided to take some pics of the area I work in and how it's lit up at night...

I thought I would edit the photos a little, but I didn't do much to the photos at all. Some day I will figure out how to take night photos with the camera I have right now, but for the meantime, this will have to do. My sister did this backdrop for a church event once and we thought it would be a shame to take it apart, so we put this long felt curtain that has lights stitched up on one of the walls, so it's like having stars indoors...and I love it.



I liked how these were all just sitting on top of the VCR...and so I made them look more painterly. I might be using these for a new banner soon.



....I was going to vent in my blog, but it's not even worth it. People fail and it's not always on purpose and I have my moments also. That's all I will say.

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!