LadyBirdLand!

Moving Day!

2008-06-29T17:32:00.002-04:00

I'm now officially bloggin on my brand new yay it's working website! Join me there, won't you?

Vacation!

2008-06-17T09:05:00.002-04:00

I'm off to Merry Ol' Scotland! And Wales! And England! Yay! I'm bringing my trusty iphone, so I'll check in on emails every once in a while. But not too much, right? See you all July 1st!

Father's Day present!

2008-06-16T10:21:00.004-04:00

I made this for Lloyd for Father's Day! Yay! It is the biggest painting I've ever done - I think 4 feet by 2 1/2 or so. I learned a lot from doing it . . . about adding a horizon line, about sketching out the layout first, and about working from the background to the foreground. Lloyd really and truly got it and loves it! Lucky me! We all have really tiny feet (says the stream of consciousness girl).

cute little states!

2008-06-14T17:13:00.003-04:00

In doing my website, Heather made a list of states that carry my work, and the stores therein (fancy word). But it was kinda boring looking, so I made little states, and Heather will add them in for the thrill of it all. See if you can guess some of these:

You thought I died, didn'tcha?

2008-06-10T17:48:00.003-04:00

Here I am! Just working my little fingers to the nubbins, I am! Did that sound British? 'cause I'm taking my little family to England next Tuesday, so I need to work on my accent!

And guess what! My website is an inch and a half away from being done! Yippers! Then I will take my non-blogging self over to allisonstrine.com to do my daily non blog. Ha!

DixieLand in LadyBirdLand!

2008-05-19T14:25:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth's birthday was last week, and after the success of Lisa's picture, I knew I had to do a portrait of Dixie. And here it is! It was SO FUN to do that I'm going to start offering commissions for people's dogs on my Etsy site. I've never done a commission before, but I can imagine how fun it will be!

OOOOH! A PRIZE!!

2008-05-18T20:39:00.003-04:00

Tonight we had our first family dinner by the new backyard, and LOOK what we found!! I must have scared the momma as I walked within one inch of her without knowing! When we looked at the nest, we could see one of the eggs on the ground. I don't know if it had just fallen that second as the mom ran away, or if it had been on the ground a while. Olivia got a leaf and carefully cradled the egg in it, then moved the egg - careful, careful! - into the nest. So cool! Picture forthcoming!

I want this...

2008-05-17T11:11:00.003-04:00

My family thinks I'm distinctly odd for this one, but omgoshIwantthisdeerhead!!

It's so cool, but will I get disowned for having it? And where would it best fit...

May 13th...

2008-05-14T10:15:00.007-04:00

Ooh, I keep thinking it's only been a day or two since I last blogged, and then... it's a week!

Where to begin, where to begin... I have a guinea pig on my lap - is that interesting? Little Lilly, Olivia's guinea pig is currently sitting (on a towel 'cause guinea pigs pee a TON) and eating carrot sniblets.

What else... we redid our backyard this spring, and now I want to cram it full of yard art! The funkier the better! I bought a few wonderful flowers from Coffee Pot People. This one is my favorite:

But I love them all, and will post a photo of them in situ later!

Oh, one of my favorite artists is Dolan Geiman. I bought this piece a while back

and I love it! So when the Dolan Geiman newsletter came out, offering a prize for showing your DG piece in its setting, I acted like I wanted to be the 107th caller on the radio station. I RAN RAN RAN to my camera and took a picture of the birdie on my green garage door!! I hope I win I hope I win I hope I win! (As an aside, go to Dolan's flickr site if you want to see some horrid photos of his art fair booth in disarray. I guess there was a massive storm and it ruined everything. So sad...)

Painting!!

2008-05-06T21:30:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend it was Lisa's birthday. Her dogs, Zachie and Hazel are the shipping helpers and the doggie backbones of the entire LadyBirdLand Factory. On MY birthday, Lisa gave me a very very cool hanging Robot dude, made of license plates, and wood, with vintage salad tongs for arms. So that meant I knew it would be groovy for me to make a present for Lisa! Soo.... here it is, in all its doggie glory! Ladies and other ladies, presenting, Zachie and Hazel!

I got a ridiculous amount of pleasure from making this... for some reason seeing those little doggie faces staring back and me while I matte mediumed them down just made me giddily gleeful... yay for dog art!

Sunday Sunday!

2008-05-04T10:22:00.002-04:00

Oooh! Check out this site:
Seven Dogs and a Baby!

They're running a Mother's Day contest - hope someone I know wins!

Quote me a quote!

2008-05-03T11:36:00.003-04:00

What's your favorite quote? I'm running a contest on my newsletter (opt in to get yours) about quotes. Here's my fave quote today:

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.
Maya Angelou

What's your quote of the day?

April 29

2008-04-29T19:56:00.006-04:00

Wow... April's almost over, and then May and then school's out and less art for two months! Yikes and Wow! I can't believe how fast things are flying...

I've been painting more - once or twice a week with Liz. Just finished this girl:

At least I think she's finished. Last night at dinner I asked the kids what they thought of the painting. Olivia thought she needed something on her tummy, and Ethan wanted to know how I was going to scan it ('cause it's 16 x 20, instead of my more usual 9 x12 or 6 x 6).

I love her colors, and her background texture, which is a departure from the usual style. Duct tape to the rescue!

In other news, I'm thrilled to welcome a couple of new retail shops to LadyBirdLand. DabberDoo is located in a trendy area of Atlanta called Virginia Highlands. I used to hang around in the Highlands for years, and in fact met my dh there. I remember saying, "He can come visit me in town, 'cause I am NOT going all the way to the suburbs!!" Fast forward 15 years or so, and I've been comfortably ensconced in Suburbia for a while. Oh, the shame. Well, I guess now I have an excuse to get back down there. If you're ever in the area, stop in and say 'hi' for me, willya?

Let's save another shop for tomorrow, or the excitement will be too heady!!

Sunday morning...

2008-04-27T08:18:00.002-04:00

Aww.... I had a bunch of things in my head that I wanted to post about, and now they're all gone! I need ginko biloba or whatever that medicine is for people with tiny memories...oh, yeah, ART.

Here's my big struggle: I really really REALLY want to make a good 'Friends' saying. When I go back and look through my earliest pages of sayings, the friends ones are there, incomplete but there from almost two years ago! Here's the conundrum - it's all about the pronouns. If I want to give my friend a pendant, then who is the "She"? Here are some of the ones I've been thinking of...and the only way to get around the 'she' ness is to avoid it, I think.

friends til the end

they finish each other's sentences

they will always be friends

two friends for ever

their circle of friends is a straight line

best friend is her middle name

all time bestest friends

their friendship is 14 miles long

she's a very special friend

she's a true blue me and you friend

she dares to be the best friend

she's her bestest friend in the whole world

she loves her crazy happy delicious friend (ship)

she is the mint jelly on the peanut butter of their friendship

HOW can I get around this (insert dramatic pause here)?

Friday!

2008-04-25T20:00:00.002-04:00

Yay! Today was a brilliant day! I'm practicing my British accent - brilliant!

First, I went to Elizabeth's house and we painted and painted and painted! It feels so good to paint.. I tried a new background technique featuring duct tape. Yummy - turquoise and duct tape! I'll post pictures soon.. like Monday, when I go back to E's.

Thursday!

2008-04-24T20:10:00.003-04:00

I just discovered an amazing woman, Brene Brown.She visited my shop, and when she emailed me, of course I clicked on her siggy. It took me to her site, where I I became instantly mesmerized. I ignored my seven year old's morning needs (yes, honey, you look fine in gym shorts and a button down shirt), didn't unload the dishwasher, and barely tasted my own breakfast, and forgot about my coffee, all because Brene. She just seems to know me, and I loved this article especially. Her blog, Ordinary Courage is inspirational. Can't wait for my book to arrive!

April 23

2008-04-23T16:45:00.003-04:00

Yay! It's another fun day in LadyBird Land! (hmmm... LadyBirdLand... I like it, I like it...) Now there's a new way to get your LadyBird jones... it's a GRAMMY pendant and print! And the fun thing is that it can be personalized for your Nana, or Grammy, or Grandma or Bubbie or Nannie or... so far I've had all of the above, and can't wait to see what comes next. Plus you can personalize the number of baby birdies... so far six has been the most I've put on... Check it out!

Here's the print:

and here's the pendant!

Happiness is...

2008-04-22T16:20:00.006-04:00

a happy day! It has been so busy lately... lots of packing and shipping for Lisa, and a new LadyBird for me! I had made this little running birdie here: (well, you can't see it now 'cause blogger is being silly, but it's right here. Anyhoo, I had made her a month or so ago, and was waiting and waiting for the right saying to come along, and then sweet Sandra suggested "She Runs Like a Girl" (not knowing about this running birdie). And voy-la! as we french like to say, a pendant was born!

Also, I'm thrilled to welcome LynLivy's Arthouseto the world of LadyBirds! This store sounds totally amazing. It's run by a mom named Stacey, and here's a bit of her tres cool story:

LynLivy’s Story and vision
After being home with my 2 daughters for 7 years, I finally decided it was time to get back to work. But with a young family to care for, I wanted something that would allow me to be close to them and still make a difference thru our beliefs and vision. With many years of retail management experience, a huge desire to create, an artsy childhood, lots of crafty friends, 16 glittery girl scouts, and 2 very silly clever crafty kids - an ArtHouse seemed the only logical solution!

I'm excited to be a part of Stacey's vision... the store opens May 3rd in San Antonio, Texas, so if you live nearby, stop in and say 'hi'!

Yay!

2008-04-19T10:10:00.005-04:00

Oh, so much has happened this week! It's been a funderful wonderful week! Where to begin, where to begin... well, if you live in the Long Grove Illinois area, you can now walk on over to Artist @ Heart to pick up your LadyBirds in person! As it should be, huh?

Let's see... oooh! I'm in a book! Rubbish, the best titled book I've seen in a long time...

See the little license plate charm up on the right - that's me! The book is actually a RIOT... I did not know the author, Kate Shoup before hooking up with her for this project, but she is absofreakinlutely hysterical in print. (Or, I'm easily amused.) I giggled at her topic headings, like "What a Tool" for the supplies section, and "Forage For Storage" for another. Okay, I am easily amused - but there's plenty of funnier stuff in there, I promise!

What else... we're planning our trip to England this June, and I'm totally wanting to find little wacky out of the way artsy fartsy stores to spend my pounds on - only 1000 american dollars buys a whole British pound - yay! (insert sarcasm there...) If you know of any shops, or cool artists who might know shops, post 'em here - we're traveling in a big circle - London - Cambridge - Edinburgh - Wales - Heart of England, and so on, so there's got to be great British art shops in all those places!

Elizabeth's Going to Be in a Book!

2008-04-05T14:04:00.002-04:00

I remember a long long linkety long time ago Elizabeth told me about a lady whose stepfather had died 37 days after being diagnosed with cancer, and how the lady started a really cool blog.

Now it turns out that lady has a book coming out and E's art is going to be in it!!! Yippers!!!

2008-04-03T22:12:00.004-04:00

Finally, inally, eyenally! I signed up with Register.com for a domain name in November of 2006. Then I couldn't find someone to design my website. Then I found someone but she wasn't available until Feb of 07 and I didn't want to wait that long. Mind you, I'm still spending money every month with Register.com for my non existent website. Fast forwrad - Jan, Feb, Mar 07...June July Aug 07... Jan Feb March 08! Still no website, and I was lucky enough to have been re-upped for my yearly contract with Register because I didn't know I needed to cancel. Out of sight out of mind. And TODAY. Yes, today is a historic day (not 'an historic' - that really irritates me), because Heather, my oh-my-stinkin-heck web designer, has begun to design!! Yippers to the moon and back!

I dare you. Go ahead. Try clicking on this! You won't find any Register.com holding page here!!!

The Shipping Department

2008-04-02T11:22:00.009-04:00

My helper Lisa has two dogs, Zachie and Hazel. And I have one dog, Cleo. Lisa works in the basement, and I work upstairs. So that's a lot of stairs to climb, huh? Enter The Doggie Solution! I got the Outward Hound doggie pack, and now the dogs can bring packages back and forth. It's seamless! Except Hazel seems exhausted by the prospect of carrying one little package, and what am I going to do for the heavy loads? hee hee...

Love Is A Little One to Call Her Own . . . a pendant for mommies . . . or mother's day . . . or lovebird lovers . . .

2008-03-26T08:54:00.002-04:00

A couple of days ago I saw a mom n baby at the restaurant. The mom was just drooling with love over every move the baby made, and it made me remember those early days with Olivia, the way I'd tote her around in the Baby Bjorn, proudly expecting others to see the perfection that was my child. I'd modestly accept compliments, taking full credit for her perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfectly perfect baby-ness. I even remember telephoning my mom, shrieking with excitement just because she'd rolled over! What an amazing baby! What intelligence, what strength of character, what moral fiber my baby was showing! (Of course, over the good things it was always 'my' baby, and for the poops and stuff she was 'the' baby, or 'Lloyd's' baby...)

I love that kind of love. I still have it, but it changes when your baby is ten, going on fifteen. How bout you - do you have a baby?

Lots n lots to do...

2008-03-25T16:26:00.004-04:00

This is why I get stuck blogging...do I write about business, do I write about art, do I write about new customers.... whee whooo wheee whoooo (that's me breathing deeply)...

Okay, I'll write about a magazine that I love... Art and Life. Teesha Moore has long been a respected inspiration for me, both for the way she does her art with vim and vigor and zest for life, and the way she actually runs a successful business - retreats (oh, I so wish there was one near me), and publications and teaching etc etc etc. Love that girl!

A couple of more pieces...

2008-03-19T10:53:00.004-04:00

I just listed this new lady...she's the pie faced girl - that's what I call her. Her background in real life is kinda brown, so I used photoshop to cut her out and put her on a pretty background. Now she knows the world is beautiful!

Yay for ARTChix Studio!

2008-03-12T14:19:00.002-04:00

A good thing happened! I thought it might be fun to put some of my art into collage sheets, so that ACEO artists and other artists can play and have fun with LadyBirds and sayings. So, I figured, why not collaborate with the best in the business for collage supplies, ARTChix Studios! I worked with Helga to create a collection of images and sayings, and here they be! I need to decide whether I want to sell collage sheets in my Etsy shop - I have tons of ultra cool backgrounds that would be great for artists. Here's a picture!

Who Says She Wants To Fit In?

2008-03-10T20:57:00.002-04:00

Yay, today lots of things came in the mail, some more interesting than others... cardstock and envelopes to make greeting cards - boring... magnets for my newest sayings - exciting!

Yippee... I love the way they came out!

Should I stay or should I go now...

2008-03-09T08:41:00.002-04:00

Well, anyone who's received an email from me can see that I removed the blogline from my siggy... the shame of not keeping up with my blog go to me!

But I don't want to be a quitter.. so my goal for March is to blog twice a week! That's a big goal for me...

Okay, what to write about...that's always the problem... and who in the world is going to read this...another problem...

Let's start with the easy stuff... Yesterday I finished packaging up ONE HUNDRED beautiful handmade gift cards for a retailer in California. I thought it would be boring to do, but I ended up doing the whole order myself. Normally Lisa does all the orders, but I had time, and she wasn't here, and I shocked myself by how fun it was to stamp the back of the cards with my logo, and trim the images with my NEW trimmer blade (I have this amazing Genesis printer from the scrapbook days, but never replaced the blade before...), and adhere them to the cards JUST right, and score, and fold, and add envies, and slip into cello, and tear off the cello seal... phew!! I definitely don't make money on these cards! But I loved thinking of some Callifornia ladies laughing and connecting with the work... that's such a joy... I should have taken a picture, but hey, at least I'm blogging again!

the ART OF THE day...

2007-11-30T10:02:00.000-05:00

Yay o joy o yay! I painted with Elizabeth this week! Two times! It can be so hard to find time to fit the creating part in with the business-ey part, and I had some canvases that had backgrounds all ready for me to do... I wanted to do faces - ladies, in fact... so I did this girl, and called her Persephone:

Then Liz challenged me to do a whole alphabet series of these girls, and I accepted the challenge! Did she throw down the gauntlet? Or lay down a gauntlet? Something like that... anyhoo, I immediately changed her name to Apersephone, and she shall be the first in my new series. I'm so happy - now I need to buy a bunch of 8 x 8 canvases - and Jerry's didn't have any!

I don't know if I'll call the series ABCDLadies?, or maybe MNOLadies... or maybe....something I haven't figured out yet!

ThE ART OF THE day...

2007-11-17T10:42:00.000-05:00

today the art of the day is making a couple of personal pieces for people... I made a bat mitzvah pendant for the temple in Sandy Springs... hope they like it. The birdie I used is called Rocket girl - 'cause I think her little feet look like she's shooting off into the air!

THE ART OF THE day...

2007-11-10T09:41:00.001-05:00

Today the art of the day was realizing that I needed to stop making certain sayings, so I can free my brain up to make new ones. That's going to be the best way to get rid of a creative block, methinks... so I sent out a note to my lovely retailers, and another note to my lovely customers, and now I already feel FREE to make new art! I can't wait ti the old ones are sold out - I'm going to put them in their own spot on my table...

the art of the day...

2007-11-06T06:58:00.000-05:00

Today the art of the day is this parrot on a turquoise background. I couldn't figure out what she was saying for the longest time, then finally I must have channelled a little Dr. Seuss, 'cause I came up with this:

the art of the day...

2007-11-05T15:28:00.001-05:00

today the art of the day is making a breast cancer birdie....the profits will all be donated to the breast cancer foundation, of course. It was so hard to make a birdie that I thought would be good enough for anyone to wear... here's what she came out like:

the funniest video I've ever watched twelve times in a row...

2007-10-31T07:45:00.000-04:00

the art of the day...

2007-10-29T13:57:00.001-04:00

today the art of the day is mostly answering emails, shipping orders and unpacking from marist. A lot of people went for magnets - so many that I already had to place a new order for about a dozen designs. The Mary magnet sold out right away (She's Gonna Make It After All), and almost all of the Universe, Miracles and Worth Its sold. This is what one side of my booth looked like... a telescoping table, with a board over trash cans for the riser in the back, all covered with sheets!

the art of the day...

2007-10-25T14:20:00.001-04:00

Today was printing out prints... I love love LOVE my printer! Even if it does hog up more ink than would fill a bathtub... I'm going to have a nice neat set up at Marist - a print, a magnet and a pendant for each item...

the art of the day...

2007-10-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

today the art of the day is wrapping up final stuff to get ready for Marist...also sending a sample to a lovely store in Michigan, and sending a bunch of key rings to uncommon goods (yay! to get that done!) and soldering and maybe coming up with a saying for this pair of birdies:

I will be a good blogger!

2007-10-20T09:57:00.000-04:00

I will I will I will! I went to Liz's yesterday and finished up five birdies. Here's one of them:

My favorite martian

2007-10-17T03:52:00.000-04:00

i mean magnet... I'm just killing time while two new magnets upload...la la la la la....I do love this one...

october 11

2007-10-11T05:48:00.000-04:00

it's my mom's birthday - hmmm...is the gift on its way, or is it still in the library with me?
Yesterday was shipping a TON and a half of Uncommon Goods license plate key rings, and packing up a package to go to a new store in Pennsylvania, and packing up another to go to Yakima, Washington. Today will be designing a saying for this little new birdie- yay!

The Norcross Art Fest

2007-10-10T07:08:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy that the bloggage has fallen way down on the list of importance... I love that there have been so many new customers, and am trying to reorganize so I'm soldering less and blogging more!

Here's a pic of my bestest friend Elizabeth and me at the Norcross ARt Fest = we had A BLAST!! And that Mona Lisa Map Girl on the bottom right is now at my house - thanks Liz!

ooh, artist alert!

2007-09-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

Look at this artist! I love her, even though she's French and I can't understand a word she says! Her name is Angele Riguidel

http://www.angele-riguidel.com/

I think I'm going to have a busy fall...

2007-09-06T22:32:00.000-04:00

Today two of my lovely retail customers ordered what amounts to about 150 pendants between the two stores. And these are two not-huge shops!! Something tells me I'm going to have a busy holiday season this year! It makes me so happy to think of people all over enjoying LadyBirds...

I love this artist!

2007-09-06T10:51:00.000-04:00

I bought one of his pieces at Christopher Park Gallery and I Lurve it! I love it I love it! Then Lynn shared this image with me, from one of his shows, and now I want another one!! I just love the use of vintage rulers, the pencils for wings slay me, and the keyhole eyes are brilliant!

'nuther stamp!!

2007-08-30T13:10:00.001-04:00

I made this one to have for sending prints and cards...think the postman will read it?

2007-08-28T10:14:00.000-04:00

My new rubber stamp! It'll go on the packages that I send with reused packaging materials. I'm a good recycler!

Witchy woman...

2007-08-26T21:10:00.000-04:00

she's got the moon in her eyyyeeeeees...

Yay - did a new pendant this weekend....she's a witch, for Halloween⁄

Oh the shame!

2007-08-23T14:51:00.001-04:00

Oh my gracious! It has been an amazingly busy week of art! Many thanks to many peeps who visited my etsy shop last friday for a big blowout sale. Just about all of your treasures are packed and shipped, and I look forward to next year's sale!

Picked up a whole slew of loverly new retailers in Alaska, Arizona, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Illinois. I can't wait to ship all of their wholesale orders! Or I should say, I can't wait til they're all shipped! Yay - that's a GOOOOOD feeling!

Just redid the license plate and key ring tags...they're coming in a couple of days, so they can be used for the next batch of orders. I like them muchly (my new word) , 'cause they're bright and pretty! They're business cards, front and back, and when I cut them down the middle and punch a cute hole in the top corner, they'll be ready to attach to charms n key rings!

Wednesday!

2007-08-15T09:54:00.000-04:00

Great quote of the day...

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy,
and exclaim or murmur or think at some point,
'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"

~Kurt Vonnegut

This is nice! Well... kids are at school - we're starting the rhythm of autumn again...I had a record FIVE new wholesale customers yesterday - from Massachusetts to Alaska... so exciting, and I'm hoping to find another crafty mom to help out...

Here's the newest - Instant Carma! I'm so excited about these... originally they were being made with glass cubes from China, but I had to have them specially made from a glass artist, and they're better now! Much clearer, and a tiny bit bigger... I love mine!

First day of school and it's time for ART!

2007-08-13T10:16:00.000-04:00

Wow wow wow. I have a first grader. I know - everyone has a first grader but mine is still a baby. He didn't need me to walk him in today either. And a fourth grader! Sheesh - aren't fourth graders old?

Anyhoo, now it's time for LadyBirds and License Plates! Here's my newest love... She Loves To Fly and it Shows

Today I'm packing up some wholesale orders, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lisa on Wednesday to take over this part of the job. She calls my house "The Factory" in (un)intentional reference to Warhol? hee hee

I just decided to do a book. One of those little tiny books that you see at the register on the way out of Barnes and Noble. While we were in Seattle I thought of it, and copied down the names of all the little book publishers. So now, I plan to do one thing a day toward getting a little book made. I can just see it - Ladybirds on the left page, saying on the right..

So, today's thing is....(drumroll)... spend fifteen minutes working on a proposal to send to the tiny little people working on the tiny little books. Ready....GO!

Whirlwind and a half!

2007-08-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

Oh my gracious! Not a lot of art for the past two days...at the last second my mom needed company in Boston at a party she was going to at the Museum of Science. Here's the short version: my brother Bradley was killed in a bicycle accident 25 years ago, and my parents gave his insurance money to the Museum of Science, where he had enjoyed volunteering in the Planetarium. The money was set up for an internship program, and we all kind of forgot about it. I guess they have brought on some new organizerish people at the MOS, 'cause my mom got an invitation for a party to celebrate the end of the interns' summer at the museum. Turns out the internship program has turned into an enormously successful thing, with over 250 interns each year from colleges all over the country. The interns have gone on to do some amazing things, especially the astro physics major Dani, who turned her internship into a full time position at the Museum's Planetarium. Did I mention she's smart?

So I flew up yesterday, waking up at 4:30 am, and got stuck at the airport for the return. Airtran blamed it on the weather in Philly, but I blame it on Airtran. They aaalmost cancelled the return flight, which would have meant me being stranded in Boston at 11:30 at night. I would have had to buy a ticket on another airline, 'cause Airtran said that all they'd do is put me on a Monday flight, their first available. I'm not loving Airtran right now!

Today was family, and horse camp for Olivia, and packing up a couple of Etsy orders, and some wholesale orders, and sending them off. One to Australia, and one to England, too!

unbefreakinlievable

2007-08-06T15:01:00.001-04:00

I knew it was coming...didn't think it would hit me, but ohmygosh I just sold my 1000th thing on Etsy. Pretty much to the day it's been one year since I started listing. Let's see... before Etsy (after my scrapbooking career) I was a meandering, wandering artistwannabe, and now I've actually got a purpose to my art, and I know that I've truly touched people (still can't get over that one), and I'm just so thankful and BLESSED!!

I'm Back!

2007-08-05T14:19:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, vacation is over! And Washington was amazing - best vacation ever! I journey journaled with Olivia the whole time...what's journey journaling, you ask? Well, look here to find out! This is where Elizabeth and I share some of our favorite journey journaling stories. Good stuff.

Oh, how pitiful!

2007-07-24T09:52:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged! We're leaving for our vacation in sunny Washington, where the mountains are high and internet access is sporadic. My final act of art was making this page for a collaborative calendar.

Here's my page - it's my birthday!

A good shipping day, I think...

2007-07-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

Today I finished packing up a mongo huge Uncommon Goods order, and I even signed up online with UPS to come pick up the package. Oooh, technology. They haven't come yet, though... am I worried? What can brown do for me? Yikes!

And I made this pendant:

On the back it says, "She Should Have Gone To Charm School." I don't know if anyone else should have gone to charm school, so who knows if this one will sell, but I do like that birdie with the McKenzie Childs hat! That kind of birdie is called a rollerbirdie, if official parlance...

Hmmmm... wonder if UPS is here yet?

How rich would I have to be...

2007-07-17T22:49:00.001-04:00

to justify spending 307 dollars plus shipping on a handbag? For a long time now (well, long for my tiny little brain) I've been searching the web - mostly Etsy - for the perfect new backpack/handbag to make me smile and fit me juuuuust right. Finally I googled 'recycled handbag' and found THIS!! I love love love these bags - but I don't think I'd ever spend that kind of money! Ooh, maybe I could justify it if I was in England. Yeah, that's it...I'll save on shipping! So I'll go to Cornwall and THEN it would be worth it, 'cause then it would be only 150 bucks. Even if the bucks were pounds...

My favorite part of the website is when they say:

Addicted to fabrics, colours & textures? Not grown up enough for a real handbag?
Pockets not big enough anymore? Still six years old at heart?
If you answered yes to any of the above, read on!

I answer yes to all of the above!!

oh. the website. yes, indeedy - she's going to be my new best friend - Karen from http://www.smarttart.co.uk

sweetness!

2007-07-17T11:34:00.000-04:00

Sylvia recently bought one of my pendants, and this is the photo she took of it. Very creative and cool - thanks, girl!

Oh mY Goodness!

2007-07-16T08:18:00.000-04:00

Wow - it feels like forevah since I was last here... and forever since I last did art... We got back late from our various and sundry family visits, and Olivia got strep throat, so we couldn't go to Chattanooga for an overnight mini trip. (The fact that I'd left it too late to book a hotel and there was nothing available across from the ball park had nothing to do with us not going, luckily...)

Since we ended up with a sick kid and other tired people, we hung out the whole weekend in the den...didn't even leave the house on Saturday. Lloyd watched his TEaching Company tapes on biology (he's a scary smart boy) and Olivia and E read and watched movies, and I soldered and packed up orders and soldered and cut license plates and packed up orders. My trusty helper Carol has abandoned me - well, not quite abandoned, more like taking over a HUUUUUGE Christmas order of license plate charms and another special item, so I need a new helper. Any ideas?

It feels so good to have four wholesale orders all packaged up and ready to go, and all my etsy orders are in the mail except one to Australia and one to Canada. Those will go to the post office today - paypal doesn't do foreign mail. So now, all I have is a couple of Uncommon Goods orders, and then I can play art!

Three Cups of Tea

2007-07-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

I'm back from vacation - we went to see my sister Jen and her family in New Hampshire. It was lovely lovely lovely and thought provoking, as always. On the way home I became immersed in an incredible tale of what one person can do to effect change in the world. The book, Three Cups of Tea, is about a guy who makes a promise to bring a school to a hidden tribe of people in Pakistan.

"Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson's dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it's proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world."
-Tom Brokaw

I came away with the thought that even I can bring good to the world, one small act of kindness at a time.

I'm on vacation!

2007-07-03T08:50:00.000-04:00

Since this is an art blog, and I haven't done art for *shudder* three whole days, there have been no posts. However, shopping for art must count, right? And now I'm sitting at my sister Jen's computer, in her sewing room in NH, behind her HUGE quilting machine thing that looks like it belongs in an Asian sweatshop, surfing the Etsynet. I found a gas tank assemblage piece that I love! But since I'm on Jen's computer I need to make sure it's okay if I save the image to her disk (it's her work computer)... more later!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Kickass

2007-06-28T08:06:00.000-04:00

My sister RAchel is the sweetest girl... she has a cooking business and she's very good to her customers... they think she's gentle and meek and a doll... but then... VROOOM VROOM!! After work she puts on motorcycle leathers and goes tooling around the countryside on her big fat BMW cycle! So there! She must be a tough chick, right? Well, I contend that we all have depths, and many of us are sugar and spice in one aspect of our lives, and everything kickass in another. I have a friend who is the NICEST person in car pool, and she also runs marathons. You tell me she's not kickass!

How 'bout you? Does this saying fit anyone you know?

Happy Happy Wednesday

2007-06-27T18:56:00.000-04:00

Here's another new birdie..."I will" is her name... oh, maybe her name is Wilma? Yay - Wilma! I think the saying on the back of the pendant will be "She Will". Will what? Will think before she opens her big mouth, will hug first, will smile more, will bring more joy to the world. She will.

Oh, and another thing about Wilma. See the little white heart on her wing? That, dear reader, is from the place where a little bit of tape got stuck on there and when I pulled it off a heart was left behind and now I love Wilma to the moon and back!

On another note, I am looking for someone to work with me on soldering...how in the world do I do that...do I put a help wanted ad in the paper?

On another 'nother note - a fun quiz! Which celebrity death affected you the most, and why? I saw this post on Etsy, and it interested me...

Here's my answer:

John Lennon, without a doubt. I too was in college (UMass) and I'll NEVER EVER forget the roommate coming in to tell me Lennon died. At first I thought she said that Lenin was dead, and I didn't get it. I'm still not over it!

Fancy Museum Art and Unfancy Folk Art!

2007-06-26T18:17:00.000-04:00

Ooh I had the COOLEST thing happen today! Eliz and I and our five assorted little artists went to the High Museum in ATlanta. WE saw Annie Liebovitz, Howard Finster, Mose Tolliver and a buncha stuff from some museum in France. Called the Loov, maybe? (har)... Then on the way home we stopped in the most intriguing gallery, Outsider Inside Art, or Inside Outsider Art.So we're looking around, and there's all kinds of really cool art there, and I see one of my favorite ebay artists from Canada displayed. THAT was cool. Her name is Helene Lacelle and I love her art!

But wait, there's more! After about five minutes of wandering around the store, I bumped into the store owner (almost literally), and we both looked at each other for the first time and shrieked, "I know you!" Then we had to figure out HOW we knew each other. Turns out, long ago in my previous life as a video tape editor (do they even make video tape anymore?) she was my client, with the ad agency Ogilvy and Mather. Oooh... now I want to try to remember what we worked on... not car spots, not Macy's, not jelly... Anyhoo, Kathy S. has left television and become the owner of the COOLEST gallery in Virginia Highlands! And now we're friends again!

What is her Name?

2007-06-25T09:41:00.000-04:00

I tried something new with this Ladybird...she's outlined with white instead of black. I like it much better! The little face in the middle of her tummy is a Teesha Moore clip art from about five years ago... I can't believe that I've kept that sheet of paper for so long! I can't figure out what she's saying... I have a couple of not uplifting ones in mind that are kinda funny, but I like to be positive. There's "Sometimes She Misses Her Mind" and "She's a Bit of a Bird Brain" ...someone suggested "She traded her couch for a cute pair of sneakers"! What do you think?

My Pot Roast is On Fire!!

2007-06-24T10:12:00.001-04:00

Ooooh I'm the luckiest girl in the world, the WORLD!! I just opened up the box containing my very own, long coveted Chris Roberts-Antieau artwork, and it's even better in person than I thought it would be! We hung it in the kitchen, where I can look at it while burning my very own dinners...

It was very serendipitousish because I'd called the artist about her work about six months ago, but couldn't quite pull the trigger. Then a few weeks ago I discovered that her work was being sold through Uncommon Goods (that's where I would put the link to ugoods if I could figure out how to make the link thing work)...and on the same day I received her catalog in the mail. Serendipitousness fersure!!

The Charming!

2007-06-21T07:52:00.001-04:00

phew! Last night Kristy and I hung my show! Here are a couple of sections... there's also a red wall, and an orange wall...

Jennifer says, "Don't succumb to the square edge..."

Getting Ready for The Charming!

2007-06-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

Kristy from Lola's has grrrrraciously invited me to participate in an Art Opening during Alive After Five in Roswell tomorrow night! Yay! Yippee! That's a lot of wall space for me to fill with ART! So I stayed up way late last night, finishing up about a dozen new pieces... today Ethan and I will wire them and this afternoon I'll head over to Kristy's to hang them! Yay! Here's a preview...

2007-06-18T12:37:00.001-04:00

I just bought THIS!!!

So exciting... I rediscoverd Mary Larson from the olden days of scrapbooking. She and her sister have started Lemon Oak Stdio0, and they're selling on Etsy. Here's the link to their world - wish I could make it come up pretty!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5180490

Oooh, I just went back and got another one!

She Gets By With a Little Help From Her Friends

2007-06-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

I don't know if Ringo ever sang truer words...we all need friends, especially when we think we don't need them. You know? And what better friends could there be than these ladies? There's the pink lady with a bird on her head (Birdonhead Lady), there's Jennifer, holding a bird house, there's the lady with a teapot on her head and a bowl of fruit in her hands (Bowlinhands Lady), and then there's Joy, the lady with "JOY" on her dress! Which one are you?

2007-06-15T18:26:00.000-04:00

Phew!! I finally finally FINALLY finished figuring out how I'm going to put tags on the license plate pendants! This is the front of a business card, and when I get them back I (or one of my minion slave peeps) will cut them right down the middle. The back of the card will have info too, with a place for me (or a minion) to write in which state the snippet is from. We'll hole punch the top middle of each, and cut a slit to the top, and slide the chain on. Now I can't wait to get them back from Overnight PRints!

a

Third Drawer Down

2007-06-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

Ooh, this makes me want to shop! Nothing like a flying grocery cart to get my juices aflowin!

http://www.thirddrawerdown.com/

2007-06-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

Today I'm working on a new tag for the license plate charms. I bought a customized rubber stamp (ooh, crap ... haven't finished it yet) for the back of the tag, and here's the front so far...
It's taking a long time... there will be a glue dot attaching the charm to the spot on the left where you can see a charm, and on the back it will have my stamp, with a place for me to handwrite in the provenance (fancy word) of the license plate!

Okay, someone...

2007-06-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

someone comment, or leave a message, or let me know that you're out there, so I know I should keep on doing this blog thing!

I bought some art today!

2007-06-12T20:37:00.001-04:00

I love love Deb Campbell's work, and now I'm the happy owner of yet another piece!! Lucky me!! I love the colors of this one, and the number... I'm a sucker for text!

I think I might be blogging.

2007-06-11T07:58:00.001-04:00

I would like to wave a magic wand, much like this birdie, and be up and blogging with no work. Ha.