Okay, so..this book has been in my etsy shop for a little while now. When I offered it for sale, I didn’t give it a title. I figured something would pop into my head very soon, and I would go back and edit my listing. But, nope. Poor thing is still sitting there nameless.

So, this is where you come in. If I use the title you suggest, I will send you a prize. You’ll have to scroll all the way down to see what I’ll be giving away. Suggest as many titles as you like, there aren’t any limits. Tell your friends about this contest!! Please! I can use all the help I can get. Here’s the book..

front cover

close up front cover

back cover

oKAY..NOW, HERE’S THE PRIZE:

It’s a print of an original book cover I made called Thimble and Thread (her name is Thimble, his name is Thread). I mounted this print on chipboard using gel medium. I then hand painted over it to make it more of a painting than a print. I also added some goodies, like glitter and beeswax. It is roughly 6″L x 3″W.

If I choose your title, I will send you this mixed media print. Free! No strings attached. You’ll simply have to provide me an address, and it will be yours. I will ship worldwide, so no worries if you’re outside the USA.

If you’re like me, and can’t think up a title for the book, never fear! I have another one of these available in my etsy shop.

Contest ends when I pick a title from one of the comments.

I got an invite from Suzi Blu a couple weeks ago for this 3 Week Challenge going on over on ning. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was joining when I signed up, but I figured anything Suzi was doing would be fun.

I gotta say I wasn’t all that excited when I found out what it was about, though. I don’t know. I hate to be negative. I really do, but I have reason, see? The group is based on a ten year old book that I didn’t like when I read it all those years ago. And part of the challenge is reading it. I had another look at it on Amazon..

I won’t go into all my reasons, but let’s just say I can’t. Not again.

Putting aside my thoughts about the book, and I have decided to do the 3 week challenge, anyway. There are some great women in the group, and I really like hanging out with them. Three of them wanted to buddy up with me, and well, how can I say no to that sweet gesture.

I’m just going to modify the challenge to better suit my needs, that’s all.

The one thing I can say that I got out of the book are the morning pages. 3 pages, handwritten, in the morning, don’t stop..go! I’ve been doing this exercise for ten years, on and off. So, today I made a little book. I made it small because I don’t feel wordy right now. But, I figure I can handle writing 3 small pages a day for 21 days. It won’t kill me.

I also did some art in my art journal, and I walked 1/2 hour on my treadmill this afternoon. So, it’s off to a flying start. Only 20 days left to go.

If anyone would like to trade Etsy minis with me, let me know. I will be featuring a couple Etsy shops here in my blog each week, probably on Fridays. Leave a comment or email me - mizkatie228 @ gmail.com if you’d like to do a swap. Close up the spaces around the @ sign before sending email.

Oh, and when sending the mini code, my blog can only use flash. You can make it whatever size you like. My blog is wide enough for 5 x 5. Please let me know what size is good for your blog.

I sent in an application to Trunkt this morning, and within an hour, it was approved. Pretty cool.

this is an original, hand painted collaged cover - not a print.The cover has been sealed with beeswax, so it has a soft textured feel. I have buffed it, so it’s shiny. It lies flat, so it’s easy to use.

available in my etsy shop

2 ring journal notebook with assorted paper inside.

I had a huge stack of paper sitting in my studio, so there is a mixture in these books. You will probably get scrapbook paper and colored paper. You may also get watercolor paper and cardstock.

These are bound using two 1″ book rings. It is embellished with Fancy Fur yarn. The cover has glitter sprinkled on it, and it’s sealed with beeswax. It has a soft textured feel. I have polished it, so it is shiny. If the wax dulls, which it will, just bluff with a cloth. It will look good as new.

available in my etsy.

if you saw these in my shop earlier this week, i apologize for the increase in price. i am spending a lot of time on these books. much more time than i anticipated, and because of that, I have had to raise the price a tiny bit. they are still very affordable, and will make a wonderful gift or treat for yourself. go ahead. you know you want to.

it must be fall. i’m hungry all the time, and i want to go to bed early every night. i seriously need one of those sad lights, so i can feel better during the fall/winter months. actually, i’d use it year round. i love my house, but man, it is DARK. i need to have lights on during the day, even when it’s bright and sunny outside.

has anyone ever used one? does it work? or, how about the full spectrum light bulb that just screws into a lamp? i had one in my shopping cart at amazon the other day until i found out i was going to get charged over $10 for shipping. for a light bulb??!! i think not.

sooo, they think they’re going to arrest casey anthony on homicide or murder charges. you think?!!?

i don’t feel like typing correctly right now. i’m too tired to bother with upper case letters. hm..i just tried to add new links to my blogrolling account, but it’s been hacked. oops! i’ll try again later.

here’s my latest mixed media painting…dandelions daisies violets

available in my etsy shop

I’m in the process of making another journal. This is the little girl I drew a couple weeks ago. I still have to smooth out the beeswax a little more, cut the paper, punch the holes and coil bind it. I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to finish it up. I’ve spent way too much time on it today. Time to shift gears and think about eating something for dinner.

brr..it got chilly here all of a sudden. This morning was muggy and sunny. This afternoon it turned cloudy, windy and the temperture dropped. I will be putting on my sweat shirt soon, for sure. Maybe even trade my shorts in for sweat pants before the night is over. Those thoughts make me sad. I don’t want summer to be over. It’s my favorite time of year. I hate being cold.

This one took a while, which is why I’ve been so quiet lately. I’ve been bizzy, making a mess, getting things done. This was a big project. I decided to paint both the front and back covers this time. Not only that, but there are several layers. Several. It took about a week to complete. It’s quite big - 8 3/4″ W x 11″ L.

As always, photos enlarge when you click them.

close up front cover

back cover

close up back cover

Can be used as a art journal, scrapbook, photo album or whatever you’d like.

Available in my etsy shop now. Or it can be purchased directly through me via Paypal.

DeeDee nominated me for the brillante weblog award. Thank you, DeeDee!! She said that I paint houses that are alive. hm..I’m going to think of that every time I go to paint a new one from now on. The pressure is on!!

The rules of accepting the award:
1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

You know how I hate to play by the rules, so I’m going to nominate everyone on my links page. So, if your link is there, consider yourself a winner!! Yay!

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The VAST etsy team that I joined last week is having a Christmas in July sale. I hesitated doing it because..well, because it’s rather a large task. I just had a HUGE sale in one of my etsy shops and I put everything on sale. EVERYthing. That was A LOT of editing and the re-editing when the sale was over. Etsy doesn’t make it easy to do this type of thing. But, whatever. I did it anyway. Only five items are on sale, not all. So, if you haven’t taken a look in my shop lately, please do.

1930s COLLAGED NOTEBOOK JOURNAL - I AM GOING TO BE A GROCERY MAN

1930s COLLAGED NOTEBOOK JOURNAL - WHEN WE GROW UP

1930s COLLAGED NOTEBOOK JOURNAL - IN THE SPRING

1930s COLLAGED NOTEBOOK JOURNAL - WHEN I GROW UP I WILL BUILD HOUSES

1930s COLLAGED NOTEBOOK JOURNAL - I AM A KITTEN

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aw! I read this morning that the world’s oldest blogger,  Ollie Riley passed away Saturday. 108 years old, and blogging til the end.

Rest in peace, lady writer.