i promise it’s not that blurry in real life. for some reason, my scanner hates beeswax. probably because it’s bumpy and doesn’t lie flat flat. but, it’s better than what i can do with a camera (that needs a serious cleaning), so there you have it. it will be in my etsy shop soon.

i have joined plurk. if you want to add me, please do. i’m not sure how long i’ll be there. not addicted yet. depends on how many people i find, and how active i get, i guess. i only have 2 friends so far, so please add me!!

Thursday challenge

ordinary comics

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.

4″ x 4″ on chipboard
click to enlarge

to prove her point,
she held her breath
until her face turned blue.
the others stood
and watched,
unamused.

available in my etsy shop now

look what i got from E.B. Spider. Pink Posies Furry Flip Flops. Are these not the best flip flops on the planet? I think so. a little bit hippie and a little bit poofy girl.

my cats are reacting in strange ways. Izabella won’t come near me. She’s still hiding under the couch. Scrappy Doodle wanted to follow me everywhere - at first. Since seeing Iza’s reaction, he’s backed off and is being cautious. Like, what are those things, anyway, mom?

Emma ran a couple steps away, and then had a second thought. She sat down, and waited for me to walk closer to her. I took a couple steps, and stopped. She got up, came over, smelled the fuzzies, and then licked my leg in approval. I then got many leg rubs, so she likes! I hope Iza forgives me soon, tho.

Click on E. B. Spider’s link above, and get yourself a pair.

i had no idea that lilies only last one day. sort of disappointing, really. just one day of pretty and then they dry up and turn crispy brown.

anyway, this is another one of those choppy entries. I’m pretty excited. i was approved to join the VAST (Visual Artists Street Team) last weekend. I’ve been feeling my way around a little bit, and trying to figure the ins and outs of the group.

Honestly, I’m a little nervous about being new in groups. i just joined 5 or 6 yahoo groups, and I’m always afraid I’m going to mess up and do something wrong. Each one I join always has a different set of rules, and I often times can’t remember which one has what rule. ACK! So, i’m cautious, but I did post tonight on the VAST blog. I figure they’ll let me know if i messed it up too badly.

some of those yahoo art groups, though..man, you really get your hands slapped and a stern talking to if you do something not according to the rules. well, that was a couple years ago, hopefully things have calmed down by now. relax people, it’s only art.

speaking of yahoo groups, my fairy house collage made the home page of collagecats on Sunday. Collage cats is a cool group. No hand slapping or stern talking going on there. Just a bunch of ladies doing collages every Saturday. it seems like a pretty cool bunch. i know the head lady cat because she had a livejournal a couple years ago. maybe she still does? i tend to lose track sometimes.

oh yeah.., the reason i posted on the VAST blog is because i finally got all the note cards from the last post listed on etsy. i hate to complain, but etsy really needs an overhaul of sorts. i know they are working on it, but it is just sooo unstable. yesterday all my hearts disappeared, then reappeared, then disappeared again. Listing was impossibly slow and too unpredictable for me, so i only listed two cards and ran off. sometimes it’s just not worth the effort.

Hey! The Alchemist: a fable about following your dreams is available for FREE on iTunes in the audio books section until July 14th (i think it said). I just downloaded it. Jeremy Irons narrates. Should be interesting, considering his English accent and all. I think it will be lovely to listen to while painting. so, i shall.

deep breath! okay, i think i’m done. i’m going to go paint now. and listen to the alchemist. hopefully, if i turn it up loud enough it will drown out those very annoying dogs barking next door. grr!

i spent most of the afternoon scanning and gathering together prints of my collages. i mounted them onto notecards and made 11 cards so far. whew! it was fun, but tiring. i haven’t put any of them in my etsy shop yet. i’m thinking the price will be $3 each or 4 for $10.

some of the original collages have already sold, but this will give others a chance to own a print. the cards would look great framed or just standing up on a mantle or shelf. or, you could send it to someone you love with a note inside.

i’m trying to make the cards look similar to the collages. i’ve added a slight bit of beeswax to the images, so the front of the card is soft and sweet smelling. mmm..

what else have i been doing? oh, i’m trying to catch up on the blogs i read tonight. kelly snelling has THE best fireworks picture i’ve ever seen. it is fabulous.

Katie Kendrick has been painting a series of faces. Absolutely stunning!! you must see them!! each one seems to get better and better.

speaking of blogs i read..i have updated my site today and added artist links over in the side bar. take a look, you won’t be disappointed.

If you’d like to swap links with me, please let me know. i only require that you be an artist, and i must like your style of work. i won’t link to website i don’t like. i keep it real that way, k? but, please! if you’re reading and you have a blog, let me know about it..leave a comment or email me. i’d love to hear from you.

okay, i’m going to get off the computer now. notecards will be up in my etsy shop tomorrow.

poor dude.
he has a bad taste in his mouth, and so do i.

i was contacted yesterday through one of my etsy shops by a woman claiming to be an artist. her profile is blank, and she has nothing listed for sale. she has 2 feedback. suspicious? yeah. but..but..she said she was very interested in my work. oh, lawdy, i was so grateful. WoW!! she liked this and this and that, too. oh, and she really wanted that!! and her mother’s birthday is the same as mine..aw!! sweet, right?

hold on, the best is yet to come..

she liked everything soooo much that she wanted me to cut all my prices in half..now, get this..so she could buy it, double the price and sell it. ???!!! i couldn’t make this stuff up. she told me she was going to double the price and sell it!! i mean, really. wtf?? could you be anymore insulting, lady?

her husband owns a gallery in chicago, she said. and there is overhead. so i should cut all my prices in half and sell everything to her. and, she would be back for more when that was gone. i bet she would! clearly, the woman has big balls…if you can even believe the story. it has scam written all over it. i was waiting for her to tell me she needed to wire me money (har har), what’s my bank account number? heh!

so we went back and forth for a while. i asked her, why i should do all the work while she makes all the profit? some of the stuff i have listed doesn’t even cover the cost of material as it is..my prices are not high. has she bought paint lately? or gesso? she wanted me to discount $2 and $3 books, which literally took HOURS to make. ???!!! lady, i’m not making any money now. i just love to do it. sheesh! i’m just trying to make a little bit so i can keep buying art supplies. i don’t count my time. damn!

i asked her if she’s an artist, where is her stuff? i want to see it, and i expect her to cut all her prices in half for me, so i can buy. i need stuff to sell. i have overhead to pay. maybe i should have asked her to contact dick blick and all the other art stores for me. have them cut all their prices in half, then maybe i could afford to work for her. heh!

the thing that got me was she told me she had contacted 5 people so far, and they all agreed to her scam. i’m the only one who was having a problem being devalued and slapped in the face, evidently. i told her i was very sorry to hear that. they must be starving or just plain stupid. when their fingers are worked to the bone and their checkbooks aren’t showing any profit whatsoever, and they can’t afford to buy art supplies, i hope they figure it out.

ps: i know galleries need to make money. i’m not questioning that. i’m just saying, if this was a legitimate offer, her approach absolutely sucked donkey balls. “you need to cut your prices in half, so i can double my money”. um, yeah.

man, my scanner is dirty! it’s covered with beeswax from scanning my collages. i didn’t realize it until i went to scan in this fabulous card and buttons i received from Linda Woods. i won these cool little buttons in one of linda’s giveaways. woo! it happened about a month ago, and i’m just now getting around to blog about it. i may not be a girl who is on top of things, but i AM the boss of my own art. i’m going to hang this on the wall in my studio, so i every time i look up from my work, i’ll see it.

my thoughts are kinda sporadic today. i’m hungry. i get that way when i’m hungry. just had a sweet potato cooked with onions. it was tasty, but i’m still thinking about a granola bar recipe i saw on altered diva’s site. mmm..granola bars. i just may have to make my way into that cobwebbed kitchen of mine sometime this afternoon. (nah, doubtful) (well..maybe)

i think granola may go well while i’m reading this free download on To Get Unstuck. a girl in one of my yahoo groups posted the link this morning. i took a look, and could relate instantly. i definitely have too many interests. i feel very ADD most days, flitting from one thing to the next. my mind is never at rest, not even when i sleep. probably the reason i have insomnia all the time. heh there is too much to do. i don’t even know if i can focus long enough to read the first chapter, but i’m going to try. but first, i think i need some coffee and perhaps a bit of studio time.