The stores are stocked with candy corn and it's time to start thinking of that impossibly hard question we face every year. What'll I be for Halloween?! It's one of my favorite holidays. Everyones free to act like a kid and eat candy! Nom, nom, nom! Wear My Colors suggests you "ghost yourself" and wear one of their cute handmade polymer ghost pins. If you wear your love of the spooky season on your sleeve why don't you wear it on your shirt? Check out this shop for barettes, bracelets and pencil sharpener earrings! It doesn't get any sharper! Wear My Colors on etsy.com
I'm a sucker for trains. The poetry of their history. The sound they make on a desolate evening. So I just had to spotlight these beautiful notecards from Past Perfects etsy shop. There are so many beautiful photo prints to choose from and lots of wonderful nature and flora pictures. If you're looking for some unique note or giftcards I would look into Past Perfect on etsy.com
In preparation of my move to a new place next month, which is just slightly bigger than "small", I am reading this fantastically bright little book. The new place is not quite medium and definitely not large. More like a supersized small- hold the fries. I am already getting some great ideas on colors and how to place things so your rooms look much larger than they are. Who doesn't need this in their life?
Here's why I can't concentrate on writing a blog. Something has set someones car alarm off, and it is honking away...which has caused the two little dogs next door to bark and yap...which has caused the dog next door to them to bark and now the neighbors are yelling at the dog (can't yell at a car I guess, not an empty one anyway) and all this was probably caused by something silly I imagine. Like maybe a squirrel jumped onto the car or maybe a kid rode past on his bike a little too close. Funny what little things can cause such chaos and chain reactions. And all that caused me to write a blog! What next?
Bats Beware Box Yesterday I was up bright and early working on two boxes. One was the Bat box (pictured above) and the other was the royal pain in the arse English Tea Time Box I will have to take better photos of them at some point when the sun comes out. All weekend it's been Hurricane Ike and rain and grey, grey, grey. It feels good to have some new stuff in my etsy shop at long last and it might be awhile before I get to do anything else as I'm packing up my hive to move. It's a daunting task. The only thing keeping me sane is the thought that I will have a nice new clutter free workspace for my art and crafting. It will be nothing like the little cramped cabinet/worktable crammed against laundry and two computers that I have now. I'm even hoping for a trip to Ikea so I can pick out shelving for my supplies. Hooray! But no more boxes and workspace for the rest of the month. It's pack up time. Is it just me or does anyone else like looking at pictures of other artists workspaces? It kind of fascinates me and gives me ideas, I'm almost certain I should've gotten into interior design instead!
See I told you Fall was coming! I even spotted a fat little acorn on the sidewalk this morning and soon the leaves will start to fall, watch! Fall is my season and so I was particularly fond of this sweet pendant in izzilizzi's shop. And her name is fun to say and it makes you think of the Beatles "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" tune, and now we're all in a tizzy! What I really like about izzilizzis shop is the assortment of small things. Little magnets, ornaments, pendants, etc. Good things come in small packages! Please check out izzilizzi's shop for a little of this and a little of that -as she says. ;-)
How could I resist, it's one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs EVER! Let's shine a little love light on this shop run by two twin sisters (sweet!) who make these sweet little plushies (pictured above) as well as some nifty little ipod cozies, pendants and wallets. They even have some vintage threads up for grab in their shop. I like the little purple plushie monster named Calvin, any relation to the purple people eater? Did he eat purple people or was he purple? One of the great mysteries of the world. Check out Venus In Furs cute shop on etsy.com
Oh my gosh it was so hard picking just one of the beautiful photos to show you here. Justines work ranges from lovely Nature shots, landscapes and architecture to some very sweet intimate animal shots like the one of her cat Hobbes (pictured above). It was hard to resist the baby kitten sweetness, it was cute overload! Her photos are very professional with a fine eye for details and lots of emotion. Please take a look at her lovely shop on etsy.com
LuvNknit Nothing says Autumn is tumbling our way like warm sweaters, which is what draws me so much to LuvNknits sweet recycled purses. This one is a cable knit converted into one toasty little purse. I love the black bamboo handle and faux leather belt detailing. You can even request zippered pockets on purchasing! Does it get any better? Her store is stocked with all kinds and colors of cute hand knit knockouts. Check out LuvNknits shop on etsy.com. p.s. fall is just around the corner!
Nuyorican It's another fancy installment of Free Love Fridays in which 5 new etsy artists and artisans will be revealed to you. Every Friday I go into Community Forum (promotion section, wink!) and ask for the first 5 people to step up and claim their 15 minutes of fame. It really isn't long before they are all snatched up. Today's first etsy artist is Nuyorican who makes these hot tamale votives. Sweet retro pinup gals adorn these vibrant votives along with ribbon and Swarovski crystals. Wonderful little gifts, I can already think of about 4 gals I know who would love to have these to hold their makeup brushes in. Check out nuyorican on etsy.com.
The cat is NOT out of the bag. Leave it to my cat to be the contrarian of all cats. For the record, my cats do not appreciate store bought toys. They do appreciate a good old fashioned paper bag, plastic bags (chew toy), scratching the hell out of my amplifier, scented pizza boxes (they think it's a special bed for them), bread ties ( I find them in their food dish mysteriously) and last but not least peppermint foot lotion. Yes, peppermint foot lotion. If I put any on they swarm me like a pack of piranhas at feeding time, it's like cat nip! Pictured above: Poppy Cat looks on as Bell Cat shows her an impression of being some groceries
Todays Inspiration of the Day....I call them inspiration trees because they make me want to paint. Most likely I will be using these photos in my next series of paintings. Ah the colors! Oh the strange organic shapes! Love, love, love it!
Sting like a bee! I'm back in the gym doing my Operation Bruce Lee. What is Operation Bruce Lee? It's basically me being a geek. I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee and am using him as my motivation and inspiration to get fit. I have a picture of Bruce Lee by my bedside to remind me first thing when I wake up, a pic of Bruce on my fridge with the words "don't eat junk!" written above his head and then he's tacked to my bulletin board at work- where I eat and can see him and feel guilty if I happen to be eating a cheeseburger. I may update from time to time on my Operation Bruce Lee project. I also like Muhammad Ali and his funny quotes- hence why he gets photo space today.
Another reason to love etsy.com I just discovered this fantastic artist named Matte Stephens and this piece in particular is just standout! Maurice Sendak fan perhaps? All his stuff is pretty awesome, saving pennies, saving pennies! To view his shop click here.
Yikes my little etsy shop is looking threadbare these days! The whole impetus for my shop initially were the hand painted boxes and now theres only one left in my store. I've had some ideas for new ones and some spare blanks ready for painting on. I think I'm going to try my hand at decoupage and see what happens. I always get a little rush posting a new item on etsy, it's like crack for artists!
Maybe it's Hurricane Ike stirring up the winds and whatnot, but I've got the sneezes. I've been a recent sufferer of the ol' allergies, never really got too bad until I hit my twenties. Then like clockwork they flare up- just as every season changes it seems. I've been doing the local honey route and just this weekend bought some from The Honeybee Guild here in Texas. It is sweet and mellow and fresh and I got it at Farmers Market from the Pollards who maintain healthy beehives in North Texas. A noble task in light of the colony collapses we've been hearing about. If you'd like more info about the Honeybee Guild here is their site texas honeybee guild and here is a very informative blog about them: a case of hives The idea behind eating your local honey is to introduce all the local pollen to your system safely so that your body stops falsely reacting to it like it's a foreign enemy (hence the sneezing). And if you stop by Farmers Market look for the guy in the bee suit with the display of bees...he'll give you the buzz on bees and honey, honey!
I'm getting ready to move in about a month so the one word that's been repeating itself over and over in my mind is "PURGE!". It's amazing how much paper one person can collect in one tiny drawer alone, let alone a whole apartment. I've been reading some decluttering tips over at zenhabits and I think I've got my motivation on. Whenever I sit down to watch tv this week I'm going to have a drawer to clean out, papers to tear into bits and a big bag to fill with trash or donation stuff. Just packing away the overflowing cupboard of dishes made me feel light and airy. It's a good feeling. Who needs all this stuff anyway? Why do I have 7 CVS cards that have not been activated? 5 of the same bus schedule? Receipts from dinner 3 years ago? Why in the world have I been carrying this weight around in my dresser drawers while my clothes have no place to live? Don't get me started on clothes, which like bunnies have multiplied till one would think a good handful of people live in my apartment as opposed to two and three cats...and they don't like to wear clothes. So yes, as the seasons change and I get ready for a new habitat I also get ready for new habits and ....that elusive thing called SPACE. If you also need some motivation to get your decluttering bug fired up- I would hit up Leos blog zenhabits and remember -purge, purge, purge!
Krabappel 2 is one of those rare myspace friends I've never met but feel a kinship to. Uber talented. Gorgeous redhead. Full of passion and a love for music and art....oh yeah and she likes "snus" (swedish word for chewing tobacco!) If I ever visit Sweden I'd like to meet my friend Krabappel 2 and see her lovely works in person. I really liked this series she posted, reminds me of glaciers and Richard Diebenkorn. The muted colors and spacial breaks are really up my alley.
Today I did my first run with my Nike Sportsband. Let me just say- I don't have the running shoes that are "compatible" with the sportsband but as my sister can attest- there are ways of getting around that. Unfortunately I didn't know the proper "way" and cheated myself out of a mile or two I'm almost sure of it! The sportsband comes with a small sensor that you are supposed to slip down into the Nike compatible shoes. My sister said she took an xacto and after tracing the sensor shape she cut into her regular non Nike running shoes and made a hole for the sensor and then put her shoe insert over it. Easy. But I just got my pair of New Balances not too long ago so i wanted to see how it would work without cutting a hole and just sliding it under my insert. I couldn't feel the sensor after about two minutes but I'm fairly certain I placed it in the wrong part of my shoe. ;-/ This was further confirmed after I went to the sportsband site and saw the sensor going in...in...up to the ball of the foot part, not the heel as I had thought. Call this a ghetto experiment. I can't afford Nike runners right now. I may be busting out the xacto just like my sis did. Did a test run at the park and came back, slipped off the interface and slid it into the USB and now chilluns- you can see what a lame duck I am....I burned all of 49 calories in about 30 minutes! Like I said- I had the sensor in the wrong part of the shoe. At the gym on the elliptical- 30 minutes is just shy of 3 miles for me. Loving the sportsband- just need to do it the right way next time....
The sportband logs your runs and even has an easy way to share your graphs with your friends on myspace. It tracks your miles, your pace and the calories burned. Which in my case today- was like...one cup of coffee. One...small....small....cup of coffee. ;-) Wanna keep up with my sister on the run? Check out her blog here for inspiration by the Bay... run rene run
My friend Dan was fresh in from Argentina where he'd been working when he heard it was my birthday. Always prepared, he had brought a whole boxload of these much requested cookies (these are no ordinary cookies hot damn diggity dawg damn!)
These are the ultimate little sweet tooth killers. And they come in a fancy box that looks like you're getting some Cuban cigars. Theres only six of these heavenly (hellish?) delights per box but you could easily share ONE because they are so rich and thick. I really can't do these things justice so I'll leave you with someone elses description:
Havanna Alfajores Cookies by Evan Orensten
"I found these Argentinian treats in a coffee shop in Miami and haven't stopped talking about them (and eating them) all week. Made by the well known Havanna brand, the best of the five flavors are the Dulce de Leche, which are coated in meringue. The textures and flavors create an uncommonly complex experience. These cookies are big and rich, and I find that one is more than enough to get the job done. The look and heft of the package is impressive and makes a great gift. If you can't find them in your neighborhood, they are available online from a great Latin food resource you should know about anyway: Amigo Foods. A box of 12 (6 chocolate, 6 dulce de leche) will cost you around $24."
$$24!!! Do I feel like a Princess? Damn straight I do! But.....what will I do when they're gone? ;( Order them online. Sigh!
I was giddy with glee to see my fave little local restaurant All Good Cafe has vamped up their menu. Not only do they offer the tastiest little chicken fried chicken and mashed potato duet but it's looking like some delicious nachos and some other deliciosos have arrived. AllGood cheese platter with cocktails, new wines, beers and "rock-a-mole"? I can't wait for my next trip to AllGood! Check out their site for live entertainment calendar as well as more info on the..droool....menu... allgoodcafe.com
This update comes to us via Eddie Ruiz who owns Avenue Arts Venue...
"If you've ever been to deep ellum or expo park you've seen ozone's murals.
don't miss your chance to check out his new paintings and collect his new toy at avenue arts venue saturday sept.13th. reception 6pm-11pm Free!"
Did you hear that? He said FREE and he said toys, it's like everything a kid wants to hear in one sentence. Too bad those toys aren't free! HAH HAH! Insert Nelson laugh here. Avenue Arts Venue is located in lovely Exposition Park, across from the State Fair of Tex-ass!
A Fine Distraction A Fine Distraction has a beautiful array of handmade jewelry. I was very partial to the "whimsical blue hues blooming" earrings. The colors are gorgeous and I'm happy to report there are other colors of flowers in this little garden of an etsy shop. Go poke around for yourself, please mind the blooms...
AntLee Artworks This is my pick from AntLee Artworks site because damn do i love myself some TIGERS. And bees too, hence why my DJ name is DJ Tigerbee! AntLee has quite an assortment of stuff in his shop- from this cool wood pendant with a handpainted tiger to interesting stuff like a handcarved domino ring in the shape of a raven with a....ruby eye! I like the animal and nature theme in his stuff, go check out more little handmades from AntLee on etsy.com
Bagladee If you're about to rock you might consider throwing all your rocking essentials into this really rockin' little rocket chic tote bag. Hot booted mama "rocket chic" print bag is totally up my go-go bootin' alley. It even has a matching internal pouch which for me adds bonus points! Thats where I would put my fave lipstick and cellphone in a heartbeat! And little diamantes are sprinkled on this honey for extra star appeal. Two thumbs up!
minelolly This is the sweetest little plush softie! I want to stay up late like an owl! I really love the colors and the starry eyes. What a cutie, for more assortment of soft sweet dollies go visit Minelolly's shop on etsy minelolly
Yes, it's Free Love Friday again and that means five people have been given some free promo love here on my blog. I did an experiment today. I posted my usual announcement on Myspace and got my usual no one cares for free promo attitude. Then I posted it on etsy and it was WILDFIRE. Everyone is trying to get their little crafties seen and loved. I love my little etsy community, so much warmer and fuzzier than deadspace..I mean, myspace. Anyway- I have a feeling some myspacers are gonna sneak something in later so heres a two parter. I'm doing double duty in the love department today. First up is ETSY LOVE! Fivefootfury13
I just had to list this little beauty from fivefootfury13's shop. Mainly because I'm a sucker for Pink Floyd, granted I'm a Syd Barrett era kinda gal this is still one rockin' piece of jewelry! Beautiful beadwork here such as this rose headband very unique totally bead crazy stuff here! Check her out! fivefootfury13 on etsy!
"All Is Fine" Yes, right now everything feels fine. The weather, my mood, my creativity and energy and health. All is fine. Then why do I feel so restless?! Oh because i just finished reading a book and haven't had a chance to work on anything for my etsy shop and...um (scratches head) kinda been neglecting that painting I'm working on. The book I just finished was great. It's called "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner. It was one of those books you could just happily go on reading, along for the ride with no destination in particular and just loving the journey. I must link you to the authors site so you can enjoy it as well : Eric Weiner So now I feel restless, the journey is over and I must find a new book to read. I must work on my painting. I must take advantage of this all is fine feeling.
Since we've been on the subject of promoting your art biz... I was reading in an etsy forum yesterday how some sellers are "shy" about giving out their business cards. I can relate, but to an extent you must remember you're just letting them be AWARE of this really cool thing you're doing. You're not bragging or pushing a sale on them, just raising awareness. Which good promotion is about. Promoting yourself gets a bad rap though. Unfortunately a lot of people think it's bad form to promote yourself. To that I say PSHAW! In this world if you don't take action for yourself it'll never get done. The old saying "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" rings true. No one is just going to stand up and shout out to the world what an awesome little painting or tshirt design or whatever you just did. You have to do it. Don't let your business or dreams suffer because of some made up etiquette. I have to be a little aggressive with my band and art, any good artist needs to be in this competitive world. Being pro active is only common sense. In honor of promoting yourself some more FOA links! kijiji lunacraft adleaf
I just added two new additions to my etsy shop. One is a digital print from a digital illustration and the other is a digital print from a real life acrylic painting. These are my first forrays into the world of prints. I like prints, they are so colorful and easy to carry around. Nothing like heavy canvas and quite economical on the ol' wallet. Check them out!
I just celebrated a wonderful birthday and after 5 days away from work I'm back on the chain gang. And speaking of chains...here is another link for your Free Online Advertising (FOA) purposes! This one is geared towards the artists or arteeests, as some say. It's basically a free directory where artists can register themsleves and their sites. Why not? It's free! And remember we're trying to proliferate the web with our wonderful links so get to linking! Head over to ARTCHAIN and link away!
Ok, we've been talking about ways to get your art into the world and aside from Free Online Advertsising which we'll refer to as FOA from now on, you're gonna need some nice physical business cards. These are great to put with any art and items you sell to make sure your customer always has a way to contact you. Building good relationships with all your customers can keep them coming back for more and spreading the word about you. If you have yet to go the business card route here is a CHEAP (basically free!) route to take if you haven't yet settled on your branding, logo and all that important stuff. If you need something now and cheap I would check out vistaprint.com. You can get 250 business cards for FREE but you pay for shipping which is a steal. They have some nice templates to choose from and it's a great way to spread the word about your art/site on the cheap!
Today I'm diligently working on another English Tea Time box. I sold the Panda box last night and just can't "bear" not having another box to take it's place. This one is so complex with it's layers but it looks so cool when it's done (see pic above, cool huh?) so aside from that, packing up Panda and working on my newest canvas that will be my Sunday. But this is what Sundays are for right?
I'm going to be starting up a little regular installment here featuring ways to push your art into the world. For the past two weeks I gave myself little assignments- find places to market my stuff. This week I was to find 5 new places to put my link so that the world could see my stuff. So I will be sharing, because thats what makes the world go round. For today- if you have yet to do so, go to linkreferral.com and Artzee.netand insert your sites info. This is a great little tool that lets you view all the traffic to your site, blog, online shop, etc. I like the reviews feature, you can review other peoples sites and they can review yours! So far I've made new friends on etsy and had more traffic to my shop. I need to make a link referral for this blog next. The Artzee is easy and the more places your link appears the better! Stay tuned for more on this topic!
It's nice to have people (or creatures) who got your back when you got to get into it with some raucous birds....or squirrels. Newest 8X8 painting on Etsy, posted this weekend.
Because we're all artistic up in here today! This comes to me via Ben Fleming of Blackheart Society who will be playing at this mega fest crammed with music and art. So much to do, see and hear around here!
TOYS! I can't wait to see this upcoming show over at Avenue Arts Venue here in Dallas, tx. Heres a toy by Eddie Ruiz (purple monkey featured). Show is coming in September, details to come to keep your ears to the walls.
This one comes from my new crafty friend Claudia of ClaudiasBurningInk.com This sounds like an awesome event for the crafty minded and look my fellow EtsyDallas crew is going to be on hand!
Come hang out with www. ClaudiasBurningInk. com and www. JDStar. etsy. com , www. TaranehsBazaar. etsy. com , www. katscratch. etsy. com at the Doudlewide Bar Saturday Aug 16th, and then come see us Sunday Aug 17th at The Show Pony Show
I'd like to do this semi-regularly (time permitting)on Fridays. I posted a bulletin via myspace asking for 5 people to step up who wanted something promoted here and in my bulletin section and this lovely lady was the first in line. This was submitted by the lovely Melissa of Melissas Deluxe fame- sounds like a great time if the sun pops out to join in the fun! Just a little local love on a rainy Dallas day. Heads up for the next 4 contestants!
Heres the first little canvas I started and finished in one day. I really just enjoy the process and feel of painting, pushing the paint around, finding new colors and even "scratching" into the paint like I've done here. I've tried to sketch out my ideas first but it seems so..unnatural to me. Forced. So I just let myself loose on the canvas and let my brain walk around and put stuff where it wants it. It's better this way. Posted today on www.tigerbee.etsy.com
I just recently primered two small 8X8" canvases in an attempt to motivate myself to work on some stuff for my etsy shop. Oh woe- it is pitiful at the moment. I haven't felt much like doing the boxes and only want to do what I feel like right now. That would be painting on canvases. So even while I'm engrossed in the big monster 36" x 36" right now, I think doing some small ones in a shorter amount of time will be bring me small satisfactions in the meantime.
