Featured!

OOps...Forgot to let you all know that I've been featured in a lovely article on the Etsy (MIDS) Miniatures In Dollhouse Scale Team's blog. Go now and have a look-see! http://teammids.blogspot.com CHEERS! WOOHOO!

Merry Christmas!

May my little painted angels watch over you in this sacred season. Here's wishing all of my readers a very Merry Christmas and a most prosperous New Year! Today I'm leaving for home. (FL panhandle area) All of my kids and grands will be together for Christmas and I think you can't get a better gift than that. Am hoping to get a grand group picture of us all as this will be a rare occasion. These days everyone has been all over the country from California to Nebraska to Florida. Everyone is going to be home at the same time. I can't wait! I need to spend some time with each one, stock up on hugs and kisses, and good grief I need to bite some babies!!!

Have a great holiday everyone. I will most likely not be posting again until I return after the first of the year. Big hugs, kisses and smiles across the miles to all.

Contest Win! WooHoo!

Back in November, Etsy was one of the sponsors of a Halloween contest offered at Instructables.com. I entered. WooHoo! I was a third place winner with my Haunted Whimsy House listed in my WonderWorks shop.

Well, it was such a deal that I actually forgot I had entered. }smile{ So, when the announcement email came I thought I had received spam on Etsy which is rare and uncommon unless it's by new members that don't know the rules.

Okay, here's the question of the century. Why does Etsy offer contests for members to enter and then drop the ball and not make any site announcements when the contests end and have member winners? I could surely use the exposure as I'm sure many other members could as well.

Anyway, at least I did win an Instructables t-shirt, patch and stickers. And, my tiny haunted house is featured way down the list on their site. Yeeha! I think my grandboys will get a hoot out of the little robot stuff.

I Love Collections

ADDITIONS TO THE COPPER COLLECTION
Find these new beauties at AngeeArt.

Mini News

NEW COLLECTION OF MINIATURE PULL TOYS
Perfect little additions to any dollhouse Christmas tree scene. Buy the toys and ornaments at WonderWorks.

Pumpkin Mouse Whimsy House

Announcing "Pumpkin Mouse Whimsy House" the latest addition to my "Whimsy Gingerbread House Series." As promised here's the first listing with my new camera. Although it's almost a little late, (actually it's great for any miniature collector's season) I'm thrilled that I can finally photograph and list it for sale.

There are currently four houses in the series that have been released so far. Click to see them all.
Halloween Gingerbread Whimsy House
Haunted Gingerbread Whimsy House
Tiny Classic Gingerbread House
Pumpkin Mouse Whimsy House

Coming Soon...remaining 2008 editions:
Blessed Bounty Whimsy House, Sugar Sweet Whimsy House, Miracle Manger Christmas House, and then the Ice Castle Whimsy House.

Included!

Awwwwsome! Today my art was included in this interesting zebra Treasury on Etsy. Can you find me? My teammate from the Etsy Military Brat Team
"SockMonkeyGreetings" is the curator of this Treasury. (click on name to see her shop)

Did you find "Little Zeb" my painted stone? Just had to feature this treasury because first, I loved the arrangement and zebras, plus, I hadn't shown my painted rocks on this blog!

"Killing two zebras on one stone!" (lol...I just crack myself up!)

Fondant Artisans Arise

Most people drive to work in the mornings. Those, such as myself, who are internet artisans arise, go for the coffee, and begin their day online. We drive computers and cameras to be able to stock the virtual shelves in our shops! See this photo example.

These gourmet edible sculptured "Assorted Beauties," are now listed in my Visualicious Shop. They make an excellent gift for those who are hard to shop for or anyone you want to impress with your (ahem)... good taste!

Anyway, I have been fairly anxious lately because I had over-used my camera borrowing power, and could no longer impose on my neighbors and friends. I haven't had the ability to feature my latest holiday inspired designs for this year yet, and it's been driving me crazy.

GREAT NEWS! My new camera arrived on Friday. Took some test pics yesterday and am excited about finally being able to get my 2008 Door Mouse Ornaments, my Gingerbread Bounty House, the Whimsey Pumpkin Mouse House and a couple of other works into a shop and available for sale. This is on my agenda for the coming week. So, be looking for new photos.

Accepted!

LolliShops is a juried, online selling venue for talented artists, collectors of vintage and art supply vendors. Don't know how it all works yet, as the site has not formally opened, but looks like it'll be super cute and fun. Right up my frou-frou alley for sure. My SceneScapes and Whimsy Houses should fit right in. Nothing like a little more excitement.

Featured!

Take a look at this blog where I was honored to be a featured Etsy artist today. KrisKroppin has a lovely blog. In fact it's where I found the new site with the blog backgrounds. I'm not tellin' what item was featured; you'll have to go see for yourself. But, I will give a hint that it's listed in WonderWorks! :o)

"Fondle"

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
My Original Song "Fondle"
Hear me sing FREE while it lasts.

Found a site that lets you upload your original music for free. I have some original music that's just sitting around not being heard, so what have I got to lose? All songs begin as free downloads, then, as more people show interest and download them, little by little they go up in price... until you're famous! jk

So, I jumped on the bandwagon with "Fondle" a blues song co-written with Jay Sullivan and recorded in Destin, Florida in 2004. This is the song we chose to try out first. (if this does well there will be more) Sung by yours truly ..."me," we're hoping to get some download attention at an uprising price until we reach the max cost of .98 per. Downloads can also be used with your ipod.

We entered "Fondle" in the SongoftheYear.com's monthly contest a couple years ago and took honorable mention. But, since then, it's been only enjoyed by friends and family, so, now we'll see if they were all truthful about how they liked it.

Have a listen and Download it free while it lasts so I can get those prices moving up and supplement my income! lol! I'd also appreciate if you'd give it some feedback love right back here on this blog post.

Tiny Classic Gingerbread House

A classic gingerbread house covered in tiny sweets is my current addition to the Whimsy House series. It was listed for sale in my WonderWorks Shop yesterday and already has gotten quite a few views. The specifics, details, and more pictures are in that listing...go see. It fits within the size range of the "Halloween Wimsy House" and "Haunted Whimsy House". I love making these, and as I do am finding they look smashing in their collector cases all piled on top of each other waiting for their new homes. I have yet to list the "Whimsy Pumpkin Mouse House" that turned out adorable enough for any season. Can't share it until I get a camera SOON!!! Pray for me!

Contest Win!

I entered a contest at Polymer Clay Central.com in October and lo and behold... I won third place in the challenge! Yeeha! Here's the entry titled "Hurricane Sea" It's an original, sculpted, colored clay, scene. One of my personal favorites. See more of this kind of art at ClayScapes and purchase originals at AngeeArt.


They didn't allow entrants to do any advertising to garner votes so I won 3rd place based solely on their site visitors and challenge contest voters. The prize was a $25 gift voucher at PolymerClayProjects.com where now I have the hard decision of choosing what I want. Being a winner is fun!

A New Look

Okay! So, I was bored with the other look and had to change it up a little. I was in the Etsy forums today and clicked on a blog link from someone looking for people to feature. She had the coolest looking blog background. I found the place she got it from, sorted through the choices and spent the rest of the day playing. hehe! You're lookin' at my choice. Mmmm I love it...at least for the time being. Gonna have to learn how to make these and do my own!

Hey! Find great looking free blog backgrounds like this at The Cutest Blog on the Block.com They have a nice assortment of different styles and they're really easy to install because they come with dummy directions. :)

SOLD

3-D Clay Sculpture "Beach Side" 5"x5" original.
Fine art prints and notecards at AngeeArt.

The original "Rainbow Trout" was done in colored pencil on watercolor paper. Available Limited Edition, artist signed, 9"x 6" print ...sold.

The Garden's Done

Back in June I received an order for tiny veggies made from gumpaste for Wendy, an October bride to be. We've communicated all this time and I mailed her order today. 200 veggies for her Cupcake Garden; to be served at the wedding this coming Sunday the 26th.

Wendy chose 12 different veggies to complete her vegetable garden look: Carrots, peas, lettuce, cauliflower, potatoes, beets, squash, eggplant, artichokes, tomatoes, purple cabbage, and corn.

I think it's an awesome idea. Here's an example of the finished effect.The little fondant cupcake veggies sit atop cupcakes with chocolate icing and sprinkles of cake crumbs. They're then placed in rows to simulate a garden in process.

Happy Wedding Wendy!

Monkeying Around

I recently completed this privately commissioned pair of classic, vintage, monkey paintings. Done in acrylic on illustration board measuring 5.5" x 7.5" the originals took as long to complete as large paintings. Very small and very detailed, they look much brighter in real time. "Ain't they cute?"

I'm Still Here

New listings in my AngeeArt Shop sculpted from polymer clay with an oxidized copper metallic finish. I love their "well loved" look.
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See, this is how it always goes. I start a blog and life takes over. Then, keeping up with it begins to take the back seat. Better late than never. Yep, hopefully I'll be as late to my funeral as I am to everything else!!!

My sculpture and calligraphy classes are moving along fine and I'm enjoying them greatly. Seems as soon as Friday rolls 'round I begin preparing for Monday. It's really lots of fun and my students are truly little whizzes; much smarter than I had anticipated. I may look into teaching an open community class on Saturdays. Oh yeah, here I go adding more stuff into the mix.

Spent this week getting into more things than I can comfortably handle, spreading myself almost too thin. But, staying busy gives me reason to wake early each morning and fulfill the responsibilities I've committed to, so, as "Mahtha" would say, "It's a good thing!"

Sold my beloved chunky cross pictured in the Sept. 2nd post as well as the first house in my Gingerbread Whimsy Series. It's the Sept. 20th post; the Halloween Whimsy House. I hated to see them go, but, the money soothes my pain. :o)


Here's the next house in the series; The Haunted Whimsy House. They're actually very tiny. Consider it fits comfortably on a table in a miniature 1 inch equals 1 foot scaled dollhouse. See what I mean?

Those Who Can't Do, Teach!

I don't know where the title of this post came from, but, I guess in some sense it may be true. Seems strange to think you would want someone to teach you something they couldn't do. I can do alot of things well, and work in multiple mediums, but, I'm just not a very good salesperson of my own wares. So, tomorrow I'll teach.

Most who know me are astounded that I'm not famous. I hear it all the time. "Why aren't you famous? As talented as you are, why aren't you making a million dollars?" My response is always, "I don't have time to sell things while I'm working a creative spurt, and...I'm not dead yet!"

When it comes to being an artist, one must practice, starve, sell a piece occasionally, work your creative hands to the bone, and then die. Soon after, some aquaintance or family member has an epiphany of what a valuable artist you were. Then posthumously, they abscond with your forgotten art pieces packed in a closet; market and sell them, the work becomes famous worldwide, they become rich, and finally, the world is amazed you died penniless.

Here's the truth, artists are just that...artists, not salesmen. Most just want to spend their lives giving over to every creative inspiration, not selling their work. I should hire someone to market me so I can be fatter now, buy more art supplies, and have something besides a closet full of artwork for my children to fight over!

However, for the time being, I'm going to teach home-schooled kids through a local co-op. This means I must know how to do or they wouldn't have invited me to teach! :)

I begin tomorrow teaching on Mondays for the next 15 weeks. I'll have three classes; two sculpture and one calligraphy. This should be great fun for me and the students. Also, I've decided I may start a whole new blog to follow the things we work on and the student's progress. We'll see. Wish me luck.

Gingerbread Whimsy House Series

My first mini Gingerbread house (that I'm saving for Christmas) was so much fun to create, that I had to make another! This Halloween Gingerbread Whimsy House, was the second, and has now inspired a whole new limited edition "Gingerbread Whimsy House" Series.


Halloween Whimsy House is made on a 1:12 scale (1-inch=1-foot) used by miniature dollhouse collectors. So, for example, this tiny house will fit nicely on a dollhouse kitchen table! The 3-D tiny gingerbread scene has the following elements, all handmade as well: a hanging bat, licorice fence posts & other licorice candies, lollipops, candy corn, a painted spider web, rooftop snail, green toad, ghost, pumpkins, scarecrow, copper smokestacks, and a dead tree trunk to boot. They come wax anchored in a square crystal acrylic collector case that's stackable. (cute to display if you get the whole collection) and also have a hanging ribbon so they can be used as ornaments.









Sign up for the series and buy this one at WonderWorks.

Gosh they're fun! So, I'm doing a whole series of collector gingerbread houses for all holidays. I'll be adding two other Halloween/Fall houses in the next week. Then will come Thanksgiving, and finally this year, I'll be able to reveal the Christmas Gingerbread House already done. Can't wait for you to see that!

Dollhouse Kitties

♥ Just the size a real kitty would be if roaming around a house, this little black clay, 1:12 scale kitty is the right size to fit into a dollhouse for Halloween or any other time. You can buy him as your very own black cat pet at WonderWorks.









♥ The kittycat below is scared straight and sits on top of a 1:12 scale pumpkin. He's a cute addition to a Halloween dollhouse and also slips off of the pumpkin to be used in any dollhouse all the time. Buy him at WonderWorks too. I love kitties!

Bird Commissions

This pair of tropical birds was a recent commission. Painted in acrylic, they each measure 16"x20" I had a hard time getting the canvas moire' out of the photos. What's up with that? Anyway they must get blogged to save for posterity!
They're not the cutest birds I've ever seen, but their colors are fairly true to life; painted from some botanical drawings. Imagine what beautiful plumage they must have in real time.

The Mouse's House

"Christmas Gray Mouse at the Door of Her House." Just had to share this little ornament I made yesterday as a special order.


She's sculpted from colored polymer clay, and not even finished yet. When done she'll have two hooks on the back and will hang from a red silk ribbon bow. Think I'll be doing a line of these for the holidays. Call this a preview!

Falling

It's already September again. Seems like yesterday was January. Guess time does fly as you get older. But, I do so much love Fall, even though it's hard to tell here in Central FL. This month I'll be another year older and...better I hope. Some days I want to go back and do it all again differently, then there are other days I realize, (now that my head's screwed on a little straighter) I could have a good thirty productive years left. Better jump up and get on it! There's way too much to get done before I choose to expire!

♥ A new line of note cards with my own home grown, pressed, and dried flowers printed on translucent vellum. It's a cover that goes over a notecard printed with another arrangement so it winds up looking like a whole dimensional bouquet.

♥ A sneak peek at my new series of chunky, manly, oxidized copper pendants and key fobs. I just love these, and can't wait to see how they fare once I finish editing the photos and list them.

Circle of Friends

Titled "Sea Circle" I entered this piece into the MiniMakers Vs. Mud Team Challenge. One team creates or chooses items to inspire the other team's presentations. Those pieces are then displayed on the Mud Team's website. (The Mud team does full sized pottery) I created the little avatar for teammates to display on their Etsy shops to advertise the challenge. Voting is open this week.
Go here to vote for my entry.
http://etsymudteam.craft-sense.com/




I entered the Military Brats team "Fall Into Autumn Challenge" with this grouping of tiny desserts, kitty and pumpkins. I might win a beautiful stained glass piece from this challenge.

Too much work to do, and that is a great thing. Got honored in three Etsy Treasurys within the last week and that means although not purchasing, people are seeing and admiring my work. The teams I've joined have introduced me to some new friends all over the country and that's exciting. Having virtual friends keeps living a 'lone' existence from being lonely. I never feel lonely with a telephone, puter, and lots of art supplies!

Catching Up

I forgot to add a picture of the most lovely little crochet collar I received from LavenderLizard, my assigned gift swap partner for the Military Brats 1st b-day celebration. I love it on my pale pink cashmere sweater. Now, if it'll get cold enough here to wear it, well that'll be the end all.

It closes with a tie that should go in the back, but, putting it just off to the side in the front looked better. It can be worn lots of ways. Liz did a beautiful job and I'm a happy camper.

This is the final finished pizza ornament that Liz chose from my AngeeArt shop. I still think my collar was the better deal! Could be because I'm so used to my own artwork.