serious business

here's a treasury i made for both the etsyLush team and the etsy success symposium, which i'll be tuning into tomorrow.  i've also been following a blog called etsy in real life.  malaika, who has a great sense of humor, has written a series of posts, starting here, about the business side of etsy which has helped inspire me to get even more serious about my etsy shop.  for some laughs and encouragement go check it out, it's a good read.

one thing i have noticed about my shop is that when i have a searchable item, such as a calendar, my shop gets much more traffic.  i've just listed a moleskine notebook with a hand drawn cover and just that word, moleskine, gets me views. 

so now i've got to figure out what words a customer would use to search for art. :)

here's the moleskine notebook with an illustrated cover in my shop

this is one of my inner constellations pieces in honor of the theme for the etsy success symposium :)

and here's to success, however you measure it.

surprises

some of the best things about moving into a new house are the surprises in the garden.  the things that were sleeping under a blanket of snow that you didn't even know about.

these forsythia are positively day-glo.  youngest son said it's like living in a disney movie.  there is a yellow light streaming into our kitchen.  it's a bit comical and very welcome!

and then there are surprises like this

which led to an ambitious bunch of miniature ants coming in my back door, uninvited mind you, and heading straight for the dishwasher on a mission known only to them.

these are some prints taken from the humble hand drawn fortune cookie wisdom calendar (that's a mouthful, isn't it?) that i've hand colored and then added a border to.  i thought they might be cute enough to stand on their own.  i plan on adding a few more but these are in the shop now.

i have been obsessed with jane eyre ever since seeing the newest version with mia wasikowska and michael fassbender.  mia portrays jane in such a quiet and strong way.  her face is amazing.  the movie itself is gorgeous.   ok, so now, i am completely embarrassed to admit that i have not read the book yet!  but as i'm writing this post i have the 1944 version on tv with joan fontaine, orson welles and elizabeth taylor as helen.  it is so different and i am loving it.  anyone else out there obsessed?  the book must be fantastic.  anyone read it?  or should i say, has everyone read it but me? 

i need that book on my night stand now!  to the library tomorrow.

sweet dreams...

beautiful things and a little progress

beautiful things

blobhouse
emawilliamson
TheVintageParlor
annamagruder
handitdown
EatGreen
PaperTurtles
ViasVintage
LitPrints


and here's the progress

i started a spread for the sketchbook project book and at least have ideas for a few more pages.  yippee!  i find that i have to be working on multiple pages or projects at once.  it sometimes takes me days before i finally feel that something is right, or just decide that i'm sick of it and move on.  do you work that way - working on a few pieces at once?  i'm always so interested in how others work.   well no more work tonight, it's off to bed for me.

sweet dreams...

sunday

i've spent about an hour checking out a detox diet that i found through someone's blog, please don't ask me whose, because it was during one of those moments (hours) of uncontrollable link clicking.  that source is so far gone from my memory - sorry. so i'm not one for new year's resolutions and i'm usually fashionably late which means it's just about time to start the dreaded d word. 

just the thought of it makes me crave this.

and this

and this

and i wish i had my own personal chef to make them for me... um, right now please?
all these lovely, non-fattening photos are from call me cupcake

and here's a beautiful things list to go with our cake and cookies and cupcakes!

bylykiard
SisterNomadSupplies
LesleyFletcherArt
photomamregina
ohthisnose
eurovintage


sweet dreams...

sand and sea

i was going to work on another beautiful things list but i just had to share these beautiful things in this treasury by madebyjulie.  i think it could be a new font - etsy style. :)   i love it.  and yes, that's my little assemblage shadowbox in the third row, looking not too shabby in this treasury.

here's a few of the very neat things in madebyjulie's shop

thanks julie!

aunt mungy's lace

things like this are why i love thrifting so much.  here's this bundle of lace wrapped with green thread and a note that reads - yoke and sleeves of aunt mungy's nightgown.  what images does this conjure for you?  was this a favorite aunt?  did aunt mungy save this lace for her favorite niece?  what did the nightgown look like? that handwritten note makes this lace all the more interesting to me.  it reminds me of all the little trinkets my father gave to me.  he was always giving me, my kids, all of us, these treasures that he found while he was at a yard sale or an auction.  the minute i expressed interest in anything he found, it was mine.  since he passed away, these little gifts, these little memories mean so much more to me.  when i hold them i can almost feel him here. 

this sweet bundle of lace makes me think about things like that -  the lives behind it and the love.

has anyone found any neat treasures while thrifting recently?   i for one, can't wait till it's garage sale weather!

here's a little collage that i made in a mixed media class i took a few years ago that was a little bit life changing for me.  i'm going to write about that eventually if only to talk about the awesome women i met there.

so what do you think mungy is short for?

scary white pages

the other night, when i should have been in bed i posted about a drawing challenge and half committed to it.  this is the reason why.  have you all heard about the sketchbook project?  basically it's a 32 page blank book that you get to make your own using whatever mediums you choose.  you pick a theme which can inform what you do, or not.  the sketchbook then gets cataloged in the brooklyn art library where it can be viewed by anyone and everyone. thousands of sketchbooks will also travel the world to be viewed, making this a really cool, global project.  the art house co-op, the group that came up with this nifty project has others for you to do to that combine this global, collaborative art idea. 

so... the deadline for this is april 30th and it's fast approaching.  i have started working on one page.  i have some thoughts for others.  but right now 32 pages is scaring the (bad word) out of me.

sooo many blank, white, spotless pages.

here's the page i've started.  i'm still deciding between 2 themes - the secret and how to tell it or how to spell and other things to learn.  

oh my...  so i will revisit the 30 day drawing challenge when i'm not quaking in my boots.  if anyone else decides to do it please let me know.  i would love to see your work and link to it.

managed to get past the scary little white canvas and made this.  it contains the first lines of one of my favorite emily dickinson poems.  here's the complete poem

hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

and sings the tune - without the words,

and never stops at all,

and sweetest in the gale is heard;

and sore must be the storm

that could abash the little bird

that kept so many warm.

i've heard it in the chillest land,

and on the strangest sea;

yet, never, in extremity, 

it asked a crumb of me.

and i'll leave you with another favorite

ample make this bed.

fill this bed with awe;

in it wait for judgement break

excellent and fair.

be its mattress straight,

be its pillow round;

let no sunrise' yellow light

interrupt this ground.

smile

i saw these prada shoes in vogue today.  what do you think?  an awesome combination of vintage cars and footwear?  i love them if only because they made me smile!

midnight thoughts

do you like a challenge?  this seems like a really neat one but maybe you've seen it before.  i think i'm going to try it, i just hesitate to make a decision about anything at 12:30 at night when i should have been in bed 2 hours ago.  anyone else interested?  maybe we could post blog links or something? have a link party?  think about it.  in the cold hard light of day.

sweet dreams and don't let the bed bugs bite.

sunday

i had to share with you some neat things i found while thrifting.  first, i am in love with these books.  they aren't quite as sensational as some 50's pulp novels but i love their covers just the same.  

also found this plaster plaque of a nautical scene.  i love its little details and its 3d qualities.  and i love just as much, its chips and worn spots.  the label on back says hand painted in england.

a bit of lace that years ago, some thrifty lady saved from the hem of a nightgown perhaps, to dress up something else.  its aged color is gorgeous.

all of these will be in the shop soon.

sunday breakfast, or should i say brunch - *gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, news and sara vaughan.  a great beginning to a beautiful sunday. hope yours was sweet too.

*we made a few adaptations to the recipe as follows:

added another cup of Pamela's, eliminated the oil, added about 1 cup water, put in an additional 1/2 tbs. sugar and maybe most importantly, added a bunch of chocolate chips.  so yummy, so moist...  there are some leftovers calling to me...

enjoy!