The Art Every Day Month Challenge

I decided to participate in the Art Every Day Month challenge from Leah @ Creative Every Day While I've been creavtive a little bit each day, it's only been a little wee bit. Since my mother in law has been in the hospital it's been a bit of a whirlwind. I don't even know which end is up currently. I work all day, go to the hospital afterwork, and come home to cook dinner at about 7:00. It's been tough, but to keep myself a wee bit of sane, I need to create. I need to create daily anyway, but the stressful, awful times are when I need it most.

Yesterday I completed a little octopus amigurumi to send off to a swap partner. I'd already sent off what should have been the complete swap of two amigurumi ornaments, but for some reason my little ami bird flew the coop! I found her days afterward on my desk...long after the package had left my hands and started the trip to Mexico. So I figured I'd get her packed up and sent off, but she needed a traveling companion to keep her company and make sure she stays in the envelope this time! So, of course an octopus came to mind! What other creature could hold a little bird in place, one with 8 legs should be able to do it! Here's the octopus:

This is Ollie...at least that's the name I've given him...his new owner might have a different name for him though :)

Today, November 6th, is when I'm going to buckle down and really start posting about my jaunts through Art Everyday Month. I really look forward to making a dent in some creative time, and getting my creative things back in order. Can I consider "creating an organized crafting space" part of Art Every Day Month?

The Artisan View - Avalon_Studios on Artfire

Today's interview is with Athena of Avalon_Studios! In Avalon_Studios, you'll find all kinds of wonderous jewelry. From natural stone, to metal charms I'm sure you'll find something that tickles your fancy! I'm personally quite taken with these fun rock and roll earrings!



So without further ado, here's Athena!




Name: Athena

Location: New York

Artfire Link: http://www.artfire.com/users/avalon_studios

Blog Link: http://avalonny.blogspot.com

What got your started in your craft? I started out making gifts for friends and family when I couldn't afford to go and buy presents for birthdays and holidays. It eventually turned into a year round hobby.

Where do you find your greatest inspiration or sparks that creative muse? So many things. My kids are probably the best inspiration. I also take inspiration from nature or art that I've seen.



Are you Formally Taught, or self-trained? I'm self-taught. I learned almost everything through trial and error and hours upon hours of reading.


Any advice you would like to share with other artists? Do what you love no matter what you think others may think of it. If you aren't doing something you totally love you'll never be happy with the end result.

What''s some weird, fun, random fact about you? I'm a huge nerd. I like role-playing games and the latest technology (when I can afford it LOL)


What is your studio/creative space like? I recently marked out my own little work area in my living room. It's a tall bar-like area held up with shelves. You can see pictures of my room make over on my blog.


Do you have a favorite piece of art you created? I think my favorite piece so far has been my Medallion Pendant. Using the natural materials and blending them together was fun and it was interesting to see how they fit so well together.

Something New is coming!

Greetings all! I've been so inspired by all my creative friends online that I've decided to do some Artisan Interviews on my blog here. Every other day, I'll be highlighting my favorite Artisans from all over!

I feel this will be a great place to get to know some of those artisans who have inspired me, become close friends, and who's items I just go loopy over. There's going to be lots of eye candy to ooo and ahhh over! So prepare to be wowed!


"The Artisan View" Will be starting here in a few minutes. If you are a shop owner and would like to be part of my Artisan Spotlight, drop me a line! Once I receive your answers you'll be put into the queue for the blog postings. Along with this posting will be a twitter, facebook and plurk announcement. Hopefully it'll bring your shop some extra exposure, and business.

New Ideas and less time to create.

Greetings all! It's been so long since I posted i figured I'd best take some time to pop in and revive this little spot of creativity. I've been under a lot of overwhelming time constraints lately dealing with an injured family member and trying to keep up with everything else I normally do. Art and my close friends have been my link to sanity. I've been trying to prep for an art show at the end of October and that is starting to weigh heavily on my mind. I've got a few things in the works, but just don't know how I'm going to have enough time to get enough product done. Three things a night (if that) over a 30 day period does not an art show stock up make.

I'm trying my darnedest though. I've spent the last few days searching for things to turn into pin cushions. Here is the resulting first trials of this venture.


I'm not really sure if I'm going to carry on with the clear ones. I'm not sure I like the way they turn out. My friend however like it more than the others. I did five more last night, and will be posting pictures of those later. I've got a huge batch of fairies in the works, but I've got to split them between the show, the gallery and my artfire/etsy shops. I might just split them between the gallery and the show for now and worry about the websites later. However I fear missing a lot of good holiday shopping.

These are two postcards I did for an all pink postcard swap. It was fun working in shades of only one color. A bit of a challenge...but I think they turned out pretty neat.


Ok, it's off to do a bit of photography this morning and then get to some serious art work.

A few new ACEOs

These were done for a recent swap of Things with Wings for art 42

I had also done two bird cards to go with this, but didn't think to scan them before popping them into the envelope. One was a crow piece, and one was my little bulb headed birds with long spindly legs.

Watercolor Cards

Working on fall cards....breaking out the watercolor as it's been so long since I really "played" with it. These are for a swap via swap-bot. I love how they turned out, especially because i hadn't used watercolors for awhile, other than quick background washes and easy fill for aceos.

So I had to do something fall themed, without being Halloween. I LOVE the fall for the brilliant colors in the leaves and figured that would be an easy way to edge into blending colors again. I then moved from there to the purple martin migrations. This turned out kind of neat, though not exactly what I had in mind.


I then thought about the lovely gourds and pumpkins I so love during the fall. I think there's nothing more lovely than a centerpiece of freshly fallen leaves and harvest gourds. Natural and wonderful!


I figured the envelopes needed a bit of beautifying so I did some simple leave designs for the two leaf and harvest cards.

And a quick purple martin over the tree tops



Quite a satisfying artful evening. Hopefully I'll have plenty more of those to come. Now it's off to bed with me since it's now nearly 2:00 am. I've reverted back to night owl status since being on vacation. Monday is going to be HARD!

I've got myself prints now! WHOOT!!

I found a place to get prints of my aceos...or my larger art on aceos without much hassle of setting up the layout myself (what can I say... I'm lazy and slightly computer illiterate) However, this place seems to be the way to go. I figure if I can make enough money from fairies in the next few months I'll be able to offer a free fairy aceo with each sale next year. :) The bad thing is I'd have to limit it to one striking image (or two as I can get double sided printing) so I'll have to really think about it. They did a great job with the things I sent them. They're photo paper prints right now, but I'm going to try the upgrade next time to a thicker stock which will make them even more "print" like. I'm still going to keep my eyes peeled for other printing venues as I'd love to find affordable printing for larger versions of my artwork.

Here are the prints I'm currently offering in my artfire and etsy shops:
"My Blue Days"

"Carmine Bee Eater Trio"


"Basking Cat"


"Gaia"


"Blue Throated Bee Eater"

Now taking custom orders for Fairy Names

It's about time you say! Finally the fairy names are up in my etsy shop, and my artfire shop available for purchase! Here's just one of the ones I've done.

It's ANOTHER TREASURE HUNT!

If you missed it last time, be sure to check it out this time!!

Have you ever been on a Treasure Hunt? Now is the perfect time!



A group of sellers has hidden a picture of a treasure chest in their shops. All you have to do is find the item with the picture and you can receive the special that they are offering.



Sounds simple, right?



To make it even easier, I’m going to give you the links to the shops and tell you what special they are offering.



These specials are going to run today, Saturday June 6, from 10:00 am EST to midnight.



In each shop’s announcement, you can read more about the special they have running and how it is going to work



Happy hunting!!

ViridianMuse
Find the treasure chest and get 10% off the item and free shipping!!



MNHPhotography
50% off item with Treasure Chest



VanceStudios
50% off item with Treasure Chest



SpunSisterDesigns
BOGO at 50% off (equal or lesser value)



SheDesignsJewelry
Free bracelet with purchase of item with Treasure Chest



newhopebeading
25% off item with Treasure Chest



AccessoriesbyGottJoy
30% off the item with the Treasure Chest



GottBeads
30% off the item with the Treasure Chest



KraftyLady
25% off plus free shipping on item with the Treasure Chest



Angelas_Adornments
20% off and free shipiping for the item with the Treasure Chest

I've been digging through old files....found some good stuff! :)

My very first experiments with photoshop. I was realllllly green at this point (as if I'm not still a novice) but I think this was pretty cool!More photoshop play. I just loved this image of my nephew and thought it would make a great card image. This was for a blue swap as well as the x-ray floral above.

Viridian Muse is now offering Flower Fairy Photo Prints!

I found it was time to start adding prints to the shop. I've been getting a lot of compliments on my latest round of fairy photos and thought it might be time to see about getting prints available. So here are just a few! There are more to come! Plus I'll be soon listing my macro photography.

Need to really get some photos edited!

I've got a bunch of photos to get prints and put onto disc. I love this one, of my niece last year. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change.

I'm also working on getting images loaded to my cafepress shop. Pretty soon you'll be able to get images of the flower fairies on cards and t-shirts. I'll be taking time over the weekend to get the first few up and loaded! Right now you can get the Nature Fairy watercolor images on cards and t-shirts. These are fairies I drew a few years ago. I absolutely loved them, and have been trying to re-create the style in other natural seeds and florals, but haven't yet been able to do it. I guess the muse only had plans for these three. Hopefully soon I'll be inspired again to make more. Check them out (warning-artful nudity on these fairies) The Nature Fairies are located under the "Fairy Corner" heading. You can also find some of my macro photography there as well!
Including some gorgeous white roses.

It's an ARTFIRE TREASURE HUNT!

Hi all! I'm participating in an artfire treasure hunt today! It's offering up some great deals on some wonderful shops! Check them out! Click this link for direct links to the shops listed below

My shop is offering an amazing 50% off your entire order if you can find the treasure!

Have you ever been on a Treasure Hunt? Now is the perfect time!



A group of sellers has hidden a picture of a treasure chest in their shops. All you have to do is find the item with the picture and you can receive the special that they are offering.



Sounds simple, right?



To make it even easier, I’m going to give you the links to the shops and tell you what special they are offering.



These specials are going to run today, Saturday May 30, from 10:00 am EST to midnight.



In each shop’s announcement, you can read more about the special they have running and how it is going to work



Happy hunting!!



MNH Photography

Free International Shipping in addition to the existing 50% off sale.



lillies

25% off the special item



newhopebeading

25% off the special item



VillageBoutique

$5.00 off the special item



BohemianRose

Free shipping on special item


SpunSisterDesigns

50% off second item of equal or lesser value



VeridianMuse

Find the treasure and get half off your entire purchase in my shop. just mention the treasure chest and where you found it when you check out.



GlasstasticTreasures

25% off the item containing the Treasure Chest, plus FREE shipping if the order is over $25.00 (total order does not include shipping) Just purchase and pay, I'll refund the money! Message me with questions, Enjoy :)



SarenzoBeads

buy one Get one 50% off

The Cap'n Has been Spotted again!

Cap'n Nemo has surfaced again! He's spending some time in Costa Mesa and the surrounding California area! Check him out, and don't forget to follow his blog to stay updated on where Cap'n Nemo's been! Meet the Cap'n Here!

More New Fairies!

Here are a few new fairies I've put together.This is Adita. Adita is wearing a pale pink lace skirt and sky blue top. She holds an adorable little birdie friend. Her hair is gunmetal grey with a pink highlight. She has metal wings.

This is Beibhinn...pronounced Bay-vin. Beibhinn wears multiple layers of white and a navy blue top. Her hair is verigated green and she holds a cats eye wand.

This is Gillian. Gillian wears lovely skirts in pinks and white with a multi colored metallic top. Her hair is a lovely shade of pale lilac. She holds three red roses in her arms. Gillian is an ornament with a white hang ribbon.

This is Lalita. Lalita has a beatiful red and white skirt with a white lace apron. Her wings are sky blue with hand drawn detail. She holds a white and black floral wand.


This is Millicent. Millicent is dressed in a short purple skirt with multiple layering to make it extra flouncy. Her hair is an adorable aqua blue with a pink Alice band. She holds a golden lantern in her hand and sports a bit of attitude. Her top is a golden yellow color and she's got tiny metal wings.

This is Pilar. Pilar is a tropical colored fairy. She wears a gorgeous peachy pink sorbet toned skirts with a tropical orange top. She holds a silver ring with a deep purple star.

This is Roxie. Roxie wears a taupe and green colored skirt with a light gold colored top. Her hair is a raspberry color which she highlights with a stylish sparkly blue pillbox hat.In her hands she holds a dark aruora borealis crystal. She's a clip but could easily be made into an ornament.

This is Shanti. Shanti wears skirts in gold and silver metallics with a sky blue overlay. Her top is done in the style of a sari with a golden mesh ribbon. Her dark black hair is braided into two braids down her back. She holds a little golden ocarina.


This is Taryn. She wears a beautiful skir in pale pinks and cream. Her top is raspberry colored which sets off her aqua hair. She's got gold metal wings. She holds the wand of hope in her hands. She's an ornament with a beige colored hang ribbon.

WHOOOOOT! Got it working! Pretty Spiffy...if anyone out there needs an or would like a nifty animated something or other..give me a yell. I've got to learn somehow and there are only so many banners and avatars you can make for yourself. :)

Learned something new today! Whoot!

Working on animated banners and ads for my shops. I cannot however figure out why I can't get them to show on blogger....I'm cornfused. :) I'll figure it out though!

well this is the beginning of the looped images. I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong. Guess it's back to the research stage. I can get them to list as ads correctly, but I cannot list them here on blogger to show the animation. Perhaps it should be an html break down to put it in here....I'm slowly gaining a bit of intelligence when it comes to this sort of thing. :)

Where has May gone?

It seems like only yesterday it was the end of April and I was looking forward to May with new hope of finishing projects in the works. Now it's nearly the end of May and I don't think I've even made a small dent in the goals I had in store for May. I've got a new pile of fairies that need photographed and set up for sale. I've also got another 30 bodies dressed and waiting a trip to the hair salon. I'm hoping to take some of my day tomorrow and get at least the photographs up and shown.

I really need to buckle down and get some serious cleaning done. I think I'll play the timer trick and set a timer for 15 minutes at a time and clean piles in 15 minute increments. That way I have very little time before I switch to the next thing. That will mean I have less time to get bored and distracted. I find when I'm searching through things that I get a bit distracted. The next thing I know, two hours have passed and I've been in some sort of cluttered trance and haven't done a thing!

We're gearing up for our annual trip to Charlotte, North Carolina in June. This means P's got to dig out the comics he's taking to the convention and that's beginning to involve a lot of moving around here in our cluttered four rooms. We always start talking about getting things done early this time, but it never works out that way. We're behind yet again. It's now literally a month away and we're no further ahead than we were when we first started talking about being ahead of the game this time around.

I've been watching my nieces the past couple of Friday's and I'm really enjoying the time I get to spend with them. They're such adorable girls. D came over last friday and spent time with us too. Dae is my 6 year old Nephew. He's spent a lot of time with me over the years. When he was a tiny baby he spent one or two days with me a week with me while his mom worked. We're really close which I absolutely love! I wish I were as close with the neices as I am with Dae. He's really intelligent and comes up with some amazing discussions and melt your heart statements.

So, May is almost gone and I sit here thinking of all the things i want to finish before the end. I'm not much of a list person, though I wish sometimes I were. I've tried lists in the past, but I usually write them,then lose them. If I don't lose them, I forget that I even wrote a list. There's something to be said for people who can write a list and slowly tick off the obligations. Then there are the obsessives...those list writers who list every second of their day from the moment they put foot to floor, to the shower times, to the breaks they're taking....I have one of these types in my life and it literally drives me NUTS! She'll write a list and it will have " get up, bathroom, laundry, make breakfast, swap laundry loads, get dressed, take break, go to store, home, unpack, go to post office, home, collect papers, go to church, drop off papers.....SERIOUSLY! If I needed a list and it starts out with GET UP and has to remind me to come home from the store!!!! that's tooooooooo MUCH! I'm much happier flying by the seat of my pants. It's much more fun to not plan my day to the second. I also thinks it makes the stress of a normal day a lot easier to handle. I don't have a list that is shouting at me from my pocket, screaming of all the things I hadn't got to in a day.

Well I think I've rambled on enough for the day. I guess I just needed to pour out my brain and clear it for a good nights sleep. Hopefully tomorrow will be a productive and satisfying day!

HAPPY MAY 19th! JUNE is COMING FAST!

Even more new fairies!

More new fairies, there are more to come! Soon to be listed for purchase. These are perhaps spoken for, but if you see something you like, contact me and we can talk.

I'll be announcing when the new listings go live. Until then I'll be peppering my blog and flickr, with fairy images.

New Fairies!

New Fairies, possibly spoken for. I've got a whole new batch in the works though, so there will be plenty more where these flew in from!
You will notice the new metal wings, some of the fairies are wearing! How exciting! These metal wings work for ornaments, but not for pins (yet)..I'm trying to work out the logistics on that still. However, they're stunning!
You'll also notice some of the fairies are wearing their finest laces. These few just have a bit of lace. It's been a real challenge figuring out how to make the lace work with the construction of the fairies. I've got some other fairies with peeks of lace under or over their skirts, some wearing veils. Who knows how I'll figure out how to make it work from here on out! The more I play with it the more ideas I come up with!


Keep your eyes peeled on etsy and artfire! The fairies will be making their debuts soon!

new fairy products.

working on new ideas for the flower fairy series. This is the begining. I don't like the base but it was a good place to start. I'll be most likely painting the bases from now own as the wood just sucks up the sharpie. I'll probably try to keep them pretty plain and simple compared to this one. I think the lines are distracting and take awa from the posed fairies. I don't think I'll be doing moss on all of them or maybe not at all. I think it's kind of cute as it adds a bit of natural feeling to the set up.