Saturday, February 28, 2009

Happy Saturday and a THANK YOU!

Good morning one and all! First off, I would like to thank Donna of DZFANTASY for featuring me on her blog! What a complete doll she is, trying to help promote Etsy shops! ♥♥♥ Please take a moment to visit her blog and see all the BEAUTIFUL and COLORFUL sculpted fabric dolls (faeries) she creates. What a super talent!!!


Ok, and here's my newest listing in my shop. She has quite the attitude huh? As I wrote in the Etsy shop description for her, this project turned out quite different from my original plans!

I bought 'Happily Ever After' scrapbook paper thinking I'd paint a pretty little princess waiting for her Prince Charming. I had previously done this crabby girl sketch in my art journal not knowing what I would ever do with her. On this particular day, I received word of an upcoming divorce. Another one. Does it ever end? Do people really ever find their one true love? I really wondered that day and then the two became one.....my scrapbook sheet and my sketch! Joined for life and sealed with beeswax :)




Thursday, February 26, 2009

Moments in Time


Mixed Media using scrapbook paper, watercolor paper and various mediums, mounted to masonite board.

I've been tagged!


Here is the 4th picture in my 4th file folder on my computer! This is my middle son, Ryan, who's holding her newborn nephew, Cutler. Cutler's sister, Nora is checkin' out that tiny mouth!!
Precious!


Ok, now the rules are that I have to pick 4 more people to tag!
So for those of you that choose to play (and I hope you all do!) go to your 'my documents' folder on your computer and select the 4th picture in the 4th file folder in your 'my pictures' folder.

I'm choosing Arthur Simo , Lisa, SirensIdyll & Susan!

Updated Angel Annie and more bits of fun schtuff

First of all, I'd like to thank DCHStudio for being so kind to include my moon girl ACEO print in her lovely TREASURY! I feel truly honored!!

Secondly, I tweaked Annie a little. Her bug eyes were BUGGIN me :) I just gave her a little thicker upper eye liner and it seemed to help a bit. I have a hard time with the bug eye on my girls! I've tried to go the other way and have had sinister looking, beady eyed babes come out. Not pretty either! haha I need to find the happy medium and on a more consistant basis.

Anyway, here she is now:


I also finished up another girl, but this time I scanned some sheet music and printed it out. I had to scan it first to make it more faint because it was just too dark to try and draw on. Anyway, the music is Moonlight Sonate and this one is larger than my other girls.






I've been tagged by Blog Artists so now I'm off to take care of that :) Wonder what I'll find in my folder!!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Angel Annie

I've been working on this one for a couple of nights so it's still a work in progress. This is a larger canvas (16 x 20)
I can't decide if I should stop or do more. She has tons of texture. The background is little squares of bible pages adhered to the canvas, then painted. I then added gauze and more paint. Then I antiqued it a bit. I think that's the hardest part for me......knowing when to quit! Or~ quitting too soon, sealing it and THEN thinking of something I should have done!

I just have to say........

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my girls on the book pages but I feel guilty accepting all the compliments about it being original :( They are not original. Well, they're 'my' artwork I guess, but the surface idea didn't come from my brain.

If you'll page back 2-3 days you'll see my first one and I mentioned that I was inspired by Milliande. She's done some beautiful works on text and I just wanted to try it also. I encourage you all to try it! It's so carefree and fun because what's the worst that can happen? If you mess up, you crumple it, toss it and grab the next page out of the book of 400! No expensive canvases to intimidate, just paper :) I love that part of it!!

Ok, again, I'm so grateful to all the nice comments but I didn't want anyone thinking I was taking credit for something I didn't deserve here .

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Hindsight (is 20/20)

I just completed another girl on a page from 'the' book :)
I'm really enjoying this 'painting on book pages' thing!

I'm heading to bed early. This morning I woke up at 4:38 am and couldn't get back to sleep. This is going on way too much lately. Maybe I've got too much on my mind lately, I don't know. I do know if I fall asleep too early I'll repeat the process again tomorrow. *yawn*

G'night my friends!


Leaving comments

Is anybody else having trouble doing this? I swear, 75% of the comments I've tried to leave in the past 24 hours have not been left because the word varification thingy gets stuck and it won't give me the letters to type!!!!!!

I want you all to know I tried :(

I'm making roasted squash soup for supper. It's SO good!

Then I'm off to paint and watch The Biggest Loser.

Today's a new day!

The last thing I ever want to do is whine, complain or bitch and that's what I did yesterday. Sorry......I'm one flippin happy camper today! Ok, the day's very young, so I really don't know yet but it's definitely in my plan!

I want to share one of my all time favorite pictures!



This is Ryan & Derek, my two older sons fishing when they were probably about 10 & 12 years old. They're standing on two culverts, fishing in the Goose River. Not sure anything swims in there besides bull heads. Nasty looking/tasting fish! But they had fun :)

I put it in picaso and softened it a bit. I would love to paint this image but feel guilty that my youngest son, Josh, isn't included. I wish I had a similar photo of him that I could try do something with but I just can't round one up.

Off to work I go........have a great day everyone and thanks for the support last night! It means a lot!

Monday, February 23, 2009

I'm having one of those days....*Whine alert*

My self-doubt monster is hanging around today. I'm not young enough, pretty enough, thin enough, fit enough, smart enough or talented enough.

I think I just need spring to pop in soon and bring warmer, sunnier days and new possibilities. Winters get so long here.

I just received 250 business cards and 100 plastic sleeves and backing boards for prints. I don't even know if I'll ever sell a print! haha Good thing I can sell supplies on etsy because I know I would have only ordered 10 if I could.....just to test the waters, ya know? Noooooooooo, I had to order 100 (ONE HUNDRED) I tried to think positive and say, 'yes! you will get prints ordered and you will sell them!' But today I just look at these new supplies and think......'pffffffft' The economy and this time of year is hard on Etsy from what I hear and I remember from my Ebay years it was like that there too.

In times of layoffs, high prices and economic panic who the heck buys art? I really wish I knew of something else to make/create that was a necessity that others needed and wanted and it also filled my need to create art at the same time. I saw somebody is selling moonpads
Maybe I could make some hand painted ones????? haha

Oh, I'll keep thinking because I know there's an idea out there. I just have to be patient and the whole thing will come together.

Here's what I did with yesterday's sketch..........


Hope you like it :)
Sorry if I depressed anyone....but thanks for letting me vent a little♥

Pencil sketch ACEOs







It's Monday, back to reality

Why do weekends go by SO fast?????? I appreciate my job, really I do, but I LOVE my weekends!!!


Another sketch put into Picaso and played with a bit.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Are you the one for me?

I bought a book 'after' my divorce by Barbara DeAngeles titled 'Are You the One For Me?'
I so wish I'd purchased and read this book prior to the fiasco! It's a pretty good book and had I read it beforehand, I would have known to pay attention to the big red flags pokin' me in the behind and not made the mistakes I made!!

That's the past. I moved on :)

I sketched this girl on one of the pages of this book, inspired by Milliande. What a wonderful artist she is!


My first doodle with Pitt Pens





Have you guys tried these? They are smooth, like budda (butter)
I found it a little hard to shade with markers but it's ok. They were fun
to use. I also did this on watercolor paper and I'm sure it would have been even smoother on
paper meant for drawing!
Bare in mind I had a big beautiful glass of wine and 2 cookies right before doing this so that's why it's a little wild :)


Here are just a couple of regular pencil sketches in my art journal. I haven't kept up with that for awhile! I enjoy it but I have trouble coming up with deep, motivational 'words of wisdom' as so many others do. I envy them and that talent!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Red Wine and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Is that bad, in the middle of the afternoon?
when
1) I should be watching calories and
2) I'm drinking out of wine glasses I bought on Etsy INTENDED for a gift?
Here are my GORGEOUS new glasses!

Please check out Vickie's Etsy store. She does fabulous work!

These are huge and had I read the description, I mean 'really' read it carefully and let it sink it, I would have known they would each hold a 20 oz. bottle of diet coke! haha I love these so much!

I sat here staring at them~ wondering, 'how will they look with red wine in them?'

So I gave in...... They are now MY glasses and all is right with the world.

I'll have to save my pennies and order more when I get a chance.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Good morning! I need to vacuum......I need to dust........I need to do laundry. Yet, I paint :) Oh well, that's the fun of being THE BOSS of ME! hehe

I've painted a new little angel on wood this morning. Now, I MUST GET BUSY doing the mundane chores that are calling. Hope you all have a beautiful Saturday!!

Hugs!

Friday, February 20, 2009

I think this is amazing!

I've got it saved in my youtube videos and it's just hypnotising to me to watch!

Women in Art

How do I get the video to just show up here instead of posting a link? Can anybody help me?


**UPDATE**
Thanks Lisa.......I'm going to try it right now!

Dog issues.....sorry but this one's long!

Any dog lovers out there today? Anyone ever had to deal with canine separation anxiety??????

Here are my boys

I’m at my wit’s end with my 15 month old german shepherd, Riley. I’ve always crated him when I’m away and he was fine with that. I work 8 hours a day but only a few blocks from home so I am right back at noon for an hour and then home at 4:30. I’m home most every night, yes….I lead a pretty dull social life.

Well, about 3 weeks ago he busted out of his kennel and when I got home he was loose with my other 5 yr. old shepherd, Mieko. They seemed fine and I thought, ‘well, ya know, he’s housebroken and he’ll be fine…I’ll just contain them both to the basement to be sure’.

A few days after this, all seemed just fine and then he started chewing on the outside of his kennel. Fine……I moved it, took it out of his sight. I came home another night and opened the basement door to find two LARGE dogs covered in goose down feathers! That’s right and if I wasn’t so shocked and frantic to clean up, I would have taken pictures. He’d jumped on top of a spare bed I have down there for my son to sleep on when he visits. Nothing fancy, but it HAD a very nice goose down featherbed on top of the mattress. I tried to sweep and they poofed all over the place. The furnace would kick in right about the time I managed to get a respectable pile together and again……*poof*. Finally I got it cleaned up after about 1 hour.

I didn’t think there was much more he could get into. A week later my 23 yr. old son stopped by my house at noon. We visited and then I had to get back to work. He saw that I had 2 doggie beds in my bedroom so assumed that’s where the dogs stayed these days. After about 1-2 hours he stopped out at work to see me and I asked if he put the dogs away. He said yes, he put them in my bedroom. I said, ‘oh no, Riley will chew up his doggie bed, he’s on the third one already!’ So Josh went back to the house and called me right away and told me that ‘no’ he hadn’t chewed up his doggie bed…….he’d destroyed MY bed. Yep….jumped on top of it and dug and tore into my pillow top mattress!

Since then, let’s see………he’s chewed on the side of a wooden chair seat, busted up a floor tile and chomped it into 487 pieces, chewed the handle off a La-z-boy recliner and yesterday started fraying the carpet at the bottom of the stairway.

Why not kennel him again you ask? Aw, good plan and I did. I think once a dog figures out that they CAN escape they don’t give up until they do. His kennel will not hold him. The other day I put 2 small tarp straps around the gate and I thought they were good and snug. I came home and he was loose……..tarp straps still in place. He’d squeezed his 80 lb. body out somehow.

He does NOT behave like this when I am home so it’s not behavior that I can catch him at and immediately correct him on.

I’ve contacted a shepherd breeder/trainer and she’s going to try help me. I thought I’d just have to find him a new home. Someplace where he’d have human companionship all day and maybe a big old farmyard to run and tire out. (I live in town and we don’t get out walking much in these cold ND winters)
It’s so hard to think of letting him go when he loves me so much. I love him also, believe me! She's assured me we CAN work through this!

He’s my shadow when I’m home. When I’m doing dishes, I practically trip over him because he has to lay on the floor right there in the kitchen. When I’m on the computer, he’s laying right on the floor next to me, when I'm in the bathroom curling my hair in the mornings he's laying right outside the door. I thought with Mieko around he wouldn’t feel lonely but he must just be mad that I’m not there?

Sorry this is so long……….I’m just sad and don’t know what to do or how this will turn out. I have a vacation scheduled March 6 to be gone for a week and there’s no way I can ask anyone else to deal with this so that leaves no other option but to board him somewhere. Will that cause more anxiety issues for him? I don't know.......I do not know.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Today's Chuckle

I get lots of them daily but for some reason this one made me chuckle out loud!
Thought I'd share it with you (maybe it's old and has been around before?)

The Black Bra

The other day I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends. One is engaged, one is a mistress, and of course I have been married for 20+ years.

We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by wearing a black leather bra or bodice, stiletto heels and a mask over just our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes. Here's how it all went.

My engaged friend:
"The other night my boyfriend came over and found me wearing a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams. I love you.' Then we made love all night long."

The mistress:
"Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing the leather bodice, heels, mask and a raincoat. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but we had wild sex all night."

Then I had to share my story:
"When my husband came home I was wearing a leather bodice, black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. As soon as he came in the door and saw me he said --
"What's for dinner, Batman?"


Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I tried ACEOs!

And boy, are they piddly work! haha


This is Hannah

This is Sarah




This is Tiffany



This is Cailee. I listed them all on etsy but I'm seriously
thinking I should go make Cailee disappear. For some reason her shading on her chin bled
a little and because these ARE SO SMALL and my eyes ARE SO BAD I didn't really notice until I saw the pics! She looks more like Menopause Margaret than a sweet little Cailee! Oh, the dreaded facial hair.........it's a comin!

This is my doodle at work today....shhhhh, don't tell. She's a snow angel all bundled up in her warm turtleneck sweater :)








Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Chipotle Chicken Tacos

I just got this recipe today and can't wait to try it! Thought I'd share it with you all. I possibly should try it first though? :)

Chipotle Chicken Tacos

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (or chopped green chiles)
1 can. condensed tomato soup
1 c. finely chopped onion
1 Tbl. chili powder
1 Tbl. cumin
Salt & Pepper

Puree canned chiles until smooth. Put in crockpot with soup, onions, spices and stir. Add chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 6-8.

Shred chicken and stir to combine when fully cooked.

Now fill soft tortillas with mixture and top with favorite fixings! Sour cream, avocado, cheese, lettuce, etc.


Sounds simple and good I think!

BOO!



This is how I doodle when I'm watching The Bachelor!
Is it just me? Are these people serious? I'm watching it only because I've gotten hooked on this strange mating ritual and now must see how it all ends. But seriously.......who finds their true love on reality tv when that's the sole purpose of the show? And what women think it's ok to fall in love with a man, knowing he's trying her out and romancing others at the same time (in the same house!)?

Sorry if anyone thinks this is normal, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around it!
He's a handsome man.......they are beautiful women. I can't believe they have difficulty dating in the real world so I'm left to believe they're just after their piece of the 'fame' pie. Nuff said.

Have a good day filled with 'real' love from the 'real' people in your life ♥

Monday, February 16, 2009

Thank you Vickie!

I woke up this morning to a very nice surprise! My bunny is listed in a treasury ! It's a treasury of items from members of the Design Style Guide and it rocks!

Vickie from vsilcoxdesigns put together a beautiful spring treasury and it's stunning! Please stop over to Vickie's Etsy shop too. She paints the most GORGEOUS glassware I have ever seen! I've tried doing this over the years and never, EVER achieved the look of 'class on glass' that she has! It's just beautiful!!

Thanks Vickie!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

DONNA~ My newest Angel

Here is Donna.......another mixed media angel, sealed with beeswax. I used more
scrapbook paper on her to change it up a bit. 9" x 12" masonite board.



I had a nice Valentine's day surprise!

Dale and I planned to just go out of town to pick up a few things, and go for a nice dinner for the day. That was it........or so I thought!
Then he surprised me with these!



Beautiful Open Hearts earrings (Jane Seymour)


and matching necklace!!

That was so sweet and I'm going to wear them today when we go to the play at the college! He's sweet ♥

Abstract Daisies

Thank you to Paint1chris for featuring this painting in her Etsy Treasury! Please check out her artwork on Etsy if you get a chance!



She is also a member of the 'Original Artists of Etsy' team!!

Here's the original Treasury but look quick, it expires in a day. BEAUTIFUL COLORS!
I was an alternate so if you go to look and I'm not there, she's maybe swapped again. That's so cool to know you can do that! I never knew why we picked 16 items to put in a treasury and only 12 would show up. NOW I know I can swap them out to feature them all at some point!

I'm working on a list for next time. Pink & Chocolate. There are so many cute things on Etsy with those colors :)

Well I got my haircut yesterday......it's quite a bit shorter but I think it's going to be a style I can work with more easily. The last one required blowing it straight, using a straight iron, etc. etc.
I have a natural wave in my hair and I felt it was damaging it more. Now I have a cut where my curl is incorporated in and I just think it'll be better AND easier! I haven't tried to style it myself yet, so if you hear screaming and bawling in an hour, you'll know it didn't go well! ha

Off to shower and then paint! Have a great day!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Off to the salon

I need to tell my very sweet and talented stylist today that since I can NOT take her home with me she's going to have to give me a style that I can manage. I leave there usually very happy and amazed that I can actually have a 'cool' hairstyle and not the normal frump-a-do, but within 1-2 weeks I'm lost. My hair has a mind of it's own, I swear! I just had my hair cut 6 weeks ago and it's looked out of shape for 4 weeks already. $35 for 2 weeks of somewhat stylish hair is too much for my little checkbook.

Maybe I'll get the Susan Powter style? :) I WISH I could look good with that, how easy would that be to deal with each morning?????

I've got another sketch done and I'm hoping to get to work on it tomorrow.

Have a super Valentine's Day everyone!! ♥♥♥ May you give and also receive real love today and every day!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Etsy Sneak Attacks

"What's a Sneak Attack? Three days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announced on this site. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop! Want to join in?
I bet you do!"

I've participated in a couple of these and they were really fun! I can't imagine being a new seller and being bombarded with sales one after another! I think I'd faint!! But how nice of this website to do this, huh? Please check it out if you get a chance. You can also see the shops they've attacked and how they did.

I'm going to try my hardest to think of something deep and profound today to share with everyone! But as I've said in the past, I'm still in kinderbloggin so please be patient with me. I promise to be more interesting in time♥

A special thank you to Campbell Jane for helping me to figure out how to nicely put in a link here! Woohoo! Please check out her awesome work on Etsy!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Just when I get discouraged.......

Along comes a sale!!! Woohoo!

My moon girl painting sold on Etsy this morning!





She'll be heading out to Georgia :)



I also added Faith and Laura to my Etsy shop along with another 10" x 10" canvas this morning.


The title of this one is 'Listen with thy heart"

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I think I need to get this book!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


----from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.
If you like the paragraph, you’ll love the book...! (AMAZON.COM)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Laura & Faith


I think I'll name this one Laura. I wanted to paint a blonde angel in memory of Laura Williams Jaffe. She's a woman from Fargo who was missing and after several days of searching, divers discovered her body in the Red River this past weekend.
I feel so bad for this family :( May she rest in peace.



I'm naming this one 'Faith' because I need to keep the faith
in SO many areas of my life!! I get discouraged way too easily and
I give up. NO more...I can do whatever I set out to do, it's really about having FAITH!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Charity


I have to say, this is one of my favorite angels so far. I've named her Charity.
I was so inspired today by the thoughtfulness of a complete stranger on Etsy and the help and support she gave me as an artist. How very kind!
Thank you Linda!
And thank you, Lori for always supporting me in whatever I do! We've never met in person, but you've been my rock for almost 8 years. You are an angel!! Love & Hugs, Darla

p.s. She's available now on Etsy >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My goal is to do a series of similar angels and then have prints made and possibly note cards.
Wish me luck!

Darla.....long, long ago :)


Oh it started young......I see, even at this age, I had something in my mouth! I was quite the sad little sailor girl! Not sure if it was having my picture taken (still can't stand that) or if it was the new haircut!!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Shop Etsy!

I can't believe all the wonderful things there are to buy on Etsy!
I've been checking things out and have found this shop which makes me smile!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5766973

The name of this shop is NotMoira. If you want unique, original greeting cards that you will NOT find at Hallmark, shop here!!

And check out these handmade journals from Austria!http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5027177

Saturday, February 7, 2009



Trying to do a more mature face with more of a folk art feel.
Posted by Picasa

Friday, February 6, 2009



I sketched this Little Miss Crabby thing awhile back and just
couldn't resist putting her on this scrapbook page!
She makes me laugh. She's such a pessimist! But then, I can
be one also......sometimes ;)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

My OH-SO Talented Son's work!


Scratchboard Wolf


Scratchboard Mountain Lion



Scratchboard Eagle

My son, Derek Peterson, did these up and had professional prints made. I'm hoping to convince him to set up shop on Etsy!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Big Red


She's a big girl on a 16 x 20 canvas. Flowing red hair
and raised textured roses! She has big hair and big lips so
I just quickly titled her 'Big Red'. I'll have to rethink this and give her
a little more spiritual name :)


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

I LOVE YOU-Angel & a BUNNY

Here's my most recent angel. She is 12" x 24"
"I love you'
"Always & Forever"




This is a Trudy Beard design that I did awhile back on 16x20 canvas. I just remembered I had it tucked nicely in a closet so I've brought her out for spring! THINK SPRING!