New Idea

Ok So I have a new idea. I am wanting to make charms using some of my photographic images. I have made a few so far and I think they look really great. I think its a nice way for people to purchase an image they like and be able to wear it too. A true piece of wearable art? We shall see. These are the three pieces that I have made already.

So I need some opinions. Tell me what you think!

Captivity: Oregon Zoo

Today we had a fun and eventful day. We went to the Oregon Zoo. OK. So maybe Morgan is a bit young for it, but she had some enjoyable moments. She found the hairy pigs to be the most entertaining telling us "piggy sleep." It was so adorable to hear her say it!

And sure enough since it was nice and sunny out all of the animals were enjoying a lazy day. I loved these hairy pigs too. So adorable. One of the other places that we enjoyed is the Laurakeet Landing where you can hold cups full of nectar for the birds to drink. My husband had three of them on one arm, and my daughter enjoyed watching daddy and the "birdys." They were very sweet animals and very accustomed to people and screaming children. Granted Justin was just a tad nervous.

Notice the look on his face: PRICELESS! I was even graced by one of these feathered creatures as well. They  were very inquisitive.

We also had two cases of "wardrobe malfunction" on Morgans part. We had just gotten to the zoo and daddy got her out of the car, she was soaked. The car seat was soaked everything was soaked. Luckily I had brought a spare pair of pants. And about halfway through the zoo daddy felt something warm, on his side. Sure enough cause of him carrying her she missed the diaper and soaked her second pair of pants. So she got bundled in her blanket while mommy fanned her pants to get them to dry.            

She hardly noticed, and since it was sunny she wasn't terribly cold. We kept her as bundled as we could. We saw allot of great things and I don't want to boar you with more hot air, so I will mention this one last thing. While in the Pacific northwest exhibits we were able to see the cougar. Such a gorgeous creature. She was, however more interested in the bear that was shimmying down one of the trees in the exhibit across from her. The look on her face says "hunter." I couldn't have asked for a better shot of this magnificent creature! And she wanted to go and eat that bear. Woo, even though there was steel mesh between us and her, people were very spooked by her. Morgan, Justin and I just enjoyed watching her.



So all in all we had a great time and even got out of there before the traffic got bad. I think I said the lords prayer, or the parts of it I know till we got past Salem. There is some crazy drivers up in Portland. WOW.

Promos.

I am part of a local Etsy team and one of the members had a wonderful idea: Promos! OK so I sat here scratching my head going "what could I do?" OK, beads were a given since I have a few stored here and there, so I made some promos with my business card and a fancier bead or two spacer beads. But I was at a loss as to what to do to promote my art images. I was so stumped there. Then I remembered (pretend a light bulb went on) Ah-ha! I have some 4x6 images that I had printed up to get and idea of what the final image would look like. Well while going through my pictures I found the wallet sized ones I had printed up to make a memory match game for Morgan. I hadn't made all of them into the game so I used the remainder for my promos! It worked out so beautifully! I am very happy with the promos that I have made. These will be mailed to other members of the team so that they can include a little something in the packages they send out to their customers. I cant thank the ladies of the local Corvallis Etsy Team enough for being so helpful and wonderful! Here are a few images of my "work" surface (this means the kitchen since Morgan is blocked from my work room now.)

Getting ready to put my business cards and the wallet sized promo images together. I actually enjoy doing the extra work to promote my etsy shop.
Now all I need to do is get off my rump and get the magnets on the car. Maybe after we go to the zoo tomorrow.

This counter looks worse most days. I am constantly doing work on it, and not of the cooking variety. And we always have coffee in the pot. I cant survive without my coffee each day.                                      

Here is the finished product! I made a good amount so that if anyone else asked for some they would be ready to rock and roll!

The Tulip Terror

My daughter, bless her little heart, loves flowers. She also love ripping them from their stems. I find this annoying because 1) she shouldn't be doing it, and 2) I want my yard to look nice! And how can that be achieved if she rips my flowers to shreds? It Cant. LOL. But I will say that for each flower she decided to terrorize and shred, I get at least 1 nice picture of it, POST SHRED. I never let an opportunity go, when it involves mangled flowers. So here are a few pictures of today's destruction and revival.

A Hotness treasury

Last night one of my images (below) was selected to be in a new treasury, and it is on the first page of the treasury listings. For me this is pretty big. It might not seem like much, but I think it is! (column 4 row 4.)

I have provided a link to the treasury below and I wanted to highlight the shop that put me in it. Prettwoman101 has a wonderful selection of art images including some of her originals. The one I love is "Burning Sky." It reminds me of one of my fave Monet's. So if you are looking for some great images for your home or personal collection, stop into her shop. She has something for everyone that is sure to please and delight!

Treasury link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4daae5f3326b8eef8646526e/who-said-sexy-and-didnt-get

Treasury Curator Shop Link:
http://www.etsy.com/people/prettywoman101?ref=af_shop_tre

Image selected:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71879695/inner-parts-2-tulip-purple-spring-floral

Treasury in Etsy!

The last 24 hours for my etsy shop has been crazy! Not for sales, still working on those, but for treasuries! I have had 4 of my images selected for treasuries! This is so wonderful I cant even begin to think! So In order from first to last (over the last 24 hours) here are the treasuries for your enjoyment.

The Curator who put this treasury together doesn't have a shop on etsy, but she has made some great treasuries. Here is a link to her etsy profile. My image is in column 2 row 3.
http://www.etsy.com/people/maclh?ref=af_shop_tre

This is a great treasury that was inspired by "the joys of childhood." This wonderful Curator included my post cards. Column3 row 2. In her Etsy shop she has a wonderful offering of jewelry and handbags!

http://www.etsy.com/people/HiGirls?ref=af_shop_tre
 

This treasury was put together with other "fine art flowers." I feel privileged to have been included in her treasury. She selected my Dance collection. Column 3 row 3. Her shop has wonderful paintings, jewelry ans stationary items. A link to her shop is below. http://www.etsy.com/people/favoriteflower?ref=af_shop_tre

 This treasury was put together highlighting "Beautiful bold spring colors." The curator of this treasury WildWoolFarm did a great job selecting lots of bright and vibrant colors! She selected one of my Daisy images. Column 3 row 2. Her shop has a variety of wool items. Here is a link to her Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/people/wildwoolfarm?ref=af_shop_tre


Thank you to all of you for selecting my images for your treasuries! I feel very privileged to be included.

Spring has Sprung!

I am not sure which season is truly my favorite. I love them all and each one has things that I like and dislike. But I would rather dwell on the likes more then anything. And one place that I love seeing each spring is my mother in laws yard. Both her and my father in law work very hard on it and it is always wonderful. So wonderful in fact that my husband and I got married in it.

That was almost 3 years ago, and granted things have changed a smidgen, it is still gorgeous.

Every year there are these little daisy's that grow wild here in the Willamette Valley. They are white blooms but the outside of the petals is pink. This year I saw that my mother in law has a larger variety of these growing in her yard. They are so adorable and I love the fact that the petals are duo-tone. So I was out in the blustery wind yesterday snapping away taking pictures of these little fellows and these are a few of the resulting images.

 So what do you think? Did I do this little daisy justice? I like to think that I did and I have to give thanks to my mother in law for having such an awe-inspiring yard. I can only hope that my yard looks half as good as theirs. Right now mine is in contecntion for the biggest mud patch within city limits (not really).

I am sure that as each season comes and goes I am going to find something new and interesting to photograph.

The Modern Cameo Cuff

I love Cameos, and I love Cuff braceltes. Now lets add a modern twist and swarovski crystals and what you get is one of these bad boys. OMG I have fallen in love!! I have made two of them so far, and both are up for sale in my Etsy shop. This is the second one I have made. And I love it. I love the victorian image that I picked, its so retro and the back and white colors make it so sheek.

Now the first one I made is in great colors of aqua blue, browns, and creams.

I have used ribbon as the cuff itself and have zigzagged stitched them in place. This worked out so well I had a huge DUH moment. Figuring out a closure for these was probably the most difficult part of making them. I was so stumped. But I figured it out and I think I hit a home run! The Cut crystal beads at the ends of teh clasp finish off the cuff. I am going to make myself one using a picture of my daughter.

This mornings adventure

So this morning was interesting. Morgan got me up at 6am, plus it didn't help that the cats were harassing me too. But thetas not the adventurous part of my morning. I left the dogs locked up till about 7, least they see a cat and go bonkers like they normally do when they spot one. I go out to let them loose, forgot the keys, come back inside only to realize, WTF! My keys are in the garage, LOCKED in the garage. OK, Well what next? I start rifling the drawer looking for any key to try, guess what, no key. This is SUPER annoying cause on Sunday I just had this conversation with my husband that we needed spare keys. He swore we had some. My response was yes, we have one for the house, not the garage. He still SWORE we had one. Guess what, NOT A SPARE ONE IN THE HOUSE. So what does a smart industrious woman like myself do? (Yes I am smart and industrious, this is not a lie, and yes I am preening.) I begin looking at the two garage windows. Nope not a chance, I could have broken one but what then? OK, toss that idea aside. I begin looking at the door. No help there, cant shoulder it open anymore since my husband fixed it so that I couldn't. Can you see this has happened about once a year for the last 4 years? So I start thinking. Power tools! Uhhhhhh, we don't have any in the house. WHO doesn't have at least one power tool IN the house? Apparently us. I should be so ashamed. Oh but I am not. Woo Hoo! My Drimel! Yes, my handy-dandy drimel! I switched out for a cutting wheel and went to work on the door. I sliced a square big enough for my hand, then used the drill bit to make holes along the cuts and then used a standard screwdriver and a hammer to get the piece out. SUCCESS! My dogs can now go to the bathroom. I feel so accomplished. But OH SHIT. Now I have a hole in the garage door. Great, My husband is gonna be THRILLED.