Alice in Wonderland Mixed Media Painting...

Hey folks! I've been busily trying to get this finished and shipped before the Oct. 15 deadline for submission to Somerset Studio magazine for their upcoming Alice In Wonderland themed issue due out in March of 2012. I have never submitted anything to a magazine before, so this is exciting and scary at the same time. I am shipping it off tomorrow, but wanted to share it with you before it goes "on vacation." I may not get it back for a long time.
It took me a while to decide what I wanted to do. I had a bunch of different characters floating around in my head. Because of my affinity for all things feline, I HAD to add the Cheshire Cat. I wanted him to look wacky, and perhaps a little spooky. I have always found the pictures in the original book of Alice trying to hold onto her flamingo to be hilarious, so that ended up going into the final painting also. I tried to make the rabbit look a bit mysterious. This was so much fun to do, and was a great challenge. Wish me luck! I hope you like it!

I need hearts! New Contest for free art print!

New contest! The 150th person 2 "heart" my Etsy shop (add as favorite store) gets a free print of choice!
If you haven't hearted me already, CLICK HERE to visit my shop and add it to your favorites!
Whoever wins will be contacted via convo on Etsy. Thanks!

Welcome Autumn! Buh-Bye Summer!

Today is the first day of fall, and yesterday was thankfully the last day of summer. Fall is my favorite time of year, though sadly, I don't get to experience the best parts of it anymore. There really isn't a Fall in Florida. I kind of have to just feel it in my heart, if that makes sense. I love seeing all the fall decor, remembering the smell of the leaves, and all the spooky fun revolving around Halloween. I love pumpkin ANYTHING, hot apple cider, pretty knitted scarves, and chilly breezes.
Since it is much too warm here still, I tried to get into the spirit by getting a coffee-free Pumpkin Frappuccino from Starbucks yesterday. It helped a little. We will continue to have 90 degree weather and high humidity for a while yet. It is this time of year that I miss Minnesota most.
How was everyone's weekend? Any new projects you're working on? I am trying to finish a mixed-media painting to submit to Sommerset Studio for their Alice In Wonderland challenge. If I am blessed to be accepted, it would be published in March of 2010, when the Tim Burton movie comes out. That would be super exciting for me! I haven't submitted anything to a magazine before, so I thought I would challenge myself to work on doing so. Well, off to run some errands and get back to my artwork. Have a lovely Tuesday!

Weekend Deals on Etsy!

WEEKEND DEALS! Starting today (Friday, Sept. 18th) through Sunday Sept. 20th, Buy 2 prints, get one free. Please mention "weekend deals" in the notes to seller along with your order and let me know which free print you would like. ****Does ...not apply to orders submitted previous to Friday, Sept. 18th. Thank you*********

If you would like to find out more about me and my art...

Please hop on over to Whopple.com and read my recent interview! It was just posted today. Thanks for the opportunity! They have some great articles for artists who are selling their work also.
Click here to read the interview!

Recharging

Today I have been thinking about how difficult it is in this day and age to "recharge." I often find myself being pulled to and fro...from one task to another...usually not by choice. This morning, for example, I realized my cell phone needed to be recharged, as its battery was getting low. However, I had had to unplug it to use it again so many times, that it has barely had time to do so. I feel like this myself sometimes. I guess the only way for us to make sure we are able to get "recharged" is to find our priorities, learn to plan ahead, and learn or practice saying "no" when we feel overwhelmed. I like to make lists of all my tasks for a day or sometimes a week. I can then mentally work out what absolutely HAS to be taken care of, and what can be squeezed in during whatever down time I have. If I have some spare time, I can look at the list and find something I may have forgotten to do.
By doing this, we will know when we can enjoy some down time, without interruption, so we can fully recharge...at least until the next task drops in our laps. I used my down time this morning to catch up on my blog and get ahead on some laundry. That way, I should have time to create this afternoon.
Hope you have a wonderful day, and find some time to recharge this week!

Today is the last day!

Just a quick post to let you know that today is the last day of my GRAND OPENING SALE in my new Etsy store! It is your last day to Buy 2 prints and get 1 free! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I overdosed on shrimp at Red Lobster...and I feeling the effects today!

Where has the week gone?

My goodness this week has gone by fast! We were out of town from Sat. morning till late Monday afternoon, and I've been catching up on housework, laundry, cleaning the car, emails, and creative time. Tomorrow is Friday already, and there are so many things I need to do yet. I am sure a lot of other people are feeling the same.
I extended my BOGO sale and will do so through this weekend, then it will end. I still need to transfer over some of the prints of my paintings into my new Etsy store. I have been steadily adding new illustration prints, so my customers will have a variety to choose from. Unlike painting, I am able to work on my illustrations later at night, so when I don't have the opportunity to paint I work on those. I usually only paint in natural light, which obviously isn't available at night. If I turn lights on in my painting area at night, my husband complains because it keeps him up. I hope someday, when we have our own home, I have my own studio on a far end of the house. Then I can paint whenever I want. I can get one of those Ott-Lights to supply the lighting I need.
Anyways, here are some new prints I have listed in my NEW ETSY STORE. Hope you like them!

BOGO SALE! Buy 2, Get 1 Free on all the Prints in my new Etsy store!

I'm participating in the "Weekend Deals" promo on Etsy, and wanted to let you know that I will be running a Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale in my new Etsy Store through Labor Day. Simply purchase 2 prints, and in the "notes to seller" section of your order, please write "weekend deals."
Here's a small sample of what I have available at http://www.artworkbylori.etsy.com

I took the leap and opened a second store on Etsy!

I decided I did want to separate my jewelry from my artwork on Etsy, so I set up my store tonight, and started adding some new prints of my recent illustrations (also known as the doodles that keep me up till 2 am). LOL
I am running BOGO sale for a while to honor the grand opening. It's a Buy 2, get 1 Free deal. Here's a new print, and clicking on it will take you to my new store! I would love some hearts!
My store is http://www.artworkbylori.etsy.com

Etsy sellers...what do YOU think?

I am leaning more and more towards spending most of my time creating 2d works of art...paintings, illustrations, collages, etc. I am not giving up jewelry making altogether, just cutting back and taking a little break. I keep thinking that I should open a new Etsy store for just my artwork, and leave The Royal Bead to be strictly jewelry. The only problem is that I currently have over 1600 people who have added my store as a "favorite." I would be starting from the ground up on the next one, and possibly confusing some previous customers. I can't decide what to do. I just don't think things "mesh" right now. Any thoughts? Have any of you done this? I am not getting hordes of sales in my Royal Bead store right now anyway, so maybe the favorites thing wouldn't matter. Hmmmmm.
I would love to hear any opinions. I would of course put a link to my other Etsy shop at the top of the jewelry store announcement. Hopefully people would see it.
Hmmmmm.....decisions, decisions.