Happy Halloween!

BOO!

I Halloween'd myself in Photoshop for fun. ( : I didn't buy anything at the bead show yesterday, and it ended up being a total waste of time. I won't bother driving to the Orlando G&LW show again. Too many people (some talking on their cell phones and blocking booths), wholesale prices were closer to retail, and most of the booths didn't have their strands even priced. You had to ask, and there weren't nearly enough workers to get an answer from. The one company I had hoped to buy a lot from and set up a continuous shipment of beads, didn't even bring their beads. They told me they were too lazy to pack them up. I was told I should come to their Dallas showroom instead. Yeah, like I am going to spend a couple hundred dollars on airfare and hotel. That eats into the profit I wanted to make from selling them as supplies. There was a horrible accident ahead of me on the way home, and 2 people were ejected from their car and died. I had driven 40 minutes and had to turn around and drive 40 minutes back to get on the turnpike instead. It was an all in all bad day. I was just glad to make it home safe.
Hopefully this week will be better. We get our car back on Wednesday. I'm glad I was able to catch up on cleaning and laundry today at least.
Well, hope you all have safe and fun Halloween! Talk to you soon....Lori

I'm a bad girl

...when it comes to blogging lately. I remember when I used to do it pretty much every day. I've still be dealing with car repairs, car rental, phone calls, house work, and church activities this week and feel like I haven't gotten any art done. I have been trying to do some of the painted beads I used to make. I needed a little change. I have a 3 panel painting in the works, but haven't been able to dive in yet, because of all the car craziness. Boy, I wish Progressive could reimburse me for time lost due to this mess. Our car won't be done until next Wednesday, and I am driving a rental until then. I am grateful the driver who hit my husband had insurance and that it is all being taken care of though. Everyone is fine, and no one got hurt. Glad for that too. Well, I gotta drag myself away, and get back to painting some ceramic beads. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am (hopefully) headed to a bead show in Orlando tomorrow. Yay!

Glad the weekend is over

I usually don't say I am glad a weekend is over, but this one wasn't very pleasant. After I posted about the computer crash, etc....my husband came home and informed me that he had been rear ended by a tail-gater. So, we will be down to one car this week, and that one car is the non-dependable one. The good car got smashed up. It was only a matter of time. People here in Florida drive like a bunch of nutzos. Sadly, I may end up missing the bead show in Orlando I have been planning on going to for months. I haven't gotten to go in 2 yrs. I am considering renting a car for a day so I can go. I will just have to see how the week pans out. A good friend of mine has had a loss in her family, and I just found out. It's been a rather sad weekend.
Hopefully I will have something more positive to share this week. For now, I will just leave you with a pic of my newest painting. Still stuck on the bird theme. LOL

Crash, fail.

My lovely computer crashed on me this morning. I had been up most the night, tossing and turning. I got my regular flu show yesterday morning, and my art hurt so bad I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. I took an ibuprofin at 6am, went back to bed, and woke up at 9 am. I turned my computer on, and chaos ensued. Three hours later, it is fixed and everything is reinstalled. What a pain in the butt. I also had a fever this morning....another side effect of the shot.
I am hoping the day improves. Sadly, it is half over already! I am still in my pajamas, and it is noon.
I did finish another painting yesterday, and hope to get it photographed and listed soon.
I added this new graphic art design art print to my Etsy store last night. I have it available in blue, tan, black, and green. I had to do something humorous to lift my spirits!
Have a great weekend!

New Jewelry Monday!

I started adding new jewelry to my The Royal Bead Etsy Store last night, and just finished this morning. I'll share a few pieces with you. Mondays are busy days as always, so I have to post and run. I'd love to stay and chat, but the clock is ticking! Have a super Monday! I'll check in later when I have slowed down a bit. ( :

My newest painting...it's a BIG one!

Here's the painting that I finished last Friday. This is the one that on Monday I hated, and by Friday, I was in love with. Sometimes, the paintings that give me the most grief, turn out to be my favorites. Odd, huh? This one measures 24" X 36" and is done a stretched, canvas with staple free sides. It is a mixed media piece done with acrylic paint (including textured paint), vintage text paper, scrapbook paper, and colored pencil. I can't seem to get away from the bird theme these days. ( :

What I learned this weekend

It is Sunday morning, and I am up early...getting around for church. I am hoping I can stay awake. I have one tidbit of information to share with you that I have learned this weekend. Spicy hot wings followed by a pile of french fries drenched in garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese does not lead to a good night sleep. I would avoid it, if I were you. Now...back to your already scheduled programming.

See ya Monday!

I made the front page on Etsy this morning!

I haven't been on the front page in literally....wait for it.....YEARS. But, my earrings were on this morning at 3:30 am. Sadly, we were all probably sleeping. LOL I don't know how to share the screen shot though.

Yesterday, I started working a painting, got really mad at it, then got called in to the dentist (my husband) for a cleaning. I ended up coming home with a shiny new filling too. He does such a good job, I didn't feel a thing!

This morning, I woke up to find a few of my 1 gallon water jugs in our food storage had spontaneously exploded....all over in the cupboards above the laundry machines. Water was EVERYWHERE. Then, I went to open a plastic bottle of Dr. Pepper, and it blew up all over me and the carpet. I hadn't even jiggled it at all. Very odd. I am hoping the day improves, and there are no more liquid explosions in this house! Have a terrific Thursday!

SECRET SALE TODAY ONLY!

I am having a secret, one day only sale. I have posted the sale to Twitter, Facebook, and here. I don't run sales like this very often, and may not do so again in the near future, so take advantage of it while you can. Art prints make great gifts!

So, here's the scoop.....Buy 1 art print, get 1 FREE from my artworkbylori Etsy store! You spend $12 plus shipping for one, and get a second free. That adds up to only $6 a print!

Here's what you need to do:
Order and pay for your first print, and when you send your Paypal payment, include the name of the print you want for free, and the word "Blog" in the Notes To Seller box. That's it!

Have fun shopping! CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY STORE AND PICK OUT YOUR PRINTS!

It took a few days, but here they are...new folk art angel drawings!

Once I finally hunkered down this afternoon, I was able to scan some drawings I had been working on over the past week into my computer and play around with them. I drew the lady and here wing separately, scanned them in, added her halo (which is from a scan of an ancient tomb design), and a digitally created background. I decided to offer her in grey-tone or sepia. So, these are the fruits of my work. Hope you like them! I added them to my Etsy store, of course.

Concentration problems

I am totally ADD when it comes to creating. Some days, I get a headache from trying to decide what to work on first. I have a bazillion different projects floating in my head. I am having a hard time concentrating today, and know I need to start on something. A painting? A digital collage from some drawings I did this weekend? A wooden sculpture sitting in my kitchen? Should I keep playing with Photoshop to learn more stuff? I swear, there are days when my mind feels like it is standing on a busy street somewhere in downtown New York, with everything rushing past...not knowing which direction to go in.
Then, there are the other distractions that come with working at home. Food is a big one. The internet another. My two adorable kitties who are impossible to ignore. Phone calls. Thoughts of other things I need to get done. There's always cleaning, laundry, and cooking that needs attending too. Is this a common thing for artists? I feel like I may not get as much done/made compared to others and I wish I could just focus. Any suggestions you can offer as to what you do when you feel like this?
Well, I hope everyone had a super weekend. We stayed in, listened to a conference from our church that was broadcast online, watched some movies, and ate too much. LOL Talk with you soon!

New Jewelry in my Etsy store!

Sadly, one of the boutiques I have been consigning my jewelry with is going out of business (another victim of the economy), so I got some more jewelry pieces back this week. I just finished listing them in my Etsy store. I have more jewelry on the way, and will then be continuing to concentrate on my paintings and illustrations. So, if you want to see the stuff I just added, here are a few teasers! Click on the pics to visit my store. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Hello October...nice of you to visit!

I feel as if October sneaked up on me when I wasn't looking. He tapped me on the shoulder this morning and I jumped. "When did you get here?" I asked him. I seriously thought I had a few more days left of September.
I started my Christmas shopping this week, and am doing my best to shop online, purchasing from handmade artists this year. Being one myself, I know we have been hit pretty hard. I appreciate unique gifts and am always finding items I like on Etsy and Artfire. If there's anyone on your list you aren't sure about this year, see what you can find for them that is handmade! Stay home and avoid the chaos at Walmart the day after Thanksgiving and shop from the comfort of your home...with a nice cup of hot chocolate. I won't tell if you sneak another piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast! I promise!
Well, have a fabulous month. Halloween is just around the corner. I suppose he's going to try to scare me too. That's his job!
As always, I will be adding new prints, paintings, and even some new jewelry to my Etsy stores. If you have any custom requests, let me know!