Art and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Well, this is my fabulous new fashion accessory. It makes using the computer very difficult and painting pretty much impossible for now. While on vacation, I started waking up at night with numbness and tingling in my wrist and forearm. Then, the pain kicked in if I picked up anything over 6 pounds or moved my hand in a funny position. I had noticed stiffness in my fingers and hands after driving, long before we left, but figured it was just because it makes me tense. I've had tendonitis before and know the drill, so I started on Advil and got myself a wrist brace as soon as we got home. I can't get into the doctor's office until June 18th, so I will have to wait for a verdict. It sounds like Carpal Tunnel though. I was really depressed for the first few days, then looked up artists with carpal tunnel on google. I found blogs and other stories of artists being able to eventually return to their creating after surgery, so that gave me hope. I wish I would have been doing better arm exercises in the first place. If you create with your hands, I suggest looking into it now, rather than later. I may have ended up with it anyways. Women with a history of hypothyroidism and a small frame (both of which apply to me) are more likely to develop it. So, I will share pics of 2 paintings I finished prior to vacation. They may be all there is for a while. ) :

My new shop on Etsy....

I finally got around to adding some new designs to my new store "HipHeart" on Etsy, and am gradually moving my graphic designs over from my ArtworkByLori store (which will now only house my paintings and prints of them. I hope that makes sense. ( : I am sharing some new designs with you, and you can visit my shop by clicking on any of them. I will be listing some paintings on Ebay this week. I had hoped to over the weekend, but decided to revamp my Ebay template, which let to an html headache. So, here they are....hope you like them!

2 New Mixed Media Collage Paintings

Hello again! I promised pics of the 2 new pieces, so here they are. I will either be offering them in my Etsy store or in Ebay auctions. I haven't decided yet. Today was a wee bit crazy. I went to get a new key made for the new car (it only came with one set), and that took about an hour...and cost...wait for it.....$100! All these fancy micro-chipped car keys make me long for days gone by. After that, I was to take the car to another dearship to get the racing stripe decals taken off, as my husband didn't like them. Well, along with the stripes, some of the paint came off in a small spot. After sitting there for 1.5 hrs, they finally came and got me.....and told me the bad news. They are fixing it free of charge, but send me home with a loaner (which started running on fumes on the way home...no gas!). So, back to the dealership I go tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we are getting some interior work done on both our cars. They humidity down here has a bad effect on the adhesive used to attach the cloth upholstery to the doors. We have a neighbor who is coming by to fix that.
I haven't gotten much painting done this week, and tomorrow is already Wednesday. I was planning on making chocolate covered bacon today, but it will be a tight squeeze for time. It sounds like an odd treat, but hubby is begging for some. Who knows? Maybe it will be divine. I could use some chocolate-y relief after dealing with all these car problems for the past month. I DESERVE some chocolate covered bacon, darn it!

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*********

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!