10/24/12

What is on your workdesk Wed.

studio scribble

For WOYWW this week.... I've got nothing, not even a desk. It has been shoved aside while I try to declutter my room. Need to add some more storage & while this looks awkward with the desk so close, I'm thinking about recreating an arrangement that I pinned a while back.


This photo is borrowed from the original source, The Smith Nest blog. As you can see, she lined 3 skinny IKEA Expedit shelving units against the wall. One is turned & the side has has been altered with Chalkboard Paint (I'm guessing). 

IKEA Expedit

I flipped the photo & started scribbling. The big white piece in my doodle is a window & the grey mess is supposed to be the metal art hanging system.  

My room is small and this set up could be a bit ungainly. But it will also require the least amount  of rearranging furniture. Someday I'll probably get some burly guys to put my ginormous computer cabinet in that corner & then  replace it with a grand-daddy sized expedit or something nicer.

Still thinking... Any suggestions?

10/23/12

Congrats to The Dude!

The Magic Momentary Man of Moments 
Congratulations to the Big Guy! 

His school announced the winners of the PTA's "Magic of a Moment" challenge & this colorful mixed media painting received 2nd place in the 3rd-5th grade visual arts category. Now it goes on to the county competition. Way to go, my man!

10/18/12

We have a winner! The 100 postcards go to....


Many thanks to everyone who entered the latest PrintRunner.com giveaway! Today's lucky winner will  see their very own design printed on 100 free postcards. So, with help from random.org lets get this party going..... drum roll please.... and today's winner is ......


....still drumming.....

Rachel from 

Congratulations, Rachel! I will contact you with directions for claiming your prize. 

Sending a big Thank You to Print Runner, the sponsor for this fun random drawing! And again, thanks to all who left a comment & entered this giveaway. It is your interest that keeps the prizes coming. 

Be sure to pop back next week for a new artsy-craftsy giveaway announcement. If you like working with your hands, this might just be the prize for you. Until then wishing you a creative day!

10/17/12

How To Get What You Want

mixed media artist, author and life coach Lesley Riley


How to Get What You Want

sage advice from Lesley Riley
I used to, no, I still get excited when I read a quote or a phrase that directly or indirectly alludes to the magical workings of the Universe or the many other names it goes by: God, fate, Allah, Law of Attraction, Buddha, the divine.
It does not matter what name we give it, but I know for certain that there is some force that is bigger than us that is running this whole operation we call life on Planet Earth (and beyond.) I'm not sure if it is the wisdom that comes with age or the fact that I am living the life I was meant to live (my purpose, as some would call it.) But each and every day, without fail, I see, feel, know, or intuit this force operating in my life. And I'm thrilled beyond words. I'm also in amazement, wonder and gratitude.
In my role as the host of Art & Soul Radio I get to interview a lot of artists. One thing that has been coming up lately in a lot of the interviews is that they too are noticing the very same thing.
So, as is my usual modus operandi, I want to know why. Why do some experience this and not others? It appears that as much as it seems out of our control, in reality, it is something we ourselves create.
It is a result of three very simple actions:
1) Stay true to your heart
2) Take action on your dreams
3) Believe that you will get what you want
I am the first to admit that while the actions themselves are simple, simple does not mean easy.
It's hard to follow your heart when you keep running into roadblocks or there are money issues.
It's hard to take action when you don't see any results or you are worn out from the day-to-day.
It's hard to believe that you will get what you want when all you ever get is problems.
But here's the thing. Here is what I have learned and know to be true.
You have to do all three actions in order for the Universe to step in.
Not for a week, or even a month, but every day. As a way of living. The Universe does not operate on our timetable. You have to prove yourself time and time again. Easy quick fixes have no place in this game called life. You have to know what you want. Take forward action and believe that it will turn out just right.
And guess what. Just right isn't always what you think it is. The Divine has a better plan for you than you could ever conceive. Knowing that I can ride the down days. Knowing that there is something good in the works for me is incentive enough to keep me plugging along even when I feel like giving up.

Snap Out of It by Mary Engelbreit

Just like in a "real" job, you have to show up every day in order to get the rewards. Creating the life you want is a real job, too. And it's not always easy. To be honest, occasionally I will take a day off to wallow in self-pity when the going gets rough and I'm really down. We all need a day of rest from pushing that boulder up the mountain. But wallow is akin to doubt so as Mary Engelbreit put it so beautifully, I "SNAP OUT OF IT."

But I promise you, if you keep pushing, not only will there be rewards along the way, but you will see that the view from the mountain top is well worth it.

And then you will go looking for another mountain to climb.

Posted with permission from the author. Lesley Riley, The Artist Success Expert, is the creative founder of Artist Success, Solutions for the Struggling Artist. To receive her bi-weekly articles on creating your own success as an artist, visit www.ArtistSuccess.com.
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By the way, 10/17 is the last day to enter PrintRunner's random drawing for 100 Free Postcards printed with your  awesome design! Leave a comment on this blog before 1 am (EST) on 10/18 to enter this great giveaway. Winner will be announced here tomorrow

10/16/12

Art & DIY Book Destash begins


Book Arts: Beautiful Bindings for Handmade Books by Mary Kaye Seckler

The Great Book Destash continues.... 

I've been downsizing my house this year and have given away at least 100 books. Plowing into my art room now and decided to reactivate my ebay shop. Starting with books, I will be adding new items every 3-5 days. Everything is priced to sell with bids starting as low as 25 cents. Each auction will last a week.

Altered Art Techniques for creating Altered Books, Boxes, Cards, and More

Anything that doesn't sell will either be added to my Etsy shop (at higher price) or donated to the local library. So... get em while they are hot!

Today I've listed an assortment of how-to art books, photo/art history books, writings by the Dalai Lama, and a collection of erotic literature - I had to spice the list up a bit (winks). 


By the way, if you are over 18 and a US resident don't forget to enter Thursday's random drawing. One lucky winner gets 100 custom postcards printed with their own design from PrintRunner.com! To enter just leave a comment on my blog before 1 am EST on 10/18. Click Here for details

10/15/12

Music Monday - King of Spain & The Pack A.D.

Hello, Monday. 
Where did you come from?


Somehow I am already behind this week, so it is another post-and-run this morning. Right now I'm chilling with King of Spain while pushing papers. Click the link above to have a listen to their tune Motions on soundcloud. (please note: it opens in this window tho so you'll have to hit the back button to return.)


Got my wake-up jolt earlier from The Pack A.D. Just to let you know (in case you've got kiddos in the room) there's lots of arm flailing & punching in this video. Great tune tho.

Looking for some more Monday music? Pop over to XmasDolly's - today is a freebie so there will be a big-ole variety to listen to. 


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Quick note: last few days to enter Thursday's random drawing for custom printed postcards. Click here for details. Or just leave a comment to put your name in the hat.

10/8/12

Musical Monday - Turn up the radio!


Popped over to Xmas Dolly's and found that this week's theme is "songs that make you 'turn the radio up' You know, songs you can only listen to on 'High Volume'."  Swwweeet!

(this one is quiet at 1st but the chorus/bridge requires a good crank-up). 


.. like an espresso for the ears..mmm..mmm...good

....must turn up at 35 sec mark....

"Egyptian Pharoahs fell from the sky & played the blues:... somehow this makes sense on a where's-my-coffee-Monday-mornin'.


Looking for some more ear-candy? Pop on over to Dolly's and have a listen. 

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Never know what you'll hear over there. If you're in a sharing mood, post your own and join the hop!


Sorry about the crazy formatting - Blogger is misbehaving again. I'll try to clean it up later.

B.T.W., if you haven't entered the new random drawing (goes off Oct 18th) be sure to leave a comment. if you're over 18 & reside in the USA you are automatically entered to win 100  Free postcards printed with your very own design from PrintRunner.com . Click here for details

10/5/12

Illustration Friday - Mirror

telescoping mirror with miniature eye painting

Mirror is the new prompt from IllustrationFriday.com this week.  Another inspiring one! 

I'm disappointed that I haven't had time to make anything the last few weeks... and this one looks no better. So, I'm cheating & sharing this old mixed media altered mirror.


The mini eye is painted with acrylics, ink and metallic paint. It is secured to a telescoping mirror. These were a lot of fun to make (& play with). Pretty sure I have another unaltered one around here - I'll have to keep an eye out while sorting through the scary mess of my art room.


Well, time to run. Hope you have a wonderful weekend & if you are inspired by "mirror", be sure to  share your creation with everyone over at Illustration Friday.

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul. - George Bernard Shaw

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By the way, have you entered the latest random drawing for 100 custom printed postcards from PrintRunner? Leave a comment before 10/18 to enter (US residents only, sorry international folks). Click here for details

10/3/12

Pinterest is a small world after all....

untitled photo by Deb Schwedhelm
Spotted this fun (but unattributed) photo on Pinterest. Love the pic but one of my pet peeves is sharing visual images without proper credit*.... so I went digging. 

Luckily the image was linked to the photographer's, (Deb S) flickr account. Poking around there led me to the evocative images on her website http://www.debsphotographs.com/. The "about" page had a picture of this talented artist, Deb Schwedhelm. Here's the small world part - her son used to talk Lego with mine at the walkers pick up spot after school. It really is a small world!

* Now, I will admit that I have gotten sloppy regarding re-pin attribution too. ( & apologize for this). But I try to give credit when I can. While http://images.google.com/ used to be my go to place for identifying original sources, nowadays so many leads link to uncredited pinterest or tumblr pages that it has become a challenge to give credit where it is due. Questions for you:Do you use pinterest, polyvore, tumblr, etc? How do you deal with the uncredited artist problem? Do you have a favorite source search? 

10/1/12

An Embarrassment of Riches

my closed door- don't say I didn't warn you

I've been griping for years about how my "studio" - a bedroom converted into a craft room - has become an uninhabitable boxroom. Too many years of Don't know where to put it? Chuck it in and shut the door. The time has come to put on my big girl panties and dig in.

peeking in...Beware. Here Be Dragons....

I'm sharing these embarrassing photos to give myself a final (shameful) kick in the keister.  Hey, they'll make great "before" pictures eventually. (You know, that unfinished blue painting has been sitting there since 2008 or so - sigh. I have my work cut out for me.)

Can you spy the remains of the last foolish brave visitor?

To help keep me on track, I've signed on for a fresh round of Beth Dargis' Declutter Club. (Psst... You can get her free Declutter Calendar here). My task this time around is to turn this soul-sucking  disaster into a creative space. 

my desk is under there... somewhere

The extra accountability & support really do help; with ideas and encouragement from Beth's group, I have purged a unbelievable amount of excess from the rest of our house and office in the last 6 months.

boxes from failed attempts to get organized

However, my space now reminds me of the infamous Dorian Gray's portrait (via Hoarders)... as the rest of our space grew beautiful, my room became more hideous and corrupted. 

closet - perhaps I can wish it bigger??

To be fair - this is totally my fault. So, taking a deep breath and wading in. Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me in 6 months, send for backup.

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Before you run screaming from my torture chamber, leave a comment to entered my Oct 18th random drawing for 100 custom printed postcards from PrintRunner.com. Click here for giveaway details