Patience can be a virtue...when you don't know you're waiting

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a notice in the mail that I had been published in Stampington and Co's summer 2011 Catch Up issue. But then I wracked my brain trying to remember what I had submitted. I didn't remember submitting any cards, and Catch Up is strictly for rubber stamping.

Turns out my memory was fairly accurate, because the card that appears on p. 56 in the new issue was submitted at least two years ago, if not longer. In fact, it might have been in a batch of beach cards I sent in 2007.

Nonetheless, I am always thrilled to have something published. When I started this blog four years ago, getting published was only a dream. Something I wished very hard for, and worked very hard for, until it came true. The thrill and honor are always the same, maybe more so when it is a surprise.

More, more, more in my Etsy shop, including handmade items by me

I added a couple of my Marie Antoinette figures to my Etsy shop, and lots more vintage goodness! Check it out.

Head 'em up and Move 'em out and Let's get some New Inspiration!

After nearly 18 months of struggling with an absent muse, an ailing body, a mixed-up mind, a stressed heart, a busy job, the combination of Too Much Stuff and The Tax Man Cometh made me finally sort through my vintage goodness and start listing some items in my Etsy shop again.
The above pictures are just a sampling, and to the right is a live link to my Etsy shop and a preview of some other things. I finally decided if these items weren't inspiring me to create, it's time to move them on and possibly find some new inspiration. I hardly ever keep anything very long, unless it has personal meaning. These are all vintage finds I had been saving for my next great mixed media or altered art project which, sadly, hasn't been forthcoming.
You may remember I blogged about lack of inspiration here. Well, a lot of that STUFF you see will soon be available in my little shoppe. My frustration is your Aha Moment perhaps. Even my Etsy shop has been neglected, with the same sad four handmade items sitting there for a year. Sheesh.
I've also gotten busy and sorted through my vintage Barbie stash and listed nearly three dozen items on Ebay here. Maybe it is "out with the old, in with the older." Or perhaps less clutter (can an OCD person even have clutter?) will inspire me. What do you think? Is it hard to part with treasures you "might" use or might "need" some day?

I actually drew something again!

Don't worry. This isn't supposed to be a human. It's my Blythe Phoebe on the beach in her vintage Skipper swimsuit. You can hop on over to my Blythe blog to see the real Phoebe and decide if this sketch is any good.

My View of the World

This is the view from my beach chair, April 2, about noon, North Myrtle Beach, SC. Obviously, it is a little deserted. And I am fine with that. Trying to learn to relax. So far, so good.