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?

Whipped my WIP; Another Peachy Project Done. Now I'm Feeling Blue.

So the peach afghan I blogged about below did indeed get done this weekend. In fact, I was able to finish the entire trim in about one hour Friday night. Do you ever experience that combination of let-down and relief when finishing a major project? I do. And now what to do with it? Well, I just folded it up to tuck away. I decided it didn't need to be blocked after all, although it could do with some softening.

The afghan is about 36" square and is a riff on a dragonfly pattern afghan from Crochet! magazine, July 2006. Speaking of crochet magazines, I weeded out my enormous collection and have over 30 knitting and crochet magazines for sale on Ebay right now. You can search by seller for hpsgsmith or just click here. They'll be ending Monday night and need to go to some other Happy Hooker or crazed knitter! Is that you?

Without even coming up for air, I started a new work in progress (WIP): yet another baby afghan. This is rather funny because there are no babies in the family or on the horizon (thankfully!) but I love the cute patterns and colors, and the size is right at my tolerance level. That's how the peach afghan went from 20 large squares to nine and finally got completed after three years.

The new project pictured above is from Crochet Today magazine and is a ripple stitch with lavender, blue and lime-y green. It really is such an easy stitch, and I hardly ever do a ripple. This is going quickly already. The edges have crocheted flowers scattered about, so even though it is boy-ish colors, it would be a girly blanket. Or, the flowers could be omitted; we shall see.

The cornflower or periwinkle blue color reminded me of the sweater I made myself with a similar color in Cotton Classic. It was my first blue ribbon in crochet at the local county fair. I was beaming! I also made a bobble or popcorn stitch clutch/makeup bag with zipper, which you can see above. I've never used it! But, I actually did wear the sweater- once, I think.

Artists' World- Another Feast for the Senses

The crazily-amazing Lisa Kettell (she of soon-to-be-published book fame) and a gazillion other blogs and venues, such as The Faerie Zine, Moonfaires World, EFFA, Etsy, Flickr and more, has now created Artists' World http://artistsworldu.blogspot.com/. Can you spot my piece of artwork included in the new blog's banner? Hint: Meow.

Lisa created this as a gathering spot for fellow artists to blog about their works, share marketing ideas, suggestions or just warm fuzzies, but as a public blog, anyone can enjoy the fabulous eye candy.

In another supportive endeavor, the wonderful Sadie Lou of Sadie Lou Who on etsy and Flickr http://craftilyeverafter.blogspot.com/ has created an Etsy Cottage Style Street Team (CSST) to collectively market and promote the works of cottage style artists. Street Team members (like moi) and general members can use CSST in their Etsy listings to benefit from the combined talent and reputation of this fine group of artists. And likewise, Lynn from The Rose Cottage http://therosecottage.blogspot.com/ started a wonderful private network on Ning.com for the street team and cottage sellers on etsy. So much supportive action right now! Couldn't have anything to do with the ebay furor, could it?

And just in case I don't have enough to do, I got promoted to moderator at the Yahoo! Blythe group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Arte_du_Blythe/ which I pretty much asked for, because I am eager to be a part of a fat book dedicated to Blythe. This wonderful group was started by respected artists Heather Simpson-Bluhm and Shoshannah Jennings, she of Hannah Grey fame.

Blythe artists or artists interested in Blythe or willing to get interested should visit this group and consider joining! Lots of fun planned, and perhaps a fundraiser for the wonderful fellow artist Bernie Berlin of A Place to Bark http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/. Bernie is the author of one of the bibles of ATCs as well as the founder and tireless worker at this no kill animal rescue and rehabilitation site. She recently fared well in Parade magazine's voting to award grants, but the need for money is great and never-ending. Check out her blog, and grab the tissues.

Now Available in Hard Cover, or Soft Cover, Written by Zoe Aarden, Edited by Me

No, I'm not on the wrong blog- although this is also posted on my Blythe blog, Blythe-O-Mania Untamed at http://bly-me.blogspot.com/- the above falls squarely under art and letters for me. You see, on page five of the hard-cover book above (or soft-cover, your choice) , my bio is featured with the lovely title of "editor." Now that's enough to make any journalism grad's heart go pitter-patter, but add to that my love of crochet and all things Blythe, and I am in seventh heaven right now!

I just ordered my own copy, and you can too, either from Blurb or on ebay. Here are a couple of links: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/96412/86152bae2d034fbb485997fd4e7c5f63 or http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180212105251. I have tried the hat pattern several times, and there are 21 other yummy crochet patterns. There are lots of great color photos and great Blythe settings. Congrats to author and photographer Zoe Aarden and her fantabulous editor, oh, eek! that's me!

The Faerie Zine Volume 4!

The Faerie Zine Volume 4!
Originally uploaded by Lisa Kettell

You may not immediately see my name on the front page twice, but of course it jumped out at me like a jack-in-the-box. So excited to be a part of Lisa's wonderful publications! I knew I was writing an article, of course (about the wonderful Jade Adams, a Michigan ATC friend), but I didn't know Lisa was writing about me! What a treat! Can't wait to get my hands on it in about three weeks. You can order a copy on ebay or on the Moonfaires blogspot or The Faerie Zine website. And you should!

Fruitcake Page Featured on Kit Club

While enduring another sleepless night, or I guess I should say morning since I woke up at 3 a.m. ready to go (where?), I found some of my art featured on Paula's Kit Club http://www.paulaskitclub.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=KIT_COMMENTS. Paula Montgomery, formerly of Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers has absolutely the best scrapbooking, stamping and card-making club around!

She offers several choices of kit size and frequency as well as stamp options of mounted, unmounted, etc. But they key is, her kits are cool! No cutesy crap, no foo-f00. Instead, there are cool retro, chic, kitsch-y and otherwise funky elements. Plus, you just have to read Enzo's Report Card on her site.

I used her recent kit to make a 6 x 6 book page for an ebay group BkNq page swap. Haven't done a lot yet with my November kit, but I am enjoying the vintage cheese labels. Now, my December kit is winging its way to me. More motivation and inspiration, in a box.

Here's a pic of what I made or go check the link and see more cool stuff. The page now belongs to Rainbow869 Betty in Wisconsin.

Today's Faves- Eye Candy, Zero Calories

More info here http://www.flickr.com/photos/12448123@N07/favorites/.

A Productive Night!

I think I was so excited to register for Art and Soul (and not have the checkout hassle that some registrants did) that I was inspired to head directly to the studio. I don't think I moved for four hours. And, although I only have 5 ATCs to show for it, I am happy with them. One is for a swap with Dana of Fairy Dusted Mermaids (shhhh!) and one is for a birthday goody for Debbie Metti (shhh!) in the mailing with my Chubbyville December fat book page of "Christmas Memories" which she is hosting. These are all made with background papers from Shabby Cottage Studio, and as a design team member I say "get yourself to SCS!" My mini giftie bag and ATC are featured! Order a dozen or two.

I also spent some time on my four ornaments for the Pink Christmas Ornament Swap and planned my snowman for Viv's Snowman Swap. So, I am winding down on my holiday to-do list. Maybe I can finally get some stuff on ebay and feed my habit(s). Speaking of habits, here's a pictures of a cute button bouquet I found on etsy and a new mosaic from Flickr.

Art and Soul, look out! I am registered for Acrylic Glazes, Landscapes of the Mind and Drawing Blast- and what a blast it will all be! My instructors are Carla Sonheim, Ann Grgich and Diana Trout. "Art By the Sea" is the theme for 2008. It will be like a mini-vacation to the beach. Counting the days!

So Much Goodness All in One Day!

Lots to share here! Larry the Cat is home from the hospital after a week. He ate something very bad that nearly killed him. After many xrays, enemas, fluids, anesthesia, four different medicines and much more (on a loooong, detailed bill), he is home! Lester has been missing him, and so have we! Larry is the brown-nose(r), and Lester is pink. Larry says, "why did I have to get sick, mom?"

The adorable ornament with intricate sequins I posted about before arrived in the flesh (fabric?) today from the sweet Sadie Lou. More to come! Sadie Lou and I both hope to go to Silver Bella next year. Too many lucky artistas will be having fun this weekend in Omaha without us!

Besides the beautiful Blythe Style book I got on Amazon with amazing photos by Gina Garan, I finally took the plunge after weeks of study and ordered my Blythe from ebay, and she is en route from Tokyo. Blythe dolls were originally manufactured by Kenner for one year, in 1972. Hasbro later bought Kenner. In any event, both the Ashton Drake Galleries and Takara Tomy Japan reintroduced Blythe in about 2000, and they have been a cult phenomenon. There are about 700 Flickr groups devoted to Blythe as well as countless ebay and etsy shops. The most popular websites appear to be http://www.thisisblythe.com/ and http://www.blythedoll.com/. An adorable blog is http://adventuresofmolli.blogspot.com/. I can't get enough! Anyway, I chose the model "Star Dancer" (shown here), and she is soon to be renamed Lilly. People actually spend hundreds of dollars customizing and clothing their Blythe dolls with false eyelashes, mink and more.

The mermaid ATC shown was just for fun, but I have a couple of ATC swaps coming up as well as a Mermaid theme swap, so who knows where it will go? The yellow pear ATC is a swap I received from the talented Deb Lockard, tnangel on ebay and Stars*Go*Blue on Flickr. I think it is Zetti-licious!

A Booknique Page Swap!

Can you believe this detailed and intricate page I received from fellow ebay BkNq "booknique" member Bethany 'Betty' Miller of Beloit, WI. The "Butterfly wings" is the front, and "school memories" is on the back. The little books come out of the pocket, and the math folder opens to reveal tiny notebook paper. So cute! The entire page is six inches by six inches.

Booknique is an ebay and Yahoo! group dedicated to the art of altered books, pages and journals with uniform sizes so the pages can be collected, purchased on ebay, traded, etc., and eventually bound in a collective "fat" book. Can't show you what I made to send in return. Yet!

I Got A Treat Today!

Manilla envelopes always signal a good mail day, and today was the long-awaited arrival of a swap card from the subject of much adoration, fellow ZNE-r Debrina Pratt. Debrina's artwork truly is like no other-she has a certain style all her own and is known for her lush layers, yummy pastels and attention to tiny details. Her ACEOs often sell on ebay for more than $20 each and her 3D assemblages and fairies in jars regularly start bidding wars. I am so lucky she offered to do a swap with me. I am so thrilled to not only own one of her cards but to be able to see one in person. The detail really is incredible. Keep in mind these little treasures are the size of baseball cards. Debrina's work can be found here http://myworld.ebay.com/*spark*your*imagination*/. It is the real deal eye candy!

Can't Wait To Start My New Assignment

I am so thrilled to accept an appointment to Gail Schmidt's Tennessee-based Shabby Cottage Studio's Design Team (see nifty little badge at right that will take you to the shop!). Gail http://shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/ and I became e-friends through ebay art groups first and then ZNE, and in the process we discovered she used to live in the town of Warsaw, near where I live now and where I also lived.

But those connections didn't get me in; we had to apply to be on the design team, and I am excited to be one of those selected. Our main function will be to make fabulous (hopefully) art using supplies from Gail's store at http://www.shabbycottagestudio.com/. Projects will be posted to inspire and educate Shabby Cottage's customers. We will also brainstorm as a team for Gail and work with specific direction as well as on our own creations. Read all about the Design Team here: http://www.shabbycottagestudio.com/store/WsAncillary.asp?ID=7.

Can't wait to get started. Gail has fabu-licious supplies on her site now, and you must head on over. Let's synchronize our watches. See you there!

Halloween + Fairies = Fun ATC Swap

High up on my to-do list for the weekend and now checked off early are five artist trading cards for a swap on Flickr hosted by published artist Lisa Kettell, also known as Moonfaires (not a typo). Lisa is absolutely everywhere- active in ZNE, listing on ebay, publishing zines, books and e-zines, hosting swaps and running multiple blogs. Here is just one of the spots she can be found: http://moonfairesworld.blogspot.com/.

So in a valiant effort to keep pace with her flurry of activity, I completed my cards early. If only I could have a magic wand to poof them off to her. But no, the envelope-, bubble wrap-, stamp- and mail-fairies all want a piece of the action. It's rather ironic, as I really don't consider myself "into" fairies- but I learned that word has a broad definition. Pretty much if it has a hat, wings or wand, it might just be a fairy. Feathers, glitter, crowns, moonbeams: an added plus.

Some of my cards feature ARTchix products like paper and transparencies, and some include items from Lisa's Altered Art on ebay. All include my personality.

Feelin' Productive Now!

Besides the post below with ATCs for the ARTchix pink post contest, fat book pages, skinny book pages and more, I got these four ATCs with embellished sugar skulls done for ebay. Not only did I get them listed, I managed to squeeze in some tags to satisfy some ebay group contests, such as "numbers" for CaaT and "Halloween" for AWLA. I was feeling very productive until I noticed it was 2 a.m. Oh, well! This is my 85th post, so getting ever closer to the 100th post party. But I digress. Back to Sugar Skulls.....just love them, think they are fun and whimsical, and they have a nice history. Just got a decoupaged cigarillo tin with a sugar skull on the front. I have my business cards in it. Also, I have a "blank" metal lunch box, and I am thinking of decoupaging sugar skulls on it. Why? I do not know.

Is This Obnoxious or What? (Yippeeee!)

I was so excited to come home from work (after about 300 miles) and log in to all my various spots to find I had won some awards from one of my ebay groups! CaaT - Complementary Art And Things held a collage sale contest starting Aug. 31. This announcement had been up almost all month, and as a lover of collage, I couldn't wait to list my entries. Unfortunately for all the sellers, collage did not do very well, but I was thrilled to win (can I say it?) ALL THREE prizes!! Wheee! They were: most entries (natch), highest sale and most unique bids. I entered prints of some of my collages pictured here on my slide show below as well as 3 different styles of my ZNE August Book Club beeswax collage "I Saw a Spirit." What actually sold, though, were collaged domino pendants, also pictured here.

I hope the slow sales don't indicate bad things for collage in general; but we shall see. I have enjoyed collage for as long as I can remember, including collaging one whole wall of my college dorm room. I also remember helping my brother collage the walls of his antique shop in the 1970s, and those were like 20' high walls and huge rooms. Ahhh, the 70s.

The Bestest Things in Small Packages

Now, why anyone would think G stands for grump, I do not know. But, irregardless, I purchased this highly embellished artist trading card on ebay from Kim Laws of ajoy*2*bheld. The same day it arrived, this adorable charm from Michelle Geller of Hold Dear http://michellegeller.typepad.com/ also arrived from a trade we did. After some blog correspondence about fat books and skinny books (and books that climb on rocks), she mentioned some charms she was making for an art gathering and was gracious enough to offer one to me in trade for one of my domino pendants. Art people are just the greatest.

So not to belittle either artist, I decided these two just looked perfect together. Since the ATC wouldn't fit in a normal collector's pocket anyway, I decided to combine them for my bulletin board so I could enjoy seeing them every day. Thanks, ladies!

It's been another few days without making anything, and I am going crazy.....arrrrgh! (It IS National Talk Like a Pirate Day, according to Flickr, so there's my contribution). At least I can blog, and that gets us all that much closer to my 100th post- which means (insert drumroll) freebies, give-aways, goodies to commenters, as is a long-standing 100th post tradition. So, stay tuned!

Mr. Froggy Came A Courtin'

This adorable little needle-felted frog arrived today, a birthday gift purchased on Etsy (like ebay for all handmade things). Mr. Froggy was made by MarmeeCraft, and I first saw him on her blog at http://www.marmeecraft.typepad.com. I then had to hop right on over to Etsy and nab him. He is my second stuffed frog and joins a host of other strange and wonderful creatures, such as a crocheted Hello Kitty and a zebra sock monkey.

Welcome to Zetti Pre-School

I created this 8 x 10 paper collage on artist board today, using some heads I got in a Zetti swap with ARTchix friend Jade from Michigan. I made this for my Flickr Zetti group. There are nearly 300 members, fans and afficionados of artist Teesha Moore. There are also over 1,000 gorgeous pieces of art to view here http://www.flickr.com/groups/zettiology/ including some of mine.

Some of the bodies are from Lisa's Altered Art on ebay; some of the heads and hair were drawn by me. The wings are from a wall paper border (what a clever idea!) given to me by my CaaT friend Sue Young in Tampa for our Art & Scent swap.

The teachers' instructions are helpful: please leave extra-large wings, wands and heads at home on gym day. Bring nap mats and cupcakes on Tuesday. I did have a rabbit head girl I drew also, but she wouldn't fit. However, I have four Zetti postcards due October 15 for a Swapbot swap, so I am sure she will come in handy.

If you haven't scanned all the way to the bottom of my blog, there is an ever-changing, ever-growing slide show running, courtesy of Ning, the new home of the ZNE Talk art group, and home to a bunch of fabulous artists.