A red horse? Of course!

Keep an eye on that flapjack, Bear!

Pushy Pirate.

Hope she doesn't forget to feed that other pup...

Can you say A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E? Holy smokes! That little dolly itself is precious!!!

See you soon!

Corny as can be! Love me some corn!!

A little on the stalker side?

Nothing says lovin' like being willing to pick bugs off your mate.

Now who can resist a birdie serenade?

As an update, it’s official that MS and I are going to Paris at the end of November! I booked us for five days! I don’t think I realized how psyched I was for this trip until I finally booked it. Seeing the Louvre, and Paris no less was kind of something I never really figured I’d be able to do…just a distant idea one sees in movies but never really does I guess. Sounds silly, I know, but being American, I think we often get hung up on the idea that traveling off the continent is a big undertaking. It kind of is. There’s money to spend, jet lag and long plane rides, going through airport security, customs, waiting at the airport, committing time off from work. It’s a lot simpler to drive a few hours to a beach and park yourself for a little while. We can go so far in so many directions in the U.S. and never worry about a customs checkpoint. I suppose it’s very natural for Europeans to travel between countries since many nations are so close in proximity. I wonder if Europeans have the same feeling about traveling to the States as being a big undertaking? Most Europeans I have met seem to be quite well traveled and have even lived on other continents for a couple of years. That’s pretty cool. Although maybe they aren’t the ones to interview since, obviously, by my having met them in the States, they already don’t fall into that category. But still, I know many more Americans obviously, and most of the people I know haven’t traveled all that much and never lived abroad for any extensive period of time. Do other countries just instinctively have wanderlust that we don’t? Is it because many of our ancestors came to the U.S. from other countries already, so we’re subliminally programmed to feel like we’ve already been somewhere else? I know a lot of Americans who say there’s an awful lot to see in our own backyard, so that’s why they don’t leave the country much. I can see that, but can’t you probably say that about most places on earth? Maybe those same people I know just hate flying? Heheh. I’m quite the philosopher today.

Well to close, I just wanted to remind everyone that the Valentine’s Embroidery Contest is still on and entries are due by Feb. 14th. I’ll post the entries and we’ll all vote on a winner!

See you next time! And please sign this petition! Let’s not all be punished because the one kid in class did something wrong.

On a completely different note, I’ve decided it’s time for us to go to Paris. After Ireland, we discussed the many places we want to see in Europe, but I think it’s important to see the art in the Louvre before we get too far into our travels abroad. I have a tendency to need a reason to do things, so I figure turning 40 in November is a good excuse. What’s more fabulous for a girl to do than go to Paris!?! From the research I’ve done so far it seems that the off season is November through March. We’re not ready to go just yet and we have quite a jam-packed first six months of this year coming up as far as schedules and other mainland travels/commitments go, so I’m thinking the end of November would be perfect AND–as fate would have it–right near my birthday! What a coincidence!!!

With our work schedules, I’m thinking it would be easiest to do a long weekend in Paris. If anyone has any advice (hello my French pals!), please pass it along! Recommendations on restaurants, shopping, sights to see in addition to the Louvre, etc. Any input is most appreciated!

I’ve been considering this for some time, but there was an inspiring article about living life that cemented the idea for me. I want to do the things I dream about when I’m able, because there will be a day when my time is up. And on that day, I want to look back on all the wonderful experiences I’ve had–especially ones I was able to share with my wonderful hubby, MS.

Changing gears again! I thought I’d do another Valentine’s Day Embroidery Challenge this year. Come on folks! Get your floss out and get to stitching! Winner gets ANY 3 of my embroidery patterns for sale in my etsy shop for free! Here it is! Download the PDF of “Hearts!” here.

I’m giving everyone more time than last year. So that’s fabulous! Happy stitching! See you next time and hope to see some submissions in the next few weeks!

Just in the nick of time, though when I was feeling down in the dumps about it, my friend Jet Weston posted a new video of his band that I’d like to share. A toe-tappin’ rendition of Peggy Lee’s “It’s a Good Day.” It truly made it a good day to see it. So friends, I introduce you (for those of you who don’t know them) to Jet Weston and His Atomic Ranch Hands:

Check them out on Facebook too from time to time.

On a side note, I’m looking forward to a great 2012! There are so many things I want to do to make this year a memorable one! I hope you’ll join me in doing the same for yourself! As always, my New Year’s Resolutions involve improving in as many ways as possible, because one of these years I hope to get things right. Remember that the best resolutions can be the smaller attainable ones. They don’t have to be huge like losing 50 pounds or paying off your debt. How about just smiling more every day to people you come across? Or just appreciating one thing in your life each day? How about really looking in your significant other’s eyes every day like you used to when you didn’t know those eyes so well? Or trying to catch yourself in a negative thought and spinning it to a positive one? What resolutions have you made?!!

See you later kids!

Here are a couple shots of the border as it’s progressing. I’m nearly there with that border! I have to knock it back some (it’s a little too vibrant now compared with the main painting) with a glaze of midnight blue, finish the tiny stars and fix the swirly gold lines. THEN I put the finishing touches on everything else. The next time I post the painting will be in its entirety. I really want to wrap this up soon. TWO WEEKS MAXIMUM. I feel like if I say that “out loud” in the blogosphere that it will be so.

King and Queen Mouse

Tiny Mouse Tea Party

Swinging Mice and Sleepy Chipmunk

So off I go! Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2012!

Here’s my weak attempt at getting Georgie to pose for a Christmas photo (Gidget wouldn’t have any of it).

One of the treat trays for the tea party…

And our skinny Christmas tree. I wish I could find a smaller star for it…

I don’t really understand Christmas stress. I mean, I understand it, but I think it’s mostly self-induced. People have a tendency to put pressure on themselves to do too many things in such a short amount of time. My philosophy is, do what you can. No one will know about all the things on your list that you didn’t do, because it wasn’t their list. I had my parties this weekend and figured out how to enjoy them, prepare and cook and clean for them without feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Maybe it was weird to serve Chicken Quesadillas for a holiday dinner, but it was easy to prepare and festive and I wasn’t in the kitchen all day cooking. But when I was in the kitchen, I cranked up the holiday tunes, did a little dancing in my slippery socks and enjoyed it all. Of course, I enjoy cooking, so that helps. But if you don’t enjoy cooking, just buy precooked food. See!–There’s always a solution!

I was going to post a couple photos of the frame progress this week, but it’s kind of like seeing me in my wedding dress without my makeup on. And as in weeks past, without having the sun to take a photo, the photos really leave a lot to be desired. It’s like seeing me in my wedding dress without my makeup on and zooming into my face to see what’s up my nose! Three cheers for the Winter Solstice! Tomorrow will bring a longer day!

As of now, everything’s painted in, but I’m refining it. I’m now putting another layer of blue background down, because it’s still too uneven and blotchy. Damned transparent colors. At least I repainted the sky and it’s good now. I think. I could possibly be done in two weeks. We’ll see how this weekend goes. I took off this Friday to paint, but we’re also stepping out to see “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” in the afternoon. Can’t wait!

To everyone who celebrates, have a Merry Christmas!!!

See you next time!

I think I may have just won the Guinness Book of World Records record for the most exclamation points in the beginning of a blog posting ever. Wow – that conjured up a blast from my past. In the late seventies and early eighties, I think America was obsessed by the Guinness Book of World Records. I remember so many specials on TV about it. Not so much anymore, huh? Or is it that I don’t notice because I don’t have cable? Can anyone enlighten me on that subject? There were always “specials” on TV back then. After School specials. Special late night movies. Holiday specials. I like the word “special.” Remember this old intro? It really made me feel like I was about to see something special. Haha. All I see as far as specials go on TV now are crappy award specials. Bo-ring.

Seeing that “special” intro made me whoosh back in time to Saturday morning and public service cartoons like this one:

I wonder what kids of today will look back on with fondness? Perhaps not something like Saturday Morning Cartoons. There’s so much of everything on all the time now, so I’m guessing kids don’t have those one or two special times of the week to look forward to certain programming. And the programming probably changes too often to make an impression. American Saturday Morning Cartoons was almost like an institution for quite a long time before my childhood and after. Even friends I have that are younger than me (in their late twenties/early thirties) still experienced it when they were little. I’m sure other things have/will replace it. But I wonder what? Dare I say not even cartoons? Morning web surfing? Hmmm. I wonder…

See you next time! Can you believe Christmas is only about ten days away! Cripes where does the time go! Hosting my Christmas tea party this weekend. When will I find time for painting?!

OK. You know I love Halloween, but I swear I’m not really trying to be a huge weirdo persisting with Halloween in December when reindeer, visions of sugar plums and brightly decorated trees should be on my mind. Purely coincidental that I managed to get the month of October for the Disc Makers 2012 desktop calendar. The theme was colors used in song. Mine is “Black Magic Woman.” It just happened to be perfect for October. Tee hee. This is probably one of my favorite calendar designs I’ve done for this calendar (an annual holiday thank you gift to customers) over the past 11 years. Incorporating the calendar in a natural way is probably the hardest thing to pull off with this project and I think it worked out pretty well here. I like the stark contrast. I rarely do that. It was fun. Some of my co-workers think it’s a portrait of me, but it’s not.

As for the status of my Gypsy Bear painting…yes…I’m still painting. It’s almost as though the further along I get, the farther away I feel like I am from finishing. But that’s OK because this is the most enjoyable part – working on the frame and tweaking everything. Although I kid about it taking so long, it’s nice to work on a project that pushes me to do more, rather than getting something done quickly with the ever present attitude of “good enough.” For those of you who are designers and illustrators, you understand my meaning. Deadlines have a way of making one make artistic sacrifices. There still will be a point where I have to say “good enough” or I could theoretically work on it forever. Really. I think I could work on this forever.

Short post today. I have to do a bunch of boring things like hook up a UPS device and new back up drive to our computers. Who knew that brown outs are worse than black outs? Aye aye aye. Long story short, our computers are fine, but we need to protect our investments. MS is hovering over me waiting for me to do this – literally (well standing about, not actually floating).

See you soon! And I promise some embroidery patterns for you for next time! Stay tuned.

Anyway, here is the painting in its current state. I messed up the sky and have to redo that. Still working on refining everything and adding details. Some areas are still dull from being worked on. And obviously, the frame is not at all worked on really. Why, it’s almost as though I’m nowhere near finished! Aye aye aye. Maybe I’ll finish end of December? Didn’t I say end of November before? Sigh. I should have had a less involved piece to work on while working on this one so I didn’t feel so compelled to work on it in every bit of “free” time.

Gypsy Bear Painting Overview (Unfinished)

Gypsy Bear Painting Detail (Unfinished)

So that’s all. I really should put up our skinny Christmas tree and related festooning while I’m waiting for the blue in the border to dry. Otherwise, I might never get around to it.

See you next time!

Sketch by Raoul Vitale for his "Turin and Glaurung" painting.

Steve Belledin painting for Magic: The Gathering "Kor Soldier"

Sketch by Steve Prescott

Randy Gallegos painting for Magic: The Gathering ""Loxodon Mystic"

Sketchbook page by Gary Lippincott of Bilbo Baggins

Study of a donut by Christina Hess

Geinball machine by Tom Kuebler

I daresay you might be surprised by the variety. We have lots of stuff to frame before we can hang everything. MS wants to cover up all of our walls with paintings and sketches someday. I am all for it, but think we need some wall space free somewhere to rest the eyes. We’ll see how it goes. All I know is, I’m not hanging anything of his up anymore unless promises not to put it up for sale. Puts a big empty space in our “exhibit” space every six months or so.

The donut study by Christina Hess is dear to MS because of his love for donuts (You might say he’d have a hard time choosing between me and a jelly donut if there were a fire in the kitchen). He’s a sucker for anything Tolkien related, so the Gary Lippincott sketch was a particularly great score and Raoul Vitale’s sketch is wonderful despite Raoul’s telling us we could just throw it out if we didn’t want it. I’m very glad to have paintings by Steve Belledin and Randy Gallegos now too because I really like their work. The Steve Prescott sketch is a great addition to the two paintings we have of his already, and the Geinball machine by Tom Kuebler? – well…how could we resist? It actually works!

To see more of the works of these artists represented above, follow these links: Raoul Vitale • Steve Prescott • Tom Kuebler • Gary Lippincott • Christina Hess • Steve Belledin • Gallegos

Maybe some day when we have everything framed and displayed, we’ll have a “gallery” show. Who knows.

See you soon! Off to paint a gypsy caravan. I’m making progress, but still have a ways to go. I’ll have some update pix next time for sure.