Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy Halloween!


I'm sure I'll have lots of little ones
coming to my door
for candy...
they'll all be my grandchildren!

Most of them are now living here...only the older two..
who now have their own lives...live outstate.

I don't 'do' the handing of Halloween candy to the neighborhood children
since I spend most of Halloween by myself...
and I just can't get up and down
over and over
to answer the door!

It's a little sad...but it's my reality
and I have to deal with it!

Still
I do wish everyone who is still able
to have fun...
to have a
'Happy Halloween'!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Man in the Moon


I was reading an article on Etsy about
'telling a story'.
It concerned item descriptions...
and what makes an item 'unique'.
After giving it some thought...it occurred to me that,
while I intend for each work of art to 'tell it's own story'...
perhaps I should also include something about what
inspired me to create each piece.

So...I started with the

Someone commented on my Facebook page
about what I would do with a 
Lovecraft 'Cthulu' subject.

I really didn't know the subject...so I
looked it up in the wiki.

And..I 'accepted' the challenge.

While creating the piece...I thought about 
the demons and fears
most of us face during the course of our lifetimes...
and about 'embracing them' instead of running from them.

So..I guess there really is
'more to the story'
on every piece of art I created...
sometimes it's conscious and sometimes it's not...
but the 'story' unfolds all the same.

It's going to take me more time than I care to think about...
but I will be including those little 'stories'
in my descriptions 
(if I think it 'pertinent' to the piece)
Maybe I'll shoot for 4 or 5 every day until I get them all finished.
And..from time to time...I'll post a blog about
those that I would like to share with you all:)



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Gearing up for a Busy Week


Last week I had a family emergency that took me
clear across the State...
driving in the middle of the night..
sleeping until 8 pm when I finally got back home and got some sleep...
and just kind of threw my normal routine
totally upside down.

It was filled with drama...stress...and just plain exhaustion.
And...it's not over yet!

Still I have to work at what I do...or I don't pay my bills...
so I'm really 'gearing' up for a busy week...
trying to work,
visiting with a sibling I haven't seen in a couple of years,
and dealing with my oldest...who is the last of my children to move
back home (not actually into my home..but only a few minutes away).

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Show Season is a bit of a Disappointment





Here are a few pic's from the first local show of the Season.
It was such a disappointment that we still have most of the 'stuff' left and listed
in our Shops.

Our sales were more than half as many as last year's show...
the weather was perfect...
there were no extra events going on in town...
and more people have jobs this year than last...

so
I'm not sure what to make of it...
or whether to do the last three shows or not.

Maybe we'll do ONE more and see what happens...

Friday, October 22, 2010

New Apps on Etsy




I am so excited about some of the new apps on Etsy
that I just had to share...
especially with those who have an Etsy Shop.

My new 'favorite' is...

This app not only lets me schedule the beginning time...and
ending time for each Sale that I have in my Shop...
it allows me to do it by Sections...
it changes the prices and the titles
for me when the Sale starts...
it also changes the price back and removes the 'sale' wording
in the titles
when the Sale is over.

Oh my gosh...this saves me 'literally' hours and hours of work.
In the past it has taken me a minimum
of two hours...(for a small sale)
to four or five hours...(for a store wide sale)

And...the app is free to use...
though the developers have a donation tab..
which I think is more than fair.

Another App that I often use is
Craftopolis...
or 'Etsy Love'...
they now have a new feature that allows me to
change the prices by section.

This is soooo handy for those prices that were lowered
before I found 'Etsy on Sale'
and I will be using it in the near future
to put my prints back to their regular prices.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

It has BEEN a Week!!






Oh my goodness....it has BEEN another one of 'those' weeks!

I 'long' for the day when I can afford to buy a new computer...
I think my poor thing is on it's last 'leg'.

I try very hard to keep it 'cleaned up' so that it doesn't just crash on me
before that day...but it needs to come sooner than later.

So my computer was down for part of the week...and then I had a family
emergency that took me out of town for a bit.

Like I said...it has BEEN a week...one of those that I won't mind
putting behind me.

In the meantime...since I really do need to work up the funds for a computer
on top of my regular bills....I'm having several different
'Sales' in the Shop,
going on at the same time.
The painting sale ends tomorrow...while others will end on Friday and
others on Saturday.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

New items in Shop




I have...or will be...listing quite a few new items
in my Shop.

I'm hoping to have all my new items listed by next week-end.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Shop Updates...


Since the move from 1000 Markets to Bonanza,
I've spent quite a bit of time trying to figure that site out.
I've got several items that are pretty much exclusive to the site...
I was originally going to wait until after the upcoming show..
when I had a little more time..
but I made a sale within a day after moving over
so I felt I needed to begin working on the site right away.
There's a lot more that I need to do...but those things will HAVE to wait...

I plan to have 25 Scrabble Tile pendants listed in my
Etsy Shop before the week-end.
Then...next week I'll begin listing even more pendants.

I will be pulling most of my original paintings to take to the Show...
I'll put those, that don't sell, back in the Shop
once the show is over.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

I've got a Question on Facebook...

I posted a question on my Facebook page...
I was curious whether or not
people would like my prints framed or unframed.
I'd appreciate all feedback
to help me make up my mind whether to offer this or not.

To 'weigh in' on this...
check out my Rustic Goth page.

Thanks for your help!

Monday, October 4, 2010

First Show of our Regular Season


This coming Saturday is the
'first' show of our Regular Fall Season.

We're able to take some of our paintings to this
show...
and with all of our other new items..
we're really looking forward to this one.

I've posted our Fall Show schedule for anyone
who is wondering what shows we have coming up.

Friday, October 1, 2010

I'm Not Sure I Like Changes that are 'Thrust' Upon Me


I do understand that change is a necessary fact of life...
we are in a constant state of change.

But...when I'm just getting 'used' to something...
it seems someone comes along and
changes things on me.

Recently...Etsy has been undergoing a lot of changes.
I had been so used to 
looking to the right...
for 
Shop sections,
Shop Info...etc..
now that has all been moved to the left.
Not a big change I know...
but it still
'drives me crazy'.


Recently, I got an email from 1000 Markets 
saying
they had been acquired by 
Bonanza.
I had 'just' gotten used to 1000 Markets...
so Bonanza is just going to have to wait
until after the first of the year.

The items from the 1000 Markets shop have transferred
over...but there is no
'rhyme or reason' to how the items
are showing up in Bonanza
(I had them so carefully placed into their respective sections in 1000 Markets.)

But...
such is life...
constantly changing.