Thanks to my sister...

She bought me a new cord for my poor old

laptop

so I was able to take the giant clip down

and plug my laptop in.

Now, I can move my laptop all over the place

and not have to worry that it will shut itself down.

She also got me started on the wonderful weight loss
and increased energy shakes that I cannot
go without...

Thank you Lori...you are so very sweet...

and you have saved my poor neck and shoulders,
not to mention my cholesterol, blood pressure and
general overall health:)

Happy Holidays SALE

It's "Cyber Monday"

and my SALE will run through tonight!

I've had a "Happy Holidays" Sale in my Shop

for several days...

which includes FREE US Shipping on Original Stretched Canvas Paintings.

Wrapping it up for the year....

There won't be as many to choose from this year but,
I just listed a few art journal covers...
and checkbook covers.
I really like the covers...but since it takes so long to do just one...
I opted to stop with what I've completed this far.

I'm feeling just a little overwhelmed already
so I decided to slow things down a bit...
and maybe just concentrate on creating gift items for Christmas instead.
There's not as much pressure to do those...unless I put it off until the
very last minute.

I've got a few ideas...especially since getting my new sewing machine...
and I haven't really gotten into the Christmas "spirit" the past few years..
because I've been too busy to really appreciate the season.

Rustic Goth Etsy is On 'Vacation'

My Etsy Shop is currently 'on vacation'...

it's a little complicated, so I won't go into it here...

but it occurred to me

that anyone wanting calendars for Christmas

might not be able to get them in time with the shop currently closed.

So...I decided to post a link to all three calendars

so they can be purchased directly through my blog.

I've discounted them 10% and they will remain so as long as they

are on my blog sidebar.

You are purchasing them directly from me...and the calendars

will be shipped directly from the publisher within 3 to 5 days of purchase.

Here are some pictures to show how the
calendars look when opened.

My poor computer

If you look at the top right hand corner of the computer...

you'll see I have a giant clip attached to the edge...

the clip is keeping the cord in place...

otherwise..

my poor computer just shuts itself down.

I guess it's the cord...but who knows for sure????

It is a 'hand me down' and it's had it's 'issues'

but...in spite of the missing keys...

being on the third cord...

the bugs and viruses I've had to clear off...

it has done me well.

I do think I need to begin thinking seriously about getting a new one...

but I've been looking at battery packs and cords on eBay instead.

I'm surprised at how cheap they are...for brand new ...still in the package...

cords.

Maybe I'll go that route instead??

In Time

I'm having some issues getting everything done that

I want to get done.

So....I won't be updating my blog as often...

and I'm cutting back on other things as well.

I need to decide where my time is best spent

at this point.

I'll only be taking care of Oliver for another couple of weeks...

but I do want to get the most of these weeks.

I can't get back this time...

so I refuse to 'put business first'...

my babies are far more important in my life...

so ... come December 1st I may be quite a bit backed up...

and I want to be 'prepared' for all possibilities.

Oh yeah...this painting...'In Time'...was recently listed

in the Shop.

Small Paintings

I went 'thrifting' a few weeks ago and found

some cool little frames that were just

'begging' for some tiny little paintings.

The 'nova' - 'soli' frame is pretty heavy and I wasn't quite sure what

to put in it...so I went simple and did a couple Red Trees.

The middle frame is sooo cool ... it has such wonderful angles....

even though it has a couple of dings and scratches...

I couldn't bring myself to paint over the frame

as I thought the dings and scratches gave it a little 'character'...

so I did a little 'Bare Tree' landscape to put inside.

The top frame is a simple 5" x 7" frame...

nothing special...

and I bought four of them...

I put a single coat of black gloss paint

to give it a somewhat 'shabby chic' look and I think

the 'Blackbirds and Dragonflies' painting

looks right at home in this little frame.

They're reasonably priced and in the Shop now.

The Original Art of Patrick E Zatloukal

Today is my late husband's birthday.

Usually...on his birthday

and often, on the anniversary of his passing,

I upload a video of him.

'Behind a Picket Fence'

This year I decided to show a few of the paintings

that he painted (and sold) in the year before

he was diagnosed with cancer.

 "Harvest Moon"

"Contemplating Nature"

"Sundown Silhouette"

"Life in Red, White and Blue"

"Ebony and Ivory"

"Tranquil is the Night"

"In Memory of Trees"

"An Age of Wisdom"

"Bring Me To Life"

All of the paintings shown here were sold on eBay in

2005.....as were a number of other pieces not shown.

He was diagnosed in May and continued to paint until

that fall.  

After his surgery, (which took place at the same time Katrina was making landfall)

he painted very little, so these pieces are very precious indeed.

'Eye of the Dragon'

One of his last pieces, sold in early 2006, to someone at MTV...

he was very 'stoked' about that.

To see more of his art, you can go here...

I had other things on my mind at the time...and many of the paintings

that sold didn't get marked as such...

luckily though, I do have a few of his paintings that hang in my home.

We really had so much fun...painting together.

I'm so happy to share a little of his art with you all:)

2012 Calendars

This is my new Melancholy Girls 2012 Wall Calendar..

it's actually the first calendar using my 'melancholy' girls...

last year I used my 'steampunk' girls.

This calendar actually has the origin of the month included...

the link is here.

See a 'sample' of those calendar pages below.

For the 'plain' version...without the month origins...

you can find that one here.

I also put together a 'Tree Art' Wall Calendar this year.

This one just features a select few 'tree' pieces I've done the past few years.

The link for this calendar is here.

I talked Jaime into doing a few calendars this year and I am so

excited with how well they turned out...

Links to Jaime and Mike's Calendars on Etsy

can be found here.

I hope you liked the little preview of calendars for

2012

and I'm especially pleased to be able to share those

of my daughter and her husband...I think they are so very cool:)

Jaime's Art

Jaime is fixing to take a large number of her

prints out of her Etsy Shop

kind of like I do once or twice every year.

She hasn't done this in such a long time that she has way too

many prints to manage.

She's put a list of the prints she's retiring

in her blog...

hopefully this will help her be able to stay on top of everything else....

especially since she's also helping me

take care of Oliver 4 days a week.