Did someone say SALE?

Hey everyone!  I thought I'd do another celebration today to celebrate getting 100 blog followers, AND  hitting 400 Facebook Fans!!  Woo Hoo!  As a thank you, I'm running a SALE in my Etsy store. Please stop by and see if there is anything you like.  :)

If you want to buy anything, just use this coupon code LUVMYFANS at checkout and you will get 20% off your purchase!  

I'll be running this sale until April 1st, so hurry up and shop!! 

Okay here is the shop link...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mfauss?ref=si_shop


Hope to see you there!

Babies, blogs, paintings, and fears.

Oh boy.  As if I needed yet another reason to stay on the internet and suck up all my time. I just discovered the world of "mommy blogs".  Since I'm about to be a mother, today I got the brilliant idea to join some mom groups, and check out some cool mom blogs. 

Well.  It's been a few hours, and I'm still reading.  Yikes!  I really really should be working or cleaning tonight, but I managed to waste so much time, that now I have no desire to wash dishes, vacuum, do the laundry, tweet, list any new products, read Etsy forums, or paint.  All I want to do is find more blogs to entertain me, and watch Get Smart.  Gosh I'm getting lazy in the 3rd trimester.   Holy Moly, it's the 3rd trimester already!!  I can not believe how fast time flew.  I keep thinking I have many more months to go, yet I only have a couple.  

And here's something interesting about me, most of you probably don't know.  I've had a life long fear of hospitals.  I mean really fearful, like I don't like looking at them even.  Yet, in June I will be staying in one!  Oh my goodness, I just can't believe it, but unless I'm lucky enough to have a very quick birth on the way to the big scary building I really can't get out of it.  I went in the other day to see where I'm supposed to check in, and got my forms but that was all I was all I could do for the day.  I'm hoping to acclimate myself to them before the big day. 

At least at the end of my hospital visit in June, I'll get a prize!  As the time draws closer and closer, I'm super duper scared, but at the same time, I'm really looking forward to meeting our little girl.  I really think we will have a good time together, and I absolutely cannot wait to dress her in all the cool clothes we bought.  :)  But I was a little bummed when I found out they don't draw until a few years old. Poo.  I was totally looking forward to arts and crafts time.  I really really hope she likes getting messy too like with paints, because If I end up having a mini Felix Unger on my hands, I don't know what I'll do.  Only time will tell. 

btw the elephant painting you see above, is Elinor. A mixed media 12x12 painting on canvas.  She may or may not be related to Ellie.  And the original Ellie lives in New York now, so they don't get to see each other like they should.  :)  And, if you don't already know this, Elinor can be found kicking it over on Etsy .

And thanks again to all you guys who participated in my giveaway.  I'll be sending prizes out soon.  Some I need to make, like the necklace, but I'm hoping to get the print, cards, and postcards out tomorrow. 

Giveaway Winners!!

Well I'm so sorry It's taken this long to announce the winners.  I just haven't been home much, and I had to wait a bit for my husband to be able to edit the video showing my trusty studio assistant picking out the names.  He was a little less cooperative this time, and it took quite a while for him to finally get around to business, but eventually he did.  Check out the video to see who won...

Congratulations to those who won, and thank you all for participating!! 

Giveaway

Alright the giveaway is officially over, and I will be announcing winners, either today or tomorrow.  My studio assistant was a little uncooperative yesterday, and it took FOREVER to get a good video which my husband will edit hopefully soon, then I'll post and contact each winner.  :) 

Giveaway Time!!!

Oh boy, I'm really feeling generous right now, and I haven't had a giveaway in quite some time, so I think it may be time for another, what do you think??

So here's how it will work. 

First place will receive a giclee print of their choice!!

Just pick any collage/painting in my Etsy shop (click Etsy and it will take you there) that you would like a print of.  Make sure you search the original section too, because not all paintings are listed as prints yet, so if you want for instance, a print of Frida the Fish, you won't see her yet in the print section, but she is still available of course! Just post in the comments section which one you want.

Second place will receive a necklace of their choice!!

Again just go to my Etsy store and pick out what image you would like as a necklace and post it in the comments.  

Third Place will receive a set a greeting cards!!

Fourth  Place will get a complete set of postcards!!

So there will be a total of 4 winners!

All you need to do is go to my Esty store and pick out an image for a print, and a necklace, and leave a comment on the blog telling me which ones you would like if you were to win.

If you advertise this giveaway on Facebook leave a comment here telling me,  and you will have another chance at winning. 

Same thing for Twitter, tweet this giveaway, and  you get another chance!  Just be sure to leave me a comment here on the blog so I know to enter you in again. 

It's quite possible my handy assistant will be helping me pick winners again.  It just depends on how lazy he is that day.  :)

That's all there is to it.  Giveaway will end next Friday March 11th! 

Good luck to you!

2 new paintings and an artists spotlight!

I have two new paintings to show you today, I couldn't blog yesterday so you get a two for one deal today! 

The painting to the left is Harriet the Ballerina, and she is done on 12x12 canvas.  Of special interest to those who like sparkle, are her little toe shoes, hair bow, and tutu.  They are painted and embellished with pink glitter.  :) 

My next painting is Frida the Fish.  After naming her, I realized too late, that many people, especially artists may think that I painted a Fish to look like Frida the artist, but that isn't so of course, it's just the first girls F name that came to mind, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

This little fish came as a surprise to me, as I was actually making a background for my pig painting, but as I was adding more and more blues and greens, I realized it looked like water.  Well I just had to make a fish after that, and here she is. 

Both of these ladies can be found dancing and swimming around my Etsy shop, so be sure to head over if you are interested in giving them a new home.  :)

In other news, after spending all day Sunday and Monday  organizing and doing business related things, I did manage to paint a bit both of those nights.  I'm hoping tonight will be the same.  It seems I'm forming a bit of a habit now, and that is to do business/computer stuff in the day and paint late afternoon and night.  It's working out so far, and I'm trying to stop feeling guilty for spending my days on the computer.  It's just something that needs to be done apparently when you are trying to run a business and market yourself.

I think my name is slowly making it's away into the cyber world and a few of my pieces have been featured in treasuries this week, and also a couple blog posts.  In one case I was in the artists spotlight, which was really fun!  You can find that post over at Renee Mak's blog Fuss it Up Designs  she is a fellow Etsian and you can find her at her  Etsy shop Fuss it Up! . She has some really great jewelery and mixed media art to look at.  Definitely stop by and say hello. 

Okay that's all for today, must get back to work!  Have a great day!

Osgod the Owl, and new work coming up

Well here's yet another post and a painting!!  This has to be a record for me.  :)

This guy is Osgood the Owl and of course he is available in Etsy should have a strong desire to purchase him.   Just click the word Etsy and it will take you straight there. 

He is made with acrylic paint, glitter and pretty yellow flowers on another 6in x 6in canvas.  He's the last of the small canvases that are done for now.  I am working on another cat in that size, since you all like kitty's so much, which of course I don't blame you since I have four of them running around the house myself.  :)

Today I will hopefully spend some time painting.  That is if I can get off the darn computer.  I have a pig, a cat, and Easter Bunny in the works right now, and I hope hope HOPE to get at least one done by the end of the day. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me, that I will stay off the computer and stop shopping on Etsy! 

Bertie the Bird! A New painting, and what I'm up too the week...

This little guy is already in the shop but I thought I'd post him to the blog in case some of you missed his debut. 

This is Bertie the Bird, who reminds me of a chicken.  :)  He's painted on 6in x 6in canvas.  Still loving that little size.   So much fun!  I love his sparkly blue background (can't get enough of glitter), and his collaged paper patchwork arm. 

This one is my husbands favorite, and I think he secretly hopes he doesn't sell.  I like him a lot too, but would love for him to find a home that would love him just as much or more!  You can find him on Etsy of course. 

As to what's going on now... Well, I've totally switched gears this week after my 6 day painting spree last week.  Right now I'm spending most of my time working on the business side of things.  Oh my goodness is it ever overwhelming!  I'm learning about SEO's, proper tagging, keywords, backlinks, new social media, etc. etc. I so wish I got paid for the hours I put into this!  It's interesting stuff, but very time consuming, and it totally sucks up your life.  Hence, I haven't had a chance to paint yet this weekend.  I'm hoping to organize my office area today and then paint later this afternoon.  Wish me luck!

Meet Fang Jr!!

Oh my gosh, is it possible that I am blogging 3 days in a row??  I guess that's what happens when I have a bunch of new paintings to list.  :)

I wanted you guys to meet Fang Jr.  He is much smaller than the original, only 6in x 6in on canvas.  I decided to redo him because he's such a popular piece.  Most everyone seems to like him, so I decided to do a small and cheaper version for those who may want an original but couldn't afford the original original.  Does that make sense?

Well that was fast, he sold already!  I guess I won't go into my whole Etsy speech now.  :)

Have a great Friday everyone! And Keep warm!

Another new painting!

This is Fergie the Frog Princess.  She is another 6 in x6in canvas.  I have a total of eight of these cute canvases and so far 6 are done.  A really fun size to work with actually.  I was worried it would be hard because they are smaller than I'm used to, but it wasn't too bad at all.  If you are interested in her she is hopping around Etsy I hear, just click this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68786598/original-frog-princess-painting-fergie

In other news, I think this week may be more devoted to business rather than painting.  I'm trying really hard to get my name out there again, since after disappearing for 4 months, I kinda fell completely off the social media radar.  And oh my gosh it's hard work getting back on. Stumbleupon, Etsy, Twitter, Facebook etc.  The list goes on and on.  I sure learned a lesson, and I dearly hope that when the baby comes I will be able to find some time to keep going at this.  I think I hear many of you laughing right now, and I don't blame you.  Obviously I have no idea what I'm in for, and I do realize all my time will be monopolized at first, but I'm really hoping I can find a way to incorporate my art into my life while raising a baby.  After all we are going to be sharing the same room.  Her nursery is my studio too.  So hopefully she can play a bit while I paint a bit.  That's possible right??

Have a good day everyone, I hope your day isn't going like mine right now.  Too many computer issues. 

a little hello and a new painting...

Wow, it's been a long time again since I posted to my blog. I don't know what happens, but the time seems to get away from me and before I know it months have gone by between postings.

Plus, I've been pretty active announcing everything I do on Facebook, Twitter and Etsy, that when it comes to blogging I feel it's already been said and heard before.  Does anybody else feel this way?

But today I thought I'd check in again, and say hi to everyone, and show you my latest painting.  In case you haven't been on any social media sites lately (doubtful), and don't already know, I've been in a major painting frenzy for the last 5 days.  That's alot of painting!  I finished 9 of them. Can you believe that?  Of course I'm only showing one right now, as the others will be announced one a day throughout the week.  Need to keep you in suspense! 

Anyway this little piece is an original painting on 6 in x 6 in canvas called Beatrice the Bee. If you are interested in her she can be found buzzing around Etsy waiting for a new home...Check her out if you like...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68711114/original-bumblebee-painting-beatrice-the

Until next time,which hopefully will be sooner than last time.  :)
Michele

Did you miss me? :)

Work in Progress

Wow!  It's been ages since I've updated this blog.  I don't know what got into me, well actually I do.  :)  Pregnancy threw me for a loop for the first 3 1/2-4  months.  I hit a huge creative slump, and I just wasn't feeling well. 

Needless to say no art was produced, and I accidentally slipped away from my wonderful online community of artist friends.  I also managed to  neglect my Etsy store, and I came back earlier this week only to find it was almost completely empty because most of the listings had expired!  Whoops!

I am now slowly trying to get back into the groove of things.  I still have some pregnancy issues, such as smell aversions that make me dry heave, but as long as I stay away from the refrigerator (why can't that happen when I want to loose weight?), I think I can manage to do a few paintings here and there.  :)

I've been totally and completely inspired this week by Flora Bowley.   I don't how I haven't discovered her sooner, I just love her work and the freedom with which she paints.   Her work has given me the courage to I return to my studio.  I have now spent the last 3 days in a whirlwind of painting.

I've managed not to finish anything, but I sure have started a lot.  :)  I've taken a bunch of old canvases that weren't working for me, and completely redid them.  They are in the beginning stages still, but I already like them much better.   I also was inspired to bust out my huge 36x48 canvas and give that a whirl as well.  I'm probably going to work on that one today, as I seem to be most interested in it at the moment. 

Here's a few pics of what I'm up to this week.  Enjoy!

Work in progress.  This has turned into my favorite so far, unfortunately that means I'm afraid to go any further with it.  :)  I know what i want to do, but am scared to ruin what I've got.  Hate that!

 

 

 

 

Another Work in progress.  Just trying to nail down the details on roof before I continue.

Wip.  This is the big one.  36x48 and it barley fits on my table.  The lighting is terrible, sorry about that, took the pic at night.  The background it actually yellow, and I've already done much more to it.  I had a totally different color scheme and idea in mind for this, but somehow this is what it wants to be.  Not sure if I'll use my original idea or not.  I'm really curious about how this will come about.  

 

 

 

Last but not least, another wip.  I was listening to Peruvian flute music when I painted this and now it has a native American feel to it.  Again, totally NOT what I was trying to do, but it's what came out, so I'm going with it for now.  I do love the smeary paint, and am actually a bit afraid to mess with it.    I really need to work on being brave and just letting loose.