Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Art Show of the Season

It has been a little 'difficult' on my body...

getting back into the arts and crafts shows.

My dear husband MUST have done most of the physical

work...setting up and tearing down...

all those years we did the shows together.

We started doing shows in the early eighties...

and

I hadn't done a show since 2004...so I had quite forgotten

the late hours doing 'finishing' work

the night before the show...the long hours of

'set-up'...getting our space

JUST right...

the VERY early hours (for me)

on show days..

but..in spite of it all...I am really enjoying it!

I love 'mixing' with the other artisans...

giving and receiving helpful tips and sound advice...

(we got SOOOO many comments from the other artisans...

saying we REALLY need to get into some Omaha shows...

we'll see.)

Here are 10 Things we have learned from the shows...

1. Try to have EVERYTHING ready a day or two before set-up.

2. Get to bed early, the night before the show...it is important

to be 'alert' enough to interact with others.

3. Don't judge the results of each show...just on show sales.

(We have sold a number of original paintings...as well as

commissioned paintings...through our Etsy Shops...

from folks taking our business cards at the show.)

4. Be 'open' to what others have to tell you...most of the time

they are just trying to help.

5. Don't get too excited when folks whip out their camera (or phone) to

take pictures of your 'stuff'...especially when they think you're not looking...

it's going to happen!

6. Have 'something for everyone'...at least in every price range..

not everyone brings hundreds...or even twenties..of dollars

to a show. Sometimes they've just come to 'look'...

and they're pleasantly surprised to come upon your space

and see how beautiful your 'stuff' is.

7. Be real! (This is important on sooo many levels.)

8. Share your experience with the

other artisans. If you think their 'stuff' is great

and would benefit from a larger audience..give them the benefit

of your own exposure.

9. Expect to do well...and bring a positive attitude.

10. Build a local following...and spread out from there.

So...we have just ONE more show

in 2009...

December 5th and 6th.

I look for it to be a

really GREAT show!

To all of the folks who have visited our booth

at the State Fair

and

all of the shows at the Event Center...

thank you!

We hope you have a wonderful

Holiday Season!

CMZ Art....What's New?

I have been asked by several

collectors

if I am going to reopen my

CMZ Art Etsy Shop.

Sadly...I am not.

Perhaps it was the turn of economy,

but I couldn't maintain both shops and Iopted

to keep the Rustic Goth Shop,

since it was doing better.

I still do business as CMZ Art

though...on Zibbet.

Presently I only have prints available

there, however....

I will be posting original tree paintings,

poppy paintings

and other 'nature-inspired' paintings

in my CMZ Art Zibbet Shop

as early as next week.

We only have one

art show left to do this year...

(getting ready for the shows have taken most

of my time the past few months)

and since I do like to keep myself busy,

I will be doing some original

paintings especially for CMZ Art.

I have a new Show to add to my Favorites!

I do like my "reality" TV....for the most part...

they are 'no-brainer' forms of entertainment.

I ran acrossed a new program

on

Bravo...called

"Chef Academy".

I find Chef Novelli to be quite

entertaining and somewhat charming.

He seems to love 'Columbo'...remember

the detective show with Peter Falk as Colombo...

Since I spend as much time alone as I do..

I do like to have some program or other running

for background noise if no other reason...

that's what I thought this program might end up being.

Who knew I would end up liking it so much...from the very first episode!!

A new LOOK for my Blog.

I visited The Cutest Blog on the Block again...

and found a 'new look for my blog'...

I wanted this blog

to be 'green'

and this background worked just

right.

And...in the meantime...

I started

yet ANOTHER blog...

'Making It Work'.

I needed a way to chronicle

the 'goings on' of my day...everyday...

and thought I'd

do it in a separate blog.

A Nifty FREE Site

I found a nifty FREE site

while reading someone else's blog...

it's called

"The Cutest Blog on the Block"

They have free backgrounds, templates,

blinkies (like the one I inserted.."I Love Comments")

and a lot more.

I don't have any affiliation with this blog...

just thought it had some really nifty features

and wanted to 'pass it along':)

On My Husband's Birthday

Today is my husband's birthday...

he would have been 63 years old.

I choose to 'celebrate' his life...

it was so rich and full...

and, though I am somewhat 'predjudiced',

he really was

'one in a million'!

We had 35 wonderful years together

and my life has been so enriched as a result!

So...today....I want to celebrate

and be thankful for the time that we had!

Bring Back Meerkat Manor

I am not sure how I ever got

'hooked'

on this show.

But I did....so much so

that I started recording all of the

re-runs weekday afternoons.

I've probably watched the first couple of seasons

five or six times.

This morning I was watching a couple

of squirrels romping in my backyard

and got to thinking about the meerkats.

So...I went out to find out the 'status' of any future shows

and found this petition.

It seems that the Animal Planet has cancelled the

show....for what reason I'm not sure...but, I can't

get into any of the other shows they have on....

the way they studied the meerkat families was quite

fascinating and I'd really like to see more.