Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas



Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The rest of the Year!


I'm taking the rest of the year 'off'...
I'll be doing minimal work..
shipping..renewing..relisting...
but that's about it.

I really need to enjoy the Season and my Family...
so I'm cutting the stress by keeping myself off the internet
as much as possible...
so I can enjoy life in 'real time'.

It will also give me a chance to take my time and do a bit
of 'creating' for the new year.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Next Year...





I'm starting to make plans for some new pieces
especially for CMZ Art
in the new year.

I will be pulling all of my Rustic Goth pieces from my Bonanza
Shop and offer the new pieces
exclusively through that shop.

I'll have some 13 x 19 inch Posters
with sweet graphics and 'sayings'...
some original paintings...
and a new series or two.

Look for the new 'offerings' right after the first of the year!

I'm very excited about them!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

CMZ Art Bonanza


Since I make my living via my sales over the internet,
I have several different venues from which I offer my art.
Here are a few wearable art pendants,
that are only available in my
CMZ Art Bonanza Shop 
 
And right now I'm having a Half Price Sale
on them..

Friday, November 19, 2010

On Zazzle


Zazzle has some pretty cool items on their site...
and I'm adding new designs to some of these items on a pretty regular
basis.
The Ornaments are a brand new item and I've been
working on all kinds of sketches and designs
to be able to offer a really nice assortment.

Some of these designs may be duplicated on the
in my Rustic Goth Shop..
but most of these designs will only be available
on merchandize in my Zazzle Shop.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I've painted a few egg Ornaments.


I've painted Egg Ornaments since 1993.
Actually...my husband started painting them...he knew me
well enough to know that if he started doing them
and they were 'well received'
then I would 'jump in' and do my part.

So..we took our eggs to a Holiday Show...they did very well...
and we painted them every season from '93 through 2003.

Every season since '03, I've had a few people who wanted to know
if I was going to do any eggs....and I always said 'no'.

It was one of those things my husband and I did together ... and I really
didn't want to do them on my own.
Problem was...my husband had blown, sterilized and base painted
about six dozen eggs that have just been taking up space in my closet.
A few of them even had subject matter on them.

So...the girls and I discussed doing what was left
and offering them at the shows...
then...
we decided not to do anymore shows this year...
but..
I had already put the 'word' out that I would
be doing them..
at least for this year...

so...there you have it...
I'm doing a 'limited' number of egg ornaments...
wish I could get better photos though.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Under the Weather


I have been feeling a bit 'under the weather' the past few days.
It started out with a little bit of chest congestion...then a sore throat...
and a nasty little pain on the right side of my back
whenever I move or take a deep breath.

I'm not one to run to the doctor, unless all my own efforts fail...
so I'm pouring down the Echinacea Teas...Zinc and Vitamin C...slathering myself with
Vicks VapoRub...bundling...and trying to rest.

Mostly...I'm trying to 'will' myself to feel better...
believe it or not...
that usually works.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My Bonanza Shop

Now that I've found I have more time on my hands
than I thought I would normally have during the holiday season,
I've decided I'm going to do some
new pieces especially for my
CMZ Art Bonanza Shop.

The shops there operate a bit different than they do on
Etsy
and for some reason...
I do like this little shop.

I just haven't had enough 'new' stuff to put in it...
(It started out as my 1000 Markets Shop)
and then I could separate Rustic Goth and CMZ Art
which was my original intention.
Since I can't really do that anymore..
I want to remove all of the Rustic Goth items
and make it exclusively
CMZ Art.

I'm looking forward to it...because I think it
will be fun to do some new art for this shop.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

A Solitary Celebration

Today is my husband's birthday...
and I'm usually a little depressed on this day...
but
today I decided to do something a little different.
I'm having a 'solitary celebration' of sorts.
I'm scratching off Bingo tickets.

You'd have to know me to know this is not something
I usually do.

When we moved to Lincoln in 1997...my husband
started playing the lottery and the scratch off Bingo.
Even if he bought me a ticket to scratch off...I usually let
him do it.
He got more of a kick out of it than I did...
besides...
he ALWAYS won way more than I ever did.

I have continued to play the lottery numbers that he picked..
every single day...
and I haven't won nearly as much back as he did over the years.
He managed to almost 'break even'...and I admit
I'm a bit 'in the hole'...
but
I do it
because it is something he was very passionate about
and I figure
ONE DAY!

Anyway...when my sister and her husband
helped get my son here a week or so ago...she bought
a bunch of scratch off tickets.
Mostly the 1.00 and 2.00 tickets...
and managed to win most of her money back.
So..she kept playing.

When she got back to Wyoming
she discovered she had a bunch of winning tickets
that she couldn't do anything with.
So..she sent them to me.

I got tickets with all of the winnings...and won
a bit more than the tickets she sent me...
turned those in...won some more (but not quite as much)
and so on...
Finally I decided
BINGO
that was the game my husband played from the day we
moved here
until the day he went into the hospital for the last time...
and I turned my winnings in for a batch of Bingo
tickets...
We'll have to see...
Maybe I'll win BIG on his birthday:)




Friday, November 5, 2010

Show Season Over


I have posted much of this information on my
other blog
but I wanted to be sure to include
this information on both...
since this is the blog that I give on the business cards
that I hand out at local shows.

We will not be doing the November or December Shows
at the Lancaster Event Center.

I have been dealing with a family emergency since
mid October...and we just will not have the time or resources
to be able to finish out the scheduled shows.
Our apologies to those who had planned to visit our
booth for their Christmas shopping!

You can find the same items in our respective shops...
CMZ Art d.b.a. Rustic Goth
Mike and Jaime Best d.b.a. Best Art Studios 2.

Be sure to visit our shops frequently as we will be offering items
especially for Christmas...
not available at other times of the year...

Monday, November 1, 2010

Family Visit


I've had a family emergency that has taken a lot
 of my time these past two weeks...
much of this week was spent visiting with family
(my youngest sister and her husband) from Wyoming were here...
I hadn't seen them in a couple of years
so it was wonderful to spent a few days with them...
but I really did get backed up with my work.

They've always had exotic pets...my brother in law
LOVES his Raccoons...and their latest 'baby' is so darned cute.

Cora is a blond raccoon and about 7 months old now...
and she IS spoiled.
My sister says she is like having two or three
toddlers running around the house getting into everything.

I rode with them on a trip to visit our last living uncle
who is quite ill...
and Cora decided she wanted to 'meet' the new person on the ride.

So she pulled my hair.
It didn't hurt...but it did startle me.
She is a cutie though!!




Friday, October 29, 2010

I Have a Large Family


I have a large family...
and..for the most part...
I'm very happy that I do.

Sometimes though...it can be difficult
when something happens that kind of 
turns my normal routine
upside down.

I recently had to travel across state because of a family emergency...
concerning two of my grandchildren.
My daughters and I had to drive most of the night,
we picked up the girls and then had to turn around
and drive back.
I don't know how I managed it...but I drove
the last leg of the trip
with NO Sleep
and didn't doze off even once.

Now.. 'suddenly' all six of my children
are now living within minutes from me.
My oldest child (daddy of the girls) had to have
emergency surgery...
but he will be moving, with the girls, in with my daughter
until he is better...
and set up house here in town.

It's been a while since all of my children lived within minutes
but I think it is all for the best...
so I am happy.

It's put me way behind with my shops...but 'family' has always
come first with me...so hopefully the good Lord
will give us all a helping hand
and maybe give me the energy I need to get all caught up
without upsetting any of my collectors..
as I do try to make sure everyone is happy.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I'm working on some new product for my Zazzle Store.

This is my
complete with the soup recipe
now listed on Zazzle.

I also have a Chocolate Chip Cookie Mug
and a Salsa Mug.
(Which I will probably take off at some point.)
What I plan to do is to have a whole
series of 
Soup Recipe Mugs
in the Store over the next week or two.

I personally think it is such a clever idea:)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Dylan




 A week ago Friday
I went to see the play
'Dylan'.

This is a photo of my son, Patrick...
He was not only in the play...he play several different characters...
and did a great job with each one!!

It really was such a very good play..
I was thrilled that I was able to attend...
and even shed a tear or two at the end!

Great job and congrats to all of the cast and crew!!!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Our Fall Shows


Here is a schedule of the shows we will be doing this fall.
They're all being held at the Lancaster Event Center...
2 of the Shows are One Day Only...
the other 2 are Two Day Shows.


We'll have several new pendant designs...
brand new for us this year!

Checkbook covers..
notepad covers..
Composition book covers
and Journal covers.

Prints...Bookmarks...Mirrors

And loads of new paintings by
myself...Jaime and Mike Best.

For our readers... who are able to attend our first local show...
just mention that you read about the show on this blog 
and get 20% off your entire purchase.

Monday, October 4, 2010

I think I'm figuring it out....


It took me a few days...but I think I'm finally
figuring out

Actually...I sold a couple of items and the
kind person who purchased the items
was so sweet to offer a few suggestions of what
I might do to make this shop a little
easier to find.

How very sweet of her.

I wouldn't normally have opened a new shop anywhere
at this time of year..since I am always
busier than normal during the Fall Season...
but since I didn't really want to lose all the work I'd put into
the Shop at 1000 Markets...
and 1000 Markets was acquired by Bonanza...
I didn't really have much choice.

But..I might actually like being there..once I get it all figured out!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bonanza




I'm not if I'm 'happy' that my 1000 Markets site
is now
a 'Bonanza' site
or not.

Time will tell I suppose.

I recently received an email saying that Bonanza had just
acquired 1000 Markets...
the shops would migrate to Bonanza
and 1000 Markets would
'be no more'.

I had just begun to get used to 1000 Markets
and rather liked the site...
it's much different at Bonanza...
and I'm not going to have time to familiarize myself
with that site until after the first of the year.

Anyway...
such as it is...
my
CMZ Art 1000 Markets Shop
is now
CMZ Art Bonanza.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Last Few 'CRAZY' Weeks


It really HAS been Crazy around here the past few weeks...
and it all started with my computer going down.

During a Sale no less...

I ended up all flustered...trying to get the shipping out
before it was too terribly late...once I got it back.
Then...a huge shipping 'snafu' and loads of emails asking where
packages were...

That problem finally solved...but got 4 neutral feedback as a result...
(I don't know why...the postage was PAID on September 2nd...but the packages
were not located and postmarked until the 14th...made it look like
I wasn't telling the truth...
but I REALLY...Really..was!)

Anyway...that's finally cleared up...
then I lose my Cable/ internet for a day and a half...
and was pretty much told that this is going to be an on-going issue
unless I want to cut branches out of two trees in my back yard...
so I'll have to 'suck it up'.

My dryer finally Gave up...and now I need to replace it!

The first show of the season...oh dear...my memories of doing
that show in the past were so different.
We ended up losing money on it!
Oh well...live and learn!

We've committed to four shows...same ones we did last year...
and those 'should' be pretty good.
I've been so busy doing new items especially for the shows...
I've listed a few of the Scrabble Tile pendants..
(something I've never had in the shop before)
in my Rustic Goth Etsy Shop.
I'm really pleased with how they are coming out...
so I'll be adding new pendants on a regular basis.

We've got a few other NEW items that we're doing for the shows
and I'm hoping to list a few of those
in the coming days/ weeks.

But...that is my Crazy few weeks...in a 'nutshell'.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

CMZ Art...1000 Markets and a new printer


My Rustic Goth Etsy Shop
is my primary source of income...
so, of course, it takes about 95% of my time.

I'm pretty happy with this shop and it takes a lot of hard work
to keep it fresh and current.
This being said...
I 'finally' made a sale through my 1000 Markets Shop 
and discovered that the process is really quite different.

For one thing...1000 Markets goes through Amazon.com...
which I do love...since Amazon has such a great
buyer protection in place.
I know...because we've purchased a few
'big ticket' items through Amazon...
we got our Pixma Pro Printer a few years ago..
now I'm saving my 'pennies' to get another one.

I've decided to just leave my 1000 Markets sales in Amazon
to help me pay for it.

For one thing...a new printer would cut my shipping times in half...since
I could do them as I need them, instead of having
to impose on Jaime to try to fit my printing into her extremely busy schedule.
So...I'm going to be promoting CMZ Art...1000 Markets...
and the other CMZ Art sites
a lot more often through this blog...
and my new
CMZ Art Facebook Page.

My Facebook page doesn't have much on it...yet!
I know I should have waited until I have more time
to really 'buff' it out...
but..I'm beginning to think that having more time
is just an 'elusion'.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Two Long Weeks

These are the little 'sweeties' that I've spent most of the last
two weeks with...on their first day of school this year.
I just LOVE...LOVE...LOVE these very independent little characters.

They weren't 'up' to doing any projects this time....maybe they
sensed my frustration at the whole computer 'crisis'...

Still we had fun....some outdoor time...indoor time...
cartoons...conversations...and imaginative play.

It's been a long two weeks though....
some days I was just too tired to do much once their daddy came
to pick the little ones up...

Had to paint and send Jaime home with pictures to
upload on her computer...
she couldn't read my writing so
"Places of the Heart"
ended up 
"Pieces of the Heart"
but...it's sold now...so all is good.

My computer has been 'fixed'
temporarily...
so I've got to think about getting a new one...Soon!




Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Next Two Weeks


I can hear it already....
"I'm hungry..."
"I'm bored..."
"I'm hungry...."
"I'm bored..."
"There is nothing to do here."
"I'm bored..."

This all from my sweetest little Ava....
she finds my house quite boring ... and my cupboards quite bare!

Simon will be a bit easier to entertain...
though I'm sure at some point he's going to want to go
to You Tube and watch every 
Mario Kart video they have there...
he really can entertain himself for hours watching Mario videos...
it used to be 
'Thomas the Train'
but he's "moved On"

I do look forward to having them the next two weeks...
in spite of their boredom and their hunger....
I think I'll need to find some projects we can do
for part of that time.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Hope the 'weirdness' is over!


This past week has been just 'weird'....
I'm not really sure why.

I've felt weird...weird things have been happening...
(just small weird things...like my Facebook updates 'disappearing'...
but then, later
reappearing...
my computer's done a few weird things it's never done before...
business has been....well...'weird'....
just things 'out of the norm'...)

But...they kind of 
'throw me off my game'
a bit...
and then I stand there wondering
"what in the world is going on".

Anyway....I do hope it is all
'finally' over....at least for a bit.

I'm waiting to find out some test results for
my oldest daughter, Wendy....
typical of the week I've had...
so...yeah...I hope the 'weirdness' is over.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

My House is 'Trashed'

Okay...this isn't really my house...
they have tons of photos on the internet under
'messy house pictures' ... who knew?

My house isn't really this bad
but...it's still pretty messy.

I've been painting all week...
and not cleaning up after myself...
which always means my house is going to get 'trashed'.

I'd like to say the mess was why I'm not painting
as much as I used to...except...
when I was on eBay...listing new paintings everyday...
I lived in a two bedroom apartment..
with my youngest son and a very sick husband..
and I still managed to paint everyday...
and clean up my mess!

Hopefully I'm not getting...lazy!!


Saturday, July 17, 2010

So many things going...all at the Same Time.

I have got soooo many things going...
all at the same time...
I wished I were a bit more organized.

I've set a 'goal' of the number of original paintings I want to
keep in my
Rustic Goth Etsy Shop 
and I'm close to reaching that goal...
the trick will be..
keeping that number.

Obviously I want Need to sell those paintings...
so
I've got to always keep new ones working.

Now...I've decided to include...
'portable art'
in my shop.

I'm working on abstract paintings....
I really have 'missed' doing those...
but I'm rather messy...
I 'lost' my studio to my youngest son
a couple of years ago...
so I have to do my abstract paintings...
outside...
needless to say..
my time is very limited...and depends so much on what
the weather is doing.

I'm also working on some new pieces to add to merchandise in
my Zazzle Shops...
I'm pretty sure I have many other things going 
I just can't remember them all right now.
Thank goodness for my little 'list' keeper.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Going Weekly...


I tend to spend the summer months...
experimenting and coming up with new pieces
for my Etsy Shop.

It's a good time too...for designing new pieces
for my Zazzle Shop
and my other sites.

I just take my time...so that I don't feel too much
pressure to create...working at my own pace.

Because so much time is spent
in experimentation...
and I tend not to reveal my experiments
until I am happy with them...
so there's not as much to
'talk about'.

So...for the time being...I'm going to scale this blog
back to 'weekly' posts.
I'd already gone to twice weekly..
since I don't spend as much time on my
CMZ Art creations as I do on the Rustic Goth creations...
and because of this...
I just don't have as much
to say.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Getting Back to 'Normal'


Every holiday that ends up in
a multi-day celebration...
like a long 4th of July week-end...
it takes me several days to get things
back to 'normal'.

I LOVE doing something outside of my 
regular routine 
on occasion...
I don't think about anything 'work' related..
I just enjoy spending time with family
and doing whatever it is that we've chosen to do...
to 'celebrate' whichever holiday we're celebrating..
and the things that take us out of our normal
routines of work..worrying over the bills...and the day to day
grind that we each have to deal with
in our own ways.

It's fun just to 'unwind' and laugh and enjoy one another!

Heck...I don't even mind my house getting 'trashed'...at the time!
I end up spending a day or two getting it back...
to what it was before...
but I really don't mind.

So...now I'm getting things back to 'normal'...
cleaning...
working..
watching the same TV programs..
and everything that goes with my day to day life.

That's good too...as boring as it might sound to some folks...
I enjoy what I do...

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!!


Hope everyone is enjoying a 
Wonderful...
Fun
and 
Safe
Independence Day!!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Keds Shoes PLUS My Art


I'm not sure who decided it would be a good
idea to let ordinary folks like myself
apply their own art and design to a pair of Keds' Shoes
but I think it is 
brilliant!

I LOVE my Shoe designs on Zazzle
and plan on getting me a couple pair here soon.
I want to have them to wear during the upcoming
art and craft show season.

I really really need to spend, at least one whole day...
doing nothing but designing
Keds' shoes.

They're pricey...but soooo cool!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Some CMZ Art Pieces


I've been doing art
in some form or other...
pretty much as long as I can remember.

For a lot of years...most of my
art was distributed to family members
as gifts...
or
"just because".

Then..my husband and I started doing
the art shows...
they were lots of fun...
and a lot of long...often times Hot...hours.
I learned a lot at those shows.

Then...in 2004...
I listed a couple of my early pieces of art...
along some stuff we purchased at some estate sales...
the first thing to sell
in the very first week...
was one of my art pieces.

I don't think I got a whole lot for it..
it went at auction
on eBay...
I'm pretty sure it only got the one bid...
but I was 'hooked'.

Most of these pieces are from my
eBay days...
and I've offered so few of these
as prints...
until now.

I've got them over on
along with a small collection
of Rustic Goth pieces.

I wanted to see how these pieces
go, to decide where I want to take
CMZ Art from here.

Monday, June 21, 2010

From the ashes...


Like the Phoenix...
Saturdays are..for me...like 
'rising from the ashes'.

I do sooo need that one day a week that I do
"whatever I want to do".

It's so refreshing and revitalizing...
though I often find myself thinking I'm 
'forgetting' to do something.

Whilst I was 'away'...I discovered that
Aubrie
over at Flutey Words
presented me with a new 'award'.

I just need to name the 5
Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Books or Movies that inspire me...

Well...I 'could' just name off 5 of the 7 Harry Potter books...
but I'll just group those in a collective and say...

1. ALL Harry Potter books and movies
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. E.T.
4. Star Trek...the newest movie (with Silar from Heroes as Spock)
5. The Blob (with Steve McQueen)

I'm sure if I had thought a little harder, I might have selected something different
for numbers 4 and 5...
but I did enjoy the last Star Trek movie...
and
I was definitely 'inspired' by The Blob...
it scared the heck out of me...and somehow seemed more
'possible'
than the Frankenstein and Dracula movies
I also LOVED watching.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I'm A Little Bit 'Funny'...part 2


I read every one of my followers blogs...
unless it has a 'warning' on it...
I tend to not go into anything that 'warns' me that I
might be 'offended' if I enter.

I'm sure I've probably written an offensive
post or two..
but I do hope that...
for the most part...
I'm not offending anyone.

What I have discovered lately
is how many of my favorites haven't posted anything
in weeks or months.

To this I can only say...
I feel bad that I don't get the opportunity
to know more about you.
Perhaps you are a 'private' person
and don't want to reveal too much...
that's okay...it's certainly up to you.


A lot of times...it's just fun to go through
the pics of your arts...crafts...likes and dislikes...
little snippets of your life..

I know my daughter has said...
"I don't have many followers...and I'm not sure
anyone is reading my blog but you...
and I don't get many comments."

She is one that hasn't blogged
lately...
and she really does have so much
to 'reveal'... if she weren't so
worried about spelling...or
'sounding stupid'...
(though in her 'defense'...she's one of
the busiest people I know...a lot of times she's busier
than I am!)


One of the many times that my husband
was in the hospital,
during his last year...
we were having a hard time answering
some of the questions about
the 'particulars' of previous
visits.
So..I went to the waiting room...pulled up
our art group blog...
and answered everyone of the questions
that had been asked.

I had just started blogging...and felt the need
to keep our collectors up to date
on what was going on...
especially since he was also an artist
with the group.

I've found that I blog as much for me,
as I do for anyone who might want to read
what I write.
With everything that goes on in life..
it's so easy to 'forget'
the "who's..what's...when's..
why's and where's"
that happen.
So..I blog:)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Sunshine Award


I got this lovely
Sunshine Award
from the lovely Jo...formerly 'Jo Knows'
I love reading her blogs.

I'm not sure if I'm doing this right or not...
but the five followers I selected to pass this award to are:


I do hope you will check out these wonderful blogs...
they are among my most favorite.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

AnnaLeah Designs


You know...
my daughters and I get together
every so often...
(art and craft show season)...
and we make pendants.

We turn little miniature prints of our art..
into something wearable...
problem is...we lose about half of every pendant we make..
to the dreaded
air bubbles.

These little devils NEVER show up immediately...when the glue
is still wet and pliable..
they always turn up a day or two later.
Once that happens...we've lost the pendant.

Before Mother's Day I had gotten a special order for a pendant
and ring...with a pic of the Eiffel Tower on them...
turned out beautiful 
right after putting them together...
scheduled a time for the buyer to pick them up at my house...
had to contact him the day before he was to pick them up and say..
'no go'
Huge air bubbles appeared
right smack dab over the Tower.
We haven't attempted to make any new pendants since.
Very disheartening to put that much work into something
that just fizzles.

So...I'm pleased to 'introduce' you to another
lovely Shop that has been turning some of my images
into wonderful Pendants for going on two years.

I started collaborating with Betty back when I still
had my CMZ Art shop on Etsy..
so most of the images she has on her pendants,
are images that I had
in the CMZ Art shop.

(I moved the Resting and Blackbirds prints to my
Rustic Goth Shop...but all of the others
aren't available anywhere but these pendants.)

Check out AnnaLeah Designs...
she has some very nice pieces in her shop!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

I've got a good schedule...

I write a blog post for this particular
blog about twice a week.

Since I'm not doing as much with my
CMZ Art Brand...at the moment...
I don't really have much news anyway.
At least not with my art...so I'm
pretty happy with it's current 'schedule'...

that way
if something that I think is 'interesting'
comes up...
I have plenty of space to post it here.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I'm A Little Bit 'Funny'...


There are only two kinds of blogs that I read...
the blogs of my followers..
(I figure if someone found my blog interesting enough to 
follow it...then we probably have 'something' in common)
and these are really and truly some
of my ALL-TIME favorite blogs!

Then there are a very small handful of
blogs that I have read for years...
I don't follow them..they don't follow me...
and I never comment on those blogs.

For one thing...I'm a little bit 'funny' 
because I won't leave a comment on a blog
that I think might be 'manned' by someone other
than the author
(heck..it might not even be written by the original 
author anymore for all I know).

A few years ago, I was reading one of the first
blogs I ever 'followed'...though not 'officially'...
and the author confessed that she
had gotten sooo busy
that she was now having her niece doing most
of her correspondence, 
monitoring the blog comments...
and even writing blog posts from time to time.

Maybe the niece was just 'taking dictation'
and writing what the artist was actually saying...
but
I stopped reading the blogs after that.

So when I run across a blog that
is so popular that they get 100s of comments
on each post...
I just don't comment...
no matter how interesting I might find the post.

I'm just 'funny' that way.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Graduation


My youngest grandson just
'graduated' from Kindergarten...
Oh my gosh...
complete with cap and gown!!

Isn't he Precious!!!

Friday, May 28, 2010

St Patrick's


I ran acrossed this photo
while looking for some others
of 
St Patrick's Catholic Church
in Nashville Tennessee.

It brought back so many memories that I just had to
write a quick post about it.
All of my children were baptized here...
most of my children 
served as Altar Servers,
several were Lecters,
my husband  and I were both
Eucharistic Ministers.
And...I taught 3rd and 4th grade
CCD classes for 5 years here.


Monday, May 24, 2010

Some New Pieces

I LOVE Sayings Prints and Posters...
in my 'younger' days
we always had one or two hanging
in our kitchen...
or bathroom...
SOMEWHERE in our house we had
them hanging.

So...I decided to do a few...adding my own
graphic designs as 'embellishment'...

I've currently got a few of
them listed in my
1000 Markets Shop.

1000 Markets have teamed up with
Amazon...so that everything purchased
actually goes threw Amazon...since they have
such an awesome buyer protection.
I thought that was a good idea.

Friday, May 21, 2010

My brother in law wrote a Book!

It's called..
'The Joy of Real Estate'...'The Greatest Job in America'
by Jerald A Zatloukal

Jerry has been in real estate most of his adult life.
He has made and lost a small fortune..but he's always bounced back.
He's so personable and knowledgeable about his 'craft'.

I think it is just GREAT that he finally has a book published...I know
that is his 'other great avocation'.

I wish him MUCH SUCCESS with his new book.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

What Shall I Do?

I've got so many things I WANT to do...and so little time to do it in.

It would probably not be as big a deal
if I were actually 'making a living'
doing what I'm doing...
mostly my Rustic Goth Etsy Shop.
But...things have been
more than 'strange' over there since March.

Every time I think things are
'back to normal'
they decide to change things up..
and whenever they do this...it seems
it affects a whole lot of shops
for weeks and weeks.
And...my shop just happens to be one.

So...I'm trying to best figure out
what I should do.

I wanted to do a bunch of new
floral paintings...especially for CMZ Art...
but it may end up being a
huge waste of time.
I hate being so dependent on One Venue...
but since I refuse to ever go back to
eBay...I guess I'm 'stuck'.
I've got shops at
Artfire,
Zibbet,
1000 Markets...
all of them still without even 1 sale...

maybe I'll do a bunch of new stuff for
my Zazzle shops.

I don't make much money...per sale...but
I do make sales on each of my Zazzle sites...
so that may be where I end up
putting my new floral 
and other
CMZ Art pieces.

Yep....I think I've talked myself into devoting a week
or so...to doing a whole bunch of new pieces
exclusive to Zazzle.

Sometimes I just have to
'commit it to paper'