Exciting Business News!

So I have some very exciting news.. I have been trying to figure out some ways in which I can expand my business and I've decided to start selling fabric on my Etsy page. Etsy not only allows us to sell handmade items, but supplies as well. I will be selling mostly pre-cut fabric from Moda and Riley Blake.This is a jelly roll (40 strips, 2 1/2 inches wide) from the Little Apples line by Moda.

This is a charm pack from the Meadow Friends line by Moda. It contains 42 5" squares.

I'm very excited about this because I've been using this fabric for years and I know how great it is. It's also fun just thinking about expanding. Some fabric just arrived this afternoon and I will get it listed on Etsy soon.

I have another addition to my business in the works that is even bigger than this! A whole lot bigger!!! I'm thrilled about it, but terrified at the same time. More details to come!

Have a great week!

Halloween Sale!

Boo! I'm having a Halloween Sale in my Etsy shop this weekend. Shop anytime from now until midnight on Halloween night and receive 25% off every purchase! To receive the discount use coupon code "Halloween" at checkout.

The table runner shown above is this week's item-of-the-week. It's made from the "Trick or Treat" fabric line by Moda. It's so super cute and fun for Halloween!

Have a great weekend!

Holiday Quilts

I thought it was about time I got a jump on my holiday quilts for Etsy and I can't believe people are purchasing them already! I thought for sure that I had a couple of months before I needed to put them in my Etsy shop. I've sold 3 holiday table runners in the past 24 hours. The worst part is that I haven't assembled them yet! Oops! I bought doubles of the panels above and never got around to putting them together. I thought I could list them, and assemble them as soon as I received the order. I didn't expect that to happen so soon.

So anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I think I'm going to be spending most of my free time quilting, at least for a while. I've already stocked up on my holiday fabric, and since people seem to be interested in it now, I think I will continue quilting. I really miss painting though! It's been weeks since I've painted.... Ahh.. I'll get back to it as soon as I get a jump on these quilts.

If you're interested, check out my Etsy shop. And get them quick! They're going fast! :)

When Life Gives You Lemons

"When Life Gives You Lemons" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! I don't know where that saying came from, but I like it, and I was thinking about it as I was painting these lemons today. This was such a fun little still life to paint. It's on Ampersand Pastelbord, and was completed with pastel pencils.

I'm not quite sure if I want to sell this painting, or keep it for myself :). If I decide to keep the original, I will make prints available in my Etsy shop.

Item of the Week

"Carnations" is this week's item of the week in my Etsy shop. It is an original 7 by 10 watercolor painting. The sale price is $22. It's been quite some time since I've posted an item-of-the-week item on my blog, so for those of you who don't know, I choose a different item every week to offer at a special low price, and it also ships anywhere in the U.S. for free! Prints of this painting may be available soon :). Have a great week everyone!!

Sunny Day Tulip

"Sunny Day Tulip" 5 by 7, Watercolor and Pastel

Sunny Day Tulip is the painting I thought I had completed yesterday. I went back to it this morning and just built up the darks a little more. This is a 5 x 7 painting on Pastelbord (in watercolor and soft pastel). I've never used water on Pastelbord before, so this was certainly a new experience. The entire background is watercolor and watercolor pencil bits. The tulip was done entirely in soft pastel. For an experiment I think this turned out pretty good! :) Having the watercolor background really made this painting easier to handle. I didn't have to worry about accidentally resting my hand on it.

I actually have several other tulip pictures that I took along with this one and I think I might do a tulip series. This was just too much fun. I'm contemplating putting this on Etsy. I always have a difficult time parting with my original works, but I suppose if I want to make money I have to, right? :)

New Paintings

"Carnations" 7 by 10 Watercolor

"Greenhouse Iris" 6 by 11 1/2, Watercolor

"Zebra Butterflies and Lilacs" 6 by 11 1/2, Watercolor

Whew! Things have finally calmed down around here. I had a nice time with my company this weekend but it's nice to have things back to normal. These paintings are not ones that I've done recently, but they're ones that I've held onto because I wasn't sure if I wanted to sell them. They are now available for sale in my Etsy shop.

I completed a painting today, but I'm going to go back to it tomorrow to make sure that it's finished. I really like it and can't wait to share it! I combined watercolor and pastel for the first time on pastelbord. It was supposed to just be an experiment, but it turned out really good.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

Day 15

Today's photograph is one that I took last weekend. I bought these lilies from a local florist and tried propping them against different things to get some interesting photos. I've never seen lilies this big before! They're so bright and fun.

I decided that I'm going to stop this "painting challenge" for now. I have just been posting photographs, which is fun, but wasn't my original intent. I am just too super busy at the moment to paint. I started a painting today, but I don't know when I'll have another opportunity to work on it. I'm going to be participating in "Creativity Bootcamp" in a couple weeks, and it's 2 weeks long. During this "training" I will be painting everyday for 2 weeks and it will wrap up this challenge perfectly. It begins June 6th, and I'm very excited about it.

Today's Quote: "The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions." Alfred Lord Tennyson

Day 14

Today's photograph I took recently at my favorite greenhouse. I regret not purchasing some of these flowers. I bought Foxgloves instead, and I love them, but these would have been nice too.

Well today has been spent getting ready for company - hanging up curtains, pictures, and cleaning. I accomplished a lot, but I still have a lot to do. I'm pacing myself :). I'll be lucky if I can get any painting done this week. It just might be a week full of photographs! :)

Today's Quote: "I’ve learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life'." Maya Angelou

Day 6 - Painting Challenge

As you can tell, no painting today. This is a photograph that I took on Sunday at the local park. I was completely struck by the beautiful colors of the tulips. They were probably the prettiest pink I have ever seen. I look forward to painting some of these flowers.

I was looking over how much school work I have this week, and I was overwhelmed! I have midterms and big assignments due this week. Don't they know I have a birthday Friday? :) Something tells me they really don't care! :) So, I have A LOT of work to do, and I don't have any time to sit down and paint. I hope to get back to painting by the weekend, or next week at the latest.

Today's Quote: "Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night." Glade Byron Addams