A Few Close-Ups From My Porch

I get to spend the day taking shots (again) of my paintings for etsy. For  a warm up I practiced on the plants on my porch. Here are my favorites plus one of the photos I'm liking of a painting!

My love rose is done for the year. It's already too hot.

I love my shamrock, it's been with me for 15 years and keeps having babies.

This mint gives me fits. I swear it waits for the 90's before it even starts growing back.

I love this painting. Can you find the cat?

A Painting I Finished Recently

Sorry the pic isn't the best, I took it with my phone. 

This painting was loosely inspired by a trip my husband and I took to Aravaipa Canyon last year. The water was slow moving, but around the rocks it looked like it was speeding. 

There were all these scrub bushes that had delicate purple blue flowers and huge thorns everywhere. I wish they had been seeding so I could try to grow them, but I just had to put them in a painting.  The bush and the water were inspired by our trip. 

The cabin is one that turns up from time to time in my art, I think I want to live there one day. It's just a small two room affair with a huge fire place. I can see it clearly in my mind. It's my mental happy place. 

Can you find the cat in the picture?

Thursdays Are For Housework

I'm still working out a schedule to get everything done that needs doing, but I've settled on two solid days of the week.
I've found that being my own boss is harder than it looks! Plus there's no days off because there's always something to work on.
Making a schedule helps me be semi productive and keeps me on track. Writing as always comes first, but since it's not paying the bills yet I have to schedule when I do things that do. It's a work in progress to say the least.
Mondays I work on my etsy shop. Making things, taking photos, and posting items if the photos come out ok. It seems to be working so I'm putting it in my calendar.
Thursdays are now for housework. It's when I wipe the walls and wash the windows. I've also started picking a spot and deep cleaning it like a crazy person.
So far it's working and I've found a lot of things I no longer need to donate. I figure if I'd forgotten I had it I don't need it.
This week it's cleaning and organizing my painting closet. I won't be tossing anything, but it should still be a challenge to fit it all in.
I picked Thursdays because Friday is trash day and it cuts down on waffling if it's gone before I get up the next morning.
Should be fun.

Happy Solstice!!!

I hope everyone is doing great! I finished all my shopping and am looking forward to relaxing a bit.
My niece E is only 4 and she wants a kitten so badly. She can't have a physical one so I painted her one. I hope she likes it! I even wrote her a little story to go with it.

For E!

Shortly after I finished it my easel broke. Luckily Z is handy and now it's stronger than ever. I think I'm to rough on it. That's the third time it's broken and the second time a leg was ripped off. Cats are great at bowling I guess. Oh well, at least we can fix it.

Frankeneasel's new bottom.

It's new arm!

Just goes to show that even when it looks hopeless it can still be fixed. The legs are from an aluminum easel I got off Amazon. I hated that thing and it never worked right. Good thing I kept the parts!

I've got even more stuff in etsy and I really like that site. The people on there are so nice. I wish I could buy it up.
I've finished another chapter on my novel and I can't wait for it to be done. Then I can move on to another story in my head.
I hope you all have a great day!

My etsy is open!

I have 2 things in my etsy shop and I figure every day or so I'll add a couple more. I got them in yesterday but still can't figure out how to link it here. I'll keep trying.
Thanks again for the help picking out the name!
I think you can go to:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SliversofMagick
To see it. That's how I get there. This is so cool! I hated selling on eBay and this will be way better!

I'm excited about my etsy store

I'm really looking forward to opening up the shop. It's going to be a grand new adventure and I'm sure it will do well. I figure if I list a few items a day it will keep the cost down and I'll have a great selection in no time. I will also finally get a good price for my jewelry and paintings. Selling them in town to re-sellers doesn't get you much. A few times I was so insulted I just walked out. Once I get settled I'll even add ogham sets, wands, and other magical accompaniments. I really love creating things with my hands.
   If I'm lucky this shop will take some of the financial pressure off and I will be able to breathe easier. Then I can spend less time in the parking lot fishing for clients and even more time writing. It's a win-win. I hope when it's up you guys and gals will come check it out and let me know what you think.
   Does anyone know how to add a link to my shop in the side bar of my blog? I haven't been able to add any custom links over there yet.
    Thanks for your patience as I whined and cried these last few days. Life is looking up and the clouds are moving in.