Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Gary Wing, LinkedIn
Gary Wing, LinkedIn
Delightful Deer
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Beautiful World
Beautiful World
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Booth Aftermath
shutterstock_WorkingMums
I have spent the whole time since I came home from putting up the rest of the items in our booth on two things:
THING ONE:
I made huge messes everywhere trying to gather, describe, tag, and put the items in bags to take to the booth. I also took a plastic set of shelves I had in my art room to the booth, so everything ON those shelves was scattered in the art room. I hadn’t cleaned up since playing with the Unicorn Spit, so suffice to say everything I looked at was shrieking at me. I’ve now cleaned the dining area table so that even my husband noticed the difference. I then tackled the big table beside my recliner in the living room that is a catch-all for everything I am doing, or want to do – such as books, magazines, things torn out of magazines… Finally, I made a serious pass in the art room. My drafting table is now clean and ready for work. I’ve grouped what I need to paint and personalize Christmas ornaments, organized wooden plaques, started grouping things to take to the booth at the proper time, etc.
THING TWO:
I spent the rest of the time making notes on the shop, plus an inventory of what I have in there, when it went in, price, etc., how many I have of each ornament to paint, when I want to change things out, and more.
I still have a lot more to do, but I’m going to relax a bit and join my husband, who is watching another football game…
Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob
We Have a Booth!
The name of our booth is “Blasing Bright” – a combination of part of the last names of my friend Carla and her former partner. It’s a small booth, but in a good location in the shop of booths called, “Rags & Roses.” 100 N Main St, Greenwood, AR 72936, (479) 597-3107. The owner is Joanna Brandt, a truly lovely, intelligent, energetic lady. The hours of Rags & Roses are Tuesday – Friday, 11:00 -6:00, and Saturday, 10:00 until 4:00.
Carla and I arranged, rearranged, then decorated a bit for Christmas, then rearranged again before we found what we thought looked the best. Carla is one of my best friends, a joy to work with. We caught up with what’s been going on, shared lots of laughs and hugs.
This is my dear friend Carla Woolbright.
And this is me.
I’m taking another group of things today and then will keep all appendages crossed that we both get some nice sales. I’m really excited to have this opportunity to try to sell my work locally, all year ’round.
EXCITING AND FUN!
Secret
Alive Inside.org via Marianna Bellantoni
Filed under aging, Attitude, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes
Paul Militaru Photography
“Siesta After Lunch In Two” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Rest” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Love at First Sight” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Birds in Flight” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Paul Militaru Photography
More Beautiful Portraits by Niki Firmin
Niki Firmin – Poppy
Niki Firmin
Niki Firmin – Alma
Niki Firmin – Freddie
Filed under drawings, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
Thoughts on a Friday 11-8-2019
“October Flights” – Stesha and Lilya – Andy Seliverstoff
Summer is finally over here in Arkansas. I was beginning to wonder for a while if it would be perpetual! It’s crisp and brisk, with a definite nip in the air this morning – at 37 degrees F. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful fall day.
Today will be a happy day for me.
We will leave for Lunch Bunch soon – an every Friday brunch/lunch with good friends we’ve been enjoying for over 17 years now. The core bunch, Linda, Kay and I, has been expended to include my husband, and Kay’s recently, with others joining us from time to time, such as sons, daughters, grandchildren, and other good friends. It’s a time to catch up, share what has happened – or is going to happen, our hopes, dreams, failures, happy and sad things – knowing we support each other. A very special group that means the world to me.
When we return from Lunch Bunch, I’ll pack the truck again with things I’ll display in my good friend, Carla’s, booth in a local shop. We went together yesterday to look at things, bouncing ideas off each other, grabbing some supplies from a couple of places and finally sharing some tea and good conversation. I will pick her up this afternoon and we’ll go add my stuff to what is now OUR shop! She has already paid the rental fee for November, so I’ll pay for December. I’ll share pics of the shop and some other details with you later.
When I come home again from adding to our shop, I’ll do my elliptical trainer and yoga for the day, chores around the house, etc., and catch up with my husband and our pets, enjoying a quiet evening together.
Happy day! I hope that YOU enjoy one, too!
Filed under exercise, Family, Friendship, opportunities, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________
Unicorn Spit Christmas Ornaments
I’ve had a great time creating flat wooden Christmas ornaments painted with Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. These are some samples. There is a total of 16 different ornaments right now. I will add a name and the year on the ornaments at no extra charge. You can order multiples, but please understand that, though I will use the same colors, the blend will turn out differently on each ornament. Even the two sides of each ornament are different! :0)
In addition to the Unicorn Spit, I’m using black webbing paint. The finished ornaments are then sprayed with polyurethane to set the colors.
The ornaments are different sizes, as well. I’ve drilled a hole in the ornament, if needed, to attach a shiny silver cord for hanging.
If you are interested in looking at the other designs, please click on this link for my ArtFire shop.
I’m offering free shipping to the contiguous United States. If you live elsewhere, please contact me at lwlca47@gmail.com and we can figure out shipping.
Thanks for looking!
Filed under Holiday Gift Ideas, holidays, Lewis Art
Thoughts on a Thursday 11-7-2019
Beautiful World
I have to admit I’m still very disappointed to have learned that the wonderful order – and payment – for 40 plaques turned out to be a fraud. I’m grateful that our only loss was the joy of such a wonderful order and the chance to fulfill it. We were very lucky. I’m disappointed to have met someone who tried to hurt us. I always believe that people are good – until they show me they aren’t.
I’m very grateful to my husband, who – although believing the order was a scam from the first – offered to help me make plaques when I returned from the bank – before I told him that it was confirmed to be a scam. He’s definitely a keeper.
Since wonderful things can happen any time, my good friend Carla called yesterday to check on my husband and me – AND to make me an offer! She is renting a booth in one of our local shops and wanted to know if I wanted to bring some of my work to sell! She also offered me the chance to go in 50/50 with her! I’m thrilled. My husband and I are planning to visit the shop today and then I’ll call Carla back. They have a website, so I checked it out and found some really nice pictures and stellar reviews from people. I’m thinking that I will at least go 50/50 with her until the holidays are over, giving me a good chance to see if my work will sell or not. Isn’t life – and the friendship of dear people – amazing?!?
I finished listing my flat wooden Christmas ornaments on ArtFire. I’ll do another post to show you some of the ornaments. :0)
It’s raining again today, but it doesn’t seem like we received the downpours the weather people were forecasting.
Since my ego was smashed yesterday with the confirmation of the scam, I didn’t exercise at ALL, actually getting under my throw in my recliner and taking a nap. We went to get fried rice for dinner – a definite no-no for both of us, but SO delicious – AND I ate some ice cream before bed. Needless to say, my back and the scales were both letting me have it loudly this morning, so I will get back on the horse and be good again now that the pity party is finished. :0)
I hope that YOUR day today is full of good things, too.
Filed under Family, Friendship, Thoughts on a ________
Cautionary Tale
Alchemipedia-Blogger.com
I am in the middle of yet another of life’s character-building exercises.
I told you about the money order a customer was going to send for a huge (for me) order of plaques.
The order was supposed to be for all five of the plaques I painted using Unicorn Spit. He said his administrative assistant messed up and sent the wrong amount in the money orders. I told him I would refuse delivery of the package and that he should send another for the correct amount. He then said he wanted to increase the order, wanting 40 (FORTY!) plaques in all, 8 of each of the five designs. We went back and forth, but I asked him to stick to the original order, and then, if he was happy, he could order more.
The money orders for too much money were delivered by FEDEX while my husband and I were out doing errands. :0( My husband was angry. I ended up taking them to the bank in order to ask them how long I would need to wait to be SURE they were good before I filled the order. She said 14 business days, and then noticed a number you could call to verify the money orders. She called, putting it on speaker phone. It was an automated system, asking for the number on the money order and then the number of the post office issuing it. She keyed them in and we were told the numbers didn’t match anything in their system – and so were fraudulent.
SO – I am pinning them up on the pegboard on the wall in front of my computer to remind myself that I do NOT need yet another character-building exercise. At least I wasn’t dumb enough to ship the plaques I had ready, or buy wood for the 35 more plaques my husband and I would have been cutting out, finishing, and putting hangers on as quickly as we could to fill the order within the time frame.
I did NOT deposit them. I am out only –
- the delight of the biggest order in my life
- the time I spent with the customer who turned out to be a rat
- the anguish of my husband getting angry over the whole thing
I am considering myself lucky that I had a big sense of ‘too good to be true’ and did what I could to make SURE it was legitimate before getting my family in financial jeopardy.
A cautionary tale…
Thoughts on a Wednesday 11-6-2019
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
It’s rainy here today. We are forecast to receive over 2 inches of rain by the end of the day tomorrow. Good thing we live on top of a ridge line. I hope we don’t have flash flooding in the area.
It looks like the wonderful sale of all of the plaques I’ve painted with the Unicorn Spit is falling through. I met the customer on LinkedIn. He has said he has sent a money order, but says his administrative assistant made it out for a wrong amount, wanting me to send him the difference. Shrieks of scam. I’m really disappointed. I’ll have to refuse delivery on the money order. Bah Humbug. It MAY still work out, but I won’t hold my breath.
I’m listing Christmas ornaments on ArtFire today.
Otherwise, we are hoping to enjoy a quiet day.
I hope you enjoy YOUR day, too.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Victoria Veluz Art
Victoria Veluz – Addison
Victoria Veluz – Murph
Victoria Veluz – Addison and Murph
Filed under drawings, Victora Veluz
The Wonderful Work of Bethany Kerr
Behany Kerr Fine Art – Etsy
Behany Kerr Fine Art – Etsy
Filed under Bethany Kerr, Watercolors I Love
Thoughts on a Tuesday 11-5-2019
Cheap Trip via Martha Kirkendall-Ghearing
Things sometimes happen fast.
Yesterday we stopped at the post office before going to my husband’s dental appointment. As we started to leave, my husband backed the Corvette into the back of a parked truck. After surveying the two vehicles, the nice man in the truck couldn’t find any damage and waved us off. Our Vette, however, was a different story. The right rear is smashed – and it’s fiberglass. After the dental appointment (which went well, even with the blood thinners, thank goodness) we drove back, stopping at our insurance agent’s office. We agreed to take the ‘Vette to a local repair shop for an estimate. We did that today – $3400+ damage. :0( Thankfully, our deductible is $500, which we can scrounge up. We will take it in again when the repair shop gets the backlog of “deer hits” cleared out. They’ll call us.
On further research, I have learned that depth perception can be affected by a stroke. My husband and I have talked about it and he has agreed to take things a bit more slowly, particularly when backing up, and give his senses more time to react. He really doesn’t like it when “I” drive, so maybe he’ll take this seriously.
Yesterday the only exercise I got was bowling last night with our good friends. We really enjoy catching up with them, getting some good exercise (whether or not we bowl well) and having ice cream – a real treat – afterwards. I was creaky this morning, so I am doubly serious about getting my exercises in. I have finished my 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer and will soon go and do my equal session of yoga stretches.
Today is a truly gorgeous day – sunny and 70 degrees F. It just doesn’t get better than this. I’m hoping we get just a FEW more days like this…
I’m having fun in my art room. I have almost finished the 2nd group of 8 flat wooden Christmas ornaments painted with Unicorn Spit. I have the first 8 listed on ArtFire, offering to add a name and the year at no extra charge, and free shipping. As soon as I finish getting the rest listed, I’ll give you the URL of the page in case you’re interested.
A good friend of mine told me about a new app that offers reward points for your shopping. It’s called FETCH REWARDS. You shop, scan your receipts using the app and your phone, and then you can get gift cards and other stuff when you accumulate enough points. I think it’s a fun idea. If you’re interested, please Google it and see if it appeals to you.
Have a great rest of the day!
Question?
KristinaSteiner-wordpress.com
I’m am on book #40 in the 50-book “In Death” series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). I’m reading them all again before I allow myself to dive into the newest one in paperback, “Connections in Death.” I’ve been so busy having fun in my art room and trying to fit in 70 or so minutes of exercise into my day that I’ve been reading in fits and starts, just a bit at a time, but I’m loving living in Eve Dallas’ world again.
I’m also reading several other books at the same time, trying to learn some things here and there. :0) I honestly don’t know how I would survive without reading. Physical books are a treasure trove to me. E books are great for learning things and to take while traveling. Computers are wonderful for expanding your horizons.
I just wish there were more time in the day and I had unlimited energy!
Filed under Hobbies, Reading is FUNdamental
Thoughts on a Monday 11-4-2019
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
We are having a lovely fall day today! Sunshine-y, 61 degrees, no rain. Can’t ask for more. :0)
I’ve told you about Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith AR before. Aldopho, their man, is outside now spraying around the house where he couldn’t because of rain when he was here recently. In addition to that, I received a bill from them I didn’t expect. I pay for the year, and had already sent in my payment for NEXT year, so this was unexpected. I called and talked to Jerry. He looked us up and told me that their new computer system had issued the invoice when it SHOULD have issued a CREDIT. Can’t get a better answer than that!
I also had made a note to call City Hall today regarding the Angel Tree they put up every year for Christmas. I just wanted to get a feel for when it would be up so that we could plan to go in, get an angel from the tree, and shop for goodies for a sweet child in our community. The lady I talked to was putting the tree up as she was talking to me! We’ll stop by tomorrow and choose a child. We alternate between a boy and and a girl each year. This time, I think we’ll choose a girl.
My scales continued to smirk this morning, showing another .2 lbs of lard gone. Infinitesimal – but “I” noticed. :0) I’m hoping to break into another 5-pound territory by the end of the week. 
We leave for the dentist soon for the 2nd step in my husband’s implant. I’m a bit concerned about the fact that he’s on blood thinners, but everyone at our dentist’s office Wes Moore, DDS, in Fort Smith, is competent, so he is in good hands. We’ll run errands and eat out on the way home.
I’m having great fun making flat wooden Christmas ornaments using the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. Here is one of them –
I’m going to personalize these with a name and the year. I’ve done 8 different ornaments so far, and will start the second group of 8 this afternoon, unless I run out of time.
We’re going bowling this evening with good, long-time friends. I always look forward to catching up with them. You would think that we would be getting reasonably good at the game by now, but NOOOOO! Each of us has a good night from time to time, but we’re pretty pathetic otherwise. We either celebrate or commiserate afterwards by getting ice cream at Braums. :0) With my elliptical trainer, yoga, and bowling, this old lady will have a GOOD amount of exercise today.
I hope YOUR Monday is pleasant – if not ENJOYABLE.
Wonderful Paintings
“Whitewater” – Stephen McGuinness – LinkedIn
The Enchanted Portal – unknown artist
“The Ice Pond” – Paul Crimi -LinkedIn
Filed under paintings I love
Thoughts on a Sunday 11-3-2019
Aussie Life-kookaburras
“Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,
That’s not a monkey, that’s me. Ha. Ha.”
I love this photo. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually SEEN a kookaburra, much less a glorious whole ROW of them. I always think of the song we sang as children. (I’ve taken some liberties with the words in the lyrics above. WE sang it the way I’ve printed it, which skips two verses and moves the very last line to the first verse.)
I’m happy to report that my husband is doing fine now after his stroke in July. The sudden anger outbursts – apparently a common side effect of strokes – are MUCH fewer now. Though he glosses over the details of how to handle the fact he’s on blood thinners, I’M learning to pay closer attention and make sure things turn out the way they should. He has a dental appointment tomorrow. To give you an example of how he is ‘back,’ he took the Vette to the car wash this morning to clean it up so he can drive it to the dentist’s appointment tomorrow. (He and the dentist talk motorcycles, cars, guns, and such each time he goes.)
I’m also happy to tell you I broke new ground on my scales this morning! The scales actually SMIRKED at me, as we got into fresh, new, lower territory as I grinned back. I HOPE this continues, as I still have a lot of lard I’d like to shed. Though it is much harder to lose the lard the older you get, I’m proving to myself that it IS possible.
A man contacted me yesterday, discussing buying 5 of my new Unicorn Spit plaques. He’s talking to friends today and is supposed to get back to me tomorrow. He understands that these are one of a kind and that I cannot do exactly the same thing twice. Fingers – and all other appendages – are crossed. I’m working on flat wooden Christmas ornaments again today, seeing how they will turn out with this same wonderful paint.
The weather is beautiful, with a high in the low 60’s today! Gorgeous fall weather. I’ll try to get outside this afternoon and get a good amount of clean up of our planters done.
I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying this gorgeous Sunday – AND that you remembered to set your clocks back last night.
Filed under DIET!, Family, getting the lard off, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________
Thoughts on a Saturday 11-2-2019
Amanda Alma-Feel Free
Today started out pretty cold – 33 degrees. I finally went out to the garage to do 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer when the temperature reached 50. Now it’s 58 and practically balmy! The freeze killed all the flowers in the planters around the yard, so the next several days I’ll be trying to clear out my planters in preparation for topping them out with mulch for the winter.
My husband loves pulled pork. I found a recipe he really likes, so I put a pork loin in the crock pot this morning. When it is cooked, he helps me shred it, each of us using two forks, until it’s the right consistency. We’ll have that tonight for dinner and divide up the rest if it into meal portions for him and freeze them. Usually we get about 8 meals from one pork loin.
An online friend just made my day. He is serving in Afghanistan and we have been chatting. He told me today that he used the photo of my “Believe” plaque as wallpaper for his computer!
The rest of my day will be spent –
- cleaning out ONE planter outside
- doing my daily yoga stretches session
- working on the flat wooden Christmas ornaments in my art room
I hope you’re having a wonderful Saturday, too.
*If you are in one of the states that practices Daylight Savings Time, tonight before you go to bed, turn your clocks BACK one hour!
More Fun With Unicorn Spit
This is my first try at using the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze on fabric. The technique is very different on fabric than on wood. It’s a lot of fun, though. As you can see from these two pictures. it is impossible to do the same design on each side of the tote, although I used the same colors. I really like the fact that each blending is different. To seal the stain/glaze, I used a waterproofing spray.
This is the second side of the tote.
If you are interested in more information, I just listed the tote in my Etsy shop.
Filed under Uncategorized
Slow but Steady Progress in Getting the Lard Off
Spoon University
I have been on the plateau from Hell for a long time now. I’m FINALLY in a regimen that is breaking through that. My eating plan is intermittent fasting and keto, paying particular attention to macros.
I was kidding myself, THINKING I was eating keto, but didn’t actually make any progress until I started making sure I was eating according to the percentages of fat, protein, and carbs I should have daily. I use a program called Cronometer which allows me to log what I plan to eat, modify if necessary, and add the exercise I’m doing. I’m still doing a bit of yo-yoing, since eating out is a bit of a challenge, or life gets in the way, but at this point I’ve lost a total of 43 lbs and am showing signs of a smirking set of scales in my future.
Rabbit Care Tips
My bigger news is my exercising efforts. I have gotten more serious about doing 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer and 35 or so minutes of yoga stretching daily, adding gold star stickers to my desk calendar when I have been a good girl. My efforts have yielded some definite smirks from my measuring tape this month. I have now lost a total of 47.2 inches.
Though my weight loss goals remain the same (I’m planning to lose another 30 or so pounds and whatever inches go with that), the exciting thing is that I FEEL BETTER. I have much less pain in my joints and back. I have more energy to do what I want to do (like play in my art room). I am feeling more confident now that I can continue losing the lard and one day meet my goal.
Thanks to Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto, and Makinze of Delish.com, I’m finding lots of good recipes to try. My husband is VERY pleased with my cooking efforts and actually requests that I make many of the recipes again. The latest favorites are “Keto Chili” and “Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bake” – both from Suzanne. A close second is “Keto Fried Chicken” by Makinze of Delish.
Feeling in more control and that I CAN one day meet my goals is making me a much happier person. I want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as I can.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, getting the lard off
Fall Tee
This is one of the newest tees I have painted. I wore it for the first time this morning. We went from super hot, humid summer, to 3 days of fall, to winter, so long sleeves were needed.
I have admitted to you before that I’m a slob, often spilling things on my tees. If I cannot remove the spots, I then put the shirt in a pile in my art room to be painted. This way I can still enjoy the shirt for a long time to come.
I’m actually looking forward to having another tee to paint since I can experiment with my new Unicorn Spit Stain/Glass on it. :0)
Filed under I'm a slob, Lewis Art, playing in my art room
New Month – New Mailbox Decoration
“Mr. Natural is a comic book character created and drawn by 1960s counterculture and underground comix artist Robert Crumb. ” ~ Wikipedia
Since my husband and I started creating decorations for our mailbox, we take turns on favorite characters to make. Mr. Natural is one of my husband’s favorite comic book characters.
We found the image on the net. My husband does his magic, transforming the image into computer code that our CNC computer-guided torch can read. We save the code to a thumb drive and take it out to the shop. The computer-guided torch cuts out the image from a 4′ x 8′ sheet of metal. We then make a mounting attachment for the mailbox and weld it onto the cut out piece. We use an overhead projector to mark the salient features on the metal, front and back. I then paint both sides of the piece using outdoor paint, and then protecting it from the elements with polyurethane spray.
This piece is about 2-1/2 feet tall and a bit wider.
We’ll change the decoration again on November 15th or 16th, depending on the weather.
Filed under Lewis Art, Lewis Mailbox Decorations, metal art
Beautiful Gourds 2
Jennifer Hershman Gourd Art-galleriagourds.com
Maria Dellos
Mary Malensek
Mini Indoor Greenhouse
Filed under Gorgeous Gourds
creativeartworksblog 