About Me

My photo
I've been an artist my whole life and have had so many exciting art related jobs, which makes me kinda of a jack of a bunch of trades. I'm also college grad with a BFA and went to the High School of Performing & Visual Arts here in Houston. Visit my shop at Etsy and I promise you'll most likely receive a Smile to take with you! I decided to mention that about 10 years ago I was on chemo for 2 years. The chemo worked, but left me with other Heath issues, such as a case of Fibro which left me with having to get disability.Sad news, since I had a great career, that I can not work anymore. With my Faith and determination, I am determined to still do my art. My art gives me inspiration and thank you God! Oh, and please follow my blog! I'd love to have yall join me in my show and tells and also would love to hear what yall have to show and tell!:)

Monday, October 26, 2009

Design Challenge


Shame on me, but I just entered my Gothic Fairy on the Etsy Team Crafter's Design Challenge. I need all the help and support I can get! If yall get the chance, could yall vote for my Gothic Fairy?
Thanks yall a million!
Linda :)
http://etsytx.ning.com/page/october-design-challenge-day

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Talking Cats!!!


Maybe yall have seen this before, and I've watched it a million times, but I still wanted to share it with yall. The last cat has subtitles as to what he is saying and I think he must be talking to a dog!
Enjoy!
And have a great weekend!
Linda :)

Friday, October 23, 2009

Kenzie & I Found another Contest!!!


Hi yall,Kenzie and I found a new contest! This one is for www.Indiesmiles.com
Yall could win a 20.00 add for free! Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6325392&page=1
I wish yall the very best of luck!!!
Linda:)

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Laser eyes and a Question


Kenzie spooky laser eyes for what she must have seen on my Halloween Pumpkin Patch below this one. She should be included in my Pumpkin Patch. Don't yall think so? :)

What is the best place to make a video slide show and how do I upload it on my site and others. I can't seem to get my URL's to work on my blog, only add pics on my left side column. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you!
Linda :)

Monday, October 19, 2009

My Halloween Pumpkin Patch!




Check out my darling Witch doll named Prudence! She was made by Chris Thompson and she even made me the apple and pumpkin.Also a cinnamon roll that I thought was real, but it is used to give off a wonderful cinnamon scent that is so yummy smelling! Her main shop is: www.primcountryfarms.com and she has fabulous items that yall must go check out!!!





The framed pictures you see are prizes I won in a contest on thier blogs! The left one in a glass frame was from: www.RonByrum.com
And the last 2 were from: Sarah Sullivan: Cottage Garden Studio, but I think her URL to her blog is: (http://rowenleaf.blogspot.com/ & of http://Cottage Studio.Etsy.com

I sure am in the Halloween Spirit!
Can yall tell?
I am anxious to look at all of yall's blogs and make comments, but I've been so busy. I will try to get to them tomorrow!
Linda :)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Indiesmiles!!!


I just wrote an article on http://indiesmiles.com
This one's theme is Halloween and I had such a difficult time just picking out 15 artist's pictures to show! I took them all from http://MagicalHolidayArtists.blogspot.com that Sarah Sullivan just started! It's such a wonderful site and the people are all so friendly and talented. I joined her site as well! I hope yall go check both of them out!
The idie's article is on the front page and is in a slide format so make sure you see all the slides and start from the beginning! The links should all be corrected now, so if you click on each one of them they will take you to the artists that are shown' sites.
I also must say that Indiesmiles is a great place to promote. Sue, the owner is such a fabulous lady and her ads are really inexpensive to put up an add and as time goes on she is getting more and more exposure! I have my Visual Smiles Gallery add up there at the top and the adds up there only cost 1 dollar a week and to get to those sites you just have to click on the adds!
I had so much fun doing this article that I will be doing more.
I also have to show off a darling witch I got from MaqicalHolidayArtists, btw, but that will have to wait until the next post!
Oh, it's a gorgeous day here in Houston!
Hope yall have one too!
Linda :)

Friday, October 16, 2009

Halloween Contest I Found!!!



I found a fun give away contest I wanted to shsre with yall! The link is: http://sophismpress.blogspot.com/2009/10/headless-halloween-party-n-giveaway.html

To get your hands on these treats, see below. Don’t forget to leave a separate comment for each entry.
1 Entry – Leave a comment on this post
1 Entry - Follow this blog
1 Entry - Follow Mich’s blog
1 Entry – Visit one of Mich’s Stores, either Mich Vanetta or Koot and leave a comment with a link to your favourite item
3 Entries - Blog, tweet, facebook this giveaway and leave a link. Getting the word out gets you 3 entires! Go ahead and leave three comments. You can do this as many times as you want.
This giveaway is open worldwide and the winner will be chosen by random number generator on October 24th at 11pm etsy time.

My new Pink House!




My friend, Linda Hardy(Mamapainter.Etsy.com & When one door closes another Door Opens.blogspot) gave me 6 house shaped paper mache boxes to work on. They are
6" x 8" in dimension. I wanted to make a take off on my larger house and started with pink, black and white! I want to do more colors if yall think I should, same theme but different colors. So here it is! Maybe not everybodies tastes, but what suggestions on the colors I should use and if you like the subject matter? I'm thinking of the distressed turq color I made on the bigger piece next.
Any ideas would be so appreciated!
Thanks and hope yall are are having a wonderful day! It's in the 70's here after in the 90's yesterday!
I adore this weather right now!
Linda :)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ruth Rhadcliffe


This outstanding photo was taken from Ruth Rhadcliffe, one of my very favorite artists & I own one of her watercolor prints that hangs proudly on my wall. Here is what she said about this photograph she took: "One of my favorite Halloween shots. And I carved them all. My first date with my husband was on Halloween. He wasn't sure he was getting a trick or a treat. I think he is still wondering about that." I have told yall about Ruth before, but this photo of her's caught my eye as I had never seen it before and it was just posted on her blog! Yall should definately go see my favorites of her Etsy shops which are: http://rhadcliffedesigns.Etsy.com and Elephantdreams.Etsy.com! You will not be disappointed at all!


Thanks to Sherry from http://byrumart.blogspot.com/ for this fun award!!!
Yall must go check out her fabulous blog!


Here's
what you are suppost to do:
Post the award to your blog.

Nominate 10 blogs you love. (It's hard to pick just 10 and I know not all of
you have the time to do this)
Link them to your blog include the person who gave you the award.
Let them know they got the award.
Sharing the love here is my 10:

Well, that is what you are suppose to do. I surely tried to pick out 10, then I thought, hmmmm....I love all the blogs I follow equally in a different way, so I am giving it to all of yall that I follow! This may sound like a cop out, but it really is the way I feel. Every blog I follow brings something into my life that is special in my heart! Thanks to all you bloggers, you know who you are!

And thanks again to Sherry!

Monday, October 12, 2009

A Great Opportunity!


Hi Yall!
I wanted to let yall know that I have volunteered to write articles about my artist friends on a site: www.IndieSmiles.com Check their site out! It's mainly for people buying space for advertising but it's much more than that as they also promote artists. They promoted me when they first got started because the lady was a fan of my work! I have a questionaire at the bottom of this post too if yall are uncomfortable at writing.

This is what she said to me that they are looking for:
Some people ask me what they should write about, it can be almost anything handmade related. We are mainly interested in "How-to" articles, marketing and business tips, and off topic articles concerning how artisans help their communities and charities. You can also promote your own shop!!

Please don't be shy about this. Write to me about yourself mainly, then add a "How to", charities you share your proceeds to, business tips, one of all of the above, and of course send me pics of your work via attachment and your website or Etsy site, blogs, etc. I will then form your stories as if I was talking about you. I hope yall will respond to this. If I can get a load of people wanting to do this, all of yall will get a chance to be featured! And they get a lot of traffic there too! The more the merrier! Of course they will put the article up for a couple of weeks, but every single article I send I hope will be featured!
Now get yall's heads together and send me an article about yourselves! Even if yall don't have a website, but pics of your work and how they can buy from you. All of yall have something to offer. You may have an illness, like me for instance with my fibro, so tell what it takes to do your art with a disability! Any tips of how you do something? Advice about how to sell, etc?
Ok, I think yall get what I'm talking about!
Thanks yall,
I hope to hear from yall really soon!
I am going to reword it like an article, but here is a questionaire if yall would feel more comfortable doing it this way & leave the question blank if you have no answer:
1. What is your name?
2. What kind of art do you do?
3. What are your hobbies besides art?
4. Are there any special techniques or tips you can share with us?
5. Anything special that you do for charities, etc you would like to share?
6. Is there an artist you would like to share? Tell me about this artist and what is there shop or website where we can go look at their work and can you send me any pictures of this artist's work? What is special about this artist?
7. What is your shop or website or blog where we can find your work?
8. Will you send me pictures of some of your favorite art pieces and let me know which ones are yours if you are sending another artists work as well?
9.Where do you live?
10. Do you have any pets?
11. Please share anything else you would like for us to know about you.


Contact me at:
Linga713@sbcglobal.net
Linda :)

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Kenzie Tail Curl


Kenzie told me it is time to show off her talent in curling her tail!
Happy Weekend!
Linda :)

Friday, October 9, 2009

Thank you Sonia!!!


Sonia of Dark Ravens Nest gave me this award!
Thank you Sonia! I love these!!!

The rules are: Answer the questions with only one word, award six people the award and notify them that they won... It is that easy!!

1 Where is your cell phone? purse
2 Your hair? curly
3 Your mother? fiesty
4 Your father? funny
5 Your Favorite food? icecream
6 Your dream last night? dreamless
7 Your favorite drink? frappacino
8 Your dream/goal? sales
9 What room are you in? office
10 Your hobby? crafts
11 Your fear? unispired
12 Where do you want to be in six years? success
13 Where were you last night? home
14 Something that you aren't? healthy
15 Muffins? yes
16 Wish list item? house
17 Where did you grow up? Houston
18 Last thing you did? project
19 What are you wearing? panties
20 Your Tv? on
21 Your pets? cat
22 Friends? yes
23 Your life? fabulous
24 Your mood? great
25 Missing someone? yes
26 Vehical? jeep
27 Something your not wearing? clothes
28 Your favorite store? Hobby Lobby
29 Your favorite color? greens
30 When was the last time you laughed? today
31 Last time you cried? days
32 Your best friend? Sharon
33 One place that I go over and over? artroom
34 One person who Emails you regularly? Sharon
35 Favorite place to eat? Luby's

My 6 choices are:
Mishkat
Annette Quirke
Beaded Tail
Cotton Eyed Jo
An Angel at my Table
One of a Kind Art by Catherine

Thursday, October 8, 2009

New Houston Halloween Treasury!!!


Please visit my new Halloween Treasury I made for Houston! I think it's a bit spooky!
I hope yall will click on the link, comment, and click on all the pics to help my treasury step up the ladder and also help support my fellow Houston artisans!!!

Thank you so much!

Linda :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=86908

Sunday, October 4, 2009

At the Fall Bazaar!




Here are a couple of pics at the Fall Bazaar I did with Julie! There wasn't much traffic and it ended up raining and being quite windy but we stuck it out until the end! I had so much fun browsing around and literally most of the people were from Houston and I recognized them from their items because I am always doing Houston Treasuries. Come to find out the lady that held the Bazaar looked for her artists from Etsy! I also saw my friends I told yall about in my latest post!
http://jewelis2008.Etsy.com Now here is a photo of Julie and all her gorgeous jewelry. I should have taken a close up of her jewelry. I think of these things too late, but I did buy that fabulous ring I am displaying! I've had my eye out for it for a very long time! And what is cool about it is I can wear it with my hand brace that I cover with black and the ring really stands out and looks really awesome!
I did pretty well for me, considering the weather, and I find I get way more sells at the end of the day!
So...today it's raining and I am going to take the day off and relax! Hope yall have a wonderful Sunday!
Linda :)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Autumn Bazaar


This is what I'll be doing Saturday, but as all of us well know that do festivals, it's not just a one day thing. It's making enough pieces to sell, loading the car, then the small amount of time they give you to set up your tent and goods and I never think they give us enough time to do that. I always need a break after setting up! I just hate that part.
I will be sharing my booth with http://Jewelis2008.Etsy.com Her work is awesome and she makes her own silver, brass, whatever...
Here is a piece of her work which was very difficult to choose! Yall must go visit her Etsy shop to see what I mean! She has very high quality jewelry at decent prices!

Also there will be 3 other ladies I know that will be there:
http://MamaPainter.Etsy.com who is known for her mixed media birds & crosses, but she has a new line of doing flowers & yall must go visit her shop!

Another person I know that will be there is http://BeckyBrocato.Etsy.com who is known for her very realistic watercolor paintings. Once again yall must go visit her shop!

And last but not least is http://dsullivancr2.Etsy.com and yall must go check out her beautiful stained glass and her husband's wooden pieces. I must say I know Diane very well and she is not showing all her items in her shop, but it's well worth the visit!

Ok, that is my show and tell of these fabulous artists that will be at the fest Saturday!
Yall already know my stuff! LOL!
Happy October and to us Houstonian's... finally getting a little break from the high temperatures. We are now getting teased with mid 70's temperatures, yet the next day will be in the 90's, but that is so much better than everyday being in the 100's!!!
Have a Fabulous Weekend Yall!
Linda :)