Friday Feature

It's that time again.....boy the week goes by quickly. I'm still featuring people who "favorite" my porcelain.  Today's pick is for my heart plate kitty pictured below.

The last person who favorited it was Stone Cottage Studio ....click her shop name to go to it.   The little rock star to the left is one of her 8x10 prints in her shop. I love her work. it's what I'd call "happy art". It makes me smile.

She is an acrylic artist who sometimes dabbles in watercolors and oils, even an occasional colored pencil drawing. She's offering a Free ACEO with every order and will do custom work.  Many of her prints are available in a variety of sizes and many originals are still available.

She is member of the DAWG Team, Designing Artist Women's Group on etsy as well as Acetsy team- Aceo team.  This is so funny because I didn't recognize the shop name and she's on 2 teams I am. Turns out she's also Backroomtreasures - Judy O'Hara. It's her second shop. You've got to check it out when she's back from vacation. She is quite a talented artist.

Also please check out her wonderful blog:  http://Art-lovers.blogspot.com   She finally finished her quilt. She painted all the blocks and then quilted them together...you gotta see it!

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Here's the link to the Kitty Heart Dish:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/8822511/handpainted-porcelain-cat-heart-plate

An Artful Purpose & A Group Worth Helping

Sister Lourdes & Resident

So, I was thinking the other day....art should have a purpose besides being collectible or something cool to hang on a wall. Mine needs to benefit something greater than me! So I pulled all my fine art out of my Etsy shop and created Artful Purpose...the purpose of that shop is to donate 25% of the earnings to a charity. Of course my favorite charity is the Little Sisters of the Poor!

St Jeanne Jugan icon I painted for the Little Sisters

Did you know they have to raise $25 MILLION in less than 2 years?!?  If they don't they will have to move out of the St. Martin's Home where they serve 75 elderly poor residents.  Now if it were me, I'd be shaking in my boots but Sister Rosemary, God Bless HER, just says St. Joseph  & St. Jeanne Jugan will help us. I don't doubt they will, Sister.

Now I know I don't make enough money to donate $25 Million to them (I sure wish I did) but I try to give them what I can, when I can and I hope that through reading my blog or seeing it on Facebook or Twitter you will consider helping them out.  You know,
every dollar adds up. We can all do this together.

Please take a moment to watch Mother Loraine's talk about the campaign & the renovations which are necessary.



Please go to their website: http://www.littlesistersofthepoorbaltimore.org/ and think about helping them out. (the donation button is at the bottom right)

Remember, we Baby Boomers, one day we may find ourselves one of the elderly poor. I don't know about you, but it gives me comfort to know that the Little Sisters are around!

So please donate. However, if you cannot donate financially, donate through your prayers. I believe in the Little Sisters, your intercessory prayers & those of St. Joseph and St. Jeanne Jugan. AND I believe that God gives us miracles!

Valentine's Give Away

Today seems like a good day to do my next blog give away!  "Something of the heart: is what I said would be the next blog give away.  This give away is for a piece of "spaghetti china". A pretty cottage style rose heart shaped dish 4 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches long. A single peach rose, blue accents. Gold border. Perfect gift for the new bride to hold her rings!

So here's the rules:

 1)  Eligible to US Residents only.
2)  Time Period today until Wednesday, January 26th.
3)  One entry per person with the following exceptions.
4)  Two entries if you visit my Etsy Shop and post a link to your favorite item: http://jywheeler.etsy.com
5) Three entries if you visit my Etsy Shop, Post a link to your favorite item:
http://jywheeler.etsy.com AND follow my blog.
6)  Must post your email address in comment box so that the winner can be contacted.

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is Jan of PaintingsbyJan.  I picked her because  I thought she favorited my little tea caddy (pictured below) however, going back to it, she didn't but she was the last person to favorite my shop!

Jan just joined Etsy this month!  She is just starting to upload her art so make sure to come by frequently to see what she lists.  My favorite piece in her shop is this 4x6 painting to the left.

Here's the link to her listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65780865/sfa-landscape-barn-country-4x6-inches

According to her profile from her blog she is a self taught artist painting since 2005.She loves to paint small artwork called  Art Card's Editions & Originals (ACEOs)  and  Small Format Art (SFA).  Her medium is acrylic paints on watercolor paper. She considers her  style as Impressionism/Realism. She has loved art all of her life...ever since she knew what a box of crayons were. Now that she is all grown-up and over 60, she has  traded in her crayons for acrylic paints.

Oh and while you are at it, check out her blog too: http://jansgalleryofsmallart.blogspot.com/

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The link for the tea caddy is: http://www.etsy.com/listing/63999340/hand-painted-porcelain-tea-caddy

I got a Blog Award---How About That!

Well, well, I was awarded the "Stylish Blogger Award"  from Marlene at Marlene's Musings. Marlene is along time online friend and fabulous artist.  I hope you will click on the link to her blog. You won't be disappointed.

Part of accepting this award is to tell 7 things about yourself.
 So what should I tell you..


1) My grandparents on both sides were from the "old country" My Dad's parents from Italy and my Mom's from Russia Poland (at the time that's what it was called).
2) I have 2 cats or the girls as I call them. Lily and LeeLu
3) My favorite vacations are cruises but now that my parents are up in age I'm afraid to go that far from them.
4) My favorite place on the Earth is the Ocean, where I feel the presence  power and might of God.
5) When I look a things I have a habit of trying to figure out what color on my china paint pallet that thing might be...it's kind of comical.
6) I have 2 grown children who I love very much and a grandson who's 4.
7) I married my High School sweetheart sort of. Well I was in high school, he was out and had gone to another high school so I guess he wasn't really the high school sweetheart but we have been married  35 years this February!!!!

So now I'm supposed to send it to 15 blogs I follow but I, like Marlene, plan to do a short list. So here it is please go check out their blogs.

Thoughts to Ponder On
BasketsbyRose
ArtPlus
Alqouin
NotesfromSmellyRhinoSTudio
TheMoonStitch
TheRustyThimble

Well that's it for now...I've gotta go take my Dad to the Dentist or the list would be longer. Please visit their blogs and support their art.

Oh My! Like a Phoenix

Like a Phoenix the ACEO Magazine rises from the ashes! Once an in print magazine, it went under for various reasons. But now, thanks to Angela Taylor it lives on Flickr as an online magazine!  I recently joined the Flickr group and added some of my ACEO's to the group photos.

Angela is hard at work to make this online magazine fun and informative.  Each month the online magazine will run an  ACEO of the Month contest with a theme. This month's theme is Blue. Interpret it as you will, the color blue or the mood blue. The entries are judged by this time around by Angela Taylor and Andrew Kent.

The winning artist will have their work featured in an article. They will also recieve a badge for winning that can be used for their blog or any other purposes. This month the deadline for submissions is the 17th of Jan. Spread the word! The more the merrier!

Consider joining the  ACEO Online Magazine Group on Flickr. Contact  Angela (info@angelasartarea.com) to enter or if you would like to be a judge. Please note  judges are not eligible to enter.

Here's the link to the group on Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/groups/1574980@N20/

So join and enter!  The ACEO pictured entitled "Oh My" has been entered in this month's contest. It is not available for sale because it's been sold for some time now!

Visit my Etsy shop for more ACEO's http://jywheeler.etsy.com

Friday Feature

Deciding who to feature every Friday is always agonizing for me. I am always torn between my Etsy team and friends so I thought how could I randomly do this and be fair. Not to feature more of one team or the other. So I decided I'm going to see who Hearted (or favorited) my items on Etsy! It may or may not be a team member.

Today's feature is for the last person to favorite my apple plate pictured at the bottom of the page. That person is....drum roll please!!!!!

The Farmer's Attic!!!!!  (click the name to go to her shop.  Co-incidentally she is a member of my Old Farmhouse Gathering Team. (glad to see my team members like my work! LOL) The quilted wallhanging to the right is my favorite in her shop. So sit back and read my interview with her.

Q What is the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name?
FA: Farmers Attic. My husband was the one who felt that the name of our shop should be called “The Farmer’s Attic”.

Q. How long have you been on Etsy?
FA: Since December 20, 2007 but only really started adding items to the shop in October, 2009.

Q.. What type of items do you offer?
FA: We have a variety of items from home décor, primitives, vintage, fabric, quilts, pincushions, holiday, seasonal, handbags, heirloom items, etc.

Q. How long have you been crafting?
FA: I think I have been crafting all of my life. I learned a lot of sewing at a very early age by watching a dear lady sew clothing and curtains while she babysat me over the summer months. I also taught myself to knit in the car after visiting and watching a relative in North Carolina. On the way home to New Jersey, I had two rattail combs and some yarn that she gave me and I learned to knit during the long car ride home. I think I was about 9 or 10 at the time (I’m now 51!)

Q. Who or What inspires you?
FA: Fabric, fabric, fabric. I love the textures, colors, feel and flow. Also, lots of magazines and books (I’m a book hog!) and now I have the internet!!!!!!!!!

Q. What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
FA: I love my quilts. With all the beautiful designs from traditional to contemporary, there’s something for everyone. Techniques are always changing which makes the art fun and exciting.

Q. Other places where you can be found (Ebay, webstore, blog)
FA: My webstore went live in September, 2009 and can be found at www.farmersattic.com. I don’t yet have an Ebay store but I do sell under my username: thefarmersattic. I’m also fairly new to the blogging world and I think I’m addicted J You can find me at www.farmersattic.blogspot.com


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If you would like to purchase the apple plate  or to see what's in my shop visit:
Http://jywheeler.etsy.com