Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is someone that has crossed my path several times in my online history. Melody Lea Lamb first crossed my path on Ebay. We were both ACEO artists there. Of course I think of her as a "big brush" and me a "little brush"! :)  Then I ran into her on Etsy. Later on Twitter. She's always tweeting away there! I can always find her generously promoting others on Follow Fridays!  And more recently I found her on Facebook. 

I  have always admired her work. Her animal art is incredible. They look as if they will jump off the page! Sp recently when she tweeted a blog give away, I was there! Much to my surprise I won the give away and was able to choose a beautiful porcelain ornament from her CafePress shop (see she IS everywhere!). It was so hard but I ended up choosing a cute chipmunk. I received it the other day and it is sooo beautiful. I cannot wait to put it on my tree!

So a little about Melody. Besides her beautiful animals, she also paints fairies & mermaids. Poking around her website I found out she also illustrates children's books! (who knew!).  She works primarily in mixed media of colored pencil, indian ink, watercolor and acrylic.

She also is a co-leader & supports an animal charity called Art For Critters,  a percentage of her sales go towards animals in need. Her art is very affordable in the form of small art & (ACEOs)


She sells from her  blog and on Etsy. She also sells archival prints  on Etsy, ArtFire, eBay, and in her website's seven virtual galleries   She also sells over 6000 art gifts in her Gift Shop and  Bonanzle shop. I told you she's everywhere!

Her prices range from under five dollars for prints and bookmarks, to over three hundred dollars for the original miniatures. 

So please go check out Melody at any of her sites and look for her on facebook and twitter as well.  Here's here webpage:  http://www.melodylealamb.com/html/front_page.html

Giving Thanks.....

Today I have so much for which to thank God:

• My family: husband Glenn of 34 years, children Joe and Jackie, Mom and Dad, my brother Joe & all my extended family like my awesome cousins. I am also so fortunate to have an adorable little 4 year old grandson, Mason, who is the light of my life.

• My friends. Some are long time friends back to my school days. Others I've met through work, church or hatting or painting.  Then there are the virtual friends that I've met online through Etsy teams, Ebay, Facebook, or Twitter and never met face to face but I feel as if I've know them for years and have become an important part of my life.

• For retirement and the ability to enjoy life and to be available to help my elderly parents.  

• My health. I'm so grateful that I have been for the most part had a healthy life. 

•  Laughter. Thanks go up also for the fact that most of my life has been filled with lots of laughter. You know what they say about a spoonful of sugar!

• Creation & Nature. I'm always in awe of God whether it's a landscape view, a bug on a flower or a beautiful sunset.

• But my biggest thanks would be for LIFE. Thank you God for putting me on this Earth so that I am able to enjoy all these things and those who are important to me.

And so today I pray:

Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this time of giving thanks.

Thank you for all the graces and blessings. You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage. Our food and shelter, our health, the love we have for one another, our family and friends.

Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessings throughout the coming year.

This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Amen.

Cha-cha-cha changes.....

...I'm consolidating by wares! Working on getting rid of the zibbet and bonanzle shop. I'm putting all the porcelain and ACEO's on the jywheeler shop on Etsy and the upcycled jewelry on my EclecticSpirit Etsy shop. EclecticSpirit was previously for vintage stuff and it may still have vintage from time to time.

It's easier for me just to have the 2 Etsy shops. This is my hobby not livelihood so I am going to make things easier for myself. Heaven forbid, I should make this like a job....I AM retired you know!

Also speaking of changes! Etsy now has COUPON CODES!  How cool is that! So on CyberMonday which is the Monday after Thanksgiving I will be having a 20% sale in my Etsy shop.  On Monday drop by and when you make a purchase enter coupon code - cybermonday
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Oh and if you like the little china painted snowman ornament, you can follow this link to my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54407152/hand-painted-porcelain-snowman-whcofg

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is not from any of my Etsy teams but someone who is a former co-worker. Someone that I had no idea was an artist. So what a wonderful surprise it was for me to find her art.  Today's feature is for Edith Thompson....Edie to me! We both worked for the Md Department of Natural Resources together in now what seems to be many moons ago. She was a wildlife biologist there. Edie has a very long history of working and volunteering for the benefit of preserving our natural resources. Now listen to me...you would think she's an old woman but she's not! LOL

As you go through Edie's work you can feel her love for nature in her illustrations and watercolors of wildlife. In fact, wildlife, nature and landscapes are her specialty! She does portraits as well. There's an awesome pen and ink of  Hendrix on her website. She works primarily in pen and ink and watercolor and has had her technical illustrations of wildlife published in a number of technical publications and educational materials.

According to her bio she went to studied illustration and design in college...who knew?  It paid off because her work is beautiful. She had a creative way for funding her college. She used her art to pay her way , painting & designing wall murals on tile.

 Her website is: http://www.whitearrowgraphics.com/  She is a member of Artists for a Cure and a portion of her proceeds go to the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation (http://accrf.org/).  What a wonderful thing to do!  I read a little about Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma on her website. It's a very rare cancer that involves the head and neck.

She also sells at  http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/edith+thompson/all  So you can have a beautiful piece of art and contribute to helping find a cure too. I would say that's quite a deal! :)

Bus to No Where

So Saturday, my daughter, me and a friend spent a lot of money to go to see Cirque du Soleil in Madison Square Garden. We were really excited about our trip!

I was the first to arrive at Gunther Charters in Harmans, Maryland. It was strange...no bus...so I walked up to the office and the man says, "where you going?" I told him New York. He said "Oh that trip was moved to next Saturday. Everyone's been called. But you are the third one who showed up."  So I said, "Well then I guess not everyone was called."

I grabbed my phone called my daughter & friend who were on their way. Neither one had any call and obviously the two other ladies who were not with me didn't get called. So I call Gunther Charters today and told them what happened and asked for a credit or refund. Nora kept saying....everyone was called. I told her she wasn't listening, I didn't get a call and neither did four other people!  But she insisted and said no refund no credit so I cancelled all my trips for 2011.

I'm madder than a hornet. I've posted every where, Facebook and Twitter and now on my wait to Yelp.com

I can't believe they wouldn't at least credit me. I've planned many many trips with lots of people with their company.....so lesson learned. NEVER USE GUNTHER CHARTERS of  Harmans, Maryland for your bustrips!

Found a cool site....

for my Christmas shopping!!! I saw this on one of those morning shows on TV and I started using it for my online purchases recently. Have you heard of Ebates?  I just got back a $10.98 check. I wasn't sure if it was for real or not but I figured what the heck I have to shop anyway . Here's the link if you want to check it out.
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=MZMJOhUYthk%3D

There are sites like Penney's & Home Depot and some smaller companies. When you shop online you get a certain percentage back. The bigger stores give you less back. Some of the smaller stores have huge savings! They have coupons and free shipping, sales, etc.

Anyway check it out. I'm also trying the groupon.com site the morning show also recommended. I'll let you know how that one goes too!

Friday Feature

Today I'm doing 2 features from two of my Etsy teams. The first is
Becky of WVLuckyGirl on Etsy. She's one of the Old Farmhouse Gathering Team members. I love her primitive snowmen pictured. They are so cute.

Becky's profile on Etsy says "I have been crafting for several years now. I started making things to match my home. I enjoy the primtive stitchery the most. Recently I have expanded into making primitive dolls, grungy candles, wooden signs, and ragballs. I love decorating with mixing the old antiques with the new primitives." She has some adorable things in her shop. So if you are working on your Christmas shopping, check it out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/wvluckygirl?ref=pr_profile

Next is Kathleen Golter Roeth of Paulden, AZ who is a member of the DAWG Team.  Her work features watercolor paintings, pen and ink, drawings, mixed media, and prints.

I absolutely love the pictured print of her watercolor horse. What movement and feeling it has!

In Kathleen's profile she says, "When I grow up I want to be a cowgirl. I wrote that when I was in grade school and some things never do change! I live in the country now and I have two lovely horses as well as a fun assortment of other critters who keep me company.  I have loved art as long as I have loved horses. Now I love to share paintings of my horses and paintings of some of the other critters that have wandered through my life. My artwork has always been inspired by the beauty of God’s creation and by memories from my past."

You can feel the love she has for God's creation in her paintings. Please check out her work. You won't be disappointed.   Her shop is:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/tapestry316