New Etsy Listings

So, I finally finished my altered tins for Etsy! I am slowly taking the steps towards my creative goals. Here is what I have listed, they are all mine, except the Butterfly which, I am proud to say, is my daughter's!

Taking a new step

So the creative roll that I was talking about before has really kept going! I sold the second owl painting that I made (the first was a swap), and got an order for a mouse one. Although this seems like baby steps, they seem HUGE to me! I actually SOLD something that I created! Now, I have a goal to get to with these creations. I have wanted to attend a Creative Retreat for a few years now, but money was always an issue for me. My goal is to put the money that I make with any art that I sell away for a retreat! My wonderful hubby is on board with this idea, so I am off on my next creative journey! To celebrate, I bought this amazing book that I have been coveting for a few weeks now:
I intend to first savor the ENTIRE book, and then use it to expand upon what I am starting to feel inside. Think of me as I go into the next step of my journey!!!! And wish me well :)

Painting

I have a new creation to share. I signed up for a painting swap on Swap-Bot and loved the way it turned out!!!! It is really simple, and another example of my owl obsession, but here it is:

Yes, I am a winner!? :)

I am so excited! I just found out that I won a contest over at MMCA Marketplace! It is an online collaboration of artists selling their goods! Click here to see the wonderful prize that is on it's way for me to play with!
http://mmcamarketplace.typepad.com/mmca_marketplace/2008/08/congratulations-regan.html?cid=127738514#comments
I cannot wait to start playing with those papers....my fingers are already itching to touch them :)

I am really on a roll lately! I have so many ideas floating around, and not nearly enough time to put them into action! Ah well, I will write them all down in my journal and do what I can for now. So, here is the latest that I did today! I went shopping last night with my sister and bought the base for this and came home from work and immediately started on it today :) This is the end result! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!!!

Altered Fairy Tin

So here is the altered fairy tin that I made for my sister's birthday. It opens up and is the perfect size to hold a gift card :) I used alcohol inks to color it, and I think next time I will play a little more for better coverage. The spoon is a cast off from goodwill. The wings are made from a fake flower stem and the arms and legs are just twisted wire with buttons! I am considering making up a bunch of these as tooth fairies for my Etsy site.....time will tell :) Anyway, enjoy!

So it has been ages since I have posted on here, but here goes. Lately I have been addicted to swapping. Add to that my obsession with owls and you have my latest creation. Hope you like it :) After reading this poem, I instantly thought back to a favorite song from my teenage years "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche. I just love this little house :)

So I have a slight owl addiction as of late! I don't know what it is about those cute little fellas, but they are ALL that seem to be inspiring me right now. I have added a few new links that I like right now as well. One is for Scrap Mojo, I have entered the Iron Chef competition on there and have moved to the next stage! WOO HOO!
The second addition is for SwapBot, and both my daughter and I are loving this one! We have signed up for a few swaps, and are enjoying doing them together!
The final site I am hooked on right now is Faith Sisters! This is not a new one, in fact I am a few weeks behind on the challenges, but I still LOVE this one!
Everyone has FINALLY gotten well around here, and THAT is reason for celebration! That is it for today, enjoy my Rond one entries for Iron Chef :)

Scripture Challenge #4 WAIT

So, you guessed it. It is week four of the Scripture Challenge. The word this week was Wait. This one was a little difficult for me because I am not very good at waiting. I am the kind of person who wants what I want NOW! After searching through a few verses, I read this one and it jumped right out at me! It is Psalm 40:1. It reads, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry." God hears every prayer that you make to Him. He listens to every concern you have, and IF you are patient enough, and IF you wait for Him....He WILL answer your prayer. It may not be the answer that you are expecting, but it is the one that you are meant to have! So even though I am not patient, I will wait for the Lord!
As a little side note, my daughter had decided to join me in this challenge, but was struggling to make them all. I am very happy to say that tonight she cleared a spot right next to me and worked by my side and got herself caught up! After I get her permission tomorrow, I will post her take on these challenges.

Scripture Challenge #3 BeAuTy

The word for the week was Beauty. My verse comes from 1 Samuel 16:7. ..."Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the Heart." It has a piece of metallic paper that is reflective, so whoever looks at it is reflected back. It is to let everyone know that they are beautiful in His eyes. Thanks for looking!

Week Two of the Scripture challenge

This is my second week's rolodex card! I love how it turned out :) I went to an all day crop on Saturday and got a TON accomplished! The weather all day was terrible! We were two cars behind a 14 car pile-up on the highway! We helped push two cars out of the ditch and then ended up waiting on the highway for one hour and twenty minutes for the wreckage to be cleared away! After all of that, the relaxation was a welcome relief! I ended up getting eight pages done while I was there :) I also won a bunch of magazines in the drawings!!! Did I mention I am a magazine ADDICT!? Anyway, we will get to do it all over again (minus the 14-car pile-up) in a few weeks at my mom's house. I cannot wait! It is so nice to have a crop to look forward to :)

Faith - my first of the scripture challenges

So here is the first challenge. I decided to take a different take on it than I think most people will. I chose two verses from Genesis 9:16-17. It says "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the Earth. So God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on Earth."

After reading the word and the verse you may not see my line of thinking, so let me explain. I think this verse speaks to God's response to our faith. He was rewarding Noah for his faith. He entered into a covenant with the entire Earth, and the rainbow was a sign or a reminder of that.

My dad passed away a few years ago. It was obviously a difficult time for us. My Aunts told my children and my niece and nephew that every time they saw a rainbow it was Grandpa smiling down on them. Now I know that that little platitude had more truth in it than perhaps they knew. This Bible verse says to me that whenever I see a rainbow it is our Father smiling down on us!

Another busy day here. I was going to go and scrapbook all day with the lovely ladies from sistv, but alas life popped up again! Spencer and Dominique tried out for the Civic Musical "Cheaper by the Dozen". The auditions lasted for three hours. All I can say is I am very glad to have brought my knitting! I got about a third of the way done on a scarf I started the night before. After the auditions we went to get some things for a science project for Nika and then proceeded to spend the next few hours building it. It turned out pretty good, and after a few last minute adjustments, I think it may even crack the egg :) That is all for tonight!

We went sledding today...or rather Sara dragged me sledding :) I have to admit that I really had a great time! All of the kids came except for Lauren, and the favorite part was the jump. Here are some pictures to enjoy :)