I’m very pleased to announce the latest addition to the shop – bookplates! With ROBOTS on them!!!

I’ve been playing with layouts for bookplates and researching printers for months now and I couldn’t be more tickled with these little guys now that they’re here. I played with digitally coloring in the robot or painting him in real life, then re-scanning, but ultimately I decided I really like the chicken scratch marks of my pencil sketch. I think it sweetly compliments his high tech nature. And his pudgy belly.

You can get your very own set of 8 bookplates, personalized with your name (if you wish), right here.

Of course, now I want to make a whole bunch more! All in good time.

My little crafty factory has been chugging along quite nicely over the past few weeks getting prepped for all the craft markets I’ll be attending this season. I haven’t had time to properly photograph and write up all of my new wares, so not much  is listed in my Etsy shop just yet, but it’s coming. I swear!

First off…my new fancy schmancy jewelry:

I love ‘em. I’m probably not supposed to say that about my own stuff, but I really really love the way they turned out. It’s been a long time coming; I spent months sourcing good suppliers for raw brass lockets and cameos, learning how to age & patina the brass myself, learning how to (& how NOT to) seal the tiny paintings in resin. Phew! It was well worth it, methinks.

available in my Etsy shop

I still like my Scrabble tile pendants too – they’re light & cute & fun, but it’s nice to have a dressier option. I like to wear my own jewelry when I’m out at art functions so I can explain what it is I do more easily. I hate stammering about how, “I paint girls with a, um…storybook sort of feel?” Blank stare. Much easier to just say, “I paint cute portraits – like this!” Then point to my necklace.

One of the other new things I unveiled at my last market is prints on small wood blocks, then coated with a shiny varnish. I think I’d like to try covering them in resin too, since I’m all about the juicy shiny wet look right now. They’re so cute & perfect to just perch on a shelf or window ledge. I think they’d look great hung on the wall in a wonky arrangement too. Fun fun!

One strange question…what do you think the stand in the above pic is actually for? I picked it up at a thrift store (though I didn’t think it was particularly thrifty at $5.99, but whatever). How did people originally use this thing? Tea cup displays? Books? I’ve got no clue. The handle on top seems like it’s meant to be moved around, so probably not breakable treasures. I feel like my grandparents may have had something similar sitting beside my grandpa’s easy chair where he hung newspapers off the gold bars…but I could be remembering that completely wrong. Ideas and random guesses welcome!

The Crow Keeper
prints available in my Etsy shop

The Crow Keeper has always considered herself a bit of an amateur ornithologist, drawn particularly to crows with their inky black feathers and all-around cleverness.

A bit of a strange bird, she keeps mostly to herself. She’s had little luck developing friendships over the years (possibly due to her longing for a “murder” of friends). Instead, she turns her attention to her feathered friends – and gazing up at the sky.

She’s done! I finished the painting I’ve been working on over the last couple of weeks, The Crow Keeper, and now have prints listed in my Etsy shop. I haven’t listed the original for sale yet because I think I’m going to have this one framed first. At 16″ x 20″ she’s much larger than my usual paintings and is just begging for a big black ornate frame. And possibly to hang on my own walls a wee bit longer!

Weekend deals are here! I was tickled to discover my shop was included in Etsy’s Weekend Deals gift guide today. All of the shops listed are offering free worldwide shipping. I’m on page 4 (oops – now top of page 5), but do poke around & check out the other shops. My friends Tamara Garvey & Kelly Rinehart are also included. And now that I’ve edited all 98 listings in my shop to reflect free shipping…phew! I’m ready for  a nap. hehe

It’s Friday! It’s Friday! That means it’s time for weekend deals, my lovelies. From now until Monday, all prints in my shop are Buy One, Get One free.

Simply buy your first print as usual & then enter the name of the 2nd print you’d like in the comments section as you check out. You’ll get two prints for the price of one! Yay!

Click here to peruse the prints section.

And with that…I’m off to Seattle to visit my sister. All print orders will ship out on Monday.

Have a fantabulous weekend!