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I just joined ArtFlock.com and am trying to make sure I added the correct url for my blog feed to be imported there.

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A Mystery & the Changing of the Blog

Well, it's a start!

I've begun changing colors on my blog to brighten it up some. It's difficult for me to go with an all white setting, baby steps. :) I'm not too sure I like the light greenish color as a background for my posts, but after toying with it for the past hour or so, this is what I settled on...for now. It's a work in progress.

This photo on the right is of a painting I've done entirely in coffee. It is one I did to demonstrate my latest article on Empty Easel, "Give Your Next Painting a Caffeine Boost - and Paint with Coffee!" It is not finished yet, but will be soon enough.
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I've been filling up my Etsy shop again and now have 25 items listed. I haven't done much with it or the other one over the summer. I basically just let it go on its own. There will be some brand new things coming out soon. I'm just not too sure where I am going to list them, ArtFire or Etsy, or a combination of the two.
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Lately, I've been very inspired by space. I watch the skies quite often these days, there is so much to see. There's been a lot of very strange activity taking place up there that I've managed to catch since mid-June through the present time. I only wish I had a decent camera, recorder, and even a night vision set up in order to show you all what we've been seeing. My digital camera is a Kodak Easy Share 4.0 Mega Pixels. I have no idea how to be able to catch these at night with the camera I own.

One thing I noticed though, is that during the day if I zoom it in and point it at the sky, it sometimes catches things that I can't see with my eyes. For instance, here is a photo I took just like I described:
I couldn't see anything on the screen when I shot this photo (above). It just looked like clear blue sky.

Five minutes after taking that photo, I took another the same way, and in the same place. This next photo is the second one:


When I uploaded them to the computer, the white dot appeared in both pictures.

That white dot did not move in the time between the first and second photo, so it is not a plane. Also, we do not get a lot of air traffic up here and when we do, they rarely fly over in this area. The flight path is behind me.

I stare at this photo a lot and don't know what to make of it at all. The strange activity we've been seeing late at night however, is also in the direction I'm shooting these photos. It's very frustrating being able to see these strange things and have no way to record them so someone else can investigate this. I do have witnesses though that have watched these things with me.

The blurriness is from the zoom. In case you're wondering why I chose to take those photos there in the first place is because that is the area where we keep seeing strange things (mostly at night).

If anyone has any tips on how I can take pictures (or even a short video) in the future, please let me know. I'm very open to suggestions. :)

'Till later...

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Feels Good to Stretch!

Changed parts of my blog's code this morning to see if I could increase the size of the post width and remove the left sidebar and it worked!. (I only wanted to keep the three on the right that were already there). I also removed three of the ad bars on the bottom.

I'm so glad I did this, it was really getting too busy looking.

What do you think, is it a good improvement?

'Till later......

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Staying on Track

Staying on track, course, or the right path is sometimes one of the most difficult things that we creatives are faced with.


We see, we read, and therefore we are like Blackbirds, drawn to the next shiny thing that catches our eye...and we most often hoard our finds, sometimes forgetting that we ever bought them in the first place and better yet, we've most likely forgotten what on earth we were going to do with them once we had them.


Also, dare I mention that along with those piles of forgotten new supplies, are even more cubbies filled with projects that are in various stages of completion?


As I've been working on re-organizing my shop, I've found things that I swear I never bought! It's kind of like Christmas! However, being faced with the realization that I've either bought or found, stashed, and forgot about these things is a little bit frightening.


Have you ever seen the show "Clean House" on the Style channel? I wonder if they ever had to deal with an artist or other similar creative type? I can tell you this, if Niecy and her team had to come here and deal with me, they'd be at their wits end. At this point, I'm happy to say I don't live anywhere near L.A. (they only work in the L.A. area), because I'm sure at least one of my kids would be making me an appointment.


So, how to combat this affliction of our most ardent affection of new supplies?


How do you stick with a project till the very end? I think I find it to be most difficult to stick with one because as I'm working, the colors, shapes, and even the tools I use seem to trigger new thoughts and ideas for future projects. I think what happens is that sometimes the thoughts are so strong I have to drop what I'm doing to start the new thing before I forget it.


How about you, what do you do?


Well, I'm off to weed through more! 'Till later...

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Enhancing my Creative Space

This week, in between working on custom orders, I'll be remaking my creative space! I really need to brighten up my space to lift my spirit again.

Like a lot of other artists, I've always loved peeking into other artists' creative spaces. They are all so inspiring!

So, I'm going to be repainting some of the walls in mine and adding more to the funky mural I started awhile back.

I also am hoping that I'll be able to move some things around, like my two large work areas/benches. I'm really tired of where they are and I really don't like to work with my back to the door. Especially when I have my air compressor going and music blaring. The way it is now, if someone walks up behind me and I don't hear them...well, I jump out of my skin if they tap me on the shoulder, or if I turn and they are standing right there! So, that definitely has to be changed for all of our health.

I've always been a fairly disorganized person, especially when it comes to keeping track of my supplies. So, I'm ready to pick myself up and continue my journey from disorganized to organized. I'll be sure to share pictures!

Wish me luck! 'Till later... =)

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Dog Day Afternoon

What a dreary day. It's difficult to get up and moving around today. I think my dogs have the right idea--take a nap! They look perfectly comfortable there in the corner of the couch. :)

I would love to, but I have many things to do. I overslept today too, which was nice. The only problem is that I keep thinking that it's Sunday.

The article I wrote on Gourd Safety is now up on Empty Easel if you'd like to check it out. I also just completed next weeks article on Pyrography.

Right now, I'm going to get busy somewhere off of the computer.

Have a wonderful weekend! 'Till later...

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News from ArtFire!

Just a little bit of news today!

ArtFire has just set up blogs available to all verified sellers! This is going to be great! I'll be setting mine up soon. :D (The message you see there is the default message).

I'm in for a pretty hectic day today, so I'm keeping this real short. Way too much to do.

The photo here, is of a sunset seen from my front porch. I love how it turned out and had to share it.

All for now! 'Till later...

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Wordless Wednesday

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Snow

Our first day of snow came yesterday, as I mentioned in my previous post.

This picture was taken when it was snowing the heaviest. You can see the large flakes in this picture against the pine tree. Of course, you can maybe see them better if you squint and look at the picture with your nose pressed against the screen. lol

There is another picture further down at the end of this post, of the snow-covered ground. It wasn't much, but since the snow remained on the ground this morning, it does qualify as our first snowfall. It wont last, our temps are supposed to rise back up to the 50s by next Monday.

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I want to brighten up my blog again. I'm getting tired of the dark green. This could take awhile since the CSS is so lengthy, and of course, I am only one person. So, not saying that it will happen overnite, but it will eventually. I can say though, that I do not want to go with a stark white. That is just too bright for my eyes.

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Empty Easel has some great articles slated for this week, mine is scheduled for this coming Friday. Take a stroll over and check them out!

Right now, it is time to "make the donuts"! 'Till later...

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So Not Ready!

I had my dogs out to the lake not even a month ago and today it is snowing. :( I'm so not ready for winter.

There's a lot to do inside today though while it is snowing outside. Even though I have a lot to do online, I am forcing myself to work around the house (laundry) and in my shop.

Speaking of laundry, my dryer died last night. It was so strange, no warning at all. It's like the connection died. Thankfully, I have an older dryer that still works, sitting down there in the basement. I just stopped using it when I got the newer one. So, it's back to the old Maytag, at least for now. I may try working on the newer one tonight if I can find the time.

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Here's a great tip to aid in your Christmas shopping!

Did you know that you can now search stocking stuffers on ArtFire? This search will only turn up stocking stuffers that are Under $10.00 too! Go check it out!

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That's all for now! Laundry beckons

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