Our first sale!

We had our first sale in our Etsy store this week! Yeah! It was a beautiful magnet set (made by my sister) and bought by a person in Colorado (thank you!). That gives us the encouragement we need to continue on. We are up to 56 items now, but we're still not finished putting on what we've already made so we'll keep at it.

Our walk this morning

Since I'd neglected to show you any of the ice/snow we got before now, here it is! We got out this morning to take a much needed walk (and this is the ice/snow left after melting yesterday). As you can see (but not feel), it turned out to be a beautiful day with lots of sun and it must have been in the upper 40's or low 50's with no wind. We were able to sit outside this afternoon and just enjoy the nicer weather.

I wanted you to know that the geese are still here! I'm still not sure what that means. They've always left here for the winter, except for this year. Above, you can see their little geese prints in the snow.

And these little prints remind me of a raccoon, although I've never seen evidence of one living out here in front of the CitiPlex towers. They sure aren't squirrel, though, which we do see. This may explain why Brownie sniffs so dilligently around all the shrubbery.

Sand Art

Honestly, I just love this "sand art" left by the flow of the water in the river. There's something so beautiful about them, how they go this way and that. I also like how the sun is reflecting on them and highlighting the tops of the ridges. (Taken on our walk by the river two weeks ago.)

I don't know why I didn't mention this sooner (probably because I'm still focusing on getting my paintings on Etsy--we're up to 54 items!), but we've been in an ice storm. It started on Monday and continued through yesterday evening. Then today, was cold but sunny. Even though it didn't get warmer than 30 degrees, the sun was out in full force and was able to melt some of the snow and ice. It should be in the 40's tomorrow, so hopefully that will take care of the last of the ice (especially since they said it will get back down in the teens tonight). All in all, not as bad here as expected for which I am thankful. I suspect for most of us here, we still haven't quite gotten over the bad ice storm last year in January that left over 250,000 (out of 382,000) without power, some for almost the full two weeks it lasted. Talk about cabin fever. Not so this time and I have hopes of actually being able to leave my house tomorrow. Probably could have today, but I don't like driving on ice especially if I don't really have to.

(And I suppose I could have taken pictures of it to show you, but again, I'm pretty focused on our store at the moment and haven't been thinking about much else. Instead, you get pictures of beautiful sand art!)

Just as I suspected...

Someone DOES come around through the neighborhoods, collecting lost, lonely carts! We were out for our walk and this truck came down the alley way right in front of us with three collected carts in the back of it! I couldn't whip out my camera fast enough, which is why I wasn't able to really focus this picture in on the carts (I was stunned for a few crucial seconds by the miracle I was seeing, which was valuable camera whipping out time). This truck then turned into the apartments right in front of us to cruise their parking lot. I'm glad I had the pleasure of seeing that (although I'm pretty sure he doesn't just collect them because they are lost and lonely and scared, but rather because they don't want to have to pay to replace them). Still....as long as those little carts make it home.

Naked male mannequins

My sister and I went shopping after we got back home from Christmas. We were wandering around the mall, chatting and laughing, and walked by this store with the naked mannequins. I stared. It's not that I've never seen a naked mannequin before, rather it was the fact that ALL the male mannequins in this store were naked at the same time (there were over ten of them scattered in different places). It was quite odd...and unnecessary (especially since they weren't just in the process of replacing their clothing--this is how they were posed). I looked at my sister and was thinking, "Should I?' and she nodded. I whipped out my camera, backed up a few steps and snapped this photo.

Miscellaneous Trees

I've got these miscellaneous trees to show you. In this top one, I loved the color of the sky contrasting with the darkness and starkness of the tree and the different colors of trees in the background on the "mountain" across the river.

This second picture, while a little dark, still shows the trees changing colors.

I just liked this little faded blue wall in the middle of nowhere and I couldn't help but wonder what used to be there that time has obliterated and covered over.

And this odd tangle of branches is simply trees whose branches grow downward and this is really what they look like. I wouldn't have known that was what this is except for the fact that my parents have a tree like this (quite a bit younger than these). I kept wondering why it looked so sad and didn't seem to be growing (upwards) and they said that is how the tree is. Then I realized I'd seen others like it here and this is what a little grouping of them look like in the fall/winter.

Did you lose your fake pearls?

I don't know who left their fake pearls and whatever that black band thing is (it's not a watch band--the thing on the end looks like something fits down in it, but I don't know what) sitting on this table by the river. We found this the same day as the sunrise and the frozen grasscicles, but I forgot to put it on here yesterday. (And no, I didn't arrange these items! They are exactly like we ran across them.) (Again, no! These are not my fake pearls and black band thingy.)

Sunrise and Ice

Yes, we've still been going for our walks! This was a sunrise from one of our walks last week. Above the sunrise is some frozen blades of grass from the Bear fountain we walked by (right beside where I took the sunrise picture). The water in the fountain wasn't frozen, but the water on the side of the fountain had been hitting the grass and that whole area was frozen. It was quite beautiful.

We've been working hard to get more items in our Etsy store (http://www.3creativesisters.etsy.com/) and we are now up to 34 items! (We've got a lot of things already made we can put on, it's just a matter of working to get it on there--taking the pics, figuring out how much it would cost to ship, writing a description, etc.) My sister has been working on more magnets and I think she said she'd be getting them on there tomorrow. She's really made some neat, fun, beautiful ones so be sure to check them out!

I'm still not finished with my part-time job for the month. I think I have at least two more hours to go and that should do it (hopefully). It's just a matter of sitting down and getting it done. I think I try to do too much at one time. Like today, I've worked on our Etsy store, done laundry, cleaned our bedroom and bathroom, and have worked on making 3 more tote bags. I still have lots of cleaning and laundry to do, but feel like I'm making progress on everything. I guess that's better than always having the non-fun stuff to do and never getting around to the fun stuff (ie: art, crafts).

Anyway, I know it's only 9:30 pm, but it's my bedtime. I'm pretty much a day person. I'm at my best between 9 am and 7 pm. After that, it's just a matter of time. My eyes are heavy and it's getting hard to hold my head up. I might have made it longer if I hadn't done the cleaning.

John Deere bone

Here's Brownie chewing on her John Deere bone that her Nana gave her for Christmas. She has a basket of toys and chooses which toy she's going to play with. This John Deere bone is definitely a favorite! As of today, it still has its squeaker and most of its stuffing.

"Enjoying Life" (Oklahoma Rocks!)

"Enjoying Life" painted 1/17/09

"In His Hands"

"In His Hands" painted 1/17/09

Mailings, Gift Tags, and Paintings

Yikes, it's been a week since I've posted. That second mailing turned out to be over 500 pieces and I had to do it all last Friday. I realized after I was done (and had gotten them all in the mail) that I was really tense through my neck and shoulders. It took a couple of days to work that out.

I was also working on gift tags for my mama and a painting for my Grandad's room and an item for Dad and Mom to take to the Soil Conservation District's auction at the end of next month. Mom was in town on Wednesday, so I was working hard to have all that ready so she could take it home with her.

I'd say in the past couple of weeks I've made over 300 gift tags (which I really enjoy making). On Sunday, I sat outside and painted Grandad's painting and the item I'd thought would be great for the auction. I'd been thinking what should I do for the auction and the rocks I'd picked up from home during Christmas and our family rock hunt (I do have pictures I'll show you from it!) came to my mind (seeing that the people on the soil conservation district board would naturally like nature and possibly rocks!). I also thought I'd call them "Oklahoma Rocks!" in that they are rocks and Oklahoma is a great state. I sorted through my rocks and selected the largest one, which seemed to be begging for a flowery landscape. That's what I painted on it.

I'd told Mom my idea to paint a rock for the auction and she said, "Oh, okay... Maybe you could paint one with a lot of different colors and call it a psychedelic rock." I could tell she had no idea what I really was going to do when I painted a rock. I think she thought I'd paint the rocks straight colors, like kids do, and it wouldn't be something that would be appropriate for the auction. I took pictures of it when I was done and e-mailed them to her. She called later and the first words she said were, "I love it! It is beautiful!" They decided they did want the rock for auction. I really think someone will love it and buy it. It's different, unique, and it is beautiful (if I also say so myself).

So, now I'll show you Grandad's painting and the rock painting so you can see what's been keeping me so busy that I've neglected to post for you.

Two Little Squirrels

Two little squirrels, different trees! They are still out in full force, gathering their nuts for the winter. The geese haven't left yet, either. Maybe it won't be so bad of a winter, although today certainly qualifies as winter in my book.

Painting Outside

I like to paint outside when it is nice. Of course, it takes a lot of work to lug everything out and back in. And it isn't wise to paint outside when it is too windy as whatever is floating in the wind could end up in your painting (dust? pet hair? human hair? gnats? flies? who knows?) (unless you want those types of things in your paintings to make a statement).

Believe it or not, this picture was taken (by Pooker) on November 16th! The next Sunday was beautiful as well, so I was able to paint outside two Sunday's in a row. These were the days I used the leftover paint Mom gave me when she got done painting her toy room. I still haven't used it all yet, but am waiting for another nice day. I thought I had one over the weekend, but there was a little too much wind. And today is frigid (18 degrees with a biting cold wind). I've stayed inside as much as possible because that is just too cold for me! It is supposed to warm up again next week and if I'm not still involved with my part-time work and errands and it is beautiful and sunny with no wind, then I just may get to paint outside for a bit.

The contents of my purse after our walk

We did finally get around and out to get our walk late this morning/early afternoonish. This is the contents of my purse after our walk. I love walking by the CitiPlex towers so I can pluck pinecones from the trees! I'll use them later this year (don't worry--you'll be seeing them again).

(Yes, I am carrying the SALE flyer from Bath & Body so if I make a purchase I can get a free item from their signature collection.)

Mailings, gift tags, and morning walks

I got hit this week with several things at once. I was finishing up a 358 piece mailing for my part time work when yesterday I got asked to do another mailing with at least 207 pieces. Those take some time to do! Plus, I've still been working on getting the things I have made on Etsy and trying to take care of odds and ends around the house. Whew. It's been a busy few days. Posting, unfortunately, was further down on my list since the mailings are pretty time sensitive.

To relax a bit between all the work, I sit down and make more of my gift tags. I thought these "happy birthday" ones were really pretty. I did them on a variety of colorful cardstock and put two sets of them on Etsy to see how they sell. I really love making gift tags, especially making something useful out of odds and ends.

I need to get ready to go for our morning walk so we can squeeze it in between all the other things. Looks like it is 18 degrees outside with the high of 30 today with lots of sunshine and light winds. Should be a beautiful 30 degrees (I hope).

Study in Red

I found this leaf on one of our walks and brought it home. I loved it because of all the different colors in one leaf and because it had dew drops on it. Even the shape of it is interesting. I proceded to place it around the yard, even holding it up in my hand, to try to capture those beautiful colors and those drops. Magnificent!

Eye'm watching you!

Honestly, it really looks like this tree has eyes. I noticed it from a distance and had to get closer so I could confirm that it had eyes and it sure looks like it does, multiple eyes. There's really nothing creepy about it, just that it looks aware and watchful. Nothing wrong with that. Intriguing and quite interesting.

Have a ball

I know it isn't unusual to find golf balls outside, but I like taking pictures when we run across them. It isn't like we are at a golf course--we're in the park. The ones that are whole, I pick up and take home with me so I can put them in Pooker's golf bag (not that he golfs much, but he does have some old clubs and a new bag). I leave the broken ones for someone else to discover.

Me, I'd be afraid to golf in the park. Sure, I'd putt in the park, but not rear back and swing the club at the ball as hard as I could (which is what these guys are out there doing). I wonder if they are concerned about hitting someone (or something or a car or an animal) or if they are just that good. Maybe they really are just that good. Still, I'm not totally sure that a park is the best place to practice your swing but I can see that the appeal would be that it is free. And honestly, some of the best things in life really are free. (Like me being able to get free golf balls for Pooker!)

My Sweeties

These are my two sweeties. Brownie loves to crawl on Pooker and give him kisses. She's such a sweet girl and loves to show her affection.

Sand Art

I could not decide which picture to show you, even though they are basically the same. I just love the lines made by the water and left in the sand. I'm not even sure why it appeals to me so much. I just find it beautiful.

All work and little play

Well, I still haven't downloaded all my photos from Christmas but it is okay as I have a few odds and ends to show you to finish off last year. Plus, I've (we've) been working hard on getting items in our Etsy shop (continue to check it out as we've only just begun to get our stuff on there--it takes a while). Although we haven't had a sale as of yet, we do have people who love some of our items and some who have marked our shop as a favorite! That's pretty encouraging!

I've been working on getting the house cleaned up today and trying to get caught up with my part-time job. I've got lots of projects I need to work on, but have got to finish both the aforementioned things before I can immerse myself in fun.

Brownie and I have been continuing on our walks, but we usually drive to where we are going to start walking and then walk from there. I just don't feel comfortable walking out the front door and heading down the street as I'm still not sure those dogs who attacked us have been picked up yet. I'm not going to take a chance. Besides, there just isn't that much to take pictures of at the moment (although I do carry my camera just in case).

My Grandad is not doing well and he is (and has been) weighing on my heart. To see and hear of him doing and saying ugly things is so not Grandad. Dementia and Alzheimer's both (not that he has both, but both those diseases in general) rob the person and their loved ones of so much. It breaks my heart. I'm needing to put these feelings to paint so I can express them and get them out. I've really got several things to paint, but have to wait until I get my art room cleared up. I'm currently working on gift tags and those tend to be spread all over. The room isn't big enough to do both.

It was such a beautiful day today--sunny and warm with a light breeze, just enough to keep it from being too hot. No wonder the geese haven't left town yet.

Just wanted to update you on where I'm at, in case you've been missing my almost daily posts. Never fear, I'm still here! I'll get caught up with all this and be back to posting more frequently before you know it!

The last of the Fall leaves

Here are the last of the beautiful Fall leaves I had on my camera from our November and first part of December walks.