Art by Bethany

Craft Season Post Mortem

2012-01-04T19:11:00.001-06:00

Happy holidays, everyone! Now that the holiday madness is over, I can get some stuff done. Zoey's first Christmas was busy and totally screwed up her schedule, but I don't think she noticed other than that. ;)

I basically took off the whole fall season from craft shows and opted to try two in December. That may not have been the best choice since they were back to back weekends, and I had the consignment merchandise to stock at Dwelling Spaces.

The Deluxe show in OKC was December 10th. Last year it was great, so I was hopeful it would be again. The only new merchandise I added was the large sized robots and owls, which ended up selling before the show officially started. I had a good supply of Sock Buddies and Softbots and felt owls along with a ton of linocut cards and some new fabric wall hangings. This show was the first with Zoey, and I had recruited help from my husband and MIL for during the show. The booth was packed with baby stuff, like her bassinet, front carrier, blankets, diapers, etc. Crazy! Breast feeding in the middle of a craft show was interesting too, but after childbirth your modesty goes out the window! I did have a classic customer who literally peeked under the nursing cover to see the baby. HELLO. Zoey ended up being really good and taking in all the action. :)

Zoey enjoying the Deluxe show

The show sales ended up being very disappointing. The majority of the sales were my mom's embroidered towels, which she makes on her machine usually to my specifications. They always sell really well at the shows, but since I don't have my own machine we haven't tried to do anything besides towels with them. I would like to do some onesies or other baby items.

The Alliday show was the following week in Tulsa. I had decided to share with my friend, Heather, from Audrey Eclectic because we didn't think we'd have enough inventory...haha. I forgot that Zoey took half my booth space! It was very crowded in there, and Heather brought her new puppy too! The adorable factor was irresistible to the customers. ;) However, I'm thinking the cute baby and dog might have detracted from our sales! I wasn't going to make anything new for this show, but I got a wild hair to do some Russian dolls at the last minute! They are super cute. I thought they'd be a big seller, but nothing sold very great except the towels again....

They are for sale on my Etsy site

Every year I have to reevaluate the craft business. Getting ready for the shows is always stressful, and now with the baby it's virtually impossible. The work to profit ratio is dismal. It's more of a socializing thing for me because you can never count on sales. I hope to get the internet sales going this year, somehow, and try to increase inventory at the one store I sell at. Any ideas for online marketing from my savvy readers? ;)

P.S. It literally took me all day to write this one post because Zoey kept interrupting me. Babies...sheesh!

The Ultimate Craft

2011-11-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

I have been long absent from the blogosphere due do a little bundle of joy that has disrupted my life quite a bit! Finding time to craft with my 10 week old around is a big challenge. Every time I see her close an eye I have to race to the sewing machine...that is, if I've actually showered and eaten already, which is usually not the case! Since she's adorable, I let it slide. ;)

I had to do a bit of crafting for Halloween this year. We were a family of owls. (I know, big surprise) I didn't have time to figure out how to make a whole dress, although I wanted to copy this one I found on a blog a year or two ago that was made from a pillow case. A pillow case?! My post-prego body is definitely not fitting in one of those, so I decided to do an apron style. I ordered the crocheted hat from Etsy. I wish I knew how to make those...put it on the to-do list. For my daughter I ordered an adorable owl sleep sack from Amazon that came with a hat already. I made my reluctant husband an owl hat from felt and a preexisting stocking cap he had. I also bought him a screen printed owl t-shirt from Etsy.

I may be crazy, but I signed up to do both the Deluxe & Alliday shows on two consecutive weekends in December. AH!!! I started a small stockpile, but I need way more if I'm going to do two shows and keep the consignment items stocked at Dwelling Spaces. In an effort to continue streamlining the crafting process, I have ordered two more tags for my goodies. I can't even believe I wasted so much time printing and cutting out those things in the past! I am using Printrunner.com for these.

I'm hoping to add some new plush friends to the lineup for Christmas and find some time to do a little painting. I have ordered five new designs of postcards featuring the plushies, like robots, owls, and Sock Buddies. Yeah! I can't wait for those to come in.

Better go check on the Ultimate Craft. ;)

2011-08-31T19:29:00.002-05:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Baby Time!

2011-08-15T17:45:00.001-05:00

It's finally baby time! Only about three days until my scheduled C-section. Not my original plan, but the baby has refused to flip around, so she's breech. Now that I've been reading up on sections I had so boldly skipped in all my pregnancy books, and spoken with some friends, I'm feeling a bit better about the whole thing. It's still an overwhelming idea to be having surgery and a baby at the same time!

I think my nesting phase is now complete! After two showers, a major Target shopping spree, and lots of decorating, the nursery is looking cute and well stocked.

My Tulsa baby shower was so nice. Hosted by friends, Tony and Heather, we did a bird/spring time theme with fresh flowers and lots of spring decorations. We used flowers from Sam's and various decorations borrowed from our stashes.

We used the vase of branches as a wishing tree or name suggestions. We had a bunch of snacks and treats that Tony and Heather brought.

These ladies were nice enough to bring their new babies for everyone to coo at!

adorable knitted hats made by Heather

Holly made a cute giraffe toy and some great burp clothes for me, and Julia gave a gorgeous feather headband and felt barrette from her Feather by Feather collection. My neighbor crocheted a little blanket with hood too. I got lots of other lovely gifts from my registry.

These are the little felt birds Heather & I made for the the shower favors.

Here is a little tour of the nursery:

The curtains are from some of the Echino fabric I bought orginally. My mom & I worked on those several months ago. Then I made the little wall hanging with some of the other coordinating fabric. The changing table is the Spoling from IKEA. It folds up and has some handy pouches all around it. I got the daybed from Overstock.com, the reversible bedspread from Amazon, and the sheets from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. The crib is from Target.com. I ended up getting the lampshade from Etsy, which is the same fabric as the curtains. I used an old base I had that I am still debating about painting. I had the chest & bookshelf (can't see it in this photo) already.

I got the idea for this little tree from browsing vinyl decals on Etsy. I thought it would be more fun to paint it myself! Plus, those rub-ons are not fun on the textured walls.

I made this coordinating collage with a canvas and my scrapbook paper. I used the wall paint for the background, so it blends in.

I just stapled on some of my Echino fabric, added the rick-rack, and used the turquoise paint in the background for this wall hanging.

I ordered this felt bird bunting from Willowbaus on Etsy. I was going to use it at the shower, but it didn't come in time, so I just made this paper flag bunting to put out on the porch.

I had this leaning bookshelf already. It was pretty much stocked with all my own children's books, like Narnia, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, and other classics, plus a few of my childhood favorites. I added the Alice in Wonderland oval paintings I did and a Wizard of Oz print I got from Etsy.

All the superfluous stuff is ready now...just waiting on the actual baby!!

The Long, Hot Summer

2011-06-30T15:56:00.001-05:00

This summer has been boiling hot in Tulsa! My expanding belly and tiny human are making me ultra hot too. The pool has been a life saver for exercising during these hot days.

I feel like I've been traveling since mid-May when we took our babymoon! Cancun was nice, but I discovered my limitations when we attempted to leave our cozy resort and venture out into the wilds. Our first excursion was to some Mayan ruins. We took a bus ride that was over two hours and then had a 3 hour tour in 100+ heat. There were a couple trees hidden amidst a giant, flat plain with pyramids and ancient buildings on it that all the tourists were trying to huddle under. I was so hot I think my brain shut down and I heard about 1/3 of the information! Finding restrooms was my main activity for the entire trip...not only am I pregnant, but also was feeling the Montezuma's Revenge pretty severely for the whole week! Not cool. By the time we made it back to our resort it had been about a 12 hour day. Ugh.

The next attempt was to see some fish without scuba diving or snorkeling...we opted for a "sub-sea boat", which had windows in the bottom of a regular boat. I did not realize the cramped quarters and sloshing boat would make me extremely seasick! There was literally a single aisle with benches that closed behind you, so we had to walk over about 10 people to exit the boat. Luckily, I was the only one about to pass out; about 8 more women followed me up top for some fresh air! Lesson learned...stay on the beach!

I also had one baby shower since my last post. It was in my hometown, Topeka, KS, hosted by some old friends and scrapbooking pals, Erin and Kathy. They did an amazing job decorating, and I got so many wonderful gifts.

adorable birds nest cupcakes, yum, and they used scrapbook paper for the placemats

Baby loot: jogging stroller, snap-n-go stroller, lots of clothes, some adorable cloth diapers, high chair, bottles, sheets, blankets, books, bath supplies

I had a great time trying to figure out how to fit all the new baby stuff in our nursery! We're still trying to convert it from our catch-all storage/guest room. This weekend we're due to paint an accent wall. The crib is assembled and we have the mattress for it too. :)

My high school BFF had her shower in May, which I also went to. She was due July 12th or so, but surprise! Her baby decided to arrive on Memorial Day. AH!!! That was kind of terrifying to everyone, but the little baby girl is doing fine after a couple weeks in the NICU, and so is my friend, except for being totally stressed and unprepared for the early arrival!

Prego Pals at Kristen's shower

While I was at home my mom & I were able to make the nursery curtains in May and start the baby quilt in June. The quilt is going to have an appliqued tree in the middle with an embroidered bird on a branch and rectangles around it in the different coordinating fabrics I've purchased.

Our garden has been exploding with squash, so that is keeping me busy. I froze a bunch to use later, maybe for baby food. I am running out of recipe ideas for squash and zucchini though! We have some baby watermelons on the vine. I've never tried to grow those before, so hopefully they turn out. I've dug some potatoes and it looks like the cucumbers are starting to grow. :)

Spring at Last

2011-04-19T16:16:00.001-05:00

Woodward Park

Hello everyone! Happy Spring! I'm so excited to see all my flowers blooming and the garden growing, not to mention the growing baby I'm cooking up. ;) I met my hubby for lunch at the Garlic Rose (had to use that Groupon up!) and then went to the park for a stroll. It was a great lunch date!

I'm busy preparing for my only spring show, the Dustbowl Arts Market in Norman, Ok. It's on April 30th, so time is flying! I have a little basket of owls ready, some new robots, and I'm working on Sock Buddies today.

I made a new bear using a pattern from a book I got for my birthday called Sew Me, Love Me. It has some adorable creatures in it. This little bear is supposed to have a sleep outfit, but I didn't want to hide the cute sock! His arms are moveable, attached with buttons, which is kind of fun.

I've been obsessing over the baby registry thanks to my Baby Bargains book and it's hundreds of products reviews! I've almost got everything sorted out except the important stuff...the nursery decor! ;) My big dilemma is the small guest room I have to work with which is full of furniture at the moment. :P I have found some adorable fabrics for inspiration, but I haven't decided what direction to go in. We found out at 19 weeks that we are having a girl, so I have some sort of jumping off point. I am anti-baby pink though, and it's difficult to avoid! I've pretty much decided on some sort of bird motif, as you can see!

Here are some swatches I'm pondering:

These are from babybedding.com. You can order custom bedding, curtains, and more to match.

Then there are these Echino fabrics that I love. I don't know what I would use them to make exactly...maybe just curtains, a wall hanging, and a crib skirt or baby quilt. Of course, they're all always about $18/yd.

I also found a neat one at the local sewing shop in Broken Arrow, Sew Flakes.

Decisions, decisions!

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter. We are trying to read through all the gospels this week in preparation. I am already behind, only in Matthew 5, because I started reading a new novel about a quilting club. Sounds cheesy...yes, but it's pretty good. I just randomly picked it up at the library in the recorded books section. I love those because they're like a mini MP3 Player. You can take it on walks or plug in while crafting. The Quilter's Legacy is the name of it. I didn't realize until later that it is actually the 5th book in the series...oops. It's about a lady trying to recover her mother's quilts after her sister sold them off long ago. A good crafty read. :)

This is my first post using Postling, which is a site that allows you to post to all different social media outlets at once. I have linked both of my blog sites and my Facebook to it. Seems pretty neat so far. It emails you whenever there is activity on any of your sites, and you can reply from one page to everything.

A New Year

2011-02-24T12:41:00.000-06:00

I have not managed to get any posting done this year. :( I haven't been doing too much crafting and have been preoccupied with many other things.

1) I am having a baby in August! Super excited about that, and also freaking out with all the decisions to be made.

2) My father-in-law passed away unexpectedly a couple weeks ago, which threw us into a crazy emotional roller coaster.

3) Crazy blizzard hit Oklahoma burying us in 1-2 feet of snow for two weeks.

Trying to get back in the swing of things after being gone two weeks with the hospital and funeral business in Norman. I have cut out several Sock Buddies that are begging to be sewn! I am half done with my next celebrity buddies, U2.

I finished this painting on a quick trip home from Norman, which was a gift for a recent Air Force graduate receiving his pin.

Also managed to get some Sock Buddies and robots into the store in Tulsa for sale.

I'm anxious to do some baby projects, but I don't know the sex of the baby yet, so I can't do anything except try to clean out the future nursery, which is our current guest room and totally full of our STUFF!

We are trying to plan a "babymoon" (vacation) for spring break and maybe another in May when school gets out. We were going to book one before Ron's dad had the heart attack, but didn't get it done, so the prices are crazy now. We can't decide where to go either! Kind of thinking of a beach destination, but want it to be relaxing. Trying to avoid crazy spring breakers too!

I brought out the spring decorations yesterday to will the nice weather to come! Today it is raining, which is a nice change from cold and snow. I also bought seeds for the garden! I can't wait to get them in the ground. Probably will plant early crops in the next couple weeks. :) I bought potatoes, spinach, lettuce, carrots, snow peas, onions, garlic, yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelons, peppers, cilantro, and some flowers.

I put out this vintage table cloth I snagged from my mom's house. I think they used it in their first house in the 70's. It matches my kitchen wall perfectly!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas!

Happy Holidays

2010-12-07T13:49:00.000-06:00

Christmas is sneaking up on me this year, like a snake in the grass. Every year the stores trick me into thinking it's Christmas November first. Now that it's actually December I'm having trouble getting in the mood. I am blaming the extremely busy Fall season for this. Between book sales and craft shows and relatives we have barely had one weekend at home a month since August. I'm ready to lock the doors and hibernate! I managed to drag out all my Christmas decorations between crafting mania. Now we just need some cold weather! It keeps fluctuating between 40's and 50's with an occasional teaser of wintry weather. One thing that feels like winter is this horrible cold I came down with last week that's making my head feel like the rotten Halloween pumpkin sitting on my porch. At least it's forcing me to slow down this week. Yesterday I vegged out in front of the TV watching my Beatrix Potter VHS cartoons. It just made me want to give up the craft show circuit and so some illustrations!

My last two craft show have left me thoroughly discouraged by that avenue of selling. It's so much work dragging all sorts of display props and merchandise all over town and then make virtually no profit, especially if you consider all my supply bills from Joann's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby! My experiment with trying mainstream craft shows has been a total bust. It's the indie market for me! The only thing selling like hotcakes are my mom's embroidered tea towels. Good for her, but not so good for me. All these shows have left with no time for special orders or gifts! With one craft show left this year (Deluxe, Oklahoma City, Dec 11th) I am looking forward to a long break and reevaluation of my art game plan for 2011.

Affair of the Heart Tulsa booth shared with Audrey Eclectic

Well, time to feast on this butternut squash soup I made for lunch...but wait...I can't taste or smell anything right now!! Booooo!

Fall is Here!

2010-11-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

At last the cool weather has arrived, and with it comes craft shows and resumed knitting projects for me! Last weekend was the long awaited Indie Emporium show. It was exhausting, but fun. Some of my little creatures have new homes now. The best sellers were the felt robots, linocut cards, and art postcards.

Now that I've gotten my feet wet this season I'm really excited for Affair of the Heart coming up the 19-21st. I will need stock for a three day show, which is intimidating, but a good problem to have. I will be sharing a booth with Heather from Audrey Eclectic. We're borrowing this white grid from another crafter, and I think it's going to work out great. We tested out part of it at Indie and I really liked the flexibility it provided. I may have to buy one after this show. Does anyone have a source for the craft show grids?

I've decided to add another one day show the first weekend in December. It's at Cascia Hall, a private school near Utica Square. This is a Sunday show. http://www.casciahall.org/christmasWalk/

The weekend after that I will be in Oklahoma City for the Deluxe show, Dec. 11th.

I'm currently working on a new custom order Sock Buddy in the likeness of Michael Jackson (Thriller era). This is quite a challenge. I'm trying to figure out how to make a red leather jacket without red leather! I also need to make the lovely Jheri curl....

found this awesome doll while researching

After I figure this out I need to start on some U2 dolls for the same customer! This man has quite a collection going now after The Beatles and B.B. King. ;)

Knitting!

I picked up this cable knit scarf again that I started last winter. I had to ask my pal to give me the pattern again. I had no clue what I was doing!

Chunky Cable Scarf Pattern

row 1: knit 4, pearl 1, k6, p1, k4

row 2: k5, p6, k5

row 3: k4, p1, slip off 3, knit 3, slip back on & knit those 3 (cable), p1, k4

repeat

(cable every other k4 row)

I also took a 3 session class at Loops, the local knitting store, in which I learned a few pointers. I want to graduate to making hats, but I did not learn all the techniques of joining the yarn. Youtube, here I come! I found this really cute pattern, but I'm having trouble getting started. The pattern is from this I Dream of Knitting blog that I found through ravelry.com. I'm scared I'm not reading the pattern right and will screw it all up! Any expert knitting advice would be appreciated. It looks like you start with 3 rows of seed stitch, then go to 6 increase rows & 6 decrease rows to make the cute band. I haven't used double pointed needles or knitted in the round yet, so this pattern might kill me! I bought some cute expensive tweed yarn for it, so I should probably do a cheap test one first.

I also got a neat pattern in the class for this diagonal patterned scarf. It's for chunky yarn on 19pt needles, but one of the ladies was using 15's, I think, she added a couple more rows to make it wider.

Christmas Creep Scarf

cast on 10

knit 1*yarn over, knit 2 together* repeat from *to* to last stitch, knit1

repeat until the end of the scarf

They were using a really neat yarn at the store that looked kind of felted. I think it was called Twinkle Handknits. Here's a pictures of it on this blog: http://sageyarn.blogspot.com/2008/10/jump-start-for-hollydaze.html It's supposed to be really quick gift scarf. The pros in the shop were churning them out in 1-2 hours, but it would probably take me 3-5 I'm guessing.

Happy knitting & crafting!

Summer Recap

2010-09-26T21:46:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope you had a fabulous summer. I have been neglecting my blog again. What's new?!

The summer flew by so fast. Before I knew it, it was school time, which means many, many text book orders for Wall2Wall Books, the used book business my husband and I run. He also works at a campus ministry, so we're always on the school schedule.

Even though I only had one summer craft show I've been busy sewing my brains out stocking the boutiques (Mr. Rabbit & Dwelling Spaces).

Buddies at Mister Rabbit

Some of my Sock Buddies have taken flight with the new toe sock shipment I got in. I'm turning them into wings or mohawks or spikes.

A little bit of painting has occurred, but not as much as I'd like. I am preparing now for this year's Indie Emporium, (October 29-30) a great show in Tulsa that brings out the best crafters around. I'm also trying out the mondo craft show at the QT fairgrounds, Affair of the Heart. It's a three day event and I'm sharing the booth with my pal Heather from Audrey Eclectic to defray some of the costs. I'm starting to panic about how much stock I will need for this!

I'm looking into a new consignment option in Moore, OK at Handmade with HeART.

A lovely vacation to Northern California took up a lot of our August and late July. We went to a wedding for a cousin and did a lot of driving around. Mt.Shasta, Crater Lake, OR, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, & San Jose were all on our itinerary.

Mt. Shasta, Lake Shasta

Notice the swirling winds near the Golden Gate Bridge!

I froze my butt off in San Fran. Do not go there in the summer! It's freezing! I hear early Oct is nice though.... The Alcatraz tour & the double-decker bus tour were good, but I think I was numb most of the time.

The Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa was amazing. I'm a huge fan, but I think anyone would enjoy it.

Just finished up some illustrations for an e-zine about trade shows. It's called The Adventures of Trade Show Joe. :) I got to use my Bamboo graphic pad for the first time on some real illustrations. It's pretty cool, but hard to get used to. I keep meaning to go through the CD's that came with it and actually learn how to use it, but I never seem to take the time. Anyone out there have one? There are some classes on scrapbooking with it on Jessica Sprague's website that I thought would be fun to take.

Well, I will leave with that extremely random post, and hope to post again much sooner!

The Beatles Sock Buddies

2010-07-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I am laid up again at home, this time trying to recover from sinus surgery. YUCK. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. This is my 2nd one, and a total last resort as to what could heal my weird chronic fevers. I have to say it has not been as bad as the first surgery when I was only 17, but it's still horrendous! Unfortunately, I don't feel like doing much in the way of creativity this week. I managed to eek out one little Sock Buddy today, but it was a struggle!

Before my surgery I managed to finish a commission for a group of Beatles Sock Buddies! I got the request from a guy who saw me in the Tulsa World article. He was super excited about it. I was rather apprehensive & had no idea what to charge him or if I could even do it. Of course, they took way longer than predicted. They turned out pretty good, I think. His girlfriend, whom they were for, loved them. He even asked for a B.B. King doll as a follow up order.

The Fab Four: George, Ringo, Paul, John

John closeup

I had to add some accessories to distinguish the guys. I struck out at Hobby Lobby in the doll department, so I had to use some scrapping embellishments from a band set. He wanted the mop-top era Beatles, so I went with the Ed Sullivan suits for the outfits. I made those from socks also. Thankfully, my mom was in town visiting & helped me finish them over the 4th of July weekend.

George's tiny guitar!

Celebrity Sock Buddies could be a new genre...I did have a request at the show for an Elvis, but haven't heard back from the lady. :) Not sure about making a sequined jumpsuit!

Alliday Everyday Recap

2010-06-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! It's been an insane week of preparing for the Alliday craft show. There was a pretty good turn out thanks in part to the Tulsa World article about the show. My Sock Buddies had a huge picture, which many people commented on. It was such a joy to hear that my little creatures encouraged them to come to the show. I sold out of my little guys early in the day and had to send my husband for some auxiliary stock! It's always impossible to predict what will sell the best. I didn't know about the article until the last few days, so I had made a ton of robots instead! If anyone wants to adopt one of the little guys or anything else they saw at my show, please email me or visit my Etsy site. I will not have everything listed on there, so if you saw something at the show that isn't listed just contact me.

Here are some of the article pictures:

Pictured: myself, Niki Halgren, & Briana Hefley-Shepard

My booth

These guys all have new homes now!

One lady bought 3 to use as nursing home Bingo prizes. :)

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the crafting community! Remember my Sock Buddies are available for purchase at Dwelling Spaces in Tulsa (2nd & Detroit). I also take custom orders. I have a new consigning opportunity that just arose at Mister Rabbit, a cute little boutique in Oklahoma City. I will be selling my cards, Sock Buddies, embroidered towels, & paintings there starting in July or August.

Summer is Here!

2010-05-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

Well, it is definitely summer! Our neighborhood pool opened this weekend & went over this morning for a swim. It felt so wonderful! My hand surgeries & mystery pneumonia have kept me from hitting the gym like I normally do this spring, but now I can swim every morning before 10 when the kids get in there. I'm so excited about that! I've just started the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which will be a great poolside read. We're BBQing with the neighbors tonight & I just took a mixed berry cobbler out of the oven to take with me. Yum!

We've been harvesting our garden for about 6 weeks now. The experimental mixed greens I planted have gone wild & I can't pick or eat them fast enough. The spinach was kind of dwarfed beside it, but still producing. I've been picking some little carrots & onions recently, and the snow peas are wonderful. I ran out of room in our little beds & tried to plant some squash & cucumbers in the flower beds, but it did not work out so well. I think the flowers are sucking up all the water or something. Only one squash plant is blooming. :(

The flowers bed are going to town now as well. My hydrangea bush is huge & full of purple blooms. I put the ph balancing food on it this year & it more blue in some spots. There's a mix of purple, blue, and pink on it right now. I picked lovely bunch this morning.

I have three colors of Asian lilies blooming now.

The Sock Buddies have made their retail debut at Dwelling Spaces in downtown Tulsa. I visited the store a couple weeks ago to take in a big basket full and found out that I had sold 5 out of 10. I also added some little robots to the mix.

I've been sewing up a storm to stock pile for my June show, which is going to be the 26th at the Tulsa Fairgrounds, The Alliday Everyday craft show. You can read my artist profile featured on the Alliday Blog. I'll be bringing my new linocuts in the form of stamped cards & 5x7 prints. They are looking great. Also just ordered some new postcards of some of the linocut designs.

I recently went to Dallas with my friend, Jenni, to do some serious shopping. We hit the Allen Outlet mall on Saturday, then stayed at the posh Nylo Hotel in Las Colinas. Sunday we went to the Container Store & IKEA. It was insane weekend. After four hours in IKEA we were about to kill someone or each other, not sure which. ;) I got this amazing shelf though. It's the Expedit, and seems to be a craft room favorite. I've seen many neat versions of it on blogs. It was surprising quick to assemble and I had it filled in no time. I was primarily going to use it as a bookshelf, but it fits my 12 x 12 scrapbooks perfectly, so I may outfit it with some paper shelves for my scrapbook paper. You can buy drawers & doors that fit on it, but I opted for the big plastic bins, which I filled with my fabric & socks for my sewing projects. I also bought those metal tins to store all my CD's in.

A New Craft!

2010-04-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Last week I learned how to make a new craft thanks to my pal, Tony. I vowed not to buy supplies for another craft, but he insisted on buying them for my birthday! How could I pass that up? So, I learned how to make a linocut. He got the idea from Threadbanger. If you aren't familiar, they have all kind of DIY crafts online. They're all on Youtube too.

I was rather worried since I have two bad wrists, but I started with the easy-to-cut Moo block, which was like cutting butter. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you that crisp line, like the lino blocks do.

my first stamp

The process is to trace the design you'd like to use with a pencil & then rub the outline onto the block. Then you start carving away with a special too that comes with several carving tips. After you have the design carved how you'd like it you roll ink onto it with a nifty roller called a "brayer". You can get all these supplies at Hobby Lobby. They even have a big kit with all the stuff in it.

If you're using the soft block you can just stamp it onto your paper. If you use the linoleum block you have to put the paper on top of the stamp for a good print. It's a good idea to use something flat to tap it down with to make sure you get good coverage. We found that using watercolor paper or card stock works best. I tried some really textured canvas paper, but it was a little too textured to get a clean print.

our prints

Tony made a very detailed Japanese fish, that turned out great. For my second stamp I decided to do something a little smaller & I used the linoleum block this time. The first ones took 2 hours. This one was more like 1 hour.

my 2nd stamp

This is a very fun project. I've already replenished my supplies so I can make some more!

Back in Business!

2010-03-28T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hello faithful (or occasional?) readers. I am back from another carpal tunnel surgery. Thankfully, this one has not been as difficult as the right hand recovery was. I haven't been much up to typing lengthy entries lately, but I was able to do a little painting since I'm right-handed.

I finished this custom portrait of someone's fish a few weeks ago. Her name is Bea Arthur. :)

I also made this little nursery painting for my cousin's new baby boy, Elias:

These baby paintings are so fun to do. They're also relatively quick, which is nice! They make cute personalized gifts for new babies or younger kids. There are several examples on my website: artbybethany.net

I had a milestone birthday a few weeks ago...the big 3-0! I was mildly panicking anticipating this date, but I had a great birthday weekend & am kind of at peace with it. I went to see Alice in Wonderland 3-D with some friends & went out to eat. The movie was really awesome & has inspired me to do some more Alice paintings. My friend, Jenni, gave me this giant coloring book/poster book of old Alice illustrations. She also gave me this adorable tea set in a carrying case. :)

Olympic Mania

2010-02-19T12:35:00.001-06:00

The television has gotten very little rest in our house this past week. We've been recording all Olympic coverage on the DVR, so we don't miss a second of the winter games. The DVR is our best friend when it comes to watching sports, especially, when you're watching a 3 hour curling match or a Norwegian national anthem. I can't watch anything without the fast-forward button now. Very ADD of me.

Between the cold weather & the Olympics, I've had a chance to stay home & do a lot of cooking. I've been wearing out my bread machine with different recipes from the book that came with my machine. So far my favorite has been the zucchini whole wheat, I believe. Although this sweet Hawaiian bread I made from a mix was really good. Also testing out some Rachel Ray goodies, the pecan crusted chicken tenders with tangy maple dressing are amazing. There were some yummy turkey burgers with guacamole from one of my books too.

The crafting has really suffered due to the abnormal amount of TV watching, however, I am excited to learn about a new craft show that's going to be in Tulsa this June called "The Alliday Show." It's a free admission show at the fairgrounds, so it should be a nice turnout. I'm not sure about the types of vendors who are participating, but hoping it will be on the "indie" side. I'm glad I don't have to wait until the fall for a Tulsa craft show to market my little friends at.

I did spend 4 hours in line at Snowflakes (downtown Broken Arrow) to save 50% on some fabric. Am I insane?! I had no clue it was going to take that long, but it is a very small shop with no clue how to use their computer system. Not cool. So there were 50-100 women crammed in a little fabric shop greedily grabbing up bolts of fabric, then waiting in line for hours upon hours. I did get all the Echino fabric they had plus some other really cute ones. I felt terrible afterward, but that stuff does not go on sale, ever! I also met some really cool girls in line. :)

Now that I have four months to plan for the show, I really want to narrow my focus. The only problem is I like making too many things! Last year I brought a large variety of items to all my shows because I was experimenting with what would sell the best. Now I have cards, jewelry, pillows, paintings, collages, prints, sock buddies & other softies, postcards, & embroidered towels, sometimes other misc. It seems like the plush items were a big hit, so I'm thinking about focusing on them more, but I really like making other fabric housewares, like wall hangings & throw pillows. Painting has always been my first love, so I hate to stop doing that. Any thoughts out there?

Ice Storm, Craftin', Contemplating

2010-01-29T11:08:00.000-06:00

We've got another winter storm here in NE Oklahoma this week. I burrowed in yesterday when the freezing rain started with my knitting & sewing & a good book. After a lovely sheet of ice covered everything we've transitioned into snow.

I've gotten three sock buddies done this week, so I'm feeling quite productive. Meet my new friends:

They are currently still nameless, but won't be for long.

My ribbed scarf is finally looking like something! I have had many trials with this puppy, but I think I can see it through to completion soon.

I've been reading an excellent book in between crafts called The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's set in 12th century England & is about building a cathedral and all the characters that are involved. It was published in 1989, but it was an Oprah book a few years ago. It's around 1000 pages, so it's taking a while, but it's really interesting.

I had to start rereading The Purpose Driven Life this week, after I had one of my quarterly panics about what I'm going to do with my life, career, etc. I have basically been contemplating the same problems since I graduated from college nearly 8 years ago now. I got a degree in graphic design, but never really enjoyed doing that for a living. When I was in school I thought about getting a teaching degree or changing to art history, art therapy, or something else entirely, but didn't want to waste anymore time & money on it. Since I've not had a 9-5 job now for about a year and a half I've had plenty of time to think about what I want to do, & yet I cannot decide. I love doing my own art, but it's difficult to be disciplined & driven enough to make a living that way. There are many things that appeal to me, but the thought of starting a new degree or career is so daunting. Also there's the factor of wanting to have a child sometime in the near future, whom I'd want to stay home with, at least for a while. I have my giant list of possibilities & scenarios I wrote down. So, this week I'm just trying to pray for guidance & peace about what I should do.

The Lost New Year

2010-01-19T14:06:00.000-06:00

I wasn't expecting my Christmas illness to land me in the hospital for a week, but that's what it came down to. After a miserable Christmas of fevers & coughing, 3 doctors gave me 3 different antibiotics, none of which helped the pneumonia that appeared on my chest x-rays. Finally, my PCP said it was time to check into the hospital. I thought this meant a speedy recovery with IV meds & expert doctors...riiiiiiiiiight.

We checked into Hillcrest (my last choice, but naturally, the one affiliated with my doctor) in Tulsa on Monday 1-11 around 11:30 am. A decrepit old man took us up to my room, which was inexplicably on the orthopedic floor. The room was still being cleaned by a short, round Indian lady, so we just hung out in the hallway. After about 15 minutes we asked the nurse what was up. They had no clue what to do with me. Another hour passes & finally I'm wheeled down to X-ray to repeat the exact same one I had at my doctor's office that morning...They parked me in the hallway with some scary people on beds who were moaning. I started my afternoon chills & was violently shaking. They left me down there for at least 20 minutes. I was not happy...I hadn't had lunch yet, and it was around 2:30, so I was going to pass out soon. I think around 3 I got some hospital food, but poor Ron was afraid to leave me there with no care. Sometime in the late afternoon a doctor stopped by & ordered some antibiotics. I sat in the bed for several hours waiting for those to come. They took at least 10 viles of blood from me all night long. My fevers kept spiking to 102-103 & they would take at least an hour to bring 2 Tylenol. I was about to self medicate from my purse & save myself a lot of grief...The first night I slept maybe 1.5 hours when they were taking blood or giving me a breathing treatment or getting vitals.

The following days were kind of blur. Lots of fevers, TV, & hospital food. Ron's mom was nice enough to stay with me for a couple nights to harass the staff. I had a horrible night where the medicine was burning my veins so badly they had to move the IV, but apparently, my veins are "small & weak" according to the nurses. They decided to scrap the whole idea after a very painful IV insertion, & to put in something called a PICC line, which goes into a large vein in your upper arm that they can take blood from or put in medicine. Mine was 22cm long, which is weird. That was quite an ordeal getting it in, they use an ultrasound machine to see where to put it. No more painful IV after that! I only made it through that night with a ton of prayer. Thank God for Ron & his mom!

They tried 3 IV antibiotics with no results before the idiot "hospitalist" decided to call in the pulmonary specialists. They could tell right away it was something weird & not the type of pneumonia they were treating me for. They also got an infectious disease doctor to come in & they suddenly whisked me away to a pressurized air room with scary people in masks to do a TB test. I was like, what the heck? I'd already been in the same room for 4 days infecting the whole hospital? Then they wouldn't even let me leave the room with a mask on. My room had this super loud blower that blew the air outside instead of circulating it around the hospital.

Luckily, they realized I did not have anything catching after a day or so. Whew. At least I had a large private room. :) The next step was to go into my lungs & remove a sample. This freaked me out & I couldn't eat or drink after midnight before it. I knew this was trouble because my fevers were coming every day usually around 2 PM, & 2 or 3 AM. No water, no Tylenol=miserable Beth. So, it happened just like that. I felt the fever climbing, & they checked it at 103.2 & did absolutely nothing. Then it was 104 & they decided to throw me in the shower with clothes on & give me a fast-acting Tylenol where the sun don't shine...if you catch my drift. Not my proudest moment!!

The bronchoscopy was horrendous. They numbed my throat with a combination of this nasty "cherry-flavored" spray & a cocktail of some other numbing agents through a breathing tube. Both made me gag & cough so I couldn't finish it. Then they gave me a very short-term sedative so they could stick several tubes down my throat into my lungs. They took out several viles of gunk to analyze. Ick. That's when they found out it wasn't bacterial, and they starting coming up with all sorts of hypotheses. First it was Eosinophilic pneumonia, which could be caused by environmental allergens or even parasites. The new treatment was steroids, so finally they ordered those & the fevers stopped after one dosage. They took me off of everything else, including the evil Mucinex, which they kept telling me would get everything out of my lungs. Instead it made me throw up, dry heave, & basically destroy my abs & lungs from coughing. I took great pleasure in hearing the specialist yell at the nurses that "there was nothing in there to come up!" I'd been trying to tell them that for a week....

No more fevers, just a ton of night sweats, while on the steroids. My parents came down when I was nearing recovery to hang out for hours my room. Not too thrilling, but they enjoyed the hospital food, go figure. They finally released me Monday afternoon (1-18) to take decreasing dosages of the pills for several weeks. The final word was that the pneumonia was idiopathic, meaning they have no idea what caused it. The pulmonologist said he hadn't seen it since his medical exams (he was no spring chicken either). He kept using terms like "freaky" & "weird." Still praying for my lungs to be all clear soon. I'm so thankful that they figured it out, just irritated that it took so long. I should have called in Dr. House from the beginning. Dang. My poor husband has been so neglected for a month. Thanks for taking care of me, Ron!

Maybe I can get back to some crafting here soon. I've been wrestling with some knitting for months now with no decent results. I don't think I have the patience for it. I bought the Wacom Bamboo Craft tablet with my Christmas money, and I've just gotten everything installed. It looks like it's going to be awesome. It came with all sorts of tutorials & software, so I'm anxious to figure that out soon.

Have an Artsy, Artsy Christmas

2009-12-17T11:08:00.000-06:00

I made it through the last show of the season. The Deluxe show in OKC last weekend nearly did me in. I always lose my mind right before the show & think I need more products. I usually make too much of the "wrong" item trying to guess what people will buy. My best sellers are often a surprise, however, I had a good feeling about my felt robots this time. Who can resist these adorable plush friends?

A lovely lady bought all the mini bots I had in the first 30 minutes! I sold all but two sock buddies.

I was very sad that none of these log cabin-y wall hangings sold. They're warming up my house though!

Here's a shot of my booth:

My booth was actually extra huge this time because I had two, so I could fit my friend, Tony's, amazing scarves, cowls, & brooches.

I thought I could relax by the Christmas tree until the new year, but I have one painting to finish & a few little Christmas presents to whip out. I think all the presents are finally purchased & nearly wrapped! Unfortunately, I've been severely lacking in the card department. I have only sent out a couple Christmas cards this year.

Merry Christmas!

Gearing Up for Deluxe

2009-12-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

A robot invasion has landed in my craft room! Following my KC show I had an order for 6 of these little guys from my high school art teacher. They were so cute peering up out of the box at me! Farewell, friends. Now I'm busy restocking for Deluxe. My mom made an emergency visit with her embroidery machine to help me out this weekend. We've been crafting fools! I've got several goodies planned for the show including more adorable pillows & plush friends, as well as fabric wall hangings. I have a ton more to finish in a few days, so wish me luck! I'm hoping that this show goes well since it may be the last one I do until next spring's Deluxe. Etsy has been super slow lately, but I have been having so many shows this fall I haven't had a chance to update it in a while. After this show I am promising myself that I will get all the excess inventory on there.

"Drink Me" Collage

The Kansas City show at my friend's house went really well. I had a 2nd impromptu show at my mom's house for the neighbors the following day & sold more goodies. I sold 3 larger pieces including this Alice in Wonderland collage, and the fabric bird painting that I have enjoyed in my living room for quite some time now. I would like to do one of these open houses in Tulsa. It's great to be able to browse, chat, & snack at your leisure, and you get to reconnect with some old friends.

Props to my friend, Heather, of Audrey Eclectic for making the cover of Art Beat magazine, & just being an overall amazing artist! (and for seeing New Moon with me) ;)

Life as a Lefty

2009-11-14T18:49:00.001-06:00

bandaged wrist (I'm sparing you the gross pics of my cut)

I've been out of commission for a couple from carpal tunnel release surgery. I have developed a new appreciation for my right hand, and some new motor skills using my left hand! The down time has been extremely frustrating for an artsy gal, like myself. My days have become marked with small triumphs, like buttoning my jeans or tying my shoes by myself. One of the weirdest things was having my husband assist with washing my hair. He didn't really understand how to wash such a large amount of hair. Then there was the day I asked him to help me put my hair in a ponytail. He was completely at a loss. It's pretty funny how these things that are second nature for all women take a step-by-step instructional for men. :) I do have to give Ron credit for being an amazing help since the surgery though.My padded glove

I'm taking baby steps towards getting back into my crafts. The stitches are out now & I have to wear this funky padded glove, like a weightlifting or biking glove. I have tried a little machine sewing, but the hand sewing & cutting are no fun. I think I could manage a little painting this week if I can grip the brush properly.

I have an exciting opportunity Saturday the 21st. My friend, Erin, is hosting an open house for me in Kansas City. I'm going to set up all my stuff in her house & do a little private show for our friends & families, and coworkers. I haven't been able to prepare much in advance, but I will be taking all my stock pile from the past shows & my Etsy site. There are several new felt friends & sock buddies that will make their debut, as well.

Post Indie Jag

2009-10-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

My Booth

I survived another craft show! Those things are exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time.... Indie Emporium was a great show. This was my first time there. The venue was rather small, but not as overwhelming to the shopper as a giant expo center is. I nearly sold out of all my sock buddies! I only have two left from my original stockpile & I made one after the Friday night rush. 11 of my little friends have new homes now. I also sold out of all the cute pillows I had made. They are now residing on my friend, Jenni's, sunroom loveseat. I'm sure her cat, Mousse, is thoroughly enjoying them. :) A big thanks to Jenni's mom for being my biggest customer of the weekend.

Tony, Beth, & Heather, the Aaron Co. Designers, united again!

Tony kept me company throughout the show with his craziness, and I purchased one of his fabulous brooches to dress up my winter wardrobe. (thetonyliproject.com) He also had these neat hoodie/scarves that he knitted for his fashion show, but decided to sell on a lark. Of course they went in about 10 minutes...now I have to special order one. I also came away with a fun feather headband from Feather by Feather. I went back for Tony's fashion show Sat. night, and it was amazing. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my camera in all the post show craziness, so I missed out on getting any snapshots of the collection. The other collections were definitely not as professionally tailored as Tony's collection was. The vintage clothing was kind of neat, and The Girl with the Red Kerchief showed her cute 50's style aprons.

I will have all the Halloween stuff that didn't sell on sale in my Etsy shop, as well as anything that I haven't listed yet from the show. If you saw something you wanted at the show, but didn't buy it please email me! Thanks to everyone who came out to shop!

Indie Emporium Craft Show

2009-10-09T00:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally here! I'm still making last minute adorable items to show, as usual. I had planned on being very prepared this time because I had a huge stockpile, but then I decided I wanted to do a bunch of new stuff & now I'm extremely sleep deprived with sore hands. Hopefully it will pay off...maybe....

I'm adding a few things I haven't had before, like some adorable throw pillows, and many new plush friends. There are several new wall hangings & jewelry, as well.

I will be entering 3 paintings into the art gallery show, and donating one piece to the Tulsa Food Bank art auction.

I hope there's a great turnout. If you're in Tulsa, come on down to the VFW on 6th street & see all the great handmade goodies. I will be next to my buddies, Heather, Tony, & Holly, so it should be a great spot. I'm sure Tony will be well stocked with Red Bull & bottled water to keep us going. :) Wish me luck!

Socks on the Brain

2009-09-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a month it seems...again...oops. I have been very busy sewing away on my new friends, the sock buddies. I've completed five of them now and they're getting more and more fun to make! I have also been hard at work making some little Halloween softies. Here are my little creations:

I had a show over the weekend in Stillwater, OK. It was kind of a gamble b/c I knew it would be an older, more traditionally crafty crowd. And boy was it.... However, I did manage to sell a little bit more than I did at the Deluxe show in OKC thanks to some last minute purchases by some nice people. :) I only sold one of these precious plush pals though! The large blue sock buddy, that I did at my parents' house over Labor Day weekend. His name is Linus. Now he has a new home. It's really bizarre how attached I get to my crafts. I was actually sad to see someone carry him away in a bag, his little ears bobbing up and down....

On a sadder note...I learned last weekend that a good friend from high school was injured in Afghanistan. He is a Navy SEAL, so he is kind of a real life super hero. He's been transported back to D.C. now, but he lost both legs due to this IED that he stepped on while scouting out a mission. It is so sad, but I'm confident that he will be up and running in no time with some new titanium legs, or whatever they use now days. I think I will send him one of my sock buddies to keep him company, and a good book b/c he loves reading classics.

I'm now gearing up for my next show in October. I am really excited about this one since it's going to be more of my style of consumers, hopefully. You can check out the details at:
www.indieemporium.com. I will be having a booth & entering the art gallery show that will be juried. I've been working on some interesting paintings for that using the new paint I got from my cousin, Grant, while in Seattle. His wife works for Dale Chihuly, famed glass artist. He's apparently, very fickle, so when the paint doesn't squirt out to his liking he just tosses it away. Grant had loads of discards that he couldn't use, so he let me take some home. The airport security was a little disturbed by the ducktaped 60's style suitcase full of tubes of paint. Oops. :)

The paint is all these amazing bright neon & metallic colors. So far I've made two paintings with it.
I put a lot of my pieces in my Etsy store on sale today, so go check it out! artbybethany.etsy.com

Sock Creatures & Other Cute Things

2009-08-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

I got it in my head a few months ago that I wanted to try to make some of those cute stuffed monsters that are all the rage. I got a cute book called Softies. I took it to my mom's house during a visit b/c she is a master seamstress...I am not! After much laboring, we managed to finish two softies. One is a "Treeling" and the other is called "Lonely Dollop." (Use your imagination!) They are both in my Etsy Shop.

While I was on vacation, I saw another book I just had to have in a gift shop, so I ordered it from Amazon. Today was the first day I had a chance to make anything from it. This one is called Sock Creatures. My first attempt took me all afternoon! My hands are fairly paralyzed at this point....I think I'll call him Marvin. Hopefully the next one will be faster & cuter!

I've also been busy painting some little nursery wall hangings for baby gifts. I love making these. They're relatively fast & so fun. Everyone is having babies this year it seems. Ron's cousin had little boy, Zachary, in June. We just got to see him in Seattle. So cute! I made this for him:

And Ron's friends Rob & Michelle had a little boy named Liam, also in June. They are avid bike racers, so I made this for him:

Dallas Adventures

2009-07-21T12:02:00.000-05:00

Well, another road trip last week to search for a car for Ron. We've been searching for months and months to replace Ron's '96 Camry and it never works out. Ron has changed his mind on what he wants so many times that we never can find what he wants the day he wants it! He did decide on a Mazda Tribute several weeks ago over an Escape or other small SUV. Finally we had some luck at Freeman Mazda/Hyundai in Irving. We normally go down there to shop for books anyway, so we thought we could make a double agenda this time. We got an amazing deal at a newly renovated Holiday Inn Express from Priceline, Ron's favorite hotel site. I think it was $33/night for a nice suite with king bed. I was hoping to stay at my friend, Jenny's, fav place, Nylo, but by the time we booked their rates were up to $130/night. Maybe next time.

So, Ron had a minor setback finding some article online that made him change his mind on what car he wanted. That lasted for about a day, but then we went to look a few more brands and he went back to the Tribute. I did like the Hyundai Santa Fe, but gas mileage and Ron being too large for it, did not work in our favor. So, there was were many phone calls and mechanic searches. Got to love searching for cars in 105 degree Texas heat. Yeah! I thought I was going to melt right into the car lot asphalt. This definitely made Ron not want leather seats...alas, no seat warmers for Beth. :(

After we decided to take home a cute, silver Tribute to test overnight, Ron found a mechanic to check it over. There were a couple minor things we needed fixed. This resulted in many hours at the dealership bickering over details. After I had finished half the daily crossword, at last we came to a deal "we could both live with" with Bret, the very nice car dealer we worked with. I was starving by the time we left at 4:00 after getting there around 1:00. A late lunch/early dinner awaited us at Pappasito's near the hotel. Thanks to our TomTom, I was able to navigate the streets of Dallas, however, Ron did not fair so well with his iPhone GPS that we can never seem to read.

Ron's new (used) car! It looks like the big brother of my silver Protege. :)

After filling up the new car with many boxes of books we parted ways. I had to stop by IKEA before racing home to catch the 8:00pm Harry Potter with Jenni! I had to do some serious power shopping, but came away with more shelving and a little end table for the living room, plus many picture frames and the IKEA chocolate bar I always get.

I found this sweet shelf on sale for $20. It's a little large for the guest bathroom, but it has a cool sliding mirror. How could I pass it up?! I got this fun, bright shower curtain at a garage sale for $2. I've looked for about 2 years for one to match this room...

I also got some cute pillows and this end table for the living room:
I got it to go by our recliner, but that will require much rearranging that Ron did not want to do yet, so it's kind of squished on the end of our couch for now.

I did make it to the Cinemark by 7:15 after getting lost several times in Dallas, despite the GPS, nearly have a breakdown searching for turnpike fees in my car, skipping lunch and dinner, and stopping once to relieve myself at Ron's parents house in Norman.

Thanks to Jenni, I did not have to wait in line for over an hour b/c they saved me a spot and preordered my ticket. Whew. I'm kind of an HP nut, so I've been listening to the audio books of 6 & 7 to refresh my memory before the movie release. Unfortunately, that just reminds me of how much they left out of the movie! I was pretty disappointed at some of the key scenes that were not in the movie and some random scenes that weren't in the book at all. This will not be one of my favorite HP movies, but I'm still excited to see number 7 even though it's the same director. Part I is slated for release on 19 November 2010, and Part II on 15 July 2011. I'll be such an old nerd by then. :(

Summer Adventures

2009-07-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Ron & I at Niagra Falls

I've been running around so much this summer my posts have been few and far between. Ron & I went on a vacation to Pennsylvania the middle of June to visit his friend from Asbury Seminary, Jeff. He lived in the middle of nowhere (Johnsonburg), so we literally had to drive 3 hours to go to any significant cities. He basically lives in the Allegheny forest. I think I spent about 30 hours in the back of Jeff's Honda Element. It was beautiful around there and the weather was amazing. I think it was in the low 80's a couple times, but mostly 70's. Meanwhile, back in OK, it was 100!

We got to see a ton of PA, but we didn't go to Philly this time. We hit Hershey, for some chocolate, Harrisburg, for my obsession with capitol buildings, Gettysburg, for my obsession with the Civil War, Scranton, for some Office pics, Erie, for some homecookin' from Jeff's mom and to see the great lake, saw a friend in Binghamton, NY, and we flew out of Pittsburgh. We did some hiking in Cook's Forest, which was very neat, and elk watching in Elk County. The finale was Niagra Falls, NY at the end of the trip. So gorgeous. We even got a rainbow on the Falls picture, and walked over to Canada for a bit.

Some favorite pictures:

Cafe Handmade

2009-05-31T19:02:00.000-05:00

I just ran across this neat online craft mall called "Cafe Handmade." I'm trying it out for two weeks to see if I get any traffic to my Etsy sho p. I'm in aisle 1 it looks like, which is on the first page of the "virtual craft show" page. Apparently you can vote for best in show.

I also did an Etsy Showcase on Saturday for the collage category. I definitely got a lot of visitors to my site, but no one bought anything! Bummer. Maybe next time. I would like to try a jewelry one and the main showcase too. Those are always booked up though.

I haven't had time to make anything since the Deluxe blowout week. I've been super busy with the Wall to Wall Books business b/c of the summer school textbook orders. With Ron down from knee surgery I'm having to do a lot more than normal.

Summer is definitely here in Oklahoma. It's in the 90's and the pools are open! My hydrangea is blooming too, which is always good. It's decided to be all different colors this spring, which is lovely. The garden is growing too! I have harvested some spinach and there is a bloom on the squash. I'm afraid our little friend the bunny may have gotten the best of our peppers before we blocked him from entering our yard!

Finished, at Last!

2009-05-20T11:47:00.001-05:00

I've completed my Kansas City skyline painting and delivered it to my friend, Erin. I think she loves it. Yeah! She's already hung in her living room, and it looks awesome.

I don't even remember when I started on this, but it was before Christmas! It's three canvases that are each 2' x 4'. I had to paint it while hanging on my wall, which was a challenge. I had to take some artistic license on the placement of certain buildings to fit everything in, so it's not 100% accurate. She wanted bright colors and to definitely include the Western Auto building and Bartle Hall.

Deluxe

2009-05-11T19:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I survived my first craft show! It was a good experience. Hopefully I will know more for the next one. I didn't sell a huge amount, but I didn't know what to expect at all. I heard from others that it was kind of slow compared to the December show, which makes sense. I saw a lot of neat stuff at other booths. I bought some amazing prints from Samantha Lamb Photography, and a T-Skirt from Sara Cowen. We also bought some neat fabric leaf floral stems from Jane Joss for Ron's mom. Heather's booth looked amazing and folk-artsy. :)

I brought a variety of items since I didn't know what would sell best; jewelry, cards, paintings, framed collages, a box, tray, and clothes pin, and embroidered tea towels, courtesy of my mother.

I have to finish my KC cityscape this week and deliver it to my friend, Erin. I can't wait to unload it! I also will be listing all my lovely little pieces that didn't sell at the show on Etsy.

We are super busy this month! I went to D.C. and visited Kristen last weekend. We picked out wedding jewelry supplies and bridesmaid/matron shoes. Good news, they were on sale at Target, bad news, they have a spikey high heel which may cause an ankle injury. :)

Busy, Busy

2009-04-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been home all of an hour this whole week! We were blessed by a last minute invite to stay with my husband's boss at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas, TX. He was doing premarital counseling for a pitcher for the Orioles, George Sherrill. I had to make my annual or bi-annual...stop at IKEA while we were there. After three hours of himming and hawing, and two meals in the cafe, I bought this ensamble to replace my computer desk. I love it because it more open and my desk is larger. I was going to buy the glossy red table legs and cabinet, but they were out of them, so I went for the all black. I got the table, cart, and shelves all for under $175. I love IKEA.

We have also been on a gardening blitz during April. We had the late March snow followed by the 75 degree day, always nice. We put in a raised bed garden and a new flower bed, as well as some blueberry and blackberry bushes. My lilies
are blooming this week. I had to snap some post shower shots this morning.

I'm hoping things will slow down this week so I can hole up in the office and get some work done for the Deluxe show. I did a little sewing last week and got a pillow done and a little wall hanging. I have a lot more to finish, and I have to design the display. Yikes!

Birthday Goodies

2009-04-02T23:28:00.001-05:00

I just had some belated birthday surprises this week! I finally got to together with my Pisces pal, Jenni, for a b-day exchange. She got me all these great goodies from Anthropologie. Who doesn't love that store?! Notice the adorable stacking doll measuring cups and towel that match my kitchen nicely, and the type piece monogram block.

I talked to Kristen over the weekend and she wants me to fly out to D.C. to help make some wedding jewelry, so she got me a plane ticket! How generous is that? Now what am I going to get her for her b-day? Hm...toughy.

Thank you, girls!! XOXO

Fan Art Nerd

2009-03-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know this is super cheesy of me, but I couldn't help myself this time. I learned this technique of torn paper art in high school. At that time I did a fan tribute to David Duchovny, from my beloved X-Files series. I still love that piece, so I decided to work on a new tribute to my latest literary crush, Twilight. The only bad part about this is that it takes FOREVER. There is no cheating allowed, and by cheating, I mean scissors. I gathered up all my old magazines and tried to find matching colors for this Twilight movie poster I used for my inspiration. My previous one had been in black, white, and gray, so I wanted to try color this time. Many, many hours, days, and a sore back later I was finished. Just in time for the DVD release. :) This is available on my Etsy site.

The Ultimate Concert

2009-03-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

What a busy week! Ron and I went to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert at the BOK Center last Tuesday night. It was one of my birthday presents, sort of. I bought the tickets months ago and nearly forgot about it! Needless to say, it was amazing. Two of my favorites together! Here's the story about it from the Tulsa World. Basically they played for 4 hours, performing about 2 hours together and another hour each performing solo. Our seats were not bad, they were in the upper section, but right near the stage. My pictures aren't the
greatest. I never could find the appropriate setting for concert pics. Arg.

The weekend before the concert we went to the Big 12 Tournament in OKC. That was very exhausting with all the driving. We stayed in Norman a couple nights, but had to drive back and forth twice. We were both in rotton moods because our teams lost in their first games. Ridiculous! I decided to then pass my time taking pictures of all the funny mascots from the different schools. The MU Tiger was quite entertaining. The Baylor Bear was obnoxious, and the OSU and KSU mascots are just plain freaky. Thankfully, my friend, Kristin, was also there, but she sold her semi and finals tickets after KU lost. It was an interesting experience, but I will probably never go again.

Last weekend was more basketball mania as the NCAA Tournament started. I have filled out about 16 different brackets, but of course, the ones I entered into groups are doing pretty bad. KU is still holding on, so I'm happy about that. OU is still in it too, so my husband is in a relatively good mood too.

Seeing Ourselves

2009-03-09T20:36:00.001-05:00

My parents were in town for my birthday over the weekend, so we stopped by the Philbrook Museum to check out the photography exhibit. The collection was from the George Eastman collection (Eastman-Kodak). They had some great photos through the centuries of all types of subjects and styles. They had some neat tin types and Daguerreotypes from the Civil War era, including many of Matthew Brady's battlefield images and soldier portraits, as well as the famous "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange from the Great Depression. One of my favorites was a series of photographs from different time periods of the same mountain landscape pieced together into one large image. They had a photobooth there for you to play with. I couldn't get my parents in the booth, but Ron and I went twice. I need one of those in my house!

My mom helped me get my grandma's sewing machine going this weekend so I could make some pillows. I'm excited to started putting fancy stitches on all my art projects and scrapbook now.

My project table is under construction currently, so I'm kind of lost without it. I'm still working on the KC painting, but I'm taking way more time than I should to complete it. John & Ron believe that they can install drawers in my table (why didn't we do this before?), as well as an easel in the top that pops up instead of the entire (really heavy) top having to be lifted. I'm a little freaked b/c they cut into the top of it with a dollar store saw in my office, and it's not exactly straight.

On a better note, Ron let me pick out my own flowers for my birthday and I got some lovely green hydrangeas with some white daisy accents. I also got lots of scrapbook goodies from Mom and Dad, and The Labyrinth DVD (ah, memories of David Bowie chasing Chrissy Landis and I on the playground circa 1988 come to mind), and the Alice in Wonderland audio book read by my favorite narrator, Jim Dale.

SPA DAY!

2009-02-13T11:26:00.000-06:00

I never thought I'd see this day. My early Valentine's Day present was a massage, manicure & pedicure with Ron. It was so relaxing and fun. This was Ron's first time at the salon, so he was kind of freaked out, but he enjoyed it. We had the salon (Berkshire Salon & Day Spa) all to ourselves too b/c we went on a Thursday morning to beat the Valentine's crowd.

MY NEW HORSE

I recently got this great print from my cousin that I just got framed. It looks great in my art room. Thanks, Grant!

2009-02-08T21:38:00.000-06:00

Greetings. I have gotten down to only one update per month. Not exactly great, but I've been busy attempting to get connected through too many sites at once. I'm now on MySpace and Facebook (finally, I know).

My MySpace is www.myspace.com/bpgart because someone had Art by Bethany! Heinous. I'm under Beth Gentry on Facebook.

I've managed to make a few new items for my Etsy shop and sold one privately to a girl in Tulsa. I'm slowly working on the cityscape in between jewelry projects. I got a big job for six Project Runway jewelry lines for summer & fall, so I've been slaving away on those for a while.

I found these cute frames at Michael's with the ribbon on the back, so I decided to create some little collages to fit in them. I put this bird in my bedroom b/c the colors match perfectly, but it is for sale. I got these great stamps with neat swirly designs to decorate the background, although this Basic Grey paper already had some neat designs on it.
The other piece has red, gold, and brown tones.

In other news...Kristen has set her wedding date for October 17th and I ordered my bridesmaid dress last week. There was a mini panic since it was discontinued. The girl told me I would have to call some stores in California or somewhere to order b/c there were only 3 left in the country in my size. It was weird. Then I went back the very next day and the same girl ordered it for me at the David's Bridal in Tulsa. What the heck?! I just hope it comes in correctly and that it still fits by October!

Valentine's Day is upon us! As usual, I have no clue what to get Ron...men and Valentine's do not mix. He said I don't have to get him anything, but I am going to make a card and I ordered a little something from Kodak.com. We have planned to stay in town this year and do a spa day at Berkshire Salon & Day Spa. I am so excited. We're doing it Thursday since it was too crowded on Saturday. Manicures, pedicures, and a couples massage. I think we're going to a play on Saturday and probably dinner.

New Year, New President

2009-01-20T23:13:00.000-06:00

I have been very lazy already about blogging this year, but I've been too engrossed in my Stephenie Meyer books, Wii Fit, and artwork to do anything else. I'm feeling highly motivated this week, so I thought I would add a post. I've been inspired by the hope of a better administration and the idea of not having to hear W's voice ever again. Ah, that would be nice.

I bit the bullet and started my 6' x 4' masterpiece that will someday hang in Erin's loft apartment in downtown KC. (She wishes) I was suddenly overcome with a flourish of ideas this week and started about 4 projects at once. I think this may be the only way I can get anything done. I have 3 commissions to finish and I'm trying to get together enough pieces to try and get in the Deluxe indie art show in OKC in May. I even got some scrapbooking done over the weekend in Springfield at Scrap-a-palooza...good times. I was inspired by my friend Allison's sister to make an altered book. They are so neat. I then thought I'd use this cool Girl Scout handbook that I got during a book-buying outing at a thrift store. It's from the 40's and has awesome illustrations. I decided to first make an omage to the girls in green with this collage:

My vampire obsession is still in place. I've finished book 4 and am now reading the unpublished companion to Twilight, which is the same events from Edward's perspective. It's very annoying reading a book online. I don't think I could ever get away from holding an actual book in my hands.

Ron and I are taking a class at the church called Perspectives. It's a whole semester long and we have homework, which I've already put off until the last day on the first week. The class is about finding new perspectives on missions and God's work, at least that's what I've gleaned so far. I'm anxious to dive into it.

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone. :)

Obsession

2008-12-27T19:05:00.001-06:00

Is it wrong to be obsessing over vampire romance during the Christmas season? I can't put down the Twilight Saga books by Stephanie Meyer. I'm in the middle of book 2 now, which was a great time passer at the in-laws. Unfortunately, I have to get other things accomplished, so I can't spend the rest of the holidays with my nose the book. I was searching for the 2nd movie release date, but it looks like they've just gotten a new director for it. I found these fab pics from InStyle:

Finished!

2008-12-23T13:34:00.000-06:00

Well, I've finally finished Jenny & Zane's wedding gift! I had a hard time motivating myself to tackle the gravel half of the painting, but I bit the bullet. I'm pleased with the outcome. I hope they like it!

Like the mysterious hiker?

Christmas Spirit

2008-12-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

It's almost here! I had an OCD moment last weekend when I spent about 6 hours finishing this puzzle. I can't start puzzles anymore...not healthy.

I got a sweet present from Allison...the Revolution die cutting machine. I can't wait to experiment.

Last night I got an early present from Ron! I had requested some diamond hoops on my Amazon list and forgot how literal Ron is with gifting. He ordered the exact same ones I think. LOL, they are really cute though. I gave him another book tote. He can never have enough of those.

Ron was gone all last week to Houston and I had to take care of the book orders. It was crazy! I think I pulled and packed near 100 on Tuesday and Thursday, then more Friday and Saturday. There are at least 100 donations laying around that need to be listed today. Fun times.

I'm trying to finish Jenny & Zane's wedding present painting. I'm almost done, but I have too much gravel yet to paint! It's crazy. I must finish it before Christmas, so I can start on Erin's city scape.

I got another painting request this week from an old high school classmate, the same girl who bought the little owl painting. Yeah!

I'm a Matron?!

2008-12-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

I had an eventful Thanksgiving visit to my parents house last weekend. My BFF, Kristen, asked me to be her matron of honor. I was like, whoa, that sounds old. I think I'll pretend to be a maid anyway. ;) She gave me this cute Kodak photo book with a bunch of pictures of us from over the years with little captions, and on the last page she popped the question. hehehe

I went with her and the finance for some venue hunting on Wednesday. They're looking at a nice country club in KC, MO called Loch Lloyd. The only downfall is the size. We had time to taste some cake and attempt to view some other locals. We had some minor bridezilla moments in the car when her man wanted to add three venues to the schedule. AH!

The heinous part is this...I missed the wedding gown selection on Black Friday when I was hunting for books with my hubby. Not cool. I'm still bummed about that, but she picked out some cute, blue bridesmaids dresses at David's Bridal and a gorgeous wedding dress. I can't post the pic yet b/c she's being super secretive about it with her boyfriend (as if he reads my blog...)

We had to do an early gift exchange b/c we're not going to meet up at Christmas this year. She got me these sweet footie PJ's with sock monkeys on them. They're amazing. Thanks, Kristen! Can't wait for the wedding.

*** The wedding has now been moved to October due to the military interfering with Kristen's plans. Good thing though b/c she was rushing around like crazy anyway.

Skyline Byline

2008-11-19T11:45:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited about my new commission from my friend for a Kansas City skyline painting. It's going to be a multi-canvas large piece for her craft room. Thanks, Erin! I can't wait to get started.

I'm having a major design block on finishing some jewelry drawing assignments. I need jolt of inspiration to push me through!

Runs in the Family

2008-11-10T20:43:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to post this announcement about my cousin's gallery show in Seattle.

OKOK Gallery
Saturday November 8th-December 13th
Reception 7pm
info@okokgallery.com

Grant is an amazing artist. He began doing illustrations for magazines and has evolved into a fabulous painter. You can check out his work at grantbarnhart.net.

He's also featured in a new book, The Upset: Young Contemporary Art.

This was one of my favorites from his recent collection: Remember Me When, entitled "Pistol Whip."

Stories in Hand

2008-11-10T20:03:00.000-06:00

I just started an online class this week from Jessica Sprague (www.jessicasprague.com). It's a mini album for capturing stories about your family, history, & self. They supply all the pages for you, you just print them out and embellish! She calls herself a "hybrid scrapbooker" combining digital images with traditional methods. I have been wanting to get into more digital scrapbooking, so I think this will be a good introduction for me.

I'm starting to run out of room for these books and materials, so the online albums would be a good alternative. Scrapblog.com is what I'm going to try out first.

Night Owl

2008-11-09T12:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was inspired to create this little guy after attending a shower at my artist-friend's house. Audrey Eclectic is where you'll find her primitive paintings for sale.

This painting turned out to be prophetic of my night to come when my husband was sick several times in the early AM, so I didn't get much sleep. :( Poor guy.

The pink owl has been purchased from my Etsy site, but I could recreate it as a special order.