Saturday, November 29, 2008

December Give Away!

'Tis the season for giving ... so my gift to my blog readers is a 5x7 of their choice from my shop!

Simply visit jmcguinness.etsy.com and tell me which photo you like best. If you win, you'll receive your pick!

Deadline to enter is December 12.

Good luck!


P.S. Congratulations to Annette who won our Christmas card giveaway!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Holiday Shopping with the CT Etsy Team


Kirstie of the Connecticut Etsy Team has created a gift guide for the holiday season. It came out really nice! Click here to check it out!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Buy One, Get One Free Sale!

Free item must be of equal or lesser value. When checking out, please indicate in "Message to Seller" what your free item is. Valid Nov. 27 through Dec. 1.

Visit jmcguinness.etsy.com to shop. :)

Enter code BLOG READER to get an extra special freebie! :)


In addition... the CT Etsy Team is also having a sale this weekend. Click here to see a list of shops with their offers!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Holiday List

I'm going to try and do the majority of my holiday shopping on Etsy this year. I'd rather support individual artists and artisans than some big corporation.

It's always so hard to find the right gift for everyone on your list. But that's what I love about etsy... there's something for everyone on there!

For the music lover...


This fun, screen printed shirt is from Salmon Street Studio for $26.

For the dashcund lover...


This little cutie is $13 from the Ginger Card Co., and is made from EcoSpun felt, which is recycled from plastic bottles!

For the crafty one...

Woolpets offers several DIY kits for needlefelting. The one above is $18, but others vary in price between $16 and $20. And it's great for the bird lover, too!


Not sure what to give...

Who couldn't use a pretty bowl for company? Pottery is a great option when you're not sure what they'll really want for Christmas. This lovely heart bowl is $20 from Red Hot Pottery and is food, dishwasher and microwave safe!

For the die-hard journalist...


This lovely photo from MKC Photography gives a up-close look at the keys of a vintage Remington typewriter. Available in multiple sizes, this listing is for an 8x10 matted photograph for $25.

For the coworkers...

Morgan Street Soap offers delicious-looking cold process soaps, at just the right price. For $5.50 a slice, this little piece of heaven is a great option to show coworkers you're thinking about them this holiday, too.

Off to search some more!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Cards Help Bunnies :)

I'm still trying to get a grip on my inbox, and while weeding it out today, I came upon an update from Cats, Rabbits and More.

The San Luis Obispo Buns Urgently Needing Shelter (SLOBUNS) rescue group in Central California has created five greeting cards featuring rescued rabbits, with 100 percent of the proceeds going back to SLOBUNS.


That lovely little lop is one of the featured cards on the Web site. Each 5x7 card is $3.50. What a cute idea for holiday gifts!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

More ACEOs :)

I've added two more ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) to my shop today.



I definitely felt motivated to upload the monarch photo today. It's SO cold in the Northeast today- when I got to work it was 27 degrees (F)! Looking at that photo helps me forget that the leaves are gone and that my hands are chapped!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Broke 10,000 words!

This NaNoWriMo has been harder for me to complete than last year's -- and I thought nothing could beat last year's! I'm still far behind, but I crossed the 10,000 word mark today. Here's the selection that helped me make that goal.

OK. Back to work. ;-)

Mom was the Take-Out Queen later in life. If they messed up her order in any way, she made sure that they knew. Did the pizza restaurant forget the free bread? She’d get back on the phone and let them know in a not-so-nice way. It was comical to get mom started –not for the person on the other end of the phone at the restaurant, of course! Before placing her order, she’d mutter that they were incompetent and mused if they would get the order right this time.

(Other people would just stop going to that restaurant. )

So even though she gave the pizza place a hard time, she had a soft spot for the owner, Greg. He’d laugh with my Dad when Dad would pick up our food order.

“Is the bread in the bag?” he called back to his staff before giving the order to Dad. “Wouldn’t want to make her upset,” he’d say with a grin as he handed the order over.

He found it funny, and after a while, it was rare if the bread was left out.

Before Mom passed away, she had ordered a special, gourmet cheese as a gift for Greg. But she passed away before she could give it to him. When the box arrived, my dad felt a bit sullen. But he drove up to the pizza restaurant, this time with no order waiting to be picked up, to drop off the cheese.

When he walked in, Greg greeted him and checked the board instinctively for the order. Dad explained it wasn’t there- that mom had passed away suddenly.

Greg didn’t know what to say as the smile disappeared from his face.

“She bought this for you,” dad offered.

In his outstretched hand, he offered the gourmet cheese.

A tear ran down Greg’s cheek.

Monday, November 17, 2008

End of November Give Away!

Mishkat won our last give away this weekend! Congratulations!

Now... for our End of November Give Away...




Three photo cards -- one of each image shown above!

To enter, leave a comment here about what type of holiday cards you like to send.

Deadline to enter is November 26.
We'll have the drawing over Thanskgiving weekend!

Good luck!



November 29 Update:
Annette won our giveaway! Congratulations!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

"Love you"


I took one of my older flower shots today and "retooled" it. I like it far more now.

Interview with Julia Jasinski

Recently I interviewed Julia Jasinski, an EFA member who was one of three winners in the EFA Birthday Bash earlier this fall. This story was originally published here. Check out the site for other great interviews!


Julia Jasinski, the artist who runs Schmoomunitions, is one of the three winners of the recent EFA Artists Helping Animals Birthday Bash – Win for Your Animals! Each month Julia donates 10 percent of the proceeds from her shop to the EFA Charity of the Month.

"My paintings are 90 percent of the time pictures of cats done in acrylic, gouache, collage and colored pencil," she says. "I also do dogs and various other animals I learn about." She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago in painting and bookbinding.

"While studying art in college, I painted vaguely figurative work, more 'fine art,' but the paintings I hung up at home were the cat pictures I made for myself," she says. "I then kind of let myself off the hook with attempting to make serious gallery work and decided I'm only going to paint what I love even though it may be 'cute.' That allowed me to produce so much more work and it is so much more fun. I like my art to have a sense of humor, too." When she's not creating art, Julia works as a veterinary assistant for a house call veterinarian. "I truly enjoy comforting them and getting them on the path to health," she says. "It is what makes me able to wake up in the morning."

"When something bad/tragic/sad happens at work, I make little paintings of those animals. I like to think my paintings help the animals spirits pass over to the other side. Especially when the death is sudden, I worry those little souls are lost and I consider it a ritual to thank them and value them and get them moving on their journey," she says. " Often the people just leave their animal with us to euthanize and I feel it is my duty to make their last moments on earth peaceful and I tell them they are so loved, and that they can leave this pain-filled earth and go be free. And I apologize for the harm they might have received at the hands of humans."

Working with Angels Paws to Help Animals

Julia's favorite animal rescue organization is the Kenosha, Wisconsin-based Angels Paws. Angels Paws is a home-based foster rescue dedicated to helping shelter animals that would otherwise be euthanized. Though based in Wisconsin, Angels Paws rescues animals from Chicago Animal Care and Control. "The animals at Chicago Animal Care and Control are the first to be put to sleep," she says. "That's why I believe Angels Paws is doing a wonderful, wonderful thing by picking up cats, dogs and rabbits to adopt out."

Julia also cares for a group of feral cats that she's spayed and neutered through trap and release. "Angels Paws have helped me re-home my feral cats, too. I'm happy to say two years later -- everyone is fixed."

Julia lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her boyfriend and many cats. Her vast gallery collection of her artwork can also be found on schmoomunitions.com.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

NaNoWriMo & Blog Feature

For those following the little ticker at the above right, I'm participating in the National Novel Writing Month fun. Despite pink sticky notes exclaiming "NaNoWriMo!" all over my work and home computers, I'm feeling the writing block coming on pretty strong already.

To be frank - I have no plot. I am writing aimlessly with what comes to mind. My last 500 words were poetry. Which felt great to write and came so easily to me that I wonder if I shouldn't finish off the remaining 41,378 words that way.

Whoa.

For those unfamiliar with this project, the goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words between November 1 and 30. Those who have succeeded recommending not rereading and editing your work thus far. Just keep going.

That's what Rob keeps reminding me.

"Just get the words out."

So -- here's my excerpt from my poetry blitz earlier today.

~

How do you live without a mother?

How do you live without the sound of her voice?

The one who you once took for granted- what do you do when she is gone?

You can go through her things

Finger the sweater that used to keep her warm

Use the coffee mug that she refilled every day.

Who do you go to for advice?

Who do you go to when you need to hear her words?

How do you find her in your every day life?

Is she the monarch that sways in the breeze?

Is she the bird that calls as the morning sun rises?

Is she part of the ancient trees and wisdom of the forest?

I search for her everyday

On the cold, dark drive home

On the trip to the store

Finding gifts she would like for Christmas – and then realizing she isn’t there to enjoy them

How do you go on living without a mother?

The one who fought to keep you alive

Who sacrificed so much

How do you ever repay her?

I think you can find her in love

When you nurture a plant on your windowsill

Keeping the porch light on for those who are lost

Appreciating all of the good things

That she made possible for you

Even when she left you behind.

~

It's a bit rough and I already see things that could be tweaked, but in "ignore it until later fashion," I'm going to leave it and focus on getting the remaing 41,000+ words out first.


P.S.
Just found out my lovebirds were featured over on the POE blog! Check it out!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Always back up your files!

ALWAYS!

That was a terrible lesson to learn last Thursday night when I received an order and the file corrupted when I went to fulfill it. Usually I am pretty good about backing up my photos to a stand-alone hard drive, as well as the computer, and a CD or DVD. In this case, the file corrupted, and there was no backup.

EEP!

Luckily it turned out OK in the end, but it spurred me to take new photos this weekend. (My poor cupcakes were the victims of the backup malady.)

So beginning this week I will be uploading new cupcake photo cards in my shop!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Vote vote vote!

Go out and vote today if you live in the U.S.!

Monday, November 3, 2008

New items!

I am now offering ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals) in my shop! These small photos (2.5"x3.5") are an affordable and fun way to collect art and photography. They will be signed and numbered on the back.




I've also created my first bookmark, from my "Moon Over Middletown" photo. :)

What are you working on?