Brighten your day

I'm trying to not focus on the chill in the air and the brown snow on the ground. Here are some gorgeous items on etsy that has me ready to welcome spring! (Click on the photos to see the listing.)

This beautiful shamrock is from g(ART)en fine art photgraphy, which can be found at ajawin.etsy.com. I absolutely adore the coloring and the dew drops!

Yum... delicious raspberries for the taking at LeaSeguin.etsy.com.


Gah! This adorable bird from HomemadeZen.etsy.com is too cute!

These delicate tulips can be found in JoannasPhotography.etsy.com. They remind me of Easter!


What are your springtime inspirations?

Sick of winter

We've been assaulted lately with storm after storm dropping snow and ice on us. Usually I'm pretty good humored about snow. And winter is also a season I wish I had more photographs of. But the ice and muck everywhere has reached it's limit for me. Today my half hour commute took an hour, and when I was five minutes away from work, my car started to skid as it hit a patch of ice. Luckily (I must have had an angel one each tire), I was able to steer out of hitting the car in the next lane and avoid going into the frozen pond on my right.

Yep. I'm done with winter.

End of January Give Away!

It's that time again -- and the first give away of 2009!

Up for grabs is one photo necklace with a black cord from my shop - your choice! (Some choices are shown above.) These photo necklaces are made with a scrabble tile on the back, and come with a simulated leather cord.

To enter, tell me what fun things you are working on. New Valentine's items for your shop? A new artistic project? Leave a comment below!

Deadline to enter is January 31!

Sapphire Update :)

Sapphire came to visit us at work today. She's doing very well, especially considering the week she's been through! She has her pain meds and she's eating, but her mom would like for her to eat a bit more. She has about an 8 inch incision, which is covered in this photo. (Wearing a shirt helps her leave the area alone.) Of course, we are raising money to pay for her surgery.

Your good wishes and positive thoughts are working! Keep them up! :)

(At right, check out Sapphire and her mum.)

Pretty Please... With a Cherry on Top?

I've been wanting to make chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream frosting for a while now! Today I got my chance. Topped with dark chocolate shavings and a cherry on top! All three are available in my shop as photo cards.

Indie Smiles sale

Last week I won a showboat feature through an Indie Smiles contest on twitter! I'm participating in a 20% off sale in my shop from now through January 31. (Valid on all items in the shop except our fundraising for Sapphire and my sale section.) Use code 20SMILES in the notes to seller box. It can be redeemed at http://jmcguinness.etsy.com. To see our feature, visit http://indiesmiles.com/McGuinness-photography. :)

Sapphire Update

I wanted to do a new post on Sapphire, and her mom left us an update earlier today:

Well, Sapphire has gone through all of her tests (and was a very good girl!). She had her tummy shaved, had an ultra-sound, and had a chest x-ray- all on top of her bloodwork- and with no anesthesia. The tests came back with good results and the cancer is confined to one area. We now have to decide when/if to schedule her surgery. They feel they can remove the mass with semi-clean margins. But I am worried about the wound. It is a very large area and in the same spot as her last surgery; when she had a hard time healing. If we don't do surgery, the cancer will continue to grow. So we are basically resigned to scheduling her surgery sometime next week. All good thoughts and prayers are welcome as we try to figure out the best plan of action.

We are continuing to fund raise for Sapphire, especially since all her preliminary tests were pretty expensive. We've raised $67.50 so far through our etsy shop and direct donations. Thank you to all who donated so far! Please keep sending your positive thoughts her way!

Here are our updated listings, where 100% of the proceeds go to Sapphire.

Limited Edition ACEO ($3): http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=19518414

Set of Four Cards ($12) : http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19281450

5x7 Photograph ($15): http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=19160305

8x10 photograph ($25): http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=19160201

Orchids

I finally listed this photo in our etsy shop tonight. Rob took it last spring, and while it traveled the fair circuit with us in 2008, it somehow slipped through the cracks of being added to our online shop. I love it with a 4x10 crop.

Orchids are one plant that I now hold dear. When my mom was alive, she would always find an excuse to purchase a new orchid. She'd be lucky if they rebloomed after initially being brought home. I never paid much attention to them.

Then, after she passed away in 2005, it seemed like orchids were everywhere I looked. In my grief, they took on a new meaning-- a new living connection to her. When I approached her first birthday without her, I drove myself to her favorite greenhouse and impulsively purchased two purple orchids from them. They were a little pricey, but I felt consoled.

Now, almost four years later, the same orchids have rebloomed for me twice a year on a consistent schedule--once around her birthday (March/April), and once again around her death (September/October). Over the summer, I purchased a new orchid to add to the flock, which I noticed today is sending out new shoots to begin new blooms again.

Our store has a wide variety of orchid photos now that we both pay more attention to them. Rob and I joke that if my mom was still here, her walls would have been covered with them.

I hope they bring happiness to your household, correspondence and computer screens as well.

Battling Bronchitis

The last few days have been a blur. I somehow got a nasty strain of bronchitis that has caused me to miss three days of work. I've spent a lot of time in bed, trying to rest. My energy is zapped and my appetite is lacking.

I know I said I wanted to lose weight this year, but this is ridiculous!

Anyway, all kidding aside, I think the medicine from the doctor is finally working. But I had my doubts in the beginning, especially when I had chills and a fever. I began to wonder if it really was bronchitis, or maybe worse-- the flu.

When I was waiting for the doctor, the nurse was asking me all sorts of questions while she took my blood pressure.

"Have you ever had a flu shot?"

"No..." I paused. It seemed like she tried to hide a smirk. "I've never had one."

I instantly began to wonder if that was the right approach to have. Maybe all along I should have been getting flu shots. With my blood pressure fine, she soon left. The doctor entered shortly thereafter. She determined that I did not have the terrible virus that seems to be spreading, where people just cough and retch for two weeks straight. There isn't anything they can do to help them, since the virus just has to work its way out.

Thank God I don't have that.

So I'm still recuperating, but I hope to be back and at it real soon. Stay healthy everyone!

Interview with Miniature Patisserie

One day on etsy I was searching through various doll house pieces, and found Pei Li's Dollhouse Miniatures. Not only were they beautiful, but they were pastry themed-- and perfect for a doll house bakery or cake shop! I was amazed by the detail she recreated in 1:12 the size, and wanted to find out more.

How did you get started in creating miniature pastries?

Pei Li: My interest started a few years ago, when I collected a few Japanese miniature toys. After collecting a few, I discovered it wasn’t enough for me and I was more interested to learn how they were being made. Since young, I have always been interested in art and craft. My first experience with creating miniature pastries was two years back using paper clay and since then, there was no turning back.

Where do you find inspiration for the miniature pastries you create?

Pei Li: I find inspiration from visiting interesting upscale bakery shops in where I live, nothing beats looking at the real thing and figuring how to create and capture that realism into miniatures. I look at the texture, color, trying to remember all the tiny details as much as I can! I also surf the internet to look at beautiful pastry photography for inspiration. There are many websites, blogs I found that are my inspiration. I also collect a few books on cakes, pastry making where I have a habit of looking and browsing at them while in bed before I go to sleep.

Do you have a culinary background? (Because your pastries look like the real thing!)

Pei Li: No! Haha. I would love to learn to bake, but I don’t have an oven at home. One of my goals in the coming new year would be to enroll in a few classes of pastry making classes from a pastry chef.

Is this your day job or something you do on the side?

Pei Li: Crafting is my side line, I do have a day job. I am seeing if there is a possibility to expand this further, and I am thinking of teaching a few classes next year.

How did you discover etsy?

Pei Li: I don’t exactly recall that, but it was a few years ago. I believe I was looking for dollhouse miniatures and came upon “etsy”. I did not start selling or buying till recently.

To see more of Pei Li's work, visit her shop.

Etsy Buy Handmade miniaturepatisserie