What a clean desk can do

Aw, look at my pretty clean desk :) Last week I got a wild hair and finally--FINALLY--got around to cleaning off my desk. Which meant piles of paper to the side to be sorted through, more piles of paper, many useless and meant for the trash, supplies and shipping materials put back in their nearby homes, and gooooodbye Mac!

Don't get me wrong I loved my Mac, but it was one of those old blue and white ones, about a decade old, and it was SO huge, sounded like a jet when it was running, and just couldn't handle multi-tasking the way I needed it to. But now it is very happy in its new home on Indigo's desk. It doesn't connect to the internet in there, but she can dink around on MS Word and I can hook her camera up to it and maybe even teach her a bit about Photoshop. She'll probably be an expert before I can blink :)

Anyway, what was I saying?!? Ah, yes, what a clean desk can do for you. Well, first of all I must brag that it is STILL clean, a week later! Yay Lea! Second of all, with all of this wonderfully organized space surrounding me, I was able to do all my blogging for an entire week in one day. Holy wow. A process that I am repeating this week--I have a day off from my job, so one of my catch-up tasks is spending a bit of time blogging for the whole week. In fact, you won't read this post until two days after I typed it! Is that cheating? Maybe, but I think that even after this job ends and I go back to working for myself full time, I will continue. Once my writing momentum is going, it's better to just keep the ball rolling! Plus it helps me organize my week by blogging all at once, leaving that much more time free on all of my other days.

Yay for packages!

A few days ago, I got this gorgeous set of 4 handmade napkins from kzoriginals.etsy.com in the mail! They are really soft, really pretty, and even came all wrapped up just like a present. I love that :) I don't do a whole lot of trades on Etsy, mostly because I really need the cash, but I've been wanting some fabric napkins for a long time now so I just couldn't resist. Woohoo!

Project of the Week!

I must apologize for posting this a day late this week--I have been working a part time, temporary job for the past couple of weeks and have found it challenging to get all of my own work done as well! It has been very nice to get out of the house and work on someone else's project for awhile, though, so I am not complaining. It has also given me some honest insight into how much work I really do every day! Fitting it all in to the early mornings and evenings is not something I'd like to do in the long term. :)

Anyway, to the task at hand--this week's project of the week is based around wonderfully fun and diverse wooden disks. Using a few from the stash I have listed in my supply shop, Indigo and I pulled out my collection of ephemera, paint, pin backs and bails and set to work! I made the center piece in the photo above by decoupaging some paper with a typewriter print onto one of the 1.5" wooden disks. I covered it with some Diamond Glaze and glitter, and glued a pin onto the back, and now I have a little gift for one of my friends. Hopefully I'll see her before she reads this!

Indigo was very exited about this project, and in the time it took me to make my typewriter pin, she painted a disk and glued a bail on to make a pendant, glued a poker chip, buttons, and shiny paper to another disk to make a pin, and painted several disks and glued them together to make a dog's paw print. I also painted a disk, and it inspired me to make an altered art/collage piece that's not quite finished yet.

So you can see, these little disks are great for all kinds of personalized projects! Add some paint or some ephemera and you've got yourself a great pendant, pin, magnet, ornament, or whatever else you can think of. Have fun!

Sunday is Fort Day!

It's a beautiful day outside, perfect for running around, but with the remnants of a really bad cold still hanging on, Indigo needs to stay in and relax some more. I feel for her--I can't stand that last day of being sick, when you feel so much better but if you don't relax you could take a turn for the worse the next day. So, instead of going out, we decided to make today Fort Day!

With several bedsheets, a couple of chairs and a broom, along with some clothespins, we transformed her entire bedroom into one humongous fort! Now she is a biologist in the Amazon, trapping wild animals (i.e. our cat, Maya) for study. I helped her with her wild animal studies for a bit, but feeling cramped under there, I decided I needed to go on a little expedition to the living room. Heeheehee :)

Project of the Week! Scrabble tile ornaments!

Okay, so I got really Christmas-y with this one, but it was fun! A whole group of scrabble tile ornaments will look really fun on our tree this year. Each letter is its very own ornament, and hung in a line they spell out "Happy Holidays." How cute is that?!? I'm keeping these for myself, but for a gift, it would be really cute to spell out someone's name, maybe attaching their photo to a blank tile... I'm sure you could take this one all kinds of places :)

For a step-by-step tutorial, with lots of photos, check out my newest Squidoo lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/ScrabbleOrnaments

Have fun!

I'm on Oregon Art Beat!

"Flailing in Psychedelica," 2007 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

So, I completely forgot to blog about this incredibly exiting news! Earlier in the year, a film crew from Oregon Public Broadcasting spent a good part of the day at Crafty Wonderland while I was vending. They interviewed most of the vendors and took lots of great shots of all of the artwork. It is a short piece, so I personally did not make it on, but my ACEO's did! Yay! You can watch the segment here:
http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/videos/view/200-Crafting

Election Time!

First, a funny video taking a stab at both candidates :) Okay, now for my actual post:

Yay! I just got my ballot in the mail on Friday, and I am SO exited to vote. Filling in the little circles on a ballot is so much more rewarding than any test I ever took in high school :) This may be the most important election in my lifetime, and I want my voice to be heard. Even my daughter thinks she is going to vote:

"I'm going to vote for ___!"
"I wish you could honey, but you have to be 18 to vote."
"I know, but I'm going to vote anyway. All the kids in my class say that they are too!"

Heehee, so cute :) She is only 8, but as she pointed out to me, George Bush has been the president for her whole entire life! Crazy.

Anyway, the point of this blog post is not to tell you how cute my daughter is, or to try to stick you with my own political views. I think if you talk to most people in this country, we all agree that the same issues are important--the war, the economy, health care, school funding, etc. I am always amazed at how different we all view the best fix for all of these issues, but no matter what your feelings are please, PLEASE vote!!!

I have friends who don't vote because they think their vote doesn't count, yet they will go on and on complaining about politics. I heard of an elderly Democrat who won't vote for Obama because his name sounds Middle Eastern to her. And on. The point is, your vote DOES count, so please make it an educated one. Don't be scared away by the antics in the last 2 elections. Don't vote out of fear, or if you do, then vote out of fear that the other candidate has the wrong answers, not because of a name or because of slanderous campaign tactics by either party. Take a minute out of your day to get informed about the candidates, about the issues, and vote by what your heart and your mind tell you will take this country in the best direction possible.

Whatever you do, just vote. If you are 18 or older, your voice is so important. It is time.

7 Weird Things About Me

Okay, I've been tagged recently by two of my good friends--Leah and Becky. To see just how fantastic these ladies are, you should click on their names and check out their blogs! In the meantime, it's about time I get to this challenge. 7 weird and random facts about 'lil 'ol me :) Shouldn't be too hard considering "weird" and "random" are two words that sum up a large portion of my life:

1. I have an unhealthy obsession with popcorn. I have eaten it most days of my life since sometime around 7th grade. No kidding.

2. I can do a scarily good (and very loud) monkey sound. I have a hard time if you request it though because I will start giggling uncontrollably, thereby preventing the monkey sound. I also do a chicken that beats the pants off of that clucking bunny on the Cadbury commercials.

3. In case you didn't gather from #2, I like making weird noises as well as bizarre facial expressions. This keeps my daughter endlessly entertained, and if she's not too grumpy, can change her mood into a good one more times than not. Included in my repertiore are quite a few different weird laughs, a PeeWee Herman impression, all kinds of funny voices, and a very twisty face (or 10)! Maybe I should be doing cartoon voices instead of art?!?

4. Once when I was a kid, I got pneumonia. I had an allergic reaction to the penicillin, which led to a chain reaction to every single other drug they gave me! I broke out in hives all over my entire body. I can remember sitting in the ER crying because the itchiness hurt so bad. I have never been tested since, but as far as I know I am allergic to about 80% of all antibiotics out there.

5. Speaking of hives, when I was a little girl I would get several hives on the right side of my body on the first day of every single school year.

6. I taught myself to read at 4 years old.

7. In high school I invented the chicken goddess religion. The chicken goddess was the queen of all creation, and if you did anything bad the great cows would rain upon you! I would evangelize to my friends to their great (and possibly pretend...) entertainment. I used to want to televangelize the chicken goddess religion just to see how many followers I would get before they figured out it was a joke. Ah, high school....

Alrighty then! Now that you know maybe a bit more about me than should be divulged on the inter-webs, it's time for me to tag you! Honestly, I really hate picking and choosing, so if you read this all the way through, consider yourself tagged! If you want to be :)

Studio Clearance Sale on eBay!

"A Poem in Flames," 2007 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

Many of you have heard me talk (who me, complain?!?) about my tiny studio and living space. It's truly a very small, multi-functional space. It works for me, and I'm glad to have it, but there is not any room left for creating new artwork, especially paintings. Cramped for space, I need to create some elbow room so I can get to painting again!

Which is why I am having a huge Studio Clearance Sale on eBay!!! I don't often choose eBay as a sales venue for my artwork (though I go back and forth on the idea), however, I do like the auction-style listings so that no price is a set price. I decided to do my sale there rather than on my beloved Etsy so that I can list some older work without upsetting the look, prices, and value of my shop, while selling some of my much-loved artwork that I simply need to part with. Admittedly, this is also a sort of test-run for the possibility of putting more original art here in the future.

So check it out! All pieces are starting at a super-duper low price! So you can add some new color and style to your home or office, or even get some gifts for the art-appreciators in your life without breaking the bank.

Coloring Pages!

"Floatation" by Lea Keohane, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

It's been a long time coming, but today I have finally released my newest project--coloring pages!!! You can now buy a jpeg file of one of my original (un-colored) drawings! I have 5 to list for now, and a hard-copy coloring book is in the works for the hopefully near future.

Coloring has always been one of my favorite things in the world. I can remember, as a child, sitting down with a brilliant set of markers and a great big, highly detailed poster (the kind that came in a tube) and being occupied for hours on end. A lot of my current artwork still reflects my love for filling in blank spaces of white with bright, bold swatches of color.

I thought it would be really fun to share some of my own artwork with you and your children to color in as you please. Once you purchase the file, you can print out as many copies as you like! Of course, they are only for personal use, not for resale, and I maintain all copyrights.

I can't wait to see what you all do with them!

Pumpkins!

Last Sunday Indigo and I went to a fabulous pumpkin-carving party at our friends Katie & Chris' house. It was so much fun! The morning before we went, I carved that tiny little guy for Indigo. Carving a 3" high pumpkin is a lot more challenging than it seems! Gutting him was even more difficult, as the spoon barely fit inside, and a lot of the seeds were embedded in the pumpkin meat.

At the party, between eating Doritos, Ruffles, and brownies, and running around maniacly with the other kids, Indigo designed and carved her very own pumpkin. After a lesson about using knives, I let her carve it completely by herself for the first time ever. Great job Indigo! Katie & Chris had an awesome little carving kit, and with the help of this tiny little saw, I was able to carve out this beauty. SO much better than my usual tool--a paring knife! :D

The whole day was so much fun. Unlike my picky daughter, I enjoyed all of Katie's marvelous cooking--from her special artichoke dip (evil yum!), to stuffed mushrooms and amazing chili, not to mention the grown-ups-only punch, I had more than my fill! And to top off the day, my pumpkin won best in show, and Indigo's won scariest pumpkin. Yay!

Thanks Katie and Chris--you guys rock!

Project of the Week! Shrinky Dinks!

Due to a temporary job that I took on for the week, this week's project will be short and sweet. Shrinky dinks! This amazing plastic stuff is incredibly versatile. You can color them with any design you want, punch a hole in the top, and add a ribbon for a really awesome, personalized pendant or ornament. You could make a smaller design and attach it to a ring or bobby pin, a pin back or anything else you come up with! After coloring, you just pop the plastic in the oven and watch as it shrinks to about 2/3 the original size. Fun!

I have a small kit listed in my shop, complete with instructions. If you have a larger shrinky dink project in mind, you can buy them at your local craft store. I have even seen them at fine art supply shops! I have tried a couple of different brands, and personally I prefer the original Shrinky Dink brand. It shrinks more evenly than the others, and the "frosted ruff & ready" is already prepared for use with colored pencils. The smooth kinds can be used with sharpie or other permanent markers.

If you are worried about your drawing skills, you can always trace your design! Or you can buy someone else's shrinky-dink art on etsy :) I have a number of great pendants listed in my art shop and also for sale at Union Rose on MLK in Portland if you are local.

Have a great week!

Perspective

I am no financial or spiritual guru. I am just like you. I am a single mom, running my own business, an artist trying to make ends meet. I have financial and emotional baggage like anyone else. With the way the economy has been turning the past couple of weeks, as well as events occurring in my own life, I have been thinking a lot about perspective.

I was talking to a friend recently about creating your own reality. She said to me, "If it's really true that you can create your own reality, I have to look at the world today and think, 'This is not my reality!'" It's not mine either, and there are a lot of things happening in the world that I have absolutely no control over. So what can I control? What can I change? How can I take all of this negativity and turn it around in my own life? I don't have the answers, but here are some of the things I have been thinking about. I would like to share them, first to solidify them in myself, and second to hear your opinions and ideas.

First of all, the economy. If you watch the news, you are probably terrified. I saw Suze Orman on tv the other day talking about credit, and how we are turning back into a cash economy. At first that sounded so scary! Then I thought, I have terrible credit, but I have no credit cards, no house payments, no car payment. Besides living and business expenses, the only debt I have is my student loan. Not so bad for someone with bad credit! So, maybe I don't have any credit, but I haven't for a long time, so that doesn't really affect me. I may not have good credit, but I do work and darn hard, and I do have the capacity to make money. If anything, this global financial crisis gives me even more of an impetus to work harder, increase my income, and save like I never have before.

So, speaking of the news, I have been thinking about television. Lately I have been watching, besides the handful of shows I normally would watch in a week, a lot of movies and dramatic series (like Law & Order, for example), on Netflix during the day while I work. Sounds harmless, right? Except that many mornings I wake up with these characters and scenarios in my head. I don't remember my dreams very often, but I have to wonder, if I am waking up this way then what the heck was I thinking about all night long? How are these shows affecting my psyche?

I am not saying you or I should stop watching tv, but it's time to take a step back and consider what you are inundating your subconcious with. Watching Heroes every Monday (for example) may not be a problem, but how many other shows do you watch? What does that do to your thought patterns? What if, instead of watching horribly stressful and dramatic shows like ER or SVU, I watched comedies, or shows with a more relaxing and positive message, or listened to music? What if, instead of watching the news and listening to their panic-creating tactics, you checked out a video or a book from the library that inspired you to get your personal financial life in order? It may not seem like such a big thing, but I have a feeling that some underlying stress and anxiety may just disappear.

The third thing I have been thinking about is my own self-image. There are things I love about myself, and others that I'd really like to change. My problem with change is that I often take on several self-changing projects all at once until I'm so overwhelmed that I fail at all of them. Sounds fun, huh? ;) But I have been trying to regard myself with more love and compassion, to not be so hard on myself for my failings. Again, I don't necessarily have the answer. But this morning I was looking at my refridgerator, covered in Indigo's art, and realized it was one of those times that I needed to clear it off to make room for this year's projects.

As I took down all of the pictures, I uncovered one that Indigo had drawn of me. As a mama, it can break your heart if you think too hard about how you feel about your child, and even more if you think about how they feel about you. All young children want in the world is their mama and their daddy, and they see you as beautiful and wise, and perfect just how you are. I decided at that moment to leave that particular drawing up. Not only because I love it, but as a gentle reminder to let go of my guilt and try to see myself the way she sees me. Always beautiful, always wearing a princess dress, and always surrounded by lots and lots of floating hearts.

Supply Your Holidays with the Team ESST sale!

It is time for the Etsy Supply Street Team's bi-annual sale! This sale's theme is "Supply Your Holidays" with Team ESST.

From midnight tonight (Tuesday), through midnight Sunday the 12th, I will be offering a FREE washi paper scrap pack with every order at SupplyRiot. Check out this link for all of the other great Team ESST supply shops and stock up for all of your holiday gift buying & making!
http://EtsySupplyStreetTeam.etsy.com

And don't forget--supplies make great gifts all by themselves for your craftiest friends :)

Project of the Week!

Happy Monday! It's time again for the Project of the Week! As you may know from last week, I am introducing a new project every Monday all the way up to the holidays. No matter what the state of the economy is, making your own gifts is fun and inexpensive, as well as far more personal than any store-bought gift could ever be. Plus, if you buy your supplies from small businesses, you are doing your part to support someone who really needs it and putting your money in a place that will help bail all of us out--the local economy.

This week's project is magnets! Super fun, inexpensive, and incredibly versatile, magnets make a great gift or a fantastic way to display your own artwork and offer a lower-cost item to customers that may not be able to afford original art. Make them with your own artwork, clip art, fancy decorative paper, or photos! How much more personal can you get?!?

For a step-by-step tutorial, with lots of photos and easy to follow instructions, as well as links to where you can get your supplies, check out this Squidoo lens I created over the weekend:
http://www.squidoo.com/artmagnets

Have fun!

Saturday is a great day for art making!

"Spiral," 2008 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, so not ALL Saturdays are good for art making, but today was! In addition to cleaning my living room, writing a new squidoo lens (I'll be showing it off on Monday for the project of the week!), making a super-secret holiday project for a future project of the week, and taking a walk, I re-watched "Pan's Labryinth" on Netflix while I finished up this drawing I've been working on. Whew! Are you tired from reading all of that, because I am tired from doing it! :)

The above drawing is in watercolor, colored pencil, and ebony pencil on paper. It measures about 8.5" x 8 7/8." Lately I have been needing a boost in creativity and motivation, and switching to a medium (or mediums, more like it!) that I haven't worked in for awhile is doing the trick. I am really enjoying the looseness of watercolor layered with the more exact look of pencils. This drawing is even better in person--my scanner didn't catch the wonderful shininess of the black ebony pencil.

October!

As you may remember, I didn't post any specific goals for September other than dealing with some personal issues. Which I did! I cannot say that I am at 100% yet, but I am getting there. I was going through some situational depression, and with the help of my doctor and my acupuncturist (did you know that acupuncture can help with major life transitions?!? It really really can!) I am feeling SO much better. I am also exercising every day, eating better, and going to bed early enough to get 8 hours of sleep every night, the benefit of which cannot be underestimated. I am so truly and amazingly grateful for my acupuncturist, however, because that has been the most immediately and overwhelmingly helpful thing in getting me through this time. Also for my amazing friends who have been so incredibly helpful and supportive, as they always are :)

My sales in September were fantastic, including some art sales and some unexpected but much needed side jobs! So for October I am looking to more of the same. I am applying for some holiday sales, increasing my inventory, get back to creating art every day, and listing a lot of new artwork that is just sitting here waiting to get into my shop :) I am also posting more flyers for my portraits, applying for a part-time job (about 10 hours a week is what I'm looking for, just for some steady extra income), and getting ready for some holiday action in my supply shop. Sounds like a great month just waiting to happen!