Hello dear friends, I am so excited to share my new space with you. Please follow the link to my new blog! Also, please remember to update the new address in your reader. Come on over!!!!! Continue reading

You have to head over to Shalon Estrada's Pretty Lovely blog and check out her giveaway! Shalon is celebrating her second year of business and wants to share her success and gratitude with you! You have a chance to win some great prizes! One of those prizes is a $25 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Cool right? But, wait until you see the other great prizes!!!! What are you waiting for? Get over there! Oh So Posh Ultimate Actions Collection $175.00 Kelly Moore Gift Certificate $50.00 Ruche Gift Card Sweet Soda Frames $30.00 Marolsha Gift Card Continue reading

My new website and blog are almost ready to share with you! Yay! My old website has gone away and there is just a little teaser there. I feel so lucky to have found Jo Klima of The Darling Tree to design my new site. The process has been so fun and quite honestly, so pleasurable for me. Jo is uber talented and has such a beautiful aesthetic that I felt totally comfortable handing the project over to her. It is a scary thing to hand over control of your look when your an artist and she has done a... Continue reading

Have you ever read The Daily OM? I love it. My friend Katie sent me this article yesterday and I thought I would share it with you. It has taken me a very long time to get where I am. Where am I? I feel like I am on the cusp of my dreams. I am a believer that everything happens when it is supposed to but, I can't help wondering where I would be if I allowed myself to be brave sooner? For the longest time I wouldn't allow myself to step outside of my comfort zone and take... Continue reading

I spent my Saturday at a workshop by my friend Carol Maguire. We spent the day creating wonderful and meaningful boxes made from images, art and sentiment. It was such a nice break from my life, things have been crazy busy lately and I needed a break. It's funny how even my breaks have something to do with art. Here is the box I made. Here are some of the beautiful creations by the other students. It was a magical day. Continue reading

Do you paint from your heart? Do you "feel" while you are painting and let those feelings guide your paintbrush? Or, are you so in your head while you are creating you block the flow of energy that will guide you to where you need to be? I used to create from my head, I would use reference or photographs, I would be so obsessed with what was going on with my work every step of the process. I would allow fear in and it would bind my spirit and block my creativity. Sound familiar? Somewhere along the way, I... Continue reading

Do you believe that your dreams can come true? If your answer is no, why is that? It took me a long time to realize that I could make my dreams come true and live a life I love. I feel like I am finally touching the rim of the space I am supposed to be a part of. I think the hardest thing to learn is knowing that you are worthy of having this wonderful experience. Feelings of fear and not being good enough traps and holds your energy and blocks your dreams from manifesting. Dream big, believe in... Continue reading

I received this in the mail today! I love the work of Jessica Swift. I love getting her Treasuring blog updates in my email and am always amazed by all of the things she is doing. Jessica launched her first line of rain boots this year that she manufactured herself! She also manufactures and sells journals, coasters, prints, notebook, pillows.... the list goes on, on her e-commerce site. Jess is also a licensed artist with an impressive porfolio and list of licensing partners. This excerpt is from her website: "I'm crazy-obsessed with color. And the way images speak and capture... Continue reading

I attended the NY Gift Fair today with my friend Carol Maguire. Our day started off a little rough, we left the house at 8:30 for what should have been an hour and a half drive but, due to a closed road took us three hours. We were a little frazzled by the time we arrived but soon got into the fun of the show and had a great time. I first attended the gift fair in 1995 with my same friend Carol, while working for a doll manufacturing company, Little Souls, Inc. I was a buyer and designer and... Continue reading

I am so excited to share this news with you! I am now being represented by MHS Licensing! Yes, I now have an agent and am so grateful and happy. So many thoughts and emotions went into making this decision. I went back and forth so many times thinking "I should try to get an agent" to "maybe I can do it myself". There is a new trend in the industry of designers taking it into their own hands and getting their own licensing deals, which is amazing. There was a part of me that wanted to be a part... Continue reading

Have you heard of the Brave Girls Club? It is an amazing community created by Melody Ross and her sister Kathy Wilkens. Brave Girls Club is a worldwide community of women who want to live the best, happiest, most productive and fabulously brave life they can possibly live…and that means something different to every single one of us. Brave Girls Club is an online community, a portal for amazing connections, a news source for everyday heroes, a resource for great ideas, amazing endeavors, everyday problem solving, realistic recipes and unforgettable get-togethers. Brave Girls Club is a place to feel free,... Continue reading

This video was shared by one of my classmates over at the Hello Soul, Hello Business e-course by Beth Nicholls and Kelly Rae Roberts. I am amazed at how connected this 95 year old woman is with her body. It really spoke to me. I need to make changes in my life. My friend Maia from julia warr on Vimeo. Continue reading

I just posted this new print to my Etsy shop. I am excited about this new look and am interested to see what kind of response it gets. It is a mixed media piece with a mixture of my watercolor and acrylic paintings and a vintage postcard too. Hope your having a great weekend! I am in Surtex prep mode. I am trying to get a lot of painting accomplished over the next couple of days. Once that is done, I will scan in the art, make pattern collections and central images and then some products sheets showing how the... Continue reading

I have been having trouble blogging lately and I'm not sure why. I have been blogging for almost 6 years now and have never felt this way. I'm at a loss. So, I am just going to sit here and write. I am pretty happy these days, my health seems to be improving with some good days mixed in with the bad ones... yay! My creative life is at an all time high. I will be showing at Surtex in May and I am freaking out over it. I have so much to do! Maybe that is why I am... Continue reading

I love the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. It is the perfect time to reflect on the year that is leaving you and make plans and dream of new dreams for the coming year and beyond. This past year was filled with highs and lows, challenges and dreams come true. I left my full-time job last November and started my freelance business, my non-compete contract expired and I started my licensing business!!! I spent three months getting treated with IV antibiotics for my 12 year battle with Lyme disease, I'm still not sure if it worked and it... Continue reading

A big thank you to Jennifer Cox for featuring my work on her blog! Jennifer's blog is Sweet Sprout Designs and I love it. Check it out! Thanks again, Jennifer! Continue reading

Sweet wishes for a peaceful, joy filled holiday to all of you! Be present with your family and friends, forget about work and life's stresses and enjoy each minute of your time together. Happy Holidays! Big hugs and love to you! Continue reading

I was so excited yesterday when I received this gift in the mail from the lovely Kelly Rae Roberts, and Beth Nicholls of Do What You Love for participating in their e-course, Hello Soul, Hello Business! Thanks ladies! What a nice gift, I love it! I can't wait for the e-course to start on January 16th. Are you participating? Please, please, consider it. I would love to see you there. Here is a small taste of what is being offered. This excerpt was taken from the Hello Soul, Hello Business website. AND! There's more! Go to the Hello Soul, Hello... Continue reading

It is the crazy season and time for an update! Life has been very full these last couple of weeks. Work has been busy, I have a few licensing deals in the works and I am hoping to sign with a licensing agent soon. I still keep pinching myself and hope this good energy continues to move forward. My health seems to be steadily improving, I am able to get a lot more accomplished these days and I am incredibly grateful for that. I also sent out a package with my pattern designs out to some fabric companies for licensing,... Continue reading

These two prints are now available at my Etsy shop. Also, check out today's offerings over at the Artist Charity Auction! Floating Flowers available here. Full of Dreams available here. Continue reading

Check out this great charity auction sponsored by the amazing Khristian A. Howell! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to charity! What a great way to celebrate the holiday season and get some great gifts for your favorite people! I will be participating in the auction too, so please head on over and and treat yourself or your loved one to some great products and help someone in need too. Celebrate the Season! Continue reading

I read this post today by Kelly Rae Roberts that I love. The post was written to congratulate Do What You Love's Beth Nicholls on her one year business anniversary. In the post Kelly talks about that moment in time when you sense that change is coming. Excerpt from Kelly's post: "I often think about a journal entry I wrote in 2005, just before discovering my passion for art: ever have that feeling that you are just going to bust at the seems with happiness, anticipation, and inspiration? like you are on the edge of something great? like you are... Continue reading

Well, posting from my mobile seems to have worked. With social media on the rise blogging seems to be taking a back seat these days. Where is the line drawn for content that is posted on blogs and SM? This is something I need to think about. I love the instant gratification of posting to my social media sites and love the care I take when posting to my blog. Maybe they should remain apart? Oh, so many questions, so many choices! I would love for you to follow me on Instagram! It is a social media app for your... Continue reading

I am experimenting with posting to my blog from my mobile phone. I have been spending a lot of time on instagram ( more about that later) and love it. It automatically posts to my Facebook and Twitter accounts but not to my blog and I would love to figure out a way to make blogging easier and share all of the content from instagram here. I have been sharing photos of my art and life on these other sites and feel bad that my blog is not included. I am sending this from my phone, it is a picture... Continue reading

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving here in the States and for everyone else I hope you have a great day full of gratitude for all things in your life. I try to practice gratitude everyday, I am thankful for everything I have, for all of the things that make up my life from friends and family to material possessions but, most importantly, I am thankful for my challenges because that is where the learning happens the most. Our challenges make us stronger, show us where we need work, and help us to realize how important others are... Continue reading