Thank You

Time for another Etsy Texas Challenge! This month's theme was Gratitude, which is noble as heck, but awfully abstract and hard to portray.

I think the team may actually have gone too abstract, and I'm not sure there's going to be enough entries here to run the challenge. But for you, my bloggy faithful, a picture:



There is nothing more hideously critical to the learning process than an audience. So thank you, mysterious people of the internet, for hanging around this rather infrequent blog. Your comments and encouragement are more appreciated than you know.

Dance Of the Bones

VOTE FOR ME! Or, you know. Vote for someone else. But vote here:
http://etsytx.ning.com/page/october-design-challenge-day


Soft skin blushes because it knows
It can never dance alone
Powder pink and sun gold,
Old and loose and young and toned,
Hot blood sweats and muscles struggle,
But the dance is made by bones.

Etsy Texas is having another one of their art challenges! The theme this time is Day of the Dead, a wonderful Halloween co-holiday that remembers those gone and invites them back into our lives. I'll post the voting link here whenever it's live, and of course you'll all go vote for me, yes? Or at least vote. Man, I'm not even in the running on this one, but I wanted to play along. I really love Dia de los Muertos, and every year I make sure to get a few calaveras and hold a memorial in the local woods. I've had no complaints, so I must be making someone happy.

I don't remember where the poem's from. Could be I got it wrong. But it was running through my head the whole time I made this.

Anyway. Go look at all the entries! There are some really amazing pieces up. And vote vote vote! Well, just vote:
http://etsytx.ning.com/page/october-design-challenge-day

And come say hi to the great people who made the entries!
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6328460

Ohmigosh, SALE!

Yeah, yeah, I have a bunch of posts you're expecting. And they're coming! But first, I would be a neglectful hostess if I didn't mention I am having a SALE! tomorrow. As part of my Etsy Texas team, who I neglect awfully, I must say, and who are having a big $5 sale for Fifth Monday. Suddenly, I love Fifth Monday and cannot wait. So, besides going to my shop, you should totally be searching ETC5. Ok?

Anyway! All my ACEOS are going to be 5 bucks. All! And I've got a few special listings planned. And I'll be putting up ACEOs as fast as time and my internet connection allow. Maybe I'll even get my shop to crack a hundred! Woo!

Ok, back to natter into the keyboard for a while.

Daily Sketch: War of the Worlds

Trying hard to make green look alien in this one:



This is the rough for my month's Etsy TX challenge. For October, we're doing War of the Worlds! Is that not aggressively awesome? I may do multiple pictures.
If you don't know the plot of WotW, I...I don't know what to say. Read a book! Wells may have been an amazingly sexist historical idiot, but he could write him some yarns.

This one is nowhere near done, but it's probably destined for printworld. I've not printed any of these massively colored pics yet. Wonder what paper will serve it best?

Monday, Monday, Monday

For those who don't know, my beloved Texas Crafters Team celebrates every Monday with some sort of promotional event. First Mondays are a big sale!

I'm offering free shipping until 1 am Eastern/Midnight Central-- see what my neighbors* are doing over here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5842381

*Standard Disclaimer: Neighbors here merely means fellow Texans. I have never met most of them; many are several days of hard driving away.

Unlike my actual neighbors, who are merely twenty minutes away.

I Have A Secret!

I have a couple actually.

The Etsy Texas team is having a team-wide secrets search today! If you find our armadillo mascot at one of the ETC stores, you get a freebie! The shop will say what the freebie is.

Here's the search tag to look for participating shops:

http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=tag_title&search_query=teametsytx+etcsecrets

I should note that not *everything* tagged with etcsecrets actually is one...but every shop using the tag has at least one secret! I should also note that looking for the darn things is really addictive!

Come play with us!