Monday, October 19, 2009

Just a little sun, please?

If only my inner sunshine was enough sometimes! One of the realities of living in a less than sunny place is the lack of sunshine! I really should invest in a couple of indoor lamps for photography. I ordered two plastic heads to display my hats on, and this post would be full of hat pictures if the weather had only co-operated. When the sun did peek out from behind the clouds on the weekend, it wasn't for very long. Today a cold front swooped in. Brrrr! I'm hoping the robin that is tootling about our neighbourhood knows it is time to head south now!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

For the birds!

This is my new feathered friend, Mr. Muffin.




Muffin


He is a giveaway cockatiel that I picked up two days after picking up Mr. Jill's little body from the vet. It breaks my heart that Mr. Jill isn't here - he was such a playful budgie - but unfortunately they are poorly bred and don't often live long. Muffin is the kind of bird I have wanted my whole life - friendly, tame, a whistler and a clown.

I have to admit my previous budgie, Moxie, came very close to this. I often told people that Moxie was the most perfect budgie ever! It's been over half a year and I still miss the pretty little guy. Bonding with birds just isn't the same as bonding with another pet. Pet birds have to choose you, you can't force your affection on them. Again, it's true of any pet, but birds tend to have greater self-preservation than dogs and cats. For a bird to step up on you takes a lot of trust.

Although I have loved horses all my life, birds come such a close second, if not first at times. It kind of makes me happy that they're a trendy subject right now - especially since they are also one of the most visible forms of urban wildlife out there. Here's to the birds!

Monday, October 12, 2009

I have a winner!

Congratulatons to pinkglitterfae, who won the "Odd Angles" ACEO Treasure Hunt! Wow, I kept typing "Angels" there for the longest time. It was so much fun - I'm looking forward to next time. Maybe I'll have more ACEOs to choose from then.

Right now I'm taking a life drawing class on Tuesday nights at the art college. I'm hoping to have some nice nudes by the end to include in my college application portfolio. Drawing a person from life is so much different than a photograph.

Oh, and yes, I hope any Canadians out there have had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! We have a touch of snow here that I'm hoping won't last long - my father in law has been busy building us a garage, and he's so close to finishing. Sometimes it's a tough race beating Old Winter Man winter!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

My First Treasure Hunt!

Well, I'm so excited about today! This is my first Blog to Blog Treasure Hunt! It's such a fun idea. Would you like to win this "Odd Angles" ACEO? Read on below!


Odd Angles


For every comment that you make on the Treasure Hunt posts from Monday (today) until midnight EST on Friday, October 9th, your name will be entered in a drawing to win a free ACEO IF you complete the Treasure Hunt loop by visiting all of the participating artists. You have a chance to win a free ACEO from me and one from each of the other participating artists by participating in this Blog to Blog Treasure Hunt. Cool huh?

ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. Some of you may know that I love making these little cards up and have them for sale on Etsy and Artfire. Occasionally I do swaps too! They are trading card size, 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches (6.4 cm x 8.9 cm). They're fun to make and collect - learn more about them at this website.

Here are the Rules for my Treasure Hunt:

1. Complete the loop of all participating artists to qualify for the drawings. Here is a list of all of the participating blogs for The Odd Angles Blog to Blog Treasure Hunt:

Kathy ::: http://www.tapestry316.blogspot.com/
Pam ::: http://alwaysartistic.blogspot.com/
Carole ::: http://readingsully2.blogspot.com/
Marlene ::: http://marlenes-musings.blogspot.com/
Allie ::: http://www.allieart4children.blogspot.com/

2. Leave a comment at each blog so that we know you have completed the loop.

3. Each comment you make on the different Treasure Hunt posts at the different blogs will give you another chance to win a free ACEO!

4. The Treasure Hunt will work a little differently at each artist’s blog, so be sure to read each blogger’s Rules Post very carefully.

5. We would all LOVE if you visited our shops and blogs to see more of our artwork!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll try to answer the best I can. Thanks so much to the above ladies for letting me play in the Treasure Hunt!

Your next port of call on the Blog to Blog Treasure Hunt is Carole. Visit Carole's delightful and fun blog here and then pop by Carole's Etsy shop here.

Happy hunting!
Christine Bennett
calzephyr@gmail.com

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Prairie Harvest Sale!

The Etsy Alberta Street Team has been busy crafting a fall sale! 60 shops from the Etsy Alberta Street Team are participating in a team sale from October 3 - 9, 2009. Check out the list of participating shops! My special is free shipping to any Canadian address.