Ornaments are a passion...

I've been researching origami and kusudama via google and I have found so many cool blogs and info out there in cyberspace - I am so happy to be living in the 21st century - I don't know how people learned anything before the internet...anyway...

I found the coolest thing!

*** 2009 Bloggers Ornament Exchange ***

I thought I was a little nutty, but this is crazy in a cool crafty way. I love christmas ornaments and I have a small collection of treasures I've found here and there. My grandmother and I exchange an ornament each Christmas as our gift. It is a special tradition that is just between us and we have been doing for many years now.

I just signed up to participate and if you want to join in, please visit PamperingBeki's Pampering You Blog here. Here's the rules: Be willing to send an ornament of aprox. $10 value to your partner. They can be handmade, store bought, Etsy bought, whatever. They should all be handmade, but not everybody is crafty, but a passion for ornaments is shared by many. Can't wait to see what I get...I hope it's handmade ; ) Sb

GREAT NEWS!!! Shop Grand Opening....

For the past 6 months, I have been getting my feet wet with Etsy and Ebay - I have learned that with low cost items like mine, after the listing fees and then percentage cut to them and then one to paypal, too - it doesn't seem worth it for the pennies that may remain at the end of a sale. Etsy is good with the advertising of artists, so it's worth it, but nothing is wrong with a little diversity. After just completing my first wholesale order of ornaments, I decided to add another outlet - it can't hurt, right? By being semi-active on twitter, I found out about a NEW marketplace for artisans that is FEE Free & very user friendly. YAY!!! Now I have my own shop at http://www.zibbet.com/sbartist. If you would like info on opening your own shop, click here. It is a handmade only marketplace, free for listing up to 25 items and they offer a premium membership for unlimited listings.

So announcing...

sbartist - painting in the dark...and other whims...

sbartist's Shop @zibbet.com

Inside my galleries, you will find a diverse grouping of items from my sister shops SalonD'Arte and SMBdesign as well as original art & reproductions, handcrafted paper items & cards, & whatever strikes my creative muse...photography, found object collage even artist supplies. I'm always adding new and different things so please check back often...

Don't fight the crowds at the mall - consider giving the gift of a handmade original...

Think GREEN! Sb

Hallo-weenie Pups...a New Venture???

I have to say I had an out of artists' mind day in the studios yesterday - on "Halloween". But it was a fun day. I spent the whole day creating...YES I SAID CREATING - not working. At first, I admit, I was not looking forward to the task at hand - my boss at the printshop I work at volunteered me to dress up his 7, seven-week old cockapoodle puppies. I repeat, SEVEN. OK, no big deal - I had been messing around with my oranments and shipping at work to get them out - with no complaints from him, so I obliged. So I did a little searching on Etsy for inspiration, but I didn't want to make bandanas or converted baby bibs. These pups have personality! This is what I came up with and we laced them to the puppies with white satin ribbon which disappeared in their curly locks.

A little secret I'll never let my boss know... I had the most FUN making these!!!! And I think I have found my new calling...Puppy Costume designer extrordinare. Next Halloween, I will have these for sale at SalonD'Arte.

Here are my seven little fashionistas...








And last but not least...My personal Favorite...



This was not my normal Saturday [usually I'm working], but it being Halloween - what a TREAT - it was a perfect day off. I hope you all had an equally awesome Halloween!
; ) Sb