Feedback from my first Etsy customer

Selling online is a little bit different than selling person to person. You don't really know how your work will be received. Will the customer like it when it arrives? Maybe it looked good in the pictures but doesn't cut it when it gets there?

I was little nervous about my first Etsy sale, but the feedback I got just blew me away.

Here it is:

I had such a great experience purchasing my painting with Azra! She was able to give me good feedback to my questions prior to purchase, got my painting to me in no time, and added personal touches that made it even more fun. I have displayed her artwork in my business (Waterfall Day Spa) and I am looking forward to purchasing more. I have 3 locations that need artwork and I am always looking for creative new energy to surround my spaces. Thank you Azra and Thank you Etsy!
Sara

Wow! Thank YOU, Sara.

This is what she bought:

Cheating

I can't help it!!!!

I would like to post something everyday but between taking care of the BabyButton and the housework and with luck, getting SOME painting done, I can't seem to be able to blog as well. Somehow there's always a million things demanding my attention, not least being the interminable diapers I need to wash. I guess I could do the pail method but saving up a bunch of dirty diapers to wash later just doesn't sit well with me. I know it would all be completely air tight I guess, but I can't do it.

And I can't help running downstairs to do the dishes (and when that's done you discover the countertop needs to be cleaned, then the floor definitely needs to be swept, and then in comparison the living room looks messy, so that's next. And then you remember: What about dinner? ARRRGHHH. And of course meanwhile the baby's up.) when (if) the little Donut takes a nap. So I guess it's my fault for not having an up-to-date blog.

But there's a loophole, and I'm gonna use it!

I can make a post, and just date it whatever, no matter when I ACTUALLY create the post. And in retrospect it will look like an up-to-date blog. YAY (with many apologies)! At least that way, whatever happened that particular day gets written about.

Any complaints, anyone?

Fitting....

Stumbled upon this joke that I had to post here. I love looking up at stars, love camping (or at least the idea of it!), and love reading Sherlock Holmes stories, so I thought it was really fitting.

Plus I find it cute-funny!

So, here goes:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: "Watson, look up at the stars and tell me, what do you see?"

Watson replied: "I see millions and millions of stars."

Holmes said: "And what do you deduce from that?"

Watson replied: "Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like earth out there. And if there are a few planets like earth out there, there might also be life."

And Holmes said: "Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent."

Another version of my Spring-ing Chair

Only this one is a Fall-ing Chair, drenched in the colors of...FALL!

Styling

I have some new work (well, not really new-new, but newer, and in any case not uploaded on Etsy yet) waiting in the wings that I need to catalog and display. I am trying to style it when I photograph it so that I have a good presentation - something I learnt on Etsy. Sellers there are taking pictures of their work in innovative settings, with some really unique results.

I don't know if I can do a good job at this but I'm trying. My camera does not take very good close-ups - and it's hard for me to style my work in the preferred daylight hours coz the ChunkyMonkey is always between my feet. I took a lot of pictures anyway, with her tugging at my legs in curiosity during the whole thing.

Needless to say, most of them had to be consigned to the trash button.

Here's one with the angle all wrong - the art is at the back instead of being center-stage - but at least the thing is in focus, which more than I can say for most of them!



On second thought, it really isn't in focus at all.

Man.

More Etsy sales!

Two more sales today!

Mr. Godzilla Man

The little BabyBubble doesn't have a whole lot of toys (we hardly buy her any coz she gets more than enough as presents) but she does have a doll and one or two stuffed animals, among other things. She's never cared for them much, except for when she spends time shaking them with great energy. Cuddle the soft critters? Forget it!

Now, though, she has discovered DaddyBoy's toy chest, so to speak. It's a plastic box filled with his playthings from way back - cars, spaceships, and Star Trek figurines. And the biggest thing of all - a big scaly ugly hard pokey Godzilla, who is....the Munchkin's new favorite.

Everyday she pulls him out. Gives him a series of tight hugs. Not sure how she manages to not hurt herself with his scaly spines. Then he has to sit up in front of her. So that she can, uh, kiss him. Again and again. Plays with his pointy tail and his pointy teeth like he was a cute furry creature, while he continues to snarl at her.

Reminds of what my mom says about me. Apparently when I was a baby and we lived in some out-flung outpost of a place, there was this watchman who looked so intimidating that everyone feared him. Big tall guy, bald, with a huge moustache and great big eyes. Well, according to my mom - he was the only person I would allow to hold me. Anybody else and I would bawl like crazy.

There was also this dog that all the kids were afraid of. One sight of him and they'd scramble for cover. Guess who was always nuzzling up to him.

Blame it on the genes, no?

When Nature takes over

Sometimes, when a natural calamity occurs, you can only sit back and wonder at it's power and fury. In recent years, again and again we have been reminded of who's boss, somthing so easy to lose sight of. It's so easy to say, "That could never happen to me." But how can you ever know?

I kept thinking of all the people affected by Hurricane Ike. No electricity, no food, no HOMES. Thank God my brother and his family were unharmed in their Houston home, but all that wreckage in Galveston only reminded me how close they were to disaster.

For me, it was another reason to be grateful for what I have and to share as much as I can of it. Especially since we are in the middle of Ramadan, a month of thankfulness, contemplation, compassion and charity.

Who knows what lies around the corner?

If only...

If only I knew how to #@!#!$# type, there might have been more posts on my blog.

New baby signs for this week:

strawberry
spaghetti
bread
table
blue
bubbles
stars

Thought of the moment: I must surely be kissing the little DollFace a thousand times during the day. At least.

Hope she doesn't mind :)

First Etsy sale!

I made my first sale on Etsy today! YAY!

A lady from Virginia bought one of my Waterfall series canvases. The cool thing is, she runs a day spa called The Waterfall, and that's where my Waterfall will hang - I thought that was really cool!

I made her a similar waterfall painting on a small chunky canvas, as a surprise gift. Hope she likes it. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I made it in the middle of the night and then packed up everything right away for DaddyBoy to put it in the post this morning...so no picture, but I hope she likes it.

This is what I sold...

Good Hunting!

Our patio isn't exactly a Kiplingesque Mowgli's haunt, but boy do you get to see some fascinating creature-features!

It wasn't raining today so the little MoonBug and I were outside. She was crawling around as usual while I just sat on a foam mat on the floor, listening to the breeze. It was so quiet and lovely. Just then I spotted a most wonderfully intricate spider web, stretching between the hibiscus bush and the mesh netting around the gazebo. As I studied it, I became increasingly fascinated by the way the spider, who was lurking in the center of it all, had anchored it to various points on the plant, the netting, even to the floor. The architecture was perfect!

There were lots of little bugs buzzing around, and I just had to wait and watch. Sure enough, one bug snagged in the web. I was on my feet in an instant. In that ONE second, the spider had not only leapt onto the trapped bug, but also wrapped it in it's web-making discharge. I absolutely could not believe the speed of it all. I must have stopped breathing for sure. The little bug was motionless. No doubt paralyzed, I thought. Would the spider now eat its prey? It was back in the center of the web, having left the bug all coccooned up a few inches away. Was it being saved for later? I was still astounded by how quickly the little guy operated, when the impossible happened. The bug moved. Then a leg peeped out of the coccoon, and then another. As I watched, agape, the bug WRIGGLED OUT AND DROPPED TO THE GROUND. It fled in an instant. The spider stayed where it was, motionless.

I think by then my jaw had reached the floor. This entire drama unfolded in maybe 90 seconds. Unbelievable. I wish I had the camera handy to take pictures of the web at least (it's gone now - we had another heavy shower) but the pictures in my mind are probably indelible now.

All this in a tiny corner of the little patio.

Long live wildlife!

Venturing into ACEOs

OK - here they are - all 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches of them. I was inpired by the lovely honeysuckle that's growing in our patio.



and



P.S. The real honeysuckle is a thousand times more beautiful.

Missed it!

Out of the whole week, the day that was picked for the EtsyMoms Trunk show was the one the little BabyFluffBall was getting her 15-month shots. So when the show was going on I was at the doctor's, miles away from my computer, both physically and mentally. She did very well, as usual, the poor baby. When we got home I took her out to the swings for a bit at the park around the corner. She wants to climb the jungle gym on her own (she can't even walk yet) and clamber up the slides on the slope side. And she does not want me holding her. What a little Amelia Earhart! I'm glad though. I love how adventurous she is. No matter how many pants she ruins.

I remember how patiently my own mom was constantly sewing up my clothes that I ripped jumping out of trees. Especially one particular tree (a huge mulberry - yes a tree, not a bush, with long green caterpillar-y mulberries. At least that's what we called them. VERY different from the purple blobby ones that grow on bushes, and just as yummy) back when we lived in Jaipur.

I should write a whole post just about our days in Jaipur (not that a post would even scratch the surface) but I digress...

So, yeah, I missed the show. I wasn't participating, but I did want to sit in. Not only that, I never went and checked the EtsyMoms blog afterwards to see how it went. I'm just not getting (or making) the time to do any work at my computer. The little MunchKin is so super-cute these days I can hardly tear myself away from her antics, plus it's Ramadan. That switches things around a bit. Haven't painted either, except for a couple of ACEOs - my very first. (wow, they take long for something so tiny!)

I'll put them in my next post, but here's something the little BabyDuck made, sitting in my lap. I helped her rinse the brush, but she picked the colors - her very first painting!

EtsyMoms

Get a jump on your holiday shopping with the Fall into Holiday Cheer Trunk Show the wonderfully talented Etsymom Street Team Members are hosting this Thursday, Sept. 4th at 7 pm in the Etsy Virtual Labs. Come find out what inspires the beautiful handcrafted artistry of this dedicated group of moms in business. Each Etsymom participant will display images of their work, share about their creative process and answer questions. Don't miss this first-time event for Etsymoms and an opportunity to buy some incredible handmade goods!