Good Fortune

"Black cat, cross my path,
Good fortune bring to home and hearth
When I am away from home,
Bring me luck wherever I roam."

I just love this old English black cat charm, and of course, as someone who's owned by a black cat (and several others) I know them to be good luck. ;)

This handsome fellow is painted on a pine plaque, after our own Mr. Merlin, and is listed on eBay now. I haven't told Merlin he's famous yet, 'cause he already thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, hehe.

So yes.....good fortune. Been thinking about it a lot lately, as we face some challenges around here, and I've come to the conclusion that just like our friend the black cat here, a great deal of fortune depends on our perception. I mean, we really can choose to see life's challenges as either stumbling blocks or opportunities; as a reason to complain or a reason to celebrate.

Those of you who've been reading here for a while know that my husband John went through heart surgery last year to repair a damaged mitral valve. Complications and heart failure followed, so recovery has been a bit of an uphill battle.

Well, long story short, we found out yesterday he needs another surgery - most likely an artificial heart valve this time.

Not the news we'd hoped to hear.

But then, maybe it is. Because it means there IS something that can be done. There IS a fix. What a blessing that is! To be living in a time when life saving surgeries like this are even possible. It's a miracle, don't you think?

We'll know more next week, but in the meantime, we're taking it one day at a time. We have each other, we have our beautiful daughter living close by now, we have an amazing support system of family and friends, and we have our optimism.

And that's fortunate. ;)

♥ Carolee

"Double, double toil and trouble"....

..."Fire burn and cauldron bubble"...

Just had to share what's been keeping me so busy the last couple of days; a little footstool with three ghostly witches, and the quote from Shakespeare's "Macbeth" around the edge. Soooooooooo much fun, this one! It's listed on eBay now. :)

You know, this verse used to remind me of act 4, scene 1 of The Scottish Play. But these days, thanks to the soundtrack, it also conjures up images of the Harry Potter movies, hehe....

And tonight's the night! Since this is the final movie, or the first part of it anyway (ETA - I stand corrected! There are two more after this - yay!!) I was toying with the idea of braving the crazy midnight showing, but I left it too late. They're already sold out. So I've put the last movie in our netflix queue, which we'll watch as a bit of a refresher, then probably hit a matinee of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" later in the week. If you haven't seen it, here's the trailer.

Much as I LOVE these movies, I loved the books even more, but it's always that way, don't you think? The imagery and characters we create ourselves are always so vivid, so perfect...then the movie comes along and alters our perception. I mean, Daniel Radcliffe IS Harry Potter, yes?

One of my absolute favorite reads is Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. It took friends MONTHS to convince me to give the first book a try, and being a bit of a snob about the historical romance genre (bodice rippers are always soooooooo poorly written) I was sure I'd dislike it. But OMG!! Talk about completely HOOKED, hehe...It's got everything - great characters, Scottish, English, French and American history, time travel, WITCHES....need I say more? I read the first five books in about eight weeks, the sixth as soon as it came out in hardcover, and September 22 will find me at Barnes and Noble as soon as they open the doors, to pick up the seventh book, "An Echo in the Bone". Not that I'm a fanatic or anything. ;)

Anyway, there's been talk of a movie based on the series for years, but I'm not sure I want one. I already have the perfect movie playing in my head. :)

Another favorite book is Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon". Has anyone seen the movie? Actually, I think it may have been a television mini-series...I avoided it at the time because I was immersed in the book, but I suppose I could add it to the netflix queue now.

So yes - books and movies, movies and books....Not that I have all that much time for either these days....

EBay, Etsy, The PFATT Marketplace, commissions, the Ghoultide Gathering, Twitter, facebook (yes, I'm on both now)....There just isn't a spare moment. Seriously, I'm beginning to resent the hours I have to spend sleeping, hehe!

Speaking of which, I must fly now (sooooooooo much to do today!) but I'll be back very soon with a little giveaway.

In the meantime, have a magical, creative week - and those of you are seeing the movie - enjoy!!


(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
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(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

Summer Fun with Halloween and Christmas, and Thoughts on Creating Mindfully

What's that, you say?

Summer and Halloween and Christmas don't go together?

Well, I suppose not in the real world, but this is most definitely NOT the real world (as my commuting, office working husband is ever so fond of reminding me, hehe)...

In this world, holidays are inspiration and cause for celebration 365 days a year!

Take this piece (a sneak peek at tomorrow night's PFATT Marketplace offering!)...It was created "mindfully" (something I've been experimenting with lately). You can click on it to make it larger:

(UPDATE- SOLD)

To explain the whole "mindful" thing, a couple of years ago I purchased a book called "Knitting for Peace". It's basically all about the tradition of charity knitting, and was the first time I'd read about creating something while meditating or praying for the person who will be receiving it. I was hooked. (I've completed two prayer shawls now and am working on a third)

And it got me thinking - if I can do this with knitting, why not with art?

I mean, sure - I think about my subject. And I try to set the right mood while I'm painting...I brew tea, I light candles, I play inspiring music. But it's not usually a conscious meditation.

So what would happen if I were deliberately mindful of the feeling I'm trying to convey with a piece? If I'm wishing, praying, meditating - whatever you want to call it - for a specific intention as I paint? What would it do for the art? What would it do for the recipient? Would it make the piece more special to them, more treasured? What would it do for me? Would it feel like even more of a blessing to create it, to send it out into the world?

It's of course a positive way to create anything, whether we're painting, cooking, gardening - whatever. And I think it does improve both the process and the outcome - not to mention doing wonders for the soul as we create.

So this piece was created with peace in mind. With the blessings of the season, and a world without turmoil. Peace, serenity, beauty...those things were the focus, and I hope I succeeded in conveying them. :)

TODAY'S piece is another story entirely, and the focus is just on whimsy and fun: "Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble"....a magical, whimsical Halloween footstool....Stay tuned.

I'm going have another go at mindful creating over the weekend though, with a piece about the blessings of hearth and home, and perhaps another about cats. I'll try to post the progress. :)

That's about all that's going on, except for the boring, mundane stuff like grocery shopping, which I'm also doing this weekend.

Oh! And cooking, which is NOT so boring and mundane. I'll be doing a bit of that this weekend too. In fact, I'll leave you with one of my favorite summer recipes, a very simple fruit salad. Soooooooooo simple you don't even have to measure:

cantelope pieces
fresh blueberies
a good squeeze or two of fresh lemon
finely chopped fresh mint

That's it - mix it up in a bowl - instant, refreshing summer side salad or light desssert. ;)

I'm off now!! Back again soon....

♥ Carolee

OOps!!

With the craziness of the holiday weekend, I completely forgot to draw a name for the Mad Tea Party giveaway! (Just a trinket, really - the "Drink Me" bottle show in the June 27th post). The winner is Bella Dreams. :)

Would you believe I'm STILL visiting tea partiers?! Yep. I'm trying to stop by a few blogs each day, but with so many, it may take awhile.

Just call me the White Rabbit. ;)

Okay, off I go....visiting for a few minutes, then PAINTING! Look for a "Witch's Kitchen" sign some time this evening!

♥Carolee

Witches and Goblins and Ghosts, Oh My!!

Now that the Fourth of July is behind us, it's time to kick Halloween preparations into full gear, teehee!!

Around here, that means new work galore; sketches and notebooks strewn all over the house, orders placed for materials and supplies, and pieces in various stages of completion for eBay, for Etsy and for the upcoming Ghoultide Gathering (don't even get me started on how excited I am about this year's show! BEYOND excited!!)

I listed a very special piece on eBay last night (probably silly timing on my part - I mean who, at least in the US, is on the computer looking at Halloween art on July Fourth?) Just couldn't help myself though - had to share this one right away. It's a large, wooden ornament chest, featuring my own little version of "My Favorite Things"...

I had a lot of fun with this piece, especially the calligraphy around the edge...


I'm offering to personalize the inside too - a family name, a favorite quote, or what have you. I think it would be a nice touch, don't you?

It's listed now, with a "reserve" price of $295 and a "buy it now" option, which as I understand remains in place until the reserve is met. But I thought I'd add the option just in case someone doesn't want to deal with the bidding process.

Oh! Can't forget to tell you about the wee break I'm taking from Halloween too! Not a long break, I promise, just a piece or two....

The PFATT Marketplace is hosting "Jingle Time July" beginning at midnight on the tenth, so I'll have a Christmas offering for sale there (first come basis on this one!) No clue what it will be yet, and I probably won't know until I actually begin working, hehe....the most FuN thing about this "job" is that every day, every piece, is an adventure. Soooooooo, stay tuned. :)

I've been making great progress on commissions too, with three completed and three more to go (waiting for materials to arrive on these). Due to time constraints, I'll probably only accept another two or three commissions this year, so I can devote the rest of my time to preparing for the show. So if there's a piece you want, now is the time to email. :)

On the home front, there have been some challenges with John's health again, but we're staying positive and taking things one day at a time. I don't mean to be cryptic, and I certainly don't want friends to worry, but we'll know more after the next visit with his cardiologist, so I'll post something then. In the meantime, he's doing fine, cracking jokes, and just...well, just being his general smart-assed self about the whole thing. ;)

That's about it for today. I'm off to grab a quick breakfast, put some tunes in the CD player and get to PaINtInG!! (No rest for the wicked, eh?)

Have a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend!

♥ Carolee

I Won!!

Tee hee...Doing the happy dance here!

Michelle over at Faerie Dust Dreams drew my name for her very generous Mad Hatter giveaway - a gift certificate to her Etsy store!! Sooooooooooooo many goodies there, I can't wait to go shopping!!

Tomorrow, that is. ;)

Have a wonderful Fourth, everyone!

♥ Carolee

Quick Update and Etsy Sale :)

Well, the eBay auction ended and the "Mad Tea Party" chest is still looking for the right home.....To that end, I've substantially reduced the direct purchase price and listed it in the Etsy store, along with a little tortoiseshell kitty trinket box which is also reduced (paypal only on these). :)

I'm also offering free personalization if anyone would like to snap up the tea chest for a gift....

Back very soon with that ornament chest!

♥ Carolee