January 31, 2011

OWOH Blog Event

Welcome blog travelers!


For those that come here for the first time, the one thing you'll notice right away is that I love painting, and I love sculpting art dolls. When I remember I take pictures to make tutorials and post them here. I also have some demos in video.
I live in California, I'm a mom of teens and wife to a wonderful (and very patient) man. We have a cat that decided to move in to let us feed him, and we rescued a doggy last year, who now happily digs holes all over the back yard. They are a lot of fun to watch and great source of inspiration:

 

ACEO size



ACEO size

When I was little girl I started my art career in my grandma's wall. She let me make fabulous murals of mermaids and squirrels and all kinds of fun stuff. I wanted to grow up to be an opera singer or a mermaid.
Well, few decades later, and I did not become a singer (for the benefit of human kind) and thank goodness I am not a mermaid either! But I continued to draw, paint and create. If I'm not doing something creative, I'm not happy. And no one wants me cranky around here! LoL

For this awesome blog event I have 3 gifts. One for each area I like working on:

 An ACEO mermaid:

 A mermaid doll:

And a cool painting:

All you have to do is post here to say hello, tell me where you come from and what gift you want.
Everybody from everywhere in the world is welcome! (I am #164 in the OWOH list)

I will be making 3 different random selections for each gift, so each participating will be playing to get what they like best according to their post.
The results will be given on the 17th of February and I will contact each winner to get their info and send the art.

Good Luck!
...thanks for visiting, hope to see you again soon!
OH! And we are also having a OWOH giveaway at the touring baby blog!

January 27, 2011

So many things to do...

.... And so little time! I need at least an extra hour, I'm sure you guys feel the same way some days :o)
Well, I can't wait for the coming exciting events! The One World One Heart is coming and promises to be the best ever, only it is the last time too... But it's starting in 3 days, so keep your eyes open and don't miss my giveaways (I can't post a preview, but it is cute! Plus, I am participating in the ADO Blog Group giveaway too, and also in the Touring Babies blog group giveaway as well! What does that mean? it means a whole group will be offering several gifts in one blog, more chances to win, yaay!!

Also the Traveling Doll Project is coming in March... awesome! I will be posting all the cool dolls visiting me, this time I am in 2 groups... crazy, I know! But lots of fun! so you'll get to see 9 dolls featured in the coming months. The team names are funny! One of my teams is The Eager Eagles and the other The Bee-Bee-Q’s

I have a polymer baby elf listed on ebay, visit him to cheer him up! I am starting my doll auctions in 99 cents! as a PIF and to find them their new forever homes.  And in my Etsy Shop I have a 20% off coupon for all art! So if you like something this is the time to get it. I have also a bunch of "free shipping" listings. Just click to buy, and type JANSALE at the checkout, it is valid till the January 30th... hurry up! :oD

Also I have been painting in a larger format again..... I am loving it! I will post tomorrow some of the WIP of my work..... for now, I hear the muses calling (more like screaming!) in the kitchen, where I moved all my painting stuff, to a better light in this gray days....

Now tell me about your projects!! What's on your easel? art desk? sewing machine??! :o*

January 23, 2011

Cloth dolls

I am currently and slowly working on 2 cloth dolls.
The first one is Claudia Crow, who is a re-worked dolly. She has a video, which will be redone as well. Originally, the story I made for her, a nice girl who are the wrong cupcake, and turn into a crow.... she kept her hands in flesh tone, but seems like that was not quite right. So now she has crow color all over, she completery changed. I think she looks cute, but then again... I am partial ;o)
Before
After

And the other dolly WIP picture. I think she looks more like my mini paintings, yes? That has been my goal for a long time but it is easier said than done!


I didn't give her ears because I am planning to have her have hair and a hairband. So lets see how she looks at the end :o)

January 18, 2011

Gray is gray

Well, it is gray outside. And rainy. Deep gray, not just "slightly" gray. If it wasn't depressing, it would be a rather magnificent shade of gray... but thank you, I rather have some sunlight. At least a little glimpse of the sky, a bit of blue... Oh well. It is winter and winters are gray around here. :oP
So, to cheer up some, I am making a winter sale in my Etsy shop!
20% at checkout with the code jansale. Everything.

So if you want a custom pet portrait.... or one of the ACEO or even a doll.... this is the time! I will be uploading some cute Valentine's day art cards too.


Thanks for everyone that participated in the giveaway, the art is mailed!

January 16, 2011

If chicken

Petunia thinks she is the cutest chicken in the coop. Her feathers are all fluffy and one time she was spotted sporting bright pink nail polish. The rest of the chickens gossiped about it for a whole week.

January 15, 2011

Hearts, chicken and a dolly

I will start with the chicken, she will have her personal post shortly but for now she's hangin' in there with there girls. Her name is Petunia and was made for Illustration Friday. I think she turned out cute :o)
And I have hearts in my mind. Well, chocolate hearts but for now paper hearts will do, right?


I have been working also on a new doll, but I am kind of stuck at the moment. I am not sure if I want to paint her one way or the other so I left her sitting by the window in the kitchen. I kept all mirrors away so she won't get scared of her head at this point :oP

January 13, 2011

And the winners are...!

My "over 300 celebration" giveaway has oficially closed. THANK YOU very much for participating!! Remember there's another giveaway coming on January 30th!
I went to the Random generator site, picked 3 numbers and here are the winners:

#2 Ashley in Kentucky won the ACEO!
#7 Deborah in Connecticut won the polka dot girl!
#13 Desiree in Norway won Jack!

Congrats ladies! I will go contact you right now to get your info and ship it.

January 10, 2011

I spy with my little eye...

... two goofy pets!
I was laughing so hard to find silly Panzón in a tight little ball right in the middle of the yard. I went to grab my camera and then Scruffie came to the picture all concentrated sniffing some old lost track of a mysterious scent. I could not catch the moment she sniffed his butt, I was laughing too hard!

Just look at his face in the last picture of his disgusted look. XoD  hahaha

zzz...zzz...

Oh, I think there's a cat nearby...

Sniff, sniff, sniffity-sniff...

Can't a fellow take a nap around here?

Don't forget to join my Giveaway! Winners will be randomly picked this Thursday Jan 13th!

January 6, 2011

Celebrating"over 300" giveaway!

Yeeessss! Here we go, the first giveaway of the year! Celebrating the cool people that read this little blog, which I have come to be addicted to after 5 years of constant silly posting, ha!
I hope you find here a bit of artsy craftsy information, a little bit of humor and something that makes you want to come back to read some more.
So, these are the options you can win:
An ACEO of a woman by the ferns, with shimmery paint in the moon, really cool; my recent Jack Frost paper doll totally articulated and ready to party; or a 6x4 mini painting of a polka-dotted smoking blond, I don't smoke... just like to paint it once in a while.



How to participate: 
1: Post your message telling me which option giveaway you would like if you win (The ACEO, Jack or the 6x4 and a second option in case 2 people win and want the same!)
2: If you want to blog about the giveaway, have a link back to this blog and come tell me in another posting and that's a second chance to win.
*If somebody comes from your blog to post here, and tells me, you automatically have another entry.
3: If you are in FB and post about it, or add me to your friends there, come and tell me in another post and that's an extra chance to win.

This giveaway is open for a week starting today Jan 6th, till Thursday January 13th at noon, pacific time.

Anybody, from any country can play!
 ...ready??? go!!
Oh! and keep an eye over here, because at the end of January I will be having another giveaway!

Update: the winners of this giveaway are:

#2 Ashley in Kentucky won the ACEO!
#7 Deborah in Connecticut won the polka dot girl!
#13 Desiree in Norway won Jack!
 
Thanks for participating! :oD

January 4, 2011

Nothing new yet, waiting for the muses...

First post of the year, and I am sorry to say I have nothing new to show :oP
I have been taking it easy, helping my daughter finish some of her own projects, watching the Lord of the ring trilogy, and reading a really cute book by James Patterson, Sundays at Tiffany's. It was supposed to be a quick read but it took me forever with so many things going on last month hehehe
Well anyway, there's a movie too. I have not seen it, but the previews show, like always, that the movie is not exactly as the book. The 9 year old girl in the story had an imaginary friend. In the book the guy was a grown up, but in the movie the imaginary friend was a kid too. I think it is better the idea of same age kids, as opposed to being a grown up... that is kind of weird, but then again, an imaginary friend can be whatever the imagination is, right? Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? I always lived half the time in my own mind and imaginations, but didn't have a particular imaginary friend. I just wanted to grow up to be a "real" mermaid hahahah
Here's the clip, I think I'd like to see it, even if different from the book:



My next thing to tackle is the Christmas tree, all the decorations, and put a note in the fridge: don't forget to buy a Rosca de Reyes for the 6th of January... yummm!

The weather has been so nice here the past couple of days! Very unusual for a January, Winter and the Valley! But I'm not complaining. :o) Usually this time of year we have dense fog, you can't see across the street till midday.

Oh! The giveaway! I will post tomorrow about it. The "almost 300 followers giveaway" will be called now "a little bit over 300 giveaway!" yaay! Thanks to ALL the people that take their time to visit, it is a pleasure to have you over if only for a few minutes :o)