Birthday!

I had a fantastic 33rd birthday yesterday!

The weather was perfect for a short hike in Portland's Forest Park. For those of you unfamiliar with Forest Park, it's located in Portland, not far from downtown. There are hiking trails and biking trails, short trails and long trails. It always surprises me that such a park exists in such an urban environment, and in most of the park, you'd never even know that there was a city a short distance away.

We decided to bring Chloe with us even though we weren't sure how far she could make it. I was also a little concerned about the heat. It wasn't super hot, but it was really warm, and Boston Terriers do not do well in the heat. We took her anyway with the idea that if she seemed like she was over heating, or getting too tired, I could just pick her up and carry her down.

That little dog has more stamina and gumption than I give her credit for. She made it all the way up to the top of the trail and back down. Four miles total. We stopped several times to give her water and to let her rest a bit, but she was a little trooper.

I thought for sure she'd pass out when we got home but she was ready to play in the back yard immediately. Crazy dog. She does seem a bit tired today, and I had to rally her to go for a walk this morning.

The rest of my birthday was great! We went out for sushi and had drinks with friends later on. It was perfect. I'm excited to start my 33rd year!

Hello Tuesday!

I have to say, I'm rocking this Tuesday.

My to-do list in nearly finished, I've got some new prints hanging out in my Etsy shop and my show is up and running at Crafty Wonderland! Here's a little blog post where you can read about it and see it!

http://craftywonderland.com/2013/08/august-artist-of-the-month-michele-maule/

Cathy Pitters and Torie Nguyen, who run the shop, did an amazing job setting it up! I love how it looks. If you're in downtown Portland this month, go see it!

Pygmy Rabbit

I've got some prints of some of those painting in my Etsy shop right now, and I'm slowly adding more this week. I'm realizing that now that this series is over, I need a new series to work on. I was thinking about maybe focusing on people for the next round... Or I could finish the series I started working on last year that I never finished. So many ideas and so very little time to get them all done.

Sasquatch!

It's been a great Tuesday so far, hope your Tuesday is going well too! Also, tomorrow is my birthday! So hooray to that!

American Pika

My, What a Busy Week

Good news! I finished my Crafty Wonderland show on time with very little setbacks...

Stacks of cards going out to Powell's, New Seasons and Collector Gallery in Berkeley.

I did realize at the last minute that not only do I have a small wall to fill, but there is also a little space for other items like prints, cards and whatnot's. So, at the last minute, I was trying to get as much of these items together. I totally ran out of plastic sleeve for cards. I don't normally use plastic sleeves for my cards, it saves on costs and the environment, but I thought it would be a good idea for display purposes.

Anyway, it all got done, and then I moved onto filling card/consignment orders that I've been lacking on. I really love how much work I've gotten lately. I feel grateful and it's pretty awesome to be doing so well. Especially since last year was so dismal.

I wonder if it's like this for most Etsy sellers/tiny business owners? Some years are just better than others? I know this year has been much better because of my wholesale card business. I've been toying with the idea of just focusing on cards, but I really love making art so much. I just don't think I could just make cards...

I don't know. I suppose it's just something to think about. Especially if I really want to leave my day job.

Oregon Animals

I've been working on putting the final touches on my pieces for the Crafty Wonderland show that will be hanging up for the month of August. You can see all the pieces over on my Facebook page.

This is usually my least favorite day of putting a show together. Something always seems to go wrong. Usually I've overlooked an important detail, like oh I don't know, labels/artist statement/wire to hang the pieces. This time it seems as though I've got everything I need, and it's going surprisingly well. Let's hope I'm not totally jinxing myself here. fingers crossed.

I'm dropping this work off tomorrow and then I begin to put together another show for September. The next one will be at the Hillsdale Art Supply Store. This will be my 6th show this year and I think it might be the last until next year. I have a lot of new card ideas and the holidays to get ready for, and it's challenging when you've got another job and shows to get ready for. Yes, I just said the holidays. Crazy. Would you believe me if I told you that I checked in Halloween merchandise last week? Here it comes...

I was really hoping to leave the old day job by my birthday, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Especially since my birthday is next week. I'm not ready to quit and frankly, it terrifies me...

My income situation is still not stable and I am so afraid of failing. I feel like I am definitely getting somewhere with my little wholesale card business, but I still have a way to go.

I'm going to keep hoping to quit my day job soon, but for the moment, I'm going to keep plugging along.

Two New!

Hooray for new items in an Etsy shop.
I've had a hard time, this summer, adding new items to my shop. Between so many shows and beautiful weather, it's been difficult to focus on making new things for Etsy.

I did get a new narwhal card, and a brand spankin' new Steel Bridge postcard listed yesterday. Whoohoo! I'm heading out to the river to spend some time swimming this afternoon, so I've been trying to get as much work done as possible before leaving!

Hooray for summer!

I saw this tank top on Society Six this morning. It's illustrated by the ever so talented Brook Weeber of Little Canoe.


 It pretty much sums up this summer for me. I might just have to buy it for myself.

Okay, now it's river time!

Obsessed

I know Pinterest has been around for awhile. I've been pinning things on the site for a couple of years now. This past weekend I caught some sort of nesting bug and I've been obsessed with finding ideas to revamp our house, inexpensively.

I'd love to repaint some rooms, but some new art and maybe add a new rug, or two. I really want to start with this wall in our "dining room." I'd love to paint it a deep blue, or dark grey and add a large, framed, mirror. I'd love to paint the little book shelf white too and add a little rug to go under the table. That floor gets mighty cold in the winter.

All of this will have to wait until I'm done with this Crafty show, of course. I'm itching to do it now, but I know it will only cause a great deal of stress if I start a project before finishing the last one.

 I've been pinning lots of house inspiration ideas lately, but I also like pinning art and really cute puppies. So, if you're into that kind of thing here I am.

New Prints!

Good grief, it's been forever since I last posted new items in my Etsy shop.

Grey Wolves.

This summer has been so busy for me, that I've been neglecting my little online store. I've added three new prints and I'm hoping to add a couple of new cards by the end of next week.

Grey Fox

The fox print and the wolf print are part of a native, Oregon, wildlife series I've been working on. The originals will be downtown at the Crafty Wonderland shop next month! I'm almost done with these pieces and I'm really excited to show them in person.

You can find the Grey fox here and the grey wolf here.


The crane print is part of a custom piece I did a couple of months ago. I liked it so much I thought I'd list it on Etsy.

Blue Crane

It's warm here. It's probably very warm where you are too. Stay cool, friends.