With an average of 2500 watched items in my inbox and 6 months now that have failed to clear it, I have decided I will do an end-of-year clean-out. I will not just delete, but will fave the art I especially like. However, I will not comment this time round, and I apologize for that. Normal services with comments and whipped cream shall resume in January!

I would also like to thank all my watchers, commissioners and traders who have kept my art going this year and have challenged me to fun and engaging projects! Thank you! Here are all the goodies that went out to you. You know who you are and I love you!



And here are all the wonderful pieces of artwork I commissioned, bought or traded for. What an amazing year it's been!



My apologies, if I have forgotten anyone!

Happy Holidays for now, and a successful, artistic and prosperous 2010!



* If you ask me to make artwork available as a print, please check if it uses copyrighted material. DA will not take print submissions that are based on such materials. This means, no prints of drawings based on movies or TV shows like the Harry Potter Movies, Brokeback Mountain, CSI etc. If you want a drawing as a print please note me instead.

Commission status: open

If you want to know more about my art: did a great interview with me. [link]

Well, I have got one of my HP Tarot decks in what is probably the most far-flung location so far, and the new owner was kind enough to send me a picture of it living in St. Petersburg in Russia now - thank you for the photos, Anastasya!

I am actually coming up again on a nice, big, round number of pageviews, so I am offering a choice of kiriban for the FIRST person to send me a screenshot of my 300,000th pageview. I have always got several for my past kiriban, and I have tried to honor them all, but this time I have only one choice of give-away, so only one person can have a gift.





Also, because of recent a Harry Potter Tarot deck order I have had three decks in total printed to save on postage, so there are 2 decks left. If anyone wants a deck, I can get one ready for you quickly - no need to wait for the printer to ship one. An uncut set of prints (printed back and front) costs $80, a cut deck, ready to play with costs $100. Shipping costs depend on location. ($7 US, $10 abroad)



* If you ask me to make artwork available as a print, please check if it uses copyrighted material. DA will not take print submissions that are based on such materials. This means, no prints of drawings based on movies or TV shows like the Harry Potter Movies, Brokeback Mountain, CSI etc. If you want a drawing as a print please note me instead.

Commission status: open

If you want to know more about my art: did a great interview with me. [link]

Well, it's been one of the odder months this year. With August being my birthday month I am used to spending some time out of the ordinary, but usually that's a fun vacation or a good time with friends.

This month I had my husband stay with his family in England for the entire time, because his Dad had just gone through major surgery - he's fine, though. Then some moron bashed up my brand new car at the beginning of the month and I spent the next few weeks battling his insurance, getting the car into the shop to be repaired and running around in a rental - not much fun.

And finally work has been odd. Still almost no money made this month - I'm looking at $1000 for one measly project management course, but I spent all my time networking, meeting people and putting my feelers out for opportunities, so I've been busier than I've been for a long time. If everything happens, shoot me, because there is no way I can do it all. If nothing happens, shoot me also, because I should have spent this month drawing, making jewelry and otherwise sucking my thumb instead of running around!

We'll see.

I did do a few projects. One of them - make my own prickly pear jelly. My big-ass cactus has finally had his first crop of fruit, and I just canned the first batch of jelly. It's yummy, especially when presented with some crackers and a small dollop of cream cheese.

Here's what you do:

Pick a batch of fruit using tongs and scrub them under running water - still using tongs - your fingers will thank you. Once all the needles are off, chop them into pieces. Put the pieces in a pot, add water so they are just covered and boil the heck out of everything for about an hour and a half keeping a lid on the pot so the water does not evaporate. Then add a chopped up habanero pepper and a handful of basil and tarragon leaves. Boil for another ten minutes or so and then mash with a potato masher.



Pass the whole mess through a cheesecloth or coffee filter and add ingredients with the following ratio:

1 cup of your just boiled cactus juice
3 cups of sugar
1/3 cup of lemon juice
3 ounces of liquid pectin

Boil everything for about two to three minutes and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Fill the mix into mason jars, seal them by screwing on the double lids and sterilize them by immersing them in simmering water to just below their "necks" for ten minutes. Let cool and enjoy a bite of summer during the cool winter months.





* If you ask me to make artwork available as a print, please check if it uses copyrighted material. DA will not take print submissions that are based on such materials. This means, no prints of drawings based on movies or TV shows like the Harry Potter Movies, Brokeback Mountain, CSI etc. If you want a drawing as a print please note me instead.

Commission status: open

If you want to know more about my art: did a great interview with me. [link]

There is something I pretty much do on a regular basis at least three or four times a month, and that is send people notes or answers listing the websites where I get my beads, jewelry supply and silver clay. So I think I'll actually make a journal of it and then I can just send people the link.

I don't get any money from any of these guys for promoting them (though maybe I should ask!). I just keep coming back, because their customer service is good, their pricing reasonable and their product has quality.

Silver art clay
[link] (these guys have every type of clay and lots of resources)
[link] (these guys are a little cheaper than the other guys, but they don't carry all the clay types)

Beads
[link]
[link] (my fave place for Miyuki 15 seeds!)
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link] (they have pretty much everything - I buy my gemstone beads here)
[link] (my source for Toho triangles)

Hope you find these as easy and reliable suppliers as I have done



* If you ask me to make artwork available as a print, please check if it uses copyrighted material. DA will not take print submissions that are based on such materials. This means, no prints of drawings based on movies or TV shows like the Harry Potter Movies, Brokeback Mountain, CSI etc. If you want a drawing as a print please note me instead.

Commission status: open

If you want to know more about my art: did a great interview with me. [link]