Home for the holidays, my eldest stepson has taken a break from military training, and my eldest son is home from college. Did I mention I am a mother of five? (His, hers, and ours.  And we had custody of all of them.) Did I also mention they are four boys, and the last is the girl. Whew! It's been fun. Loud, busy, messy, educational fun.

Only a few days until Christmans. I just grabbed the last gift on the list. Tonight I finish wrapping.

Next stop, New Year's! My resolution - increase my art and decrease my waist.

What's yours?

Just another version of my 1950 Jeep Willy.

Pink Weed - 8x8

I have plans to work on some assemblage art as well as a painting or two. With all of the holiday hustle and bustle right now, it is hard to find time to accomplish much art. On the other hand, inspiration is everywhere, so I'm, at the very least, taking plenty of notes.

The day after Thanksgiving my sister's kids and I had a last minute photo shoot. It was a lot of fun despite my son getting into some of our park's famous poison oak. Two bottles of Caladryl lotion and 400 photos later, my son is on the mend and I'm really happy with the outcome of the shoot. I've posted several more photos on the flickr site.

Out of the blue,

a serendipitous life change,

a chance meeting,

a meaningful connection,

a windfall of fortune

doing what you love.

No coincidences.

No more excuses.

No more waiting.

You are a part of the Divine.

Everything is possible,

when you connect to your Spirit.

Today I launched my first note cards.  Each set features one of my

photos. Blank inside, but the outside can be personalized at no extra

charge. Set of 10 cards w/envelopes for only $10.00

(this is an introductory price only).

Prints turned out really nice, I am so happy with them.

I am working on more layouts with more of my photos, so

if you would like to order a set using one of my photos not currently

shown on a note card, please do not hesitate to contact me.

To order visit my etsy shop:  http://www.barefootposse.etsy.com/

Next stop....calendars!

This one is named I've named for my daughter because

it reminds me of her...soft, beautiful, and dreamy. (I love you sweetie.)

(Color enhancments created using Isabelle LaFrance's soulful sweetness action.)

I captured this photo during a family romp in the park

and named it for the Spanish Moss (aka Greybeard)

that embellishes the trees surrounding this building.

This is number 3 in a series of 5 photos entitled Fly Bird Fly.

These pigeons were perched atop a local bank building and would

occasionally take flight, circling the building as if they were playing.

To view the rest in this series visit my etsy shop:

http://www.barefootposse.etsy.com/

This one is called "Quack". (I know your laughing with me now, right?) What can I say? It was 2:00 a.m. in the morning and I had to come up with a title, and "quack" was pretty much all that came to mind.

After double-checking it the following morning, I still liked it. And it looks pretty awesome framed, so I've included one (below) for your visualization reference.

But, what do you think?

I have been working every spare minute on the etsy shop and my photography. My goal now is to introduce my photo pendants on etsy as well as some bookmarks and note cards. I'll keep you posted.

And big thanks to the 48 etsy-ers who have marked my shop a favorite - it's so encouraging to have my shop bookmarked.

I called this one "In retrospect" because it simply looked like a great place to go and think things out or just chill. I can get lost in this photo.

This angel is especially pretty once framed, so I included one for your reference.

While I have an appreciation of cemetary photos depicted as dark, gothic and/or mysterious; I want to portray my cemetary from another perspective - that of light, hope, and peace.

2010 Bucket List (I need to watch that movie again)

1. 150 photos on BarefootPosse.etsy.com
2. create a handsome collection of assemblage art
3. create assemblage jewelry line
4. complete 1 large scale painting
5. post, promote, post, promote on etsy
6. spend more time with my kids creating (they too are artists at heart)
7. re-model the guest bathroom
8. replace flooring in my son’s bedroom
9. declutter and organize the homestead
10. clean up the sunroom, garage, and dining area
11. create and organize a studio space
12. budget better
13. read more
14. blog more
15. travel more
16. begin running again watch my food proportions loose weight
17. finish the birds and skulls ink around my cherry blossom tree (tattoo)
18. get the skull in the grass ink on my back
(shhhh, don’t tell my son though, he’s reprimanded me on this subject already)
19. figure out how and block the neighbors from piggy-backing on my wireless internet service
(I like ya – but I don’t like ya that much)
20. take my blood-pressure medicine like a good girl this year
21. recycle, recycle, recycle
22. save money for the a/c unit I will probably have to replace next summer-ugh
23. quit my day job
24. homeschool my last two
25. get an etsy interview for the “Quit your Day Job” blog

Castle Wolfenstein was created using a combination of several of my photos and a couple of layers. My son, Wolfgang, sitting over my shoulder in awe of photoshop the whole time, I have named this photo for him. I hope you enjoy.

The first flocks are finally passing through town and I jumped at the opportunity to capture a few shots. It won't be long before they are making such a mess that I will be happy to see them go. Until then, I'll be lurking with my camera.

Reminder: if you'd like to purchase, please visit my etsy shop (link at the top right corner): www.barefootposse.etsy.com

My heartfelt appreciation to Julia for featuring my photography (etsy shop) in her blog! What a super compliment!

Check it out at:
http://ramblinggallivantinggirl.blogspot.com/2009/09/amazing-etsy-photographers_17.html

Check out Julia's etsy shop at:
http://gallivantinggirl.etsy.com

and my shop at:
http://barefootposse.etsy.com

I'm so excited I don't know "whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt" (Steel Magnolias).

Not only did I make my first etsy sale today, but I have also been asked to be featured on a fellow-bloggers page. I'm really looking forward to it Julia, thank you so much for your interest!

I now have 43 pictures uploaded and available for purchase at my etsy shop: http://www.barefootposse.etsy.com/

I've also upgraded my banner from generic to professional. Looks cool, I think.

But if you will check out my shop and let me know your thoughts, I would truly appreciate it.

I think I've got a lot of antique car pictures right now, but plan to post a buffet of others (trying to appeal to many).

In business!

Today I am officially an "etsy" girl. I've got my work posted for sale and you can check it out at: www.barefootposse.etsy.com

I just can't express how excited I am about this venture and I've got to go now, because I have so much more to do with it!

I hope you take a moment to check out my etsy shop! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!

Thanks!