SWEETIE THE CANDY CANE SPRITE

Here is SWEETIE, THE CANDY CANE SPRITE!

I still am making adjustments and have to clean her up but wanted to share her with you!

Merry Christmas!

ATTENTION SHOPPERS!

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS BEFORE MY BUY ONE GET ONE FREE OFFER IS OVER!

My Etsy shop will be closed for the holidays from December 15th thru December 25th so this is the last weekend to shop!

I just listed "Soulmates" Personalized Art Print today.

Stop "buy" and take a peek!

Merry Christmas!

Michelle :)

www.michelleperkett.etsy.com

MAKE A WISH!

"The Wishing Star" was the 2nd illustration I did when beginning my art business. I thought she was appropriate to post today since Christmas is approaching and it is the season for wonderful wishes!

The meaning of The Wishing Star is for someone to make a wish, not for themselves, but for someone else.

What I wish for today on the Wishing Star is for amazing and beautiful happiness to you all of you always and hope that all of your most heartfelt wishes come true!

Make a wish! What would you wish for someone else?

PEPPERMINT FAIRY

Here is my little Peppermint Christmas Fairy all inked and ready to be colored. I think she is going to be a really cute peice. I'm going to color her in lots of different reds, pinks and greens. I'm sure alot of other colors will be added (cant help myself, I'm a color junkie!)

Hope you like her. You have all motivated me to get crackin! So thank you for that!

Michelle :)

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD

Wow, I am so honored and grateful for this lovely blog award from my new friend, Sara! Thank you so much Sara for thinking of me!

Please visit Sara's wonderful blog and also visit her etsy shop. Her work is wonderful!
http://worksofartbysara.blogspot.com/

Here are my seven of my favorite blogs, (it was a very hard choice, there are SO many more!) Please visit and have fun there!
http://worksofartbysara.blogspot.com/
http://fotf-constellations.blogspot.com/
http://bechindblueeyes.blogspot.com/
http://mouser-kinswhimsies.blogspot.com/
http://amyshortart.blogspot.com/
http://timewithtascha.blogspot.com/
http://leslielovinlife.blogspot.com/

PEPPERMINT FAIRY

I am done inking my peppermint fairy! I LOVE her! Will be posting pics soon!

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle :)

FINDING PEACE

In honor of my "Peace Fairy" being sold on my etsy shop today (thank you!) I decided to post her and to write about how much peace is so important in my life.

I have been on a mission over the last few years to find more peace and harmony in my life. Inner peace is so important to me. I am not a drama queen, in fact I cant live with drama, I am the exact opposite.

I not only wish peace for myself but for everyone else. I wish you all much peace and would like you to share some peace today with someone, either thru your blog postings or just walking down the street. A smile, a kind word or just feeling peace and love in your heart today would be wonderful. What if we all did that today, the sun would shine a little extra bright! :)

Have a lovely peaceful day!

Michelle :)

KEEPING YOUR CHILDLIKE SPIRIT :)

As I was walking to my car in the mall parking lot tonight I saw two little girls just jumping up and down with such joy I thought to myself, "That's me!" I do that all the time! That is so me, and thank god!

I have always had and always will have a childlike spirit and I intend to keep it that way. I find bliss in the littlest things and I just hope that in some little way I pass it on to you thru my art. That is why I am posting "Tutti-Frutti" today because she is so fun and playful.

Here's hoping that you get a little happiness from her and I hope you get to jump up and down and clap today! Try it, its really fun! :)

Michelle

SEIZE THE DAY

Carpe Diem. (Seize the Day) Last night I was watching the movie, "Roxanne" with Steve Martin and Darryl Hannah (a really cute one!) and Steve's character mentioned these words.

How often do we actually do that? How often do we wake up and live this day as it was our last? I try to get out of bed everyday with enthusiasm and usually do because I get to work on my art everyday and that immediately gets me in a great mood. But this morning I thought, what could I do today that would make it special? What do I keep putting off that I need to do? How can I make this day one that I take hold of and at the end of the day say that I truly lived!

I immediately made a list and thought that I have so been putting off submitting my work to licensing companies so I found 2 online today that I am going to submit to right when I finish this post!

As I was out walking dogs today, I smiled at everyone I met and said hello. I kissed every one of my little doggies and told them that I loved them and thanked them for being good kids today!

On my walks today I said thank you for all that I have in my life, my lovely mother, my brothers, my good friends, my art, my peppermint mocha coffee, my food, my strong legs that took me on my walks and to the gym today and all of the wonderful people who comment on my blog everyday. I am grateful for all of you!

I am going to have fun making a collage tonight that I have been putting off for months! And of course, I will be working on Peppermint fairy and going to bed a happy and inspired little girl! :)

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE HOLIDAY SALE !

A SUPER HOLIDAY SALE IS NOW GOING ON AT MY ETSY SHOP

Buy one and get one free! Now until December 15th! Buy any card or print and choose a second one free! (excluding limited edition prints)

Please visit my enchanted etsy shop and have some fun!

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

SWEETIE THE PEPPERMINT CHRISTMAS FAIRY

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I worked in between turkey and stuffing but still had a lovely day:)

This morning it was back to the drawing board, me and Sweetie, the Peppermint Christmas Fairy! I have been seeing peppermint designs everywhere in the last week since I have been working on her. I have seen little girls in candy cane dresses, candy canes, surf boards with peppermint designs in a surf shop window and all kinds of packaging in stores. I bought some peppermint hot chocolate yesterday and this morning I worked on Sweetie with my candy cane candle burning, my peppermint mocha in my coffee and a candy cane stick in it! I was SO in the mood to work on her not to mention I was in the Christmas spirit! :)

Have you been creative today? Hope so, what have you guys been working on?

YOU INSPIRE ME!

I have to tell you all that you have SO inspired me this morning with all of your lovely goals and comments on my last post. Wow, you guys are amazing thank you for sharing your wonderful dreams with us!

To Stefania,
I LOVE your goals, much of them are mine as well! You already ARE a beautiful artist, my friend, :)

To Jennifer,
I already picture all of your lovely work in a childrens book and I know your art will be sought out by publishers everywhere! You are already a beautiful friend!

To Becky,
You already are accomplishing good things with your creativity. It shows in your blog and being a nurse is such a giving profession that we need more of that in this world! Thank you for sharing your lovely goals!

As for me, my goal is to have my art bought world-wide and licensed with a company/companies that will market it all over the world on different high quality products.

I want to share happiness, love and inspiration to the world thru my art.

I would like to be a positive role model for young girls all over the world.

To be in love again and to be married to a wonderful man.

To buy my mother a cute little cottage here in Corona Del Mar.

Thanks you guys for sharing your goals, we need to do that more often. Doesnt it feel great?!?

(Here is a little friendship and encouragement for all of you from "Sisters of Spring")
Michelle

MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE

I wanted to post "Rosie" today because I have been journaling alot lately about my dreams and goals.

Every one of my dreams is very precious to me and I have decided that I need to take them seriously and actually do more to make them into goals by taking steps to get myself closer to them.

I keep saying that I am going to submit my art to more companies for licensing and haven't done that for a while, so that is going to be my priority along with creating more art of course!

What are your goals? What are your dreams? I'd love to hear! :)

MEETING DANIEL MERRIAM

What an amazing night I had on Saturday. I went to an artist's reception for Daniel Merriam, one of my all time FAVORITE artists. The gallery had every inch of its walls covered in his paintings. What a treat for me and for anyone who enjoys his work! I saw my favorite called, "EVER AFTER" up close and personal, WOW!

I got to meet him an talked with him for a while. I have to say I was a bit star-struck and too embarressed to have him sign my post card to me, so I had him put my brother's name on the card! (he has been of fan of his work as well so he will definately love it). He says he puts in long hours, about 12 hours a day, when he's on a deadline. It shows, his body of work seems endless!

I'm sure most of you have seen his work but if not visit his website and help yourself to some wonderful inspiring and fantastic images! Have fun!

www.danielmerriam.com

"HOLLY" PRINT NOW AVAILABLE!

My new print, "Holly" the Christmas Friendship Fairy, is now available as a print on my etsy shop!

Please visit and let me know what you think :)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17663670

BLOG AWARD!

I have been lucky enough to be sent an Uber Amazing Blog award from Tashai. She is an amazing artist and I love her blog because she has so much wonderful things going on there. Please check her blog out at:

http://ultravioletwind.blogspot.com/

And please visit her ETSY shop while you are there! Thank you Tashai for passing along the blog award to me, I really appreciate that! :)

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES - WHAT'S YOURS?

Living in California makes it a bit difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit every year (especially since its been over 80 degrees all month!) but I am enjoying the lovely lights that are being put up all over lately and that has been getting me in the mood.

I was thinking back when I was in High School, my Dad and I decided to make our own ornaments. We went to the lumber yard and picked out some thick wood, brought it home and I drew my little stars, angels, reindeer and trees on the wood and he cut them out in the basement in our little workshop!

We put holes at the top of each ornament and then put some string thru each one. They came out so great and I still have them. My dad has been gone for almost 15 years but I am so glad I have that memory of him. We both shared a Christmas birthday together (yep, we were both born on Christmas) and that was always another fond memory of blowing out the candles on our cake together.

What is your favorite Christmas memory? I'd love to hear! :)

ART SHOW SUCCESS

I'm back from the depths of art show mania. So happy to be back here, I missed you guys! How is everyone, whats new? I had a booth at an art show this weekend at a metaphysical store in Costa Mesa, CA, where I sell some of my work and it was wonderful. I had such lovely people commenting on how much they loved my art. I so needed that day!

One woman actually looked like "Emerald Enchantment" (the little green fairy) http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11475497

It was amazing! So of course she needed to go home with a print! :) I think hearing those kinds of comments and getting such positive feedback are what keeps us going as artists, dont you think? To hear someone tell you that your work makes them feel happy or that it inspires them is like getting a hug isnt it? I so love that, I am STILL flying high from all of the nice words from Sunday.

And thank you, James, my wonderful friend for all of your hard work and support. I found the chocolate bar you bought me when I got home Sunday night and ate it with some chunky peanut butter in my pink jammies under my electric blanket!! :)))

Hope everyone is having a creative week!

Michelle :)

FAERIE MAGAZINE GIVEAWAY

I wanted to let everyone know that I am appearing on 2 pages in the Autumn issue of Faerie Magazine, now available at Barnes and Noble.

"Snowy Forest Fairy" Hand-Embellished Limited Edition Print is on page 13, the giveaway page. She will be given away in December to a lucky winner. So please get your copy and enter to win! It is a beautiful issue.

I also have an ad on the Artists Corner page (page 82). More on the art show tomorrow!

Have a creative day,

Michelle :)

FAVORITE ART BOOKS

I was lucky enough to have some time off from petsitting today (although I am being stared at by Nicholas the yellow lab right now :) so I was looking around at different illustrator blogs. Wow, talk about being inspired. I could spend all day looking at other people's work. I love illustration, especially childrens book illustration.

I found a Beatrix Potter illustration site. I remember when I was little my mother always used to by me her books, the tiny ones that were so wonderfully illustrated. I always loved her biography and so loved the movie, "Miss Potter" that came out last year with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (sp?).

I still have alot of my books and a huge bookshelf of art books. Most of them are fairy tale books, my absolute favorites. I love pulling one off the shelf now and then and looking at the illustrations and being reminded of where I was when I bought it, or who gave it to me or what I loved about it and still do. If it was up to me I'd have a big library full of art books with all my favorite illustrators with a big section of fairy artists :)

What are your favorite books? I'd love to hear!

Michelle :)

FUN THOUGHTS FROM CHILDHOOD

I was out dogwalking at the crack of dawn the other day when it was so nice and quiet and still, a time when you can think! I dont know why but I started thinking about when I was little and loved to play "store" in my room at home. I had a white bookshelf that was long and low to the ground so it looked like store bookshelves. I would empty it, drag it into my closet and put things on it to sell to my brothers (they mostly just harrassed me :)) or my friends in the neighborhood.

I loved that feeling of selling my things, getting paid and giving back money (monopoly money). I guess that's why I love my Etsy shop and doing art shows. I can decorate my booth any way I want and its my little store. Its just so much fun.

I was also thinking how much fun it would be to have my own store (a real store). To be able to decorate it with twinkling fairy lites and all of my artwork and lots of other merchandise with my art on it. I would have a big "fairy" tree in the middle of the store that I could decorate from season to season. I would love to have a corner for milk and cookies and hot chocolate and another for art classes for little girls to learn how to draw fairies! I would always play fun and inspirational music that makes you feel good and the whole store would be filled with enchantment!

What is your childhood dream? What did you like doing when you were a kid? Are you doing it now? Hope so :)

Michelle

HOLLY THE CHRISTMAS FRIENDSHIP FAIRY

Here is "Holly, The Christmas Friendship Fairy". I think I like that name and as you can see I've totally changed all the colors. I have been agonizing over them all week (but in a good way:)

Hope you like her, still have some tweaking to do but she's almost there. Will post her when she's finished!

Michelle :)

A "PEACE" OF THE XMAS FAIRY

I couldnt wait until my little Xmas Fairy was finished so I thought I would share just a "peace" of her. I am so excited about this one (as I am with all of them:))

Should have her finished by tomorrow :)

SNEAK PEAK

Here is a small peek at my "Tropical Rhapsody" mermaid. I just posted her on my Etsy shop, available as an 8 x 10 art print!

Please visit and see all of her, I think she's lovely, how about you? :)

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

ANGEL OF HOPE

Hope you all had a fun Halloween. I so enjoyed seeing all of the kids in their cute costumes. My fav's were Tinkerbell, Jasmine and all the little ninja's! So cute!

I just posted "Angel of Hope" on my etsy shop. Available now as an 8 x 10 print! Let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Michelle :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween, everyone! I have to go to work and then I will be giving out candy as a cat tonight with whiskers and a pink nose and of course rosy cheeks :)

Here is "Autumn", now available as an 8 x 10 Print at my etsy shop!
www.michelleperkett.etsy.com

Michelle :)

PEPPERMINT FAIRY

Happy Halloween Eve, everybody! Cant wait for tomorrow, my favorite holiday. Its more like Christmas than Christmas for me. I was born on Christmas but always wished that I was born on Halloween!

I was watching scary movies last night and Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi. Love that show. Will be watching them chase after the ghosts and goblins tomorrow night as I give out my little Halloween witch cards with the candy to the kids.

After its over I will be working on Xmas fairy and my new little "Sweetie" the Candy Cane fairy. Heres my messy sketch! :)

HALLOWEEN MARKETING FUN

Here is my little Halloween card that I made to tie to the Halloween candy. I put a whole in the candy wrapper and a whole thru the card and tied them together with some colorful curling ribbon. They look really cute and I had fun putting them together. I did about 50 yesterday so my goal is to get 200 done by tomorrow.

I think I will make a new card for Xmas and tie it to candy canes! Fun marketing! :)

CANDY THE HAPPY HALLOWEEN WITCH

Here is "Candy - The Happy Halloween Witch"

I'm still tweaking the color but she's pretty much ready to spread Halloween Cheer!?! I cant spread any scary cheer so she has to be a cheerful witch :)

My friend Jamie came up with the best marketing idea (she is a creative genius by the way). I wanted to add a little print to the candy that I will be giving away on Halloween. Jamie suggested making a little card and attaching it with ribbon to the candy packaging. So that's what I'm doing. I will be making about 200 or so to give out to the kids in Orange County. I have friends that get alot of trick or treaters so they will get most of them!

Happy Halloween everyone! :)

HALLOWEEN WITCH SKETCH

I am so happy to be posting again! I havent been here in days and I feel like I'm back home again! Yay!

I have had an insane week with petsitting, just non-stop. I also have been staying overnight with 2 dogs that are keeping me up most of the night. They are Lilly Beth the one eyed snoring Shitzu and Julie the pacing black lab. As sleep deprived as I am, I love these two little munchkins. Its been about 3 years that I have taken care of Julie but Lilly Beth was just rescued and she is a little character. She sleeps in her big playpen with all of her stuffed animals.

Aside from the lack of sleep, I did manage to do work on my little Halloween sketch. I am determined to finish her by Halloween! Hope you enjoy her. Wish me luck, tonight is my last night with my little girlfriends!

Have a wonderful weekend!

HALLOWEEN WITCH - BOO! :)

I know I am supposed to be working on my Xmas Fairy this week but I have been so inspired by all of the wonderful Halloween illustrations that I had to do one myself.

I am working on a sketch of a cute little witch holding a Happy Halloween sign. I will be posting her this week but until then I hope you enjoy another little magical goddess, "Fire". Have a wonderful and creative day!

Michelle :)

NEW! "SNOWY FOREST FAIRY" LIMITED EDITION PRINT NOW AVAILABLE!

She is finally here! My "Snowy Forest Fairy" Limited Edition print is now available at my Etsy shop! Please visit her today! :)

And speaking of magical - what a night at Fenway last night! Thank you Red Sox! :)))

AN IN BETWEEN DAY

Blogging, marketing, selling.....We artists have these on the brain pretty much 24/7. Everyday we wake up searching for another creative way to market our art and where we can sell it.

I have days like this when I am so jazzed I'm jumping up and down like a 5 year old and I also have days where I have to make myself do something because sales are really bad and I'm not sure when my rent payment will be in my checking acct.

So today, I woke up at 4:00 and couldnt go back to sleep so at 4:30 I put the coffee on and began writing in my journal like I do every morning. Today I started with, Good Morning, God, thank you for.....and wrote 5 pages of everything I was grateful for. I then opened my magic sketchbook and filled 3 pages with Halloween sketches and lots of fun things. After that I got on the computer and worked on my little Xmas Fairy drawing listening to my "fairy" music. It was the best morning I have had in a while.

I am calling this day an In Between Day because this is the type of day where I am just going to "be". I am going to have fun with everything I do today, from my art to all of my dogwalks with my little friends. It is a day to just step back from all of my marketing craziness (not that I dont love it) and just have fun. I am going to put on my Red Sox jersey and root for my Sox tonight and have fun doing that. I will be making In Between Days a regular part of my life from now on to just be thankful, have fun and play!! :)

WHAT IS MOST DEAR TO YOU?

The California wildfires are raging again, as most of you have probably seen in the news the last couple of days. One of them was 2 or 3 miles from my house yesterday afternoon in Newport Beach. I saw the flames and the black smoke as I was heading home from dogwalking.

Thankfully, the fire department got to it early and there is a resevoir close by that a helicopter was able to fill its tanks and drop water on the fire to contain it within an hour. Thank you NBFD!!

As I was watching the helicopter put out the fire on tv, I looked around and thought about what I would take with me if I needed to evacuate. (this was my second time I was in this situation since I've lived here) What is so important to me? What if I only had one minute to get out? What would I take with me?

I decided my artwork files, which I keep in a metal fire proof box, would be the first thing. My computer and printers would have to stay ( I really need a laptop). The next 3 things would be my photos, the cards and letters that my Mom and friends sent me when I was in the Air Force, and my Dad's flannel shirt that I still have in my closet. He always wore flannel shirts and I kept one of them when he passed away. (As a matter of fact, today is the day he passed away in 1994 from cancer. I love you, Dad! Hope you are watching the Red Sox wherever you are! :))

Here's wishing that you always know what is most important and most dear to your heart.

Michelle :)

CHRISTMAS ON OCTOBER 12

You know that feeling, the anticipation, the restless night of sleep, dreaming of what will be there...

The feeling as a kid on Christmas morning! I felt that yesterday. For once, I had the day off and didnt have to get in my car or go anywhere. I was in heaven! I got up, made my coffee and got back into bed with my sketchbook. (one of my very favorite things to do!)

As I opened the page to the blankness of many possibilities, my pencil started to discover what was waiting to be created. I first did a drawing of a little birthday girl with a party dress, pigtails and lots of balloons, named Lilly.

I turned the page and who popped out but Sweetie, the peppermint candy cane fairy! I spent an hour figuring out what her costume looked like. She holds a present tied with candy canes and decorated with ribbon candy. Her little coat is striped with candy cane colors and she has a fur-lined hat, coat and little shoes! I cant wait to get her scanned to show everyone!

It certainly was a wonderfully creative day. Those are the days that feel like Christmas and my birthday all at once. (which by the way, IS my birthday! :)) I savored every minute of those sketches and went back to them before bed last night to draw more. Cant wait for the next time I get to stay in my jammies all day!

ART SHOW YESTERDAY

One of my favorite things about being an artist is having my own little "shop" set up at an art show, having people come by to visit, look at my art and to hear how my art makes them feel happy and uplifted.

I had my booth set up yesterday at the monthly art show in San Juan Capistrano. I had lots of little girls stop by with their parents. One of my favorites little friends came by to visit again. I feel like we became friends a couple of months ago when her Mom and Dad shared the booth next to me at the show. She was sketching in her booth and we shared each other's drawings and I encouraged her to keep up her artwork and talked to her about art school and how much I loved it. When she came back to visit and to say hello yesterday, I let her and her friend sit down and look thru my sketchbook ( I never let anyone do that!)

I felt a connection with her, being fellow artists and that maybe I am her art mentor in a small way, but mostly because I saw myself at her age, a bit shy, and loving to loose myself in my drawing. I told her to visit anytime and hope she stops by again, she made my day!

If it wasnt for the art show I would be seriously depressed since the Sox lost last night after a great fight! Cant wait till you guys get back to Fenway for tomorrow's Game 3! Go Sox!!

PRINCESS PINK GIVEAWAY

Cookie Sunshine will be giving away this lovely print, "Princess Pink" signed, matted and framed for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Isnt she beautiful?!?

Please visit her blog at:

http://cookiesunshine.blogspot.com/

I love her illustrations, just wonderful!

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
I was sent this wonderful quote by Robert Frost this morning by a new friend. After this quote he said that an entreprenuer has followed the road less traveled, but is not alone. That made me feel comforted. Being an artist really is a lonely business but to be reminded that there are millions of artists and self-employed people doing what I am, it made me feel somehow less isolated from the rest of the world.
Thank goodness for this wonderful place and for the friends I have made here. Especially for the support and inspiration that I get everyday from all of you. Thank you!
Michelle :)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

A DAY FULL OF POSSIBILITIES

When the going gets tough.........you know the rest. Some days I wake up and feel so defeated because of the lack of sales and just want to eat a big giant chocolate cake for breakfast! Today was one of those mornings. But lately, I have felt that when I do wake up in this frame of mind, I dont let myself get out of bed until I have changed my attitude. As I lay there dreaming of what kind of frosting I wanted with my cake I decided that today will be a day full of possibilities and I would take some action to get my work known.
I made a list of my goals and what I have to do to get there. So when I checked my email I had 2 invites to new business networking sites. I joined immediately and had a wonderful person email me a beautiful quote that inspired me to take the next action.
I feel so powerful now and know that there is no doubt in my mind that I am doing the right thing and that I was put here to share my art with the world.
So instead of cake I had a healthy omelette and made some new online business connections! Today has just started and I feel there are many more possibilities in the air! Hope your day is the same!
Michelle :)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

GRATEFUL FOR MY MOMMY!

After yesterday's blog about being grateful to be an artist, I woke up this morning and had alot more to be grateful for. I mentioned my mother but as I thought about her more I realized that I am most grateful to become more like her the older I get. I grew up being more like my Dad but I can see how much more like my mother I am now. I sound like her, I talk like her, and I feel that I am a more positive and light hearted person like her. She never has a bad thing to say about anyone, is very young at heart (at age 81!) she says a prayer everyday for the people who need it and always looks on the bright side. As I feel myself becoming more like her I have felt that we have become closer and she really is now my best friend. She is my cheerleader, my number one fan, and the biggest supporter of my art.
She also, like my whole family, is a huge Red Sox fan, so she was the first one I called last night when they won the ALDS! She calls them "her boys". I think that is the most special thing that we share, our love of baseball.
So, I wanted to say how grateful I am for my mother and how much I love her. She is the most special person in my life. Her name is Eileen Perkett and I am lucky to be able to call her my mother!
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

GRATEFUL TO BE AN ARTIST

As I was writing in my journal today I had lots of positive thoughts and ideas. (I got sleep last night!) Actually, I was busting with nice things to write about. I mostly thought about how grateful I am to wake up everyday for the last 4 years and be excited about my art and the possibilities that await me as an artist. I am grateful for my drive to be creative each day and for all of the ideas, sketches and inspiration that I recieve everyday.
I am grateful that giving up isnt an option. I am grateful for the friends I have that are the "wind beneath my wings" when I need it most. I am grateful for my mother who is my biggest cheerleader at 81 and is there when I set my booth up every month and is the first person I show my new sketches and ideas to. (I'm grateful that I made her laugh yesterday, she has been under the weather for a couple of weeks)
I am grateful for this outlet and that I am able to hopefully inspire and to make someone happy with my art.
Most of all I am grateful to be an artist, and to be my own special and unique self!
I'd love to hear what you guys are grateful for, please feel free to share!
Michelle :)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

Believe in your dreams. I have been seeing messages like this all morning. I decided to post a picture of a fairy named Rosie with an "Enchanted Inspiration" about nurturing your dreams. I went to a clients house this morning to walk her dog and in her office she had a poster hanging on the wall that said "believe in your dreams. I kept going to artist's websites that had the word dream in it when I was on Etsy this morning as well. So....I'd better talk about my dreams today!
I have lots of them so I think I will just make a list of my dreams:
I want to be a successful inspirational artist
I want to share happiness, love, inspiration and peace with my art
I want make a living at my art
I want to be a postive role model for young girls
(I want the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series?!?)
What are your dreams? I would love to hear each and every one of them!
Michelle :)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR

Happy October! Oh, my favorite time of year! I love seeing all of the Halloween decorations, the pumkins and a few fairies fluttering around town ; ) This time of year makes me so happy (except it was 90 here yesterday - HELLO!) I love Halloween, love the fall and most of all I love the baseball playoffs/World Series! Especially when the Red Sox are in it and last night they won Game 1 against the Angels! Thanks Jason, thanks Ellsbury (the jack rabbit), Thanks Big Papi, Yuk and most importantly, Thanks Lester for an amazingly brilliant game! Love you guys!

So before the game excitement I sketched out my Xmas Fairy (better name coming soon!) and I am almost ready to start inking her. I am determined to get her finished by next Sat. for my monthly art show. I am also participating in another show in Dec. and will be posting the details for that one.

Have a wonderful and creative day! Go Sox!

Not that I dont love my fantasy illustrations, because I do. I LOVE them! But lately I have been sketching in ink in my sketchbooks lately and have been "doodling" these words. I started doing these type of sketches almost 10 years ago and have lots of them but never did anything with them. I have always wanted to design rubber stamps and I guess that idea is coming back. I could do these all day, they are so much fun! I'll be posting more "doodles" later!

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

Dear Friends,

I cant thank you enough for all of your lovely comments. I was in need of a hug today and when I got here this morning I had lots of them! Thank you so much all of my lovely friends, new and old! I am so grateful for you, thank you for being so kind!

Big Hugs to you all,

Michelle :)

"Harmony Goddess" 8 x 10 print is now available at my etsy shop!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15565639
Please visit and pass this link onto a friend!
Have a wonderful day,
Michelle :)

FAERIE MAGAZINE FALL ISSUE

Happy Saturday!

I wanted everyone to know that I will be running an ad in the Fall issue of Faerie Magazine on the Artists Corner page and will also have my "Snowy Forest Fairy" (see her pic below) Limited Edition print appearing on the 'giveaway' page. One lucky winner will recieve a free print which will be hand-embellished and signed and numbered by me.

I ran an ad in Faerie Magazine in the second issue and am so amazed at how even more amazing it has become. Anyone who loves fairies and fantasy, this is the magazine for you! The Autumn issue can be found in Barnes and Noble shelves in mid-October.

FUN WITH BIRDIES

I have been drawing birds in my sketch book since I borrowed a bird book from my Mom on Sunday and I cant believe that I have never discovered how wonderful these little creatures are! I am so loving them and have been enjoying listening to them outside my window in the morning. I love hummingbirds and have a feeder outside my window (but they like the bird of paradise flowers better!) but I am so excited that I have found a new way to look at all my little friends!
Michelle:)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

FUN WITH BIRDIES

I borrowed a really great bird book from my Mom when I was visiting at her house on Sunday and have been sketching lots of little birdies since then! I added a few to my Xmas fairy (will give her a proper name soon!) I think she's ready to go!
Michelle :)

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

COMING SOON

"Snowy Forest Fairy" Limited Edition print will soon be available on my Etsy shop for the holidays! Hope you enjoy her as much as I do!
Michelle :)
http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY IS HERE!

As I woke up freezing this morning and had to turn on my electric blanket (Yay! I love Fall!) I realized that Christmas is approaching and I want to start on a new Christmas "peace".

I was going to do a "Love Fairy" next but decided my little Christmas Fairy has been hiding in my sketchbook long enough! (actually she was drawn on notebook paper)

I have been wanting to add some little birdies to my work so I will have 3 in this one. I am really excited about this one!

Michelle :)

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com

NEW "PEACE" TO POST (ALMOST FINISHED)

Even though I havent quite finished "Harmony Goddess", I couldnt wait to share her with you! I love this "peace" and am so excited about the way she turned out. She has restored my faith in myself to create a fresh look with new and exciting colors.

I still have a bit of cleanup to do so I will be posting the finished version in a couple of days. Hope you enjoy her as much as I do!

Michelle :)

ART FAIR FAVORITES

The Second Saturday Art Fair was a blast again yesterday and as always thanks to my Mom and my dear friend Jamie for helping with my booth.
I had so many nice people comment on my art. One woman said that my art made her smile. I am still flying from those words, I just love hearing that! There were lots of little girls "studying" my bookmarks because they're Mom's said to pick "one" and they had to make sure they were making the right decision! I loved every minute of that and meeting such great people and not to mention all the cool dogs that came with them. (Especially "Sunny" the yellow lab puppy who was "high-fiving" everyone!)
There were some new artists this month as well, just as talented as everyone else there. I loved hanging out with my new friends, its a pleasure to be there with them.
My friend Jamie was working in the booth with me and told everyone who bought a bookmark that when you put one of my bookmark's in a book and come back to it, the book is better because of the bookmark in it! I thought that was the sweetest thing! Magical bookmarks, I love it! Thanks, James! :)
Well, I have lots of new ideas for next months booth so I'd better get started now!
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!
Michelle :)

http://michelleperkett.etsy.com/

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING AN ARTIST

The most exciting thing for an artist (other than selling their art of course!) has to be hearing how much someone loves your work after they have bought it and brought it home.

I have some wonderful petsitting clients who bought "Lulu" my latest ballerina for their 4 year old daughter, Sophie last month at my art show in San Juan Capistrano. (Second Saturday Art Fair) They bought a matted 8 X 10 print for her room.

I spoke to my client this morning and asked how Sophie likes her "Lulu" print. She replied by just saying "She loves it!" She told me that Sophie has it next to her bed and every night when its "story time" she has to hold it and look at it and always talks about how Michelle made this picture.

I couldnt get enough of it! She made my whole week! I think that has to be my favorite thing about being an artist. When anyone, especially a little girl, enjoys my art that much and I get to hear a story like that, I am so completely grateful that I am an artist and that I am able to make someone love my art the way I love it.

Thank you Sophie for making my day!

FIRST POST

I am so excited to be posting my first blog here. I have blogs on 3 artist networks but have wanted to start a blog here where I can add photos, share stories of creativity and inspiration.

I am an artist who belives that the world can always use more enchantment and inspiration so I hope to add some to each and every blog!

Your comments are always welcome! Have a wonderful day!

Michelle :)