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