I am so thankful for my wonderful family, friends--including the many I have met online, and for my health.

I have been blessed in so many ways--my thanks spills over like this cornucopia!


Tomorrow, we will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with our friends who live nearby.
Taking this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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I thought I would share my latest oil painting with you--finished just this past Friday. I have not totally decided on a title yet, however, it is temporarily called, "Fall Serenade". It took me about 4 classes to finish it which is roughly 6 hours. I rarely get a chance to paint at home because I am always doing chores around the house or creating for my Etsy shop, so I really enjoy the opportunity to take this class.

So what is your hobby--other than what you create for your Etsy shop if you have one?

I just joined the ACEO Street Team on Etsy, called ACETSY. They are a very talented group of artists who enjoy creating those mini pieces of art that are referred to as ACEOs. They can be created in any media, the only "rule" is that they measure the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"--the same size as a baseball card.

They have a blog that I have just begun to follow where they share information and post some of their work. Check it out if you are interested in joining or collecting aceos.

Here is my latest ACEO which I created for a challenge hosted by one of the Team members, Jocelyn Friis. The challenge was to create a piece to fit the theme, "Peace Starts With A Smile". Most anything in nature gives me a peaceful feeling, so I created this watercolor of irises. You can read more about the challenge, here, and check out the wonderful prize she is offering! You may just decide to enter for yourself!

The demise of the craft show

Well, I wish I could tell you that my craft show rocked, but it didn't. Yes, the attendance was very good...but I suspect most of the people came for the reasonably priced lunch and to get out of the rain. I am not taking this personally....I don't think it was just me who didn't do well, I don't think anyone had huge sales. I've been documenting my sales since I started doing craft shows in 1994, and besides the expected year to year ups and downs, there has been a sharp decline in the number of shows--at least in my area. Where I used to do 10 shows per season (Sept-Dec), I now only have 3, possibly 4.

All this has lead me to do a lot of thinking about whether this aspect, that is, craft shows, are worth it for me anymore. It seems that I have had this discussion with Mr. Moose for the last few years. I am trying to be honest with myself--it's just not worth sitting there all day to make the table fee and a few more dollars. Like in the past, however, when I try to decide to definitely, really truly give it up, I feel sad because it is what I love to do! I think this year will probably be it though :(

I have slowly begun listing my holiday themed supplies (of which I have tons!) on Ebay, so if anyone is interested, just do a "seller search" under "advanced search" for Craftymoose & take a look at what I have listed.

I still plan to continue to list on Etsy--my french beaded flower creations and other beaded items.

So tell me, do you do craft shows? How is it in your area?

I can't believe I have not posted since Halloween--but Blogger doesn't lie! Quick update: my Dad had the surgery, went home in 3 days, and 1 1/2 weeks later is already doing stairs! His recovery has been amazing.

I've finished two more books in the meantime...

Sloan Reynolds is set to meet the wealthy father & sister that she was separated from due to divorce. Complicating the meeting is the FBI agent who wants to go along undercover to investigate her father. A good, quick, read with just the right amount of romance! I never did figure out what the title had to do with the story, so if you read this one, let me know! And...

A short book about estranged families who reunite after a tragedy. Read it in just a couple of days.
I tend to stock up on paperbacks when our local library has their book sale twice a year. After I am done with them I usually freecycle the books or donate them back to the library.
The photo at the top of the post shows my latest french beaded flowers--Chrysanthemums in harvest colors. There are seven of them in yellow, marroon, snow white, 2 tone topaz and 2 tone marroon/gold. They are already in my Etsy shop.
This Saturday is my first craft show of the season so I'll be spending tomorrow and Friday making up a few last minute items and getting organized. Hopefully on Monday I'll be back to let you know how it went.
Have a great weekend!

Halloween Sale!

Join me for this Halloween Edition of Saturday Night Specials!

The place: my Etsy shop.

The details:

~~~Spooktackular Saturday Night Specials for Oct.31~~~

ACEOS are Buy one, get one equal or lesser value FREE!
Everything else is 25% off (not including shipping).

Sale valid 5 p.m. Sat.-6 a.m. Sun. Put "SNS" in notes to seller & wait for an adjusted invoice before paying. Cannot be combined with coupons or other discounts. Happy Shopping!

French beaded flowers, beaded art dolls, beaded suncatchers, ACEOs, painted birdhouses, handmade quilled supplies for card making & scrapbooking.

A Book and A Butterfly

I'm still in my reading mode and have moved on to this:
The latest thriller by Dan Brown. It's a pretty long, but fast moving book filled with symbolism, ties to freemasonary, and religion as his previous book, The DaVinci Code was. I'm about halfway through and can tell that I will be finishing it soon. It's one of those books that may have a slow start, but once you are hooked, you can't stop!

I have done a little crafting in between. I've just completed about 50 ornaments for my upcoming craft shows, and I just finished beading this Rainbow Butterfly. It is available in my shop through this link.


The rest of my time has been consumed with helping my Dad get ready for his knee replacement surgery. We went to a seminar today at the hospital to get briefed on what to expect before, during, and after the surgery. After 2 1/2 hours, I can honestly say we are prepared as well as one can expect. It's this coming Monday.

Well...I'm off to finish up another butterfly and maybe cheer myself up by buying something! LOL!

Have a great weekend if I don't get to post tomorrow.