A Wonderful Surprise!

"There is magic in long-distance friendships. 

They let you relate to other human beings in a 

way that goes beyond being physically together 

and is often more profound." 

~ Diana Cortes

"Birds & Bees" by Sheila Delgado
Matted 8 x 10" Original Mixed Media

Today I received this amazing belated birthday/early spring gift in the mail from my online blogging buddy, Sheila Delgado. She had asked me for my address a while back and I didn't give it a second thought until this morning when this beautiful original painting arrived at my door! This painting, "Birds and Bees", was one of my favorites by Sheila from the January 2015 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. Sheila and I met online a few challenges back and have been communicating ever since. I am so excited to own one of her gorgeous paintings! I have it right here on my desk on a display easel by my computer. It is so nice to have something so special and physical here from her to remind me that our virtual friendship goes beyond the boundaries of distance. Thank you so much Sheila girl! You are loved and appreciated more than you can ever know!

"Flower House" by Pam Schoessow
5 x 7" Original Watercolor with display easel

I also traded art pieces with another dear online blogging friend and received this awesome whimsical original from Pam Schoessow on Saturday. Thank you so much Pam! I adore your paintings!! It also is right here in front of me by my computer, right next to Sheila's. 

With original artwork by a couple of my favorite artists and online friends, I really feel the love and inspiration!!

Thanks to Sheila and Pam and to all of you

for your continued friendship and feedback.

Happy creating everyone!

X ♥  O

Back From A Whirlwind of Activities

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear.

Action breeds confidence and courage.

If you want to conquer fear,

do not sit home and think about it.

Go out and get busy.”

~ Dale Carnegie

Guess what!? I'm baaack!

So much has happened in the past two weeks since my last post here!

Our Client Appreciation Event was a huge success last weekend.

On the first day, two dozen original paintings found new homes!

Here are some highlights from Saturday.

New collectors, Steve and Cocoa from

Green Thumb Garden Center in Hammonton, NJ

acquired three new pieces.

Green Thumb is where we get most of our flowers.

We love their plants, service and prices.

I loved this set-up.

We had over 300 paintings

on display in the studio and outside.

Happy collector, Dorrie shows her newest additions.

Kathy D. showed up with cookies for humans

and stud muffins for the ponies.

Coming soon in my next posts . . . 

Photos of day two of our Autumn Art Event,

a surprise visit from an old classmate and

a five day whirlwind visit from my Florida sister, Gaile. 

Happy Fall And Thanks For Stopping By!

X ♥  O

Love Grows By Sharing

“Love only grows by sharing.

You can only have more for yourself

by giving it away to others.”

~ Brian Tracy

I LOVE GIVING PEOPLE GIFTS! Don't you? I am feeling pretty amazing after talking to one of my collectors yesterday. Let the giving season begin! Looking forward to seeing many old friends and making some new ones here next weekend. And I'm getting excited about all the gifts I'll be giving!

JUST IN CASE THIS HAS SLIPPED BY YOU SOMEHOW

When you purchase a print or a painting (online or in person) during my Client Appreciation Event, I will give you another one of your choice of equal value as my gift! I am allowing collectors to put paintings from my gallery on HOLD until 12:00 Noon EST on Oct. 19th for my BOGO offer! Just call, send me a fb message or an email. (PAINTINGS ON HOLD WILL BE MOVED TO THE TOP OF MY GALLERY.) It feels really good to offer my collectors and friends this present because I know that for many of you, it will also be your gift to someone you love. Someone who will not only treasure it in the present, but also into the future. Art is very intimate and personal. It's something you live with everyday. It is my job to give you a picture worthy of being a part of your day. I hope my images are more than just decoration and help to soothe, enliven and inspire you to imagine more of life's endless possibilities.

X ♥  O

Special Spring Hummingbirds ~ SOLD

Spring is in the air and we turn the clocks ahead this Sunday! Yahoo!! To celebrate and spread the joy, in addition to a couple of giveaways, I'm also having a 30% off March Madness Sale on selected one of a kind, mini paintings! Here are the first two adorable hummingbirds I'm offering at this special price. 

Joyful Hearts

4" x 5.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $35.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 5" x 7" frame.

SOLD •

Hearts of Joy

4" x 5.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $35.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 5" x 7" frame.

SOLD •

This offer is only good until the end of the month, so snatch them up while you can, my friends. What great gifts these would make for Easter, Mother's Day, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and birthdays! These original paintings would look precious framed or sitting on a little display easel!

Satisfaction is guaranteed on all your purchases from me!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

And don't forget to "spring ahead"!

How Beer Saved The World and Other Holiday Tidbits

Christmas is not entirely about gift giving, I know.

Like many, our family has cut back considerably this year.

Although the message should be about opening our hearts more

than presents, gift giving still continues to be a part of our tradition.

Because it's their first Christmas and they have been

exceptionally good this year, the kittens received

an extra special gift from Santa Claws!

It's a Whisker City Cat Lounge and Scratch!

Opie loves his high vantage point by the window.

Both kittens are thrilled with it and I am hoping

they'll start putting the scratching part to good use!

I have been taking a ten week online

lettering workshop with accomplished illustrator

and instructor, Val Webb. Interacting and sharing

with members of the class has been fun and inspiring.

One of Jerry's presents from me is this Celtic style painting

with his initials. (Cutie Pye makes sure it meets with her approval.)

Jerry is happy with it. I'm relieved. Sometimes he is hard to please.

You can see a couple of my other lettering class projects here.

From Jerry, I got this sleek, shiny, new respirator for when

I'm chopping Rudy's hay with the paper cutter.

The cutting creates a lot of dust, so this

is a much appreciated, practical (and stylish) gift!

Don't you just love the black with purple filter accents?

Half Mask Respirator

I also got several cases of really good beer!

I am all set for quite a while now!

See How Beer Saved the World !

This humorous documentary will enlighten, entertain

and engage your respect for my favorite beverage.

Learn about beer's very long, interesting history and

see how it really did shape life as we know it today!

Now, whenever Jerry sees me with a beer, he says, 

"So, I see you are trying to save the world again!"

Wouldn't it be nice if it was that easy?

I hope your Christmas day was as pleasant as ours was

and that the rest of your holidays are happy and bright.

X ♥  O

Easy To Make Party Favor Magnets

As little gifts for people attending this year's Holiday Open Studio, my friend, Nancy Louie, suggested I make fridge magnets. I had never done this before but thought I'd give it a try with some of my snowman images from iStock.

Here's what one of the art layouts looked like. This was printed on magnetic sheets I got from Staples. The thick plastic material was fed it into the ink jet printer and to my surprise, it worked just as good as paper.  Bobbie had the tedious job of cutting four sheets of magnets apart with an X-acto knife. She said she didn't mind doing it though. She always loved getting away from her reception desk and thoroughly enjoyed working in the shop at our old sign company. Especially when she got to cut sandblast masking with her X-acto!

I put the magnets on the fridge at the party and let people pick some to take home.

I also had the idea of cutting up some of my failed watercolors and making them into bookmarks.

It was Bobbie's idea to dress them up a little with yarn and string.

There is still a variety to offer those who read physical books.

I thought other watercolorists may want to try this too. It's just a way of recycling and sharing. If any of you readers would like a couple of bookmarks and/or magnets, Email me at sandy @sandysandy.com with your mailing address. I'd be happy to share these little token gifts with my friends while the supply lasts.

Here's a photo of some of the food at the party. Bobbie did such a nice job with everything, I sure was lucky to have her. I think she may have missed her calling as a caterer, although her varied skills and unending assistance was truly appreciated.