Holiday Gift Offer

I am pleased to announce a print giveaway at My Etsy Shop.

No Special Codes or Coupons Required.

Get A Free Print With Every Purchase!

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There are so many things happening here in Sandy Land right now. I hope to find the time to post some of my news here in more details soon. It's all good, from animal adventures, an online lettering course, watercolor commissions, photography excursions, holiday preparations, birthday celebrations and a new horseback trail riding friend!

Until next time, I hope your days are busy, bright and filled with joy!

Thanks for reading and especially for commenting if you do.

X♥O

'Twas a Month Before Christmas

'Twas a month before Christmas and all through the house,

Kittens break stuff belonging to me and my spouse.

They look like such angels, this shouldn't be the case,

Observe the innocence of each little face.

So instead of adorning with greenery and glass,

I've decided to refrain and not be an ass.

This season's ornaments will be meagerly sparse,

To do otherwise would be a big farce.

A reminder that material possessions are not the important part,

What really matters most is what comes from the heart.

Wishing You Many Blessings, 

X♥O

Wordless Wednesday

♥

Frightfully Fun Friday

"Spirits roam the neighborhoods at night,
Let loose upon the Earth till it be light."
~ Nicholas Gordon

"The Headless Horseman Rides Again" ~ 16" x 20" Watercolor

This image was just accepted into my iStock portfolio.

It's available for download here.

Experts say that everyone needs to have a little fun in their life, 

because without it, we become dull, boring and depressed. 

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."

~ Dale Carnegie

"Where there is no imagination there is no horror."

~ Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with

"scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "frightful" in the title."

~  From Scooby-Doo

Have a Fun Friday and a Great Weekend!

Eat, Drink and be Scary,

☻

Ah, Ha! Checks with Sunflowers on Them . . .

Although, I've had over 3,200 of my images downloaded from iStockphoto, I know where less than a dozen of them were used. I just came across these cool checks online with my sunflowers printed on them. Are you getting ready to order new ones?

Too bad I just ordered new checks last month!

They are not nearly as pretty as these

and they were much more expensive!

Darn, I would have really liked to have these

as my personal checks.

They also offer matching check book covers

and mailing labels.

I even think paying bills with these sunny flowers would make me smile!

You can order your very own sunflower checks here.

My original sunflower painting that these were taken from.

Yahoo, my parents are visiting us from Florida this week!
I will be very busy doing art projects with my mom
and going on day trips with mom, dad and sister, Denise.


Have a great week!
♥

LOVE

Burr, it was a good day to be inside today, so I've been working on some new Valentine's Day images for my iStock portfolio. February 14th will be here again before you know it!  It's always been one of my favorite holidays. How cool is it to have a special holiday in honor of LOVE, now really? Since my birthday is February 17th, it has always seemed like an extended one too! That, and we still continue the tradition of celebrating birthday week here in Sandy Land. I always try to plan something special for my special honey on that day. Even the critters usually get an extra treat or two. What do you usually do on St. Valentine's Day? Do you have any special memories or traditions?

And a Reminder: I am having A  Painting Giveaway this Friday at 3pm EST. Be sure to leave a comment and enter the contest if you would like a chance to win my little "Holiday Hummingbird" watercolor! 

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.