And the winner is... tanybug! Even though the Random Number Generator says the number was drawn on the 28th, it's really only 7:30pm on the 27th here in my time zone; so I still squeaked in under the wire on getting the winner chosen. Since tanybug has an Etsy shop, I'm sending her a convo for her mailing address so I can send the Surly Cats her way.

I'm sooooo behind in posting to this blog, but it's been a busy week. My husband's back has been messed up the whole week (he has chronic back pain), and he's not able to get up and do anything. That means I've made hundreds of trips up and down our stairs to carry food, water, medicine, books, glasses, movies, exercise bands, clothes, shoes, etc., etc., etc., to him so he doesn't have to get out of bed. He's still not doing very well, but at least he's improving. My knees will be happy when he's back on his feet.

I have managed to get some beadweaving done in between trips up and down the stairs. Not as much as usual, but I'm happy with these pieces anyway. I also curated a couple of treasuries, kept up with my Etsy shipping, watched a few episodes of House, watched the Obama/McCain debate, finished reading one book (Disordered Minds) and started another (The Front), shipped some books that were mooched from me on Bookmooch, did some updates to the Bead Art Originals website, and kept up with most of the household chores (well, my husband can't come down the stairs to see the dirty dishes in the sink anyway, so they're still there). Why does it still feel like I'm behind? It's that whole not-enough-hours-in-the-day thing again.

Anyway, here are the newest pieces I've listed in my Etsy shop:

Cabernet

In Stitches


and just listed today... Op Art in Silver and Black

If you visit my Etsy shop, you'll see the inspiration for Op Art. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, so it'll definitely show up with some different colors in the near future. Since one of the things I did this week was open up the box of beads I received from Fire Mountain Gems, I gotta make more things so I can use them!!! :-)

Are you a cat lover? I really like all kinds of animals, including cats, but I'm severely allergic to them. So the only kind of cats I can have around me are ones like these... drawings.

I enjoyed reading all the comments from my last giveaway, so I've decided to do another one! This one is for all you cat lovers out there, as I'll be giving away a set of six greeting cards made from my original artwork. All of the cards feature my Surly Cats. I don't have these listed in my Etsy shop, but I've sold lots of them at arts/crafts shows. Each card has a professionally printed copy of one of my drawings attached to an A6 sized blank greeting card. Each print is signed and dated on the back and is removable from the card, so the recipient receives a little piece of artwork suitable for framing (the prints are 3.5" x 5"). I typically sell these cards for $5 each, so the winner will receive a prize worth $30!

The drawings featured on the cards are:
- Cat Want Food Now
- Cat Want New Toy
- Cat Want More Fish
- Cat Not Like Bugs
- Cat Want Valentine
- Persian Queen

How do you win? It's simple.
1. Visit my Etsy shop and find your favorite cat that's NOT one of the ones featured on this set of cards.
2. Come back here and leave a comment with a link to the cat you found. Be sure to tell me why the cat you chose is your favorite. (Make sure to include a way for me to contact you when you leave your comment!)
3. That's it!

The deadline for entering is September 26 at midnight EST. The winner will be determined by a random number generator on September 27.

* * *

Want to see what the last giveaway winners are going to receive? I just mailed their packages out yesterday, so this is a sneak preview for Carol Dean and Dani, in case they're reading.

Carol Dean's comment was the first number selected by the random number generator, and I was pretty sure she wasn't going to choose the beadwoven bracelet or the peyote triangle (she's the master of peyote triangles herself - just have a look at the ones in her Etsy shop!). Sure enough, she opted for some Captioned Critters... the Eloquent Elephant, Rhino Rhetoric, and the Daydreaming Dodo.

Dani's was the second number selected by the random number generator, and she chose the peyote triangle pendant. The colors she chose look really great together, too - black, blue, and turquoise. After I made her pendant, I liked it so much that I decided to list it in my Etsy shop as a made-to-order item. This is the one that's on its way to Dani.

Even if you're not a cat lover, Christmas will be here before you know it; and you know there's someone on your Christmas list who'd love these cards!

Valentine ACEOs. You knew it had to happen. Valentine's Day approaches, and I just had to create some artwork to celebrate the day. Even if it's not celebrated very much in our household, there's usually at least some recognition. :-)

The first drawing was truly inspired. Cupid Snares a Heart is another drawing of my silly long-nosed fairy creature. Cupid has never looked like this before!

The second drawing began as a surly cat, but after I had him sketched out I just couldn't leave him looking surly and mad. So I had to give him a smile. He's much happier now.

The last one is called An Unlikely Valentine, depicting the romance between a bird and a worm.